“That’s Avery, right?” I say quietly, nudging Anita.
“Ugh. Yes. Move quietly. I don’t have time for him today.”
I follow her to the parking lot but hear my name.
“Summer! Hey, Summer!”
“Dammit,” Anita says, hilariously annoyed. Something about this guy bugs the hell out of her.
I turn around. “Oh, Avery. What’s up?”
He holds out a hardback copy of my mother’s book,Scars From a Killer. “I wanted to bring this by, so you could get your mom to sign it for me.”
I take the book from him. The book jacket is worn, proving he really had read it. “She’s out of town for a few more weeks on her book tour, but I can leave it for her to get to when she gets back.”
His face brightens into a wide smile. “That’s perfect. Thank you so much.”
“Anytime.”
Anita has already walked off and I turn to follow her when he says, “Summer.”
“Yeah?”
“I know you helped your mom work on the case. She talks about it in the book and in a few interviews. Anyway, could you tell me about it sometime?”
The question is tricky. Does he just want to hang out and talk about serial killers? Or does he want to hang out with me?
Anita must have heard the question because she shouts out, “Aren’t you supposed to meet up with Justin tonight?”
His smile wavers just a little and yeah, that answers my question. “I just took notes and stuff, Avery. I don’t really know much. Come by the shop when my mom gets back and I’m sure she’ll sign and talk to you for a while.”
The smile returns and I make my escape. In the car Anita says, “So he’s really into your mom’s book?”
“Apparently, as are a ton of other people. I spent the day going through all that fan mail. People love my mom and her books.”
A twinkle sets in Anita’s eye and her hands grip the steering wheel. “Oh my god, Summer, I just had the best idea ever.” She turns to me with a wide grin. “We need to have a celebration party for your mom when she gets back at the shop. We can send out invitations and invite all the local fans. She can sign some books and talk to everyone. It will bring so many people into the shop and surely be a huge hit.”
It is a good idea, although I think we should run it past my mom. I tell Anita as much and she says she’ll take care of it. All of it.
We talk about the idea all the way back to the trailer park and she’s still tossing out ideas when I get out of the car. I unlock the trailer and change out of my work clothes. I enter my room to get a pair of shorts when I see a fresh yellow flower across my pillow. I pick it up and smell the sweet fragrance.
I decide then what to do with the rest of my day, and slip on my bikini before pulling on shirts and a T-shirt. I grab my keys and head to the car.
It only takes a few minutes to get to the marina. There’s little traffic, although that will increase in the next week. I turn down the gravel road and then into the parking lot. I know Justin’s at the meeting in Myrtle, but I thought maybe I could surprise Pete. I walk into the office and find Bobby behind the desk.
“Hey cuz, what are you doing here?”
“Stopped by looking for Pete.” I want to thank him for my daily flowers.
“He went into Myrtle with Justin. Part of the meeting is about zoning regulations, and that’s his job to handle.”
I make a face at the idea of both of them being gone. “I guess I’ll catch him later, then.”
“Nick’s out on the launch dock, though, if you want to see if he’s still here.”
The thrum of my heartbeat answers for me. “Great, thanks, Bobby. I’ll see you later.”
I leave the office and walk toward the dock. The marina isn’t huge but it’s efficient. A large three-story storage unit sits to my left. The boats are stacked by a huge forklift. It’s kind of fascinating to watch and it was no surprise the boys loved to work here with fun machines and giant toys.
