“Yeah, to a guy with an unusual name.”
“Right. Boyz Szweda. Well, he’s rented the house behind mine for July and August.”
“That’s weird.”
“He didn’t know I live here,” Darcy explained. “When I knew him, I lived in Boston and then on the Cape. He told me he is thinking of expanding his real estate company to Nantucket. But never mind him, it’s his stepdaughter, Willow, I’m concerned about. She’s fourteen. She’s Autumn’s daughter—Autumn’s his wife now. Boyz has adopted her, and he says he loves her like his own…he told me that when I ran into him in the grocery store. I know I’m jumbling this up, but stay with me here.”
“Right here,” Nash assured her.
“Okay. When we were at the beach two Sundays ago, I spotted Willow with Logan Smith. He’s a local boy and he’s trouble. He’s eighteen, and she’s fourteen, and he had her pressed up against a sand dune….”
“Are you sure it was Willow?”
Darcy shook her head, irritated by the interruption, although it was a fair question. “Then, I assumed it was. I’ve never met Willow, but she has her mother’s red hair, and I’ve seen the girl from my kitchen window several times. She was carrying groceries into the house with her mother, stuff like that. But the other night when I was sitting out on my patio, I heard them. Willow and Logan. He was trying to get her to have sex. She was protesting, but also kind of not. I didn’t know what to do.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. Willow stopped him and went into the house. I heard Logan get in his truck. I was relieved. I wasn’t sure that it was my place to intrude. But on Monday I was in Stop and Shop, and I accidentally ran into Boyz. Literally. So we said hello and it was polite enough, but then I told him about Willow and Logan, and he brushed me off. He went all superior and told me he and Autumn are Willow’s parents and they know how to take care of her. He accused me of making up a story so I could get his attention. He thought it was all about him. I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
Nash frowned. “You know having sex with an underage girl is statutory rape, right?”
“I do know that. I also know that lots of island girls that age are having sex. The community tries to warn them about diseases and pregnancy and of course the laws, but it’s hard to be logical when you’re a teenager.” Darcy studied Nash’s face. “You think I should have done something.”
“I would have.”
Darcy waited for him to say more. When he stayed quiet, she said, almost defensively, “I talked to Jordan about all this. She thinks I should leave it alone. It’s true, I don’t know anything about Willow, what she does when she’s off island.” Tears swelled in her eyes. “I hate this, Nash. I feel like I’m being judged.”
Nash rose. His expression was so serious, she was afraid he was going to leave, just walk right out the door.
Instead, he came around the coffee table and sat down next to Darcy.
“Hey.” He pulled her against him in a comforting hug. “I apologize if you think I’m judging you. I’m not. I think I’m probably more of a straight arrow than lots of people. Hell, I’ve never even driven the wrong way on any of all those exasperating one-way streets on this island.”
Darcy smiled, glad she knew he was trying to make her smile. She closed her eyes and relaxed against him. “I was telling you all this because of Boyz, really. I mean, I know how bizarre it is that he and his family are living right behind my yard for two months. But when we divorced, neither of us was mad. I guess I’m trying to say we had a passionless divorce. I want you to know I have zero interest in the guy. If anything, I think he’s more arrogant than he was when I met him.”
“Okay, then. I have zero interest in the guy, too.” Nash sank into the sofa cushions, wrapping his arms around Darcy, snuggling her against him.
“As for Willow…it helps to know your thinking. Boyz’s family—his parents, his two sisters—are very close. The father and mother sort of rule the roost. They’re sophisticated and snotty, but their basic values are sterling.”
“That’s good.” Nash kissed the top of her head lightly.
Darcy sighed. “Life is hard to figure out.”
Nash nodded. “Yeah, it’s easy enough to know what to do from a distance, as a rule. But when it’s personal, it gets confusing.”
Darcy heard a note of sorrow in his voice. “Did something like this happen to you?”
Nash tensed up. “Nah. Just speaking in general.”