“Hi, Jill,” Shelly said when they were right in front of her.
The woman looked up, shading her eyes with her hand. She smiled.
“Hi, girlfriend,” she said, then looked past
Shelly at Rory. Her smile broadened.
“Rory Taylor,” she said.
“I heard you were here for the summer.”
He wouldn’t have recognized her any more than he had Linda. She’d been a couple of years older than him and had hung around with a different crowd, but he’d seen her nearly every day during the summers of his youth. He remembered her as a little on the skinny side, with very straight, dark hair. Her hair was almost entirely silver now, and it was short and thick and very becoming on her. She was no longer skinny, however. She had to be at least forty pounds overweight, and her breasts formed a deep cleavage above the neckline of her one-piece, black bathing suit.
He leaned over to shake her hand.
“Hi, Jill,” he said.
“It’s good to see you again.”
Jill laughed.
“Just don’t go telling me I haven’t changed a bit,” she said.
“You look great,” he said, and he meant it. Despite the weight, she was an attractive woman. She still had those enormous blue eyes rimmed with dark lashes.
“I’ve already met your son,” she said.
“You have?” He glanced around him at the surrounding bodies, slick with tanning lotion, wondering if Zack was nearby.
“Uh-huh. He’s about fifteen, right? Same age as my son, Jason. They met on the beach a couple of nights ago and have been hanging around together. Although I hear your son already has his eye on one of the Wheelers’ granddaughters.”
He did? Rory was definitely out of touch with Zack.
“Probably Kara,” Shelly said.
“She is so cute.”
“Daria said you’re in charge of the bonfire this year,” he said.
“This year and every year,” Jill said.
“Those bonfires have always been my fondest memory of the summer.”
“They were great,” he agreed.
Shelly suddenly unwrapped her gauzy skirt and dropped it on the sand.
“I’m going to take a quick swim,” she said to Rory.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go on without me!”
“I’ll wait.”
“Isn’t she something?” Jill asked as they watched Shelly run toward the water. She offered him a towel to sit on, and he accepted, lowering himself to the sand.
“She’s out here every day, walking along the beach like a breath of fresh air.” She looked at him.
“I heard you’re planning to feature her on your show,” she said, and he tried unsuccessfully to read the tone of her voice.
“Well, she’s asked me to do a little digging into how she came to be abandoned on the beach when she was a baby,” he said.
Jill kept her gaze on Shelly, who was swimming straight away from shore with long, easy strokes.
“I hope she doesn’t come to regret asking you,” she said.
“I’ve watched her grow up, summer after summer, and she is a dear, dear soul. Her mother used to call her a gift from the sea.”
“You can’t blame Shelly for wanting to know the truth,” Rory said.
“I
just need to be sure she’s ready to hear whatever I might uncover. “
“Right,” Jill said.
“I’m never sure exactly how much she understands about any given topic.” Jill changed the subject to his sister, and they were still talking about Polly when Shelly returned to the beach, her hair slick over her shoulders. Jill tried to hand her a towel, but Shelly waved it away.
“I’m fine,” she said, lifting her skirt from the sand and tying it around her waist.
“The sun will dry me off.” She turned to Rory.
“Ready to walk some more?” she asked.
