Girls of Summer (Shelter Rock Cove - Book #2)

by Barbara Bretton

  A lot of time had passed since those long-ago summers with Ellen and Mary Pat. She hadn’t realized just how much until now. The Ellen she once knew was long gone, vanished the same as the girl who had dreamed about bumming around Europe and becoming a star. They had nothing in common except Billy O’Brien and a few old memories that were growing older by the day.

  But what the hell. Despite her practical nature, Ellen was a soft touch when it came to kids and animals. When Deirdre explained the situation, Ellen was bound to suggest Stanley stay there with her until the gig in Bar Harbor ended. And if she didn’t—well, Deirdre would jump off that bridge when she came to it.

  * * *

  Everyone in Shelter Rock Cove agreed that Hall loved his four daughters. His reputation as a doting father had been secured years ago when Kate gave him a buzz cut one afternoon while he napped on the back porch, and he shrugged it off and didn’t even resort to wearing a Red Sox cap until it grew out.

  On days like this, however, even his renowned stores of paternal patience began to wear thin. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was older or that his two youngest daughters were more skilled at pushing his buttons, but whatever the reason, he was on the verge of grounding them for life.

  “Willa! Mariah! If you two don’t stop whatever you’re doing back there, you can forget about the Ice Cream Palace.”

  “We’re breathing,” Mariah said with one of those strangled giggles he had come to recognize as pure trouble. “You want us to stop breathing?”

  “We’re sitting,” Willa said, her words practically lost in her laughter. “You want us to stop sitting?”

  He shot them a look through the rearview mirror. The two little girls, who seemed to be growing up right before his eyes, were collapsed into giggling blond heaps. He loved them. He would give his life for them.

  And they were driving him nuts.

  “We don’t want to go to Dr. Ellen’s house,” Mariah announced.

  “Yeah,” said Willa. “We’re hungry. Can we go to the Ice Cream Palace right now?”

  “No, we can’t. We’re going to stop by Dr. Ellen’s new house for a few minutes, then we’re going to Cappy’s for supper.”

  Mariah shrieked in protest. “But you said we could go to the Ice Cream—”

  “After supper.”

  “That’s not fair,” Willa said. “You promised!”

  A new chorus of wails erupted from the backseat, reminding him that, as bad as this was, it would only get worse because adolescence wasn’t far away. No wonder Yvonne asked him if he could take the girls for a few days. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she had begged her boss to send her on that field trip to Providence. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have sent the girls to Providence and locked the doors behind them.

  “Settle down,” he said as they turned onto the street where the Galloway family had once lived. “I expect you two to behave yourselves while we’re visiting Dr. Ellen.”

  More giggles, but slightly subdued. He was crazy enough to consider that progress.

  Good thing they weren’t old enough to ask him why he was dragging them over to Ellen’s new place, because he still hadn’t come up with a reason. At least not one that wasn’t as phony and transparent as hell. He needed to see her. He needed to prove to her that the damage he had done to their friendship wasn’t irreparable. The house was bound to be swarming with people—residents of Shelter Rock Cove loved group projects like moving day and yard sales—and his presence would be a lot less gossip-worthy with Willa and Mariah by his side.

  Shameless manipulation? Damn right. They had to pick up where they had left off and do it as soon as possible or the gossips really would have a field day with the evidence they had gathered. Right now they would be far more interested in Ellen’s mystery sister, who had managed to get herself arrested her first morning in town. As far as he was concerned, that kind of news beat the hell out of a sleepover any day.

  The Galloway house dominated the hill overlooking the beach. Around 1898 a wealthy shipbuilder named George Laidlaw purchased the hill and the surrounding land, then set out to construct a compound of houses for his children and their children. He had managed to oversee the completion of the main house, a quirky Queen Anne with gingerbread trim and turrets, and was set to commence work on the second when influenza claimed him and his beloved wife, Edna. Their children fought bitterly over the properties, and ultimately the land and the house fell into the hands of creditors who ended up dividing the property into smaller parcels.

  By the time the Galloways came along in the 1950s, Laidlaw Road boasted six houses and arguably some of the best views of the ocean in the area. The Laidlaw house soon became known as the Galloway place as Claudia and John began to fill the empty rooms with the laughter of children. Before long the children brought their friends home, and the Galloways’ place became a second home to half the kids in town.

  Hall was one of them. The family had welcomed him into their midst as one of Susan’s friends, and then before long he was part of the clan. Or at least it had felt that way to him. For all of her faults, Claudia had an unerring instinct for lost souls, and she recognized in him the need for family.

  The years passed. The kids grew up and moved out. John Galloway died and Claudia held on to the house as the next generation, in the form of grandchildren, once again filled the rooms with laughter. But not even Claudia could hold on to the past forever, and now the house belonged to Ellen.

  The driveway was jammed with cars. He recognized Annie and Sam’s minivan. Sweeney’s Harley. Two rescue vehicles. One police car. A slew of Buicks and Chryslers. The residents of Shelter Rock Cove believed many hands made light work of just about any job that came along. Ellen had been part of the town for only a little more than three years. It usually took ten or more before a newcomer was accepted. This display of affection was proof positive that they considered her a keeper.

