Read Online Fire Works in the Hamptons : A Willow Tate Novel (9781101547649) by Celia Jerome - Free Book Online Page A

of venomous insects could be dangerous.”
    He lifted Buddy down from the examining table with ease. The shepherd had to weigh a good sixty or seventy pounds, so the man kept fit. While he washed his hands at the nearby sink he asked, “Do you still have that feisty Pomeranian whose leg I had to amputate?”
    â€œWho else would take him?”
    He laughed again. “Well, keep him in at night when the fireflies are out. All that hair could turn into a catastrophe. Let’s hope we get a storm soon. Insects don’t like to fly in rain or wind. Either way, their courting season will be over soon, and they’ll stop lighting up to find a mate. Or they might reach their age limits. I’d like to do some research on the species, so I know what I am dealing with for the next bite. Do you think you could bring me one?”
    â€œNO!” I shouted. “That is, no. It’s too dangerous to capture a live one, and I’ve never seen a dead one.”
    â€œMaybe I’ll come out and take a look for myself. Where’s the best place to find them?”
    A parallel universe, but I couldn’t reveal that. My backyard, but I couldn’t encourage him. Matt Spenser was an outsider, a danger in itself to Paumanok Harbor and its residents. I had to keep him at a distance, even if I’d feel better having a calm, competent man for a friend, at the least. I tugged on Buddy’s leash to get him headed for the door.
    â€œYou should bring him back in a couple of days for me to check the wound.”
    â€œI thought you said he’d be okay.”
    â€œWhat if he ate the bug?”
    Good grief, Buddy’d be a blowtorch every time he barked. “No, he didn’t. I saw the thing fly away.”
    â€œThat’s good. But bring him in anyway.” He sent me another smile. “I’d like to see you again.”
    Oh. “Maybe my mother will be back by then. I’ll tell her.”
    â€œAn amazing woman, your mother. Do you know she’s the reason I settled on this neighborhood? She convinced me this was the perfect spot for a new practice. She was right. And know what? She said I’d be happy to meet you. She was right there, too.”
    My mother ought to be sent into space to rescue Canis Minor. On the other hand, there really was nothing wrong with having a cup of tea with a nice, normal man. Nothing except blazing bugs and babies.

CHAPTER 8

    P EOPLE ACTUALLY VOLUNTEERED for this?
    I’m sorry, Mom, but your hopes for grandkids just went down the toilet, along with a lot of disgusting unmentionables. I admire women who can do this, who get real pleasure out of changing diapers, spooning slop into uncooperative mouths, singing the itsy bitsy spider ten times. I am not one of them. I doubt I’d feel any different if the infant were mine.
    Elladaire is cute and lovable. I’d love to buy her books and stuffed bears and pretty dresses with flowers on them. Spend another day keeping her happy, keeping her from the electric cords, the dogs’ tails, the house plants, the bric-a-brac, everything else dangerous, inedible, or irreplaceable? No thanks.
    It was raining. No nonflammable beach. No playground. No stroller rides. I couldn’t pop her in the car and head for stores that carried toys and baby videos and board books. Not when a single wail could set the car on fire.
    â€œIt’s just you and me, kid, but today’s the last day. Your auntie Jane can take over from here. I wasn’t the one who let you teethe on a bug bigger than a praying mantis. I know it’s not your fault, but I’m not cut out for this job.”
    It started too early, for one thing. Janie arrived with Elladaire before I could shower or change or make breakfast.
    â€œHere’s her oatmeal, her bottle, more clothes, more diapers. I have to meet with Mary’s insurance agent about her house and how much fire damage they’ll cover. Lord knows what