Buck's Landing (A New England Seacoast Romance) (14 page)

“Hey,” she said, noticing his empty hands. “Where’s dessert?”

“We have to pick it up.” He touched the tip of her nose. “I didn’t forget.”

She felt a blush creep over her face. “That’s not what I meant.”

He kissed her swiftly and jogged down the stairs, opening the door to the store. “Theo! I’m out. You good?”

Theo’s muffled reply sounded affirmative, which seemed sufficient for Silas. Sofia marveled at the mysteries of male communication as she followed him out the door.

“Whose ride?” Silas asked.

Sofia jingled her car keys. “Air conditioning.”

When they were in the car, she asked him where they were heading. He gave her an address on Route 1. When they arrived, he asked her to pull over so he could run in. Sofia watched him duck into a shop she thought might have once been a diner. The awning over the front door read “Treat.” Candy striped café curtains obscured the interior, but Sofia got the impression of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.

Silas came out with a reusable grocery bag bearing the Treat logo. He set it in the backseat of her car before sliding in next to her.

Sofia’s curiosity got the better of her. “What did you get?”

“Sundae party,” Silas replied. “I figured there would be kids, and who doesn’t like ice cream?”

~~~

Judy and Chris’s two cars filled their small driveway. The house was a Cape Cod cottage with a screened-in breezeway between the house and garage. Both garage bays were open, revealing a lawnmower, snowblower, as well as two bikes, a hefty stroller, and a small aluminum fishing boat. Sofia pulled her car onto the side of the road behind a small SUV. Silas grabbed the bag of dessert and followed her across the front lawn. The smell of hardwood charcoal wafted through the screens from the back.

Her knock on the breezeway door was met with a shout to come through. Judy was perched on the deck railing with an athletic brunette. A man Sofia assumed was Chris Dunaway was manning the grill with Dex Adams. Sofia took the brunette on the deck to be Dex’s pediatrician wife.

“Sof!” Judy hopped down and hugged her, squeezing hard. She released Sofia and hugged Silas. “I’m so glad you joined us!”

Silas held up the bag full of sundae fixings for the hostess’s inspection.

“Ooh, a Treat Sundae Party?” Judy gave Sofia a significant look. “He can stay.”

“Can I put this away?” Silas asked.

“Oh, my lord,” Judy gushed. She called over her shoulder to her husband. “Christopher, I’m leaving you for Sofia’s boyfriend.” Pointing to the breezeway door, she patted Silas’s arm. “The kitchen’s that way.”

Silas took his instructions and left in the direction of the kitchen.

An irritated squawk interrupted their arrival. Judy reached down for an infant carrier parked under the shade of a canvas umbrella, nudging it so it rocked. She rattled a colorful plush ornament hanging in front of the infant buckled inside. “Sof, this is Andie.”

Sofia crouched down to run a finger over the baby girl’s cheek. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” She looked up at Judy. “She’s beautiful. I love that you named her for a Molly Ringwald character.”

“Pretty in Pink!” Judy squealed. “Laurie, Sofia and I must have watched that movie a hundred times.” She pulled Sofia over to the brunette. “Sof, this is Laurie, Dex’s wife. Laur, this is my oldest friend, Sofia Buck.”

Laurie leaned in for a quick hug. “Dex mentioned he’d seen you in the bar. We knew your father a little. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

The other woman’s warmth wrapped around Sofia. “Thank you. It’s really good to meet you.”

Dex called her over to the grill, just as Silas came out from the kitchen to join her. Chris leaned over to kiss her cheek, keeping his tongs and spatula over the grill. “It’s a pleasure, Sofia. I’ve been hearing about you for years.”

“I’m sure it was all lies,” Sofia laughed.

“Judy tells me you and Decker go way back.” Chris greeted Silas with a man-nod. “How’s the Jeep?”

Silas shook Dex’s hand and looked over the grill full of burgers and bratwurst. “Running great.”

“Sof!” Judy called, holding up a pitcher. “Iced tea?”

“If you gentlemen would excuse me,” she smiled and headed for Judy and Laurie, who’d moved to deck chairs under the umbrella with the baby.

