Sean's Reckoning - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,35

then exchanged an exasperated look.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on between those two?” Deanna asked.

“Not me,” Sean said.

“Well, he’s your friend,” she said irritably.

“And she’s yours. Do you get it?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Why do I think that getting in the middle of it is a very bad idea?” Sean asked.

“Because you’re an intelligent man,” Deanna said. “But you’re going to call Hank, anyway, right?”

Sean nodded. “If only to get a firsthand look at the fireworks.”

Brave man, Deanna thought. Then again, he was a firefighter. A hot, noisy skirmish probably wouldn’t faze him. After all, he had lots of experience extinguishing out-of-control blazes.

Sean wasn’t prepared for Hank’s haggard look when he finally joined them at the ice-cream parlor that had been chosen for the celebration. He looked every bit as bad as he had a few weeks ago at the gym. He cast a sour look at Sean, barely managed a smile for Deanna, then squeezed into the booth next to Ruby, who never even looked up from her hot-fudge sundae.

Sean might not know what game those two were playing, but one thing was plain—Hank had it bad for the woman beside him. Sean couldn’t think of a single occasion in the past when his pal had been so hung up on a woman. Usually after this length of time, he’d slept with a woman a few times, tired of her and moved on.

Suddenly the answer dawned on him. Hank and Ruby hadn’t slept together. That was why they were both so cranky and out of sorts. Sean almost laughed at the irony of it. All this time, he’d been half-envious of Hank’s success, and Ruby had been keeping Hank at arm’s length. She was obviously a whole lot wiser than Sean had given her credit for being. He wondered if Deanna had guessed the truth, but judging from the puzzled way she was studying the two of them, she hadn’t.

“Hey, Dee, feel like going for a walk?” he turned and asked her.

She regarded him blankly. “Now?”

“Seems like a good time to me,” he said with a pointed glance across the table.

She looked at Ruby and Hank, then nodded with evident reluctance. “I guess so. Come on, Kevin. We’re going for a walk.”

Ruby’s gaze shot up. “You’re leaving?” she asked, a faint hint of panic in her voice.

Deanna regarded her worriedly. “Unless you want us to wait for you?”

Hank seemed to be holding his breath as he awaited Ruby’s reply. She looked at him, waged some sort of internal debate that Sean couldn’t interpret, then finally shook her head.

“Go ahead,” she told them. “Hank hasn’t even ordered yet. I can stay with him.”

“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Deanna persisted, as Sean latched on to her hand and began tugging her from the booth.

“You heard her,” Sean said. “She told us to go on.”

Kevin regarded all of them with impatience. “Are we going or staying?” he grumbled.

“Going,” Sean said firmly.

Deanna looked as if she might balk, but then she shrugged. “We’re going.”

Outside, she scowled up at Sean. “What was that all about? Why were you so anxious to get out of there?”

“Discretion,” he said.

“What?” she demanded. Then understanding obviously dawned. “Oh, of course.”

“You two are acting all weird again,” Kevin declared with disgust.

Sean laughed. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“So, where are we going?” he asked. “Is the celebration over?”

“Not yet,” Sean reassured him. “How about my place? Want to head over there for a while?”

Kevin’s expression immediately brightened. “Will Mark and Davey be there?”

“More than likely.”

“All right!” he enthused.

“Deanna, is that okay with you?” Sean asked.

To his surprise, she looked hesitant, but one glance at Kevin’s excited expression had her backing down from whatever objections she had. “Sure.”

As soon as they reached Sean’s apartment, Kevin spotted the older kids and took off without another word. Deanna watched him go with a contradictory mix of dismay and relief on her face. Sean wished he could read her mind.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned that he’d been pushing her too hard and overstepping some unspoken boundary where Kevin was concerned. He thought they’d talked that all out, but maybe she’d had second thoughts.

“Nothing, not really. I’m glad Kevin’s found some friends. They don’t even seem to mind that he’s so much younger. It’s almost as if he has big brothers. He talks about the two of them nonstop.” She grinned at Sean. “Except when he’s talking about you.”

“There’s nothing like having brothers,” Sean said. “My parents taking off was bad enough, but in some