Текст книги "Truly Madly Yours "

Автор книги: Рэйчел Гибсон

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

After all these years, she still had a way of getting to him. It was the way she looked at him sometimes. Like he was dirt, or worse, when she looked through him as if he didnt even exist. It made him want to reach out and pinch her, just to hear her say ouch.

Today he hadnt meant to hurt or provoke her. Well, not until shed given him that “youre scum look. But listening to Henrys will had provoked him . Just thinking about it pissed him off all over again. He thought about Henry and Delaney, and that real bad feeling tweaked the back of his neck once more.

Nick reached for the ignition key and headed back toward town. He had a few questions, and Max Harrison was the only person who knew the answers.

“What can I do for you? the lawyer asked as soon as Nick was shown into a spacious office near the front of the building.

Nick didnt waste time on idle conversation. “Is Henrys will legal, and can I contest?

“As I told you earlier when I read the will, its legal. You can waste your money on a contest. Max gave Nick a wary look before he added, “But you wont win.

“Why did he do it? I have my suspicions.

Max looked at the younger man standing in his office. There was something unpredictable and intense lurking just beneath that cool exterior. Max didnt like Allegrezza. He didnt like the way hed behaved earlier. He didnt like the disrespect hed shown Gwen and Delaney—a man should never swear in the presence of ladies. But hed liked Henrys will even less. He sat in a leather chair behind his desk, and Nick sat across from him. “What are your suspicions?

Nick leveled his wintry gaze on Max and said without reservation, “Henry wants me to get Delaney pregnant.

Max debated whether to tell Nick the truth. He felt no love or loyalty toward his former client. Henry had been a very difficult man and had ignored his professional advice repeatedly. Hed cautioned Henry about drafting such a capricious and potentially injurious will, but Henry Shaw always had to have things his own way, and the money had been too good for Max to let his client find another lawyer. “I believe that was his intent, yes, he answered truthfully, perhaps because he felt a little guilty for his part in it.

“Why didnt he just say so in the will?

“Henry wanted his will drafted that way for two reasons. First, he didnt think youd concede to father a child for property or money. Second, I informed him that if you contested a condition stipulating you impregnate a woman, you might possibly win on the grounds of a conflict of morals. Henry didnt seem to think there was a judge around who would believe you have any morals when it comes to women, but contesting the will would defeat the purpose. Max paused and watched Nicks jaws tighten. He was pleased to see a reaction, however slight. Maybe the man wasnt completely void of human emotion. “There is always a chance you might get a judge who would declare the condition void.

“Why Delaney? Why not another woman?

“He was under the impression that you and Delaney had a clandestine past together, Max said. “And he thought if he forbade you to touch Delaney, youd feel compelled to defy him, as I take it you have in the past.

Anger tightened Nicks throat. There had been no clandestine past between himself and Delaney. “Clandestine made it sound like Romeo and freakin Juliet. As far as the other, that whole forbidden theory, what Max said might have been true once, but Henry had overplayed his hand. Nick wasnt a kid anymore, drawn to the things he couldnt have. He didnt do things just to defy the old man, and he wasnt drawn to the porcelain doll who always got his hands slapped for him.

“Thank you, he said as he stood. “I know you didnt have to tell me anything.

“Youre right. I didnt.

Nick shook Maxs extended hand. He didnt think the lawyer liked him much, which was okay with Nick.

“I hope Henry went to all the trouble for nothing, Max said. “I hope, for Delaneys sake, he wont get what he wants.

Nick didnt bother with a reply. Delaneys virtue was safe from him. He walked out the front door of the office and down the sidewalk toward his Jeep. He could hear his cell phone chirping even before he opened the door. It stopped only to start once again. He started the engine and reached for the small phone. It was his mother wanting information about the will and reminding him to come to her house for lunch. He didnt need reminding. He and Louie ate lunch at their mothers house several times a week. It calmed her worries about their eating habits and kept her from coming to their houses and rearranging the sock drawers.

But today he didnt particularly want to see his mother. He knew how shed react to Henrys will and really didnt want to talk to her about it. Shed rant and rage and direct her angry diatribes at anyone with the last name Shaw. He supposed she had many legitimate reasons to hate Henry.

