The Sweetest Summer: A Bayberry Island Novel

  She nodded, wiggling with excitement. “Yep!”

  The door opened, and Clancy stuck his head in tentatively, as if he was unsure what he would find in his own home.

  “Hi, Sir Clancy!”

  His attention snapped to Christina and then to Evelyn. He burst out with a surprised chuckle. “Finally—the recognition I deserve!”

  He bent to give Christina a pat on the head. “And hello to you, fair maiden . . . er, I mean knight.”

  “I am Pirate Jellybean!” Christina began hopping up and down.

  “You look more like a jumping bean to me.”

  Unfortunately, Christina interpreted that as an invitation to bounce around his house. “We’re going to see the pretty mermaid! We’re going to the Save Heaven! She lives there when she’s not under the sea!”

  “Yikes.” Evelyn hurried over to where Christina had hopped too close to an antique curio cabinet. “Sorry.” Evelyn glanced up at Clancy, still standing by the front door with an amused look on his face. “I think she needs some play time. She’s a little, well, pent-up.”

  “I know the feeling well.”

  Evelyn straightened, holding her niece’s hand, and mirrored the slow, teasing smile that broke over Clancy’s face. Oh, my. She couldn’t wait for her next fifteen minutes alone with him.

  “So.” Clancy headed into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, drinking it down in a few ravenous gulps. “Somebody wants to see the mermaid from the Safe Haven parade float?”

  “I do! I love the mermaid! We’re going to see the mermaid!”

  Evelyn widened her eyes at Clancy, hoping that he saw how desperately she wanted to change the subject.

  He laughed. “I might be able to help with that. I happen to know her personally.”

  “Oh?” Evelyn asked.

  “Back in two minutes.”

  Evelyn watched him jog down the hall and into his room, where he was probably changing clothes, and she found herself wondering . . . was the beautiful mermaid his ex-wife? A former girlfriend? She embarrassed herself at how inappropriate her thinking was. The history of Clancy Flynn’s personal life could wait. She needed to stay focused on the many critically important issues right in front of her.

  He came out barefoot, in a well-worn Sam Adams T-shirt and a frayed pair of olive green cargo shorts and she thought, the hell with propriety. “Have you known the mermaid for a long time?”

  “Yep, since the day our mother brought her home from the hospital and I drove a Hot Wheel over her face.”

  “Whaa?” Evelyn laughed with surprise. The mermaid was his sister!

  “She owes me a favor or two, and Chris is such a good . . . kid, maybe a visit could be arranged.”

  Chrissy jumped up and down some more. “We going now?”

  Evelyn put a hand on Christina’s head to keep her from bouncing around. “Everyone agrees that Chris is a very good kid.” She paused to make sure Clancy understood that for the sake of consistency, Chris was a boy, and he would remain a boy until a slipup would no longer have dire consequences.

  Clancy smiled gently at Evelyn, as if reassuring her he understood. “How about we try to see the mermaid tomorrow. In the meantime, would you like to meet the dogs?” He gestured toward the back sliding door to the deck.

  “Are they well behaved? Will they jump on Chris?”

  “They get pretty excited, so they’ll have to sit first. That’s all the ‘well behaved’ we got. Is Chris afraid of dogs?”

  Evelyn smiled sadly. “No. She loves them. We had a border collie for fourteen years. When Jordi died, we buried him under the apple tree near someone’s bedroom window, as requested.” Evie inclined her head toward her niece.

  “Gotcha.”

  “Look at those silly dogs!” Chrissy exclaimed with delight.

  Both retrievers pressed so close to the door that their breath left condensation on the glass. Their tails swished in unison. Evelyn grabbed Christina and propped her on her hip.

  “I’ll go first.” Clancy opened the door and told both dogs to follow him to the far side of the deck. “Sit.” They managed, though they were so thrilled to see Evelyn and Christina that they could barely keep their butts on the wood. Clancy got behind the dogs and squatted between them, his hands gently touching their collars. “Good boys. Stay.” He looked up at Evelyn. “Come on over whenever you’d like.”

