“I called the marina and they sent someone to pick it up,” Luisa replied.
Ann absorbed the information in silence. Luisa hadn’t wanted Heath to return for it.
“He’s going to come back to fix the engine on the speedboat,” Ann said. “He wasn’t done with it.”
“The two men who came here for the truck fixed the engine,” Luisa said shortly. “The job is finished.”
Ann dipped her spoon in and out of her soup thoughtfully. “If you dislike Heath so much, why were you fixing him a snack today, before he was hurt?”
“I don’t dislike him. You can’t blame a child for his parents,” Luisa replied cryptically, and stalked off to the linen closet with the stack of towels.
Ann pushed the soup bowl away and folded her arms on the table, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger thoughtfully.
One way or another, she was going to find out more about Heath Bodine.
* * * *
Amy Horton propped one leg up on a pillow and inspected her bare toenails. “What do you think, amiga mia? Papaya Passion or Suncoral Kiss?”
“Suncoral Kiss,” Ann replied, handing her friend the bottle of bright nail polish. She tiptoed to the door of her room and opened it a crack, making sure her parents were still having after-dinner coffee in the den. Then she turned back to Amy, who was sprawled on the double bed, carefully dabbing coral-colored goo onto the nail of her right big toe.
“Do you know a guy from the island, a couple of years older than us, named Bodine?” she asked Amy.
Amy’s brush stopped moving as she looked up suddenly and said, “Heath Bodine?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course I know him. He’s only the cutest guy on Lime Island. He graduated from Palm High with my I cousin Carol. She was crazy about him but he would never give her the time of day.”
“Amy, your cousin Carol is crazy about everybody—that doesn’t mean very much.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I met him today.”
“You met Heath Bodine?” Ann now had Amy’s undivided attention. “Where?”
“Right here. He came to fix my father’s boat and cut himself. I took him to the hospital.”
Amy put the bottle of polish aside and sat up eagerly. “Is he as gorgeous as Carol says? I’ve never seen him.”
“He’s pretty adorable,” Ann admitted. “What I can’t understand is why Luisa was trying to keep me away from him. She did everything but tie me to a chair.”
“Well, she’s from Hispaniola, too, she probably knows his story,” Amy replied.
“What is his story, for heaven’s sake? Luisa wouldn’t tell me a thing.”
“I think Carol said his father is a drunk and the mother abandoned the family. Before she left she was kind of... promiscuous, I guess. That’s what Carol says, anyway. I know his older sister was on drugs and went to Miami to work the streets to support her habit. She died of an overdose a couple of years ago.”
“How awful,” Ann murmured.
“I know you don’t think Carol is a reliable source, but most of that is true. I’ve heard her parents talking about it.”
Carol’s parents represented the less affluent branch of the Horton family, which was why Carol had attended the local public high school with Heath and not Winfield Academy with Amy and Ann. Carol was currently staying up in North Carolina taking a summer course in journalism at Chapel Hill.
“I don’t like the look on your face, Talbot,” Amy added. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he say he would call you or anything?”
“No.”
“Did he act interested?”
“Not really. He kept trying to get rid of me, but still, there was a look in his eye.”
“That certainly clears it up,” Amy said dryly. “You do realize that if you go after this guy your father will have a stroke and a coronary at the same time. His idea of the perfect date for you is Alan Michael Witherspoon.” She picked up the bottle of polish again and resumed her task.
Ann made a retching sound and dropped into the chair by her bedroom window. “Alan Witherspoon still wears braces and has zits on the back of his neck.”
“His father has forty million dollars, and someday Alan will, too,” Amy replied sagely.
“He has the most beautiful almond-shaped eyes, the color of sherry, and these silky black hairs on the backs of his hands...” Ann said dreamily.
“Alan Witherspoon?” Amy inquired teasingly.
“No, dummy, Heath Bodine. And the longest eyelashes, and the sexiest smile.”
“I see you took a complete inventory. Look, you don’t have to convince me. Carol would have strolled stark naked down Prospect Boulevard if she thought it would make that guy give her a second glance. I’m just telling you that I can guess why Luisa was acting so weird. Your father probably didn’t know who the marina was going to send to your house, and when Luisa saw Heath she decided that it was her duty to discourage your attraction to him.” Amy daintily daubed a toenail, cleaning its edge with her pinkie.
“She didn’t know I was attracted to him.”
“From what I’ve heard, anyone with the appropriate estrogen levels would be attracted to him. Luisa isn’t stupid. She figured if you got a look at each other sparks might fly—and she was right.” Amy put the cap on the bottle of polish and set it on Ann’s dresser, then inspected her foot admiringly.
“Yeah, well, I’ll probably never see him again. The marina sent somebody else to finish the job on my father’s boat, and from Heath’s attitude I doubt if he’ll be inviting me over to his house for tea anytime soon.”
There was a knock at Ann’s door. It opened and Mrs. Talbot stuck her head into the room.
“Ice cream, ladies,” she said. “Come on out to the table if you want some.”
Both girls rose, Amy walking on her heels to protect the drying polish. Ann sent Amy a silencing glance.
“How did you do in the tennis round-robin today, Mrs. Talbot?” Amy asked innocently as they walked down the hall to the kitchen.
Chapter 4
The next morning Ann’s father was at his office, her mother was at a Daughters of the American Revolution meeting, and Luisa was at the market doing the grocery shopping. Ann was deep into the adventures of a Victorian Gothic heroine in the Yorkshire dales when the doorbell rang. Ann padded barefoot over to the front hall to answer it, saving her place in her book with her finger.
Heath Bodine stood on the front portico, Ann’s sweater in his hands.
“Hi,” he said. “Okay if I come in?”
Ann’s heart began to beat faster the moment she saw him. He was wearing tan chino pants with a crisp navy polo shirt that flattered his dark coloring. She stood aside and let him walk past her into the house.
“How’s your hand?” she asked.
“It’s all right. They did a good job sewing it up at the hospital, I guess.” He handed her the sweater, now spotless. “I brought this back for you.”
“You got the bloodstains out!” Ann said, marveling.
He smiled wryly. “I’ve been working at the marina for five years now. Stain removal is my life.”
Ann laughed.
“Would you like a cup of coffee or something? There’s nobody home but me,” Ann said, leading the way into the living room of the house.
“I know. I stayed across the street until I saw everybody else leave.”
Ann looked at him inquiringly.
“I wanted to talk to you alone.”
Ann waited, her mouth going dry.
“I guess Luisa told you all about me,” he said flatly, his gaze expectant.
Ann shook her head.
“Yeah, she got rid of the truck so I wouldn’t have to come back to your house. That’s why I’m here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t appreciate being driven away like a thief,” Heath said darkly.
“Luisa didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, no?” he said, holding her eyes steadily with his own, his posture defiant.