Her husband Louis had been killed driving one of Henrys logging trucks, leaving her with a small son, Louie, to raise by herself. A few weeks after Louiss funeral, Henry had gone to the house to offer his comfort and sympathy. When hed left late that night, hed left with the vulnerable young widows signature on a document releasing him from further responsibility in Louiss death. Hed placed a check in her hand, and a son in her womb. After Nick had been born, Benita had confronted Henry, but hed denied the baby could possibly be his. Hed kept denying it for most of Nicks life.

Even though Nick figured his mother had a right to her anger, when he arrived at her house, he was surprised at the vehemence of todays tirade. She cursed the will in three languages: Spanish, Basque, and English. Nick understood only part of what she said, but most of her outrage was directed toward Delaney. And he hadnt even told her about the absurd no-sex stipulation. He hoped he wouldnt have too.

“That girl! she fumed, sawing her way through a loaf of bread. “He always put that neska izugarri before his son. His own blood. She is nothing, nothing. Yet she gets everything.

“She might leave town, Nick reminded her. He didnt care whether Delaney stayed or was already on her way back home. He didnt really want Henrys businesses or the money. Henry had already given him the only property he would have wanted.

“Ba! Why should she leave? Your uncle Josu will have something to say about this.

Josu Olechea was his mothers only brother. He was a third-generation sheep rancher, and owned land near Marsing. Since Benita had no husband, she counted on Josu to be head of the family, no matter that her sons were grown.

“Dont bother him with this, Nick said and leaned a shoulder against the refrigerator. As a boy, whenever hed gotten in trouble or his mother figured he and Louie needed a positive male influence, shed sent them to spend the summer with Josu and his sheepherders. Both of them had loved it until theyd discovered girls.

The back door opened and his brother stepped into the kitchen. Louie was shorter than Nick. Solid, with the black hair and eyes hed inherited from both his mother and father. “So, Louie began, closing the screen door behind him. “What did the old man leave you?

Nick smiled and straightened. His brother would appreciate the inheritance. “Youre going to love it.

“He got practically nothing, his mother interjected, carrying a plate of sliced bread into the dining room.

“He left me his Angel Beach property and the land at Silver Creek.

Louies thick brows rose up his forehead and a glint sparkled in his dark eyes. “Holy shit, the thirty-four-year-old land developer whispered so his mother wouldnt hear him.

Nick laughed and the two of them followed Benita into the dining room, then sat at the polished oak table. They watched their mother neatly fold back the lace tablecloth, then leave to get their lunch.

“What are you going to put on the Angel Beach property? Louie asked, assuming correctly that Nick would want the land developed. Benita might not realize the worth of Nicks inheritance, but his brother did.

“I dont know. I have a year to think about it.

“A year?

Benita set bowls of guisado de vaca in front her sons, then took her seat. It was hot outside, and Nick really didnt feel like stew. “I get the property if I do something. Or not do something, actually.

“Is he trying to get you to change your name again?

Nick looked up from his bowl. His mother and brother stared back at him. There was no way around it. They were family, and they believed family had the God-given right to stick their noses in his business. He snagged a piece of bread and took a bite. “There was a condition, he began after he swallowed. “I get the property in one year if I dont become involved with Delaney.

Slowly Louie picked up his spoon. “Involved? How?

Nick cast a sideways glance at his mother, who was still staring at him. Shed never talked to either boy about sex. Shed never even so much as mentioned it. Shed left the talk up to Uncle Josu, but by that time, both Allegrezza boys had known most of it anyway. He returned his gaze to his brother and lifted one brow.

Louie took a bite of stew. “What happens if you do?

“What do you mean what happens? Nick scowled at his brother as he reached for his spoon. Even if he were crazy enough to want Delaney, which he wasnt, she hated him. Hed seen it in her eyes today. “You sound as if theres a possibility.

Louie didnt say anything. He didnt have to. He knew Nicks history.

“What happens? his mother asked, who didnt know anything but felt she had the right to know everything.

“Then Delaney inherits the property.

“Of course. Isnt it enough that she got everything that is rightfully yours? Now she will be after you to get her hands on your property, Nick, his mother predicted, generations of suspicious and secretive Basque blood running through her veins. Her dark eyes narrowed. “You watch out for her. Shes as greedy as her mother.

Nick seriously doubted he would have to watch out for Delaney. Last night when hed driven her to her mothers house, shed sat in his Jeep doing a really good impersonation of a statue, the moonlight casting her profile in gray shadows and letting him know she was royally pissed off. And after today, he was pretty sure shed avoid him like a leper.

