At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) (28 page)

“This is so lame,” Megan said with a sigh. “I have better things to do today.”

“You’re making your dad happy.”

“I don’t know why,” she said with complete bemusement.

Isabella smiled to herself. “Maybe because he’s your dad. He is trying, Megan.”

Megan shrugged. “Did you do any father-daughter stuff with your dad?”

“Not much,” she admitted. “At least, nothing that was just the two of us. Some other sibling of mine was always involved—usually Teresa. She had our dad wrapped around her little finger, knew just what to say or do to get her way. I was in awe of her manipulative power. Now she works it on her husband,” she added with a laugh. “And he seems to love it.”

Megan scooped up a handful of sand and let it drift through her fingers.

“Is everything okay?” Isabella asked, a little concerned by Megan’s quiet.

Megan didn’t answer right away, then turned her head and said, “I don’t know what he wants from me.”

“Are we talking about your father or the kid you were with yesterday?”

“I know what Will wants from me—sex,” she said bluntly. “But him . . .” She tipped her head toward Nick, who was talking to Tory. “I don’t get him. He wants nothing to do with me for most of my life, and then he suddenly wants to be my best friend.”

“And you can’t trust that he’s sincere. I understand.”

Megan turned her gaze back toward the ocean. “He’ll disappear like he did before. It’s only a matter of time.”

Despite Megan’s fatalistic statement, Isabella sensed that was the last thing she wanted to happen. “I don’t think Nick is going anywhere, no matter how much you test him. You’re his first priority. He might not deserve a second chance, but what do you have to lose? You might be surprised.”

“I’d be shocked,” Megan said cynically. “You’re really an optimist, aren’t you?”

“Not always, but in this case, I think there’s a good chance that you and your father are going to find a way to make things work. Because you both want that to happen.”

“We’ll see.”

Isabella looked up as Nick returned, kicking up sand with his bare feet. “Is Tory all right?” she asked.

“She’s just stressed out with everything going on in her life.” He grabbed a shovel. “Megan, look alive.” When she glanced up, he tossed it to her.

She reluctantly caught it with a roll of her eyes. “Couldn’t you at least get shovels that weren’t fucking pink?”

He laughed. “Hey, you look better with it than I do. So what do you think—should we go for the classic castle with the moat? Turrets, drawbridges, that kind of thing?”

Megan gave him an amazed look. “Yeah, right. Like you can do that.”

“Oh, I can do it,” he said confidently. “We’re going to win that trophy. No one here will be able to touch us.”

“I don’t care about a stupid trophy.”

“How about if we win, I let you drive me down to Montgomery next weekend?”

Megan’s eyes lit up. “Now you’re talking.”

The mayor got on a bullhorn, announcing the start of the competition, which would last for sixty minutes. At the end of that time, a winner would be chosen by a panel of judges.

Megan got to her feet. “What do you want me to do?”

“Take the bucket and fill it with wet sand,” Nick instructed. “I’ll start digging,” he said, falling to his knees.

“Looks like more mud in your future,” Isabella told him as Megan rolled up the legs of her jeans and ran down to the water’s edge.

He grinned back at her. “I might need another shower later. You interested?”

Her cheeks warmed. “Hush, your daughter is nearby.”

“I doubt I could shock her. You wouldn’t believe the things that come out of her mouth. I don’t think her mother was giving her much supervision the last few years.”

“I don’t think she was getting much of anything the last few years. This was a good idea. Maybe building a sand castle will be the first step in rebuilding your family,” she suggested.

“I’d be happy if it just turned out to be a sand castle. I’m trying to make realistic goals so I can meet them. I can’t let myself get derailed.”

“That must be my cue to leave.”

His eyes darkened. “The last thing I want, but—”

“But this is your time with Megan. I get it.”

Megan returned, but instead of dumping the bucket full of wet sand into the hole Nick had created, she let it fly on his head, a smile of pure wicked pleasure on her face.

Nick sputtered as Isabella burst out laughing.

“Oops,” Megan said. “Missed. I’d better get some more.” She dashed away as Nick wiped the mud from his eyes.

