keeping me afloat. I hope that after it’s over, I can help you with your expenses. We’re going to be fine, you and me. We’re going to—”
A truck was driving by and it slowed, catching Lauren’s attention. The driver backed up and stopped in front of the house. He got out and looked over the hood. He grinned. “Lauren! How’s it going?”
She stood from her chair. “Beau,” she called, waving. “Come and meet my daughter.”
He smiled and reached into his truck to stop the engine. He came up the walk to the porch and stuck out a hand. “How do you do,” he said. “I’m Beau Magellan. We’re neighbors.”
“Cassie Delaney,” she said.
“Beau, will you have a glass of wine with us?” Lauren asked.
“Aw, sorry, I don’t have that much time. I have groceries in the truck and a kid at home I promised to feed.” He looked at Cassie. “You live around here or just visiting, Cassie?”
“I’m just visiting. I live in Massachusetts now—going to school. I’m from around here, though.”
“I guess I can’t really take a rain check, then,” Beau said. “Unless you’re staying a long time.”
“Just a couple more days,” she said. “But I love the pace of this town—walk downtown, sit on the porch, take it easy. This is such a nice little town.”
“It’s full of movers and shakers. Lots of people want to raise their children here but take the ferry or BART into the city to work. I’ve been here quite a while,” he said. “I bought an old fixer-upper on a street that seemed to be dominated by them. Now we have one of the best-looking streets in town.”
“Did you fix it yourself?” Cassie asked.
“I did, with a little help from family and friends. It took years. I’m a landscape architect by trade.” He grinned handsomely. “The yard is beautiful.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d love to stay. I’m sure you’ll visit again sometime, Cassie. Lauren, if you need anything, just call or text—I’m just around the corner.” He stuck out his hand. “Really nice meeting you, Cassie.”
“You, too,” she said.
They didn’t speak as Beau jogged to his truck, jumped in and gave a brief wave as he drove off. Then Cassie looked at Lauren and said, “Wow.”
“Huh?” Lauren asked.
“He’s very handsome,” Cassie said. “How well do you know him?”
“I haven’t known him that long,” she said. “I’m still getting to know him. I bought him dinner at the pub where we had lunch as thanks for putting up shelves. And we spent the whole time talking about our pending divorces. He’s been separated since months before we met. He was working in the gardens at Divine Redeemer—that’s where I met him. I thought he was a groundskeeper—those gardens are so beautiful. The priest there is his childhood friend.” She paused. “And he’s the neighbor who followed me to the hospital and brought me home the night your father...”
“He’s the one! You must see that he likes you,” Cassie said.
“I hope so,” she said. “I like him. But if you think I’m going to rush into another dysfunctional relationship, you are completely mistaken. I’m thinking about freedom and some independence, Cassie. Not another man.”
“Well, good for you,” she said. “But he’s cute. Thirty seconds and I would have fallen for him.”
“Tsk, tsk, what would Jeremy say?” Lauren teased.
“I’m just saying—”
“It’s nice to know a guy other than your uncle Chip, who can help if I run into trouble or need a little carpentry, but I am absolutely not in the market. Period. I am looking forward to getting to know him a little better, though. On the surface of things, he seems so utterly perfect.” She sighed. “I assume that means he’s probably a psychopath.”
“I think the sad truth is, my dad is the psychopath. Not your garden-variety Criminal Minds psychopath. More of a CEO or billionaire type of psychopath.”
“Oh Cassie, I didn’t want that for you.”
“I think it’s time we stopped glossing over the facts, Mama. That’s Lacey’s job. You really want me to ignore what he did?”
“No,” Lauren said. “I just didn’t want you to be hurt.”
“You might want to rethink that,” Cassie said. “Pretending is lying. Lying hurts.”
* * *
Early Monday morning, Lauren and Cassie said goodbye and Lauren went to work. She still had to try to camouflage her purple bruises, but at least the swelling was down. The first people she ran into at the lab said things like, “Welcome back! I heard you had a fall! Are