Wade just shrugged.She’d never been shy about showing off her figure.“We found out later that Billy had hatched a plan to act like he was drowning.He’d just seen a movie about a boy who got rescued by a female lifeguard.I guess he thought he could pretend to drown and steal a kiss.”
“Was he successful?”Meredith asked.
“He was not,” Wade said, and Wynona laughed.“I was talking to the only female lifeguard when he started flailing around.Neither one of us noticed Billy.My mom was passed out in her lounge chair, dead to the world.The only person paying attention was the hairy guy.He jumped in to rescue Billy.He came out of the pool with Billy in his arms and his shorts around his ankles.”
“No,” Meredith said, her mouth open.
“Yes,” Wynona said, and slapped her hand on the table.“Billy grabbed his shorts on accident.I woke up to a full moon and then some.The guy was like a werewolf.I couldn’t tell the back from the front.”
Wade dragged a hand down his face, but he was smiling, too.“Billy threw up as soon as the guy set him on the ground.I think he’d swallowed some water.The lifeguard finally ran over to help, but she didn’t give anyone mouth-to-mouth.”
“Not even you?”Meredith teased.
“Not even me.”
Meredith laughed in obvious delight, and Wynona shared another anecdote about the gallant but hairy man, whose name had actually been Harry.She’d dated him for several months.Wade marveled at their easy camaraderie.He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed with his mother or told a story about one of his brother’s infamous pranks.It was hard to recall the good days, the harmless mischief, the quirky Hendricks antics.They rarely joked about the past, and seldom reminisced.
After a few minutes, Meredith rose from her chair.“I’ll be in the garden,” she murmured, and went out the door.
He watched her go, his chest aching with a feeling he could not name.
“If you’re not serious about her, you should leave her alone,” Wynona said.“She’s not the casual type.”
“Who said it was casual?”
“Isn’t it?”
Wade shrugged, because Meredith hadn’t agreed to be his girlfriend yet, and he wasn’t ready to discuss the romance with his mother.They’d only been on one date, but they’d spent a lot of time together.They’d gone beyond casual before they’d even started.
“Just don’t lead her on,” Wynona said.“She’s been through too much to deal with another heartache.”
“Yesterday I was running her off.Now I’m leading her on.”
“She’s in love with you.”
He inhaled a sharp breath at the words.He realized he wished they were true.“Did she say that?”
Wynona gave him an assessing glance and took the dishes to the sink.She added some water to the vase of flowers, dried her hands on a towel, and sat down across from him again.“I thought you were hung up on Natalie Luna.”
“I was interested in her at one point.”
“So was Billy.”
Wade stiffened at the comment.
“Why did you have to choose her, out of all the women?You could take your pick.”
He sighed, shaking his head.His mother knew Billy hadn’t stood a chance with Natalie.“I’ll tell you what happened, but it’s incredibly unpleasant.It’s not a conversation we can have in the middle of a crowded bar.If you don’t want to hear it, you can stop me now.”
She made an impatient gesture.“Go on.”
“Billy harassed Natalie at work.He made lewd comments and insulted her.He even followed her home one night.That’s why her boyfriend beat him up.”
“No,” his mother said stubbornly.“That’s not what Billy said.”
“He lied.”
“You took Natalie’s word over your brother’s?”
