Family Secrets: Books 5-8

by Virginia Kantra

  Max knew in that moment that her yellow bra and purple panties and images of her getting naked on the bow of his boat were the least of his problems. All those things he could withstand. What was far sweeterand far more dangerouswas the way she let him be just a guy from Pittsburgh again.

  Seven

  H oney puttered the scooter back toward the house at a slow crawl. She was in no hurry. The smile on her mouth felt new and incredible and she wanted to savor it. Part of it was probably the satisfaction of having outwitted Marcus and his cronies just a little. But most of it was a sense of peace that still swam in her blood, the kind of feeling that came from an afternoon gloriously spent and rife with simple pleasures.

  She liked the way Joe tried not to grin at her. It tickled her. She enjoyed his dry one-line comebacks, neatly quick and clever. More than anything, she envied him, Honey realized, so deeply in her soul it was almost an ache. He could do anything he wanted to do at any given time without considering how anyone else would react.

  She couldnt wait to see him again. But at the moment, duty called.

  Honey was pretty sure she caught a whiff of her mothers perfume when she was still a good quarter mile from the house. She chose the front door instead of sliding in through the kitchen as had become her habit and cut a left up the long front hall. She sauntered in to the big room. Her mother had been at work. The women were all gathered around one of the cocktail tables and the men were at the bar, nicely segregated.

  Honey grinned around at all of them. Okay, Im back. The party can begin now.

  Her mother rose from the sofa in a smooth move of utter elegance and held her arms out to her. We were just wondering what had become of you, sweetheart.

  Honey went to her. Sarah Evanss hug was quick but sincere; the peck on her daughters cheek was neat. Missed you, Honey said, planting a sound kiss on her mothers mouth. Then she turned to the others.

  Gretchen was in one of the chairs, neat and pretty in khaki slacks and a sea-green T-shirt. Samantha was perched on the arm of the sofa in a gold-and-green sundress that made Honey envy her boobs all over again. Tara Linden had been sitting closest to Honeys mother before Sarah had whooshed up to do the hug-and-kiss-daughter routine. Theyd been involved in some kind of girl chat that alarmed Honey for Jake Ingrams sake.

  Carey and Matt, Kelly and Ethan Williams hadnt joined everyone yet. But there was a new face standing behind the sofa. Honey pegged the woman immediately. If she wasnt a fed now, then she had at least been one at some point in time. Spend enough days in the Great White Hallowed Halls, Honey thought, and you could peg Secret Service in a heartbeat. Well, well, well, she thought.

  Hey there, Honey said, extending a hand toward the woman.

  Pleased to meet you. The agent looked at her hand briefly before she took it.

  Relax, Honey said. Its just road dust, not any sort of chemical weapon.

  Your feet are a bit dirty as well, dear, Sarah said. And your skirt is soaked.

  I, for one, want to hear this story, Samantha said.

  Yes, Honey thought, she definitely liked her sister-in-law-to-be. I was boating with the USDA anchored down in the cove.

  USDA? Sarah echoed. What in the world is that?

  Sam caught her laugh too late. A small sound escaped Gretchen as well. Honey looked at her to find that the woman had discovered something utterly fascinating about a piece of cheese shed plucked from a tray on the coffee table.

  Honeys attention went back to the woman behind the sofa. I didnt catch your name.

  Naomi.

  Can I get you something to drink, Naomi? Youre the only one without a glass.

  I dont drink.

  Glory be to the flag, Honey thought. If she got any more rigid, shed implode. On duty or ever?

  No one answered her. Leave it alone, Honey thought. What difference did any of this make? Marcus would always be Marcus to her, even if he suddenly took it upon himself to spin around the globe with the Empire State Building on his back. She had no great interest in Gretchens hieroglyphic talents, though she liked the woman well enough. The travails of Jake Ingrams brother had no great impact on her own life. She should just let all this go. And maybe she might have. Maybe. Except Marcus, as soon as he noticed her talking to Naomi, chose that moment to zoom in on her. And she caught the look Jake Ingram snapped her way as wellwary and curious.

  I want a drink, she decided, dodging past Marcus just as he got to her side. Hi, Daddy. She leaned up to kiss her fathers cheek as she reached the bar, then another big-tough-protection-typethis one a guycame in from the kitchen with an extra tray of cheese and pepperoni and crackers.

  Honor, its good to see you, Charles Evans said.

  Ditto. How come they have you schlepping the food? Honey asked the new guy.

  I was going that way, the man replied.

  National crisis in the kitchen?

  Honor, stop baiting the poor guy.