  Evelyn moved cautiously toward the dogs, holding Christina. Her niece’s eyes went wide and she immediately started wiggling to escape.

  “Chris will be fine, Evie. Really. I’ll make sure of it.”

  There it was again, the reassurance that everything would be all right if she just trusted him. Evelyn let her squirming niece climb down. “Be gentle, Chris.”

  “Hi, doggies.” Chrissy bent at the waist to peer at them. They quivered with eagerness.

  “Hold out your hand and let them smell you, okay, Pirate Jellybean?”

  Christina did as Clancy asked. She stuck out her arm, palm up, and immediately fell into a fit of giggles as the dogs licked her fingers. “They’re wet!”

  Clancy began with the introductions. “The black one is Tripod, but we call him Mr. T, and the brown one is Earl. Boys, these are our guests, Pirate Jellybean and Aunt Cricket.”

  “Mr. T, huh?”

  Clancy glanced toward Evelyn and chuckled. “Yeah, my brother came up with that. He said he didn’t think it was right to focus on his disability.”

  “Gotcha. That would be Duncan, right?”

  Clancy’s eyes widened. “You remembered.”

  “I remember everything.”

  His gaze darkened for an instant and she understood exactly what he was telling her—I can’t wait to get you alone.

  Clancy stood, and the dogs stayed in place. “Would you like to go down to the beach? It’s not big, but it’s private. We could take a walk.”

  Evelyn swept her gaze over the ocean, feeling the sunset warm her face. Her first instinct was to calculate the chances of being spotted on that beach—from what direction could someone see her and Christina? Was there an amphibious landing planned? A satellite orbiting over Bayberry? What could she use as an escape route if one was needed?

  She hated this. She hated the paranoid calculations that constantly lived in her head, and wondered if they would stop once this ordeal ended. If it ended.

  Evelyn tried to sound enthusiastic. “Sure.”

  “Oh! Hey, wait. I have something for you. I left it in the Jeep. Be right back.” Clancy ran around the side of the house while the two gentle giants sat patiently, waiting for him to return, happy to let Christina coo at them and pat their heads. Clancy was back in a flash. Evelyn saw him round the corner carrying a big sun hat.

  “This is for you. To replace the one you lost when you jumped off the dock.”

  Evelyn blinked, completely surprised. She looked up at him and shook her head as if she didn’t understand. “You got this for me?”

  “I figured you could use a new one, you know, since it’s important these days to keep your face and hair protected when you’re in the bright daylight.”

  Evelyn thought she may cry and laugh at the same time. The idea that Clancy took time in the middle of all this chaos to replace her hat was probably the sweetest thing any man had ever done for her. And he’d found a perfectly innocent way to tell her she still needed to hide herself beneath it.

  “You hate it.”

  “No! I love it!” She grabbed it from Clancy and popped it on her head, then used a fingertip to push up the brim so she could see him again. “And it does a bang-up job of protecting me.”

  A huge smile broke out on his face. “Hey, and I got this for you, Jellybean.” He held out a child-sized Red Sox cap, but Christina didn’t even notice. She was in love. Her face was between the two dogs and they l
icked and sniffed at her neck and arms while she giggled.

  “Beach!” Clancy’s voice was no-nonsense. The dogs immediately forgot their new friend and bounded across the yard to the walking path.

  “They going swimming?” Christina took off after them, Clancy and Evelyn right behind. Clancy grabbed a half-buried ball from the sandy soil on their way.

  At the top of the path, Evelyn hesitated, noticing how it dropped off. She grabbed Christina’s hand. “It’s pretty steep.”

  “Would it be okay if I carried Chris?”

  Evelyn brought her gaze to Clancy’s. He looked so serious.

  “I’ll get her down safely. I promise.”

  Again—there it was. It was remarkable how many times and in how many ways he’d managed to ask her that question in the last couple days.

  Do you trust me?

