“Have you tried it?”
“Once. It didn’t go well.” Linc’s grin was rueful. “Do you ride? I’m sure Ruby would be happy to give you some lessons in how to play.”
Although Claire had never been on a horse, she could imagine how empowering it would feel to charge down the field in pursuit of the ball at speeds of thirty to forty miles an hour. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“It must take years to learn to ride well enough to do this.”
“You wouldn’t play at this level to start off. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are beginners that you could team up with.”
Though intrigued, Claire shook her head. She didn’t have the time or the money to spend on something like polo.
“Linc, there you are.” It was Landry Beaumont, yet another stunning woman with her sights set on Linc. “Where did you disappear to after lunch? It’s nearly halftime. Come meet my brother. He’s on Austin’s team. We can harass them about losing to a bunch of girls.”
While Linc was distracted by Landry, Claire faded from his side, fighting the dismay swelling in her chest. What had she expected? She’d known from the first that anything between her and Linc was temporary at best.
And from what she’d gleaned after Bettina’s party, it sounded like everyone was rooting for a relationship to develop between Linc and Landry. With her family connections, beauty and interests, she was being touted as the perfect girl for him.
Done with her work, Claire headed for the exit, her foolish heart aching. Unfortunately, her escape was thwarted by Everly Briggs.
“There you are,” Everly said. Today, she wore a filmy floral dress in various warm pastel shades, a broad-brimmed hat festooned with poppies, and dark glasses. “You?
?re not leaving already, are you?”
Feeling shabby beside the socialite, Claire nodded. “It’s been a long day and I should be getting back to my daughter.”
“Well, then, I’m so glad I caught you. You did a terrific job for us today. Do you have all the receipts so I can get our treasurer to write a check for you?”
The last thing Claire wanted was to be delayed, but she’d paid for the food out of her own pocket and needed to be reimbursed. “I have everything in my car.”
“Can you get it and bring it back here? I’ll go find Deirdre.”
“Of course.”
Claire made her way through the parking lot to her Saab and retrieved the folder that held all her receipts, as well as the paperwork the committee had requested she fill out so they could reimburse her.
When she arrived at the spot where she and Everly had parted, the other woman hadn’t yet returned. While she waited, Claire’s gaze roved the crowd in search of Linc’s tall form. She spotted him with Austin and a blond man she assumed was Landry’s brother, since the group also included her and Ruby.
“Well, look who’s here,” said a familiar female voice from just behind her shoulder.
Claire’s head snapped around and there stood Jasper’s mother and father. The malicious satisfaction in their expressions caused Claire to step back from them.
“Doug. Sharon.” Claire couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What are you doing here?”
“You look surprised.” Doug Patmore sneered. “Didn’t think we would find you?”
Of average height with tanned skin and a fleshy face, Jasper’s father used the force of his personality rather than his physical presence to intimidate. Claire had never cared for the way he invaded her space. She suspected he enjoyed her discomfort.
The incongruity of seeing these two in Charleston, at a polo match, a party she was catering, left her dumbfounded and mute.
“Where’s our granddaughter?” Sharon demanded. “You had no right to take her away from us and we insist on seeing her at once to make sure she’s okay.”
The accusation made Claire want to shriek. Their outrageous claims were the reason why she’d packed up and fled California not long after Jasper’s death. She was terrified she might lose Honey once his parents started challenging her for custody of their granddaughter.
Logically, she knew that they might not have enough against her to convince a judge that Honey wasn’t safe in her care, but she wasn’t confident that the system would work for her this time after it had failed her seven years earlier when a lie had branded Claire as dangerous to children.
And with Jasper dead, who would believe his parents were poor guardians? It would be her word against both of theirs if she claimed that as soon as he graduated high school, Jasper had gone into the military and cut all ties with his parents.