by Lisa Ruff
The frown made Mimi flush again. She struggled to control herself. Why was she reacting this way? Why was everything he said a challenge? She wasn’t usually so edgy, but something about Ian Berzani made her lose her usual poise.
Looking up into his handsome face, Mimi tried to read his expression, but there was nothing there to grasp. Unlike the musicians with whom she had spent the past ten years, this man gave none of his feelings away. His face—his eyes—were impassive. There was no boundless energy giving way to wild, wide gestures. He simply stood; distant, aloof and unapproachable.
“Can I go now?” Jack said, interrupting Mimi’s thoughts.
“Not until you apologize to Mr. Berzani.”
The boy huffed a sigh through his nose. “Sorry.”
“Wow,” Ian said, both eyebrows raised as he looked down at Jack. “I can feel the agony and remorse from here.”
The dry sarcasm in Ian’s voice made Mimi want to laugh. Jack ducked his head, but Mimi saw the grin he was trying to hide, too. Ian had obviously dealt with young boys before. Her humor didn’t assuage her irritation, though. Her son was getting the upper hand.
“Jack, don’t be—”
Her exasperated words were cut off as the door to the bar swung open. Mimi’s parents stepped inside, their faces bright with laughter. Jack spun on his stool and faced his grandparents after shooting her a look of triumph. Mimi knew he would use them to end the interrogation. Ian looked over at her and shrugged while she sighed in frustration.
“Let it ride,” he advised.
Mimi frowned. Later, in private, she would take the issue up with her son again.
“Hey, you two,” she said with a lightness she didn’t feel. “It’s about time you showed up.”
“We decided to go for a walk after lunch,” her father said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “And since we were out, we did a few errands. Thought we’d take advantage of the freedom you’ve given us.”
Mimi slipped an arm around him. “Anytime, old man.”
“Old? Who are you calling old?” He looked down at her with a scowl. His blue eyes held a smile. He squeezed her to his side and held out a hand to Ian. “Sneaking in for a drink during the workday again, Ian?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
The two men gripped hands. “George,” Ian said, his face lighting briefly with that same smile Mimi imagined she had seen earlier. “I don’t have much to do this time of year, so I thought I’d blow an hour or two here.”
His tone was dry and her father chuckled. “Well, it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while since you’ve come by.”
“Not enough hours in the day,” Ian said with a shrug. “I’m usually beat by the end of it.”
Claire Green patted his arm. She looked trim and pretty in her pink sweater, her blond hair immaculately coiffed. “How are you, Ian?”
“I’m fine. It’s good to see you,” he said, brushing a kiss across her cheek.
“I saw your mother last week at the post office. She is so thrilled with that new grandbaby of hers,” Claire said with a smile.
Ian laughed. “That’s an understatement. She’s addicted to the baby. Lucky for her, Patrick brings Beth with him to the yard most days, so she can get her fix.”
“He dotes on that child, doesn’t he?”
“You’d think he was competing for Father of the Year or something.”
Mimi watched the exchange without a word. The easy affection between her parents and this enigmatic man puzzled her. How could he be so warm and open with them, but so taciturn with her?
“You two catching up on old times?” Claire asked Mimi.
Mimi frowned, shaking her head. “We’ve never met before, have we?” she asked Ian. She knew they hadn’t. She definitely would have remembered him.
“Nope.”
“I’m surprised,” Claire said. “Mimi and Anna were inseparable those last two years of high school. She spent as much time at your parents’ house as she did at home.”
Ian shrugged. “Annie’s the baby. The rest of us were gone by the time she was that age. I don’t think anyone made it to her graduation but Ma and Pop,” he added with a grin at Claire. “She’s still mad about that one.”
Claire and George both chuckled. Jack spun himself around on the bar stool, obviously bored by the proceedings. The clunking of his shoes on the metal base of the stool drew everyone’s attention. Turning to his grandson, George put a large hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“What are you doing sitting at the bar, young man?”
