“I went to school with Dana in Frankston,” he said. “I heard about y’all a lot through Zed and Annie when I came to the café. I was so sorry to hear of her passing.”
Tawny ran his credit card through the machine and handed both it and his license back to him, along with the cabin key. A copy of the transaction ran through the printer, and she laid it on the desk. “Please sign right there. Checkout is at eleven.”
“I’ll be gone before eight. I’m a teacher at Frankston.” His hand brushed against hers when he took the pen from her. “Reckon Zed is still serving breakfast?”
Tawny glanced at the clock. “For another fifteen minutes. If you live in Frankston, why are you renting a cabin? You could come to the lake anytime and go home to your own bed at night.”
“Sometimes it’s good just to get away from everyday life and have some quiet time to myself.” He smiled, and her heart did a couple of flips. “I don’t fish, but I love the lake and the idea of unplugging for the weekend. Be seein’ you around, Tawny.”
She pushed back her chair and watched him get into a vintage Ford Mustang, bright red, and pull it around to park in front of the cabin right next to hers. He wasn’t tall, but he was muscular, and her fingers itched to see if his curly hair was as soft as it looked.
“Marcus Green,” she said out loud. “Where have I heard that name?”
“Hey, Aunt Tawny.” Brook startled her when she slung the door open. “I brought you a set of clean sheets. I’ll pick up the dirty ones when Flora and I get done with number one. Was that Mr. Green goin’ into the unit next door?”
“That’s where I heard the name. Is he one of your teachers?” Tawny asked.
“Yep, history. He also teaches some math. What’s he doin’ here?”
“Unplugging for the long weekend. Thanks for the sheets.” She loved her niece and she didn’t want to push her out, but the longer Brook stayed, the more questions she’d ask. And then she’d tell Dana. And that’s when the problems could and would start, because Dana would want to boss her about Marcus being so much older.
Brook rounded the bookcase and laid the sheets on the bed. “Did you know that Wyatt probably spent the night at Aunt Harper’s and that she has a hangover this mornin’?”
Whoa! Wait a minute. Maybe I don’t want Brook to leave just yet. So Wyatt stayed at Harper’s—did that mean she was really sick yesterday, or had she wanted time to get all pretty for a night of wild sex?
“Maybe he came to see about her. She was supposed to be sick. I filled in for her at the café. She makes some damned good tips over there. I’m beginnin’ to think she might have gotten the best job of the bunch of us.” Maybe since Brook was thinking about Wyatt spending the night at Harper’s, she could sneak in a couple of innocent questions. “Is Mr. Green married? Got kids?”
“No to both. He’s got a cat, though. There’s a picture of it on his desk. A big old yellow one. Did he bring it with him? Are we a pet-friendly place?”
“No, we aren’t, and he didn’t mention a cat or take a carrier into the cabin, so I guess he left it at home.”
“Well, I got to get back to work. Flora’s knees are botherin’ her today, so I been vacuuming in the cabins.”
“You’re a good kid,” Tawny said.
“Tell that to my mama.” Brook’s smile reminded her of her granny Annie’s.
“She already knows it.”
Brook eased out the door, then broke into a jog toward the laundry room. As badly as Tawny hated to admit it, Dana was a great mother. Someday when Tawny had kids, she hoped that she was even half the parent that Dana was, but she sure wasn’t going to admit to liking her older sister to anyone.
“It sure won’t be someone like Matthew.” She grimaced at even the thought of his name. Her old boyfriend came from a wealthy family in Austin and had been a senior at the university when they met. The rest was a downhill slide that led to her being kicked out of college and his dad’s fancy-shmancy lawyer getting Matthew off with only a fine and a slap on the wrist.
“And my dear mother decided to tell me to get a public defender. She reminded me of that little bit of trouble I got into in high school, and then she turned off service to my phone and froze my credit cards,” she groaned.
She remade her twin-size bed and carried the dirty sheets outside, planning to take them to the laundry. Maybe a breath of fresh, brisk air would wash away the memories of that day in court.
“Hey, got time to have a cup of coffee with me while I eat breakfast?” Marcus asked as he stepped off his porch.
“Sure, just give me time to unload this at the laundry. Be there in five.” It wouldn’t do any harm just to sit with him while she took a short break.
He fell in beside her. “I’ll walk with you. This is a gorgeous morning. Easter weekend is always unpredictable. My mother calls it the Easter snap—she never plants her annual flowers until the weekend is over.”
“That’s what Granny Annie used to say. We didn’t get up here very often for Easter. We always came for a month in the summer. I’ll only be a minute,” she said at the door.
Leaving him outside—mainly so that she didn’t have to explain anything to Flora or Brook—she found the laundry room empty. She quickly tossed the sheets into a bin and hurried back outside.
“All done.”
“I knew you came in the summertime.” He picked up the conversation as if she’d never left his side. “My mother and Annie were great friends, and I remember seeing you when y’all came here.” He opened the door to the café and stood back for her to enter first.
Most of the time the place was full and the buzz of conversations reverberated off the walls, but that Saturday morning only Harper and Zed were in the café. They were sitting at a table, and she looked like she’d been crying. The first thing that went through Tawny’s mind was that their mother had died and somehow Harper had found out about it first.
“Well, hello, Marcus. You out enjoying the pretty weather?” Zed got to his feet. “I still got some breakfast stuff on the stove. Want the big platter?”
“You bet I do.” He pulled out a chair for Tawny. “And this lady would like a cup of coffee.”
“Comin’ right up.” Harper seemed eager to do something, even if it was waiting on her younger sister. “Two coffees?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Marcus said. “You must be Harper. How did you get so tall when your sisters are just petite little ladies?”
“Some of us get to be delicate little pansies and some of us have to be big sunflowers,” she answered.
“And they’re all beautiful.” Marcus smiled.
“Flattery will get you free refills on that coffee.” Harper raised an eyebrow toward Tawny.
As soon as she set Marcus’s plate in front of him, Harper made a beeline out the back door of the café, around the building, and into the store. Dana had just finished scooping up a net full of minnows and putting them into a plastic bag for a fisherman.
“Is Brook all right?” Dana looked worried.
“Far as I know. She brought me clean sheets this morning and got all nosy about Wyatt. Teenagers haven’t changed since we were that age—they’re all about drama. Don’t make me love her one bit less, but it’s the truth.” Harper meandered around the store until the customer paid and left. She picked up half a dozen candy bars and a bag of barbecue chips, figuring she might as well stock up on snacks while she was there.