Hidden Depths(49)

“Obviously,” the girl said sullenly, glancing around herself and yanking up the bright-pink tube top she had been incredibly brave to wear. Her assets in the tank-top department were considerably bigger than Andrea’s and Andrea would have never dreamed of testing the elastic of a small piece of material that way. Of course, the girl probably wouldn’t mind if it slipped as long as she had the right audience to witness it. Looking around for said right audience, she asked, “Where’s Evan?”

“Off island.”

“Huh. I guess. I didn’t see him dock, though, and I usually do.” The girl looked around as if she didn’t believe Evan wasn’t really there and maybe was ready to do a search. But then she turned her attention back to Andrea, studying her skeptically. “You know I came over here to tell him his mother was in town and asking about him. And I think it’s kind of rude not to let him talk to his mother, by the way, if you’re the reason he’s not answering her calls. When did you get here anyway? Because I didn’t see you here yesterday and now she’s just hanging around town and I think my dad might have even taken her on a date or something if you can believe that.”

The girl talked at a wildly frantic pace and Andrea wondered if she herself had ever been so young. Actually, she knew she hadn’t.

“So I came to tell Evan, but it’s funny because just as I was heading to the boathouse I get tapped by this guy with a funny accent who wanted to show me a picture of a girl. I figured he was a pervert and everything, and since nobody was around, I just blew him off, but he kept trying to get me to look at a picture. Said it was a girl with dark hair, real pretty he said and wanted to know if I’d seen her. I only looked at it for a second, but you know, it could be you.” She added apparently for the record, “And she wasn’t that pretty.”

The fact the girl was here out of the blue was more than enough evidence that no boat stealing or Olympic swim would be required for Andrea to do what she needed to do. Moreover, since the girl had seen her she probably should just do it. Leave the island. Leave Evan.

To add this chilling additional piece of information was almost overkill from the fates.

But Andrea said stupidly anyway, “What? What are you talking about?”

The girl shrugged. “His mother. Evan’s mother.”

“No, the other thing.”

“Oh that. I’m just saying. If it’s you, though, you look a lot older in real life. No offense or anything.”

Andrea could feel the blood drain from her face and the girl added hurriedly, “I didn’t mean that how it sounded. It was just an old picture, I guess. And don’t worry about it because it seems like nobody told him they’d seen you. I mean I hadn’t anyway, so I didn’t say anything. Is he some kind of pissed-off husband chasing you down or something? Because really, we have a sheriff in town for that kind of thing, although he’s kind of a jerk, always hassling this friend, well not really a friend of mine. Anyway, if this guy is bothering you, you should report him. Married or not, you have your rights, you know?”

“Who was he?”

The girl did a double take. “You’re asking me? Like how would I know? Anyway, don’t get all heart-attacky or anything. I won’t say anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Andrea gave a metaphorical as well as physical nod to fate, her loose hair falling in her face. Freddie had sent someone else. Of course he had. And now maybe Evan would get dragged into it. Hurt even.

So much for her plan of hiding out here.

Almost subconsciously, her hand went to the bandage underneath her T-shirt. She was healed.

She was. Physically anyway. But Evan was unwittingly providing fodder for fresh wounds, and even worse, she was letting the danger potentially come close to him. Now that she was thinking straight—sort of—she needed to get away from him before either of them did any further damage.

“Listen, I meant to go back with Evan but he left before I woke up,” she lied blithely into the scowl occasioned by the reference to her and Evan sleeping in the same vicinity. “I need to get back, though, and I can’t wait for him to come back and take me. So do you think you could help me out and give me a ride back to town?”

Having a woman on Evan’s island didn’t make the girl very friendly, but getting one off it seemed to certainly seemed to please her. The girl smiled for the first time, the effect of it making her fresh beauty even more appealing, incredibly enough. Andrea fought the stab of jealousy she felt at leaving Evan to this girl’s unfair charms.