"I guess." Kayla thought no such thing but was wise enough to let it pass. "I'm going to get some lemonade from the thermos. Do you want some?"
"That would be nice." Laura rose as well and wandered over to her friends.
"I'm not skimming, damn it." Blowing hair out of her face, Margo continued to run the detector. "I'm doing it the way I always do."
"Half-assed." Kate rolled her eyes as Ali giggled. "Sorry."
"She's been hanging around the gym too much," Margo told Ali. "Picking up bad language along with locker room sweat."
"You've got too much jewelry on," Kate complained. "You're going to send the thing into convulsions."
"Bitch and moan." Margo winced herself. "Sorry, Ali. Here, why don't you wear my bracelet a while?"
"Can I?" Thrilled, Ali watched her glamorous aunt transfer the heavy gold links, then held up her arm, watching the sun bounce off them. "It's so beautiful. It glitters."
"What's the point in wearing it if it doesn't glitter?" She winked and flicked a finger at Ali's earlobe. "Those are pretty."
"Mama got them for me. I got an A on my science report." She glanced toward her mother, and her smile bloomed hesitantly. "She said I worked hard and deserved a reward."
"You did—and you did," Laura confirmed. "Would you mind helping Kayla get lemonade? I think we're all dry."
"All right." She took a step, stopped. "Would you like a sandwich?"
It was an apology, Laura realized, and though she wasn't hungry, she smiled. "That would be terrific. Why don't you and Kayla spread out the blanket and we'll take a break for lunch?" Laura murmured as her daughter picked her way around rocks, "She's trying. It's hard for her to accept."
"If I had the prospect of Candy Cane as my stepmother, I'd find it more than hard," Kate muttered.
Margo merely lifted one elegant shoulder. "Candy's too much in love with Candy to give them the time of day. And the girls are smart enough not to give her any more than that back."
"I suppose it would be easier if they liked her—a little." Then Laura sighed and gave in. "And it's probably selfish of me to be glad they don't. But I'm glad they don't."
"Anyone want to take bets on how long the Peter and Candy show runs? My take is—" A little dizzy, Kate sat down abruptly on a rock. "There it goes again."
"Are you all right?" Kate had a history of ulcers, and now Laura leapt to her side. "Is it a flare-up?"
"No." Kate took easy breaths, waiting for the world to settle. Yes, there was the sky, nicely blue and back in its proper place. "You know what? I think I'm pregnant."
"Pregnant?" With a thud, Margo set the detector aside and crouched in front of Kate. "How late are you? Have you taken a test?''
"Late enough." Kate closed her eyes, tried to analyze what she was feeling. "I bought one of those instant things at the drugstore. I haven't used it because I'm afraid it'll say I'm not."
"You're using it first thing tomorrow," Margo ordered, and she cupped Kate's face in her hand to take a long look. "Morning sickness?"
"Not really. A little queasy when I first get up, but it passes." She shifted her eyes. "The two of you stop looking at me with those smug, knowing grins."
"Not a chance." Laura sat beside her. "What does Byron say?"
"I haven't mentioned it. In case I'm wrong, I don't want to be wrong," she said shakily. "I know we've only been married a few months and we have all the time in the world, but I don't want to be wrong."
"Another sure sign," Laura declared. "Unstable and heightened emotions."
Then she heard a voice, slow, deep, and male, and admitted that pregnancy wasn't the only cause of unstable and heightened emotions. Lust was definitely right up there in the running.
With her hand still on Kate's shoulder, she got to her feet.
"Is this club for women only?"
"Depends." Margo went to automatic purr. "On the man. Want to help us look for treasure, Michael?"