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“This doesn’t look like you banged it. It looks like someone grabbed you. Hard. Did someone do this to you? Was it me?”
“No! You’d know if you bruised me.” He looked so horrified. As though he was trying to think about whether he’d done this to her.
“Look, the truth is that Uncle Willy was feeling slightly unsteady and grabbed me to regain his balance. I bruise easily. That’s all.”
Ian’s face grew hard. “He hurt you?”
“Not on purpose.”
“Promise me.”
Sheepsbollocks.
She felt bad. But she had promised Uncle Willy before Ian. And besides, it wasn’t really a lie. Uncle Willy hadn’t really meant to hurt her.
“I promise.”
“Maggie!” Uncle Willy called out.
“Coming! Please don’t say anything to him. He’s upset that it happened.”
Ian nodded but still didn’t look happy. Maggie turned away to head up the sand dunes to where the car was parked, but he grabbed her. “I’ll get the bags.”
“It’s my job. Your job is to watch us. Remember?” she said.
“I’ll get the bags,” he repeated sternly. “You need to stop arguing.”
Such a diddlemonkey. But she decided to give him this since he wasn’t going to mention her bruised wrist. She sighed in relief.
“Maggie! I need you over here to play model,” her uncle called out.
“Coming!” she called back and jogged over.
There was something wrong.
And Ian didn’t like it.
It was just a bruise. And it could easily have happened just as she’d said.
So why didn’t he like that explanation?
“Yo, what’s up? What are you doing up here alone?”
He looked over as Jack jogged up to him. “Getting the bags.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “And taking your eyes off our charges? Not like you.”
“I can see them from here.” But he didn’t like being apart from them.
From her.
So he handed Jack one of the bags and started back down toward the beach, where William was taking photos of his niece.
Ian found himself curious about what those photos would look like. And if he could get himself a copy.
“What’s up with you? You seem even grouchier than usual.”
“There’s a bruise on her wrist.”