A burst of childlike laughter heralded the return of the three other children at the party. They came crashing out of the rhododendrons that lined the fence at the edge of the property. The tallest, a tiny version of Chris, raced over to the deck, brandishing a grimy Wiffle ball.

“Dad? Will you play catch?”

Chris shook his head. “Gotta make dinner, Bud.”

Two preschoolers trailed behind him, one lean and sturdy, the other still sporting
a baby’s softly rounded joints
. The littlest one looked plaintively at Dex. “Daddy?”

Silas spoke up to the trio of little boys. “Can I play, too? If Dex here isn’t scared of my fastball, we’ve got the makings of a good game.”

All three boys lit up. Dex jumped the deck railing to whoops and applause from the kids. “Silas, this little monster,” he pointed to the smallest boy, “is my son Henry. The beanpole is Jake Dunaway.” He ruffled the older boy’s hair. “And his brother John.”

Sofia watched Silas choose up teams with Dex and the little boys. She turned to Judy. “You really did name them all for John Hughes characters. I didn’t put it together until just now.”

Judy grinned. “At least I didn’t call Johnny ‘Bender.’”

The three women dissolved into laughter. Down in the yard, Silas set himself up as the pitcher and coached Jake and Henry into position. John took up the plastic yellow bat and the game was on. Dex played catcher behind a home plate he fashioned out of a Frisbee in the grass. Silas faked a big wind-up and lobbed an easy pitch at John, who whacked it past Silas’s shoulder.

Laurie watched Henry scramble for the ball. “Silas is so sweet with the boys.”

Judy looked at Sofia. “Mmhm.”

Chris finished with the meat on the grill, and Judy orchestrated the rest of the table setting while she nursed Andie in the shade. The bigger kids managed to sit still long enough to inhale their weight in potato salad and hamburgers before Jake led the charge for dessert.

“Sofia and Silas brought ice cream,” Judy informed them. “Go play. We’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Judy, who’d had Andie over her shoulder, got up and deposited the sleeping baby in Sofia’s arms. “I have to pee.”

For someone so small, little Andie Dunaway was solid and warm in her arms. Sofia scootched in her chair to accommodate the baby and inhaled the powder and milk scent of Andie’s peach fuzz hairline.

“So, Sofi,” Dex said, freshening everyone’s iced tea. “You headed to D.C. when the season’s over?”

Sofia felt everyone’s focus shift to her. “Yeah,” she said, wishing she could dodge the question.

“Judy and I drove by the other night,” Chris added. “The Landing looks great. Your old man would be proud.”

“Thanks.” Sofia picked up her tea with her free hand. Andie didn’t stir. She remembered then what Judy had said about Chris and her dad being in recovery together. She gave him the best smile she could muster. “I’m glad you think so.”

Silas deflected the line of questioning by asking about the Dunaway Auto Repair lettering on the back of Jake’s baseball shirt. While they discussed the business and rec-league sponsorship, Sofia chewed on her guilt. 

Her father wouldn’t be proud. He’d be devastated. He’d let his only child go to keep the drink and the pain, but he’d never lost Buck’s Landing. She couldn’t get rid of it fast enough.

“Sofia? Are you okay?” Laurie was leaning across Judy’s empty chair.

“Oh.” Sofia set her glass down without drinking from it. “I’m fine. Just woolgathering.”

“Do you ever have time off on weekends?” Laurie asked.

“I can, if my assistant manager can come in. Why?”

“Judy keeps forgetting to ask you,” Laurie said, casting a maternal eye over the three boys racing around in the yard. “I can’t imagine why. She and I are going up to Freeport to do some shopping some time soon, and we wanted to invite you.”

“I’d love to,” Sofia replied, finding that she meant it. She liked it here on the Dunaways’ deck. She liked Dex’s wife and Judy’s husband, and the kids made everything so cozy—and crazy. Andie stretched slightly, her sleepy weight shifting, and Sofia felt the movement in her heart. She leaned over and kissed the sleeping baby’s forehead.

“You want me to take her?” Laurie asked.