Jack grinned, and the change was dramatic. Mimi smiled involuntarily at the sight. Happiness had appeared so rarely on his face the past few weeks, she wanted to drink it in like an antidote against the pouts and scowls and tears that she usually saw.
“I’m trying to get some service in this gin joint,” Jack said in a gruff tone. He banged a fist on the bar top and squinted at his grandfather.
George scowled. “Get off of that bar stool, mister. We don’t serve your kind in this establishment.”
Trying not to smile and failing, Jack thumped his fist down once again. “Discrimination, that’s what it is. Why, I oughta sue—”
George scooped Jack up and off the stool, holding him firmly under one arm. “Excuse me,” he said over Jack’s giggles of laughter. “I have to take out the trash.”
He carried Jack toward the door, tickling him as he went. Mimi laughed at their antics, glad that Jack didn’t foist his bad humor onto his grandparents. Claire was laughing, too, clapping her hands together in delight.
Mimi glanced up at Ian and found him watching her. A fire burned in the dark depths of his eyes. His face was set in stern lines of anger or pain. She couldn’t tell which. She just sensed an inner turmoil. Her smile slowly faded and she bit her lower lip, uncertain if she should ask this stranger what was wrong. Ian’s gaze dropped to her mouth and a muscle in his jaw twitched once, then twice. His head dipped a fraction toward hers, then turned away as Jack let out a particularly piercing squeal of laughter.
“I have to get back to work,” he said, his voice low and deep. He took a step away from Mimi, now avoiding her gaze.
Mimi nodded, unable to speak. She rubbed her palms up and down her bare arms, trying to calm the spate of shivers racing across her skin.
Claire smiled over at Ian. “It was nice to see you. Say hello to your parents for me.”
“I’ll do that.” Ian clapped Mimi’s father on the shoulder. “See you later, George,” he said and was out the door before anything more could be added.
Her father dropped Jack back to his feet. “Enough,” he said with a whoosh of breath. “You’re getting too big for me. Or I’m getting too old.”
Jack laughed. “I thought you said you weren’t old.”
“So I lied. Let’s go find something to eat.”
Mimi was still staring at the door Ian had disappeared through, as if transfixed. What had just happened? Had he been about to kiss her?
“He’s a nice boy,” her mother said.
“What?”
“Ian.” Claire’s eyes twinkled. “And handsome, too. You must have noticed.”
Mimi felt a blush creep up her cheeks. “Um, I guess so.”
Her mother smiled. “He’s single, I think. I’ll have to ask Elaine.”
“No! Don’t do that.” Mimi put up her hands, warding off Claire’s words. “I’m not interested.”
Claire shook her head. “Liar.”
George walked out from the tiny kitchen behind the bar. “What was Ian doing here?” he asked. “I thought his folks didn’t let him out of the yard until September.”
Mimi welcomed her father’s joking distraction. She did not want to discuss Ian Berzani with her mother—at least not right now. “He brought Jack home,” she explained. “My darling son was trespassing at his marina.” Mimi sighed and sat down at the closest table. “Where is the little pest?”
“Over at the house, supposedly doing his homework.”
George pulled out a chair for his wife. When she was seated, he joined them at the table. “Jack’s just got a little adjusting to do. I’m sure Ian wasn’t offended.”
“That’s not the point,” Mimi said, looking over at her parents. “It’s been six weeks. How much longer before Jack adjusts?”
“Give the boy time, Mimi,” her mother said, putting a hand over hers.
“I’m trying. I just don’t think Jack is. He hates school, he hates Crab Creek and sometimes I think he hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just frustrated,” Claire soothed. “So are you.”
“I thought this was a good school,” George said with a frown.
“It has nothing to do with this school, Dad,” Mimi said with a sigh. “It’s any school. He’s just barely passing most of his classes.”
“That bad, huh?” George shook his head and chuckled. “Still, the boy comes by it honestly.”
