“Babygirl.Iwaswondering when you were going to show up.” Darlene pushed her screen door open.
Cassidy paused before entering the Cape Cod cottage. For the first time in a long time, Darlene wasn’t wearing makeup or a crazy outfit. She looked vulnerable without the foundation and eyeliner. Her T-shirt still stretched across her exaggerated bosom, but there was a softness to her now.
“I’m sorry to hear about the bar,” Cassidy said. She meant it. As far as she knew, the bar had been Darlene’s salvation at one point in her life.
“It’s still mine, just not the headache part.” Her lack of eye contact belied her flippant manner.
“I’m still sorry.”
Stepping back, Darlene lifted her eyes. “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I’m sorry. It’s too late to say, I know. I’m a pussy for not coming to the hospital. For not checking in on either of you. But I am sorry.”
Cassidy accepted the words.
Dar braced her hands on her hips. “The second I heard about the accident, I started blaming myself. If only I hadn’t called you. If only I’d called the cops, he could have slept it off in the drunk tank. If only…”
Cassidy smoothed the skirt of her summer dress, the gesture giving her the excuse to look away. “Second-guessing has become my favorite pastime.” She shrugged. Looking back up, she returned the sad smile.
“It was a bad night, baby girl.”
“That’s an understatement, Darlene.”
“Everything’s hindsight now, and I can’t do a thing about it. I’m sorry I called you to come get him. I was mad. He was tearing the place up. But you two… You’re his person. And he’s yours. So, who else was I gonna call? Even if y’all like to pretend it’s just a neighbor thing, it’s the truth. Y’all take care of each other.”
Cassidy stared at her. Her heart speeding up confirmed Darlene’s words.
“I can’t change that night, as much as I want to. You were my solution for him. And maybe you shouldn’t have been, but you were.” Darlene’s gaze implored her to understand.
Darlene was right. They did take care of each other. It was something Cassidy had recognized then, and it was why she’d gone. They’d said it to each other on his boat:I got you.They hadn’t been joking.
“He wasn’t himself. I don’t know why I thought you could handle him better than anyone else. I just did.”
“No. You’re right. I would have called me, too. I think I needed to be reminded of that.” She smiled. “From someone other than Mac.”
Darlene smiled back, her relief palpable.
Cassidy poured herself another glass of wine—it was noon somewhere—and shuffled down to the dock, not caring that she was still wearing her sleep pants and tank. Mac’s boat was gone, so it wasn’t as though she’d have an audience.
The wine was valid this morning. It should be champagne: something momentous because she’d found her wedding rings. Holding up her left hand, the diamond winked back.
Those nights she’d frantically crawled around on her belly with a flashlight, even when she’d looked at Fred suspiciously, she’d been lookingdown, on the floor. It never occurred to her to look anywhere except on the ground. In her mind, she’d thrown her rings toward the door. But she’d been drunk.
She’d thrown them in the fireplace. They’d been residing toward the back, hidden by the logs she kept on the iron rack for decoration. They would have remained hidden until winter if she hadn’t had one of her weird dizzy spells and had gone to her knees beside the ottoman.
While catching her breath, the glint of light had caught her eye.
Wedding rings.
They’d come back to her. Why now? What did it mean? Did it mean anything?
The hum of a motor drew her eyes out across the waters. She knew that sound; was familiar with that roar. Her heart purred along with it, watching as the sleek vessel approached, her eyes shifting to the dark man seated behind the wheel commanding it.
Damn, he did look sexy as hell captaining that thing.
His sunglasses were on, but he’d spotted her. He didn’t wave but she knew he was looking at her, and she swore she noticed a small smile. For her part, the vibrations his attention caused were right on cue.
As he pulled alongside the dock, she got to her feet and paced the boat. He called out, “Mornin’.” Even behind his shades, she could tell that his eyes raked her toe to head before he concentrated on ensuring a safe docking.
His voice was like hot honey; sweet but scorching.