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“Come on. I’ll make us some coffee.” Taking me by the hand, she leads me through the dining room into the kitchen.
She fills the Keurig’s water reservoir while I open a new box of Pumpkin Spice K-cups.
“You went off like a cannon on him, Will. I’ve never seen you so angry. You should call your therapist. Does she have weekend hours?”
My brow shoots up. “I have a right to be angry. They were trespassing on our property, and Striker was way out of line in what he said to you.”
Her shoulders sag. “Still, I think you need to talk things over with Clemmy.”
“What I need is to take a day off from all this drama.”
Ashton pops in a K-cup and pushes the button to brew. “I can help you with that. Come sailing with Sully and me. We were going to ask you anyway.”
“I can’t. I have the girls.”
“Duh. I meant for you to bring them with you,” she says, handing me a cup of steaming black coffee.
I’m suddenly intrigued. The idea of spending the day on the water appeals to me. “Is Sully’s boat big enough for all of us?”
“It’s thirty-five feet,” she says as she sets the second cup of coffee to brew.
“Then count us in. That sounds like fun.”
“Maybe we can cook out here afterward,” she suggests.
“That’s a great idea. I can run to the market while the girls are still asleep.”
Ashton glances at the wall clock. “I doubt anything’s open this early.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll wait a bit.”
We take our coffees out to the porch and sit in silence as we watch the world come alive around us. Pelicans dive for fish. Heron search for food in the marsh. And schools of minnows skim the surface of the water.
Ashton breaks the silence. “I saw the segment about Julia on the news last night. Do you think she’s hiding something?”
I massage my jaw, the beard stubble rough against my palm. “I was up all night trying to make sense of it. Marlowe thinks she may be a plant. That Tracy’s parents are paying her to lie about having an affair with me.”
“Come on, Will. That seems extreme, even for the Beaumonts.”
The pitter-patter of tiny feet in the hallway through the open door saves me from having to answer. Caroline climbs into my lap and Sophie into Ashton’s. In a sleepy voice, Caroline asks, “Aunt Ashton, will you make us waffles for breakfast?”
“You bet. And then we’re all going sailing on Sully’s boat.”
Suddenly alert, the girls slide off our laps to their feet, dragging us out of our chairs and inside to the kitchen.
It’s nine o’clock by the time we finish eating and cleaning up. I head out to the grocery store with my list, leaving the girls with Ashton to get ready for sailing.
I return home from the market an hour later to find a police car in my driveway. Two officers are speaking with my sister at the door, my daughters peeking out at them with wide eyes from behind Ashton’s legs.
The officers turn to face me. Both are burly figures with angry scowls. One wears thick, black-framed glasses and the other has a shiny bald head shaped like an egg.
Officer Four Eyes snatches away my grocery bags, thrusting them at Ashton. “Mr. Darby, you’re under arrest for the aggravated assault of Ethan Striker. You’ll need to come with us.”
I scoff. “Since when does punching someone equate to aggravated assault? Besides, he deserved it. He was trespassing on my property and verbally abusive to my sister.”
Officer Chrome Dome places handcuffs on my wrists. “Save it for the judge, buddy.”
Caroline lets out a high-pitched screen. “No! You can’t take my daddy!”
