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I leaned down and suggested, “Should we return to my shop?”
“Why?”
“To have this… discussion off the street.”
Angel’s mouth opened and formed a stunned little ‘o’.
I steeled myself against the adorable picture she made and kept my expression severe. A glance at my son showed him taking it all in with wide eyes.
Reid was holding up well, given the circumstances.
Before meeting Angel, our visits to the mainland were quiet and uneventful. We’d blended into the background. Few knew our names. Most ignored us or satisfied themselves with smiling from afar.
Today, in less than an hour, we’d drawn more attention than Reid and I had ever gotten in the months we’d lived on the island.
Angel shook her head. “I’ll explain everything to him. You can go.”
Just like that, I’d been dismissed.
Stung, I clamped my fingers over her wrist. She jolted back, looking up at me in surprise. My mind went blank. I spoke the only words that presented themselves in the moment.
“What about my money?”
She tilted her head, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. A second later, her mouth tightened. “I thought you said I shouldn’t worry about the money?”
“I see.” I dropped her hand and rubbed my chin.
“You see what?”
“Is this your routine? You save babies from golf carts and then run off with the wallets of their grateful fathers?”
“It’s only forty bucks.”
“Maybe it isn’t. I haven’t checked.”
She rolled her eyes and grumbled, “I’ll pay you back. Just wait.”
“Angel!” The large man approached us, wheezing pathetically. Sweat rolled down the spiky underside of his beard and the dark lines on his neck.
“Mr. Humphries.” Angel extended her hand and asked, “You don’t happen to have a forty on you, by chance?”
I stiffened. “I don’t want his money.”
“Why not?” She whirled on me, the fire back in her eyes. “Money is money.”
I turned my face away, ending the argument.
She sighed heavily and returned her focus to Humphries. “Are you guys still at the beach?”
“Still at the…?” He smacked his lips together. “Angel, do you know what time it is?”
She scrunched her nose and peered at the sky. “The sun’s setting so it must be around six o—” Angel gasped. “The boat. I missed the boat. Is everyone gone?”
“They spent the last hour looking for you. Principal Amy almost called the cops. I talked her out of it. Promised I’d stay back and look for you myself. She’s really upset.”
“I’m so sorry. I left my phone and bag at the beach or I would have called.”
“Are you okay?” He looked her up and down, gaze lingering on her chest. “What happened?”
