Suddenly One Summer

by Barbara Freethy

  Lexie’s lips drew in a tight line. The little girl was as closemouthed as her mother. But while she didn’t seem interested in talking to him, she also didn’t appear ready to leave.

  “You must be waiting for the angels,” he guessed. “I’m hoping to see them myself.”

  “Do you think they’ll come?” she asked, a desperate note in her voice.

  “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “I hope so. I need to ask them a question. It’s important.”

  “It must be, or you wouldn’t be here. Your mom doesn’t know you’re here, does she?”

  “I asked her to bring me, but she wouldn’t.” Lexie turned her face back toward the ocean. “She always says we’ll do it another time, but we never do.”

  “What do you want to talk to the angels about?”

  “I can’t tell you.” She crossed her arms over her chest, a picture of stubborn defiance.

  He smiled, thinking that she reminded him a little of himself as a kid, pretending to be tough when inside he was terrified. But Lexie had a mother who cared about her, who was probably worried out of her mind. He wanted to take Lexie back, but he suspected she wouldn’t go easily, and dragging away a screaming child who wasn’t his own wouldn’t look too good. Maybe he’d just keep her talking until Jenna came, which was sure to be any second.

  “It’s a secret, huh?” he asked casually.

  She nodded her head. “I’m going to wait here until they come.”

  “Maybe I should wait with you, just to make sure you’re okay.”

  She gave him a quick look. “They might not come if you’re here.”

  “Well, you can’t stay here by yourself. The angels would get mad at me if I left you here.”

  “Angels don’t like to talk to grown-ups—only to little kids. That’s what Kimmy says.”

  “Is Kimmy your friend?”

  “She saw an angel once. She got lost in the park and she couldn’t find her way out, and an angel lady came and took her back to her parents. They’re really good at finding parents.” Lexie turned to give him a closer look. She might be wary, but she was also curious. “Are you going to take their picture?” she asked. “They might not like it. My mom doesn’t like to have her picture taken.”

  “I’ve noticed that,” he said with a dry smile. “But I don’t understand why. She’s very pretty. So are you.”

  “I know. I look like an angel. Everyone says so.”

  His smile broadened. Lexie was starting to relax, and with a few nicely worded questions, she might even tell him why she and her mother were so scared. But pumping a little child for information didn’t sit well. It was also possible that his questions might trigger some sort of traumatic memory. It was clear that Jenna and Lexie were in trouble and hiding from someone. He could imagine half a dozen scenarios, most of them leading back to an abusive husband/father. He had no idea what Lexie knew or didn’t know, but he was becoming more interested in finding out with every passing minute. Perhaps he could help them—it was why he’d gotten into news in the first place. But Jenna didn’t want his help. She’d begged him to stay out of her life.

  “Do you have a kid?” Lexie asked curiously.

  He shook his head. “No. Why?”

  “Do you want to have a kid?”

  “I don’t know. I hear they’re a lot of work. They run off when they’re not supposed to.”

  She frowned, taking his point. Lexie was smart, and she obviously had a mind of her own. “I had to come here. It’s important.”

  “What do you want to ask the angels?”

  “I can’t say. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” she added belatedly. “You need to go away.”

  “I don’t think so. I have a few questions for the angels myself.” He sat down on the ground a few feet away from Lexie and stretched out his legs. A moment later Lexie sat down, too, carefully keeping her distance from him.

  “What do you want to ask them?” she inquired a moment later.

  “I want to know what their wings are made of, and how high they fly.”

  “Those are silly questions. Angel wings are made of clouds. And they can fly all the way to heaven. Don’t you know anything?”

  He smiled to himself. “Actually, I don’t know much. You’re pretty smart for…what are you—ten, eleven?”

  “I’m seven. Do you think angels are like Santa Claus?” Lexie asked. “You know, how he won’t give you presents if you’re bad? Do you think that the angels won’t talk to you if you’re bad?”

  “I don’t believe it works that way,” Reid said slowly, sensing Lexie’s need to be reassured. “Did you do something wrong?”

