by Tracy Brogan
“You’ve got Tiny Kloosterman on your work crew?” Harlan chuckled as Emily took a bite of pot roast. He was sitting at one end of the rectangular table in Gigi’s kitchen, and she sat at the other. Emily and Chloe sat on one side with Lilly and Brooke across from them. Emily looked around at the group and wondered how many dinners such as this she’d missed over the years, and it made her chest ache. She hadn’t realized how she’d stuffed away that appreciation for being surrounded by family. It wasn’t always good, of course, being with family, but it was . . . familiar, and that made it nice.
“Tiny is eager to repay his debt to society, Harlan,” Gigi said. “Give him a chance.”
Nostalgic feelings notwithstanding, Emily hesitated to ask her dad for anything, most especially his opinion, but she had to know how dependable her ragtag collection of workpeople was going to be, and if anyone could supply her with the worst-case-scenario situation, it would be her dad.
“You have a guy working for you named Tiny?” Chloe picked up the gravy boat and all but drowned her mashed potatoes.
“Tiny isn’t actually tiny,” Emily said. “He’s huge, and so is that tower of potatoes. Do you really think you can eat all that? You’ll get a tummy-ache.”
“Yes, I’m legit starving, and I’m sure I’ll burn off every single calorie since I have to walk everyplace. I wish I had a Fitbit. I’d crush those ten thousand steps in this place.”
“What’s a Fitbit?” Harlan asked. His eyebrows seemed especially bushy this evening, like he’d messed them all up when washing his face that morning and had forgotten to tame them again afterward. Lilly usually kept on him about things like that, but she’d been a little distracted, and now Emily found herself distracted, too, by those bushy eyebrows.
“It’s a wristband that counts how many steps you take in a day,” Chloe answered.
“Why on earth would you want to know how many steps you take in a day?” Brooke asked. She was wearing another cute outfit, a kelly-green sundress, and Emily wondered if her sister had stepped up her game because Emily had been overdressed that very first night. It wasn’t like Brooke to concern herself over something like that, though. Maybe she was just trying to professionalize her image for that mayoral bid.
“You measure your steps for exercise. All the girls at my school have them so they can work on their thigh gap,” Chloe answered.
Emily gasped. “Oh my goodness, Chloe. Please tell me you are not concerned about something like that. You know those girls at school are basing that on pictures in magazines that are not realistic.”
“They’re not realistic,” Lilly said, gesturing with her fork. “I’m in fantastic shape, and even I don’t have a thigh gap.”
“What the hell is a thigh gap?” Gigi said. “It sounds very naughty.”
“It’s the space you’re supposed to have between the top of your legs to prove you’re not fat,” Chloe said.
“Oh my gosh. That’s ridiculous,” Brooke said.
“It’s totally ridiculous, and Chloe, we’ve talked about this, remember? The important thing is to make healthy food choices and exercise to keep your body strong. It’s not about being skinny.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I know, Mom. I know. But Anastasia Whitcomb has one, and everyone thinks she’s the prettiest girl in school.”
“Including Anastasia Whitcomb,” Emily responded. She knew she shouldn’t criticize a twelve-year-old classmate of her daughter’s, but she’d met that kid. She and her mother were country-club snobs, and Chloe had been reduced to tears on more than one occasion by something Anastasia had said to her. “She’s not a very nice little girl, and being nice is way more important than being skinny. And besides, you’re perfect just the way you are.”
“Yes, you are,” Lilly said. “And don’t ever let anyone make you think otherwise.”
“A thigh gap,” Brooke murmured, shaking her head.
“So, it’s not naughty, then?” Gigi asked. She sounded disappointed.
Harlan cleared his throat. “Ladies, please. Could we talk about something other than women’s thighs?”
“Yes, Grandpa. Sorry about that. Want to hear a joke?” Chloe asked, grinning.
“Sure.”
She looked around the table to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “What do you call this? Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop. Bang. Clip-clop. Clip-clop.”
The ever-present creases in Harlan’s face deepened for a moment until he said, “I don’t know. What is it?”