  “Daddy! Look!” Willa screamed from the backseat. “A dog!”

  He parked at the end of the driveway and turned off the engine as a woolly mammoth galloped across the yard toward them. His first instinct was to lock the doors and pray, but his daughters had other ideas.

  “Stay put,” he ordered them as Mariah reached for the door handle. “You’re not to get out of this car until I tell you.” Another reason to thank Detroit for remote door locks.

  He opened the door and stepped out as a small red-haired woman rounded the corner of the house. Her skirts billowed as she ran; her long curly hair seemed to do the same. She was shorter than Ellen and more voluptuous, but there wasn’t the slightest doubt that this was her sister.

  “Stanley!” she called and the giant dog screeched to a stop a few feet away from him. “Sit down! Good dog! Good boy!”

  Stanley sat down on the grass, and his tail, which was easily the size of a small child, thumped the ground wildly as they both watched the woman approach.

  “Isn’t he wonderful!” she exclaimed as she gave the dog a huge hug. “What a good, obedient boy you are, Stanley!”

  Hall laughed and gestured toward his car. “Maybe he can give lessons to my kids.”

  The woman looked up at him—she had wonderful blue eyes, dark and expressive—and smiled a very Ellen smile. “He’s great with kids. Feel free to spring them. Just ask them to go slow at first until he picks up their vibe.”

  He tried to imagine Ellen saying “picks up their vibe,” but the thought made him laugh again. “I’m Hall Talbot,” he said, extending his right hand. “Ellen’s partner.”

  “Deirdre O’Brien,” she said, clasping his hand. “The sister she never talks about.”

  “I’d know you anywhere.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t know you,” she said, flashing that Ellen smile. “She told me you were brilliant and that you liked to get married a lot, but somehow she forgot to tell me you were gorgeous.”

  “Let’s go up to the house and give her hell,” he said as Deirdre tossed ba
ck her head and laughed one of those great full-bodied laughs most women managed to suppress.

  “I think you should spring your kids first,” she said, waving at the two little faces pressed against the window. “Stanley would love to play with someone his own size.”

  His girls loved her instantly, almost as much as they loved Stanley. They managed to curb their enthusiasm long enough to allow the dog to sniff their hands and process the scent, then they fell on him like he was their long-lost canine brother.

  “He’s a great dog,” Hall said as they started up the walkway toward the front door with the girls and Stanley right behind them. “What kind is he?”

  “What kind isn’t he?” Deirdre shot back. “The woman at the shelter figured Great Dane, maybe a little Newfie and Bernese mountain thrown in for good measure.”

  “How old?”

  “Maybe two or three. He’s had a tough life. People don’t know what they’re getting into when they take one of these big guys home. That’s why so many of them end up back at the shelter.”

  “That’s where you found him?”

  She nodded. “In western Pennsylvania. He was down to his last two days. I’ve always been a sucker for a hard-luck story, so...” She shrugged. “You know how it is.”

  “Your sister’s the same way.”

  “That, my dear Dr. Talbot, is exactly what I’m counting on.”

  She didn’t explain and he didn’t ask. Actually he would have liked to ask, but it really wasn’t any of his business what went on between the O’Brien sisters. Or were they the Markowitz sisters? And didn’t she say there was a third one out there somewhere? Where did they come from and why hadn’t Ellen ever mentioned them before?

  Come to think of it, there were a hell of a lot of questions he’d like to ask of the woman he had once believed had no secrets at all.

  Ch apter Eight

  Not long after she moved to Shelter Rock Cove, Ellen dreamed she was at a cocktail party. Everyone she knew in town was there. The men were garbed head to toe in Armani, while the women dazzled in Versace and Chanel. Except for Ellen, who happened to be stark naked, sipping a Cosmo and trying very hard to escape notice.

  Which pretty much summed up the way she felt when Deirdre burst through the door with Hall Talbot in tow and announced, “Where have you being hiding him, El?”

  Conversation in the room stopped dead, and suddenly it was her dream all over again as everyone turned to gauge her reaction. It wasn’t a cocktail party and nobody there was wearing Armani, but she felt naked just the same. She rarely found herself at a loss in social situations, but what on earth was the proper response when everyone in town knew you had slept with their favorite son? The guy who loved somebody else.

  Bless Stanley’s impeccable timing. He pushed past Hall and Deirdre and bounded into the room, followed by Mariah and Willa Talbot, who looked like small blond whirlwinds. Deirdre, of course, was oblivious. She didn’t understand small towns and, thank God, hadn’t a clue what had happened between Ellen and Hall last night.

  Ellen knew she couldn’t blame her friends for what they were thinking as their gazes bounced between Hall and herself. She would be thinking it, too, if the shoe was on some foot other than her own size 8AA.

  Stanley thundered by, nearly knocking her off balance with an enthusiastic wag of his tail. He was followed by Hall’s daughters, who waved to her as they raced in hot pursuit. The silence deepened and she knew that if she didn’t do something—and fast—she would only make things worse.

