explained by her head hitting the car window. The minor muscle pain an aftereffect of the collision, too. Neither had anything to do with shots of tequila or lovemaking on metal floorboards. Bottom line, since she’d never see the man again, as far as she was concerned, Michael did not exist.
The kitchen’s back door squealed as it swung open. Felicity looked up and found herself leaping to her feet to rush the newcomer. Without thinking, she reached out with both arms. Squeezed.
Then, embarrassed by her enthusiasm, she released her cousin Ashley, stepping back from the taller woman who’d been like a sister to Felicity until she’d left Half Palm. “I…I’m sorry, Ash. I don’t know what got into me.” Several cats had come through theback door, too, so Felicity slid past the awkward moment by picking one up. “How, uh, are you?”
“It’s good to see you.” Ashley smiled, then tilted her head. “I like Felicity’s short hair, don’t you, Mom?”
Like everything else in Half Palm, Ashley hadn’t changed a whit. She was still tall and slender, with a long fall of blond hair in a precise center part. Growing up, Felicity had wanted Ashley’s height and Ashley’s hair and…well, just about everything that Ashley had.
And Ashley had something very, very special that Felicity had only seen pictures of. “Where is she, Ash? Where’s your baby?”
“Not a baby anymore.” Ashley’s smile was sadder now. “Anna P’s turning four.”
“So that’s what you call her.” Felicity had sent an engraved Tiffany cereal bowl and cup at the baby’s birth, engraved “Annapurna.” Her daddy had named her for the first mountain he’d climbed after meeting Ashley. “Where’s your Anna P.?”
“Magee’s bringing her,” Ashley answered. “My housemate. We had to come in separate cars because I’m going to work straight from here. They’ll be here any minute.”
“Well,” Aunt Vi said. “We’d better get lunch out, then.”
Felicity followed her aunt’s direction, moving into the living area to unfold the metal TV trays and then set them with mismatched silverware and plastic-ware plates. At one point she found herself in thekitchen alone with Ashley, and though it wasn’t part of her cut-herself-free-of-the-family agenda, Felicity couldn’t help but ask.
“‘Housemate,’ Ash? Aunt Vi calls this Magee your boyfriend.”
Her cousin didn’t meet her eyes. She lifted a hand, let it drop. Like her mother, Ashley was a natural ditherer, but this felt more like reticence, not helplessness. “He was Simon’s best friend,” she finally said quietly. “And he’s been taking good care of Anna P. and me. We’ve needed that.”
Thinking of Simon, Felicity quieted, too. She’d met him once. Right before their daughter was born, he and Ashley had visited L.A. and Felicity had taken them to dinner at Fidel’s in Manhattan Beach. With his Australian accent, his golden hair, his brawny arms, Simon had been larger-than-life. Felicity had expected the evening to be awkward and small talk hard to come by, but they’d ended up closing down the restaurant thanks to his outrageous, funny stories of climbs and other climbers.
The memory made her smile. “I liked Simon,” she said softly.
“You’ll like Magee, too,” Ashley replied.
“Of course she’ll like Magee,” a male voice said from behind Felicity, accompanied by a round of little girl giggles.
That voice! Felicity froze. It couldn’t be….
“Tell her, Anna P.,” he went on. “Tell her everybody likes Michael Magee.”
Four
C rossing his arms over his chest, Magee leaned against the kitchen wall and looked toward the woman washing the lunch dishes. “Need a hand?”
She jumped, splashing water and soap suds on the apron she wore over skinny Levi’s and a striped T-shirt. Turning, she hissed at him, “How could this have happened?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You eat, the dishes get dir—”
“You are so not funny.”
The kitchen’s back door squealed as it swung open. Felicity looked up and found herself leaping to her feet to rush the newcomer. Without thinking, she reached out with both arms. Squeezed.
Then, embarrassed by her enthusiasm, she released her cousin Ashley, stepping back from the taller woman who’d been like a sister to Felicity until she’d left Half Palm. “I…I’m sorry, Ash. I don’t know what got into me.” Several cats had come through theback door, too, so Felicity slid past the awkward moment by picking one up. “How, uh, are you?”
“It’s good to see you.” Ashley smiled, then tilted her head. “I like Felicity’s short hair, don’t you, Mom?”
Like everything else in Half Palm, Ashley hadn’t changed a whit. She was still tall and slender, with a long fall of blond hair in a precise center part. Growing up, Felicity had wanted Ashley’s height and Ashley’s hair and…well, just about everything that Ashley had.
And Ashley had something very, very special that Felicity had only seen pictures of. “Where is she, Ash? Where’s your baby?”
“Not a baby anymore.” Ashley’s smile was sadder now. “Anna P’s turning four.”
“So that’s what you call her.” Felicity had sent an engraved Tiffany cereal bowl and cup at the baby’s birth, engraved “Annapurna.” Her daddy had named her for the first mountain he’d climbed after meeting Ashley. “Where’s your Anna P.?”
“Magee’s bringing her,” Ashley answered. “My housemate. We had to come in separate cars because I’m going to work straight from here. They’ll be here any minute.”
“Well,” Aunt Vi said. “We’d better get lunch out, then.”
Felicity followed her aunt’s direction, moving into the living area to unfold the metal TV trays and then set them with mismatched silverware and plastic-ware plates. At one point she found herself in thekitchen alone with Ashley, and though it wasn’t part of her cut-herself-free-of-the-family agenda, Felicity couldn’t help but ask.
“‘Housemate,’ Ash? Aunt Vi calls this Magee your boyfriend.”
Her cousin didn’t meet her eyes. She lifted a hand, let it drop. Like her mother, Ashley was a natural ditherer, but this felt more like reticence, not helplessness. “He was Simon’s best friend,” she finally said quietly. “And he’s been taking good care of Anna P. and me. We’ve needed that.”
Thinking of Simon, Felicity quieted, too. She’d met him once. Right before their daughter was born, he and Ashley had visited L.A. and Felicity had taken them to dinner at Fidel’s in Manhattan Beach. With his Australian accent, his golden hair, his brawny arms, Simon had been larger-than-life. Felicity had expected the evening to be awkward and small talk hard to come by, but they’d ended up closing down the restaurant thanks to his outrageous, funny stories of climbs and other climbers.
The memory made her smile. “I liked Simon,” she said softly.
“You’ll like Magee, too,” Ashley replied.
“Of course she’ll like Magee,” a male voice said from behind Felicity, accompanied by a round of little girl giggles.
That voice! Felicity froze. It couldn’t be….
“Tell her, Anna P.,” he went on. “Tell her everybody likes Michael Magee.”
Four
C rossing his arms over his chest, Magee leaned against the kitchen wall and looked toward the woman washing the lunch dishes. “Need a hand?”
She jumped, splashing water and soap suds on the apron she wore over skinny Levi’s and a striped T-shirt. Turning, she hissed at him, “How could this have happened?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You eat, the dishes get dir—”
“You are so not funny.”
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