That Thing You Do (Whispering Bay Romance Book 1) (Volume 1) (29 page)

“You’re right. I think Claire has gone off to parts unknown again.”

“Is
she suicidal?” Tom asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have you met your brother?”

“He’s not that bad.”

“Not unless you’ve boinked his sister.”

Allie raised a brow.

“Trust me, the guy would love nothing more than to meet me in a dark alley some night.”

“The thing is…I never told Mimi and Zeke about the other night. Not the boinking,” she clarified
quickly. “Thanks to Madame Gloria the whole town knows about that. But they don’t know about the party at Jordan’s. And before you say anything I know what you’re thinking. I should have told them. It was irresponsible of me. I’d never make it as a parent. I—”

“I wasn’t thinking any of those things,” he said.

Before either of them could say any more, Lauren walked up to them, her usual
cute self. She wore black leggings and a maroon silk top. “Hey!” she said brightly. “I was just about to round up the boys and grab a pizza on the way home.” Upon seeing their expressions, her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to find Claire Grant,” Tom said. “Before Mimi and Zeke find out she’s somewhere she’s not supposed to be.”

“Where do you think she is?” Lauren asked.

“I’m pretty sure she’s at a friend’s house in Grayton Beach,” Allie said. “At least…it’s a place to start looking.”

“How can I help?”

“Just keep this to yourself,” Tom said. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to skip out on the pizza and help Allie track her down.”

“Of course,” Lauren said.

“I know this looks bad,” Allie said. “But Claire’s a good girl.”

“No worries.
Hey, we were all teenagers once, too.” Lauren gave Tom a hug. “See you later.” She gathered the boys and headed out the gym door.

Allie glanced around the now empty gym. “Tom, you don’t have to help me. I mean, there’s no reason for you get involved in all this.”

“Yeah. There is.” And with those three simple words he offered her his hand.

She should turn him down. Not because
she wasn’t grateful for his help but because involving him would mean letting him back into her life. This morning should have been the end. But she was beginning to think that as far as she and Tom were concerned there was never going to be an end between them.

She should take a minute and think about what she was doing. Go over the pros and cons of it all. But she didn’t. In the end, she
simply took his hand.

*~*~*

A
llie gave Zeke and
Mimi a bare bones version of Wednesday night’s activities.

“What do you mean Claire took off from soccer practice to go to a party? And you didn’t tell us?” Zeke shoved a hand through his dark hair. The stadium parking lot was empty except for the four of them. “I know this Jordan kid. The DEA arrested her older brother last year
for selling coke.”

Mimi’s jaw dropped. “Claire is involved with someone who’s selling
cocaine
?”

“No, no, no,” Allie said. “There was some underage drinking involved but no drugs, at least not that I could see.”

“Not that
you
could see? Brilliant,” Zeke shot back.

Allie took a deep breath. She deserved this. Why hadn’t she told Mimi and Zeke the entire story the other night?
How could she be so naïve? “I’ll tell you everything. Later. But right now, let’s just make sure Claire is all right,” she said trying to reason with her brother.

“Look,” Tom said, “let’s not waste time laying blame where it doesn’t belong. I say we break up and go search for her.”

Zeke looked as if he’d forgotten Tom was still there. “Who invited you to the party? This is between
family.
My
family.”

“Tom has offered to help and we’d be stupid to turn him down,” Allie said.

“She’s right, Zeke.” Mimi grabbed the car keys from her purse. “We can sort this out later. We’ll go search the beach and you two go back to this Jordan’s house. See if her mom knows where they are.”

“Good idea,” Tom said.

Zeke didn’t say anything. He climbed into the minivan
and he and Mimi took off.

T
he house in Grayton
Beach was dark with just a few scattered lights visible toward the back of the house. The driveway was empty.

“It doesn’t look like there’s a party here,” Allie said.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Tom said.

True enough.

They made their way up the driveway. It was nearly midnight but despite the late hour Allie had no qualms about ringing the doorbell.
Jordan’s mother looked surprised, but not unpleased to see them. She wore a short black cocktail dress and full makeup. She took one look at Tom and smiled. At least, the parts of her face that weren’t frozen, smiled.

Not nice, Allie.

“Remember
us
?” Allie said.

Tom placed his hand against the small of her back. It was a subtle, intimate gesture that Allie appreciated. Right now
she needed all the support she could get. “Is Claire Grant here?” he asked.

“Is that one of Jordan’s friends? Jordan’s at a football game.”

“The game ended two hours ago,” Tom said.

“You were there? I was going to go, but I had a previous engagement.” She frowned. “Two hours ago? I’m sure the kids are just somewhere having fun.” But from the look on her face it was obvious she
didn’t believe her own words.

“Yeah. I used to have that kind of fun, too, when I was in high school,” Tom said.

For the first time, she looked nervous. “I grounded her after the party the other night and told her she was to come home directly after the game. I called her cell phone a few minutes ago but it went directly to voice mail.”

“That voice mail virus seems to be going
around,” Allie muttered. “Thanks, anyway.”

They went to leave but Jordan’s mom stopped them.  

