“I’ll be right over.”
Chapter 9
Tyson glanced at Jenna in the passenger seat of his truck. She’d worn her chestnut hair up, highlighting her long, graceful neck. Her skin was sun-kissed from the last few days at her new job, adding a touch of pink to her cheeks. Or was that makeup? Or maybe it was just the lighting of the golden hour. Whatever it was, she looked really pretty.
“What?”she asked.
He jerked his attention back to the road. “Nothing.”
“Do I have chocolate on my face or something?” She flipped down the visor. “This thing with Gordon had me stress-eating Oreos this afternoon.”
Why had he been staring at Jenna? Noticing the way the light looked on her skin?
Weirdo.
He gave his head a shake as Jenna flipped the visor back up. They were headed to Chatties for seafood and a favorite local band playing there tonight. “Seth and Alex said they might stop by.”
“Oh good. It’s been like two years since I’ve seen your brothers.”
“What? Really?”
“We keep missing each other. What have they been up to lately?”
“Alex still works for the bank, and Seth has been building hismarketing business. He’s handling The Sand and Saddle’s account and doing a great job. Business has increased by 28 percent.”
“Wow, that’s great. Your parents must be thrilled. Is he still the consummate bachelor?”
“Some things never change.” The middle Parker brother had gotten their dad’s good looks—black hair, blue eyes, chiseled jaw. Seth had always been popular with the women, and his affable charm and salesman personality assured he never lacked for company.
Tyson maneuvered carefully around a boy on a scooter. Church Street was coming up on the left. Ty gripped the steering wheel even as his palms turned sweaty. Andre Wallace had been conscious briefly when the team arrived on scene. Just long enough for Ty to memorize the fear and shock in his liquid brown eyes. The image haunted Ty every night.
“Hey, you missed your turn.”
His pulse was thrumming like crazy. “It’s okay. I’ll take Maddox.”
“You might be better off turning around.” She was right. This time of the evening Maddox would be backed up with traffic.
But Church Street was no longer an option. “That’s okay.” He continued along Ridge Road until they came to Maddox, where he turned.
“Mom sent me the article about the accident. Sounded like it was a bad one. Were you on the scene that night?”
He shouldn’t be surprised she’d put it together so quickly. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure how you guys deal with all that stuff. It must be a heavy load to carry sometimes.”
Usually he just talked to the other guys about it, blew off steam in the weight room or on the court. This time was different, though. He couldn’t play enough basketball or lift enough weights to rid himself of this. The guilt was eating at him and he didn’t know how to shed it.
“He was so young. That must make it even harder.”
“Seventeen. Just getting started in life.” A lump swelled in his throat. Andre had been on Chincoteague vacationing with his family. His parents had gone home to plan a funeral for their son—all because Tyson had been too distracted to think straight.
Tyson still hadn’t escaped the dark cloud when they got a table at Chatties almost an hour later. Summer, with the arrival of tourists, made most restaurants overcrowded. But this establishment, being upstairs with discreet signage, was lesser known by tourists. The clamor of chatter and clattering silverware filled the dimmed space. Muted TVs offered baseball and trivia games. Onstage, a band set up and readied to perform.
He and Jenna ordered their favorite seafood platters, and while they waited for their food they talked with each other and their neighbors. When the food came, they dug in. By unspoken agreement, Jenna forked his hush puppies and he stole her oysters. Chincoteague oysters were renowned worldwide for their unique salty flavor, but Jenna wasn’t a fan of oysters in general. Twenty minutes later they were making good use of the lemon-scented towelette when Alex and Seth ascended the stairs.
Seth beamed. “Jenna!”
She popped up from her seat and Seth engulfed her in a hug. She laughed when he lifted her clean off her feet. “It’s been too long.”
