“Shit,” Maureen grumbled again when he turned. Why hadn’t she at least stuck some lip gloss in her pocket?
Abra lifted a hand. She couldn’t see his eyes, not when he wore sunglasses. But he didn’t just wave and walk away. He waited, and she took that as a positive sign.
“Hi.” She stopped, braced her hands on her thighs as she stepped one leg back to stretch. “If I’d seen you earlier, we’d have talked you into a run.”
“Walking’s more my speed these days.” His head turned a fraction before he took off his sunglasses.
For the first time Abra saw him smile, all the way through, when his gaze held, and warmed on Maureen’s face.
“Maureen Bannion. Look at you.”
“Yeah, look at me.” With a half laugh she lifted a hand to push at her hair, before remembering she wore a ski cap. “Hello, Eli.”
“Maureen Bannion,” he repeated. “No, sorry, it’s— What is it?”
“O’Malley.”
“Right. The last time I saw you, you were . . .”
“Hugely pregnant.”
“You look great.”
“I look sweaty and windblown, but thanks. It’s good to see you, Eli.”
When Maureen just moved in, wrapped her arms around Eli for a good, hard hug, Abra thought that, just that, was why she’d fallen in love with Maureen so fast, so completely. That simple, straightforward compassion, that naturally inclusive heart.
She saw Eli close his eyes, and wondered if he thought of a night under the Whiskey Beach pier when everything had been simple, had been innocent.
“I’ve been giving you time to settle in,” Maureen said as she eased back. “Looks like time’s up. You need to come to dinner, meet Mike, the kids.”
“Oh, well . . .”
“We live in Sea Breeze, right next door to Abra. We’ll set it up, and we’ll catch up. How’s Hester?”
“Better. A lot better.”
“You tell her we miss her in yoga class. I’ve got to run—ha ha—and pick my kids up from a playdate. Welcome back, Eli. I’m glad to know you’re back at Bluff House.”
“Thanks.”
“Talk to you later, Abra. Hey, Mike and I plan on having a date night at the Village Pub on Friday. Talk Eli into coming.”
With a quick wave, she ran off.
“I didn’t realize the two of you knew each other,” Eli began.
“BFFs.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s not just for teenagers. And BFFs of any age tell each other everything.”
He started to nod, then she saw it hit him. “Oh. Well.” He slid his sunglasses back into place. “Hmmm.”
With a laugh, she gave him a poke in the belly. “Sweet and sexy teenage secrets.”
“Maybe I should avoid her husband.”
“Mike? Absolutely not. Besides hitting very high on my personal scale of adorable, he’s a good man. A good daddy. You’ll like him. You should drop into the pub Friday night.”
“I don’t know it.”
“It used to be something else. Katydids.”
“Right. Sure.”
“It went downhill, I’m told. Before my time. New name, new owners the last three years. It’s nice. Fun. Good drinks, good crowd and live music Friday and Saturday nights.”
“I’m not really looking to socialize.”
“You should. It’ll help with that stress level. You smiled.”
“What?”
“When you recognized Maureen, you smiled. A real one. You were happy to see her, and it showed. Why don’t you walk with me?” She gestured up the beach in the direction of her cottage. Rather than give him a chance to decline, she just took his hand, began to walk.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “Since the last massage.”
“Good. You were right, I usually feel it some the next day, but that eases off.”
“You’ll get more benefits when we finally break up those knots, get you used to being loose. I’m going to show you some yoga stretches.”
No, she couldn’t see his eyes, but she could see the wariness of his body language. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s not just for girls, you know.” She let out a long sigh.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m having a mental debate with myself. Whether or not I should tell you something. And I think you have a right to know, even though it’s probably going to upset you. I’m sorry to be the one to upset you.”
“What’s going to upset me?”
“A man came in to talk to me after my morning class. A private detective—investigator. His name’s Kirby Duncan, from Boston. He said he has a client there. He wanted to ask me questions about you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? It’s not okay. He was pushy, and he said he’d compensate me for information, which I find personally insulting, so that’s not okay. It’s harassment, which is also