The Sweetest Summer(114)
“Have a pleasant day.”
“Ayuh, you as well. Thank you, again. Truly!”
Charlie shook his head in wonder, closing the door. The second he was inside he ripped open the tiny envelope. It wasn’t her handwriting, but they were her words.
Pop-Pop,
We are safe and have help. Forgive me! It will work out and we’ll see each other soon. We love you and miss you and are sad we can’t share your birthday. I will stay in touch.
Love, C&J
Charlie wandered into the kitchen, lit the gas stove, and stuck the card in the flame. He tossed it into the kitchen sink and watched it shrivel into a wisp of ash. Note? What note?
Take that, FBI!
* * *
Clancy stayed in the mudroom and kept his voice down as he waited for his sister to pick up the line.
“Hi.”
“Hey. Whatcha doin’?”
“Serving coffee for guests. Hold on. What?” He’d heard his sister mumbling in the background. “Mellie says she misses you.”
“Tell her we’ll do the fandango next time I’m over there, which will be soon.” When Rowan had repeated his response, he heard Imelda Silva’s familiar laugh.
Mellie came to work as the family cook and housekeeper soon after Clancy was born, and stayed on when the Safe Haven became a bed-and-breakfast. Though her wealthy daughter insisted she retire, she had no interest in it. Mellie said she knew too many people who died soon after they put in their last day on the job.
“What’s up?” Rowan sounded busy.
“I’ll just get right to the point. I need a favor.”
“Oookay.” She hesitated. “As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with Mona and Frasier, because I don’t want anywhere near that.”
Gee, that sounded familiar. “I just need you to put on your mermaid costume and entertain a four-year-old for a few hours. Nothing major. Make cookies or something. This kid has been obsessed with your beauty since the parade and has been begging to meet you.”
It got quiet for a moment. “You’re not supposed to drink on duty.”
He chuckled. “How many times have I asked you for a favor this big?”
“This is a first.”
“So you’ll do it?”
He heard his sister sigh. “You didn’t forget that tonight is the clambake, right?”
Damn! He had forgotten. “Of course not. But we’ll be out of your hair by four or five.”
Rowan groaned. “Can’t we do this some other day?”
“I really need your help today.” Clancy didn’t want to pique his sister’s curiosity by sounding desperate, but, hey, he was. “It’s important.”
“Okay, okay. How can I say no? You’ve saved my bacon so many times it’s not even funny. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time you asked me to do anything for you.”
“I don’t either.”
“But out of all the requests you could have made—why does it have to involve me getting dressed up like the damn Mermaid Queen? You know I hate it. Can’t I just keep an eye on this kid dressed like a human being?”