“If you don’t mind me asking, when’s the baby due?”
“April. It seems a long way away.” A gust of ocean breeze blew strands of hair across her face. She tucked them back behind an ear.
“Ah, it’ll be here before you know it.”
“Do you have children?”
“One. A son. He’s married.”
“Grandchildren?”
“Not yet.”
“I see you out walking a lot, even when it’s pretty brisk out here. Do you work? Or are you retired?”
“Semi-retired. Taking a break right now.”
“I see.” But she didn’t. If Juli had taken a break from work, back when she worked, winter at the beach wouldn’t have been her first choice. Now, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. And what about all those family members Pat expected to visit—per Marisa.
Juli saw a man standing on the beach ahead, too distant for her to see him clearly. She had a moment of alarm and stutter-stepped.
“Something wrong?” Pat’s voice sharpened.
“No, I’m fine. Thought I saw someone I know. False alarm.”
“Oh? It sounds like someone you’d rather not see.”
“That’s it, exactly. He’s someone I used to know.”
“Is he an old boyfriend? They don’t always stay in the past where they belong.”
She laughed. “Frankie, a boyfriend? No. Never. Although lots of women think he’s cute. I’ve never understood it.”
A gust of ocean wind drove cold, stinging sand across their faces.
Pat shivered. “Ready to turn back?”
“Sure.”
They turned around. The wind was kind enough to stay at their backs, prodding them toward the house. Ben’s house. Her house. It stood out from the nearby houses, an improbable shade of green she would never have chosen, not in a million years, but she loved it. “Sea Green Glory.”
Pat peeked out from her hunched up coat collar. “Yes? What?”
“Sea Green Glory. You know that, of course. Marisa said you asked for it specifically.”
“Of course.”
“I call it the Glory. I guess it sounds grandiose. Or silly.”
“Not at all. Sea Green has a nice beachy feel, but Glory gives it flair.”
“Flair. I like that.” Ben had used that word to describe her drawing. It seemed so long ago. “Glory sounds like hope to me. Hope and dreams.”
Pat went silent as she watched Juli walk through the little gate onto her side of the porch. Juli gave her a wave and went inside.
Juli fixed a tall drink of tea, did a quick double-check of the door locks, including the slide bolts, then went up to the tower to resume the portrait.
She took comfort in painting the lines of his face, the planes of his cheeks and jaw, the shadow of a brow over toffee-colored eyes. Medium brown, slightly shaggy hair.
No, It wasn’t Rembrandt, and it wasn’t ever going to grace the walls of a gallery, but this painting, should she finish it and decide it was good enough to share, would be for their child.
There was an image hiding in the shades of light and dark. A leaner face with sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. They were cousins. A resemblance was reasonable.
Juli touched her brush into the wet paint on the canvas to soften the lips.
A resemblance, yes, but never a risk of mistaking one for the other.
Chapter Thirty-One
Luke welcomed the retired nurse into his office. He signaled to Brendan he’d be tied up for a while, then closed the door.
“Mrs. O’Brien. Thank you for coming.”
“No problem at all. I needed to come over this way to pick up some things from my house anyway. Please call me Pat.”
“Maia is with Juli?”
“Yes, I watched them leave together. Maia is going with her to the OB appointment.”
Luke nodded.
“But I’m not altogether happy about leaving the Glory unprotected, so to speak. Sorry, Juli has gotten me into the habit of calling it that.”
“So, she’s talking to you? She seems okay?”
“We’ve walked the beach together a few times. I’ve seen a man who fits the description you gave me, but the description is so general I can’t be certain.”
“I see.”
“Would you reconsider calling the police?”
Luke shook his head. “He hasn’t done anything threatening, or that would even seem mildly threatening, if reported to the police.”
“You could tell them he’s suspected of theft. You said you’d threatened to do tell the police before and it kept him away for a while. I checked with a friend in the department and he said Frank Bowman spent a few weeks in jail recently for some old tickets and a fresh DUI. He won’t want to go back.”