every conceivable surface, and magazines piled haphazardly from the floor to a crowded bookcase. Obviously, Anna hadn’t been expecting company this weekend.
They cut through the kitchen. High-ceilinged, and done in the same muted gold and earth tones, it seemed more organized than the other rooms.
There was a hint of freshly baked cookies in the air, and appliances of every description covered the granite counters. Two wine racks were cut into the stone of a feature wall. Wrought-iron chairs were lined up beside a breakfast bar, and Joan could easily picture family members chatting with Anna while she cooked.
“David’s family should be here soon,” sang Anna as she opened French doors leading to a huge cedar deck. It was obvious the family spent a lot of time outside.
“David is the youngest,” Nadine offered. “He has three little kids, and his wife, Leila, hasn’t slept through the night in years.”
“Do you have any children?” asked Joan.
Nadine shook her head. “I teach third grade. So far, I haven’t had the desire to go 24/7 with the little mites.”
Joan smiled. Her own experiences with children were few and far between. She hadn’t decided about them one way or the other. Not that she was in a position to become a mother anytime soon.
“Joan?” called Anna from the other side of the deck. “This is Oscar, Anthony’s father.”
A big, burly man, wearing a Kiss The Cook apron and brandishing a spatula, descended on Joan.
Her mind barely had time to register panic before she was enveloped in a hug. She tensed for a second, but then realized his arms were gentle, his voice soft and teasing, and his scent a pleasant mixture of tangy spices.
“Welcome to Texas,” he rumbled against her.
“Thank you,” she managed as he pulled away.
“Anthony gives you any trouble, you come to me,” he winked.
“Anthony’s given me plenty of trouble,” she joked under her breath, feeling relieved by his jovial manner.
Oscar waved the spatula in Anthony’s direction. “You behave yourself.”
Anthony held up his hands. “Whatever she told you, it wasn’t me.”
Everyone laughed.
Oscar turned back to Joan. “How do you like your burgers?”
“However you’re cooking them will be fine.”
He ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl.” Then he called back to Anthony. “Don’t you let this one get away.”
Joan kept the smile pasted on her face, but didn’t dare look at Anthony.
“Can I get you a drink?” asked Nadine.
“Please,” said Joan without a second’s hesitation.
“Anything in particular?”
“Strong.” Joan wasn’t feeling choosy at the moment.
“David!” cried Anna, bustling toward the kitchen door. “You made it.”
The deck was instantly a whirl of toddlers.
“They drove down from Oklahoma City,” said Nadine. “Come on. The margarita machine is this way.”
“It looks a little crowded around here,” Joan said to Nadine. If David and his family were staying over, Anna was going to have a houseful. “Have we come at a bad time?”
“What? No. We’re all here to see you.”
Nadine led Joan over to an electric drink machine that was churning a lime-green mixture in a glass cylinder.
“They came all that way to see Anthony?” asked Joan. Now
Nadine handed her a plastic cup of margarita mixture. “Not Anthony.
“I don’t understand,” said Joan, giving her head a little shake.
“We love your books. Well, we love Anthony, too. But we
“You’ve read
“We’ve read them all. Of course. We thought they were written by a man.”
It took a second for the words to sink in. “You’ve read them
Nadine lifted her own drink to her lips, nodding. “Sure did. Me and everybody else.”
“You mean to tell me your family reads all of Anthony’s clients’ books?” He’d told her he had a supportive family, but that was way beyond the call of duty.
Nadine grinned and shook her head. “We didn’t know you were Anthony’s client.”
Now that was even stranger. “Then why?”
“Because they’re great stories. You do realize you’ll have to sign about sixty copies before we’ll let you out of here, don’t you?”
“I’ll sign anything you want.” Joan glanced around the deck in astonishment. These people had all read her books?
“Loved
Joan smiled at Nadine with genuine pleasure. “It was a fast write. I loved playing around with the Joe McIntosh character.”
“He was hot,” Nadine agreed. “Saw you on
Joan’s smile faltered. “I’m not crazy about the publicity.” She didn’t mention the situation with her family. Judging by what she’d seen of the Verduns so far, Nadine probably wouldn’t understand.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“I don’t think I’ll do any more of it.”
“No way. Really?”
Joan nodded. “I just want to write books.” Though even that was up in the air at the moment.
“But you could be famous.”
Joan chuckled and took a deep drink of the icy margarita. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I would. So, what was he like?”
“Anthony?”
Nadine snorted. “Charlie Long.”
“Oh. Really nice. Surprisingly nice.”
“Did you get an autograph?”
“Never thought of it.”
“Hi, y’all.” A soft-spoken young woman, about five feet two, with a toddler on her hip, joined the conversation.
“Joan, this is Leila, David’s wife.”
“I guessed that by the little one,” said Joan, reaching out to shake Leila’s hand. She hardly looked strong enough to carry the child.
“Margarita?” asked Nadine.
“You bet.” The toddler squirmed and whined, and Leila put him down. “Watch him near the edge,” she called to a man who had to be David.
She smiled hesitantly at Joan. “David told me not to ask you this.”
Joan tensed. Had they heard she’d fired Anthony? “What?” she asked slowly.
Nadine handed Leila a margarita, and Leila took a large swig.
“Anthony just sold my first book.”
“He did?”
“A suspense novel.”
“Congratulations!” Joan was delighted to share in such happy news. She remembered her first sale vividly. The first one was Brian’s, of course. But the second one, the one she’d done all on her own, had been a momentous occasion. Anthony had taken her out to lunch, since she couldn’t tell anyone else about it.
