Page 122 of Night Hawk
“What about Lisa and her children?” his mom asked.
“I invited them, but I doubt they will be coming.”
“You gonna do something special for Toni?” Drake asked.
Clay looked at his brother. “You’re awful chummy with her.”
“That a problem?” Drake asked.
“No. Just saying.”
“She deserves to be treated right, so if you need my help with anything, let me know.”
Their mother looked at Drake and smiled. Not the one Clay had gotten, but anI’m proud of yousmile.
“Toni will be here at four,” Clay said. “I have a few things to organize before that.”
“We’re all going antiquing this afternoon,” his mother said.
“Say what?” Their dad swiveled to look at her. “Since when—?”
“Since Clay might need the place to himself at four. Everyone be ready to leave at three-thirty.” She ran her gaze over the group, daring anyone to argue with her, but they wouldn’t. Not on a Sunday, which somewhere along the way she’d declared her day to be in charge of the family. Truth was, she was in charge every day, she just didn’t admit it.
“Go ahead, son,” she said to Clay. “Make your special arrangements, but remember we eat at six when we’ll all welcome Toni to the family.”
Toni knocked on the beach house door and straightened her shirt. She’d brought a very limited amount of clothing with her from Portland. Mostly work clothes, but she’d tossed in one pair of jeans and dressy boots, which she’d paired with a pale green blouse and navy suit jacket. She hoped she fit in, but she might be a bit too dressy. She was almost glad that Lisa decided not to come, as Toni’s attention would be split between them and the Byrd family and tonight she wanted to focus on only one person. Clay.
The door opened, and Drake stood there. “Glad to hear you and Clay made up.”
She didn’t know how to respond, so she smiled.
“He has something special planned for you, and I’m supposed to take you to him.”
“But what about your family?” She looked around him to an empty house. “The dinner?”
“He’ll bring you back in plenty of time. Trust me. Mom would never let a Sunday go by without family dinner.” He grabbed a jacket from a hook by the door and stepped out to close the door and start down the walkway. “She owns Sundays. Totally. Well, next to God, but she’s a great co-pilot.” He grinned at Toni.
She laughed. “I like your mom. She’s like the rest of you. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it.”
“That she does.” He started down a sandy path toward the stairway leading to the beach.
“What do you want, Drake?” She looked up at him. “What are you going after?”
“Actually, I’m pretty content with things as they are.”
“No special someone for you?”
He shook his head. “I have so many places I want to visit and things I want to experience. Life is meant to be exciting and lived full throttle. No settling down. At least not at my age. Getting married would put a hitch in that. Shoot, even a girlfriend would crimp my style.”
“You could find a woman who wants the same things.”
“Yeah, sure. That could happen, I suppose. I’m just not looking for it.”
She hadn’t been looking for someone either, and then God had changed everything, but she wouldn’t say any more. If Drake was meant to find someone special, God would arrange things.
They reached the steps where she spotted angry clouds darkening the sky, and the wind kicked up, buffeting her face. When they hit the beach, Drake headed for a large tent anchored in the sand.
The sand shifted underfoot, making it a challenge to keep up with Drake’s long steps. A noise like a horse’s whinny sounded from the tent. A horse in a tent? Not likely.
