That Man of Mine (Whispering Bay Romance 3)

Allie let Toby out in the yard and Mimi went to open the door to Claire’s room. The bed was unmade and there were papers strewn all over her desk. A huge pile of dirty laundry sat like a mountain in one corner of the room. “I see nothing,” Mimi said, chanting the mantra of mothers of teenage daughters everywhere. “Buttercup,” she crooned, “come out baby so I know you’re in here.”

Mimi heard a soft mewling sound. She tossed aside the comforter on Claire’s bed, but no Buttercup. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Mimi called out.

This time the mewling was louder, which meant Buttercup was probably trapped somewhere. Last week, she’d been stuck in Claire’s closet. Mimi opened the closet door, but no Buttercup. There was another meow, followed by a soft scratching sound. It was coming from Claire’s chest of drawers. She followed the sound to the bottom one and pulled it open. Buttercup came flying out and whizzed past her and out of the room.

Good grief! How on earth had the kitten gotten stuck in a drawer?

Mimi was about to close the drawer when a neatly folded paper caught her attention. It was partially hidden beneath a sweatshirt.

She gulped. Obviously, Claire had hidden it here on purpose. But…why? It wasn’t like Mimi went through her desk or anything. She picked up the folded letter and stared at it for a few seconds. She wasn’t the type of mother who sneaked around her daughter’s room. That was more her own mother’s modus operandi.

It was probably nothing. Maybe a note from one of her friends that she’d wanted to save. Or maybe even a love letter. Of course, if it was, Mimi had no clue who’d written it. Claire hadn’t mentioned a boy since Adam.

She couldn’t help but stare at the letter. Call it instinct or mother’s intuition, but some feeling older than time told her she needed to open this.

Put it back where you found it, Mimi.

She swallowed the feeling back down her throat. Claire was seventeen and a senior in high school. She deserved some privacy.

Mimi went to put the letter back beneath the sweatshirt when something at the top edge of the paper caught her attention. It was a colored logo, easily seen even through the folded paper. This wasn’t a personal letter, this was correspondence with an official letterhead. Mimi took a big breath and slowly opened it. The letterhead was from Florida State University and it was dated back in early February.

Dear Ms. Grant,

We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into Florida State University. Your excellent academic record qualifies you for our very prestigious Freshman Honors Program…

Mimi hardly heard a word Bettina or anyone else said during the meeting. For the most part, the meeting was more of a formality, really. All the hard work had already been done. The contracts were all signed—all the rental equipment, the band, the porta-potties, everything they needed for the festival was a go. The Facebook page seemed to be a huge success, and everyone, even Sherry, had nothing but praise for her. Bettina was still reserved in her compliments, but she wasn’t riding Mimi’s butt every two seconds with some ridiculous problem, either.

Doreen gave her a big thumbs up before getting in her car to take off, leaving Mimi alone in the parking lot.

She should be happy. Everything with the festival had worked out all right. But all she could do was stare at the car keys in her hand. She could go home and wait for the kids to get back from eating dinner with Zeke and confront Claire. Or, she could simply drive out to the fishing cabin now and join them, but she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth closed about that letter. Whatever reason Claire had for hiding it, Mimi was sure it would end in some sort of argument between them. It would ruin the night, and Zeke and the kids didn’t get as much time together anymore.

Maybe she’d give Lauren a call. Or Kitty or Pilar, and they could give her some advice on what to do. She had tons of friends who would be more than happy to listen to her. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that the only person she wanted to talk to right now was Zeke. He might be the most maddening man on the planet, but he was her best friend, too.

*~*~*

Claire’s car came rambling up to the driveway a little before nine p.m. Mimi waited till both her children were quietly doing homework. “I’m going out for a while,” she said, poking her head into Claire’s room.

Claire looked up from her chemistry book. “Now?”

“I won’t be long,” Mimi said. “Can you make sure Cameron takes Toby outside before he puts him down for the night?”

Claire’s brows drew together. “Everything okay, Mom?”

How should she answer that?

“Sure, hon, everything’s fine.”

Mimi had never driven out to the fishing cabin before. The side roads were dark and the cabin wasn’t clearly marked. If it wasn’t for Zeke’s police cruiser parked outside she would have missed it entirely.

It took him a few minutes to answer the door. He was barefoot, dressed in a pair of old jeans and nothing else. His chest was damp with sweat, making the shark tattoo on his right shoulder glisten. It made him look dangerous somehow. Without saying anything, he threw back the door to let her in.

“How are you living here with no air-conditioning?” she blurted. She paced the small but tidy living area. There was a couch and a coffee table. A compact kitchen to one side and a small bedroom made up the rest of the place. Efficient, but hardly comfortable.

He shrugged. “It’s not so bad. I take a shower before I go to bed at night and keep all the windows open. The river gives off a good enough breeze.” He glanced down at his sweaty chest. “I just finished a ten mile run and was about to get in the shower when you knocked.”

The way he talked about this place…it sounded so permanent. She’d never meant for things to go this far.

“Come home, Zeke. Right now. This instant.”