Evening Stars (19 page)

* * *

“I thought you were dating Dylan,” Bonnie said, as she sat on Nina’s bed and watched her daughter get ready.

Nina pulled the hot rollers from her hair. She hadn’t stayed long at Kyle’s the night before, mostly because she hadn’t wanted to be caught sneaking in the house at five in the morning. But he’d claimed his “Nina needs” hadn’t been met by their quick encounter, and he’d asked to see her again the next night. Only this time they were going to have a date and he was picking her up. Something she would have been fine with, if it hadn’t meant Kyle meeting her mother.

“Dylan and I are friends,” she said, thinking of the friendly text he’d sent her that morning. “It’s nice that after all this time we can still talk to each other.”

“You used to be in love with him.”

“That was ages ago.”

“I know he broke your heart, but that only makes him more significant. I’ve never understood exes becoming friends. If Bertie left me...” She paused and shook her head. “I can’t even think about it.”

“Bertie loves you. Don’t worry about it.”

“I know. I’m so lucky to have her. She did mention your new young man.” Her mother smiled. “I heard you come in last night.”

Nina finger-combed her hair. “Sorry. I tried to be quiet.”

“You were. I happened to be up. I never sleep well the first night we’re back. I’m too happy to waste a whole eight hours unconscious.” She watched as Nina pulled on a lightweight sweater and then slipped into heels.

“Nice,” Bonnie said, surveying her. “Sexy but not obvious. Your sister would be in black leather.”

“My sister has the body for it.” Averil had always been thin, Nina thought with some resignation. And willing to take risks. Although when she thought about how eagerly Kyle touched her, maybe she should think about a little black leather for herself.

She was going to spend the evening with Kyle. She would enjoy their dinner and their post-dinner. In the morning she would be smug and have glowing skin. If that wasn’t the end to a perfect weekend, she didn’t know what was.

The doorbell rang.

Nina glanced at the time and groaned.

“You did warn him about us, didn’t you?” Bonnie asked.

“I said who you and Bertie were,” Nina told her. “There’s no need to warn him about anything.”

Her mother grinned. “So he knows we’re witches?”

“Very funny. Come on. You can meet my young man.”
Young
being the key word.

She and Bonnie walked into the living room. Bertie had already let Kyle in. Nina crossed to him and took his hand. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi, yourself. You look amazing.” He smiled at Bonnie. “I can see where Nina gets her best qualities.”

Bonnie laughed. “Yes, those are all me. Everything else comes from her father.”

“Okay, then,” Nina said. “On that note, we’re going to go.”

“Do you have to?” Bonnie asked. “We’d like to get to know you.”

“Don’t be frightening,” Bertie told her. “Middle-aged lesbians take getting used to.”

“We’re not middle-aged,” Bonnie said, sounding horrified. “That’s so old.”

“Unless you plan on living past a hundred, I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

Nina shook her head. “Okay, and for the second time, on that note, we’re out of here.”

“Have a good time,” Bonnie said. “Stay out as late as you’d like. We know you’re having sex. There’s no need to try to hide it. You can come back here, if you’d like. Nina’s room is in the back of the house. No one would hear you.”

Kyle looked stunned. “That’s very thoughtful,” he managed to say.

Nina pulled him toward the door. “Escape while you still can,” she told him. “They will suck you in and trap you, if you’re not careful.”

When they were out front, he glanced back at the door. “I like them,” he admitted.

“Sure. From a distance, they’re hilarious. But on a day-to-day basis, they’re a challenge.”

“You like that they’re back.”

“I do. It makes me as twisted as them, but I can live with that.”

He opened the passenger door. “So dinner and then sex?”

She laughed. “A man with a plan. I like that.”

Chapter Thirteen

NINA ARRIVED HOME Tuesday after work to find the house filled with Calypso music and the blender running in the kitchen. Averil met her in the living room.

“We’re playing
Practical Magic
,” her sister said with a laugh as she handed over a margarita glass rimmed with salt and brimming with a slushy pale green mixture.

Nina admired Averil’s open Hawaiian shirt. The white tank top underneath matched her shorts. A necklace of tiny shells hung around her sister’s neck.

