Ask Anyone (8 page)

“You'll do, young lady. You will most definitely do.”

Jenna wasn't entirely sure that King's stamp of approval was going to get her to her original goal. If anything, his declaration that he wanted her in his son's life might just have muddied the waters.

 

Jenna was still puzzling over Bobby's parting shot about not even trying to handle her when she and Darcy got back to their hotel later that evening. Darcy was so exhausted by her active day outside with Tommy that she
could barely keep her eyes open. Even so, as she crawled into bed, she gazed up at Jenna.

“Mama, do you think we'll be here when Tommy's boat is done?”

“I don't know. Why?”

“Because he promised to take me fishing.”

“And you want to go?” Jenna asked with surprise. “I thought you considered putting worms on hooks to be some form of torture. That's what you told your grandfather when he tried to take you.”

“Tommy said I don't have to use worms. He said shrimp work just as good.”

And cost a whole lot more, Jenna thought with a sigh of resignation. “We'll see what we can work out. If we're not here, maybe we can drive back down for a weekend.”

Darcy yawned sleepily. “I know I didn't want to come, but this isn't a bad place,” she said before her eyes slid closed and stayed that way.

Jenna watched as Darcy's breathing slowed into the peaceful pattern of sleep. Sometimes she was awed and a little terrified when she considered the responsibility she had to make sure that nothing bad ever happened to this beautiful, feisty child of hers. Darcy's personality wasn't going to make her job any easier. And Nick wouldn't be any help. He and her father were at opposite extremes. Nick was too indulgent. Jenna's father might adore Darcy, but his strict approach to discipline was only likely to make Darcy even more rebellious than Jenna had been.

A man like Bobby, however… She cut herself off
before she could continue the thought. Despite King's high hopes and Bobby's enigmatic remark about not trying to fight her, she would not allow herself to think beyond her goal. That contract was the only thing that mattered. She had to remember that.

She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Darcy's flushed cheek. “I love you, baby, green hair and all.”

 

On Thursday morning Bobby was summoned to Harvey's office. Normally he would have balked at the imperious manner in which the order had been delivered, but it was better to get this meeting out of the way. He found the mayor wearing an expression that was even more sullen and disapproving than usual.

“Explain this,” he said, tossing a newspaper in Bobby's direction.

Bobby stared at the headline above Richard's story on the stolen carousel horse:

 

Who's Behind Theft Of Rare Carousel Horse?

 

“I believe Richard is asking a question,” he said mildly. “The horse was stolen. He's wondering who took it.”

Harvey's frown deepened. “Not that, dammit. The story down below.”

Bobby's gaze shifted and landed squarely on a picture of Jenna, accompanied by an interview about her views on boardwalk development.

“So?” Harvey demanded.

“So what?” Bobby responded mildly.

“Did you hire that woman without consulting me?”

“Actually, whom I hire is none of your concern, but no, I did not hire her.”

Harvey slammed his fist onto the desk so hard it rattled his coffee cup. “As long as I am mayor of this town, I will determine what happens to our waterfront.”

Bobby refused to get drawn into a pointless fight. The land belonged to him, not the town. This development was his baby. All the zoning was in place. Unless the town council set out to deliberately thwart him, Harvey Needham could bluster all he wanted. He didn't have a leg to stand on.

Bobby stood up and headed for the door. Just before walking out, he turned back. “I don't think so, Harvey.”

“You just try to get around me, Bobby Spencer,” he warned. “You won't be able to pull a single permit without running into trouble. You'll be dead and buried before you get this project off the ground.”

“Really? How old are you, Harvey?”

Harvey's expression faltered just a little. “Sixty-five, but I don't see what that has to do with anything.”

“I'm twenty-eight,” Bobby pointed out. “I'm pretty sure I can outlast you.” He strolled back across the room and leaned down until he was in the mayor's face. “Don't mess with me, Harvey. The people of Trinity Harbor are on my side on this one. I have a whole drawerful of surveys to prove it. I don't know if you're in bed with some developer or just plain stupid, but this town isn't big enough for some grand-scale project that blocks river
access for our residents. We're a small town with a chance to see that something's done right with our best natural resource. I don't intend to blow that opportunity.”

Harvey's complexion turned pale. “I'll have the land seized for public use.”