  It seemed she did. She was still here. Clancy hadn’t ambushed her with the SWAT team or dragged her off the ferry in handcuffs. He’d welcomed her and Chrissy to his home, and, of course, he’d saved Chrissy’s life, the way he’d saved her own, so many years before.

  Evelyn took one more look down the beach path. This was it. She had already let down her guard, but the time had come to commit to a plan of action. She was about to hand Christina’s future and her fate to a man she hadn’t spoken to in eighteen years. She would trust him—absolutely—or she would leave.

  “I’ll be holding up the rear,” Evelyn said.

  “Hop on, Pirate Jellybean!” Clancy crouched in front of her and Chrissy automatically climbed on his shoulders. Evelyn was about to suggest just a piggyback ride for safety’s sake but changed her mind. Christina squealed with delight as she rode on Clancy’s shoulders down the path.

  Look at him—so strong and capable and steady. Evelyn suspected he would need all those things in the days to come.

  Clancy delivered Christina safely to the sand and tossed the ball down the beach. The dogs raced after it, sand flying, crashing together into the calm waves to ferret it out. Christina was in awe.

  “They can swim! The dogs can swim!” She jumped up and down and began to spin in circles, arms wide. She was simply happy to be outside, glad to make noise and stretch out her arms and legs and run around. How lovely to be free in the world for the first time in days, without her aunt gripping on to her, anxiety and fear the undercurrent of everything she said and did.

  Christina ripped off her shoes and socks so she could run in the waves, and Evelyn did the same. She luxuriated in the feel of the sand between her toes, the sea in her nostrils, and the low sun on her arms. Clancy jogged forward and backward along the water’s edge, tossing the ball again and again, keeping an eye on Evelyn and Chrissy as they kicked around in the surf. Eventually, all three of them met up at the same spot, Clancy shoulder-to-shoulder with Evelyn. He gave her a sideways glance and broke into a smile right out of her memory—white, straight, gorgeous, and spreading into those midnight blue eyes of his.

  A flash went through her. It was a sizzling rush of sensuality, yearning, recognition, and relief. She felt it when she recognized him Friday, when they sat together on the bench at the motel, and most certainly that morning, when his kisses made her lose the ability to reason. But the first time she had felt any of those things had been eighteen years ago, the summer she was fourteen.

  He threw the ball. The dogs ran. Christina laughed and swept her hands through the water.

  “Are you doing okay?”

  Evelyn kept her eyes on Christina but answered him. “Better.”

  “Wahlman’s gone. The FBI didn’t find any evidence you were ever here.”

  She exhaled, only then realizing how much breath she’d been holding in. “Thank you.”

  “How do you know Wahlman fixed the court proceedings?”

  She checked to make sure Christina was occupied. “He must have. The court never notified us that the custody hearing date had been changed, though computer records indicate they did. Wahlman won custody by default because we never showed up to object. I have a friend who works in IT who’s trying to unravel it for us, but so far, nothing.”

  “IT?” Clancy raised his eyebrows and laughed. “By any chance, is this the same friend who vaporized your booking information from the Sand Dollar computer today?”

  Evelyn stopped walking. Her heart crashed in her chest. “How . . . ?”

  “The motel owner says it disappeared, but no one believed him because he . . . well, his behavior has been erratic lately. Your friend is good, though. Tell her I said thanks for helping you.”

  “It’s a he.”

  “Oh?”

  Evelyn laughed. “No—not that kind of ‘he.’ But you and Hal have a lot in common. You’re both putting your asses on the line to help me.”

  “Who’s got the nicer ass?”

  She linked her arm with his. “Let me put it this way—I’m not even sure Hal has an ass. I’ve never noticed.”

  “Hmm.” Clancy bumped his hip against hers. “But you’ve noticed mine?”

  “Maybe.”

  Christina now squatted at the edge of a small tidal pool, perfectly content to be making sand pies and carrying on an animated play conversation with herself. Evie kept her eyes on Christina as they continued their conversation.

  “Is your friend in Maine?”

  “Vermont.”

