“Maddie, come over here. You’ll be safer.”
Maddie tore her gaze from Mick’s chest and looked across the ten feet of yard at her neighbor. When it came to safety, trading her deck for theirs didn’t make a bit of sense, but since staring at Mick’s chest was the biggest thrill she’d had in weeks, she was obviously bored and sick of her own company.
She stood, grabbed her glass, and walked the short distance. She was quickly introduced to Louie’s daughter Sofie and her friends who lived in Boise and attended BSU but were in Truly for the weekend. She met several neighbors from farther down the beach, Tanya King, a petite blonde who looked like she hung from her heels and did crunches all day, and Suzanne Porter, whose husband Glenn and teenage son Donald were on the beach setting off fireworks. After that, she lost track of names and couldn’t remember who was whom, where they lived, or how long they’d lived in town. They all blurred together except for Louie’s mother and his aunt Narcisa, who sat at a table wearing equally disarming scowls of disap proval and speaking to each other in rapid Basque. No way could she forget those women.
“Would you like more wine?” Lisa asked. “I’ve got Basque Red and Chablis. Or you can have beer or a Coke.”
“No, thanks.” She held up her half-full glass and looked at it. “I’m a cheap date tonight.” She needed to get up early and get to work, and wine tended to give her a headache.
“Before I married Louie and had Pete, these Fourth of July barbeques were out of control. Lots of drunks and dangerous fireworks.”
As far as Maddie could see, not a lot had changed.
The last person she was introduced to was Lisa’s sister-in-law, Delaney, who looked about twelve months pregnant.
“I’m not due until September,” Delaney said as if she’d read Maddie’s mind.
“You’re joking.”
“No.” Delaney laughed and her blond ponytail brushed her shoulder as she shook her head. “I’m having twin girls.” She pointed toward the beach. “That’s my husband, Nick, down there with Louie. He’s going to be a great dad.”
As if on cue, the great dad-to-be turned and his gaze sought his wife. He was tall and unbeliev ably handsome, and the only other guy around who gave Mick Hennessy any competition whatsoever in the looks department. Then his intense gaze found his wife and the competition was over. There was just nothing sexier than a man who only had eyes for one woman. Especially when that woman looked like Buddha.
“Are you okay?” Nick Allegrezza called out.
“For goodness’ sake,” Delaney grumbled, then yelled, “Yes.”
“Maybe you should sit down,” Nick suggested.
She spread her arms. “I’m fine.”
Maddie’s gaze slid to Mick, who knelt on one knee as he helped Travis light a flashing strobe. She wondered if he had ever looked that way at any one woman, or if he was more like his father and had eyes for a lot of women.
“Fire in the hole,” Louie yelled, and Maddie’s gaze flew to the bottle rockets whizzing upward. This time none of the rockets buzzed Maddie’s head and instead exploded above the lake. Relief calmed her beating heart. A few years ago, she’d volunteered to be Tasered in one of her self-defense classes. She wasn’t a chicken, but those flying missiles worried her.
“Last week I started to have a few contractions, and the doctor said the babies are probably going to come early,” Delaney said, drawing Maddie’s attention. “Nick’s totally freaking out about it, but I’m not worried. We’ve been through hell to have these girls. The hard part is over and everything else will be fine.”
Maddie had spent her adult life trying
“You two did go through hell.” Lisa rubbed her sister-in-law’s belly, then dropped her hands to her sides. “But I have a feeling that having two thirteen-year-old girls in the same house at the same time is going to give new meaning to the word hell.”
“Not a problem. Nick’s not going to let the girls out of his sight until they’re twenty-one for fear they’ll run into boys like him.”
Suzanne raised a glass of white wine and laughed. “I never thought Nick would settle down and get married. Growing up, he was as wild as Louie was crazy.”
“Louie wasn’t crazy,” Lisa defended her husband, and her brows lowered over her blue eyes.
“Everyone called him Crazy Louie for a reason,” Delaney reminded her sister-in- law. “He stole his first car when he was, what? Ten?”
“Yeah, well, Nick was right there in the passenger seat with Louie.” Lisa sniffed. “And he really didn’t steal cars. He just borrowed them for a few hours.”
Delaney’s brows lowered. “Are you listening to yourself?”
Lisa shrugged. “It’s true. Besides, Nick came up with lots of bad ideas all on his own. Remember those horrid snowball fights?”
“Of course, but Nick doesn’t have to throw things at me to get my attention these days.” Delaney smiled and rested her hands on top of her big belly. “He’s still a little wild sometimes, but nothing like he was in school.”
“Every class had at least one bad boy. Class of 1990 it was Mick Hennessy,” Suzanne said. “He was always in trouble. In the eighth grade, he punched Mr. Shockey in the face.”
Maddie casually took a sip of her wine as if her ears hadn’t perked up.
“I’m sure Mr. Shockey deserved it,” Lisa defended Mick. “He used to make us run track even when we had period cramps. Sadistic bastard.”
“Lisa, you were always having cramps,” Delaney reminded Lisa. “Even in the first grade. And I swear you’d defend the devil.”
Lisa shrugged. “All I’m saying is that considering what Mick had to deal with growing up, he turned out pretty good.”
Maddie didn’t know what Mick had dealt with as a child, but she could guess.
“I didn’t know Mick growing up, but I’ve heard the stories.” Tanya raised her glass and took a drink. “And he turned out
“Be careful, Tanya, Mick is like his daddy,” Suzanne warned. “He isn’t the kind of guy to stay with one woman. Last year Cinda Larson thought she had him all to herself, but he was seeing a few other women at the same time.”
The difference being, Maddie thought, Mick wasn’t married like his daddy had been.
“I just got divorced last year.” Tanya wore a strapless sundress on her tiny body, and she shrugged one bare shoulder. “I’m not looking for an exclusive relationship.”
Maddie took a drink of her wine and made a mental note. Not that Mick’s relationships with women were of interest to her, personally or professionally. His and Meg’s personal relationships would not end up in the book any more than hers, but she was curious. Curious if their childhood had been any better than hers. From the little she’d just heard, she’d say no.
Suzanne moved to the rail and yelled down, “Donald, make sure you point the big ones over the lake.” Then she turned back and her green eyes settled on Maddie. “Do you have children?” she asked.
“No.” If she hadn’t been standing next to a pregnant lady, she might have added that she didn’t think she’d ever want children either.
“What do you do for a living?”
If Maddie answered truthfully, she’d open herself up to questions she wasn’t so sure she wanted to answer at a Fourth of July barbeque. Not yet, and especially not with Mick and Travis walking up the beach toward her. The ends of Mick’s shirt slightly billowing about his chest and hips as he moved, drawing
