Chapter 8 David #2
They talked easily after that, finding common ground in their shared distrust of carnival equipment and their love of quiet mornings with good coffee.
“Is Milly a relative?” Eve asked after a while.
“She’s like a sister to me,” David said. “She and her husband have been friends with me for years. They moved to St. Augustine on my recommendation. Now we’re neighbors.”
“That’s nice,” Eve said. “It’s good to have people you trust nearby.”
David nodded, then turned the conversation away from himself. “What about you and Lila? She calls you Aunt Eve, so I guess you must be her aunt?”
“Her great-aunt, technically, but not by blood,” Eve said.
“Lila’s mother is my late best friend’s daughter.
I’ve known Lila’s mother, Mia, since she was eight years old.
She’s like the daughter I never had, and Lila is the granddaughter.
” Her eyes darkened with emotion. “When my best friend passed away, I stepped in to try and fill the void she’d left. ”
David felt warmth spread through his chest. “That’s a beautiful relationship.”
“Are you married?” Eve asked, composing herself once again. “Do you have kids of your own?”
The warmth died instantly, replaced by the familiar ache that never quite went away.
“I was married,” David admitted. “But my wife passed away many years ago. I have a daughter, but we lost touch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Eve said, her eyes filling with compassion. “It always breaks my heart when I hear about families that are torn apart.”
“Sometimes it can’t be helped,” David said with a tight smile. “Trust me, my daughter is better off where she is right now.”
“Oh?” Eve’s eyes narrowed with curiosity, and David could’ve kicked himself for saying too much. “So you know where she is then?”
“No,” David shook his head, scrambling to recover. Eve scrambled his brain and better judgment. He had to nip this conversation in the bud. “There were bad people after her. The only way to keep her safe was to let her go.”
“You mean as in witness protection?” Eve’s voice dropped, and he couldn’t believe how sharp she was. He’d have to watch himself around her.
“Something like that,” David confirmed, then leaned forward. “Trust me, there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by since she left that I haven’t thought about her or missed her dearly. But she’s safer now.”
“Again, David, I’m sorry,” Eve said. No judgment in her voice, just warm compassion and a deep understanding of loss.
“We do what we have to, in order to keep the people we love safe,” David told her, turning back to his now-cold coffee. “So what do you do when you’re not on vacation in St. Augustine?”
“Oh, I’m the head of surgery at a hospital in Los Angeles,” Eve told him.
David’s eyebrows rose. “Impressive.”
She asked him about what he did. He told her he was a plumber and did a bit of woodwork around St. Augustine and Anastasia Island.
“Was that always your career?” Eve asked, tilting her head slightly. “I somehow wouldn’t have guessed that’s what you did for a living.”
David laughed. Dr. Eve Reynolds really was as sharp as a tack. He sharpened his resolve to watch himself around her. He couldn’t afford any slip-ups or … he shook the thought away before it formed. “I worked for the government before, but I’m retired now. Or semi-retired.”
He didn’t elaborate on what he’d done for them.
She gave a gentle push. “When you say you worked for the government, did you work for the DMV?” Her eyes held a teasing light, but he could see the curiosity shining beneath.
“No,” David said. “I worked in intelligence.”
“Military?” Eve asked.
“Something like that,” David answered, hedging.
“Ah,” Eve said, her smile widening. “So it’s a ‘you could tell me, but you’d have to kill me’ scenario.”
“Something like that.” David laughed.
Thankfully, Eve dropped it.
Too soon, Lila, Brian, Milly, and Dan came back, all of them laughing and talking over each other about the rides.
“Eve, this is my husband, Dan,” Milly said, introducing a tall, broad man with a broody expression that softened when he looked at his wife.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Eve said.
It was time to go, and David reluctantly stood, already missing the easy conversation and the way Eve’s smile made something in his chest loosen.
Then, to his mortification and part delight, Milly opened her mouth.
“You should come to our place for a barbecue,” Milly said. “Experience the more rural part of St. Augustine.”
Eve smiled. “Thank you, that’s very kind. But we have plans tonight with an old family friend.” She glanced at David. “You grew up here, you must know him. William Moore.”
David’s world tilted.
Yes, he knew William Moore.
What he hadn’t realized was that William was a close family friend of Eve’s. He’d seen them greet William and Julie Christmas the previous day, but he’d thought that was just because they were staying at the Christmas Inn.
“Yes, we know William,” Milly answered for him, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t answered and had been lost in his thoughts. “Everyone in St. Augustine does.”
Well said and nice save, David thought.
“Yes, William’s family has been in St. Augustine for generations,” David managed. “You can’t live here and not know him.”
“How do you know him?” Dan asked Eve, his eyes silently assessing her.
“Oh, I met him through Lila’s grandmother,” Eve told them, making alarm bells go off in David’s head. “We’ve been friends with him for a good few decades.” She laughed.
“Uncle William is the one who invited us here,” Lila said with the innocence of youth. “My mother and Aunt Eve desperately needed a break from work.”
David’s mind raced. Uncle William? Lila called him Uncle? A cold chill crept up David’s spine at that, and the fact that William had invited them here. To the Christmas Inn, no less.
“Well, thank you so much for taking me on the rides,” Lila said politely to Milly and Dan. Pulling him from his thoughts as Lila glanced at Eve. “Aunt Eve, maybe we can go for a barbecue another night?” She looked at Milly and Dan again. “I’d really like to see the woods. I love hiking.”
Eve sighed. “She really does.” Her eyes landed on Milly. “Maybe another night if you have the time.”
“Of course,” Milly said, pulling out her phone. “Let’s exchange numbers.”
David stood dead still as he watched the women exchanging numbers.
“Brian,” an elderly lady called from the tent entrance.
“Here, Grandma,” Brian waved, then looked at them. “Sorry, I have to run.” He turned to Lila. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the Inn?”
“Yeah,” Lila said with a shy smile that for some reason brought out protective instincts in David. He quickly dismissed them, telling himself it was because she reminded him so much of his daughter. “I’m looking forward to seeing the cove.”
Brian said his thank-yous and then disappeared.
“What a nice young man,” Milly stated, smiling at Lila. “So intelligent too.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lila said, blushing a little more. “Not many people can crack that puzzle I gave him.”
Milly laughed. “I know someone who could.” Her eyes landed on David knowingly before turning back to Lila. “When you come for a barbecue, remind me to show you some of the puzzles I’ve found.”
“I’d love that,” Lila said.
They all parted ways, promising that Milly would contact Eve the next day to make arrangements.
“Well, that was interesting,” Milly said, breaking the silence that had fallen as they walked back to Milly’s SUV.
“Is it just me, or does Lila remind you of—” Dan started.
“Yes,” David cut him off. “But only because of her eyes and how intelligent she is.”
“Uh-huh,” Dan said, climbing into the driver’s seat as David slipped into the back and Milly into the front passenger seat.
“What I want to know,” Milly said, buckling her seatbelt as Dan started the engine, “is how Lila’s grandmother knows William.”
“Or why he’d risk bringing ‘close family friends’ to St. Augustine,” Dan added. “Especially now.”
That was the exact question buzzing around in David’s head and one he intended to find out.