The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(86)

“Eve, you’re a McCain. McCain women are very brave and we take care of our bodies. Just because you have protection doesn’t mean you have to go along with what your boyfriend wants! You decide, you hear me?”

“Dad’s going to be so disappointed. He really thought I’d stay a virgin till I’m thirty.” She sniffed.

Lou laughed. “No, cupcake, he hoped for that, but no one knows better than Mac how unrealistic that idea is. In his secret heart, he wants you to know love just like everyone else does. Of course, he never wants you to be hurt.”

“Can he not know about this?” Eve asked.

“He’ll see the prescription on the insurance papers—there are no secrets. Especially from a cop, God bless him. However, you can tell him it’s for cramps,” she said with a shrug. “Then he can wonder, but not necessarily know for sure. Because, little madam, you don’t to have discuss your personal life, your sex life, with anyone. You don’t have to tell me or your dad every detail. In fact...” And Lou shuddered.

“Creeps you out, huh?”

“We’ll head you off if you seem to be moving in an unsafe direction—like if we think you’re into drugs or drinking or speed racing down country roads or throwing keggers. But trying to spy to embarrass and expose you?” She shook her head. “You can come to me with anything, honey. Anything. And I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Your health and safety come first. I could not live without you.”

Eve hugged her. “Thank you for understanding.”

“I understand completely,” she said, hugging back. Then, holding Eve away and looking into her eyes, “And stay far away from him until you’re safe. Got that?”

“Got it,” she said with a laugh.

Seventeen

Eric Gentry hadn’t seen Thunder Point in over sixteen years. Yet here was the town, looking almost exactly as it had all those years ago. Gina was working in the same diner that her mother had worked in. It amazed him that things could remain so unchanged. He briefly pondered whether he pitied them for their lack of imagination or envied them the continuity of their surroundings and friends.

He went into the diner and found Gina standing behind the counter with a laptop open in front of her. She smiled at him. “Hello, Eric.”

“Hi. This place hasn’t changed at all.”

“I know,” she said. “Upgrades come slowly in Thunder Point. Stand by—let me ask Stu to cover for me for a bit and I’ll take you to meet Ashley. She stopped by here about a half hour ago and said she was taking a walk down to the beach.”

“Wait a sec,” he said. “She knows I’m coming, right?”

Gina nodded. “You said sometime this weekend, whenever you could get away for a few hours.”

“Is she nervous?” he asked, hands in his pockets.

“She’s very curious. Are you? Nervous?”

“Nah, not me. I’m just terrified.”

She tilted her head and lifted a brow. “As I recall, you’re very good with teenage girls.”

He winced. “I guess I had that coming.”

“It’ll be fine. Let me go talk to—”

“Nah, you stay here. Let me just go by myself. If she wants to, we could walk back here and have a Coke or something.”

“Okay. You know the way, right?”

He tapped his temple. “Burned into my memory.”

“Good luck, Eric.”

He turned to go, then turned back. “Gina, I appreciate you giving me a chance here. That you trust me.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t trust you, Eric. I checked you out. My boyfriend is a cop and I ran a background search on you. You were very nice at our meeting and you haven’t had a black mark against your name since you were a kid. But if you hurt my daughter in even the slightest way, you will regret it. I promise.”

“I won’t hurt her, Gina. And I promise.”

He walked down the street, turned onto the beach road and spotted her immediately even though she was on the far side of the beach. Her red hair was pulled through the back of a baseball cap and she sat on the sand, knees pulled up with her arms circling them. There was one kid out on the bay on a paddleboard. Closer to the town side of the beach, a couple of young mothers sat on towels while their little ones played in the sand at the water’s edge.

There weren’t many places like this, he recalled—a long stretch of beach, a natural and untouched promontory, a calm bay without the presence of a lot of large businesses and hotels. Most of the coastline, at least parts the public could access, was busy with establishments that catered to beach combers and tourists. He remembered the bait shop; it looked as though it had been improved since he’d last seen it.

Ashley didn’t notice him approach until he stood right beside her and she looked up at him.

“Hi, Ashley. I’m Eric Gentry.”

Her mouth dropped open as she looked at him. She slowly got to her feet, brushing the sand off her butt. “Wow,” she said in a breath. “I look just like you.”

He chuckled. “You’re much prettier, but you inherited the red hair and green eyes.”

“My mom didn’t mention that. I think she told me everything else, though.”

“She said you’ve been having a terrible time lately,” he said. “Go ahead, sit down.”