Nina took a sip of the drink and gasped as the tequila settled on her tongue. “Okay, Bertie made these.”

“You know it.”

Bertie made the best margaritas on the island, but she was more than a little heavy-handed.

“We’re all going to have a hangover in the morning,” Nina murmured as she danced along to the beat. “Okay, let me get changed and I’ll be right out.”

“We’ll be getting drunk while we wait.”

Nina made her way down the hall. Once in her room, she stripped out of her scrubs before pulling on jeans. In the back of her closet, she had a bright pink T-shirt that was decorated with sequined flip-flops. She pulled her hair back in a braid and slipped on plastic palm tree earrings. Because costumes were required on
Practical Magic
night.

The movie was one of her mother’s favorites. Some families watched Christmas movies in December. In the Wentworth household, the women watched
Practical Magic
on both nights of the solstice. When she was twelve, while her friends had been pretending to be models, Averil had tried to convince everyone she was a witch. Her complete lack of magical powers had made the process difficult, but Averil had given it her best shot.

Nina took her drink with her and arrived in the kitchen in time to watch Bertie and Bonnie dance to Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut” song.

Bertie wore a sarong as a skirt and a bikini top. Nina toasted her moves, along with her trim body.

“We should all look so good at fifty,” Averil said in Nina’s ear.

“I wish I looked that good now,” Nina told her.

Bonnie wore a grass skirt over shorts and a T-shirt. Both women had silk flower leis around their necks. They each held a margarita in one hand and linked fingers with the other. The sisters moved their hips and sang along with the familiar lyrics.

The smell of limes and margarita mix mingled with the mouth-watering tang of teriyaki chicken that was already on the grill outside. Bertie had perfected a low temperature recipe that had everyone begging for more.

Nina turned to her sister to mention the chicken, but found Averil obviously thinking about something other than the party. Instinctively, she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the living room.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Averil pulled free of her grip.

“It’s not nothing. You’re upset.”

“Then you should be happy. Nothing makes you feel more useful than telling other people what they’ve done wrong.”

Nina felt the familiar frustration and annoyance welling up inside of her. The road to this argument was so well-worn, neither of them had to think before arriving at a disagreement.

She took a quick swallow of her drink and drew in a breath. This time she wouldn’t react, she told herself. This time she would listen and be supportive, no matter how annoying Averil became.

“I’m sorry you think that,” she said honestly. “I really am interested in what’s bothering you. Is it Kevin?”

Averil hesitated, then nodded. “He called me a few days ago because of something going on at work. He found out one of his friends is having an affair. It really bothers him. We know James and his wife, and this isn’t going to end well for either of them.”

Nina didn’t understand why that would make Averil so sad. “You’re worried about the other couple?”

“Some. Maybe. Mostly I wonder about Kevin. Not that he would cheat on me. I believe he loves me. It’s just I’m here and I miss him.” She held up her hand. “Please, don’t tell me to just go home. I know that. But before I go back I need to figure out my life.”

Nina gulped more of her margarita and told herself that she was going to continue to find patience and be a supportive sister. Because what she really wanted to say was, “Why go looking for trouble?”

“Every time I’m around Kevin, I notice how much he loves you,” she said instead. “It’s so clear in what he says and how he acts. You’re exactly who he wants to be with. Maybe thinking about that will help.”

Averil sighed. “It does. He’s great and we’re talking more. I just—”

The doorbell rang.

Averil looked toward the sound. “Are we expecting someone else?”

Bonnie stepped out of the kitchen and laughed. “Oh, good. It’s your young man. I called and invited him.”

“You have a young man?” Averil asked, as Nina moved toward the door.

“The one she’s sleeping with,” Bonnie said loudly. “Kyle. He’s adorable. Remember how he used to follow Nina around years ago? I’d nearly forgotten all about him. Apparently he still adores your sister.”

Nina felt herself flush.

“
He’s
the guy who has you staying out all night,” Averil said with a grin. “I remember him from school. He was okay, I guess, but he and his family moved before I realized boys were anything other than annoying. Wow, a younger man.”

“Not that much younger,” Nina said between gritted teeth.

