“When was the last time you saw Stacy and this Bob together?”
Terri gave a sigh of defeat. “Last spring, Stacy came here to talk to Dad about Widiwick, and Bob was with her. Not long after that Della told us that Stacy was in DC and was having an affair with someone Kit knew. Soon after that she told us about the engagement. I’m sure Stacy broke up with Bob before she met you.”
Nate was frowning. “And his parents?”
“They’re best friends with Stacy’s parents.” She stood up. “I think we should go back.”
Nate didn’t move. “So it’s not me they hate, it’s just that I’m not someone else.”
“I guess so. This is something you should talk to Stacy about.”
“What’s Bob look like?”
“Your height but thin. He played basketball in high school.”
“What’s he do now?”
“I don’t know.” Terri was getting tired of this. “I’m a lake person, not one of the Summer Hill elite. I eat food wrapped in paper, not off two-hundred-dollar plates.” She turned away. “I’m going back to the boat.”
Nate caught up with her. “I didn’t mean to make you angry or to pry into town secrets. I’m just trying to figure out why her parents dislike me so much.”
She could see the puzzlement—and some hurt—on his face and she relented. “They’ll be fine once they get to know you. It’s just that the Hartmans and Aldersons have been friends for years. Lew’s first wife died, but when he remarried, his new wife fit right in. And when she had Stacy, everyone said she’d grow up to marry the Aldersons’ son.”
“You said you didn’t know much about what went on in Summer Hill.”
Terri could feel her temper rising. Enough already! “I couldn’t very well miss the head cheerleader and the star basketball player all over each other all through high school, now could I? Oh! Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
But Nate was staring out at the water. “I’m beginning to understand. Poor guy.”
“You mean Bob?”
“Sure. He lost Stacy. He must be miserable. Let’s go back.”
Terri was blinking at him. “Yeah. Sure. Uh... I left my...” She couldn’t think what to say but ran back into the seclusion of the woods. What she wanted to do was scream so loud she’d knock the leaves off the trees. Instead, she made her hands into fists and stamped her feet until she’d stirred up a cloud of dirt. “Poor Bob,” she mimicked quietly. “He lost Stacy. Lost the most wonderful, fascinating, beautiful, intelligent, interesting—”
“Come on!” Nate yelled. “There won’t be any beer left.”
“Princess Stacy will conjure some with her Wand of Perfection,” Terri muttered.
“Are you all right?” Nate was standing a few feet away from her.
“Ah, here it is.” She picked up a pebble off the ground and slipped it into her pocket. “Can’t lose that!” She walked past him with her nose in the air.
Behind her, Nate was smiling.
* * *
When Frank got to the party, it was already in full swing—and that’s what he wanted. He was taking a risk that Brody would throw him out because he was carrying his guitar.
The sight of it did cause Brody to groan, but it didn’t make him angry. That was a step forward! Terri began to ask questions. When Frank told her that her father used to sing in a band, she was shocked. “I never knew. You never told me,” she sputtered.
Frank noted that Nate Taggert was hovering behind her, as he always seemed to be. Since Nate had arrived, all Frank had heard about was this young man. He worked; he had ideas; he settled problems.
And Terri adored him. The two of them were never apart.
Since Nate’s arrival, Frank had been hoping that the presence of this man would change things at the lake. That he’d change Brody and his daughter. That he’d... Frank had his own ideas about what he hoped the man could do, but he didn’t voice them even to himself.
At the sight of Frank’s guitar, it took just minutes before a couple of old-timers raced off in their electric golf carts. An hour later, thanks to Nate, a sound system was set up outside Terri’s house. When the music started blaring across the water, if there was anyone at the lake who wasn’t there already, they showed up.
Brody sang. His voice was rusty from years of disuse, but he did well. Two of the old codgers could really make the strings on a guitar move, and the women! Lord but they could dance! Down and