  Plastering a big smile on her face, she waved at Hall, then motioned to Deirdre. “Scott called,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You left your harp in your car.”

  Deirdre grabbed Hall by the hand and pulled him over to the bottom of the staircase, where Ellen was standing.

  “Let me borrow your wheels,” Deirdre said to Ellen, “and I’ll drive over to pick it up. I think he has my wallet too.”

  “He’s bringing it over,” Ellen said, trying very hard to act casual. “He’ll probably bring your wallet with the harp.”

  “Geez!” Deirdre dragged a hand through her mane of curls. “You wouldn’t think anyone could lose a harp, would you?”

  Hall’s left eyebrow lifted just enough for Ellen to notice, and some of that naked-among-the-Armani feeling started to fade. She wouldn’t have to explain Deirdre to him after all. He was already beginning to figure her out for himself.

  Deirdre dashed off toward the kitchen.

  “She’s a musician,” Ellen said.

  Hall nodded. “That explains a lot.”

  “She never met an impulse she didn’t follow.”

  “Unlike us scientific types.”

  “Don’t start. The last thing I want is to—”

  He grabbed her hand and started for the side door that led into Claudia’s old vegetable garden.

  “Hall.” She considered literally digging in her heels, but from the look in his eyes, he just might toss her over his shoulder and the entire population of Shelter Rock Cove would need simultaneous defibrillation. “This will only make things worse.”

  He ignored her and she had no choice but to keep that stupid smile plastered on her face and act like this was business as usual.

  “You fool!” she exploded as soon as they were alone in the garden. “Didn’t we give them enough to talk about last night?”

  “If you keep on avoiding me, they’ll never stop talking.”

  “I’ll bet they don’t think we’re just talking out here.”

  “And they’d be wrong,” he said. “In fact, I just saw Sweeney watching us from the window. They’ll have a full report before I finish this sentence.”

  “See? It’s a nightmare. Every single one of them thinks we slept together last night.”

  “We did,” he said.

  “I don’t want them to know that.”

  “Regrets?”

  “Of course I have regrets. I don’t know what I was thinking last night. I wish—” She stopped. “Damn it, Hall. You know what I’m saying.”

  “You think I don’t have a regret or two about what happened?”

  “I know all about your regrets.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I think I do.”

  “You think I was wishing you were Annie.”

  “That’s exactly what I think.”

  “Despite what happened, you were the only woman in my bed last night, Ellen. If you believe nothing else I’ve ever said to you, I want you to believe that.”

  “What difference does it make?” She met his eyes. “It was a one-night mistake. We were lonely. We had a little too much to drink. We’re good friends who took it too far. It won’t happen again.”

  “Would it be so terrible if it did?”

  “Terrible? No, it wouldn’t be terrible, Hall, it would be disastrous. It would be the end of my career in Shelter Rock. I’ve spent over three years building a reputation for myself, and I came close to destroying everything last night.”

  “I didn’t know I had that kind of power.”

  He sounded hurt, angry, and bewildered simultaneously. The combination was almost her undoing, but she held tough. “You don’t,” she said, not unkindly, “but I’m trying to build that kind of power with the young girls in this town. You saw them inside, Hall. They’re starting to look up to me.”

  “And that means you have to join a convent.”

  “Of course not. But it does mean I have to take some responsibility for the choices I make.”

  “So let me get this straight: It isn’t that we slept together, it’s that you left your Cruiser in my driveway.”

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “I’m not sure I do.”

  “You’ve heard me talking with the girls at the health center workshops. I tell them to be careful, to exercise restraint whenever possible, to try to think with their heads and not their hormones, and then I go and do exactly the opposite and leav
e a trail of breadcrumbs behind.”

  He was quiet longer than was comfortable.

  “You’re right,” he said at last.

  “About what?”

  “Everything. We made a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

  She felt disoriented. What had happened to the high drama of a few moments ago when he grabbed her hand and dragged her out into the vegetable garden? She opened her mouth to protest, then caught herself. He agreed with everything she said. They were on the same page. Too bad if it didn’t make her feel quite the way she had expected it would.

  Too bad about the whole damn thing.

  * * *

  Susan and Annie were sitting on the kitchen counter nibbling on tiny egg rolls some kind soul had brought to the housewarming.

  “She’s going to need furniture,” Susan said, looking out toward the front room.

  “Lots of furniture,” Annie said. “It’s a great house, but I’m not so sure it’s the right one for her.”

  “Wash your mouth out. I haven’t deposited my commission check yet.”

  Annie laughed and popped another egg roll in her mouth. “It’s just that this is such a family house. I can’t imagine how she’ll feel, all alone in this big place.”

  “It’s not like she’s home all that much,” Susan said. “Hall says she just about eats, sleeps, and breathes her job.”

  “You won’t hear any complaints from me,” Annie said. “She’s a wonderful doctor.”

  Susan tilted her head toward the vegetable garden. “So what do you think is going on out there?”

  Annie sighed deeply. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were—”

  “No!” Susan winced at the fierce sound of her own voice. “I mean, I can’t imagine the two of them together.”

  “They work well together.”

  “That’s different. She isn’t his type at all.”