page8 (1/2)

Then Parker was outside Hunched over, she dashed to her car, got in and slaer!” she yelled

Little Pigeon loved the lady’s hair It was so cozy there! With a s his little claws into her scalp and hunkered down

She was still shuddering Good thing she’d just gone to the bathroom, or she would’ve wet herself

As her breathing cal of her limbs quieted, Parker made a mental list Her eyes burned with tears, but that was stupid Crying wasn’t going to help To a Duloves, and maybe a hazmat suit

Tonight, however…tonight, she’d be sleeping in the car She had her coroceries and her suitcase She’d eat some Wheat Thins and sleep here

She cracked the s It had turned chilly—of course, they hat, fifty miles from Canada? But the air felt clean and pure, and Parker sucked in great lungfuls, that faint tang of fish nothing compared to the closed-up stuffiness of the house

And the stars were brilliant, blazing overhead in a clarity Parker had never seen before The waves sloshed against the shore, and across the cove, the lights of the town glowed and winked as if welco her

She’d make this work She had twenty-three days to make this work

But, even though she tried hard to keep such thoughts at bay, she couldn’t help reo, she’d stayed in a suite at the Peninsula Hotel in New York City with her son Her publisher had taken them to dinner to Nobu to celebrate the release of the last Holy Rollers book, and after that, she and Nicky had gone up to the Top of the Rock, just the two of them, so he could see the view

Tonight, she was sleeping in her car

It was almost funny

CHAPTER FIVE

THOUGH HE VISITED the great state of Maine at least six tie never failed to make James feel as if someone had hammered a nail in his eye Ever since he elve years old, Maine had been a place to escape from, not Vacationland, as the license plates proclaimed

Dresner, his hoh—or because—his parents still lived there The town had grown up around a papermoved operations to so of che over Cahill family events

Last night, Jao off at five-thirty, since Gideon’s Cove was another two hours away Whether or not Parker wanted his help—and she didn’t—she was getting it

Gideon’s Cove had been a cute town back then There’d been a diner, he ree aited tables…he’d hung around, hoping she’d notice hied to lose his virginity with a very, ah, generous woman about a decade older than he was Chantal Very nice wouys should get started out that way

Speaking of women he’d slept with, it occurred to James that he hadn’t called Leah Not that they had an actual relationship…a hookup now and then, but still

James pulled over on the side of the road and took out his phone One missed call—Parker Welles, the screen said Cell-phone service was spotty up here, so no surprise there The surprise was that she called hi He didn’t know anything about a security system or code When he’d called his uncle to tell hiton place “Ayuh,” Dewey had said “Needs a little work I’llabout a security system

Well He’d be there in an hour He could figure it out then Besides,Parker wait had its own appeal And he did owe Leah a call

“Hey, Leah, it’s James”

“Hi there, stranger! How are you doing?” she said, her cheerleader-style exuberancehim hold the phone a little farther away from his ear She was cute, but best in small doses, which explained why they only saw each other about once a month

“How are you?” he said

“I’ether this weekend?”

“Well, actually, I’ht weeks Figured I’d let you know”

There was a pause “Oh,” she finally said

It was impressive, how much could be packed into a two-letter word They must teach it at woman school “Yeah So, just wanted to say bye and have a nice suainst his eye socket, bracing for the relationship talk

“What about…you know? Us?”

Ah, mooseshit Was there an us? Because he’d seen Leah, a very pretty redhead who liked to play pool and flirt,on New Year’s Eve, and if there was an us, it was pretty anemic There was him, and there was her, and the two of theenerally led to h

Until this moment

“Well, I have to be in Maine this summer,” James repeated

“For Harry?”

“Yep So I figured I’d call, tell you I wouldn’t be around And after the summer, I really don’t knohere I’ll be jobwise” There Mission accomplished

“You want some company up there? I love Maine!”