She liked being an ordinary girl. Felt it was enough to get her a loving husband and family. Which was all she’d ever wanted, and Lee had given it to her.
Oddly, he’d also taken it away.
By the time she returned to the bedroom, Lee had cut out his lamp and rolled over to face the wall. When Tuesday shut off herlight and slipped under the covers, he didn’t stir. The hush in the room, along with Lee’s weight next to her, made her heart thump and her breath weak.
“I love you, Tooz.” The bed bounced as he moved onto his back. “I’m sorry it has to be this way.”
“Then we’ve nothing else to say.” Yet the warmth of his skin stirred all her desires, and despite their differences, she wanted his love. “You leave me no choice.”
A beat of silence ended when he asked, “Is the Starlight deed in the house?”
She sat up and clicked on her light. “You touch the Starlight and it’s over, Lee. I mean it. All you’ve been saying about love and finding a way to better our lives will be for nothing.”
“Simmer down, Tooz. It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“It’s just Mr. Trudeau over at the bank asked if we’d filed the deed. He couldn’t find it in the county records.”
“When did you see Mr. Trudeau? Why was he looking? Why ask you instead of me?”
“Guess he saw me first.” Lee grinned. “You look so pretty in the lamplight.”
“I filed the deed, Lee. I pay my taxes.” Her lie felt justified given his query. In her mind, the county had no business with her ownership of the Starlight. If she filed the deed, they might challenge her maiden name, or the prince’s signature. Even the date. They might ask questions about Hoboth—who’d not been heard from in two years.
Would the county consider her deed a fraud? Did Hoboth have a different deed on record? Did he hand Leroy a forgery? Would he reappear one day, the wanderlust from his bones, and demand the return of the Starlight? These questions plagued her on the nights she couldn’t sleep.
More than anything, if she filed with the county, Tuesday feared they’d raise her taxes and require Leroy’s name on it too. Whichwould grant him access to the rink for collateral in his business shenanigans.
Well, not while she breathed the sea air. No, the Starlight deed stayed with her, in a box she’d hidden under a kitchen floorboard.
“Okay, don’t get so riled. I was just asking. But, Tooz, you should put that fancy deed in the county records. It will protect you if anyone tries to come after it.”
“Like who? You?” Tuesday shut off the lamp, and in the dark, she fluffed her pillow and straightened the covers, speaking to her husband without words, fighting the draw of his masculine presence.
“I won’t touch the Starlight, Tooz.”
“Thank you.” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
It felt so strange to lie beside him in bed, three inches and a world apart. “Can I kiss you good night?” he whispered.
“Yes, please, Lee, kiss me. Kiss me now.”
7
MATT
“Can I stay here for a bit?” He sat on the back porch steps next to his father.
“Why ask? Your stuff is already in your room.” Dad peeled off a slice of the orange in his hand and passed it to Matt. “And this is your place too, Hollywood.”
Dad called himHollywoodbefore Tom Cruise andTop Gunhad a naval aviator with that call sign. Matt could never quite discern Dad’s tone when he used the word. Was he proud or just being sarcastic?
“How was work?” Matt popped the orange slice in his mouth and flicked a touch of juice to the ground.
“Busy.” Still in his dusty jeans, plaid shirt, and worn leather work boots, Dad seemed more weary than the last time Matt was home. Which was . . . a year ago? Two years? Dad handed over the last two orange slices.
“You sound tired. Why don’t you let your crew do more of the heavy lifting? You’re sixty-six, Pop.”
