Refuge Cove (New Americana 2)

She was meeting John’s son.

CHAPTER 8

The youth gave Emma a questioning look. Then his face lit in a grin. “Hey, I remember you. You were at the driver’s license place. I saw you filling out your application.”

“It’s nice to meet you, David.” Still stunned, Emma had to struggle for words. “I don’t remember seeing you. I guess I wasn’t looking up.”

“If I’d known we’d be working together, I’d have come over and said hi.” David seemed as open and friendly as his father was taciturn and reserved.

“I would’ve liked that,” Emma said, knowing better than to say more. This was no time to bring up her relationship with David’s father.

“So, are you ready to show me the ropes, Aunt Pearl?” David asked.

Aunt?

Emma must have looked startled because Pearl was quick to explain. “David’s stepfather, Carl, is my younger brother. I’ve known this boy since he was just a little sprout.”

“I’m not supposed to be working here because I’m under eighteen,” David said. “But Aunt Pearl promised to keep an eye on me, so here I am. Don’t tell anybody.”

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” Emma gave him a smile as two customers walked in the door. “Meanwhile, it looks like time to get back to work.”

Business picked up toward evening. Emma and Pearl were kept busy running orders to the kitchen and back. David had broken a plate early on, but now he was learning fast, clearing the tables as soon as they were empty. Watching the boy, Emma caught glimpses of how John must’ve looked at that age—tall and gangly, his body still filling out, his hands big and long fingered. David would grow up to be a good man, she thought. A strong man, like his father.

Seen through the window, the last rays of the setting sun brushed the clouds with pewter and violet. Streetlights flickered on, glowing through the light mist that had crept in over the water.

By now, John would be winging home from his mail run. He would fly above the muskeg where he’d first found her, bank over the water, and glide into Refuge Cove. From there he would drive home to his cabin, light a fire, eat supper, and settle in for the night—a night she wouldn’t be there to share.

By closing time it was dark outside. Emma was wiping off the last table when a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up to the curb. The woman who climbed out and strode inside was strikingly tall, with a model’s figure and long, dark blond hair. She was fashionably dressed in tight jeans, high-heeled boots, and a short lambskin jacket.

Only when Pearl greeted her with “Hello, Marlena,” did Emma realize who stood before her. This woman was John’s ex-wife, David’s mother, and Boone’s sister.

It was hard not to stare. Marlena’s resemblance to Boone was unmistakable—the chiseled jaw and straight nose, the commanding blue eyes, the golden skin and hair. She had Boone’s lanky grace and a cool gaze that seemed to look through Emma without seeing her at all.

“Where’s David?” she asked Pearl. “I’m here to drive him home.”

“In the kitchen,” Pearl said. “He’ll be out in a minute. He did fine tonight. You’d have been proud of him.”

“I’d be prouder if he’d stay home and work on improving his grades. But now that he has his license, all he cares about is getting his own car. What about his future? I ask you. What about college?”

“You didn’t go to college,” Pearl said. “Neither did Carl, and he’s been a good provider for you and the boys.”

Marlena ran a manicured hand through her golden mane of hair. “Oh, I know. But I want something better for David. Maybe I’m afraid that if I don’t push him, he’ll end up a worthless drunk like his father.”

“John’s done all right for himself, Marlena. A pilot with his own plane—”

“Maybe so. But I remember how he used to drink when we were married. People don’t change. That’s why I never want him around David.”

The conversation ended abruptly when the kitchen door swung open and David walked out, wiping his hands on a towel. “Hi, Mom,” he said.

“It’s about time,” Marlena said. “Come on, you’ve got homework.”

“Okay,” David said. “But remember it’s a teacher training day at school tomorrow, so there’ll be no classes. Aunt Pearl said I could come in early tomorrow and pick up some extra hours.”

Marlena sighed and shook her head. “All right. But I wish you were saving your money for

college instead of that blasted car.”

She left without saying good-bye, David trailing behind her. An awkward silence hung in the air as the big SUV pulled away. Emma turned back to wiping the table.