As for Aunt Delia, he could only thank his lucky stars that she hadn’t gotten it into her head to make his relationship with Gracie her own personal project.
“I’m surprised to find you here,” the woman in question said, turning up just then and interrupting his peace and quiet. “Shouldn’t you be off somewhere with Gracie?”
“Gracie’s safe and sound at home, alone,” he told his aunt with evident relief. “I’m taking a break. What brings you outside? It’s hot out here.”
“Jane called from Richmond. She’s wondering if you have any intention of showing up at the office for the remainder of the century.”
“Were those her words or yours?”
“Her thoughts, my spin,” Aunt Delia conceded.
“Thanks to e-mail and the fax, I have no reason to go to Richmond in the middle of a heat wave.”
“Kevin, it’s eighty-five, not a hundred and ten. Besides, it’s demoralizing for your staff when you never actually put in an appearance.”
“I’ll show up when something comes up I can’t deal with on the phone,” he said. “Unfortunately, most of my clients are dead. I’m just left to deal with the beneficiaries, who have absolutely no desire to get together with me unless the checks are late. That’s the joy of estate law. Most of the time, I don’t even have to show up to submit the wills for probate. And thanks to dear old dad, the Daniels name will be on the letterhead for all eternity, no matter how much time I actually put in at the office.”
His aunt glowered at him. “Listening to that nonsense, if I didn’t know better, I’d conclude that you are the laziest man on the planet,” she said.
He lowered his sunglasses and winked at her. “Maybe I am.”
“No, you are not,” she retorted sharply. “I know exactly how many clients you have, how many of them are pro bono, and you handle every one of them with the kind of compassion and attention they deserve. So why do you insist on acting as if you could give a damn about work?”
“Balance, Aunt Delia. Balance. Do you have any idea how much concentration it requires to achieve it?”
“I suspect quite a bit less than you devote to it,” she said dryly. “Does Gracie have any idea what you actually do for a living or that you work at all, for that matter?”
“I certainly haven’t told her. She likes thinking I’m a disreputable bum. It enables her to believe she’s living on the edge just by associating with me.”
“Well, that’s certainly a dandy way to build a relationship,” his aunt grumbled. “Whatever happened to old-fashioned honesty?”
“I am honest. I just avoid getting into the details. Besides, who said anything about trying to build a relationship? We’ve covered that. Gracie’s just a friend.”
“A very special friend, judging from the way you scooted off to make sure she didn’t go back to France with that Max person.”
“Don’t read too much into that. I just didn’t want her to make a mistake she’d regret. She asked me to stick around and offer moral support.”
“Which you absolutely detested doing, right?”
Kevin slid his sunglasses back into place. “That’s enough meddling for one day. Go away.”
“You can get rid of me if you want, but it won’t stop you from thinking about her,” Aunt Delia said smugly. “If you want my advice—”
“Which I don’t.”
She ignored him and went right on. “I’d tell you to snatch her up before somebody else comes along. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
“Thanks for the update on my age. Mind telling me why it’s relevant?”
“Babies, Kevin.”
He sat straight up and stared. “Excuse me?”
“Babies,” his aunt repeated emphatically, returning his startled gaze with a touch of defiance.
“What about them?” he asked cautiously.
“It’s time you had some, if you intend to. I have to say I wouldn’t mind seeing some toddlers scrambling around this dreary old mausoleum of yours. Molly feels the same way. We want some kids around before we’re too ancient to enjoy them.”
“Is this another way of reminding me that you’re bored and that I owe you a trip to Fredericksburg to see a movie?”
“No, it’s another way of reminding you that Molly and I aren’t the only ones who are going to be too old to keep up with a toddler if you don’t hurry up and get started.”
He lay back down. “Okay, okay. I’ll take it under advisement.”
“Which means you’ll forget about it, the minute you get me to shut up, I suppose.”
“You suppose right.”
His aunt sighed. “Then I guess it’s up to me, after all,” she murmured.
The enigmatic remark was more alarming than a shrilling smoke detector. Kevin shot up so fast, he almost rolled himself right out of the hammock.
“What was that?” he demanded. “What do you mean it’s up to you? What’s up to you?”
She gave him a vague wave, but no response.
“Well, hell,” he muttered.
He had the sinking feeling he’d just made a very serious tactical blunder, but short of locking his aunt in her room or hiring a bodyguard to tail her and notify him if she came within a hundred yards of Gracie, he couldn’t think of a single way to keep her out of mischief. Something told him his dear aunt Delia could wind up being more trouble that Bobby Ray, Helen, and the rest of them all rolled into one.
16
“Uncle Kevin, could you come and get me?” Abby asked, sounding more plaintive than frightened.
The phone call from his niece had prevented Kevin from sitting his aunt down for a nice, long, firm lecture about staying the hell out of his relationship with Gracie. Delia had drifted off