“It’s a Trillium Bay drive-by shooting.”
The ensuing laughter was modest, but Chloe appeared to be pretty proud of herself, and it warmed Emily’s heart to see her daughter so relaxed and happy.
“That’s a good one,” Harlan said, taking a bite of dinner roll.
“Thanks. I heard it from a new friend. Hey, by the way, Mom, after dinner can I go hang out with some kids I met at the festival? They invited me.”
“Which kids?” Harlan immediately transitioned into his overprotective police officer voice, but now that she was a parent and not the recipient, Emily understood better where it came from.
“Carrie Crenshaw, Susie Mahoney, Mike Somebody, and some guy named something like John or Jack or Joe. Or Leo. I can’t remember. But they seemed nice.”
“Mahoney? Uh-oh.” Emily looked over at Gigi, but her grandmother just shook her head.
“They don’t get nasty until they’re adults. The little ones are fine,” Gigi said. “And those kids are all right. If it’s the Mahoney and the Crenshaw girls, then it’s most likely Mike Tupper and Joe Leonard.”
Chloe snapped her fingers and pointed at her grandmother. “That’s them. His name was Joe, but they called him Leo. So, Mom, can I go hang with them later?”
Emily looked at her dad. Again, it was killing her to ask his opinion, even if she wasn’t asking out loud, but she wasn’t going to send Chloe off with kids he didn’t approve of. History was not going to repeat itself. He gave her a quick, single nod.
Emily turned to Chloe. “I guess that would be okay, but keep your phone turned on so I can get ahold of you if I need to.”
Chloe arched an eyebrow. “Thanks, Mom. And when do I ever, ever turn off my phone?”
“Good point.”
Chloe immediately pulled said phone from her pocket and started texting, and Emily looked back at her father. “So, Dad, about Tiny and the others. What do you think? Are they reliable?”
“I’d say so. Tiny has a lot of construction experience, and he’s done work all over the island. Haven’t heard any complaints. Garth is mostly useless but not dangerously stupid. Wyatt’s an excellent electrician. Horsey and Georgie are fine, as far as I know, but I can damn near guarantee Horsey will be late more often than not. Who’d you say was the other guy?”
“Matt. He just moved here a few months ago from New York.”
Harlan picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of roast. “Is that the yoga guy? Yoga Matt?”
Emily chuckled. “I’ve not heard him called that, but yes, he teaches yoga.”
“I’ve seen that guy,” Lilly said. “He teaches a class at the Episcopal church, and all the single girls have got their eye on him.”
“All the single girls, you say? Does that include you?” Gigi directed her question to Lilly, whose face proceeded to turn bright pink.
“I told you, Gigi. There’s no guy.”
“What’s this?” Harlan asked, looking confused, as if the conversation had veered into uncomfortable territory for him again.
“Well, all I really care about is if he can use a hammer.” Emily jumped back in, anxious to pull attention away from Lilly. “And I’m sure he’ll do just fine. What time did you say your friends wanted to meet you, Chloe?”
Talk turned to other topics after that. When the community hall would get a new paint job. Brooke’s potential run for mayor. The cartful of crazy that was Vera VonMeisterburger. Chloe left to meet her friends, and Emily felt confident that
they’d be doing something fun instead of sitting around and worrying about their thigh gaps. Life on the island was insulated from crap like that.
“Thanks for not telling anyone about Tag,” Lilly said quietly later that evening as the two sisters sat together on the front porch swing. Brooke and their father had both gone home, Chloe was still off with her new posse of friends, and Gigi was banging around in the kitchen making muffins for the morning.
“You’re welcome, I guess. I want to be supportive, but Lilly, you can’t possibly be serious about him. He’s all wrong for you.”
“That doesn’t sound very supportive, and no offense, Em, but you don’t have the best track record when it comes to men.”
Ouch. That was hurtful.
Accurate. But hurtful.
“No, I don’t have a very good track record when it comes to men, so maybe you should learn from my stupid mistakes. This is going to end badly, and you’re going to get your heart broken.”
