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“Your mother wants you to have a balanced diet.”
“She’s probably eating potato chips and onion dip for lunch at the club,” A
“Your mother is an adult.”
“So am I. In six months, anyway, according to the State of Florida.”
“Until then you’ll eat your soup.”
A
“I called the marina and they sent someone to pick it up,” Luisa replied.
A
“He’s going to come back to fix the engine on the speedboat,” A
“The two men who came here for the truck fixed the engine,” Luisa said shortly. “The job is finished.”
A
“I don’t dislike him. You can’t blame a child for his parents,” Luisa replied cryptically, and stalked off to the linen closet with the stack of towels.
A
One way or another, she was going to find out more about Heath Bodine.
* * * *
Amy Horton propped one leg up on a pillow and inspected her bare toenails. “What do you think, amiga mia? Papaya Passion or Suncoral Kiss?”
“Suncoral Kiss,” A
“Do you know a guy from the island, a couple of years older than us, named Bodine?” she asked Amy.
Amy’s brush stopped moving as she looked up suddenly and said, “Heath Bodine?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course I know him. He’s only the cutest guy on Lime Island. He graduated from Palm High with my I cousin Carol. She was crazy about him but he would never give her the time of day.”
“Amy, your cousin Carol is crazy about everybody—that doesn’t mean very much.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I met him today.”
“You met Heath Bodine?” A
“Right here. He came to fix my father’s boat and cut himself. I took him to the hospital.”
Amy put the bottle of polish aside and sat up eagerly. “Is he as gorgeous as Carol says? I’ve never seen him.”
“He’s pretty adorable,” A
“Well, she’s from Hispaniola, too, she probably knows his story,” Amy replied.
“What is his story, for heaven’s sake? Luisa wouldn’t tell me a thing.”
“I think Carol said his father is a drunk and the mother abandoned the family. Before she left she was kind of... promiscuous, I guess. That’s what Carol says, anyway. I know his older sister was on drugs and went to Miami to work the streets to support her habit. She died of an overdose a couple of years ago.”
“How awful,” A
“I know you don’t think Carol is a reliable source, but most of that is true. I’ve heard her parents talking about it.”
Carol’s parents represented the less affluent branch of the Horton family, which was why Carol had attended the local public high school with Heath and not Winfield Academy with Amy and A
“I don’t like the look on your face, Talbot,” Amy added. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he say he would call you or anything?”
“No.”
“Did he act interested?”
“Not really. He kept trying to get rid of me, but still, there was a look in his eye.”
“That certainly clears it up,” Amy said dryly. “You do realize that if you go after this guy your father will have a stroke and a coronary at the same time. His idea of the perfect date for you is Alan Michael Witherspoon.” She picked up the bottle of polish again and resumed her task.
A
“His father has forty million dollars, and someday Alan will, too,” Amy replied sagely.
“He has the most beautiful almond-shaped eyes, the color of sherry, and these silky black hairs on the backs of his hands...” A
“Alan Witherspoon?” Amy inquired teasingly.
“No, dummy, Heath Bodine. And the longest eyelashes, and the sexiest smile.”
“I see you took a complete inventory. Look, you don’t have to convince me. Carol would have strolled stark naked down Prospect Boulevard if she thought it would make that guy give her a second glance. I’m just telling you that I can guess why Luisa was acting so weird. Your father probably didn’t know who the marina was going to send to your house, and when Luisa saw Heath she decided that it was her duty to discourage your attraction to him.” Amy daintily daubed a toenail, cleaning its edge with her pinkie.
“She didn’t know I was attracted to him.”
“From what I’ve heard, anyone with the appropriate estrogen levels would be attracted to him. Luisa isn’t stupid. She figured if you got a look at each other sparks might fly—and she was right.” Amy put the cap on the bottle of polish and set it on A
“Yeah, well, I’ll probably never see him again. The marina sent somebody else to finish the job on my father’s boat, and from Heath’s attitude I doubt if he’ll be inviting me over to his house for tea anytime soon.”
There was a knock at A
“Ice cream, ladies,” she said. “Come on out to the table if you want some.”
Both girls rose, Amy walking on her heels to protect the drying polish. A
“How did you do in the te
Chapter 4
The next morning A
Heath Bodine stood on the front portico, A
“Hi,” he said. “Okay if I come in?”
A
“How’s your hand?” she asked.
“It’s all right. They did a good job sewing it up at the hospital, I guess.” He handed her the sweater, now spotless. “I brought this back for you.”
“You got the bloodstains out!” A
He smiled wryly. “I’ve been working at the marina for five years now. Stain removal is my life.”
A
“Would you like a cup of coffee or something? There’s nobody home but me,” A
“I know. I stayed across the street until I saw everybody else leave.”
A
“I wanted to talk to you alone.”