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Ria stiffened at the reference to Megan's mother. So far, Megan hadn't given away anything, but who knew what was coming next? The doctor had given her niece painkillers that had obviously loosened her already loose tongue. "Just rest," she told Megan. "Talking won't help the swelling."
Drew shot her a sideways glance that told her he knew exactly why she didn't want Megan to talk any more.
She ignored him and glanced out the window. It was after six now, and dusk had settled over the city, a beautiful purple pink glow along the skyline. It would be pretty out on the water now, the stillness of twilight.
But she couldn't escape to sea. She had to be a mom tonight, and even though she'd been in the role for a year and a half, it still didn't quite fit. She was only twelve years older than Megan, and sometimes it was difficult to be aunt, mom, sister and friend all at the same time, especially since Megan had started to push back. She was going through typically rebellious teenage years, which would have been hard enough to handle, but Ria had more than just Megan's hormones to worry about. She had to keep her niece alive. And whatever that required took precedent over teenage angst, at least most of the time.
"I'm hungry," Megan announced. "I didn't have lunch."
"I'll make something when we get home."
"But how am I going to eat anything? My jaw hurts, too."
"I'll make you a smoothie," she suggested.
"I already had a smoothie for breakfast. I could eat some noodles. Can we stop at the Hot Wok on the way home?"
"I'll call in an order after we get home," Ria replied.
"It will take over an hour. They're super slow for delivery," Megan reminded her.
"I'm happy to stop," Drew offered.
"I'm sure you'd like to be on your way," she said.
"I have nowhere to be, and I'm hungry, too. Sailing worked up an appetite. Where is this place?"
Deciding that an argument would take longer than stopping for food, she said, "Turn left at the next corner. It's on the right side of the street." Megan was in pain, and getting her something she could eat was the least Ria could do. "It's hard to park, so if you want to wait in the car, I can run in and order. It usually doesn't take too long to pick up. Delivery is a different story."
"No problem." Drew pulled over to the side of the road in front of a loading zone.
"Is there something you like?" she asked.
"Whatever you order is fine with me."
As Ria opened the car door, she realized she was leaving Megan alone with Drew, and that probably wasn't a good idea. But Megan wasn't going to go in with her, and Drew had to stay with the car. She just needed to make this stop as fast as possible.
"Don't worry," Drew said, catching her eye. He gave her a knowing smile. "Megan and I will get better acquainted."
That's exactly what she was afraid of.
* * *
Drew put the car into park, then turned in his seat so he could see Megan. The girl's face was swollen and bruised, but there was still beauty in her features. She had dark hair and dark eyes and an olive skin tone. She didn't look at all like Ria. Half-sister, he wondered, or maybe even step-sister? Or was she a relative at all? At this point, he wasn't sure of anything where Ria was concerned.
He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Megan, but seeing the hazy pain in her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to take advantage of her weakened state. Well, maybe he could just a little.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
She sighed, taking the ice pack away from her face. "My life sucks."
He bit back a smile. He'd heard those exact same words come out of his sisters' mouths a million times. "You're having a rough day."
"Not just today," she muttered. Before he could question that statement, she added, "How do you know Tory?"
He wasn't sure if it was wise to mention the island to Megan, so he said, "We met a while ago, and we ran into each other by the yacht club yesterday. Today she gave me a sailing lesson."
Megan gave him a suspicious look. "She never mentioned you to me."
"She never mentioned you to me, either."
Silence fell for a moment, and then Megan said. "So do you like her?"
