Page 29 of Rex's Honor
“Whatever you say.” He steered the boat out into the Chesapeake, enjoying the hot summer sun beating down on his face. Not much different than being at home, except for Tilly, only he felt as if she belonged with him out on the boat.
That was a crazy thought.
He pulled the throttle back, slowing the boat into an alcove they used to hang out in back in the day. “Let’s relax here.” He shut the engine down and tossed over the anchor, securing the boat between a half dozen other boats enjoying the day.
“Wow, this brings back memories,” she said as she smoothed out two towels. “We had a lot of fun here.”
“We sure did.” He sat down next to her and opened the cooler. “Look at all the kids in these boats.”
“I know. We look like a couple of old farts.”
“We are old farts.” He twisted off the cap from a beer and handed it to her.
“Why’d you bring me here?”
“It seemed like a nice place to spend the day and talk without being scrutinized by everyone our parents know.” He leaned back on his elbows.
“Speaking of parents, my mother texted, and she’s bringing her new boyfriend to the club tonight.”
“Great. She never liked me much.” Before the affair, he’d gotten along with Mr. Bettencourt well enough, but Mrs. Bettencourt terrified him. She’d always give him this narrowed expression when he’d come pick up Tilly for a date.
Tilly sipped her beer, lifting her head toward the sun. “It wasn’t you she didn’t like. It was what she read in my diary that pissed her off.”
“Good Lord.” He shook his head. “Do I even want to know?”
“Let’s just say that she read about our first time and was mortified.”
“I never want to see your mother again,” he muttered.
“She was impressed that you took care of all the precautions and called me the next morning to make sure I was okay. She did know you treated me well. And if it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t like anyone whose penis I’ve touched.”
He raised his longneck. “I don’t want to hear about that. I don’t like those pricks either.”
She clanked her bottle with his. “I can’t say I’m thrilled to know about all the skanky bitches you’ve had either.”
The strange turn of events his life had taken over the last twenty-four hours felt more like the Twilight Zone than reality. “So, we’re both jealous and miserable, relationship-wise, and yetwe’re more awkward with each other than that pimply teenaged boy over there trying to feel up the blonde who seems so into him, only he’s too hormonal to know it.”
“Oh my God. That’s almost exactly what I said to you when I first kissed you.”
“My mother always liked how aggressive you were, which still weirds me out.”
Tilly tilted her head and peered over her sunglasses.
“Well, you were aggressive,” he said.
“Only in response to you,” she whispered, brushing her hair from her face. “I’m sorry about your mom. She’s a good woman. I didn’t make things easy on her and my dad when we first moved in. But she’s been good to me and I wish things were different.”
“So do I,” he admitted. His mother’s illness had been another reason that had kept him up the night before.
His mom had put on a brave front, but after talking with her doctor this morning, Rex had a much better idea of how sick she really was. She had days, or at best, a couple of weeks before her organs went into failure. The cancer had eaten up all of her insides, leaving her with nothing but sickness.
He’d called Arthur right after and begged him to find replacements for his shifts. Timothy at the Aegis Network had told him not to worry. No assignments would be sent his way until he was ready.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’ve missed out on so much. My sister is still mad as hell at me, but says she’ll be coming over tomorrow night for dinner. My brother and his family are coming too, which will be nice.”
“That will really make your mother happy. I’ll make sure I have plans.”
