Robbie felt he’d made his point. She was probably right that her mom wouldn’t have someone murdered, but the grumpy, sickly lady made everyone around her miserable. Robbie understood loyalty to family, God, country, and his ‘brothers’, but the way Alice’s mother controlled and manipulated seemed grounds to create some distance. In his mind. Obviously not in Alice’s.
“I know you and my mother hated each other, but I don’t appreciate you accusing her of having anything to do with the murders.”
“Noted,” he grunted.
Alice spun and rushed through the living area and up the stairs. Her door opened and closed.
Robbie picked up the dishes. He was tired, emotionally and physically. He’d made a mess of that. Half an hour ago, Alice had been hugging him fiercely and now she was furious at him.
Her mom had come between them fifteen years ago. Why would he expect it to be any different now?
Chapter
Ten
Alice awokeas upset at Robbie as she’d felt going to bed. At least she’d been able to sleep and hadn’t had the nightmare.
She hated the way she felt right now. Robbie used to make her happy. Not currently.
Her mother had been unfair about Robbie back then, and it was true she was a hard woman and hadn’t liked Natalie, Ruby, Jack, or even sweet little Odie. But she was still Alice’s mother and the only remaining family member she had. Not everybody had the perfect and loving June Beaver-type mother like Robbie’s Mama Quincy.
Just thinking of Mama Quincy made her long for a huge welcoming hug complete with a beaming smile, chocolate chip cookies, and the line, ‘Our beautiful girl is here!”. Robbie’s mama had always made her feel like she was the most important person on earth.
Alice showered and put on a comfortable blue summer romper that she’d brought with her, bought by her mother as most of her clothing and jewelry was, and walked down to breakfast. Robbie was waiting for her, shoveling food in as usual. He was right that he didn’t chew with his mouth open or burp. The way he ate had always fascinated her. That he could eat so quickly and get the quantity of food in that hedid without making slurping noises or being ‘uncouth’ like her mother accused him of was a marvel. Right now, it annoyed her.
She’d skipped dinner last night, too stirred up by their attacker and then by Robbie’s attack on her mother. Now she was hungry, but she didn’t want to eat with Robbie. How would she spend the entire day with him? Not to mention the next two weeks.
He set his fork down, straightened in his chair, and studied her.
Alice flushed with heat from the simple look. She stepped forward, planning to brush past him and grab something out of the fridge, but Robbie stood, blocking her path. A thrill shot through her as she arched her head back to look at him. He was large, manly, and appealing. Even if she was irritated with him and he had a bush growing out of his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“About?” She folded her arms across her chest. No reason to make this easy on him.
“I shouldn’t have said those things about your mom.”
“But you believe them?”
His mouth twisted. Robbie was never one to lie. “Your mom …” He licked his lips, rubbed at his neck, and started over. “As a teenager, I always made an effort to be respectful and speak to adults. It was rare that an adult didn’t like me. I made countless attempts to get on your mom’s good side, more than any other parent, because I loved you and wanted a great relationship with her. Everything I tried backfired. I never understood why she hated me.”
Alice studied him. He was right. He’d been nothing but respectful, even sweet, to her mother, but she had never even given him a chance. She’d treated him worse than her staff, and her excuses were always that he was an ‘uncouth ogre’ or a ‘beastly loser’. Neither of which was true. Her mother had always asserted Preston Lavity was the right one for her.
Before she had to admit Robbie was right, or make an excuse for her mother’s behavior, he continued.
“But she’s your family, and it’s not my right to judge her.”
Alice swallowed and nodded, not sure what to say. She couldn’tdefend her mother. She was hard, extremely so, and she’d loathed Robbie with a deep passion. It was kind of him to try not to judge her.
“I also was thinking …” He looked her over, and her pulse spiked despite her desire to stay aloof from him. Mostly for his own protection from a killer, but also because they had no future. “Your mom raised you, and you’re the most incredible lady I’ve ever known, so there must be a lot of good in her that she passed on to you.”
Alice was surprised by his comment. It looked to be a hard concession. “The most incredible lady? What about your mama?”
He smiled at that. The lips she used to love to tangle with were revealed in the mass of his beard. “You’re right on level with my amazing mama, Alice Marshall.”
Alice had to back away. What was he doing making comments like that? “Um … thank you,” she managed. “Let me grab some food. What’s the plan today?”
“Beaches. A whole list of beaches. We go back to the dock and a boat will take us to explore all the nearby beaches and beach towns.”