“Don’t worry about me. Tag is wonderful, and we are being very cautious about the whole thing. That’s why we’ve been keeping it a secret. Not because we’re ashamed, but because we just want to figure out if what we have is really real before we go telling people.”
In spite of having agreed with Ryan that a direct assault wouldn’t work, Emily felt her frustration bubbling over. “How real could it be? He’s more than twice your age. What could you two possibly have in common?”
“Lots of things. The things that matter, anyway, and he’s funny and smart and—”
“And old. Lilly, he has three sons who are all older than you are. Doesn’t that make you uncomfortable?” Geez, it made Emily uncomfortable just thinking about it.
“No, his age doesn’t faze me.”
“Well, it should. It makes it hard for Ryan and his brothers to believe you’re not just after Tag for his money or because he’s willing to take you places.”
“Willing? That’s a nice word. That makes me sound pretty pathetic.” Lilly frowned and crossed her arms.
“I don’t mean it that way. Not at all. It’s just that everyone you meet is going to make assumptions about you. They won’t care what the truth is. All they’ll see is some very young woman hanging onto the arm of a rich old man.”
“Stop calling him old. He’s not some doddering old grandpa with a walker and a hearing aid. Geez! You make it sound like he’s one step away from a nursing home, and that’s just not accurate. A couple days ago we went hiking up near Bent Rock, and I had to keep up with him.”
Emily did not seem to be making any progress, but still she persisted. “I get that, Lilly. I do. Tag is a nice-looking man and he’s fit and in great shape, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s significantly older, and it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a wealthy guy who travels in much different circles than you’re used to.”
“You’re flattering me again,” Lilly said dryly. “Now you’re saying that not only am I too young for him, but I’m also not good enough for him.”
“I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that not everybody is as nice as you, and they might not welcome you. Nick’s family never accepted me. It was one of the things that ruined our marriage.”
“They didn’t accept you? You never told me that.”
“You were a teenager. Plus, I was embarrassed. His parents were horrified when Nick and I showed up on their doorstep already married, and his mother spent the better part of five years trying to make sure I knew that I did not belong there. The only nice thing she ever did for me was to pay for my divorce lawyer. She was that determined to see me gone, even if it meant taking her granddaughter with me.”
“And that’s what you think Tag’s family would do?”
Emily paused. “I’ve only met Ryan, and he seems to be nice enough, but I do know that he and his brothers are determined to make sure Tag doesn’t retire. And . . . honestly, they’re worried that if you guys ever got married, you’d eventually leave Tag and take a lot of money with you.”
Lilly reached out and pressed a hand to Emily’s arm. “Oh my gosh, I would never do that! You know I would never do that.”
“I know, but it’s going to be hard to convince them.”
The swing creaked slowly back and forth as Emily wondered if she was helping the situation or making it worse.
“It wasn’t very easy after you left, you know,” Lilly said quietly a moment later.
“What?”
“After you left, things got harder. I was fifteen when you ran away with Nick, and Dad was so worried I’d do the same thing, he put me under house arrest.”
“He did?”
“Well, not literally, but for all practical purposes. Every adult on this island was watching out for me. I couldn’t go anyplace without Dad knowing. Do you know how hard it is to get kissed by a boy under those circumstances? I finally had to drag poor Percy O’Keefe out behind Colette’s Riding Stable and plant one on him just to get that first one out of the way.”
Emily chuckled at the mental picture of her sister, or anyone for that matter, locking lips with Percy O’Keefe, but her thoughts turned quickly. She’d never really thought about how anyone else’s life had changed after she left. She’d been so absorbed in her own drama and just assumed life on the island would remain business as usual. Because who would have really missed her anyway? But in hindsight, maybe that was kind of selfish.
“I’m sorry, Lil. Sorry you had to deal with that, and with Dad.”
Lilly’s slender shoulders rose and fell. “It’s okay. I guess I didn’t even realize that’s what Dad was doing until years later. I thought everybody’s father was overprotective like him, but once I got to college, I realized that all the other girls had managed to gather up a lot more experience than I had. I’m pretty sure I was the only virgin in my entire dorm, and I’m also pretty sure there was a betting pool on when I’d finally lose it. Rumor has it that if I’d waited one more week, my roommate would have made two hundred dollars.” There was a chuckle lacing Lilly’s voice.
