Read Online Innocent Little Crimes by C. S. Lakin - Free Book Online

didn’t like him much
at first—he was a real flirt. But, it turns out our fathers did
business together. Banking, investing—it’s a pretty small circle in
Marin. We even went to the same high school, although Davis was
years ahead of me. We kept running into each other.” She smiled,
lost in some memory. “He finally he convinced me his affections
were serious.”
    Della’s attention wandered. Her head throbbed
and her eyelids grew heavy. She lit another cigarette. “So, what do
you do—work and all that?” Della wished Cynthia would stop talking
about Davis.
    “Well, I chair three organizations. One for
the regional MS chapter, two are educational awareness programs for
teens—pregnancy, drugs. I help with fund-raising, pledges, stuff
like that. It’s hard work, but rewarding. I get restless sitting
around the house.”
    Poor baby .
Even dressed in casual clothes, Cynthia oozed money, probably lived
off a trust fund. A rush of bitterness coursed through Della. She
focused her attention on Davis and Jonathan across the room as
Cynthia rambled on about her teen center.
     
     
    “Well, you made out, Davis.” Jon nodded at
Cynthia. “Nothing like the fame-hungry actresses I have to deal
with all the time.”
    Jon could tell Davis had his act
together. The classy clothes, his own business. Everything about
Davis spelled success. Yet, here he was, the only one who actually went to Hollywood out of their
entire drama group and made a career. So why was he envious of
Davis, who spent his days behind a desk pushing pencils?
    All those bitter feelings from college rushed
back at him—the struggling to get “there,” wherever “there” was.
Always feeling like he had to prove so much. Prove to his pals that
he was someone to admire, to envy. Prove to his parents that he
could make a better life than theirs. That he wasn’t destined to
make lox platters till the day he died. Davis always had it so
easy. He always had money behind him, the lazy bastard. Always got
people to do what he wanted by flashing that gleaming set of
perfectly straight teeth.
    Jon forced a smile as he listened to Davis
rave about Cynthia. How she needed protection, that she’d had a
sheltered childhood and was an innocent in the real, harsh world.
How she was sensitive and self-sacrificing and some such crap and
how lucky he was to have found her.
    “Yeah, that’s how I felt about my first wife.
Then it turned out the innocent stuff was a ploy. Not only did she
have a lover on the side, but she was siphoning off my money
without my knowing it. When we got divorced, thousands just
disappeared into thin air. Poof! So, don’t sit too easy.”
    Davis only laughed. “So, what’s with Della?
Why the hostility?”
    Jon waved him off.
    “Well, I think you should go easy on her.
She’s having a hard time.”
    “Right. And did you catch the scars on her
wrists?”
    “No. I didn’t.” Davis turned from Jon to
watch Cynthia.
    Wait until you’ve been
through three marriages . You’ll be plenty sour by then.
    An hour and a half after departure, the
ship’s horn sounded. The ferry eased into the docking area on San
Juan Island. Small boats moored at the marina bobbed and tipped in
the blustering wind. A few people huddled in rain slickers at the
wooden landing, awaiting passage back to Annacortes. The town, with
its old-fashioned storefronts and colorful cottages, looked
deserted.
    Davis and Jon joined the two women.
    “God, we must be crazy to be up here this
time of year,” Davis said.
    “Lila’s the crazy one. She’s the one who
picked this weekend,” Della said.
    “Maybe she finds this kind of weather
entertaining,” Jon added.
    Della grunted. “Entertaining isn’t the word
I’d choose. And what kind of boat is going to cart us over to her
island in this storm?”
    Cynthia frowned. “Let’s just hope it’s not a
sailboat.”
    Davis put his arm around her and squeezed
her. “Hon, don’t worry. I’m sure Lila has it all