That was kind of a scary one yesterday, huh?”
Of course Alex would know about it. He knew everything that happened in town. Plus, Aubrey and Alex were still close, just like he and Alex were. Unlike him, Alex was still friendly with the entire Wynn family.
“You heard, huh? Aubrey was great. They are lucky to have her.” Eli wasn’t about to give away how scared he’d been. He didn’t even want to admit that to himself.
“Yeah, I talked to Nina last night. I called Aubrey first thing this morning because I knew she had a Christmas meeting. She’s a little obsessed with this competition. The woman goes nonstop as it is. If she’s not on base or working out, she’s swimming or giving lessons at the pool or helping somebody with something—or worrying about someone. Nina is on the receiving end of that these days. You know about how Nina’s been living with her since her divorce?”
He knew, but only because Alex had told him months ago over the phone.
“She’s been through hell, and Aubrey’s been there for her every step of the way. Don’t get me wrong, she’s amazing, and I’m not begrudging her any of it...” His head fell to one side as if pondering. “Most of it, anyway. I just wish she’d take a little time for herself once in a while.”
Eli wasn’t surprised by any of this. She’d always exhibited that kind of compassion. He’d been drawn to it as well as her courage and unshakable drive. At times he’d been almost jealous of the phenomenal amount of energy she possessed. Even when they were teenagers, she’d been tough to keep up with. When she’d told him she wanted to be a rescue swimmer, he’d never once doubted her ability to achieve that goal.
“What’s a Christmas contest?” Gale asked.
“Oh, there’s this competition, sponsored by DeBolt Realty. Their goal is to find the beach town with the most Christmas spirit. They specialize in oceanfront property and they’re trying to expand their footprint here in the Pacific Northwest. Aubrey is co-chair of Pacific Cove’s effort, along with the mayor, Jack Hobbes. She really wants to win. I’m not super thrilled about the venture because, if she wins, the town gets included in a national advertising campaign. Don’t let them fool you. Not all publicity is good publicity. But I’m being supportive for Aubrey’s sake because also included is prize money, which she wants to use to spruce up the community’s pool. That part I’m on board with. We spent an awful lot of time in that pool when we were kids, especially Aubrey.”
Alex pointed at what used to be Eli’s yard. “Remember how we would get those whiffle ball games going in your yard? Your dad would always play when we needed to make the teams even. He was so cool. He made being a single dad look easy. How’s he doing?”
Tim Pelletier had been a great dad, caring for Eli in the best way he knew how and steadfastly making their house a home. Eli’s mom had taken off when Eli was only three months old, so his dad had been left to fulfill as much of the mom role as he could. In spite of his dad’s bouts of depression, his childhood had been great, right up through his teenage years.
But everything had changed soon after his high school graduation when his father had been transferred. Closing in on two three-year assignments, it had been time for him to move on. But not in this way. The new assignment, which he’d had no choice but to take, had essentially been a demotion for his father, marking the end of his career advancement. Depression had kicked in and he’d retired soon after.
The situation had been bad for Eli, too. He’d been left with no choice but to break up with Aubrey while a burning anger and hatred had born for the man who had caused it all—Brian Wynn. Aubrey’s father. Because how could Eli be with the girl whose father had ended his own dad’s career? How could he be with her and not tell her all of the things that weren’t his to tell, like why he’d really broken up with her and what her parents’ role had been in it all?
Eli realized Alex was waiting for an answer. “He’s good. Really good, actually. He’s thinking about flying up for Christmas.” After his retirement, his father had moved to Florida, bought a boat and become a sport fishing guide. After several rough years of adjustment, his dad finally seemed content. The last couple of years in particular he’d been especially busy and seemed to be flourishing.
“We should go fishing with him again. Man, that was a blast.” Three years ago, he and Alex had taken a trip to Florida to visit him.
“Alex caught a marlin that weighed in at—what was it?—four hundred and twelve pounds.”
“Four hundred and twelve point two pounds,” Alex answered, launching into his fish story.
Eli took the opportunity to study his old neighborhood. Alex was right. Unlike the west side, or “beach side” as they’d called the upscale part of town, this side of town had changed. Dramatically. A few years ago a developer had bought a huge chunk of land here, torn down the old houses and put up one of those cutesy subdivisions where the houses looked different and yet matched at the same time. It reminded Eli of a set of snap-together toys.
“Isn’t this a crying shame?” Alex asked a few minutes later. “It looks like a bunch of gingerbread houses have been smacked down in the middle of Candy Land. I did my level best to block approval of this project. But the developer...he’s got his shizzle together. I tell you what...”
Alex rambled on while Gale asked questions.
Amazingly, the giant spruce tree that had stood in their front yard was still there, sans swing, but Eli could see the scars where a succession of ropes had spent years relentlessly rubbing into the thick limb. He stared at it as Alex ranted on about the injustice of unfettered construction in their town.
He wondered how long he and Gale would be in Pacific Cove.
The real question was how long could he work so closely with Aubrey and yet keep the distance he knew he needed to maintain? And what about Brian Wynn? Alex had told him that since his retirement, Brian and his wife, Susannah, had been spending a few months of the year down south in Arizona. He’d also mentioned that they would be home for the holidays.
Avoiding him was completely unrealistic. Could he be around the man and not reveal the hatred he harbored for him? Did he even want to? Maybe a confrontation was the answer to this long-held animus. Eli knew his train of thought was nothing but a vicious, ugly circle with no end. Because the problem with this scenario was that Susannah was still Brian’s wife—and Aubrey was still their daughter.
AFTER THE CHRISTMAS meeting Aubrey headed across town to visit Danielle Cruz. She’d learned that the girl had suffered a bad sprain to her knee along with a variety of scrapes, bumps and bruises. She was lucky. Aubrey had seen people suffer much worse after becoming entangled in boat rigging or debris.
Danny’s mom answered the door and she spent a quiet, emotional moment thanking Aubrey. She then led her up the stairs to Danny’s room and left Aubrey there with a grateful, encouraging smile. The door was open and the pretty teenager was sitting up, eyes closed, reclining against the headboard. Straight black hair was tucked behind her ears and a magazine lay open on her lap. Bare feet with purple-painted nails were sticking out from the end of a green-and-blue comforter. One foot was busy tapping a rhythm. The other was sporting a black brace around the knee.
“Hey,” she said, wrapping her knuckles on the doorjamb.
The girl’s eyes snapped open as her head turned,
