come out and meet you then.”
The picture of Lee ready to hop into the shower was more than Tracy could handle, particularly with Maribel watching them.
“Did I understand correctly? Are we neighbors?” she asked.
“That’s right. I’ve moved in temporarily with Alice.” He glanced at Maribel to include her. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you, Maribel. Alice needs the help, and Olivia’s good for her. They’re very close. Alice hasn’t done well since my wife died. Karen was her mainstay, and I know she would want me to do anything I can.”
Tracy wasn’t sure what to say. That she was sorry Lee’s wife had died? That she thought he was a pretty awesome guy for helping the vague old woman who wasn’t really his responsibility? That she hoped he was out of mourning and ready for some company?
“I’m sorry she’s had a rough time,” Tracy said instead. “I’m sure it’s been hard for you, as well.”
“It’s been a year now. Olivia and I are coping. Alice will, too, now that we can take care of her.”
“I’m just here to pick up the key to Herb’s house. Mine isn’t working, and we haven’t found his. You do know he, uh, died?”
“Olivia called my cell. She saw the police. She was worried, and Alice was upset. They weren’t sure what was going on.”
Tracy added this tidbit to the guilt she was trying not to feel. Why hadn’t she thought to tell Alice what had happened, to break the news gently? And for that matter, why hadn’t she told Wanda or her husband about Herb? Somebody should pen a how-to book. The Loveable Landlady. Only she probably wouldn’t bother to read it.
Maribel consulted her watch. “Lee, will you make sure Tracy has everything she needs? I’ve got a showing in about ten minutes, and I’ve really got to scoot.”
She left in a flurry of goodbyes. Tracy was tempted to follow just to see if the afternoon sunshine turned Maribel a ghostlier white or lobster-red, but she was in no hurry to leave Lee Symington.
“So, do you have everything?” he asked. His eyes were warmly appreciative, and Tracy was glad she had taken the time to shower and change into a green sundress with a beaded halter top, as well as spray herself liberally with Island Capri before she came into town. She’d felt the need for some cheer, considering the events of the day.
“Everything,” she said. “But you can walk me to my car.”
He smiled, something in between the mature Richard Gere and the younger Harrison Ford. She was entranced.
He opened the front door for her, and her skirt brushed his pants—nicely tailored summer-weight wool—as she passed. “I know you’re trying to sell Happiness Key. And I know it might take a while, considering…”
“Considering that everybody in every single government and private bureaucracy in Florida and beyond wants to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do with it?”
“That covers it nicely.”
“You probably know the story,” she said.
“Not all of it.”
“My ex-husband bought the land to develop it into a luxury condominium complex and marina. All very chichi. Then he had a few legal problems.” Which was like saying that Florida had a few alligators.
“And now it belongs to you?”
“It’s almost funny. I really didn’t know until the smoke cleared. But after he bought the property, CJ put the whole package into a legal liability corporation with me at the head. I signed all the papers, not paying that much attention. He told me it was a tax write-off, and I was busy planning a vacation somewhere and didn’t ask any questions. It’s a good thing I didn’t.”
“And now you can’t sell it.”
“Everybody’s standing in line to stop me. But the land’s worth a mint. After things pick up, some developer will buy it and pay all the bureaucrats under the table while he’s at it. He’ll promise to leave something else untouched, or reclaim something he’s already hacked to pieces, and they’ll look the other way. It’s just that I don’t have the resources to do that myself.”
“So what are you doing while you wait?”
Going silently crazy.
“I may look for a job,” she said, as if this were of no consequence, although with Herb Krause’s next rent payment a memory and the impending repairs to Wanda’s cottage, the consequences of not having one could be serious. For the first time in her life, she might need to get her hands dirty.
“You must be bored. Have you thought about joining the Sun