Silas interrupted. “Give me the little monkey.”

Before Sofia could argue, Silas had transferred Andie to his shoulder, where she nuzzled her face into the hollow between his neck and shoulder, sighing into sleep. Silas caught the wonder in Sofia’s expression.

“Theo’s got younger siblings. I know how to hold a baby.” He was teasing, but Sofia felt an accusation in his tone.

Judy came out with a fresh pitcher of tea and the sundae supplies on a tray. “Brace yourselves.” She set the tray on a potting bench she used as a sideboard and hollered. “Ice cream!”

Jake, Johnny, and little Henry flew up the stairs. The stomping woke Andie, who put up a wail. Silas stuck his pinky finger in her mouth and bounced her on his shoulder until she settled.

Chris looked impressed. “You’re a pro, Silas. Surprised some woman hasn’t scooped you up.”

A quick flicker in Silas’s expression belied his casual response. “One of these days, one will.”

Jake walked over with his ice cream. Chris made room at the table for his son while Judy set out the littler boys’ bowls between Laurie and Sofia.

“Jake, did Mommy tell you where Miss Buck lives when she’s not running the mini-golf?” Chris asked.

“And the Snack Bar,” Jake added solemnly, from around a spoonful of Oreo ice cream piled with whipped cream and fudge sauce. He shook his head as he chewed.

“Washington, D.C.,” Chris continued. For the adults, he explained. “Jake’s class learned about the nation’s capitol last year.”

Jake squinted at Sofia. She waited while Judy’s son took her measure. “Have you met the President?” Jake asked.

The adults all laughed.

“I have,” Sofia replied, very seriously. “At a fundraiser where I work, I got to lead him and his whole security detail down a hallway. At the end of it, I opened a door, and said, ‘This way, Mr. President.’”

Jake giggled. “Was he nice?”

“He was, but not as tall as he looks on TV.”

“Really?” Judy said. “You really met him?”

“Yeah. I was overseeing a campaign fundraising dinner at the DeVarona.”

Judy whistled. “This year you’re ushering the Commander-in-Chief. Next year you’ll be frolicking on a Greek beach. I think I want your life.”

“What’s this?” Dex asked. “Sounds promising.”

Sofia could feel Silas’s stare. She felt her cheeks go red; now wasn’t the time. “Oh, nothing,” she said lightly. “Just a promotion I applied for.”

“Going to be tough to run the Landing next summer if you’re in Europe.” Chris swiped Johnny’s abandoned spoon through the dregs of his sundae. “If you need someone, one of Dex and Laurie’s friends is a commercial property manager. She does a lot of that kind of stuff.”

Sofia avoided meeting Silas’s gaze. “Thanks.”

“Speaking of, Laur,” Chris went on, “tell Caroline to bring her Acura in if she’s still having trouble with her tire pressure sensors.”

The conversation turned to people the others knew. Sofia took the opportunity to search out the powder room. When she stood, Judy mouthed directions to her without needing to ask where she was going.

She made it halfway back down the narrow stairs from the second floor when she heard steps approaching.

“Sofia? You okay?”

Silas stood at the bottom of the stairs. He leaned against the wall, the slanting late afternoon sun playing with his hair and the shadows on his face.

She sat down on a stair tread. “Please don’t.”

“Don’t what?” He sat two treads below her.

“Don’t say anything about the Landing, about my dad, about Greece or Washington.” She pressed her fingers to her temples.

“Okay. I won’t.” He brushed a hand over her hair. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She breathed deeply. “Yes. I just needed a minute.”

Silas stood to leave.

“Silas?”

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, but didn’t turn.

“I was going to tell you.”

She held her breath waiting for his reply.

When it came, his voice was soft, almost wistful. “We both have a lot to talk about.”

Sofia returned from the bathroom to find baby Andie in her carrier and everyone else engaged in a high stakes game of bean bag toss. Judy and Silas made room for her on their team, along with Johnny and Henry. She played a respectable turn, scoring twice with her four blue bean bags. After three very dramatic innings, however, Jake, Chris, Dex, and Laurie’s team was declared the winner.