Page 61 of Strangers She Knows

He knew how to make himself welcome. “The great thing is,” he said, “with Olympia gone we can eat at the kitchen table.” Instead of the large, echoing dining room.

Max also brought a flashlight headband, an LED mat light, a telescoping lighted inspection mirror, an LED floodlight…

Kellen looked up from the bag he had placed on the table and raised her eyebrows.

“The carburetor kit is full of really small parts, and I need light in that garage.”

She removed a new roll of electrical tape, a big box of knuckle bandages, a solar crank emergency radio and a multimeter to check for hot wires. “What did you do? Stop at an auto parts store and go through it like a whirlwind?”

Without a bit of irony, he said, “I was like a kid in a candy store.”

Rae pulled out an electric screwdriver and turned it on. Eyes shining, she said, “Daddy, we’re going to get that truck running.”

“Yes, we are.” He grinned blissfully. “Check out the coffee maker I bought.”

Kellen pulled it out. “It’s pretty small, but I suppose it’ll work for the garage.”

Max started cutting lettuce to make a salad. “Um, I thought we’d take the big coffee maker from in here and—”

Kellen started laughing.

He waited until she finished before saying with dignity, “I need caffeine way worse out there. You shouldn’t snicker, because I brought you a present, too.” Leaning over, he reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out a pair of pink padded hand wraps to protect Kellen’s knuckles while she pounded the mattress.

She pounced on them. “Thank you! You really know how to make a woman happy.”

“I’ll do that later,” he promised.

Rae sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “I hate when you use that warm gushy voice to Mommy. It’s gross.”

While the pizza baked, Rae set the table. Kellen fed Luna, and Max told them he’d contacted his cousin and explained the situation with Olympia. When they landed, Rafe had been waiting for them. He offered Olympia a cruise across the Northern Atlantic that would keep her occupied.

In dire tones, she had said, “I knew something suspicious was going on,” and accepted.

At that point in the story, Rae slapped a fork by Kellen’s plate and asked, “You saw Cousin Rafe? What about my grandma? Did you see her?”

Max looked alarmed, as if he’d realized he’d put his foot in it. “You know she’s in Italy.”

“We were supposed to be in Italy, too,” Rae retorted. “We aren’t!”

“I promise you, she really is,” Max assured her.

“Did she send me a message by Cousin Rafe?” Rae begged.

“No, honey, she didn’t.”

“Why didn’t youcallGrandma?”

“It would have been the middle of the night.”

The frustration Rae had expressed in the first days at Isla Paraíso made a whopping return. “Am I dead here? Has everyone forgotten me? Why can’t I talk to anyone? I want to go home. I want to go home!”

“Where’s home?” Max asked.

Kellen clenched her fists.No, Max.

Frustrated, Rae huffed like a steam train. “Where I can talk to my friends! And my grandma!”

Kellen brought the balsamic vinegar and olive oil out of the pantry and handed them to Max. Gripping his wrist, she looked into his eyes. “Did you hear about Verona? Is she—”safewas the wrong word to use “—having a good time?”

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