“Have fun,” Isabella said with a grin, jumping back quickly as he tossed a handful of mud in her direction. “I’ll see you later.”

As she walked down the beach, she caught up with Tory again, who had paused to talk to another friend. “You didn’t get far.”

“Mr. Walker wants to try out for the play,” Tory said, tipping her head toward the fat, balding, middle-aged man walking away. “He tries out every single year, and he’s terrible, but he’s convinced he’s a star waiting to be born.”

“It must be difficult, turning away your friends.”

“We try to find small parts or backstage jobs whenever we can for the locals,” Tory said, falling into step with her. “It truly makes it a community production, and then everyone tells their friends to come, and we sell more tickets.” She paused. “I’m going to get some coffee. Do you want to join me?”

“I’d love to.”

“Great.” Tory cast Isabella a sly look. “And on the way, you can tell me what’s going on between you and my brother.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Isabella said with as much innocence as she could muster.

Tory laughed. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

“Who’s the most special baby in the world?” Charlotte asked the little boy who was kicking his legs at her as she finished changing his diaper. “You are, in case you didn’t know. You are the cutest little boy ever.” The baby almost seemed to smile. “So not as much crying today, okay? We have to work as a team.” The baby’s eyes drifted closed. “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t paying any attention to me?”

She felt a little silly having a conversation with a newborn, but there was no one else around, and she was feeling restless. In her pre-babysitting life, she’d kept a busy schedule with work, and jogging, and keeping up with friends, but since this little boy’s arrival, she’d spent a lot of time in the house. The beautiful sunny day was beckoning to her, but her mother had gone to church and also had lunch plans, so she was on her own for a while. Getting outside would have to wait.

“You need a name,” she told him, “but I’m afraid to give you one. I wouldn’t want to confuse you if your mom comes back and wants to change it.”

She hated that she’d thought in terms of
if
Annie came back rather than
when.

The sound of her doorbell brought relief. Someone she could talk to who might actually talk back. She picked up the baby and went to answer the door.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Joe on the porch. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, looking even sexier than usual, and a little jolt of electricity ran down her spine.

“Hello, Charlotte,” he said. “I wanted to update you on our search this morning.”

Judging by his tone, it wasn’t particularly good news.

“It’s not bad,” he said quickly, obviously reading the worry in her eyes. “It’s nothing. We found no trace of Annie or her father. We’re going to widen the search area tomorrow.”

She let out a sigh. “I guess no news is better than bad. Do you want to come in?”

“Is Andrew still here?”

“No, he’s at the church,” she said, leading him into the living room.

“But he slept here, right?”

“On the couch,” she said, meeting his gaze.

“Your mother likes him, doesn’t she?”

“She’s over the moon about him. He’s a minister, and she’d love to see me follow in her footsteps. You should have seen the sparkle in her eyes when she first came in last night and saw him.” She put the baby in his car seat on the coffee table and sat on the couch. “I know Andrew has gotten in your way on this case, but his heart is in the right place. He’s not a bad guy.”

“Sounds like you’re back on Team Andrew,” he said, sitting down across from her.

“What team should I be on?” she asked, feeling a little reckless. Joe flirted with her, but he always pulled back.

Joe drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “We should drop this.”

“You started it,” she reminded him.

“It was a bad idea. You and Andrew have a history.”

“We do,” she agreed. She hesitated for a moment. “I told Andrew about my teenage pregnancy last night. We were talking about Annie’s baby and my stepping into this instant but temporary motherhood, and it just came out. I’d been thinking about telling him ever since he got back, but I wasn’t sure it was worth getting into after all this time.”

“How did he take it?” Joe asked.

“He was shocked and angry that I didn’t tell him when it happened. Not that it mattered in the long run.”

“Does Andrew know you told me?”

She shook her head.

“Why did you tell me before him?” Joe asked curiously.

“You’re easy to talk to. You don’t judge me—and I’m not used to that. My parents had such high expectations, and with Andrew a minister, I can’t help but feel I’m going to fall short with him, too. Yet I don’t want to pretend to be someone I’m not.”

