“Remember that girl you met at the high school camp? The one in all those photos?”
“Yeah, sure.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting.
“Bree reminds me of her.”
He slowly nodded. “I kind of get that. I mean, I’ve seen her from a distance, and she seems kind of smallish with long brown hair. I guess that could resemble . . . that other girl.” For some reason, he couldn’t say her name. Brynna. Was that how deep the cut had been?
“So, you noticed it too?” Gina studied him closely.
“Well ... from a distance, maybe. But Sophie said Bree’s probably in her early thirties, and as you know, her name is Bree Philips. The girl I knew was my age, and her name was Brynna Meyers.”There, he said it. Maybe that would help inoculate him from any further pain. Why hadn’t he burned those stupid photos by now?
“Yeah, I guess that sounds crazy. But she seemed familiar for some reason. Anyway, you really need to meet her, Dad.”
“Believe me, I’ve been trying.”
“Well, try harder.” She lifted the wheelbarrow handles, tipped her head goodbye, then wobbled away.
The father in him wanted to run and help Gina with the heavy load, but he also wanted to remind her that she was biting off a lot this summer. Might be good if it bit her back. Maybe she’d be more apt to return to college in the fall. And, unless he misjudged her friends, Leroy didn’t think the whole “working vacation” bit was going like she’d planned.Live and learn, he thought as he backed up his Jeep.
He was about halfway to Bodega Bay when he remembered he needed to talk to Garth. He dialed his number, but instead of Garth on the other end of his call, Sophie answered.
“Garth is driving,” she told him. “We just had dinner and we’re on our way to a movie.”
“Oh? Family outing?” He adjusted the volume on the hands-free Bluetooth setup Gina had recently installed for him, talking while he drove.
“Nope. They’re home.” Sophie giggled.
“Home alone?”
“No, of course not. They’re with Bree.”
He shook his head, refraining from grumbling,That figures. If he hadn’t agreed to deliver the wine, he could’ve popped in to meet Bree tonight.
“It was her idea to babysit so Garth and I could have a real date. Isn’t that sweet of her?”
“Yes, very sweet.”
“Breeissweet. The kids absolutely adore her. And it’s not like she lets them walk all over her either. She’s firm but kind. And she’s just so helpful and understanding and, well, I’m just so gladI hired her. Garth agrees. He says she’s doing a great job managing the office.”
“Speaking of our office manager, I keep wondering why I never see her. Are you sure she’s actually working? Or does she hire elves to get things done?”
“Of course she’s working, Dad. If you ever stopped by the office, you’d see for yourself how much she’s done in there. Have you even bothered to meet her?”
“I’ve tried, Sophie. And I do go by the office. More this week than in the last couple of months. In fact, I was there yesterday afternoon, and it was too early for the wine-tasting room, but—once again—she was gone.”
“That’s because she’s been inventorying the wine for a couple of hours every afternoon. She thinks she’ll complete that by next week. But seriously, Dad, you need to meet her. I know you’re going to love her.”
“It’s not that I’m not trying, Sophie. I stopped by there again this afternoon. She was AWOL, and the phone was ringing off the hook.”
“You know as well as anyone, we can’t always be in the office. That’s why we have that old answering machine.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t worry. Bree always checks the machine. She’ll handle whoever it was.”
“Well, I happened to handle this particular message. Can you pass it on to Garth for me?”
“Sure. Go for it.”
