“Morning walk, which she takes even though Pittypat has gone to Atlanta with Crista and company. Maggie walks anyway, which is why the woman is a size eight at her age.” She picked up her tea. “Can I get you one?”
“No, I’m fine. I just wanted to pop in and ask…do you know anything about a motorcycle parked in the driveway last night?”
“It was Maggie’s date.”
Kate drew back. “Excuse me?”
“Well, she says they’re just friends, but no matter. Are you keeping up with the storm?”
“Yes, and I really hope you’ve changed your mind and let me get you on a plane to Ithaca tomorrow.”
“Not a chance.” Mom picked up her tea, trying to be casual for reasons Kate did not understand. “I told you I want the experience of a hurricane.”
“Mom. It’s a category two now, by landfall it could easily be a three, four, or even five. There will be a storm surge and insane traffic and some windows or roof could be missing.”
“We’re not staying here,” she said. “We’ll be fine. Maggie and I have…a plan.”
“Okay.” Kate let her stool turn slightly. “What’s the plan?”
“Oh.” Jo Ellen waved her hand. “You know. Evacuate. Inland. With friends.”
“You mean the Cavallaris?” Kate asked. “I’m certain I heard Maggie say they were going to one of their kids’ houses. And Eli wants?—”
“Other friends.”
Her heart dropped. “The friends withmotorcycles?”
Jo Ellen took a sip of tea, and it didn’t take Kate’s well-trained observation skills to see she was obviously avoiding answering a direct question.
“Mom.”
“It’s really nothing to worry about, Kate. Eli is so busy and we don’t want to add to his stress. We’ll handle ourselves.”
“You and Maggie will not handle yourselves. You will go where Eli tells you to go. He’s coordinating the whole family, and the evacuation plan will be announced at a meeting tonight at six.”
Jo Ellen snorted. “A meeting? And who appointed him my keeper?”
“He’s helping everyone,” Kate said, naturally defensive. “That’s his role—family leadership.”
“Well, last I checked, I was nearly eighty and perfectly capable of deciding where I would like to spend a Saturday.”
“You’re notspending a Saturday,” Kate said. “You’re evacuating from a deadly storm.”
“Oh, hush. Maggie and I are very independent women.”
Maggie and I. Before Destin, her mother’s sentences had started withI. Now they started withMaggie and I.
The door opened and Maggie walked in, slightly flushed, but somehow still looking put-together and regal. Kate decided to dive right in.
“Maggie, did you have a date with a man on a motorcycle last night?”
“Oh, hello, Kate.” Maggie set her water bottle on the counter and dabbed her temples, which were glistening. “Would you like coffee?”
“No, I’d like answers. Got any?”
On a huff of breath, Maggie walked to the coffee pot. “It’s Brick Collins’s bike. He dropped me off last night. He left it parked because the man cannot help himself, but we took my car to dinner.”
Kate sat very still, processing.Brick? That was a man’s name? And Maggie went to dinner with him? Alone?