Mimi frowned at her father. “I wasn’t that bad of a student. I got A’s in English.”
“And nearly failed math and biology.” George shook his head at her, his lips twisted into the wry grin she knew so well. “I signed the report cards. Remember?”
Mimi laughed. “Okay, so I wasn’t the best student.”
“Best! You weren’t even a good student, Mim. But you were a good kid,” he added with a smile. “Jack’s a good kid, too. He’s doing better, I think.”
“In less than two weeks, school will be over and we’ll have the summer to get him settled,” Claire said. “Maybe you should look into a soccer team for him to join. Or Nancy White’s grandson plays lacrosse. I know he enjoys it.”
“If he would show interest in sports—in anything—I would,” Mimi said. She put her head in her hands, her elbows on the table. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t kept him moving all the time, he’d be happier. He doesn’t have interests like other boys do. He can tell you the order of the songs on every album the Red Hot Chili Peppers made, and recite the lyrics, but he can’t throw a baseball to save his life.”
She heard her parents laugh, and raised her head. They were smiling at her with fond indulgence. She smiled back with a rueful twist of her lips. “Am I being too dramatic?”
Claire shook her head, her hand over her mouth, eyes dancing with humor. The door to the bar swung open and a couple walked inside. George rose to his feet. He called a greeting to the man and woman, who were regulars. Claire gazed at her daughter, sympathy lighting her pale green eyes.
“Give him time,” her mother repeated. “Okay?”
Mimi frowned, but nodded. “I’ll try.” She rose to her feet. “I better see how he’s doing.”
Mimi turned and walked out of the bar. She wished she could believe her mother was right, but six weeks had not improved her son’s disposition. Something was wrong, something she couldn’t fix—especially if he wouldn’t tell her what it was.
At times like this, Mimi wished Jack had a father, a man who could steer him through the mysteries of boyhood. Ian Berzani’s face suddenly popped into her head, but she pushed the possibility away. He did not seem like the type, not after what had happened today. He seemed more interested in keeping the boy off his property and out of his sight. And he certainly wasn’t interested in her, either. Mimi shook her head slowly as a shiver of memory slid across her skin.
Chapter Two
Ian rushed away from the Laughing Gull, long strides taking him to safety, without knowing exactly what danger he was fleeing. Inside the main gate of the boatyard, he hurried past rows of boats in various states of repair. Spring was rapidly becoming summer on the Chesapeake Bay, and A&E Marine was in full, frantic rush, trying to keep up with all the work. A few employees, busy patching, waxing or launching boats, waved or called a greeting to Ian, but he didn’t allow anyone to slow his progress. He hurried on, letting them assume he was too busy to stop and chat.
When he reached the protection of his workshop, Ian closed the door behind him with a thump. Groaning, he leaned back against the steel panel and pulled his hands out of his pockets. They were clenched into fists, cords of muscle standing out strongly. Slowly, with effort, Ian relaxed them and studied them under the fluorescent lights. The palms were white and bloodless with red indentations where his fingernails had pressed hard into the flesh. As he stared at them, they slowly regained color.
What the hell had just happened?
Ian dropped his arms and rested his head back against the cool metal. He closed his eyes and a vision of Mimi Green’s face filled his mind: thick-lashed blue eyes over a freckled nose with a lush mouth that begged to be kissed. Unconsciously, his fingers rubbed together, as if aching to sift through the silky, sun-streaked mass of her hair. He opened his eyes to banish the image, and gazed at his worktable scattered with tools and scraps of wood. He took a deep breath, then another and another. How could a woman unnerve him so completely?
The door pushed against his back, nudging him forward. Ian stumbled away and whirled around to see his brother come through the door.
“Where have you been?” Patrick asked. “I expected to find you on Buckman’s boat. You know it was supposed to be finished yesterday. I can—” He stopped and looked at Ian with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Patrick’s gray eyes narrowed. “Are you sick or something?”
