“I-I don’t think so, Will. Your dad may be on the oil platform awhile.”
“I got a text from him. He’s coming back to Pelican Harbor at six.”
She shot a sidelong glance at him. “Did he put you up to this?”
Wind whipped his shaggy black hair around his earnest face. “We don’t talk about you, Mom.”
She frowned. Wasn’t Reid interested in what she did with their son? When she was with Will, she’d managed to frame several unobtrusive questions and discovered they’d gone for beignets every Saturday morning and that after church on Sunday they’d gone to Jesse’s Restaurant in Magnolia Springs. They both had shrimp and grits followed by Dutch apple pie cheesecake. It shamed her that she’d eagerly mined for every tidbit she could find out but discovered nothing other than a man who dearly loved his son.
Just like she did.
But he’d kept Will from her all these years, and she found it hard to forgive something like that. Maybe she never would.
Three
Overboard. The warning might have been real.
Reid’s ears still rang from the deafening noise. He parked on Oyster Bay Road in front of Pelican Pizza and flipped down the visor mirror to stare at his reflection. A five o’clock shadow smudged his jaw, and his tanned face was somber under his clean-shaven head. He seemed as scared as he felt. Would Jane even speak to him? What had possessed Will to ask them to share a pizza for dinner?
He’d nearly texted back a no when he got Will’s message. Jane was liable to think he was behind this idea and was pushing to get past her defenses. He wanted to give her time to get over what he’d done, and she might not appreciate being crowded. But when push came to shove, he couldn’t resist the idea of sitting across the table from her and searching her hazel eyes for some sign of forgiveness.
He flipped the visor back up so he didn’t see the ridiculous hope in his eyes. Even allowing a glimmer of optimism would set him up for a crash of disappointment.
He exited into the aroma of garlic and cheese wafting from the building and turned toward the entrance. He caught a glimpse of Jane’s face as she stared intently at Will, who was talking with both his hands and his mouth. They sat beside each other at a window booth. Reid’s heart warmed when Will slipped his arm around his mother and gave her a quick hug at something she said. Whatever happened from here, at least he’d made sure Will knew his mom loved him. That would go a long way with his boy.
He opened the glass door into Pelican’s, and the yeasty scent of homemade pizza dough drifted his way. He hesitated, squaring his shoulders and turning toward Jane and Will. His stride ate up the distance along the wide plank floors from the door to the booth by the window.
Will caught sight of him first, and his gaze raked over Reid’s face. “You got sunburned.”
“Windburned.” Reid stooped and rubbed Parker’s ears. “You guys order already?” He hadn’t dared look at Jane’s face, not after he saw her shoulders stiffen from the back. This had been a monumental mistake.
Will took a sip of his soda. “Yeah, one with lots of pineapple just for you.” His grin told Reid he was kidding.
Jane shuddered. “Pineapple belongs on ice cream, not pizza.”
Reid slid into the booth across from Jane and Will. “My sentiments exactly. Will’s French teacher liked pineapple on pizza, and I promised Will I’d never make him eat it again after that one time.”
Jane’s tentative smile vanished. “Your old girlfriend.”
Will shifted and glanced from his mother to Reid. “Well, not really a girlfriend.”
Reid sent his son a thankful smile.
Troy Boulter, the owner of the pizza place, came their way with the food. “Here you go, Jane.” His brown eyes were warm with affection.
“Have you been to see your brother?”
Brian Boulter was up on murder charges after a plot to frame and take down her father. He’d harbored a grudge after Charles had arrested his dad years ago.
“I’m glad you asked. His rage has only gotten worse. He seems to be trying to figure out how to punish your dad from jail. I warned Charles already—did he tell you?”
“No, he didn’t. Thanks for telling me.”
Troy patted her on the shoulder and left them alone.
“What were you two doing out by the oil platform today?”
Jane’s lips flattened, and she swiped her foggy glass. “Police business.”
Reid studied her closed expression. “So it had nothing to do with a missing man?”
Her gaze locked with his for the first time. “You know about the missing guy?”
“If it’s Keith McDonald, the answer is yes.” Should he tell her about the emails from Keith? With the guy’s disappearance, what he’d said took on ominous tones. “I was supposed to meet up with him so he could tell me about his suspicion that something ‘big’ was about to happen to the oil platform. Though he didn’t say, I assumed he meant sabotage.”
“He told you that too?”
“Who else did he tell?”
“His mother. He said if he came up missing, she should come see me. So she did. Do you have his emails?”
“Yeah.” He pulled out his phone and forwarded the emails to her. “They should be in your in-box.”
“You think the threat is credible? I called Homeland Security as soon as I got back to the dock. They promised to investigate, but I’m not sure they believed it was serious. All I have is a vague email to his mother. Why did Keith contact you?”
“He’d seen some of my documentaries but wasn’t sure it was a credible threat because he had no proof. He wanted to talk to someone who could blow the story wide open and maybe prevent another Deepwater Horizon. I got the first email a couple of weeks ago and arranged to do a documentary to check it out.”
She winced at the mention of the disaster from 2010 and picked up her iced tea. “Did anyone else on the platform mention a terrorist plot?”
“I didn’t want to tip my hand so I didn’t ask. I wanted to talk to his bunkmate and friends, but I couldn’t find out who they were without showing undue interest. You think you could get that information from his mother?”
She surveyed him over the rim of her glass. “This isn’t your investigation, Reid.”
“No, but I can get into places and ask questions you can’t. People will be more apt to talk to me than to the law or Homeland Security. You know it’s true, Jane. Let me help.”
She set her drink back on the table. “I don’t want you asking questions on your own. It might be dangerous.”
He eyed her. Did she really care if he got hurt or even killed? With him out of the way, she’d have Will all to herself. It was an unworthy thought. Though he believed he knew her better than she realized, he wasn’t sure how the events of the past few weeks had changed her.
He desperately wanted to reach across the table and take her hand, but it wasn’t the right time. Maybe it never would be. He might have burned his bridges for all time.
* * *
Well, that went better than she’d anticipated.
Jane brushed her lips across her son’s cheek, then waved good-bye as Reid accelerated away from the curb. It was still light out at seven thirty, and she didn’t want to go home and obsess over the day. She tugged Parker’s lead, and they walked along Magnolia Street with its French Quarter brick buildings and black iron railings, then turned down the alley toward Olivia’s house on Dauphin Street.