Harbor Nights by Marcia Evanick Page A

about a man who walked into a bar with a parrot on his head, a duck under his arm, and an alligator on a leash. Her mom, who had joined them a minute ago, seemed to appreciate the humor too. Matthew was handsome and extremely attentive, and if she had to guess, she would say he was flirting with her. She should have been flattered by all the attention; instead, her gaze and thoughts kept wandering to Ned. Something had put a smile onto Ned’s face, and she couldn’t figure out what.
    Ned had entered the house; while he had not really been scowling, the look on his face had been close. No one was in the house, yet he came back out wearing matching lobster oven mitts on his hands, carrying a hot casserole dish, and looking like he was holding the winning lottery ticket. She was dying to know what had put that sexy, crooked smile on his face.
    Curiosity was the curse of all journalists. As far as curses went, she had it bad.
    â€œHere we go,” said Ned’s father, “hot off the grill.” John Porter set a plate piled with grilled hamburgers in the center of the table.
    â€œKids,” called Jill, “time to eat.”
    Three noisy kids and Flipper came running. The two dads came at a more leisurely pace but appeared just as excited by the prospect of food.
    Kay rolled her eyes at the dirty group. “All of you kids go inside and wash up.”
    Jill looked at her husband, Paul, and sighed. “That order includes you two older boys. You should know better than to roll around in the dirt right before dinner.”
    â€œThey started it.” John Jr. tried to defend himself by pointing at the kids with one hand, while brushing off the dirt clinging to his jeans.
    â€œYeah, they double-dog dared us,” added Paul while hastily swiping at his T-shirt.
    The three kids snickered, and tried to look innocent at the same time. Tyler actually whistled, stared up at the sky, and toed a clump of dead grass. Morgan batted her eyelashes, while Hunter just stood there and grinned.
    Norah almost lost it when Matthew started to choke, and her own mother was biting her lower lip while pretending to fuss with Zsa Zsa’s bow. The kids were adorable. The men were charming, and the women were gracious. The Porter family was warm, friendly, and loving. They were everything a family should be and more. If she could learn to ignore the sheer size of them, she really would enjoy herself. But how did one ignore a backyard full of giants?
    Her mother didn’t seem to be bothered by their size. Why should it bother her so? Her mother had more cause to fear physically large men than she did. So why wasn’t her mother jumping every time someone accidentally bumped into her? Why wasn’t she anxious to get out of the shadows of the giants and head back home where it was safe? By the expression on her mother’s face, one would think she had been the one to hit the lottery.
    Joanna had been so excited to get invited to this little get-together, that she had changed her outfit three times. In a way, she couldn’t blame her mother. While she was at work all day, her mother was home alone working in the gardens, cleaning, or painting some rooms. The Porter family was the first neighbors they were really getting to know.
    The neighbors on their other side, the Harpers, were a young family. Karen Harper had stopped over the day after they had moved in with a plate of welcome brownies. With a part-time job and three school-age children, there had been just enough time for a quick exchange of names and hellos before Karen had to rush back home.
    Tonight, her mother was enjoying herself immensely, and there was no way she would the ruin the evening for her by suggesting that they head back home as soon as they were done eating. They would be there to the end. Her mother deserved to have friends and neighbors who wouldn’t look at her with that knowing look in their eyes. For years, everyone had known