“Sergie, have pity on him. Man’s from Texas. The town he’s from has less people living there than you have on your block. He’s not used to this.”
“Stop makin’ me out to be some kinda hick,” Shea grumbled, but when they bumped onto the ramp to the bridge, his mouth dropped. He fumbled with his phone. “Oh, is this the Brooklyn Bridge? And the Statue of Liberty? Damn.” He winced and turned around. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to say that in front of her.”
Jake’s smile was sweet. “It’s okay. And what was that about being a hick?”
“Oh, you hush up now.” Shea peered over his shoulder. “See what I mean, Stacey? Your daddy thinks he’s a funnyman.”
She bit her lip and concentrated on the dog snuggled up against her.
Shea took some pictures, then put the phone down to enjoy the view. Being in New York, seeing the sights, it was all part of his dream. He checked his phone to see if Pedro had sent him the specs on the property, but nothing as of yet.
The drive took them through streets lined by apartment buildings and storefronts, followed by an area of surprisingly spacious residential homes, with well-tended lawns. Old trees canopied the streets, creating shade, and Shea saw women pushing baby strollers toward a park they’d passed a few blocks away.
“Looks a little like Dallas,” he remarked. “I thought New York was all apartment buildings.”
“These are the outer boroughs. There are apartment buildings, but also homes like these, for people who want the convenience of the city in the suburbs—transportation, restaurants, and everything else right where they live. The homes on Long Island have more space and the schools are better, but the property taxes are much higher. So it’s a trade-off.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
The car stopped in front of a Tudor-style home with a winding cement path to the front door. They trooped out of the car, and Jake held Stacey’s hand.
“Would you mind holding the leash, since I have so much stuff?”
“You don’t have to come up with an excuse to ask for help. I’m happy to do it.”
Strains of laughter and music reached out from the backyard, and Jake beckoned to him. “This way. There’s a gate.”
As they approached, Shea smelled food cooking and heard Britney Spears’s song “Toxic” playing. Jake rapped on the gate, and after a moment, a woman opened it. She had close-cropped hair and was wearing a flowered one-piece bathing suit with a bright-red, flowing cover-up knotted around her slim waist.
“Jake. Finally. And there’s my baby doll.” The woman hugged and kissed Stacey. “Carli and Sean have been waiting for you. Come on in.” She faced Shea. “Um,whois this?”
Shea removed his hat. “Howdy, ma’am. I’m Shea. A friend of Jake’s. He said it would be fine if I tagged along.”
“Well, it sure is, Shea. I’m Melissa, Oliver’s wife.Sohappy Jake decided to bring a special someone.” She slid her sunglasses to the top of her head and gave him a huge, delighted smile. Beautiful deep-brown eyes glowed as she held out her hand. “Come on inside. We’ll set you all up with some food and drinks, and then we can have a nice talk.”
He caught Jake shaking his head and grinned to himself. Immediately comfortable in Melissa’s warm presence, Shea held on to Kiss’s leash a little tighter and followed her into the backyard, where he saw Oliver, Jake’s friend, holding a beer and giving Stacey a hug. Several other people lay sunning themselves in lounge chairs, and children paddled and splashed in the huge above-ground pool.
“Shea, nice to see you again. What do you think of New York so far? Have you done anything fun and exciting?”
Kiss nosed around Oliver’s feet and flopped in a shady patch. Shea unclipped her leash.
“I had no idea houses like this existed in New York City. It’s really nice.”
“Well, not as much space as your ranch, but we like it. Come on and sit down.”
He joined Jake on the lounge chairs and sat next to him, while Jake took Stacey’s backpack and unzipped it.
“What’re you looking for?” Shea asked.
“Her floaties. She’s been staring at that pool since we walked inside.” Jake found the plastic floaties and began to inflate them.
Two children, who looked to be around twelve years old, jumped out of the pool and ran over to them. “Hi, Uncle Jake. Can we take Stacey to the pool? We promise to watch her every second.”
Jake sprayed Stacey with sunscreen. “Do you want to go with Carli and Sean in the pool, honey? I’ll be sitting right here the whole time.”
Her nod seemed more definite, Shea noticed, and having finished inflating the floaties, Jake slid them on her arms, then gave her a kiss on the head. Carli took hold of one of Stacey’s hands and Sean the other, and the two led her to the pool. Oliver had created a deck area around it, so you could sit and dangle your feet in the water, and Stacey sat there for a moment before sliding into the pink rubber tube Sean brought over. Shea thought she looked like a little colorful flower bouncing up and down in the water.
“You want a beer, Shea?” Oliver handed him a cold bottle.