“Promise me, Nick, his mother continued. “She always got you into trouble. You watch out.

“Ill watch out.

Louie granted.

Nick frowned at his brother and purposely changed the subject. “Hows Sophie?

“Shes coming home tomorrow, Louie answered.

“Thats wonderful news. Benita smiled and set a slice of bread next to her bowl.

“Id hoped to have a little more time alone with Lisa before I tell Sophie about the wedding, Louie said. “I dont know how shell take the news.

“Shell adjust to her new stepmother eventually. Everything will turn out fine, Benita predicted. She liked Lisa okay, but she wasnt Basque and she wasnt Catholic, which meant that Louie couldnt marry in the church . Never mind that Louie was divorced and couldnt marry in the church anyway. Benita wasnt worried about Louie. Louie would be okay. But Nick. She worried about Nick. She always had. And now that girl was back and she would worry even more.

Benita hated anyone with the last name Shaw. Mostly she hated Henry for the way hed treated her and the way hed treated her son, but she hated that girl and her mother too. For years shed watched Delaney parade around in fancy clothes while Benita had to patch Louies hand-me-downs for Nick. Delaney got new bicycles and expensive toys while Nick went without or had to settle for secondhand. And while shed watched Delaney get more than one little girl needed, shed also watched her son, his proud shoulders straight, chin in the air. A stoic little man. And each time she watched him pretend it didnt matter, her heart broke a little more. Each time she watched him watch that girl, she grew a little more bitter.

Benita was proud of both her sons and she loved them equally. But Nick was different from Louie. Nick was so very sensitive.

She looked across the table at her younger son. Nick would always break her heart.

Chapter Four

The plastic doggie scooper bags in the pocket of Delaneys shorts seemed like some pathetic metaphor of her life. Shit, thats what it was. Ever since shed sold her soul for money, thats what her life had become, and she didnt see that it would get any better for another eleven months. Almost everything she owned resided in a storage shed on the outskirts of town, and her closest companions were the two Weimaraners walking beside her.

It had taken Delaney less than five hours to decide to accept the terms of Henrys will. An appallingly short amount of time, but she wanted the money. Shed been given a one-week reprieve to travel to Phoenix, quit her job, and close her apartment. Saying good-bye to her friends at Valentina had been hard. Saying good-bye to her freedom was even harder. It had been only a month, but it felt like shed been a prisoner for a year.

She had no job and wore boring clothes she didnt particularly like because she lived with her mother.

The hot sun baked the top of her head as she made her way down Grey Squirrel Lane toward the center of town. When shed lived in Truly ten years ago, most of the streets hadnt had names. There had been no need, but with the recent influx of summer residents, and the boom in real estate, the city council had knocked itself out to come up with really inventive street names like Gopher, Chipmunk, and Grey Squirrel. Delaney, it seemed, lived in the rodent section of town, while Lisa fared somewhat better over on Milkweed, which of course was next to Ragweed and Tumbleweed.

Since shed been back, shed noticed a lot of other changes, too. The business district had quadrupled, and the old part of town had been given a facelift. There were two public boat ramps to accommodate the heavy invasion of boats and Jet Skis, and the city had added three new parks. But beyond those changes, there were two other very visible and telling signs that the town had finally been pulled into the 1990s. First, there was the Mountain Java Espresso Shop located between Sterling Realty and the Grits and Grub Diner. And second, the old lumber mill had been converted into a microbrewery. When Delaney had lived in Truly before, the people drank Folgers and Coors. They would have declared a double-shot skinny latte “sissy coffee and would have beat the crap out of anyone who dared to utter the words “raspberry beer.

It was the Fourth of July and the town was smothered in patriotism. Red, white, and blue flags and ribbons decorated everything from the “Welcome to Truly banner to the wooden Indian standing outside Howdys Trading Post. There would be a parade later, of course. In Truly, there were parades for just about every occasion. Maybe shed stick around downtown and watch the parade. It wasnt like she had anything else to do.

At the corner of Beaver and Main, Delaney stopped and waited for an RV to lumber by. For walking so nicely beside her, she reached into her pocket and rewarded Duke and Dolores with Milk-bones. It had taken several frustrating weeks to assert her role as the alpha dog and teach them who was boss. Shed had the time. For the past month shed spent some of her time catching up with a few old school friends. But they were all married and had families and looked at her as if she were abnormal because she didnt.