Bobby's gaze narrowed at the threat. “Just try it,” he said quietly.

“I can do it,” Harvey insisted.

Bobby shook his head. “You can try,” he agreed. “But it will be your last act in public office. And I have a hunch the folks in this community will make your life so uncomfortable, you'll be hightailing it for some retirement village in Florida where the most excitement you'll find is your daily shuffleboard game—assuming you can find someone willing to play with you.”

“Typical Spencer,” Harvey said disparagingly. “Trying to throw your weight around.”

Bobby laughed at that. “You might want to think that one over, Mr. Mayor. I'm not the one who ordered a citizen into my office and started making threats. Wouldn't that look nice in next week's headlines? Maybe I'll stop by Richard's office on my way back to the yacht center.”

There was no mistaking the fact that Harvey was seething, but he wisely kept silent. Bobby waited, his gaze locked on the scurrilous jerk, then finally gave a nod of satisfaction.

“Good,” he said. “I'll see you around.”

He'd barely hit the steps down to the first floor of the
town offices when he heard Harvey bellow for his secretary. “Get Mitch Cummings on the phone for me,” he shouted. “Now!”

Mitch Cummings? The name sounded familiar, but Bobby couldn't place it. Maybe Richard would know. Instead of heading straight back to work, he swung by the office of
The Trinity Harbor Weekly
paper. He found Richard sitting behind his desk, his feet propped up, reading the latest edition.

“It's a little late to be checking your spelling,” Bobby observed as he took a seat opposite Richard.

“Well, if it isn't our own mover and shaker,” Richard greeted him. “Did you come by to pat me on the back for the excellent coverage I gave you?”

“Actually, I hardly saw a mention of my name, but that was a nice picture of Jenna. You two in cahoots to pressure me to hire her?”

Richard laughed. “Pressure would be Anna-Louise's turf. I try not to be in cahoots with anybody.”

“Well, you certainly did stir up the mayor,” Bobby reported. “He's over at Town Hall on the verge of apoplexy. And you realize, don't you, that if Harvey keels over, Tucker will find some way to charge both of us with murder?”

“Oh, all that venting probably keeps the man healthy,” Richard said dismissively. He regarded Bobby intently. “If you didn't come by to sing my praises, then why are you here?”

“I've got a name I want to run by you. You ever heard of Mitch Cummings?”

Richard's expression sobered at once. “Where did
you
hear his name?”

“Just now in Harvey's office. The instant I walked out the door, he yelled at his secretary to call Cummings.”

“Then I suggest you watch your back,” Richard said. “Cummings is a retired investigator. Lives down in Richmond. I'm not sure what he's up to these days, but he and the mayor are old pals. My hunch is that he intends to use Cummings to start trying to dig up some dirt on you. If you've got any secrets, now would be a good time to make sure they're buried as deep as you can get them.”

Bobby laughed.

“It's not funny,” Richard warned. “It sounds to me like the mayor intends to start playing dirty.”

“Let him knock himself out. My life's so squeaky clean, it could be a testimonial for a detergent.”

“You sure about that?”

“Positive. My sole indiscretion was being stupid enough to ask Ann-Marie to marry me, but she's the one who broke the engagement and ran off with my best friend. Besides, everyone in town knows that story. They could probably also tell you about the time I borrowed Lonnie's bike and he reported it stolen.”

“Well, there you go,” Richard said.

“Sadly, when the police came to his house to check it out, they found the bike sitting right smack in the middle of his driveway.”

“Ah.”

“There's nothing for me to worry about,” Bobby said. “Not from Lonnie, not from Ann-Marie, not from anyone.”

Richard nodded. “Would Ann-Marie describe your breakup the same way? For that matter, what about Lonnie? Do either of them have an axe to grind?”

“Are you kidding?” Bobby demanded indignantly. “I was the victim, not either one of them.”

“Funny thing about that, though. Over time, particularly if people become outcasts because of decisions they made in the past, they occasionally like to revise history and make themselves into the ones who've suffered.”

As Richard spoke, Bobby went absolutely still. His temper, usually slow to build, slipped immediately into overdrive. Nothing could do that to him faster than a mention of Ann-Marie and his former best friend. Add to that the suggestion that somehow
he
had wronged
them
and it made him want to break things. There could be only one reason for Richard to bring up the topic—the Trinity Harbor rumor mill was hard at work.

