Jackie propped her elbows on the railing and watched the kids load the boat. “She certainly cleans up well. She’s quite stunning.” Annie had showered off several layers of dirt and grime, revealing a wholesome beauty with a dazzling smile.
“Careful Jackie,” Bill warned. “Annie Dawn isn’t one of your renovation projects.”
“I know that. She’s a girl down on her luck. Where’s the harm in showing her a little compassion?”
“There’s no harm in it, as long as we keep the situation in perspective. Cooper and Sean are both infatuated with her, in case you haven’t noticed. I’m not sure the relationship between the three of them is a healthy one.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Annie is completely oblivious to their charms.”
Bill chuckled. “You’re right. And I admire that about her. I can’t wait to see what comes of this tournament. Something tells me she knows a lot more about fishing than we think.”
Jackie straightened, leaning back against the railing. “Something tells me she knows a lot more about a lot of things than we think.”
Bill closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sun. “What’s on the agenda for the afternoon?”
“Rest and relaxation. I need it after all the celebrating we did last night. I figured you’d be headed to the golf course.”
“I’d rather spend the afternoon with you.” He cracked an eyelid, and watched for her response.
“You would, would you? Choosing me over golf is a first.” She batted her long eyelashes at him. “But I’m flattered. What did you have in mind to occupy our time since the kids have taken the boat?”
“Imagine this.” He waved his hands in front of them as he painted a picture for her. “You, wearing your new swimsuit. Us, lounging on the dock in the sun with tall tumblers of mojitos in hand.”
An hour later, Bill and Jackie were lounging on the dock, soaking up the sun, sipping their way through a pitcher of blueberry mojitos toward an afternoon buzz.
Jackie held up her glass. “One more of these and I’m going to need a nap.”
“I like the sound of that,” Bill said with a naughty smirk playing on his lips. “Maybe I’ll join you.” He dragged his fingers across the silver lamé fabric of her one-piece suit. “Your sexy new suit is turning me on, but I’d rather see what’s underneath.”
“That’s not such a good idea with the kids due back soon. In case you haven’t noticed, Cooper and Sean are watching us like private investigators on a stakeout. They are hoping you’ll move out of your study and back into our bedroom with me.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” He sat up in his lounge chair, raring to go.
“We can’t afford to get it wrong this time, Bill. My emotional well-being can’t take it. And it’s not fair to the boys. This time it has to be for keeps. I’m willing to admit that our relationship got into trouble because of me, because of my midlife crisis, for lack of a more sophisticated way of describing my career mental breakdown. But I’m having a hard time coming to terms with your affair.”
“I understand.” He rolled his head to the side to look at her. “But, just so you know, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. I’m all the way in, Jack. You let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll book a second honeymoon for us to Nantucket or Sea Island or Tahiti, if that’s where you want to go. When the time is right, we’ll send a clear message to Cooper and Sean that their parents are back and better than ever.”
Jackie pulled her oversized sunglasses off her nose and peered at her husband. “You sound awfully sure of yourself.”
He puffed out his chest. “That’s because I’m confident you’ll eventually succumb to my charms. If I were a betting man, I’d play the odds that it happens this summer.”
She fished a lime out of her drink and threw it at him. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Damn straight. That’s why you love me so much,” he said as he tossed the lime wedge in the water.
She settled deep in her lounge chair. “A long weekend at the Cloister does sound nice right about now.” She sipped her mojito thinking about candlelit dinners and long nights of making love—until reality brought her fantasy to a screeching halt. “On second thought, I don’t see how we can leave our three teenagers here alone.”
“We can get Eli to house-sit,” Bill suggested. “The boys wouldn’t dare misbehave with a police officer on duty.”
The vision of Big Mo breaking up a teenage beer bash popped into Jackie’s mind—the nearly three-hundred-pound former college football player tossing one boy over his left shoulder and wrestling another to the ground. “Better yet, we could hire Moses. I’d feel safe having a linebacker around.”
Jackie and Bill waved to friends cruising by in front of their dock, towing their two young daughters on a tube behind the boat. “Seems like just yesterday we were pulling Cooper and Sean on skis and tubes, nearly anything that floats,” Bill said.
“Where did all the years go?” The girls’ toothless grins reminded Jackie of her own freckle-faced little boys, their eyes so full of wonder at every new discovery.
They watched the boat round the bend out of sight. “It’s hard to believe our boys are entering their senior year of high school,” Bill said. “I’d hoped we could spend some quality family time together this summer, that you might cut back on your schedule like we talked about.”
“That’s the plan.” Jackie removed her sunglasses and closed her eyes against the bright sun. “If I work Monday through Wednesday, I’ll be away from home only two nights during the week. With your Fridays free, we will have long weekends together.”
While she wanted to spend time with her boys before they flew the coop for good, Jackie had mixed emotions about not working 24/7 at this crucial stage in her company’s development. How much did her sons really need her anyway? As twins, they’d always counted on each other for support. She provided food, clean clothes, and spending money. They were self-sufficient beyond that. Besides, they were so absorbed in their own goings-on they barely even acknowledged her presence. At least most of the time. And she was fine with that. It set her free to pursue her own goals.