She would have loved to spend more time with Lisa, but unlike Delaney, Lisa had a job and a fiancé. She would have loved to sit down with her old friend and talk about Henrys will and the real reason she was back in Truly. But she didnt dare. If its stipulation became public, Delaneys life would turn into a burning hell. She would become the subject of endless speculation and the topic of never-ending gossip. And if the part of the will concerning Nick was revealed, shed probably have to kill herself.

As it was, she was just likely to die of boredom before it was all over. She spent her days watching talk shows, or she walked Duke and Dolores as a means to get out of the house and escape the life her mother had planned for her. Gwen had decided that since Delaney would be living in Truly for a year, they should be involved in the same projects, belong to the same social organizations, and attend the same civic meetings. Shed even gone so far as submitting Delaneys name to spearhead a committee concerned with the drug problem in Truly. Delaney had politely turned down the offer. First of all, Trulys drug problem was laughable. Second, Delaney would rather drink bong water than get involved in the community.

She and the dogs moved down Main, passing a deli and T-shirt shop. Both were recent additions to the downtown area, and judging by the foot traffic, seemed to do a fair amount of business. With the souls of. her Lycra sling-backs slapping her bare heels, she walked past a tiny bookstore with a poster stuck on the door advertising an up coming R&B festival. The poster surprised Delaney, and she wondered when the town had abandoned Conway Twitty for James Brown.

She stopped in front of a thin two-story building flanked on one side by an ice cream shop and on the other by the offices of Allegrezza Construction. Painted across the big plate glass window were the words: “Glorias: A Cut Above. Any cut and style $10. Delaney didnt think the sign spoke well for Glorias abilities.

Duke and Dolores sat at her feet, and she scratched them between the ears. Leaning forward, she peered into the huge plate glass window to see the red Naugahyde salon chairs. Each time shed driven through town, shed noticed the salon had been closed.

“Hey there, whats up?

Delaney recognized Lisas voice and turned to her friend. She wasnt surprised to see Louie standing by Lisas side. His gaze was direct and a bit unnerving. Or maybe she found him unnerving because he was Nicks brother. “I was just checking out this salon, she answered.

“I gotta get going, alu gozo , Louie said, then bent his head and kissed his fiancée. The kiss lingered and Delaney lowered her gaze to a point between Dukes ears. She hadnt had a boyfriend in over a year, and that relationship hadnt lasted more than four months. She couldnt remember the last time a man had kissed her like he meant to eat her up and didnt care who watched.

“See you around, Delaney.

She glanced up. “See ya, Louie. She watched him walk into the building next to the salon. Maybe she found him unnerving because, like his brother, he was extremely masculine. Nick was taller, more sculpted, like a statue. Louie was built like a bull. Youd never see an Allegrezza in a Versace neckcloth or a tiny Speedo. “What does alu gozo mean? she asked, having a little difficulty pronouncing the foreign words.

“Its an endearment, like sweetheart. Louie can be so romantic.

Unexpected envy tugged at her. “What are you up to?

Lisa lowered to one knee and scratched Duke and Dolores beneath the chin. “I took Louie to lunch, and I was just dropping him back off.

“Whered you go?

Lisa smiled as the dogs licked her hands. “My house.

Delaney felt a twinge of jealousy and realized she was lonelier than shed thought. It was the Fourth of July and a Friday night. The weekend stretched before her—empty. She missed the friends shed had in Phoenix. She missed her busy life.

“Im glad I ran into you. What are you doing tonight? Lisa asked.

Not a damn thing, she thought. “I dont know yet.

“Louie and I thought wed have some friends over. I want you to come, too. His house is on Horseshoe Bay, not far from where theyll shoot the fireworks out over the lake. The show is pretty awesome from his beach.

Delaney Shaw at Louie Allegrezzas? Nicks brother? Mrs. Allegrezzas son? Shed seen Benita the other day at the grocery store, and everything she remembered about the woman was still true. No one showed such cold contempt as Benita Allegrezza. No one could convey both superiority and disdain in the same look of her dark eyes. “Oh, I dont think so, but thanks.

“Chicken. Lisa stood and wiped her hands on her jeans.

“Im not a chicken. Delaney shifted her weight to one foot and tilted her head to the side. “I just dont want to go someplace where I know Im not welcome.