“No.” Ian turned and walked to the workbench to avoid explaining to his brother what he could not explain to himself. He opened a drawer in the tool chest and randomly grabbed a chisel. “I just came up to get this,” he said, holding the tool up.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired. Too much work, I guess. I should be done with Buckman this afternoon.” Ian moved past Patrick and yanked the door open. “Anything else?”
Patrick followed Ian out the door and fell in step with him back toward the docks. “I’ve almost got the boats ready for Saturday.”
Ian slid a glance at his brother. “Saturday?”
“Sailing school? Remember?”
Slapping a hand to his forehead, Ian groaned. “No. I must have blocked it.”
Patrick grinned. “You promised, bro.”
Ian shot Patrick an irritated scowl. “I don’t remember that, either.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Yeah, fun like having your teeth drilled without Novocain.”
“It won’t be that bad,” Patrick said. “Besides, McKenzie’s going to help out, too.”
“Evan volunteered?” Ian was amazed. “I thought he was afraid of kids.”
“Not kids, babies,” Patrick said with a laugh. “More accurately, he’s afraid of one baby. Beth. I promised him that I’d leave her at home with Kate.”
“What does she see in him anyway?” Ian shook his head.
“Beats me, but she completely adores him. And she doesn’t care that he doesn’t want anything to do with her.” Patrick shrugged. “They say babies have poor vision the first few months. Maybe she’ll grow out of it.”
“I never thought we’d see Evan McKenzie running from a female.”
Patrick’s laughter joined his brother’s. “So, Saturday. Ten o’clock.”
“Do you really need me?” Ian asked. “I’ve got a lot to do before October.”
“It’s only the first week of June, Ian,” Patrick said, rolling his eyes. “And haven’t I been taking over a lot of your workload? Between me and that new shipwright you hired, you practically don’t even have a job.”
“As if. Pop’s got some new project he wants me to look at. I’ve still got to build Minerva’s dinghy—”
“It’s only for two hours,” Patrick insisted. “Three, max.”
“Times twelve weeks. That’s thirty-six hours at least.” Ian
glared at his brother.
“I’ve got ten kids showing up Saturday morning to sail, Ian.” Patrick crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not going to disappoint them, are you?”
Ian took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. His irritation had little to do with Patrick or the sailing school he had set up. His brother was just a convenient whipping boy. He had promised. Maybe it would even be fun.
“All right,” Ian said with a sigh. “I’ll be there.”
“Good. I knew I could count on you.” Patrick looked at him closely again, frowning. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Ian shrugged and looked away. “I’ve got to get back to Buckman’s project. Tell the varnishers to get ready for finish-sanding tomorrow. They should be able to get a first coat on in the afternoon.”
Patrick nodded. “I’ll call Buckman, too.”
“Better you than me. He’s not too happy the project’s taken so long.”
“Then he shouldn’t have asked for all those extras,” Patrick said with a grin. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll calm him down.”
“Thanks.” Ian turned and strode down the ramp to the pier.
“Evan and I are having a beer later,” Patrick called to him. “Why don’t you join us?”
“What about the wife and kid?” Ian asked, stopping and turning around.
“Kate and Molly are going over to Suzanne’s tonight and taking Beth with them. That makes me a bachelor for a few hours,” Patrick explained, winking.
“I’ve got a lot to do, Patty—”
“Come on. It’s my first free night in forever and you’re sloughing me off? Meet us at the Gull.”
Ian hesitated. The idea of going back to the bar sent a shiver across his skin, a tightening of his nerves. “I’ll pass. I’m tired of that place.”
“Tired of it? You haven’t been down there in months.” Patrick shook his head and put his hands on his hips. “Come to think of it, I don’t think you’ve been anywhere in months.”
“You and Evan have fun.”
Patrick cocked one eyebrow up. “You can’t let us go out on the town alone.”