Averil grinned. “Look at Nina, robbing the cradle.”

“You will all be quiet and behave,” Nina told them before hurrying to the door. She opened it and found Kyle standing on the front porch.

He looked good in jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. He held out a bag of frozen coconut shrimp. “As per the invitation.”

She sighed. “My mom invited you to dinner
and
asked you to stop at the store on your way?”

“I don’t mind,” he told her. “I would have brought wine, but she said that would be a waste.”

“That’s my mother.”

He stepped into the house and turned to Averil. “Hi. Kyle.”

“Averil. The baby sister. We’ve met. You accidently stood outside of my bedroom window when you pulled your
Say Anything
move that summer.”

“Sorry about that,” he said with an easy grin.

“No problem.”

They shook hands.

Nina relieved him of the bag of frozen shrimp and led the way to the kitchen. “We’re getting drunk. I hope you can handle it.”

“I’ll do my best.”

* * *

Rather than risk the deep fryer, Bertie cooked the shrimp in the oven. By the time they sat down to dinner, they were on their second pitcher of margaritas, and it wasn’t taking much to send at least one of them into hysterical laughter. Nina did her best to pace herself. She had to be prepared to throw herself between Kyle and anyone in her family. That meant keeping some control of her faculties.

In addition to the shrimp, there was a huge platter of teriyaki chicken and a couple of salads. The windows in the dining room were pushed open to allow in a light breeze.

Kyle was next to Nina. They sat on the same side of the old table. Every now and then, he dropped his hand to her thigh and squeezed gently. She liked having him around, and she liked how he touched her. He was a man who knew his way around a woman’s body. He seemed to enjoy the process as much as the endgame—or he was good at pretending. She was content either way.

“Tell me about your road trip,” he said as the food was passed around. “Nina mentioned you go out to estate sales and find inventory for the store.”

“We look for treasure wherever it is,” Bonnie said. She was flushed and gesturing broadly, but still speaking in complete sentences. “Beauty calls to me. This time we bought the contents of several storage units at an auction. That was exciting. One man bought one with a gun safe in it. We were all waiting to see what was inside.”

“Guns?” Averil asked.

“If only,” Bertie murmured.

“What was it?” Kyle asked. “Jewelry?”

Bonnie stared at him. “Bones.”

Nina took a chicken breast and passed the platter to Kyle. “Excuse me?”

“Bones. Animal bones. Hundreds of them.”

“That is so gross,” Averil told her. “Why would you put animal bones in a gun safe?”

“Are we sure they’re animal bones?” Kyle asked. “Maybe he was a serial killer.”

Nina shook her head. “Please don’t encourage them. Tell him about the ugly painting.”

Bonnie looked confused, as if she wasn’t sure of the change of topic, then she nodded. “It’s the ugliest painting ever, but the frame is lovely.”

“Good one,” Averil mouthed.

Bertie smiled at them. “Have some potato salad,” she told Kyle. “I understand you’re a fighter pilot.”

He managed to take the salad and answer the question, without appearing thrown by the odd juxtaposition of statements.

“I am. I fly jets for the Navy.”

“That’s so manly,” Bonnie said, reaching for the margarita pitcher. “A manly man.”

“You need to eat,” Bertie told her. “Try the chicken. It’s your favorite.”

“Is it?” Bonnie asked, staring at her plate. “All right.” She picked up a leg and took a bite. “It’s delicious,” she mumbled.

“Don’t Navy pilots have long deployments?” Bertie asked. “You’re assigned to a carrier group?”

“Usually,” Kyle told her. “Right now I’m assigned to a task force here in Everett.”

“You know about carrier groups?” Nina asked, impressed.

Bertie shrugged. “I know things.”

“Obviously,” Averil said. “Bertie’s the deep one in the family. Do you like serving in the military?”

“Sure. I was born to fly.”

Nina waited, wondering if he would mention his ultimate goal. But he never said anything about the Blue Angels and shifted conversation back to her mother and Bertie.

Unexpected, she thought. She supposed that meant he’d told her what he did on their date as a way for her to get to know him. He hadn’t been bragging. Not that she needed him to have even more nice qualities. He was already tempting enough.