“If you find her, will you please tell Jordan to come home?”

Despite the woman’s behavior a couple of nights ago, Allie felt sorry for her. “Sure.”

“Where to next?” Tom asked once they were back in the truck.

Allie sunk into her seat. “Honestly? I have no idea. Let me see
if Mimi and Zeke have had any luck.” She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. Unfortunately, Mimi and Zeke weren’t having any better luck than they were.

“I say we try the beach ourselves. It’s dark out and they could have missed her,” Tom said.

They searched in all the usual places. The burger hangout by The Harbor House. The beaches, not only once, but twice. Claire was nowhere
to be found.

Tom pulled his truck onto the side of the road and killed the engine. “I’m all out of ideas here.”

“I’m sorry to have gotten you involved in this. It’s late. You can drop me off at my brother’s anytime.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll show up. It’s not like she’s run away from home.” He stared at her a moment. “Is it?”

“Of course not. But I do think this is Claire’s
last hurrah before she gets grounded for life…and I’m just worried she’d going to do something really stupid.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Allie sighed. “You saw how Zeke reacted back there? He’s a good dad but…I know it sounds irrational but I think he’s trying to make up for the fact that our own dad was a complete slacker. It’s like he’s changed somehow. He’s always so tense and he
and Mimi, well, they’re having marital problems.” She felt a moment’s disloyalty, but it was a relief to finally share it with someone.

“Is that why you didn’t tell Mimi and Zeke about the party the other night?” he asked quietly.

“I’ve never seen them this way before, Tom. It’s like one minute they’re polite strangers and the next…” She shook her head. “I think they’re having
big
problems. Except neither of them wants to own up to it. Teenage drama isn’t helping the situation, you know?”

“And you thought that by keeping it from them, you’d be helping?”

“I thought that Mimi and Zeke were the one couple on this planet who could make it. Don’t you see? If they can’t, then no one can.”

“That’s a lot of pressure for one couple. No relationship is perfect,
Allie.” She got the feeling that he wasn’t just talking about Mimi and Zeke. He started up the truck. “Don’t give up yet. There’s one more place we haven’t checked.”  He eased into the driving lane, then made a sharp U turn.

“Where’s that?” Allie asked. Then she saw the direction he was taking and she didn’t need an answer. They were heading to the last place on earth Allie wanted to revisit.

*~*~*

T
he bridge over the
Choctawhatchee Bay was under construction. At least, part of it was. Being that it was past midnight, however, the construction area was deserted. Tom drove his truck over the bridge toward the mainland. On the left side along the water a lone car sat parked among the sparse grass. Allie swallowed hard. This had been their special place. The place she and Tom
used to make out. The Night of the Great Humiliation Part Two. Did he remember?

“Popular spot,” he muttered.

Of course he remembered.

He parked directly behind the car and turned on his brights. Two heads immediately popped up from the front seat. “Got ‘em.”

“Are you sure it’s Claire in there?” Allie asked.

“Only one way to find out.” Tom got out of his truck. Allie
followed behind.

A tall lanky teenage boy jumped out of the driver’s side of the car. “What the hell’s going on?”  It was the hipster from the Grayton Beach party that Claire had been “drinking” beer with. The boy Claire claimed she hardly knew.
Ha
!

“Claire,” Allie shouted, “come out of that car this instant.”

“What?” Allie heard her niece say. Claire slowly emerged from the
car. Her hair, which had been up in a high ponytail was mussed. She smoothed down her cheerleader skirt and nervously licked her lips. “I can explain,” she began.

“Perfect,” Allie said. “So start explaining on the drive back to your parents’ house.”

“You don’t have to go with them, Claire,” Hipster boy said.

“Oh yes, she does!” Allie opened the truck door wide in invitation.
Luckily, Claire meekly stepped up into the cab. Allie slipped in alongside her niece. She watched from inside the truck as Tom spoke to the boy. Quiet low words that Allie couldn’t make out. The kid shoved his hands into his pockets and hung his head.

“I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to come home after the game, but Mom said I could go to the party—”

“I don’t think
this
is what your
mother had in mind when she gave you permission to go to a party.”

Claire began to sniffle. It might have worked, if Allie hadn’t already been bamboozled by it once before. “Are you going to tell my parents?”

“You better believe I’m going to tell them.”

Claire was too smart to respond to that. She pursed her lips together tightly and craned her neck to see the exchange between
Tom and the boy.

“Who’s your boyfriend?” Allie asked, noticing the hickie on Claire’s neck. “And don’t tell me you hardly know him because it’s obvious the two of you know each other pretty well.”

“His…name’s Adam and he’s a senior. We’ve only been out a couple of times. Mom and Dad don’t know about him.”

“Why not?”

“Dad said if I wanted to have a boyfriend then I had to
bring him to the house to meet him first.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“Yeah. If it was the last century. He probably wants to fingerprint him and run it through the FBI database.”

“Oh, c’mon, Claire.”

Claire crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window with a stony expression. After a couple minutes, Tom came back to the truck. “In case you’re wondering, Adam
is very sorry and won’t take Claire off again without her parents’ permission.”