  Her eyes were solemn as she nodded. “I didn’t go to my room when I was supposed to.” Her mouth trembled, and she looked away from him. “Did your daddy ever hit your mommy?”

  His gut tightened. “My father went away when I was a baby. I didn’t know him. But I do know that it’s wrong for anyone to hit. And especially for a man to strike a woman.”

  “Even if they’re bad?”

  “No matter what,” he said firmly.

  “But sometimes when daddies are sick, they get mad, and they accidentally hit someone.”

  “Did someone hurt your mother, Lexie? Was it your father?” He knew he was pushing, but if someone had hurt this little girl or Jenna, he wanted to make sure that it didn’t happen again.

  Lexie looked like she really wanted to answer him, but a group of people came down the path, and she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

  When the group had passed by, she said, “Kimmy says angels can see everything in the world. They can talk to you when you’re lonely. They can make you feel better when you’re hurt. And sometimes they can find people.”

  “Is that what you want the angels to do—find someone for you?”

  Lexie gave him a steady look. “Do you think they really can?”

  “Who do you want to find?”

  Lexie started to open her mouth, but they were interrupted by the wild, panicked call of her mother. Lexie scrambled to her feet. Reid got up as well, knowing that Jenna wouldn’t be happy to find her daughter with him.

  A second later, Jenna swooped in and scooped Lexie into her arms. “You scared the life out of me, Lexie.” She wrapped her arms tightly around the little girl.

  “I’m sorry,” Lexie said. “I wanted to see the angels.”

  “They’re not here.” Jenna gave Reid a furious look. “Did you bring her down here?”

  “No. I was just walking by and I saw her alone. I didn’t want to scare her by trying to take her back. I figured you’d be along any minute. And here you are—as well as half the town.”

  Jenna looked at the crowd of people who had followed her down the path. “Oh, God,” she muttered. “She’s fine,” Jenna called. “Thanks, everyone. Everything is okay.”

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t watch her better,” a woman said. She had a child by her side and another in her arms, and her face was a picture of distress.

  “It’s all right, Robin. It’s not your fault. Lexie, tell Mrs. Cooper that you’re sorry that you ran off.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lexie mumbled, her head down, her toe kicking at the dirt.

  “It’s okay, Lexie. You just scared us,” Robin said. “I guess we’ll be going home then.” She gave Reid a curious look, then glanced back at Jenna. “Do you want to walk back with us?”

  “I’ll be along in a few minutes,” Jenna said.

  “Are you sure? Do you know him?” She lowered her voice, although Reid could still hear her.

  “He’s a reporter,” Jenna replied. “We’ve met a few times. It’s fine, but thanks for your concern.”

  “I still feel horribly guilty. I never should have taken my eyes off of the girls. I couldn’t forgive myself if anything had happened.”

  “But it didn’t, and this was Lexie’s fault, not yours. Say good-bye to Kimmy, Lexie.”
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  Lexie obediently said good-bye, and Kimmy gave a sad wave as her mother dragged her away.

  “For someone who likes her privacy, you’re sure finding ways to be the center of attention,” Reid said when they were alone.

  “Lexie—how did you get here?” Jenna asked, turning to her daughter. “Did he bring you?”

  Lexie shook her head. “I came by myself.”

  “I told you,” Reid said.

  “Why do you keep showing up wherever we are?” Jenna demanded.

  “It’s a small town, Jenna. I was on my way to talk to the angel watchers.” He tipped his head toward the group still clustered at the point.

  “Well, don’t let us keep you. We’re going home.”

  “No,” Lexie said with a stubborn stomp of her foot. “I have to wait for the angels.”

  “Lexie, don’t argue with me.”

  “You never let me come here! I want to see the angels. They’re going to be here any second. I know they are. I have to talk to them.”

  Reid waited for Jenna to tell Lexie that angels didn’t exist, that they were just a fairy tale. But she remained mute, a battle going on in her eyes. Finally, she said, “This isn’t the right place or time, Lexie. We’ll come back another day.”