“What have you heard?” he demanded quietly.

Richard held up his hand in a placating gesture. “Nothing. I'm just saying, I've seen it happen. Keep your guard up.”

“You're sure nobody's spreading tales?”

“I haven't heard any. It was just a word of warning.”

Bobby nodded. “Okay, then. Thanks.”

“Where are you heading now? Want to grab some lunch?”

“Not today. I've got to go see a man about a horse,” Bobby said wryly. With any luck, Tucker would have found the blasted thing in the middle of Harvey's living room.

E
ager to get started on the work that had brought her to Trinity Harbor, Jenna took her sketch pad and a notebook with her to the riverfront the next morning. The day had dawned without a cloud in the blue sky and a welcome breeze to break the midsummer heat. She felt almost as carefree as she had on school vacations years ago, filled with that expectant sense that adventure was right around the corner. If only she could capture some of that anticipation and pass it along to her daughter, Jenna thought with a sigh.

She chose a spot on a decrepit bench, its weathered boards warped and the paint worn away. It gave her a good vantage point from which to study the stretch of land Bobby intended to develop. There was a public fishing pier a few blocks in the distance, as well as a pier where a sightseeing boat docked most days. She'd heard the announcements for the tours when she and Bobby had walked along the waterfront the day before.

There was a tang of salt in the soft morning air and just the faintest whiff of suntan oil from the handful of sun-bathers who'd come out early to beat the heat of the day.
It was funny how a scent like that could transport her through time, back to the days when her mother had been alive and they'd sat side by side on a blanket on the sand at Ocean City or Rehoboth or any of a dozen other beaches where they'd gone on summer vacations before everything had changed.

In those days, the visits had been business trips for her father. He'd already been building a reputation for seaside development. But for Jenna and her brothers, those times with their mother had been magical. Jenna still had a mason jar at home filled with pale blue and green sea glass collected on those summer outings. Sometimes when she held it up to the sun, she swore she could still smell the beach scents and maybe even a lingering trace of her mother's favorite perfume.

Now she had a chance to create those same kinds of memories for her daughter. Not that it was going to be easy. Darcy sat beside her now, a book from her summer reading list untouched in her lap. She had complained bitterly when Jenna had taken her to the cozy bookstore in town and insisted on something educational, rather than one of the thrillers that kids were crazy about.

Still, though Darcy wasn't exactly exuberant, at least she wasn't pouting. Jenna was learning to be grateful for small favors, even if this one had been accomplished with a bribe. She had agreed to take Darcy and Tommy to the nearby state park after lunch,
if
Darcy finished her required reading.

“You know what, Mom? Tommy says people are always finding shark's teeth and stuff in the cliffs,” Darcy
told her eventually, her eyes shining with rare enthusiasm. “Isn't that awesome? I can hardly wait to get there. How soon will you be finished?”

Jenna could barely contain a grin. Darcy had been quoting Tommy nonstop since she'd crawled out of bed that morning. It was an apparent case of hero worship in the making.

“We just got here. And you haven't read the first page of that book yet. Five pages, minimum. That was our deal.”

“But I'm ready to go to the park now,” Darcy said, scuffing her feet in the sand.

“Too bad. I have work to do. So do you. Now, get busy and read.”

Darcy turned her attention to her book. She was a fast reader, and five pages were nothing once she actually started to concentrate.

“Mom, I'm bored,” she announced, closing the book. “Can we go? I can't wait to climb the cliffs and look for shark's teeth.”

“Forget it. You won't be climbing any cliffs,” Jenna warned her. “But I understand there's a public pool there, or you can swim in the river.”

“The pool,” Darcy said at once. “Tommy says there are jellyfish in the river.”

“Well, if Tommy says it, it must be true,” Jenna said. “Walk on down to the edge of the water here and check it out. Just stay where I can see you.”

“Are you going to be a really long time?” Darcy asked plaintively.

“That depends on whether you leave me alone long enough to get my work done.”

Darcy heaved a dramatic sigh and retreated toward the river. Gingerly she stuck one toe in the water, then jumped back. “Mom, a jellyfish almost got me,” she squealed.