“Youre welcome. I talked to Louie, and he doesnt have a problem with you coming. Lisa took a deep breath, then said, “He said he likes you.

Delaney laughed. “Liar.

“Okay, he said he didnt know you. But if he gets to know you, hell like you.

“Will Nick be there? One of her main goals for surviving the entire year was to avoid him as much as humanly possible. He was rude and crude and purposely reminded her of things best forgotten. She was stuck in the same city, but that didnt mean she had to socialize with him.

“Nick will be out on the lake with some of his friends, so he wont be there.

“What about Mrs. Allegrezza?

Lisa looked at her as if she were an idiot. “Of course not. Louie is going to invite some of the guys who work for him, and Sophie will be there with some of her friends. Were going to get together for hot dogs and burgers about six. You should come. What else are you going to do?

“Well, I was going to watch the parade.

“Thats over by six, Delaney. You dont want to sit home alone do you?

Her obvious lack of a life embarrassed Delaney, and she glanced across the street toward Sterling Realty. She thought of the night ahead of her. After Wheel of Fortune , what was there to do? “Well, I guess I could drop by. If youre sure Louie wont mind my being there.

Lisa waved aside Delaneys concern and took a few steps backward to leave. “I told you, we talked it over, and he doesnt care. Once he gets to know you, hell like you.

Delaney watched her friend walk away. She wasnt as optimistic as Lisa. Louie was Nicks brother, and the tension and animosity between herself and Nick was a tangible thing. She hadnt spoken to Nick since the reading of Henrys will, but shed seen him several times. Shed seen him bombing down Wagon Wheel Road on his Harley, then a few days later walking into Morts with a redhead pressed up against his side. The last time shed laid eyes on him was at the intersection of Main and First. Shed been stopped at the traffic light, and hed crossed the street in front of her. I dont know, Frank. Shes pretty hot. What if I just cant control myself ?

Her grip had tightened on the steering wheel, and shed felt her cheeks burn. His attention had been focused on the folder in his right hand, and shed wondered what he would do if she accidentally bumped into him? If her foot accidentally slipped from the brake and hit the gas. If she accidentally mowed him down, then backed up just to make sure?

Shed revved the Miatas engine like she was Cha-Cha Muldowney waiting for the flag to drop, then shed eased the clutch just enough so the car lunged into the crosswalk. Nicks head had jerked up, and hed jumped out of the way. His brows lowered and his cool gray eyes bored into her. In another split second the bumper would have clipped his right leg.

Shed smiled at him. For that moment, life had been good.

Delaney vacillated for hours over whether she should show up at Lisas party. She hadnt fully decided until she caught herself thinking about curling up with a stack of magazines and a box of wine. She was twenty-nine, and if she didnt do something quick, she was afraid shed become one of those women who wore hats instead of brushing their hair and traded in their red platforms for Easy Spirit walking shoes. Before she could change her mind, she pulled on a black turtleneck and a quilted leather vest the color of limes. Her jeans were black also, but her ankle boots matched her vest. She scrunched mousse in her soft curls and hung little gold hoops in the four piercings she had in each ear.

By the time Delaney arrived at the party, it was a little after eight. Three giggling thirteen-year-old girls answered the door and led her toward the rear of a spacious home constructed of river rock and cedar.

“Theyre all back here, one of the girls with dark eyes informed her. “Do you wanna put your purse in my dads room?

Shed shoved her wallet and a tube of burgundy lipstick into a little patent leather bag that looked like a hatbox. The wallet she could live without, but she wouldnt be able to replace her Estee Lauder lipstick for a year. “No thanks. Are you Sophie?

The girl barely glanced over her shoulder at Delaney as they moved through the kitchen. “Yep. Who are you?

Sophie had braces and pimples and wonderfully thick hair with horrible dried and split ends. Split ends drove Delaney nuts. They were like a crooked picture that drove a person mad until it was straightened. “Im Lisas friend, Delaney.

Sophies head whipped around and her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh! I heard Grandma talk about you.

By the look on Sophies face, Benita hadnt been dispensing compliments. “Great, Delaney muttered as she stepped around the three girls. She walked through a set of double glass doors onto a deck. The white sandy beach below was shaded by two enormous Ponderosas, and several boats were tied to the dock riding the gentle waves of Lake Mary.

