away from the marriage—while she tried to interest another developer in the property. One renter, a man named Herb Krause, had died soon afterward. Since that time Tracy had rented his house twice, but only short term. Now it was empty again.
“I could use the money,” she admitted. “But last time I spent almost as much as I made just to fix the damage the renters did. I have to get somebody who will take care of the place.”
“I don’t know how long she’s planning to be here. She told me she’s looking to settle down, though. She thinks this climate is healthy for her kid. Lizzie’s her name. Cute girl, looks to be Olivia’s age. Sometimes she does her homework outside or in the coatroom while her mother’s working, though the owners aren’t too wild about it.”
Eleven-year-old Olivia lived in the fourth house in Happiness Key with her grandmother Alice. In her own way, each of the women looked out for her. Sometimes Tracy thought Happiness Key was the proverbial village that was raising a child.
“It would be nice for Olivia to have a friend right here,” Janya said. “We are good for her, as far as we can go, but a girl needs someone to confide in who will understand.”
Tracy was still wondering who had been walking down the road and why. A man? A woman? A ghost? When she realized the others had fallen silent, she tossed out the first answer that occurred to her. “I’d like to meet her.”
“It is my turn to have all of you for dinner Sunday night,” Janya said. “Wanda, would your friend like to come and bring her daughter to meet us and see the house? I will make extra.”
Tracy pulled herself back to the conversation. Normally the women got together on Thursdays, but this week they’d postponed. “That’s a great idea. You’re sure you feel like it?”
“I will be happy to help. Maybe she will be a new friend.”
Wanda peered over her shoulder at her house, where Chase was barking for attention. “I’ll make pies, if you’d like. It’s the least I can do, since I suggested her.”
“Any day with one of Wanda’s wonderful pies is a happy day,” Janya said.
Tracy thought of Marsh’s bottle of wine, but that was earmarked for another, better, night with him. “Settled, then. I’ll bring a nice wheel of Brie.”
They said their goodbyes. Wanda bustled off to quiet her dog. She was a raw-boned woman fast approaching her senior years. Tracy had never been able to guess what color Wanda’s hair really was, but the coppery red suited her somehow, as did the fashion faux pas blue eye shadow she loved so well. Wanda was Wanda. One of a kind.
Janya stopped Tracy before she could start home. “If you will be uncomfortable alone tonight, because of this stranger, you would be welcome to sleep at our house.”
“I wasn’t really worried about anyone breaking in or anything.” Tracy hesitated. “I just thought… I mean, I thought he looked like…” She shook her head. “It’s crazy.”
“Like someone you know?”
“Someone I used to, but it doesn’t matter. It couldn’t have been him. You’re not even sure you saw a man.”
“It is possible we saw different people.”
“And why would anybody be out here? Maybe driving out to the point, but not walking around.”
“Perhaps a flat tire? Somebody saw something on the roadside and stopped to check? There are many good reasons.”
Tracy knew Janya was right. And if she hadn’t thought the stranger looked like her ex-husband, she wouldn’t have given his presence much thought. Not with Marsh waiting with open arms.
“You sleep well,” Tracy said. “And if I have any problems, I’ll call.”
She walked slowly home, making certain to peer behind every tree and bush along the oyster shell road. But whoever she had seen was gone.
As she unlocked the front door, she wondered if Wanda had actually hit this particular nail right on the head. Tracy had made elaborate preparations to be with Marsh tonight. She’d cooked and primped and cleaned. She’d been uncommonly concerned about every detail.
She was certainly no virgin. Before CJ there had been other men. She was a woman of her generation, but a picky one. She had shown considerable discretion, but she had used her head and occasionally her body to get her heart’s desires, a man who could take care of her, a man who could give her whatever she wanted.
Now, she was a different woman entirely. She wanted to sleep