“Then keep your feet out of the water,” Jenna retorted.

“That's no fun. Can we go yet?”

Jenna groaned. Obviously using that outing to the park as a bribe had backfired. Darcy wasn't going to be content until they were in the car and on their way.

“Going someplace?” Bobby inquired, appearing out of nowhere and dropping down onto the bench beside her.

“Where'd you come from?” Jenna asked, cursing the little blip of excitement that rushed through her at the sight of him in a snug pair of jeans and a faded gray T-shirt. Why did he, of all the people in the universe, have to be the one who made her pulse race?

“I just had a meeting with Tucker,” he announced, his legs stretched out in front of him. “I was on my way back to the yacht center when I spotted you.”

She turned to him hopefully. “Does your brother have any leads on the missing horse?”

Bobby shook his head. “Sorry. Not a one. Nobody saw anything, which means it probably happened before daybreak—my elderly neighbors Sue and Frannie have the neighborhood under surveillance by seven most days. The guard is still among the missing. My hunch is he's taken his family on an extended vacation courtesy of the thief.”

Jenna sighed. “That's not good, is it? If there are no leads right after a crime, what are the odds that Tucker will find any as time goes on?”

“Don't worry about that,” Bobby said grimly. “Believe me, my brother is highly motivated. I've put his professional reputation on the line. He'll get that horse back.” He glanced toward the river, where Darcy was picking up shells and pieces of green and blue sea glass to start her own collection. “What was Darcy saying about going somewhere? You aren't leaving town, are you?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but no,” Jenna said, chuckling at the dismay he didn't even attempt to hide. “Actually, Daisy and I are driving Darcy and Tommy over to the state park this afternoon. I'd hoped that the plan would buy me a little time to get some work done this morning.”

Bobby glanced at the sketch pad. “What have you got so far?”

Ruefully, Jenna showed him the blank page. “I got a later start than I'd hoped, and once I sat down, my mind started drifting.”

He regarded her intently. “To?”

“A long time ago, when my mother was alive and I was just a girl.”

The look he cast at her was filled with understanding. “The same thing hits me when I come out here, too. King wouldn't set foot on the beach, but my mother used to gather Daisy, Tucker and me up and haul us down here or over to the state park for picnics at least once a week. After she died, Tucker and I used to ride our bikes into town and come here, but it wasn't the same.”

“How old were you when she died?” Jenna asked.

“Twelve. I remember it like it was yesterday. How about you?”

“I was fourteen.”

“A tough age,” Bobby said.

“I'm not sure there's any good age to lose your mom,” Jenna said, thinking back to how lost and frightened she'd felt. There had been so many questions she'd never gotten to ask, so many dreams she'd never had a chance to share. To make matters worse, only two months later, her father had shipped her off to school, where she'd felt even more isolated and alone. It had created a distance between her and her brothers that had never been breached.

She glanced at Bobby, but his expression behind his sunglasses was unreadable. “You, Tucker and Daisy were lucky,” she said. “You all stayed together.”

“King would never have considered separating us. For all of his flaws, family is the most important thing in the world to him, and families stick together.” A slow grin crept across Bobby's face. “Of course, that didn't apply to his brother who'd managed to get his hands on a prize bull that King wanted. They haven't spoken in thirty years, even though Uncle James lives in the next county.”

Jenna laughed. “So that's where the stubborn streak comes from.”

Before Bobby could react to that, there was a scream of protest from just up the beach. Jenna recognized that voice. She was on her feet at once, but Bobby was faster.
Before Jenna had even fully registered that there were half a dozen kids in their early teens surrounding her daughter, Bobby was in the middle of the crowd, one arm protectively around Darcy's shoulders, his other hand firmly around the scruff of a boy's neck.

“Okay, kids, that's it. Break it up. Go pick on somebody your own size,” Bobby said.

His order was far milder than Jenna would have made it. Her heart was still hammering a mile a minute at the image of those bullies ganging up on her baby. She was certain they'd had nothing more in mind than taunting Darcy, but that was terrifying enough.

By the time she reached the small circle, tears were streaming down Darcy's cheeks. She broke free from Bobby and threw herself into Jenna's arms, sobs shaking her shoulders.

