“Okay, go ahead.” He transferred his gaze to Beebee. “Looks like it’s you and me, squirt.” She glanced up at him with a trusting toothy grin that would have softened the hardest heart. God knows, it reduced his to a puddle.
Amy bestowed Reid with a brilliant smile. “Thank you. You’re seriously cool for an old dude.”
“Amy,” he began. “There’s something we need to talk about.” He’d spoken to Elaine on the phone yesterday and she’d given him the go-ahead to tell Amy who he was but between his book, Beebee and helping Amy with job applications, he hadn’t found a quiet moment to talk.
“Can it wait until I get back?” she said. “I’m already late.” Without waiting for an answer, she bent to hug Beebee. “Be a good girl for Reid and don’t run away again. I’ll see you both in a little while. Wish me luck.”
“Sure,” Reid said, ashamed of his relief at the temporary reprieve. “Break a leg.”
Lunchtime came. Reid piled phone books on a kitchen chair and sat Beebee down with a peanut-butter sandwich and a glass of milk. She ate out the insides, smearing her face with peanut butter and leaving the crusts. Daisy wagged her tail hopefully, never taking her eyes off the dangling strips of bread.
Tara glided into the kitchen looking tired and disgruntled in spite of her immaculately pressed mint-green T-shirt and beige shorts. She rummaged in the fridge for an orange and grumbled to Reid, “The kid woke me up at six this morning.”
“Tawa!” With a grin, Beebee offered the tattered remnants of her sandwich to the older girl.
Despite herself, an answering smile tugged at the corners of Tara’s mouth but she frowned and replied brusquely, “Beebee eat.” Rolling her eyes at her father she added, “She’s got me talking like a two-year-old.” Tara peeled her orange over the sink, fastidiously placing each scrap of peel into the garbage as it came off. “There are toys and laundry all over the living-room floor. That was Mom’s favorite room.”
“We never use it since she passed away,” Reid said quietly. “Maybe it’s time someone did.” He handed Beebee her milk. She slurped it, dribbling most of it down her chin. Reid wiped her face with a cloth and said to Tara, “I remember when you were this age. You were so neat you hated having a mess on your face or hands.”
“I still do.” Tara pulled apart the juicy segments with her fingertips and shook the drips off before popping one into her mouth. “Why did Amy come here, anyway?” Tara demanded. “How long are they going to stay?”
Reid hesitated. Tara deserved to know the truth, too, but telling her before he talked to Amy didn’t seem right.
“I don’t know how long they’ll be here,” Reid said at last. “Amy’s looking for work and that takes time. She’s a little mixed up right now. I wish you’d be more friendly. You used to look up to her when we lived in Halifax.”
“Yeah, well, I was just a kid back then. Anyway, it’s not like I knew her that well. Most of the time when you went to see the Hockings, you went on your own.”
“My family knew them when they lived in Vancouver,” Reid explained. “Your mom didn’t have the same connection.” Or interest, he added silently.
“Whatever,” Tara said. “I’m going to the community center with Libby after lunch to see what they’ve got for summer art courses. Can you drive us?”
“I would but I have to look after Beebee and we haven’t got a car seat for her.”
“Yesterday you couldn’t take me to the mall because you had to help Amy with her résumé,” Tara complained.
“The mall isn’t far,” Reid pointed out. “Amy walked from there carrying Beebee and a duffel bag.”
Tara blew out an explosive breath. “You think Amy’s so great! She’s got her stuff all over the bathroom, she won’t eat anything we eat and now she’s got you babysitting. Everything’s changed since she arrived.” Tara glared at him. “She’s taken over our house.”
She’s taken over you. Tara couldn’t have said it more clearly if she’d spoken the words. Reid was seeing another side to his quiet sweet-natured daughter. He shouldn’t be surprised she was jealous of the time he spent with Amy and Beebee; she’d had him all to herself for three years since Carol had died.
“Her parents are old friends and I’ve known Amy since she was a baby. Putting her up for a couple of weeks until she sorts herself out doesn’t seem too much to ask.”
Tara rinsed off her hands and dried them. “She’d better be home in time for us to go to my violin recital tonight. You can’t bring that baby.”
“I know,” Reid assured her. “I’m sure Amy’ll be home any minute.”
After lunch Reid tucked Beebee into bed for a nap and went back to work. At first he kept an ear out for Amy but as time passed and she didn’t return, he got deeper and deeper into his story.
“Where my mommy?” Beebee suddenly spoke at his elbow.
Reid started. Still engrossed in his narrative, he answered distractedly, “She’ll be home soon.”
Beebee tugged on his sleeve and Reid dragged his gaze away from the monitor to see her staring at him with bright blue unblinking eyes. “Want Mommy.”
Out in the bay, water covered the sandbars and wind surfers skimmed the white-flecked waves. He glanced at his watch. Four o’clock. The tide was in but Amy wasn’t.
By six o’clock Tara was in a flap. Her recital was at seven and they needed twenty minutes to drive to the hall. After tears and angry words, she called a friend for a ride and stomped out the door without Reid.
After dinner, Reid sat on the couch with Beebee on his lap and switched on Nina’s current-affairs show. Tonight she was interviewing a man who’d narrowly missed being hit by a chunk of meteorite that had fallen through his roof while he’d been eating breakfast.
“That’s your grandma,” he whispered into Beebee’s ear.
Nina had done something different to her hair. The chin-length blond strands had been tweaked into a wayward whimsical style. The sparkle in her eye, her vivacious laughter had her guest hanging on her every word. And the way that red suit clung to her figure—she and Amy could have been sisters. Reid had to admit, Nina still had it.
Sometimes he thought about calling her and getting together for a drink, for old times’ sake. Then he remembered how the old times had ended and realized that wouldn’t be such a good idea. Anyway, she was probably happily married, with a family.
Amy would be thrilled to find out her biological mother was in the entertainment business. For Amy’s sake, he prayed that Nina would be as thrilled to hear from her daughter. Elaine had told him she’d given his address to Nina’s mother. He’d waited for Nina to call but so far nothing. Maybe she wasn’t interested in meeting their daughter. Or maybe his presence put her off. Regardless, he had to tell Amy the truth tonight. Surely he could find the words to make her realize how much he cared, how the lie had been forced upon him….
He glanced at his watch. Seven o’clock and Amy still wasn’t home. He was starting to get seriously worried. Two or three hours, she’d said. Here it was ten hours and counting. Where was she? Why didn’t she call?
Reid switched off the TV. What if Amy’d had an accident or been abducted? She could be injured or in trouble. His writer’s imagination combined with a father’s sensibilities had no trouble conjuring scenarios of death, dismemberment and disaster.
Reid dragged a hand through his hair and racked his brain trying to remember if she’d written down the number or address of where she was going. If it was anywhere, he decided, it’d be in the spare bedroom she and Beebee were occupying.
NINA PULLED