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Rachel nodded furiously. It was clear they were covering something up.
“Come on, girls,” Claire pressed it. “Let’s not start the new year off like this. What’s going on? Charlotte and I can help.”
Suddenly, a large, strong hand pressed against Claire’s lower back. Russel’s lips found Claire’s cheek for a scratchy kiss. “Happy New Year’s Eve, honey,” Russel said.
Claire turned into Russel’s warmth, surprised at how intimate he was with her. It had been a few days since they’d touched—and a few weeks or months since they’d slept together. It was an immediate distraction from the teenage drama in front of her.
“Happy New Year’s Eve!” Claire echoed, smiling at Russel. “Thanks for bringing the girls.”
“No problem,” Russel said.
Abby and Rachel disappeared back through the crowd, snaking away from Claire and Charlotte, whispering in one another’s ears.
“Were they fighting before you left?” Claire asked.
Russel furrowed his brow. His arm was still slung around Claire’s waist, and she dropped her head against his shoulder. The champagne made her bubbly; it made the warmth and happiness around her feel surreal.
“They seemed normal on the drive,” Russel said.
“They’re eighteen,” Charlotte said with a shrug. “It’s not up to us to understand everything they’re going through.”
“I’ve never heard Gail talk to Abby like that,” Claire offered.
Russel laughed and shook his head. “They’re mostly out of our jurisdiction these days,” he said. “Who knows what they’re getting up to in college? They’re becoming their own people. Sometimes, I wonder if it was a mistake to let them live in the same dorm room together.”
Charlotte sipped her champagne, considering this. “But they insisted on it, right?”
“We can’t split them up,” Claire said, feeling a wave of fear. Gail and Abby had always been inseparable. Gail had been born first, but Abby followed just a second afterward, as though she didn’t want Gail to be lonely.
“But they’ll split up eventually,” Russel reminded her. “They’ll get older, have different jobs, and marry different men. They’ll have different families. Different opinions, even!” Russel’s tone was sarcastic, but his smile was endearing, drawing Claire closer.
“Maybe they can marry twin guys and all live together in a big house,” Charlotte joked. “And maybe Rachel can live with her husband next door.” Clearly, Charlotte had noticed Claire’s fears and wanted to calm her.
Claire sighed and finished the rest of her glass of champagne. It was time for another; it was time to fall into the gorgeous night and celebrate with her family. Russel was probably right that her girls were just going through growing pains. They were just trying to make sense of being eighteen and on the brink of the rest of their lives. Claire had been young once. She remembered.
ChapterTwo
The downstairs bathroom of the Sunrise Cove Inn had an enormous, gold-plated mirror that hung from the ceiling to the floor. It looked like something from the deep past—1920s Paris or Rome, and it was difficult to imagine any Sheridan member ever picking it out. Had it been a selection of Anna Sheridan? The mother who’d died so long ago? Even for Rina, a private investigator accustomed to puzzles and problems, it was hard to make sense of this family, with its numerous secrets and past lives. Rina inspected her reflection in the antique mirror, twisting her torso, looking at her short yet slender legs, her flat feet, and the small belly she’d developed over the holidays. It was nice to take this moment alone in the bathroom and hide from the questioning eyes of the Sheridans and Montgomerys as they celebrated deeper into the night.
Rina knew what they wanted to know. Were Rina and Steve “together” yet? Had Steve actually moved on after his wife’s death? And if he hadn’t, what was Rina doing here, hanging around so many months after last spring’s case had closed? Was she just pathetic?
Rina wasn’t entirely sure how to answer that question, even unto herself. Her entire body ached with sorrow and loneliness when she was in California. While on Martha’s Vineyard, she felt soft and pliable; she laughed often and opened her heart in ways she’d forgotten were possible. And she told herself that the timeline of her “will they, won’t they” romance with Steve was nobody else’s business but hers and Steve’s. And she tried not to allow herself to break her own heart.
Of course, Rina understood Steve’s hesitation. He’d lost his life partner. With Laura gone, he had to unravel decades of memories and make sense of himself in the world alone. His children had tried to follow his lead, but they were often just as lost as he was.
The bathroom door flew open. Three teenage girls entered, two of them in dresses and the other in black jeans. Their names were Gail, Abby, and Rachel— twins and a cousin. Although Rina had met all of the Montgomery family members, she was generally terrified of the younger ones. Teenage girls could be cruel.
It was then she realized Gail was crying. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, bringing the black charcoal from her eyes to her chin. Just when Rina prepared to ask what was wrong, Gail gave her a scathing glare that meant she wanted privacy.
“You girls tell me if you need anything,” Rina murmured, hurrying past and re-entering the hall.
“There she is.” Steve’s voice swelled from the right, and Rina turned as he approached with a glass of champagne. His smile was boyish, proof he’d had a few drinks already. “Come on,” he said. “They’re playing games in the bistro.”
Rina followed Steve through the crowd and took a seat across from Trevor, Kerry, and Kelli, Steve’s father, mother, and sister. Soon after, Steve’s cousin, Lola, appeared and dropped into the seat beside her, flashing her long hair behind her shoulders. Steve shuffled a deck of cards and passed them out as Lola and Trevor made small talk and lightly gossiped about members of their family. Just then, Rina spotted Uncle Wes moving through the crowd, holding Beatrice’s hand, and Lola turned to whisper in Rina’s ear.
“My dad’s going to propose tonight,” she said. “I’m terrified!”
It was rare that Rina felt drawn so deeply into the secrets of this family. “Do you think she’ll say yes?”
