Page 32 of Beach Vibes

Now it was Rick’s turn to look confused. “She is.” He looked at Jana. “You’re in medical billing?”

“Yes, but it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

Beth heard the faintly desperate edge to Jana’s voice and knew both of them were uncomfortable, while Rick seemed perfectly fine. She held in a sigh. Her brother had grown and changed over the past decade, but underneath the occasionally smooth exterior was the weird little kid he’d always been. The one who didn’t always get the emotional nuances that occurred between people. She knew if she pointed out how he’d made both her and Jana uncomfortable, he would feel terrible. Better to just go along and make the best of the evening.

“All right. We’ve been standing on the porch long enough,” she said, faking a cheerful tone. “Let’s go sit down.”

She led the way into the family room, where she’d set out cheese and crackers along with dip, chips and cut-up fresh vegetables.

“What would you like to drink?” she asked Jana. “I have wine, or I can make cocktails.”

“White wine?”

Beth nodded, then looked at her brother, who was already eating the appetizers. “Are you on call?”

“No, but I’m driving. Iced tea, please.”

She nodded and started for the kitchen. After a second, Jana joined her. They stared at each other.

“This is so awkward.” Jana twisted her hands together. “He never said your name. I’ve been replaying all the times he talked about you, and he never said your name. I didn’t get that until just now.”

“He never said yours, either.”

Beth felt like this should be a bonding moment for the two of them, yet she couldn’t get past all the things Rick had said about her. Only was any of it true? He’d said Jana had a son instead of a daughter, and there was the whole medical-billing-slash-receptionist thing. Except her brother wasn’t a liar, and how well did she know Jana?

“He said you don’t know who Linnie’s father is,” she blurted, then felt instant guilt when Jana flushed.

“Oh.” Jana swallowed. “I don’t know who… It was a different time in my life, and I wasn’t as careful as I could have been.” She raised her chin slightly. “I’m not proud of what happened, but I don’t regret my daughter.”

Beth thought about the sweet little girl she’d spent the morning with a couple of weeks before. “I wouldn’t, either,” she said. “Linnie’s wonderful, and you’re lucky to have her.” She put her hands on the island. “This is just so strange. I’m fine with you dating Rick.” Sort of. “It’s just the way he described the woman he was dating.” She paused, not sure how much to say. “I never thought it was you.”

“I get that.” Jana grimaced. “I have the feeling I need to defend myself, yet I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You haven’t,” Beth said quickly. “Rick should have told us when he figured out we knew each other.”

Jana nodded. “I really do like him. He’s a good man, and he’s sweet to me. I’d never do anything, you know, wrong or mean. That’s not who I am.”

“I know that.”

The words were automatic, but Beth had to admit to herself she wasn’t sure what she believed anymore. But there was an evening to get through, so she smiled and pulled a bottle of white wine and a pitcher of iced tea out of the refrigerator.

Once the drinks were poured, she and Jana returned to the family room. The three of them made polite conversation, but Beth kept feeling like there was something big and unspoken lurking just out of sight. Their chitchat about the weather and Rick’s work schedule was punctuated by awkward pauses. Finally Beth escaped to the kitchen to get dinner on the table.

This time Jana didn’t join and her, and she was grateful. When everything was ready, she called in the other two.

She had hoped once they were seated, conversation would flow more easily. Unfortunately the “This is delicious” and “Do you want more wine?” was punctuated by a lot of silence. Beth tried to figure out some safe topic of conversation.

“Is your brother watching Linnie tonight?” she asked, thinking family was a topic they could agree on.

Jana nodded. “He and his friend Dex took the kids out.” She smiled. “Their favorite place isn’t anyone’s idea of fine dining, but with four kids, it’s more about making sure everyone has something they like and no one starts throwing food.”

Beth felt herself relax and offered her first genuine smile of the evening. “Speaking as someone who owns a food establishment, we frown on food throwing. It really makes a mess.” She cut off a piece of chicken. “It’s nice you and Teddy can share responsibilities with the kids. Otherwise it would be tough when one of you wants to go out and have adult fun.”

“Teddy doesn’t date,” Jana said. “But yes, it is good we’re there for each other. When I had Linnie, I was so scared. I’d never been around an infant before. I’d visited Teddy and Valonia, of course, but that wasn’t the same as being responsible for a newborn. But Teddy’d had three of his own, so he was a great resource. He kept me calm.”

Beth glanced at Rick to see if he wanted to say something, but he only smiled at her, as if he was comfortable letting the two women talk. She had no idea what he was thinking, but then, she’d never expected him to keep Jana’s identity from her. While she could admire her brother’s brilliance, his emotional intelligence needed a little work.

“It’s nice to have someone to support you,” she said, thinking that without her brother, Jana would have been all on her own. What with not knowing who the father was.

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