Emily smiled, glad her sister was seeing some humor in it now that it was behind her.
“That’s what I mean, though, Lil. I didn’t rack up much experience while I lived here, either. The few times with Reed were . . . unsatisfying because neither one of us had a clue what we were doing. Nick came along, and it was so easy for me to get swept away because apparently he had gotten lots of practice. Maybe that’s what’s happening to you. Maybe you think what you have with Tag is awesome just because you have so little to compare it to, and no offense against him, but somebody your own age might be more . . . exciting.”
Ryan would probably be pretty exciting in bed, but Emily shoved that thought from her mind with the force of a charging rhinoceros.
Lilly’s cheeks went pink. “Tag and I manage quite nicely, thanks.”
Emily’s mind went from picturing herself with Ryan to picturing her sister with Tag. It was not a good comparison. Tag was definitely handsome for an old guy, but no matter how Lilly wanted to spin this, he was too old for her.
“Um, that’s great. Really. But again, a younger guy could manage nicely, too, without having to take a Viagra first. Yoga Matt probably doesn’t have to take a Viagra.” Yoga Matt was the poster child for masculine virility.
Lilly’s tiny smile evaporated. “I told you, Tag’s very fit. He does a lot of cardio. Plus, he thinks I’m clever and beautiful.”
“You are clever and beautiful. I understand his attraction to you, and I also understand why you’re flattered by his attention, but I think you’d be happier in the long run if you focused on someone your own age.”
“Like Yoga Matt?” Lilly crossed her arms again and arched a brow, daring Emily to answer that one. She rose to the challenge. Yoga Matt might ultimately be just a little too head-in-the-clouds to make a good long-term boyfriend, but he certainly was hot enough to distract Lilly from Tag. “Sure. I could introduce you. Or we could take his class together
. Just meet him and see if any sparks fly. If you’re so certain about Tag, what could it hurt?”
Lilly looked at her as if weighing her options. “Here’s my counteroffer. I’ll take the yoga class with you if you agree to have dinner with Tag and me. I want you to get to know him better so you can understand where I’m coming from.”
Dinner? Together? She didn’t want to spend an evening with Tag and Lilly. According to Ryan, it was hard to watch. She wasn’t about to face that alone.
“Um, could we invite Ryan, too? That way he can get to know you better, and see that you’re not a gold-digging bimbo.”
Lilly’s gaze turned from contemplative to coy. “I see what you’re doing here. You like him, don’t you?”
“Who? Tag?”
“No. Ryan. That’s why you want him to come to dinner with us.”
Now this was an interesting hiccup. She did kind of like Ryan, even though she wasn’t going to do anything about it, and she certainly didn’t want anyone to know because, well, because the last time she’d been attracted to someone on this island, everyone had seen her make a fool of herself, and she was not going through that again. However, if Lilly thought she had her eye on Ryan, it would sure make the four of them spending time together easier to arrange. Oh, what tangled webs.
“He’s okay. I guess. And dinner is okay, too, but do you know what would be even better? Horseback riding.”
Chapter 14
“We understand this is a risk, Mr. Taggert, but it’s one we are willing to take.” June Mahoney adjusted her black-framed glasses and stared at Ryan like a bull about to charge. She was a formidable woman wearing a navy-blue dress and big, chunky jewelry made of red plastic beads. Ryan didn’t typically notice jewelry, but this stuff was so big that it was loud. Every time she leaned forward, her necklace went thunk against the table, and her bracelet did the same every time she set her arm down. It was distracting.
So was the fact that one of her sisters sat next to her and continued knitting throughout the entire meeting. The needles went plink-plink-plink and kept catching rays of sunshine and blinding him in the eye. He couldn’t remember the name of that other sister, but it didn’t seem to matter. June was clearly the boss here, and her sister just repeated what was already said.