She paused. “What I didn’t tell you before is that I was never sure if it was Andrew’s baby. I also had a one-night stand, or better described as a five-minute stand, when I was really drunk and depressed. So that’s all of it—though I’m sure you’re not at all interested.”

“You know I’m interested, Charlotte.”

She shifted uncomfortably at the intensity in his eyes and tried to lighten the mood. “These sleepless nights are making me really talkative. I was chatting to the baby earlier, and he dozed off in the middle of my sparkling wit.”

Joe smiled. “I can’t imagine how he could do that.”

She smiled back. “Shocking, I know.”

Silence fell between them, and it wasn’t as comfortable as she would have liked. She wasn’t very good at reading Joe. He’d had a lot of practice not revealing his emotions, which she imagined made him a good cop, but it also made him difficult to get to know.

“So you and Andrew are good?” he asked.

“I think so. I gave him a lot to think about, but ultimately, my keeping it a secret didn’t really affect him. If anything, I saved him from three months of worrying about what to do.”

“Why did you save him from that?” Joe asked.

“Because of the other guy. I was ashamed, hurt, angry.” She let out a sigh. “I was so messed up. Part of me just wanted the pregnancy to go away. But then, when it did, I felt guilty, as if wishing it had made it happen.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Logically, yes. But my heart has never been as convinced.”

“From what you’ve told me, Andrew didn’t treat you very well in high school. Is that what’s holding you back with him now?”

“Partially.” The other part was her interest in Joe.

He gave her a thoughtful look.

“What?” she prodded. “What are you thinking?”

“I was wondering how well you know Andrew. You didn’t see him for more than ten years, right? What was he doing all that time?”

“He was going to school for quite a bit of the time. I don’t really know. We haven’t talked about those years much.”

He nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

“What? You think he’s hiding something?”

“Andrew tries a little too hard.”

“It’s difficult to take on the role of spiritual leader for a community that watched you grow up. He’s trying to earn respect. Why do you sound suspicious of him?”

“Sometimes he seems too good to be true,” Joe said simply.

Had Joe picked up on something that she hadn’t? “Are you aware of something specific that you want to share?”

“No, forget I said anything.”

“So, back to Annie,” she said. “I’d like to get out and search for her myself.”

“You’re doing the most important thing, taking care of her baby.”

“I know that’s true, but it doesn’t feel like enough—and I have a case of cabin fever. Do you think it would be all right if I took the baby for a walk in the stroller? I don’t want to put him in any danger.”

“I’m sure you’d be fine, but why don’t I go with you?” he suggested. “It’s a nice day, and I could use a walk, too.”

“You’re on,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’m craving a soy latte with a hazelnut sprinkle. I hope you don’t mind a stop.”

“Not at all,” he said.

She grabbed her bag and snapped the baby seat into the stroller. Then they were ready to go. “I’ve never felt so excited to get out of the house,” she said with a laugh as Joe opened the front door. “This is the baby’s first trip, too, since he came home from the hospital.”

“I hope he doesn’t sleep through it.”

“I’m fine with his sleeping. When he’s awake he can get loud.”

“Isabella used to be like that when she was a baby,” Joe said, following her out onto the porch. “I remember going to sleep with earphones after she was born.”

“How is Isabella liking Angel’s Bay?”

“She’s fitting right in, working at the theater, making friends.”

“Maybe she’ll stay. It would be nice for you to have some family around.”

“It would, but I doubt it will happen. Izzy doesn’t stay anywhere for too long.”

“Why is that?”

A thoughtful look entered his eyes. “You know, I’m not really sure. Her constantly changing plans have always been kind of a family joke, but the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that I don’t know her as well as I thought I did. I was twelve when she was born and out of the house long before she hit high school. I always thought of her as a free spirit with a quirky personality, but there’s a serious side to her, a vulnerability, that I never noticed before.”

“Maybe she hid it,” Charlotte said as they walked down the street.

“Why would she do that?”

“Because we all try to live up to who people think we are. In my family, I was the screw-up. Sometimes I screwed up on purpose, just to be who they thought I was.”