“Mommy, they said I looked like an alien,” she said, her voice choked. “One of 'em grabbed at my hair and said it wasn't even real, that it was clown hair.”

Jenna cursed herself for the decision to force Darcy to live with her green hair. “I'm so sorry, baby. Kids always like to pick on anyone who's different. You know that. It wasn't about you at all.”

“But it was mean,” Darcy said, hiccupping.

“Yes, it was.” Jenna glanced up and saw that most of the kids had scattered, but Bobby still had a firm grip on the apparent ringleader. Engaged in what looked like a very intense conversation with the boy, Bobby finally gave a nod of satisfaction, then nudged the young teen in their direction.

Looking totally chagrined, the boy approached Darcy. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, his eyes downcast. “That was really dumb. We didn't mean to scare you.”

“Well, you did,” Darcy said, clinging to Jenna's hand but staring the boy straight in the eye.

The boy glanced up at Bobby, then back at Darcy. “I'm Pete. I'm a friend of Tommy's.”

“You don't act like you'd be a friend of Tommy's,” Darcy challenged. “He's nice.”

Pete regarded her with an even guiltier expression. “So am I, once you get to know me. We were just goofing around.” He risked a glance at Jenna. “We really didn't mean any harm.”

Jenna wasn't swayed. In fact, she was having a very difficult time not giving the kid the swat on the behind he deserved. “We appreciate your apology, but I think you should go now.”

Pete glanced at Bobby. “I'm really sorry.”

“I know,” Bobby said. “We'll talk about this later.”

After Pete had run off, Jenna looked at Bobby. “You know him?”

“Fairly well, as a matter of fact. He's a good kid.”

“Oh, really? Do you find terrorizing a nine-year-old acceptable behavior?”

“Of course not. Look, can we get into this another time?” he suggested, with a pointed look at Darcy. “I think maybe the best thing for Darcy would be a stop at Earlene's for some ice cream.” He winked at her. “What do you think?”

“I love ice cream,” Darcy said enthusiastically.

Now that the crisis was over, Jenna felt the strength drain right out of her. Sitting down in the air-conditioned chill of Earlene's appealed to her almost as much as it obviously did to Darcy. Sitting there with a man willing to make excuses for a pint-sized bully held no appeal at all.

“I'll take her,” she said. “I'm sure you have work to do.”

“I'm covered at the restaurant till dinner,” he replied, regarding her with amusement. “For a woman who's been pestering me to death for meetings, you suddenly seem awfully eager to get rid of me.”

“Because right this second I find you extremely annoying,” she shot back.

“Consider it turnabout,” Bobby retorted. “You've been irritating me since the day you set foot in town. We can make peace over ice cream.”

Jenna sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”

Darcy was regarding them both with a troubled expression, but it was Bobby who managed to get a smile out of her. He leaned down with a whispered comment that brought a sparkle back to her eyes.

“What did you tell her?” Jenna demanded as Darcy ran ahead of them to Earlene's.

“I told her she shouldn't pay any attention to her mom's bad manners,” he said. “I said it was probably some Yankee flaw in your character.”

Jenna whirled on him indignantly. “Excuse me?”

He shrugged, his expression impossibly innocent. “Well, you have to admit you weren't very gracious. A
Southern woman is taught from the cradle to be gracious. I can only attribute your attitude to some Yankee gene.”

“I was born and raised in Baltimore.”

“But where was that school you were sent off to when you were at a very impressionable age?”

“Boston,” she conceded.

“I rest my case.”

“Do you really want to get into a debate over nature versus nurture?” she asked. “My genes are every bit as Southern as yours, and, frankly, in your case I haven't noticed that those lessons in manners took all that well.”

Bobby looked affronted. “Don't say that in front of King or Daisy. They did the best they could. Any lapses are my own responsibility.”

“Duly noted.”

He swept open the door at Earlene's with a dramatic flourish that had Darcy giggling and even brought a smile to Jenna's lips. “You're crazy as a loon, Bobby Spencer,” she said as she brushed past him.

“But lovable,” he retorted.

Jenna was increasingly afraid that might be true.

 

For all of his joking around to lighten the mood, Bobby's heart was still pounding when they reached Earlene's. When he'd seen those kids taunting Darcy, seen the panic in her huge green eyes, he'd felt like banging some heads together.