  “I’m not going,” Lexie declared.

  Reid could see that Jenna was torn between making a scene in front of him and giving in to Lexie’s desire to hold her ground.

  “She has a stubborn streak, just like you.” Reid nodded toward the horizon. “The fog is coming in. It won’t be long before it reaches us.”

  Jenna took a quick look over her shoulder and then glanced back at him. “You’re right. I guess we can wait a few minutes,” she told Lexie. “But once the fog rolls in, we won’t be able to see any angels. We’ll have to do it another day.”

  “I hope they hurry.” Lexie slipped away from Jenna, moving a few feet away, her gaze fixed on the ocean.

  “Don’t get any closer to the cliff,” Jenna warned.

  Lexie moved farther down the bluff but kept a good distance from the edge. She obviously thought she’d have a better chance of talking to an angel if she wasn’t standing next to them.

  “What did she say to you?” Jenna asked him, her voice low.

  “She spilled all your secrets.”

  A spark of fear flashed in her eyes, but she quickly covered it. “No, she didn’t.”

  “No, she didn’t,” he agreed. “But she told me she’s looking for someone. She thinks the angels can find that person.” He paused, wondering if Jenna would fill in the blank, but of course she didn’t. “I’m guessing if it’s an angel she wants to talk to, and her father is dead, then it has something to do with him.” Reid moved closer to Jenna. He heard her quick intake of breath, saw her stiffen at his nearness, but she didn’t move away. “He’s not dead, is he, Jenna?” he whispered.

  “Of course he’s dead,” she said immediately. “That’s why Lexie is looking for angels.” She turned her head away, as if she were afraid he’d see something in her eyes.

  “I don’t believe you,” he said quietly. “I think he hurt you, maybe Lexie, too, and that’s why you’re hiding in Angel’s Bay.”

  “You should stick to the story you’re supposed to be writing.”

  “And you should go to the police. Get their help.”

  “I don’t need anyone’s help. Lexie and I aren’t hiding. We’re—we’re mourning. Lexie wants to see the angels, because—because she really needs to believe that heaven exists, and that the person she loved more than anyone else in the world is okay.”

  “The person you loved, too?” he couldn’t help asking.

  She looked him straight in the eye. “Yes, the person I loved very, very much.”

  Her words hit him harder than they should have. He barely knew her; he didn’t have any right to care about whom she’d loved, or how much. Maybe her husband wasn’t alive, wasn’t the one she was scared of—but he still knew that she was hiding. She was far too skittish.

  “It’s a funny thing about grief,” he commented. “It doesn’t make you scared—it makes you brave, because the worst has already happened. When you lose someone you can never get back, it makes you not care what happens to you. But you don’t act like that: you act like someone who is terrified of losing, and is fighting as hard as she can to stay alive.” He paused. “Or maybe you do still have someone to lose—Lexie. She asked me if it was all right for a man to hit a woman, for a daddy to hit a mommy.”

  “She didn’t ask you that,” Jenna said in disbelief, fear in her eyes.

  “Yes, she did. Did your husband hit you?” A new image formed in his head. “Did you hit back, Jenna? Did you kill him? Is that why you’re on the run? Because the police are after you?”

  Her breath quickened. “I didn’t kill anyone. You have quite an imagination; you should be writing fiction.”

  “I could be wrong, but you’re lying about something. I’d bet my life that you’re on the run.”

  “It’s not your life you’d be betting. Just leave us alone. Please.”

  She moved away from him, walking over to Lexie. She tried to put her arm around the little girl, but Lexie shrugged it off and moved away. Jenna wrapped her arms around her waist, in almost the exact same stance as her daughter, and as Reid watched them stare out into the night, he thought he might be looking at two of the loneliest people in the world.

