People like me.
“Is Jasper as nice as he seems?” I blurt out when Alban shows me to the twins’ nursery. They still have a changing table in there, although the twins have their own rooms now. I guess Harper and Alban are hoping for more, like Harper hinted.
“Jasper Wainwright is the nicest, friendliest person I know. He’s a—a shaggier version of a golden retriever. Always wanting to help, always ready to please. Here’s my acid test. I imagine a horrible situation—”
I wince. “Some of us don’t have to imagine very hard,” I murmur.
Alban goes on, undeterred. “Well, I imagine a horrible situation, one where life and death situations are going down. I ask myself, ‘Would I hand my babies to this person?’” He gives me a long look. “I would not hesitate to give my kids to Jasper. They would be safe as long as he was breathing. He’s also smart, a snappy dresser, and not too hard on the eyes.”
I burst into laughter at that. “Are you a mind reader?”
“Not one of my powers,” he laughs back, “but you don’t need to be psychic to see that Jasper thinks of you as family. He’s also a kind, patient person. If you want him to wait for you, he would, until the end of time. If you wanted him this minute, you could just say so, Loretta.” His voice turns serious. “So don’t say so unless you mean it. He means a lot to us in this town. He’s been a groomsman at dozens of weddings, interviewed everyone from kindergartners to octogenarians, and we love him. We’re all rooting for him to get a chance at happiness—and I think his happiness depends on you and Arianna being safe and happy. That’s the kind of loyal heart he has.” Alban hands me a fresh container of wipes and backs away as I lay Arianna on the changing pad. “Your soon-to-be ex? You found out things about him over time, right?”
“The hard way, I guess.”
“No matter what you ever find out about Jasper, I would stake my life on the fact that he’s a good man.”
“What would I ever find out?” I ask.
But Alban’s gone. Like, gone-gone. Not heading out the door, not in the hall. Vanished.
I shudder a little. I like Pine Ridge, but sometimes I get a weird feeling about this place.
ALBAN AND HARPER AREamazing hosts. They end up inviting Izzy and Ardy Walsh over, and soon we’re all playing Trivial Pursuit, drinking a little wine, and eating adult snacks like fancy almonds, Italian meats, and French cheeses. I feel like I can relax and have fun for the first time in a long time. Harper assures me a little red wine won’t hurt the baby, so I even join in with a tiny tipple in my glass, calculating that Ari won’t nurse again until after midnight, so the two sips will have metabolized away.
But at last, I have to leave. The twins are in bed, Ari is in her carrier, snoozing away, and Ardy and Izzy offer to follow me up to Jasper’s house and make sure I get in okay, even though I lie and say I’m not worried and don’t need an escort, even though I tell them I have a key and I’ll just let myself in.
“That is one gorgeous moon,” I say, staring at the huge, silvery-white moon when Izzy and Ardy help me out of my car.
“It’s beautiful. Let’s help you inside.” Ardy insists, taking my arm, his eyes alert.
Izzy nods, carrying my diaper bag in.
“You are all such nice people. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Thank us by staying safe,” Izzy replies.
“And staying in town,” Ardy winks.
“We’ll see.” I unlock the door and put a finger to my lips. “Jasper is doing some live recording or something in thebasement. I want to get right upstairs and get Arianna into her crib.”
“Good,” Izzy and Ardy say as one, both sharing an emphatic breath.
“Geez, does everyone know his schedule?” I ask, that prickle of unease running up my spine again.
“Well, yeah. Three nights a month, Jasper Wainwright doesn’t do the news,” Izzy points out. “And it’s always the same three nights.”
“Ohhh. That makes sense. The 4th, 5th, and 6th?”
“Uh. Well. The three nights of the full moon.” Ardy looks slightly uncomfortable.
The prickle becomes more of a stream, but I don’t know why. “What’s so special about the full moon?”
“He’s working with, um, a big multi-year astronomy research team. Recording them for a documentary.”
“Oh! Oh, wow, that’s so cool!” I exclaim, and the unease melts.
“But I don’t think you're supposed to know that,” Ardy says, waving a hand in warning. “I’m pretty sure the team doesn’t want to talk about their work until they’ve completed their findings. You know how cutthroat it is in the sciences. People want an asteroid named after them, not some other guy from Switzerland.”