“Hey there, Lisa greeted and excused herself from the semicircle of people around her. “I was worried you wouldnt make it. Did you have to go to something fancy first?

Delaney glanced down at her clothes, then lifted her gaze to the other guests who wore T-shirts and shorts. “No. I still get cold, she answered. “Are you sure its okay that Im here?

“Sure. How was the parade?

“It was almost exactly the same as it was the last time I saw it, except the group of World War veterans has dwindled to two old guys in the back of a school bus. She smiled, more relaxed than shed been in over a month. “And the biggest thrill is still the anticipation over which unsuspecting tuba player will step in the horse crap.

“How was the junior high school band? Sophie told me they were pretty good this year.

Delaney struggled for a compliment. “Well, the uniforms are better than when we were in school.

“Thats what I thought. Lisa laughed. “Are you hungry?

“Ive eaten already.

“Come on, and Ill introduce you around. There are some people here you might remember.

Delaney followed Lisa to a knot of people gathered around two barbecues. The fifteen or so guests were a combination of friends Lisa and Louie had known most of their lives and people who worked for Allegrezza Construction.

Delaney chatted with Andrea Huff, the best baseball pitcher in elementary school. Andrea was married to John French, the boy whod taken one of Andreas knuckleballs in the stomach and had hurled macaroni and cheese on the playground. The two seemed happy together, and Delaney wondered if there was a connection.

“I have two sons. She pointed to the beach below, then paused to lean over the rail and bellow at a cluster of children wading in the lake, “Eric! Eric French, I told you not to get into that water so soon after youve eaten.

A tow-headed boy turned and raised a hand to shade his eyes. “Im only up to my knees.

“Fine, but if you drown dont come crying to me. Andrea sighed as she straightened. “Do you have children?

“No. Ive never been married.

Andrea looked at her as if she were an alien, and in Truly, Delaney supposed a twenty-nine-year-old, never-been-married woman was an oddity.

“Now, tell me what youve been up to since high school.

Delaney told her about the places shed lived, and then the conversation turned to the memories each had of growing up in a small town at the same moment in time. They chatted about sledding at the base of Shaw Mountain, and laughed about the time Andrea had lost her bikini top waterskiing across the lake.

Something warm and unexpected settled near Delaneys soul. Talking to Andrea felt like finding something she hadnt even known shed missed, like old worn slippers long ago discarded for a newer flashier pair.

After Andrea, Lisa introduced Delaney to several single men who worked for Louie, and Delaney found herself on the receiving end of some very flattering male attention. Most of the single construction workers were younger than Delaney. Several were deeply tanned, had buns of steel, and looked like theyd jumped out of a Diet Coke commercial. Delaney was glad she hadnt settled for that box of Franzia. Especially when a backhoe operator named Steve handed her a bottle of Bud and looked at her through clear baby blues. His hair was like sun-bleached butterscotch, and there was a scruffiness about him Delaney might have found enormously appealing if it hadnt been so contrived. His hair was strategically tousled and too gelled to be natural. Steve knew he was gorgeous.

“Im going to check on Louie. Lisa grinned, then gave Delaney a cheesy thumbs-up sign behind Steves back as if they were still back in high school and had to approve each others dates.

“Ive seen you around, Steve said as soon as it was just the two of them.

“Really? She raised the beer to her lips and took a drink. “Where?

“In your little yellow car. His smile showed his very white, slightly crooked teeth. “Youre hard to miss.

“I guess my car draws attention.

“Not your car. You. Youre hard to miss.

Shed felt so invisible in the plain T-shirts and shorts shed worn lately that she pointed to herself and asked, “Me?

“Dont tell me youre one of those girls who likes to pretend they dont know theyre beautiful?

Beautiful ? No, Delaney knew she wasnt beautiful. She was attractive and could make herself look damn good when she tried. But if Steve wanted to tell her she was beautiful, she would let him. Because, contrived or not, he wasnt a dog– figuratively or literally. She spent so much time with Duke and Dolores that if she let herself, she could melt beneath such attention.

“How old are you? she asked him.

“Twenty-two.

Seven years. At twenty-two Delaney had been experimenting with life. Shed been like a convict on a prison break—a five-year prison break. Between the ages of nineteen and twenty-four, shed lived a life of reckless abandon and absolute freedom. Shed had a great time, but was glad she was older and wiser.