Page 29 of Love Always

“Come with?” he says, and it takes me a second to realize he’s asking if he can come with us. Must be some California thing.

“Sure” I say, and then call out, “Cory, keep back from the waves.”

“He’s sure happy.”

“He should be, he’s full of blueberry pancakes. Plus, he just loves to run. Claire calls this ‘lunging. Like in lunging a horse—letting them run on a lead— ’”

“—In a circle. I get it. That doesn’t sound very PC.”

“No, but it’s the truth.” I smile. “I’m lunging a child right now.”

Mateus takes a sip of coffee and I watch him swallow, his throat working. He’s got on a blue, thick wool turtleneck that drapes nicely over his chest and back. I don’t want to imagine the rest.

“How long have you known Colleen?”

Jesus is he interested in her? “About a month. I met her at the beginning of last semester. We’re in two classes together.”

He nods and looks at the ocean. “What does she do for work?”

“I don’t know. I think she lives with her parents still. I mean she’s young.”

“Isn’t she about your age?”

For some reason this question makes me feel very self- conscious. “Well, yeah. Just believe me. She’s young. You want to go see the caves?”

“You mean the Echo Bay caves? They really exist?”

I smile. Cory loves the caves and with the tide going out, we would have plenty of time to explore. “They’re right down the beach about half a mile on the left.”

It only takes him a few more minutes to turn the conversation back to Colleen. “Listen, I’m sorry, but I have to ask you something.”

Now he’s going to want her number or something, some way to get ahold of her. How did I not see this coming?

“Are you doing anything illegal?”

I stop completely still. “What?”

“It’s a simple question.”

“What are you saying?”

“Look don’t get mad, I’m just being direct. I have to tell you Colleen is mixed up in something not good. Are you aware of this?”

I grasp my hair in one hand so it stays out of my mouth. The wind has really kicked up. “Aware of what? No.”

But instead of looking relieved or as if he believed me, his forehead knits into a furrow. “Listen, Laure. I need you to be absolutely honest with me.”

This is not at all how I thought the walk on the beach was going to go. How dare he make accusations my direction. And then I panic. Did Kevin Barr get ahold of him? Did he bend his ear? Did he tell him something? I could just see Kevin snaking his way into my life via Mateus, filling his head with lies.

“Did Kevin talk to you?”

Mateus shakes his head and takes another swallow. Despite his accusations all I want to do is take his head in my hands and make his lips meet mine.

“Okay. Let’s try this. Has anyone recently asked you to do something that was a little out of the ordinary?”

“How so?”

“I don’t know, just something that struck you as different. That your instincts told you ‘this is a little strange.’”