Bougainvillea by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

into hard work at Sea Life. Thanks to the way Bougainvillea had been planned—almost like a little compound for the Mafia—Josh was independent, living on the property but in one of the cottages that surrounded the lagoon. “But! I’ve got a date. Anyone mind if I take off?”
    â€œWe do have company,” Lenore, Josh’s mother, reminded him.
    â€œWe’re not really company,” Martin Callahan said. “We’re just the next door neighbors.”
    â€œAnd we couldn’t care in the least if Josh has a hot date!” Shelley, his daughter, teased. “Damn, but, you know, Seamus sure looks great,” she added. “He seems so alive again! He seemed really depressed there for a while.”
    â€œUncle Seamus is going to live forever, the tough old bird,” Josh said, still grinning.
    â€œJosh,” Lenore remonstrated.
    â€œAs well he should,” Michael said.
    â€œHe was so depressed when he heard about Mark dying,” Eli, Shelley’s brother, said softly.
    â€œBut now he’s excited again, because he thinks he’s going to see Kit Delaney down here soon,” Josh told him.
    â€œ I’m excited!” Shelley said. “Kit and I were in firstgrade together—at least part of it. Then her mom died, and…”
    â€œThat’s what was getting to old Seamus, I think,” Josh interrupted her. He leaned low against the table. “Shades of guilt! The deadly siren of Bougainvillea drowns, and only the good Lord knows what was really going on!”
    â€œMarina liked to drink,” Martin Callahan reminded them all quietly.
    â€œShe liked to do a lot of things,” Josh said, his words light, and yet rueful.
    â€œJosh,” Michael said softly. He felt a surge of unease. Strange, it was still too easy to remember the days when Marina had been here. A woman so stunning and full of energy that she had set the entire place on edge. He knew for a fact that Seamus himself had been captivated by his cousin’s wife, just as he had been himself, Michael was honest enough to reflect. Both Josh and David had been teenagers at the time, and they had idolized her. Even Eli and Martin knew what it had been like to fall beneath her spell. He would never go so far as to say that Marina had actually been evil, but close. She had loved her power, and loved knowing that she’d had them all tripping over themselves because of her, arguing and making power plays. Well, she was dead, God bless her. But now… “That girl shouldn’t be coming here,” Kaitlin said flatly. Kaitlin wasn’t a member of the family. Not exactly, and certainly not in a normal or accepted manner. She had worked for Seamus for over twenty years. Like Seamus, she sometimes reminded Michael of Dorian Grey. Surely, she had an aging picture of herself stashed somewhere. Shehad to be in her early forties now, and she still had the face and figure of a twenty-year-old. As well she should. As Seamus’s personal assistant, she had been extremely well paid for all those many years. She had ample time off, and lots of vacations.
    After all these years, Michael thought with some amusement, his wife still hated her. Not that Lenore was wearing so badly. His wife was quite an attractive woman as well. She kept her hair the deep dark auburn it had always been. She was blessed with huge hazel eyes that hypnotically ruled her face. She spent a day every week at the spa, where God alone knew exactly what they did. Hell, yes, the women at Bougainvillea either fared very well…
    Or they died.
    â€œKaitlin! Why on earth would you say that? I’m dying to see Kit,” Shelley said.
    â€œIf she looks as much like her mother as she used to, I’ll be darned excited to see her again, too,” Eli said.
    â€œEli,” his father warned edgily.
    â€œHey, Dad, I’m not a teenager anymore. All right, so we all had silly little crushes on