Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts Page A

Three Sisters.
    This nine square miles of rock and sand and soil was all the world she needed.
    Overbaked people were staggering up from the beach toward the village for lunch. She could never figure out what possessed a human being to flop itself down and broil like a trout in the sun. Besides the discomfort, the sheer boredom of it would have driven her wild inside an hour.
    Ripley wasn’t one to lie down if she could stand.
    Not that she didn’t enjoy the beach. She jogged along the surf every morning, summer and winter. When weather permitted, she finished off her run with a swim. When it didn’t, she often ducked into the hotel and took advantage of its indoor pool.
    But she preferred the sea.
    As a result she had a tight, athletic body that was most often clad in khakis and T-shirts. Her skin was tanned like her brother’s, her eyes the same vivid green. She wore her straight brown hair long and most often pulled through the back of her baseball cap.
    Her features were an odd mix—a wide, slightly top-heavy mouth, a small nose, and dark, arching brows. Her looks had made her feel awkward as a child, but Ripley liked to think she’d grown into them, and grown out of worrying about them.
    She strolled into Café Book, waved at Lulu, and headed for the stairs. With luck, she could get a look at this Nell Channing and avoid Mia altogether.
    She was still three steps from the café level when she saw her luck wasn’t going to hold.
    Mia was behind the counter, looking slick as always in some floaty floral dress. Her hair was tied back and still managed to explode around her face.The woman working beside her looked tidy, nearly prim in comparison.
    Ripley immediately preferred Nell.
    She jammed her thumbs into her back pockets and swaggered toward the counter.
    â€œDeputy Todd.” Mia angled her head, looked down her nose. “What could possibly bring you here?”
    Ignoring Mia, Ripley studied Nell. “I’ll have today’s special soup and sandwich.”
    â€œNell, this is Ripley, Zack’s unfortunate sister. As she’s come in for lunch we can safely assume hell has frozen over.”
    â€œKiss ass, Mia. Nice to meet you, Nell. I’ll have a lemonade to go with that.”
    â€œYes. All right.” Nell shifted her gaze from face to face. “Right away,” she murmured and ducked into the kitchen to put the sandwich together.
    â€œHeard you scooped her up right off the ferry,” Ripley continued.
    â€œMore or less.” Mia ladled the soup. “Don’t poke at her, Ripley.”
    â€œWhy would I?”
    â€œBecause you’re you.” Mia set the soup on the counter. “Notice anything odd when you stepped off the ferry yesterday?”
    â€œNo.” Ripley replied too quickly.
    â€œLiar,” Mia said quietly as Nell came back with the sandwich.
    â€œCan I take this to a table for you, Deputy Todd?”
    â€œYeah, thanks.” Ripley tugged money out of her pocket. “Why don’t you ring me up, Mia?”
    Ripley timed it, sliding into a chair just as Nell set the food down. “Looks great.”
    â€œI hope you enjoy it.”
    â€œI’m sure I will. Where’d you learn to cook?”
    â€œHere and there. Can I get you anything else?”
    Ripley held up a finger, spooned up soup and sampled. “Nope. This is great. Really. Hey, did you make all those pastries yourself?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œA lot of work.”
    â€œIt’s what I’m paid for.”
    â€œRight. Don’t let Mia work you too hard. She’s pushy.”
    â€œOn the contrary,” Nell said in a voice that chilled. “She’s incredibly generous, incredibly kind. Enjoy your lunch.”
    Loyal, Ripley decided as she continued to eat. She couldn’t fault Nell for that. Polite, too, even if she was a bit stiff about it. As if, Ripley thought, she wasn’t quite used to dealing with