California home. I was his personal accountant until he died,” he said with a hint of pride. “I’ve always remembered how nice she was to me.”
As Mr. Jensen shared his memories of Devanna, Courtney realized how much her aunt had changed from those happy days when her husband was alive.
“I was sorry when Devanna sold the California company after her husband’s death, and moved to Seattle. I often wondered what happened to her.” He pushed back his glasses. “I’m now an accountant for Ellsworth Real Estate and Investment.”
“You are?” she asked in surprise. “I just met Neil Ellsworth a few days ago.”
“A very nice young man. I worked for his father until he retired. Anyway, yesterday I was handling some papers on houseboat rentals. Imagine my surprise when I came across Devanna’s name. I guess there’s no question about it being the same Devanna Davenport?”
Courtney assured him that her aunt’s personal history matched the one he’d described. Because the man seemed sincerely interested, Courtney shared a little bit about her aunt’s withdrawal from family contact and her tendency to be a recluse. In a way, she wanted to prepare him for meeting the withdrawn, strange woman her aunt had become.
After waiting nearly an hour, Devanna still hadn’t returned and Mr. Jensen decided not to wait any longer. Since Courtney had no idea where her aunt had gone, it was anybody’s guess when she’d be back. Obviously disappointed, Mr. Jensen prepared to take his leave.
“Please tell her that I dropped by, and I’ll be back to see her another time,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. Your aunt must be proud of you and the baby.”
“Aunt Devanna loves Jamie,” Courtney responded, wishing she could say the same affection extended to her. “I’ve enjoyed meeting you, Mr. Jensen. Please come again.”
“Thank you. I certainly will.”
She stood on the front deck as he crossed the narrow dock and climbed the steps. He drove away in a small white car. What a nice man. He’d helped her pass a lonely afternoon, and she looked forward to seeing him again.
When her aunt came back, nearly two hours later, Courtney eagerly told her about Mr. Jensen’s visit.
Devanna just shrugged. “I don’t even remember the man. And I doubt he remembers me that well, either.”
Her aunt’s crude dismissal startled Courtney. Several times her use of coarse expressions seemed incongruous with her aunt’s background, and Courtney wondered where she’d picked up the roughness.
NEIL’S PRIDE CONTINUED to smart from Courtney’s lackluster response about a second date. He concentrated on business and tried to shove her to the back of his mind. After all, there were plenty of numbers in his little black book if he got in the mood to date someone. Unfortunately, he had to pass by the houseboat on the lake road both coming and going to work, and he couldn’t help thinking about her.
When his sister Maribeth provided the perfect excuse to see her again, he thought, why not. There was always the chance that if he saw her again, he’d get over the ridiculous attraction that kept her at the edge of his mind.
She was sitting alone on the front deck reading when he drove to the houseboat to see her. A sudden glow in her eyes when she saw him was encouraging. Maybe she regretted her cool reaction about a second date after all.
“How have you been?” he asked as he dropped into a chair beside her.
“Fine,” she assured him after a slight hesitation.
“And Jamie? How is the baby?”
She brightened. “Great. I just put him down for his nap.”
“And your aunt?”
Once again Courtney hesitated. “Devanna seems to keep busy. I’m not sure exactly what she finds to do, or where she goes.”
“So you’re here pretty much by yourself?”
She gave him a faint smile as if she knew exactly what he was leading up to. Maybe it was no surprise to her that he was back again. Was he as apparent as all that, Neil asked himself.
Aloud, he asked, “How would you like to make my sister, Maribeth, happy?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Your sister?”
“She’s giving a birthday party for our twin brothers, Alex and Allen. They’re both married with families, but Maribeth is the one who organizes all the parties. She asked me to bring someone, and I was hoping you and Jamie might be my date. It’s the day after tomorrow.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Courtney responded quickly. A dozen reasons why she shouldn’t go flooded her mind as quickly as her next breath.
“There’ll be kids and babies all over the place. Utter confusion. Lots of food. Good humor and teasing. What do you say?”
For a minute, Courtney couldn’t say anything. She was completely taken aback by the invitation. Family birthday parties were completely outside her sphere of experience. How would she fit in at such a gathering? The way Neil was smiling at her, she wanted to go more than anything. It wouldn’t be a romantic date, she reassured herself, and she wouldn’t have to leave Jamie.
“I…I think I would like to go.”
“Great. It’ll be a casual affair,” he assured her. “Nothing fancy. Just a good time.”
Courtney couldn’t think of anything that sounded more wonderful. Every day she spent on the houseboat deepened her feelings of isolation and loneliness.
“Thanks for asking me…us,” she laughingly corrected herself. “It will be Jamie’s first venture out into Manitou society.”
“Good, I’ll pick you up about six o’clock.”
When Courtney told her aunt about the birthday party and her invitation to go, Devanna seemed pleased. It was only when Courtney told her she’d be taking Jamie with her that her aunt objected furiously.
“No, that’s a stupid idea! A baby doesn’t have any business at some wild shindig where people are carousing around, acting like damn fools.”
“It’s not that kind of party,” Courtney protested. “It’s a family get-together.”
“You’ll have a better time without him,” Devanna said, trying a different tack. “No man wants to go out with a woman who’s lugging around a baby.”
“Neil specifically asked me to bring Jamie,” Courtney countered. “There’ll be other mothers and babies there.”
Courtney had never seen her aunt angry before. Devanna said something under her breath. Her face was flushed. Her eyes had narrowed to almost slits. She looked as if she were about to tell Courtney that she couldn’t take Jamie.
Courtney just faced her with steady eyes and a firm chin. When it came to Jamie, nobody was going to tell her what she could and couldn’t do.
With apparent effort, her aunt seemed
