Someone's Watching by Sharon Potts

little boy? Who watched Eric when Maddy was tending bar?
    “There’s the boyfriend, of course.” Maddy giggled. “But I’m sure you know about boyfriends. They’re not exactly family.”
    Eric was pulling hard trying to break his mother’s grasp on his hand.
    “Eric, be good.”
    Eric tugged. “Ma, come on.”
    “Sorry,” Maddy said to Robbie. “Gotta go. Boyfriend’s waiting.”
    “Sure. See you around.”
    “Yeah. I’m trying to pick up a couple of extra shifts at the lounge.”
    The mother and son crossed the street toward an old hotel with a flashing pink and blue marquee. Was that where they lived? A skanky guy with sunglasses and broad shoulders stood in front of the hotel and flailed his arms as Maddy approached. He sounded angry. Maddy pushed past him, holding Eric in front of her. The guy followed her into the hotel.
    Boyfriends. Not exactly family
.
    What exactly was family?
    Robbie thought about the stooped, gray-haired man she’d seen walking on the beach earlier. It probably had been her father, doing exactly what Robbie had been doing all morning: looking for Kate.
    His other daughter.
    His family.

Chapter 9
     
    Robbie returned home from the beach and was actually relieved when Brett called in the early afternoon and asked her to go with him to an event for one of his public relations clients. Ordinarily, she begged off when Brett invited her to the social scene.
    She showered and got dressed in white shorts and a fringed vest that she’d made herself during her sewing phase, which had preceded the jewelry making. Then she French-braided a section of her hair with beads and feathers, tucked it behind her ear, and checked herself in the mirror. Her skin had a pinkish glow from the sun, her blue eyes were large, and her lashes so thick that she never wore mascara. Like her sister’s eyes in the photo.
    She stuffed a few flyers in her satchel, just in case she found an opportunity to pass them out.
    There was a rat-a-tat on her front door. Brett’s knock. She opened the door and had a hard time controlling her smile.
    Brett Chandler had a lopsided grin, big ears, small nose, and blond hair spiking like a grown-up Dennis the Menace. It didn’t matter if Ben and Jeremy’s other friends didn’t like him, there was something about Brett that made Robbie feel good. This afternoon, he was wearing a narrow red tie and an untucked checkered shirt with its sleeves rolled to his elbows.
    “Ms. Robbie Ivy,” he said, grabbing her and swinging heraround, causing her braid to go flying. He was much taller than she and wiry but strong.
    Matilda meowed and weaved around his cuffed jeans and black hightops as he put Robbie down. They had met a month ago at The Garage, while Robbie was tending bar. Brett seemed to know everyone of importance or with money, having grown up on the Beach and gone to private school since kindergarten.
    He took Robbie in. “Somebody got some sun.”
    “Yeah. I was at the beach.”
    “Well, you look like really hot. Fieldstone’s either going to adopt you or have you killed.”
    “Fieldstone?”
    “Yeah. Gina Tyler Fieldstone. She’s promoting her new book at the event tonight. Her husband’s Stanford Fieldstone. You know, from the tire family?”
    “Isn’t that Firestone?”
    “Firestone, Fieldstone, whatever. I just know he’s got family money and he’s on some fast political track. He’s probably using Gina and her book to build his people base. Anyway, should be a lot of good contacts there.”
    Robbie pushed her braid back behind her ear. “I could use a positive distraction.”
    “Oh yeah? Something wrong?” Brett’s face became serious.
    “Some unexpected surprises in my life since yesterday. It seems that—”
    His cell phone rang. He glanced at it. “Sorry. I need to take this.” He turned toward the front door and lowered his voice. “Hey. What’s up?”
    Robbie went into the kitchen, took her satchel from the table, then checked to make sure