  The admonition came from Drew. Honey peered around her father to grin at her oldest brother. Hi there, Fly-boy. Missed you, too. She loved him, even if he had ruined her Girl Scout career with that damned cookie incident. Hed shown some promise toward being a normal human being once until hed lost his best friend during a Navy Search and Rescue mission a few years ago.

  She winged around to face Jake Ingram. Whats with all the armed-and-dangerous types? Are they for you?

  I beg your pardon? He was careful with his expressions, she thought.

  I believe Annie Oakley over there has a gun tucked into a shoulder holster under that jacket shes wearing. Its awfully warm today for a jacket, dont you think? She reached to shake the male bodyguards hand as well. So what brings you to Brunhia?

  Honey, thats enough!

  Honey sighed and turned to face Marcus. Hed stalked her back to the bar. Are you going to send me to my room now?

  Id settle for you being polite and civilized.

  Shes being civilized, Drew said. I meancomparatively. For her.

  Honey graced him with one of her better grins. Thank you.

  I swear you were born with your nose in places where it doesnt belong, Marcus said in a warning tone.

  It just strikes me that I havent seen this much muscle in one place since the last inauguration.

  Presidential or gubernatorial? Jake Ingram asked without missing a beat.

  The big guy. Given my family connections, state government is solackluster. She grinned at him. Naomi and the pepperoni-toter werent here when I left earlier.

  Jake gave a slight frown. Maybe a gull dropped them off.

  Honey laughed. She liked him. She was too much the Evans to be intimidated by his renown and she saw right past it to a clever mental agility that reminded her of Joe. Joe. She wanted to be back on that boat with him, not making waves here. But since she was here, shed splash around a bit and see what she could stir up.

  Or maybe a chopper, she suggested. Come to think of it, I heard one when I was down on the beach. Have Naomi and Robert joined us because your family members h
ave been inexplicably popping off recently, or is my own family involved in something I dont know about? Not counting Marcus, of course. We all agree that hes immersed in nutsoid genes right up to his ears.

  With all due respect, Ms. Evans, Jake said, your brother feels that youre better off not being involved in this.

  That brother wholeheartedly concurs, Marcus said.

  Something started pounding deep in her head. Suddenly, shed had enough of the game. Right. She turned away and went to the door.

  Are you leaving? Marcus asked. Where are you going?

  Where Im wanted. Though Joe didnt particularly want her either, Honey thought. But he, at least, didnt have a prayer of resisting her.

  Max had had every intention of going back to Portimao until all the hullabaloo on Brunhia died down. He couldnt have said why he was still at the island when the moon rose. He sprawled in a deck chair, his feet up on the transom, nursing a beer.

  Outdoor fires dotted the beaches, friendly beacons in the night. The boats had headed out again some time ago and the women were settling down for the night. As for him, he wascontent, Max realized. He wasnt getting any closer to going back to his life. He was floating farther away. He was chewing on that when he picked up the indistinct and far-off mutter of a scooter engine.

  His first instinct was to come out of the chair like a rocket and lunge for the anchor, fire the engine. His second was to grin. Since Elise wasnt anywhere close enough to see it, he let himself do the latter. She couldnt get out here to him anyway, he thought. Unless she swam. He realized suddenly that he wouldnt put it past her so he ended up getting to his feet after all.

  He went below for two more beers and dropped over the side into the dinghy. He threw off the tether and tugged the engine into life to head for shore. When he beached the little boat, Max caught a glimpse of her in the moonlight. Shed left the scooter on the road and was walking toward Deus Fornece. Hadnt she come here looking for him? Why was she going down there? Max frowned and realized that shed confused him yet again. Since he hadnt brought enough beer for the whole village, he called out to her to stop her.

  Take a wrong turn?

  She spun back to look for him, seeming surprised. She had to have heard the mutter of his outboard, Max thought, either that or she was really preoccupied. He wondered again if she was playing some sort of game with him. Watching her come back toward him slowly, he found that he didnt care if she was.

  He waded in to the beach and joined her. The rich little lady in her mega-bucks sandals was gone now. In her place was a vision that seemed impossibly fresh and unjaded. She wore cutoffs, either white or denim that had been bleached to that point by repeated washings; he couldnt quite tell in the darkness. Her loose white T-shirt had been hacked off to stop just above her waist. She was barefoot.

  Max held up the beer bottles. Want one?

  Did a friendly bug bite you or something? She dropped to sit in the sand and took a beer from his hand. She twisted off the cap, letting her head fall back to drink deeply, then she tucked the cap in her pocket. Ah. Just what the doctor ordered.

