Chapter 22
The briny scent of the ocean hung in the air, and the roar of the crashing waves carried up the beach where the Parkers and
Greenes had situated themselves. A pair of giggling preteen girls passed on their way to frolic in the water.
Rick stood from his lawn chair. “I’m going for a walk. Anyone want to come?”
“I’ll go,” Alex said.
Seth joined them. “Me too.”
“I’m feeling lazy.” Jenna closed her eyes, basking in the sun’s warmth and the gentle breeze cooling her skin.
“I’ll keep Jenna company,” Ronda said.
“We’ll be right back.”
The two women watched the men disappear down the shore.
“There’s no way they’ll be right back,” Ronda said. “Once Rick heads down the beach, he has to keep going until he reaches
the end.”
“Good thing it’s not that far away.” Jenna shaded her eyes as she scanned the shoreline for Mom, who’d decided to wade into
the water. She was up to her waist in the surf. Gordon had gone to the restroom a while ago.
Ronda tilted her sunglasses onto her head, exposing her deep-set brown eyes. She checked her phone, then glanced up, nailing Jenna with a look. “Okay, what is going on with my boys?”
“What do you mean?”
“Seth just texted me projections about how the ponies will pay for themselves if we market them for the business correctly.”
Jenna shifted in her chair. “Uh, well . . . that seems like good business sense, I guess.”
“And yesterday Alex sent his dad a link to an article on how much horses cost annually.”
Jenna bit her lip. “Oh, really?”
“And Tyson’s been dropping hints about Patches seeming lonely when Penny’s in a mood.”
“Well . . .” Jenna had nothing.
“Those boys have a bet going, don’t they? Don’t you lie to me, missy. I know all your tells.”
Jenna held up her hands, palms out. “You didn’t hear it from me.”
“Those boys. I thought they’d outgrown this nonsense.” Ronda narrowed her eyes on Jenna. “Or are you in on it too?”
“Oh no. I had nothing to do with this.”
“Good girl. Remember when Ty had to do Seth’s dishes for a year?”
“Or when Alex had to clean Ty’s room for six months?”
“What do they have riding on this little bet of theirs?” Ronda said.
“A hundred bucks.”
“Those scoundrels.” Ronda shook her head disapprovingly as she stared off into the crowd. A moment later her gaze shot back
to Jenna, an impish light in her eyes. “Get ’em to raise the bet.”
“What? Why?”
“By the time their dad and I are done with them, they’ll be so sure of themselves they’ll at least triple that amount.”
Jenna’s lips twitched. “What do you have up your sleeve?”
“You don’t raise three boys without having a few tricks of your own.” Ronda offered her a smug grin that reminded Jenna of
Ty’s.
Jenna smiled. “This is going to be entertaining.”
“Just leave it all to me.”
Speaking of Tyson, Jenna spotted him down the beach in conversation with a couple of friends. His tan did nice things for
those wide shoulders and tapered waist.
“So, your mom and Gordon seem to be hitting it off. I haven’t seen her so happy in years.”
“Yeah, she seems really cheerful lately.” Mostly because she had her head in the sand.
“And Gordon’s certainly solicitous of her. He seems like a good guy.”
He was good all right. “He’s very attentive and helpful around the house.” As he should be since he was basically freeloading
off her mom.
Ronda’s focus burned into the side of Jenna’s face, but she was determined not to confess her suspicions. At least, not until
she had concrete evidence. Ronda and Jenna’s mom were close, and Jenna didn’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position.
Gordon returned, but instead of joining Ronda and Jenna, he headed straight for the water.
A text came in and Jenna checked her screen. Tyson.
Meet me at the restrooms.
She glanced at where she’d last seen Ty, but he was gone. Okay.
She turned to Ronda. “I’m going to the restroom real quick.”
“All right.”
Concern knotted her brow as Jenna traipsed down the beach to the walkway that led to the restrooms. It had to be important
if he wanted to talk right now.
She found him in the shade of the building. “Everything okay?”
“I was just getting ready to enter the restroom, and you’ll never guess who was inside talking on the phone.”
“Gordon?”
“I slipped around the side and listened. It seemed like he was talking to a woman. His voice was all soft.”
“I know what you mean. Did you hear anything important? What did he say?”
“Mostly he just listened. But at the end of the conversation it seemed like they were talking about when he was coming home. And he said ‘I love you’ before he got off the phone.”
“Sounds like it’s the same person he was talking to before.” She tempered her response. “It could still be his daughter, though.
Or any female relative really.”
“Not unless she’s living in his house. At one point he gave her instructions on some glitch with his microwave.”
Jenna frowned. “His microwave?”
“No reason she’d need help with that unless she was living there, right?”
“I guess it’s possible his daughter lives with him.”
“Or it could be someone else.”
Jenna’s heart clenched. My gosh, what if he already had a girlfriend? What if he was already married? Could he be one of those men who created two separate lives, leaving both women in the dark about the other?
“It’s not looking good. I hated to worry you like this, but I knew you’d want to know.”
“I’m glad you told me.” She was glad, even though she really hoped she’d be proven wrong.