“So.” Clancy headed into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, drinking it down in a few ravenous gulps. “Somebody wants to see the mermaid from the Safe Haven parade float?”
“I do! I love the mermaid! We’re going to see the mermaid!”
Evelyn widened her eyes at Clancy, hoping that he saw how desperately she wanted to change the subject.
He laughed. “I might be able to help with that. I happen to know her personally.”
“Oh?” Evelyn asked.
“Back in two minutes.”
Evelyn watched him jog down the hall and into his room, where he was probably changing clothes, and she found herself wondering . . . was the beautiful mermaid his ex-wife? A former girlfriend? She embarrassed herself at how inappropriate her thinking was. The history of Clancy Flynn’s personal life could wait. She needed to stay focused on the many critically important issues right in front of her.
He came out barefoot, in a well-worn Sam Adams T-shirt and a frayed pair of olive green cargo shorts and she thought, the hell with propriety. “Have you known the mermaid for a long time?”
“Yep, since the day our mother brought her home from the hospital and I drove a Hot Wheel over her face.”
“Whaa?” Evelyn laughed with surprise. The mermaid was his sister!
“She owes me a favor or two, and Chris is such a good . . . kid, maybe a visit could be arranged.”
Chrissy jumped up and down some more. “We going now?”
Evelyn put a hand on Christina’s head to keep her from bouncing around. “Everyone agrees that Chris is a very good kid.” She paused to make sure Clancy understood that for the sake of consistency, Chris was a boy, and he would remain a boy until a slipup would no longer have dire consequences.
Clancy smiled gently at Evelyn, as if reassuring her he understood. “How about we try to see the mermaid tomorrow. In the meantime, would you like to meet the dogs?” He gestured toward the back sliding door to the deck.
“Are they well behaved? Will they jump on Chris?”
“They get pretty excited, so they’ll have to sit first. That’s all the ‘well behaved’ we got. Is Chris afraid of dogs?”
Evelyn smiled sadly. “No. She loves them. We had a border collie for fourteen years. When Jordi died, we buried him under the apple tree near someone’s bedroom window, as requested.” Evie inclined her head toward her niece.
“Gotcha.”
“Look at those silly dogs!” Chrissy exclaimed with delight.
Both retrievers pressed so close to the door that their breath left condensation on the glass. Their tails swished in unison. Evelyn grabbed Christina and propped her on her hip.
“I’ll go first.” Clancy opened the door and told both dogs to follow him to the far side of the deck. “Sit.” They managed, though they were so thrilled to see Evelyn and Christina that they could barely keep their butts on the wood. Clancy got behind the dogs and squatted between them, his hands gently touching their collars. “Good boys. Stay.” He looked up at Evelyn. “Come on over whenever you’d like.”
Evelyn moved cautiously toward the dogs, holding Christina. Her niece’s eyes went wide and she immediately started wiggling to escape.
“Chris will be fine, Evie. Really. I’ll make sure of it.”
There it was again, the reassurance that everything would be all right if she just trusted him. Evelyn let her squirming niece climb down. “Be gentle, Chris.”