  He was what the doctor had ordered, she thought. She was pretty sure hed heard her scooter and come to shore to meet her. It was the only explanation for the two beers. She wanted to think of that as progress, but after the scene at the house things were feeling just a little bruised inside her. It was hard to get her hopes up.

  The grand soiree up at the big house tonight wasnt to your liking? he asked.

  Honey dug her heels into the sand and rested her arms on her knees. It was less a soiree than a meeting of political minds. Theyll get more accomplished with me gone.

  Political? Kurt? He sat beside her.

  She cut a look at him out of the corner of her eye. Thats the second time youve said something to indicate that you know him. Come on, cough it up. What are a few revelations among moonlight drinking partners?

  Max surprised himself with a bark of laughter. He held his bottle out to her and she clinked hers against it. To moonlight drinking partners, he said.

  How do you know Kurt? she asked again.

  He realized that he could tell her the truth without risking his anonymity. I met him in Cairo, he said finally. And it was true. Hed known Kurt before that, had hired him occasionally as a private investigator, but he had met up with the man again in a bar there. I said I wanted to drop out and he told me about this place, said he owned it and that I wouldnt be bothered here.

  He acted like he had no idea who you were.

  Thats a friend for you. Max swigged from his beer. I told him I wanted to be left alone and he was probably making sure that that was exactly what happened.

  Hell of a loyal friendship for one meeting in a bar, she observed.

  It happens.

  Not in my experience. Something shifted inside her and it hurt a little. Carey was the best friend shed ever allowed herself, one of the few people shed ever dropped any of her guard with, but even Carey was excluding her from whatever was going on at the house.

  Tell me what its like to run away, she said suddenly.

  He thought about it. Its an act of desperation, he said finally. It has to be if youre going to leave behind everything thats familiar.

  Sometimes the familiar isnt all its cracked up to be.

  It was the second time today that shed said something that spoke everything he felt. I lost the best part of the familiar, he heard himself say. I lost the one part of it that counted. She didnt ask what it had been. She didnt prod him to go on. Maybe, he thought, that was why he did. My father died six months ago.

  Honey felt her heart miss a quick beat. Mine is often a pain in the ass, but yeah, hes one of the integral parts of who I am.

  Mine made me everything I am. But he, too, was often the source of some discomfort in my nether regions.

  Honey laughed. You do have a way with words. Forget the hammer and nails, Joe. You could have a whole new career as a speech writer. She realized that if she continued to talk shed give away a piece of her real identity, the woman who worked at the White House. She got off that subject fast. So your dad died and you dropped out.

  Give or take an event or two.

  Im waiting for you to fill me in.

  Maybe I dont want to.

  And maybe you want to get it off your chest.

  She saw him grin again. Maybe you want me to get it off my chest. He finished his beer and nestled the bottle into the sand. When my father died, I felt like there was no sense in building things anymore without him. I felt like a door was slamming shut on me. I stood there at his funeral and all of a sudden I knew that there was no going back.

  Going back to what?

  I couldnt go back to refurbishing houses because Id lost my partner.

  Couldnt you have done it alone?

  He thought about it. It wasnt the houses. It was the feeling of loving what I was doing. I wouldnt have loved it without him.

  I never loved doing anything, she said suddenly, as though it was a revelation.

  Ever?

  The hurdles, maybe, she said. I did lo
ve riding steeplechase.

  On daddys thoroughbreds, he clarified.

  She flashed a grin. I learned on his thoroughbreds then I set out to get a job riding for other farms.

  What happened?

  I was given some of the best mounts in racing, and that was that.

  I dont get it.

  My father arranged them for me. The other jockeysguys and women whod worked really hard to get where they wereresented me. I didnt blame them. She paused. I was seventeen.

  So you quit and never went back? Were you any good?

  I never got to find out. She changed the subject back to where he knew she wanted it. So you stopped building things and drifted off because you couldnt do it with your dad any longer.

  Hed realized that the possibility of going back to Pittsburgh had been out there on the edges of his mind for a while before his father had died, tantalizing him as an escape route from an enterprise that had gotten so huge it didnt even need him anymore. I needed to talk about it, he remembered. My wife hadnt come to the funeral. I went to find her.

  Your wife?

  Ex-wife, Max corrected himself.

  Okay. Thats livable. You mentioned her before, but sort of in a past tense. I have designs on you, you know.

  Like I could have missed them.

  Tell me about your ex-wife, she pressed, unoffended.

  I caught up with her at our He broke off. Hed been about to say Paris home. At our home.

  That wasnt what you were going to say.

  Okay, I caught up with her on Mars.

  That means youre not really going to tell me where you found her.

  Nope.

  Why are you so secretive?