Life Guards in the Hamptons by Celia Jerome Read Free Book Online

shouldn’t drive while distracted. I was afraid of getting a ticket or getting in an accident. I was terrified of hitting a deer.
    I was more afraid of my grandmother. If she found out I’d arrived two doors down without calling until the next day, there’d be hell to pay. Susan undoubtedly told her as soon as she left my doorstep.
    With luck, Grandma Eve would be busy browbeating the birdwatchers and I could leave a message. Yeah, and with luck I could win the lottery and move to the south of France. Not that I spoke French or knew anyone there, but that wasn’t the point.
    Not only was my grandmother home, she had caller ID and knew my cell number.
    No “Hello, who is this?” Just, “Well, it’s about time, but I suppose dogs come first, like they always do for your mother. Perhaps if she paid more attention to her own—”
    “Little Red will be fine, thank you.”
    After a few such pleasantries, I said I’d be by later. No, I didn’t need to come to her house for dinner. Yes, Iate healthy meals in the city. I’d fetch something while I did errands in town. We were low on dog treats, I’d forgotten to pack deodorant, and Susan told me the porch light burned out yesterday but that there were no replacements in the utility closet. Grandma Eve wouldn’t want me coming home to darkness, would she? I doubted she’d care, except Susan stayed here, and my cousin got off work at the restaurant in the middle of the night.
    “Susan said the dog was sick?”
    “He’ll be all right. I thought it was chiggers, but Dr. Spenser says not.” Dr. Spenser, not Matt. I couldn’t afford to give her an opening.
    “What about you? Jasmine said you called her about the parasites.”
    “I have it under control now.”
    “Why didn’t you call me? I could have told you what to do. Lord knows I treat everyone else in this town who’s foolish enough to go rambling in the weeds without long pants when it’s cool and damp.”
    “I, ah, didn’t know I was coming out to the Harbor until the dog got sick, so I couldn’t fetch whatever you thought I needed.”
    “It’s at every drugstore. Lice shampoo.”
    Damn. “I know that now. I’ll see you later.”
    I think she muttered, “It’s about time” again, then she told me to get off the phone and put both hands on the wheel.
    “It’s okay. I’ve got Bluetooth.”
    “I don’t care if you’ve got a gold tooth. It’s dangerous and stupid and rude. Besides, the sooner you finish your errands the sooner you can get here and do something about those dreadful ornithologists.”
    I don’t know what she imagined I could do when no one else seemed to have an idea. At least she wasn’t blaming me for the onslaught of ecotourists. She did say she was glad I came.
    She must be desperate.
    Maybe I’d ask Matt what he thought could be done about the rare bird.
    Or maybe Mrs. Terwilliger at the library had a bookon exotic South American species, what they ate, how long they lived, how far they traveled. Or a law book concerning private roads and trespassers.
    We agreed to meet at the library steps. I saw him waiting at the top, so I drove past to find a parking spot where I could pull in. No way did I want to try parallel parking with him watching. Not that I lacked confidence, of course, or that it mattered what he thought. This still wasn’t a date.
    He had a Giants sweatshirt on over his polo shirt, which made me wonder if he ever played football in high school or college. He was tall enough, at least six-two, I guessed, and broad. I knew he was strong from seeing him pick up Mom’s fat old retriever without effort. And his agility had shown when he rescued Red. Fit best described his physique, even in a baggy sweatshirt.
    Fit and casual and unconcerned that I was late. Good, he didn’t treat this as a date, either.
    So I could swallow my last breath mint, stop worrying I had hat hair instead of dandelion head, and hurry back to the library before he worried I wasn’t