  Make that three…

  For long minutes he stood there, waiting for the fog to roll in over the bluff, waiting for Lexie and Jenna to turn around and go home, waiting for his feet to move—but he couldn’t seem to take a step forward or backward. He was caught in limbo, in a place where he didn’t know who he was anymore, or what he was meant to do, what he was supposed to want.

  All his life he’d had one focus, one goal, and then it was done. He was no longer the hotshot reporter breaking big stories, but he also wasn’t going to be satisfied writing puff pieces for a tabloid. He’d thought he could do it for the money, that he could go on not giving a shit about anything in the world.

  But Jenna and Lexie were making him care, making him want to be the old Reid Tanner. Could he go back, even if he wanted to? And did he want to?

  “Lexie, it’s time to leave,” Jenna said, interrupting his thoughts.

  “The fog isn’t all the way in,” Lexie returned.

  “It’s late. We’ll come again another day.”

  “You always say that, but we never do.”

  “Lexie.” Jenna tried to catch Lexie’s arm, but the girl jumped away.

  “Leave me alone,” she cried. “I don’t want to go with you. It’s not our home, and I don’t want to play your stupid games. I don’t want to pretend anymore. I want my mommy!” She burst into tears.

  Reid stared at them in shock. Lexie wanted her mommy?

  Jenna swung the sobbing girl into her arms and ran past him. He was too stunned to stop her.

  Jenna wasn’t Lexie’s mother? Then who the hell was she?

  NINE

  Jenna knew Reid would follow her; she was just surprised it took him an hour to get to the house. She’d been tempted to pack their suitcases and hit the highway as soon as she got Lexie home, but Lexie was hysterical and exhausted, and after crying her eyes out, she’d finally fallen asleep. She looked like a very small angel in her white nightgown, her golden hair spread out like a halo on the pillow behind her head. Her eyelids were puffy and her cheeks red. She was a very sad little angel, and Jenna didn’t know how to make it better.

  The knock at the front door came again, persistent and determined. She shut Lexie’s bedroom door and walked out to the living room. She looked through the peephole, relieved to see Reid was alone. At least he hadn’t called the cops.

  She opened the door and stepped back.

  He entered without a word.

  They stared at each other for a long, silent minute.

  “What took you so long?” she finally aske
d. “Did you go to the police?”

  “Should I have?” he challenged.

  “No.”

  His gaze held steady. “Who are you?”

  “Do you already know the answer to that question?” she countered. “Are you really in Angel’s Bay looking for angels, or were you sent here to look for me?”

  “Is someone after you?”

  “Yes. Someone who wants to hurt me and Lexie.”

  “I’m not working for that person, whoever he is.”

  “I’d like to believe that. But I called Spotlight Magazine and the receptionist never heard of you.”

  “That’s because I’ve never been inside the building. I’m a freelancer. But I’m not here to talk about me, and you know that.” His gaze drilled into hers. “You’re not Lexie’s mother, are you?”

  She drew in a long breath and blew it out.

  When she didn’t reply, he said, “Maybe I should just ask the police,” and headed toward the door.

  “Wait.” She would have to give him some part of the truth. “All right. I’m not her mother.”

  He turned back around. “Keep going.”

  “You’d better sit down.” She would have to find a way to get Reid Tanner to keep her secret, and that would take more than a minute.

  She walked into the living room and sat down in an armchair. Reid took a seat on the couch, his dark eyes never leaving her face. He had the most intense gaze of anyone she’d ever met, and it rattled her even more. She stared down at the hardwood floor, trying to collect her thoughts.

  “Did you kidnap Lexie?” Reid asked abruptly.

  Her head came up in shock. “God, no! How could you think that?”

  “She said she was tired of pretending you were her mother. She said she wanted to go home.”

  “I’m her aunt. Lexie is my sister’s child. My older sister, Kelly.”

  “And where is Kelly?”

  Jenna drew in a breath for strength. “She’s dead. She died a little over two months ago.” Saying it aloud made it even more horribly real. She’d been so busy protecting Lexie that she hadn’t given herself a minute to grieve, and she couldn’t do that now. She had to keep her wits about her.