  “I’ll need to talk to him. I know someone up that way who does freelance investigation. Maybe together they can help me figure this out. You’ll give me Hal’s number?”

  “Of course.”

  “Evie?”

  She looked up at him, knowing she was about to face more questions.

  “There’s one thing I don’t think I understand.”

  “Okay.”

  “You could have complied with the order, let Richard have custody, and then fight the ruling in the courts. Is there a reason why you didn’t take the . . . well, the perfectly legal route?”

  Evelyn bit her tongue. Of course Clancy couldn’t understand. He’d never had kids of his own, and she couldn’t fault him for that. “The reason is right there.” She pointed to Christina, slapping and patting sand and now singing to herself.

  Clancy stopped walking and Evelyn leaned against his side.

  “That little person lost her mother, and her whole world collapsed. I know how she feels. The only constants left in her life are me, my dad, and the farm. So imagine the day a wealthy and powerful politician decides to claim her, without even giving us a chance to state our case. Imagine that this is the same man who never wanted Christina to be born in the first place. Imagine he’s up for reelection. Wouldn’t you have a few questions about his motives?”

  “I would.”

  “But here’s the biggest question, and it’s the only one that really matters: what kind of aunt would I be if I let him take her, even temporarily, and further confuse her and break her heart? And what kind of sister would I be if I didn’t follow through on the only promise Amanda ever asked me to make?”

  The dogs tore up the beach toward Clancy. Earl dropped the ball, and they both sat and waited as patiently as they could.

  Clancy leaned in and kissed Evelyn sweetly. Then he threw the red ball down the beach in the opposite direction, into the wind. She couldn’t believe how high it went, how it sailed past the end of the beach and out into the water.

  “You’ve got quite an arm on you. Did you switch from track to baseball?”

  “You remembered!” He gave her a shy smile, which struck her as charming. A smile like that didn’t fit with his grown-up, rugged, and got-everything-covered cop personality. Evelyn took it as a compliment—even after all this time, he was still willing to let her see him. “Nah,” Clancy said. “I stayed with track. I knew a good thing when I saw it.”

  Evelyn stared at him in wonder for a second.
Could they have ever competed at the same event? “I ran women’s distance for Middlebury College. We were regional champions while I was there.”

  Clancy’s mouth fell open. “I ran the five thousand meter for Amherst. You know we had to be at the same Division III meets many times over.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Fancy that.” Clancy put his arm around Evelyn’s shoulder. “This okay with you?”

  She nodded, slipping her arm around his waist. “This okay with you?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Clancy remained silent for a few strides, then squeezed Evelyn tightly. “Thank you for sharing your reasoning with me, Evie. I’m sorry I was slow on the uptake, but I do understand now. You love that kid fiercely, and Christina is incredibly lucky to have you.”

  “Look! Look! What is it, Sir Clancy? A frog?” Christina jumped to a stand and pointed into the tidal pool.

  “Well, look at that!” Clancy reached down and gently removed a partially buried horseshoe crab.

  Christina let go with one of her high-pitched screams.

  “It won’t hurt you.” Clancy squatted so he was at her level. “It’s strange-looking but it’s just the shell of a harmless sea creature.”

  “What its name?”

  “A horseshoe crab, probably a girl crab, and she got too big for her shell so she had to leave it behind. Have you ever seen one of these?”

  Chrissy reared back and shook her head slowly.

  “She has, actually, back home at the shore. But it wasn’t anywhere near that big.”

  Chrissy reached out her hand tentatively and Clancy held the shell, turning it so she could see it from all angles. He didn’t push it on her, which made Evelyn smile. He was doing it again, but this time it was a one-on-one question directed only to Christina. Do you trust me?

  Evelyn decided to step back and see what happened. The dogs suddenly realized no one was paying them any attention, so they ran over and began to sniff the shell, which made Chrissy laugh. “Do they want to eat it and chew it?”

  “Nah. They’re just sniffing it because they’re curious. Remember how they snuffled and licked you when you first met?” From his squatting position, Clancy threw the ball and the dogs forgot all about the crab shell.