“I’m sure the two designers I hired, Lexie and Cecilia, can handle most of the work in my absence. But I have two new clients who will need kid-glove treatment. When I’m finished, their homes will be worthy of a magazine. I’m counting on those two projects to launch my career into the next decade.”
“I take it things are going well for JSH Designs.”
“So far so good,” Jackie said with crossed fingers. “The biggest challenge we face right now is finding office space. We’ve outgrown the carriage house.”
“Sounds to me like a good problem to have.”
“It is. And honestly, I’m not sure how Clara feels about having my clients traipsing all over her property. You wouldn’t believe how nosy some of these women are. I’ve seen them walk right up on Clara’s side porch and peek in the window of her dining room. I don’t blame my clients for being tempted by her gorgeous home, but they should show some respect. Poor woman’s not getting any younger.”
“How is Clara, by the way? Has she taken anymore falls?” Bill had only met Clara once, when he was helping Jackie move some of her things into the carriage house, but they’d hit it off immediately.
“Yes, two more that I know about. Luckily she didn’t break any bones. I’m scared to death I’m going to find her splayed out at the bottom of the stairs one morning. She’s considering moving to a retirement community. I would miss her, but I think it’s probably time.” Jackie chewed on the earpiece of her sunglasses as she envisioned the improvements she would make to Clara’s house, a Georgian that dated back to before the Civil War. “I would love to get my hands on that house. Talk about a renovation project. I could really showcase my work.”
“What would you do with the house once the renovations were complete?”
“That’s a good question. I hadn’t really thought that
far ahead. Sell it, I guess.”
“Or we could keep it for ourselves.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious?”
“Sure, why not? I’m thinking about cutting back on my hours after the boys leave for college. I would love to spend the time in Charleston with you.”
“Oh, Bill, really? That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“If you’ll give me a chance, I’m full of good ideas on ways we can spend our golden years together.”
She winked at him. “If you keep this up, you’ll win me back before the week is over.”
Pouring another round, they sipped mojitos while daydreaming about the future. They’d drifted off to sleep when the kids returned sometime later. Cooper maneuvered the boat into the slip while Sean prepared the lines. Annie sat on the bow like their hood ornament, waving as though riding on a float in a parade.
Once the boat was tied up, Sean dropped a large cooler on the dock and opened the lid. “Check this out,” he said to his parents. The cooler was filled to the top with doormat-sized flounder.
“Wow.” Jackie got off the lounge chair and walked over to the cooler. “Looks like Sam will be offering a flounder special this week at Sweeney’s.”
Bill joined her beside the cooler. There is some serious meat on this sucker,” he said, lifting the top fish. “I say we fry him up for dinner.” He lay the fish back down. “So, who won the tournament?”
Sean, the more competitive of the twins, said, “We haven’t decided whether to judge based on combined weight or number of fish caught per fisherman.”
Annie stepped off the boat and play-punched Sean in the arm. “He refuses to admit that his brother caught the most and the biggest.”
Judging from the way the twins squirmed, Jackie got the impression Annie had out-fished both of them.
Sean closed the lid to the cooler. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m hot as hell. I’m declaring it family swim time.” Before she could protest, he scooped his mother up and dropped her off the side of the dock into the water.
Jackie disappeared for a few seconds, and then popped back out of the water, coming to rest on her back. “I would punish you for that, young man, if the water didn’t feel so good. Why don’t y’all get the tubes out of the garage and join me?”
The three teenagers dashed up to the house and returned with inner tubes, floats, and a paddleboard. They all claimed their rig of choice, and for the next hour, they floated downstream and then paddled back up. Annie ruled the paddleboard when the kids played King of the Mountain. No matter how hard Cooper and Sean fought, they couldn’t dethrone her.
Jackie sensed Annie Dawn was the type of girl who accomplished everything well and with ease—an observation that fascinated her as much as it scared the hell out of her.
Eight
Sam
Pouring rain drove vacationers off the beach on Monday. They came to town for what limited shopping Prospect offered. Typically their slowest day, Sweeney’s Seafood Market was mobbed with customers from the moment they opened at ten o’clock that morning. Stretching their resources even further, Sweeney’s cook Roberto and his right-hand gal Sabrina had come down with a horrible case of the stomach flu. Jamie readily volunteered for kitchen detail, anxious to be away from his mother whom he’d been avoiding since her breakup with Eli. He’d been preparing Sweeney’s signature shrimp salad since they arrived at the market at eight. Containers were flying out of the door as quickly as they could restock the shelves.
All hands on deck were needed in the showroom. Sam hated to see Faith go, but her sister needed to leave by noon in order to pick Bitsy up at the farm, drop Annie back by the market, and still make it to her standing appointment with Moses by one o’clock.
“I hate to leave you and Mama alone,” Faith said, casting a nervous glance around the crowded showroom. “Why don’t I call Mike and see if he is free to take Bitsy to her appointment?”
“You should be the one to take Bitsy,” Sam said. “Just be sure to drop Annie off on your way. Surely she’ll be of some use around here.”
