All They Need(55)

“Excuse me, fearless leader,” Harry said to Mel once they’d finished. “When might your faithful servants expect to be fed?”

“Mom said she’d make sandwiches. I’ll call and let her know we’re ready to eat.” Mel pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed.

Flynn admired the length of her athletic legs as she propped her butt against one of the completed walls while she waited for her call to connect.

“The eagle has landed, Mom,” she said into the phone.

She listened for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. As always, the rich, full sound made Flynn smile in response. Mel shot a mischievous look at her brother. “Mom says you’re more of a vulture than an eagle, Harry.”

“Tell Mom she’s a riot. And if I’m a vulture, she’s a turkey.”

Mel dutifully relayed his message to their mother. She was grinning fit to bust when she hung up. Flynn had a sudden image of her as a kid, mischievous and full of beans, more than ready to give as good as she got.

It struck him suddenly that this was the first time that he’d seen Mel truly carefree, her habitual wariness completely absent. Clearly, she felt safe with her family.

And, perhaps, with him?

“What’s so funny?” Harry asked suspiciously.

“Mom said she’s going to accidentally drop all the cheese-and-pickle sandwiches on the floor as payback,” Mel said as she pocketed her phone.

“Are we talking Mom’s floor? Because everyone knows you could perform surgery on Mom’s floor. Your floor, on the other hand…”

They continued to bicker cheerfully, Jacob and Mike throwing their two cents in when the mood struck them. Flynn watched from the sidelines, enjoying the interplay and this rare insight into Mel with her guard down.

“What’s this I hear about me being a turkey? Harold Neville Porter, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

A slim woman of average height entered the clearing bearing a tray piled high with sandwiches. He guessed she must be in her early fifties, although she was dressed like a much younger woman. Her sweater was red and tight, the V-neck cut low, and her jeans fitted snugly from thigh to ankle. Her hair was a color somewhere between caramel and blond, and she was wearing the kind of makeup his own mother usually reserved for big occasions. Large gold hoops dangled from her ears, while a series of chunky metal bracelets clanked at her wrist.

“Easy with the Neville, Mom,” Harry said with a grimace.

“Easy with the ugly poultry references, Harold,” she said.

“You started it with the vulture thing,” Harry said.

“Now, now, children. Let’s not argue when there are sandwiches to be eaten,” Jacob said, stepping up to take the tray from Mel’s mother’s hands.

“Thank you, Jacob,” Mel’s mother said pointedly. Then she glanced past his shoulder and caught sight of Flynn, her brown eyes suddenly bright with curiousity. “Hello. I don’t think I know you.”

“This is Flynn, Mom. Flynn, this is my mother, Valerie.”

“Nice to meet you, Valerie.”

“Please, call me Val.” She smiled, her gaze sweeping his body in a disconcertingly thorough survey.

Out of the corner of his eye, Flynn saw Mel frown.

“Did you bring anything to drink, Mom?” Harry asked.

“The cooler’s in the back of the car.”

Harry sighed and headed for the path.

“Can you grab some serviettes from the kitchen?” Mel called after him. “Second drawer down to the left of the dishwasher.”

“Sure. Anything else you need while I’m at it? Shoes shined, your taxes done?”



Mel didn’t respond, which struck Flynn as being a missed opportunity. He glanced over and caught Val giving Mel a big thumbs-up, accompanied by what he could only describe as a salacious wink and a gesture in his direction. Unaware that she was being observed, Mel frowned and shook her head, a signal that Flynn guessed was meant to inform her mother that she was barking up the wrong tree. Val’s mouth turned down at the corners and she mouthed the words Why not? at Mel. At which point Mel caught his eye.

He offered her his best innocent smile and watched as a tide of pink washed up her face. She turned away and started fussing pointlessly with the garden tools. He decided to take it as a hopeful sign.

A few minutes later Harry returned with a cooler full of canned drinks. Val placed both the cooler and the tray of sandwiches together on the grass and Mike, Harry and Jacob dropped to the ground and dove in. Flynn loitered, waiting until Mel sat before oh, so casually taking the spot beside her, feeling about as suave and sophisticated as a fourteen-year-old with his first crush, and probably just as obvious.