“Good to know,” Allie said.

Adam lingered by his car like he was reluctant to take off. His gaze kept skittering back to the truck and Allie actually felt a little sorry for him.

“Can I go say goodbye to him?” Claire asked. “It’s the least I can do considering that I’m never going to see him again.”

“Sure, why not?” Allie said.

It was all the encouragement Claire needed. She jumped out of the truck and ran into Adam’s arms.

“It’s like they’re Romeo and Juliet,” Allie muttered.

“Don’t you remember what it was like? Being their age?”

“God, it was…awful.”

“Not all of it.”

Tom was right. First love was painful, but it was also brilliant. It was one of
those bridges you had to cross in life so that you could move on. “True. Not all of it.”

He looked surprised by her admission.

The glare of oncoming headlights made her turn in her seat. A familiar looking blue minivan pulled into the grassy area a few yards away. Claire and Adam immediately jumped away from one another, like the guilty teenagers they were. The minivan had barely stopped
when both Zeke and Mimi came barreling out of the car. Allie and Tom joined them by the water bank.

“I was so worried about you!” Mimi said. She grabbed Claire into a tight hug. “Please tell me you aren’t doing cocaine.”

Claire took a step back, her mouth half open in shock. “
What
? Oh my God. Mom, I’m not on drugs!”

Mimi took Claire’s face between her hands and stared into her
eyes for a moment. “Thank God.”

Zeke took a few seconds to take in the situation. Right now he looked more cop than father, but Allie had a feeling that would be only be temporary. “What’s going on here?”

“We found her with Adam.” Allie nodded in the boy’s direction, “but before you say anything—”

“Here? By the water? Parked in that car?”

“I know it looks bad,” Allie began,
“but they’re just kids, Zeke.”

It took Zeke two long strides to get to Adam. He grabbed the boy by the shirt collar. “What the hell do you think you’re doing with my daughter?”

Tom placed his hand on Zeke’s shoulder. “Calm down, man. Allie’s right. They’re just kids.”

Adam shook himself loose from Zeke’s grasp and scrambled away as far as he could.

Zeke turned to Tom, eyes
blazing. “What the fuck do you know about it? The last time I looked you didn’t have a teenage daughter.”

“I know that you need to step away before you do or say something you’re going to regret.”

“Tom’s right,” Allie said. “Let’s go home and talk about this like civilized adults.”

Zeke pointed a finger at Adam. “You,” he said. “Be at my house tomorrow afternoon. One o’clock
sharp. And don’t think I can’t find you.”

Adam nodded hastily. He threw a tortured look at Claire then took off in his car toward town.

“Thanks, Daddy,” Claire said in her little girl voice. She’d managed to get her hair back in the ponytail but her cheeks were wet and her eyes were puffy. It was a look Allie was becoming all too familiar with.

“Don’t thank me yet. You’re grounded,”
he said.

“For…how long?”

“For as long as I say.”

“I knew it!” Claire turned to Allie. “Didn’t I tell you he’d ground me for life?”

“I’m afraid I’m partially responsible for what’s happened here tonight,” Allie said.

“No, Aunt Allie, it’s my fault. Not yours.” Claire looked at her with eyes that looked so much like Mimi’s. But she was all Zeke’s daughter. Headstrong,
impulsive. Why hadn’t Allie seen that before?

“Well, it’s somebody’s fault,” Zeke said looking at Allie. “How about you fill us in on all those details you conveniently left out earlier?”

Allie spilled her guts about everything. Except the part about nearly being arrested by Rusty for a second time. But she told them about Claire’s duplicitousness the night of the soccer practice,
the party at Grayton Beach, and Allie’s decision to let Claire be the one to tell her parents after tonight’s game.

Mimi shook her head in confusion. “So, the minivan didn’t break down? That was all a…cover up?”

 Zeke glanced between Allie and Tom. His shrewd eyes took in everything. “What I want to know is how lover boy’s involved in this?”

Allie could feel the instant tension
emanating from Tom’s body. “If it wasn’t for Tom, I would have never found Claire. He helped me track her down and he…he thought I’d told you everything. So please don’t blame him for any of this mess.”

“Great! So some fucking stranger knows more about what’s happening in my family than I do.”

“Calm down, Ezequiel,” Mimi said. Using his full name had been a trick of Buela’s. Usually,
it helped bring Zeke’s temper down a notch, but not tonight.

“Claire, get in the van. We’re going home,” Zeke said.

Claire crossed her arms over her chest. “Not till I know how long you’re grounding me. Even prisoners deserve to know the length of their sentence.”

Uh-oh. Yep. Definitely Zeke’s daughter.

“Okay. You’re grounded for life. From everything. Happy now?”

“
Everything
?” Claire’s voice quivered.

“Obviously your father and I will talk to you about this in the morning,” Mimi said.

“You can talk to her all you want,” Zeke said. “She knows we’re done here.”

Claire got in the minivan and made a big show of slamming the door. Allie whipped around to stare at her brother. Who was he? Not the same Zeke she’d known and loved all her life,
that was for sure.