“You can put her to work in the kitchen with Jamie,” Faith said, slipping on her raincoat. “Anybody can cut up shrimp.”
Sam noticed the floor by the front door was slippery again from the customers’ wet feet. “If nothing else, she can mop the floor.” When the lights blinked, Sam cast her eyes to the ceiling. “The last thing we need is for the power to go out. I can’t remember hearing the generator run its weekly test recently.”
“Now that I think about it, neither can I. I’ll call the electrician in the morning, and get them to come check it out.” Faith pushed the front door open a crack. “Of course that won’t do you any good if the power goes out this afternoon.”
“Stop worrying about us, and go pick up your daughter.” Sam gave her sister a gentle shove. “I’ll call the electrician if we need him.”
Annie arrived thirty minutes later, and Sam was relieved to see the girl had not only cleaned herself up but was wearing khaki shorts like she’d ask her to.
“Here.” Sam tossed her a green polo shirt with the Sweeney’s logo on the front. “Put this on. There’s a bathroom in the kitchen. Come back once you’ve changed and we’ll find something for you to do.” When fifteen minutes passed and the girl hadn’t returned, Sam went to the kitchen to check on her. She stopped short at the sight of Annie wrestling live crabs to a steamer pot on the stove.
“Shame on you boys for letting a woman do a man’s job,” Sam said to the twins and Jamie who stood by watching Annie do all the work.
Sean shook his head in amazement. “I hate to say it, but she’s doing a much better job than we could ever do.”
Sam inspected the buckets of crabs lined up beside the back door. “That’s quite a haul.” She gave a thumbs-up to Cooper and Sean. “And none too soon considering we are down to our last dozen. I’m sorry you had to go out in this weather to bring them in.”
Cooper shook the rain from his copper hair like a wet dog. “A little rain never hurt anyone.”
“Check this out, Aunt Sam.” Sean opened the lid on a large Yeti cooler. “All cleaned and ready for you.”
Sam gaped. “There’s enough flounder in there to feed the whole Lowcountry.” She grinned up at the twins. “I’m giving the two of you a raise.”
When a fresh crop of customers entered the market, Sam gave instructions to Annie and Jamie on the tasks that needed completing before she returned to the front to help her mother. The Sweeney’s crew worked nonstop for the next several hours. Much to Sam’s satisfaction, Annie jumped right in, seeming to know by instinct what needed to be done without being told. Sam and Lovie filled orders and provided cooking tips while Jamie and Annie kept the shelves stocked with the food they prepared. Even Cooper and Sean pitched in to help by slicing and dicing vegetables for the white gazpacho that had become increasingly popular with their customers in recent years.
A thunderstorm moved through the area around three o’clock, producing the first lull in business they’d had all day. Sam and Lovie used the time to straighten up the showroom. “Please tell me Mack isn’t out in the ocean in this weather,” Sam said when lightning lit up the dark sky and a rumble of thunder vibrated the building.
“Goodness, no.” Lovie sprayed Windex on the glass of the raw seafood display unit. “He’s lying on the sofa at my house watching television. I’m worried about him. He won’t admit it, but he’s been feeling kinda poorly lately.”
Sam wrung her mop out and looked up at her mother. “I noticed he seemed out of sorts at the wedding the other night. Do you think he should see a doctor?”
“Yes, I do. But that old man is as stubborn as your father was when it comes to doctors and hospitals.”
“If he’s not better in a few days, Faith can ask Mike to talk to him about the importance of routine checkups.”
The streets outside the market suddenly came to life with flashing lights and blaring sirens.
Sam and Lovie moved to the front window to watch the police cars, fire trucks, and rescue vehicles flying by.
“I wonder what on earth is going on,” Lovie said.
“With this storm, I imagine a house got struck by lightning. I hope it wasn’t mine.”
During the next half hour, when the storm died down and customers began to trickle back in, Sam overheard snippets of conversation, enough to piece together that a hostage situation was taking place at an area business down the street. A few minutes before four, when she noticed Mack come through the front door, she knew something was terribly wrong by his pursed lips and the deep lines etched in his forehead. He removed his Inlet View Marina cap from his head and stood off to the side, out of the way of the customers.
Her stomach twisting in knots, Sam finished wrapping up eight pounds of flounder for an older couple who was planning a fish fry for their children and grandchildren the following day. Once she’d completed the sale, she crossed the showroom to him. “What’s wrong?”
Mack stared down at the cap he held tight in his hands. “Uh… I don’t really know how to say this.”
Jamie came out of the back to greet Mack, who seemed relieved at the interruption.
Sam tugged on Mack’s T-shirt. “You’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I received a call from a buddy of mine who works as a security guard at the bank. He’s not on duty today, but he received a report from a coworker that two men bungled a robbery attempt and are holding a hostage in the vault. According to my friend, that hostage is Eli.”
Nine
Sam
Sam felt her blood run cold as she collapsed against her son. “Please, God, no. Not Eli.”
Jamie wrapped his arm around her for support. “He’s gonna be fine, Mom. Eli is smart. He’ll know how to handle the situation.”
Sam’s heart began to race. “I need to get over there, to that bank.”
Lowcountry Stranger Page 5
