“Why?” Landon rounded on her like she’d just kicked his puppy.
“Think of the toilets they have to clean.”
“Mom, be real. They aren’t cleaning any toilets.”
She giggled. “Probably not. Oh my gosh. Can you believe this place?”
“I thought Brenden had an awesome house.”
“He does.”
“This house ate his house for breakfast. Plus, they have a carousel in their front yard. We have to pay five bucks to ride the one at the pier.”
Her smile was weak at best. “We’d better find Ben and Savannah.”
Landon nodded, his eyes fixated on the shiny black stallion. When he was five, that same look meant he was going to bolt for it.
The sound of rubber tires on the brick driveway—probably hand-laid—had them turning in unison to see Ben driving a shiny black golf cart their way, Savannah riding in the passenger seat. Her hair was in pigtails, and she wore a bright-colored shirt and jean shorts. Ben was in khaki shorts and a polo shirt that lay nicely across his firm shoulders. Avery licked her lips and then scolded herself. Ben was not a tasty treat, though he did look delectable.
Landon let out a low whistle. “Nice wheels.”
Ben chuckled. “Thanks. It was owned by Elvis Presley.” He patted the steering wheel.
“Who?” asked Landon.
Avery about choked on her tongue. “Elvis. He sings ‘Jailhouse Rock.’”
“That old song you dance to when you’re baking brownies?” He gave her the same horrified look he did when she shook her booty and shimmied around the kitchen. “It’s so embarrassing,” he told Savannah. “Can we ride that?” He pointed to the black horse. He may have exercised some self-control, but his fixation on the carousel was just as strong as it had been when he was five and wanted to ride.
“Another time.” Ben exchanged a conspiratorial look with Savannah. “I think you’ll like what we have planned today.”
Avery liked the idea that Ben was already planning another time to have them over. Riding with the kids would be fun, but a chance for the two of them to take a pair of wooden horses would be romantic. “They’re vintage, aren’t they?” For some reason, the animals appeared to be carved out of wood and not made from fiberglass. She could tell they were of higher quality than the ones she’d ridden lately.
She and Landon climbed into the back seat. There were no seat belts, so they held onto the armrests as Ben shot off down the driveway.
“I bought it at auction in New York and had it restored while the house was being built.” He spoke over his shoulder with his eyes on the road. “It was part of the 1939 World’s Fair and had been put into storage for over seventy years before the city decided to pull it out and make some money off of it.”
Of course they did.
Of courseyoudid.
Ben spoke as if buying an antique carousel happened on a regular Tuesday afternoon. It probably did. She could see him picking up an Elvis golf cart on Monday and a carousel on Tuesday and Bigfoot on Wednesday.
Avery shifted in her seat, crossing and recrossing her legs. The Elvis mobile was more comfortable than her mattress, and yet she couldn’t find a position that suited her. Passing through the metal gates into The Cove was like falling down a rabbit hole.
They drove into a small airport. Planes were parked outside of hangars, several metal buildings with names and crests over the large rolling doors that hid other planes from their prying eyes. And yeah, her eyes were prying. A man in a leather flight jacket and aviator glasses waved. He was taking a close look at all parts of the plane and she didn’t want to interrupt him so she gave a small finger wave.
Ben pulled up to a building that had a carousel over the entrance. He and Savannah climbed out, followed quickly by Landon, who had no desire to hang out with his mother when he had the opportunity to explore the red airplane that was apparently waiting for them.
He came over and shook Ben’s hand.
“Thanks for flying us out, Lincoln.”
“Thank you. I’ve been dying to get into this baby and see what she can do.” Lincoln rubbed his hands together in glee.
Ben laughed. “Go easy on us. We’ve got a couple first-timers aboard.”
Lincoln winked her way. “I can’t make any promises—except that you’ll get where you want to go on time.”
