Benita was proud of both her sons and she loved them equally. But Nick was different from Louie. Nick was so very sensitive.

She looked across the table at her younger son. Nick would always break her heart.

Chapter Four

The plastic doggie scooper bags in the pocket of Delaneys shorts seemed like some pathetic metaphor of her life. Shit, thats what it was. Ever since shed sold her soul for money, thats what her life had become, and she didnt see that it would get any better for another eleven months. Almost everything she owned resided in a storage shed on the outskirts of town, and her closest companions were the two Weimaraners walking beside her.

It had taken Delaney less than five hours to decide to accept the terms of Henrys will. An appallingly short amount of time, but she wanted the money. Shed been given a one-week reprieve to travel to Phoenix, quit her job, and close her apartment. Saying good-bye to her friends at Valentina had been hard. Saying good-bye to her freedom was even harder. It had been only a month, but it felt like shed been a prisoner for a year.

She had no job and wore boring clothes she didnt particularly like because she lived with her mother.

The hot sun baked the top of her head as she made her way down Grey Squirrel Lane toward the center of town. When shed lived in Truly ten years ago, most of the streets hadnt had names. There had been no need, but with the recent influx of summer residents, and the boom in real estate, the city council had knocked itself out to come up with really inventive street names like Gopher, Chipmunk, and Grey Squirrel. Delaney, it seemed, lived in the rodent section of town, while Lisa fared somewhat better over on Milkweed, which of course was next to Ragweed and Tumbleweed.

Since shed been back, shed noticed a lot of other changes, too. The business district had quadrupled, and the old part of town had been given a facelift. There were two public boat ramps to accommodate the heavy invasion of boats and Jet Skis, and the city had added three new parks. But beyond those changes, there were two other very visible and telling signs that the town had finally been pulled into the 1990s. First, there was the Mountain Java Espresso Shop located between Sterling Realty and the Grits and Grub Diner. And second, the old lumber mill had been converted into a microbrewery. When Delaney had lived in Truly before, the people drank Folgers and Coors. They would have declared a double-shot skinny latte “sissy coffee and would have beat the crap out of anyone who dared to utter the words “raspberry beer.

It was the Fourth of July and the town was smothered in patriotism. Red, white, and blue flags and ribbons decorated everything from the “Welcome to Truly banner to the wooden Indian standing outside Howdys Trading Post. There would be a parade later, of course. In Truly, there were parades for just about every occasion. Maybe shed stick around downtown and watch the parade. It wasnt like she had anything else to do.

At the corner of Beaver and Main, Delaney stopped and waited for an RV to lumber by. For walking so nicely beside her, she reached into her pocket and rewarded Duke and Dolores with Milk-bones. It had taken several frustrating weeks to assert her role as the alpha dog and teach them who was boss. Shed had the time. For the past month shed spent some of her time catching up with a few old school friends. But they were all married and had families and looked at her as if she were abnormal because she didnt.

She would have loved to spend more time with Lisa, but unlike Delaney, Lisa had a job and a fiancé. She would have loved to sit down with her old friend and talk about Henrys will and the real reason she was back in Truly. But she didnt dare. If its stipulation became public, Delaneys life would turn into a burning hell. She would become the subject of endless speculation and the topic of never-ending gossip. And if the part of the will concerning Nick was revealed, shed probably have to kill herself.

As it was, she was just likely to die of boredom before it was all over. She spent her days watching talk shows, or she walked Duke and Dolores as a means to get out of the house and escape the life her mother had planned for her. Gwen had decided that since Delaney would be living in Truly for a year, they should be involved in the same projects, belong to the same social organizations, and attend the same civic meetings. Shed even gone so far as submitting Delaneys name to spearhead a committee concerned with the drug problem in Truly. Delaney had politely turned down the offer. First of all, Trulys drug problem was laughable. Second, Delaney would rather drink bong water than get involved in the community.

She and the dogs moved down Main, passing a deli and T-shirt shop. Both were recent additions to the downtown area, and judging by the foot traffic, seemed to do a fair amount of business. With the souls of. her Lycra sling-backs slapping her bare heels, she walked past a tiny bookstore with a poster stuck on the door advertising an up coming R&B festival. The poster surprised Delaney, and she wondered when the town had abandoned Conway Twitty for James Brown.

She stopped in front of a thin two-story building flanked on one side by an ice cream shop and on the other by the offices of Allegrezza Construction. Painted across the big plate glass window were the words: “Glorias: A Cut Above. Any cut and style $10. Delaney didnt think the sign spoke well for Glorias abilities.

Duke and Dolores sat at her feet, and she scratched them between the ears. Leaning forward, she peered into the huge plate glass window to see the red Naugahyde salon chairs. Each time shed driven through town, shed noticed the salon had been closed.

“Hey there, whats up?

Delaney recognized Lisas voice and turned to her friend. She wasnt surprised to see Louie standing by Lisas side. His gaze was direct and a bit unnerving. Or maybe she found him unnerving because he was Nicks brother. “I was just checking out this salon, she answered.

“I gotta get going, alu gozo , Louie said, then bent his head and kissed his fiancée. The kiss lingered and Delaney lowered her gaze to a point between Dukes ears. She hadnt had a boyfriend in over a year, and that relationship hadnt lasted more than four months. She couldnt remember the last time a man had kissed her like he meant to eat her up and didnt care who watched.

“See you around, Delaney.

She glanced up. “See ya, Louie. She watched him walk into the building next to the salon. Maybe she found him unnerving because, like his brother, he was extremely masculine. Nick was taller, more sculpted, like a statue. Louie was built like a bull. Youd never see an Allegrezza in a Versace neckcloth or a tiny Speedo. “What does alu gozo mean? she asked, having a little difficulty pronouncing the foreign words.

“Its an endearment, like sweetheart. Louie can be so romantic.

Unexpected envy tugged at her. “What are you up to?

Lisa lowered to one knee and scratched Duke and Dolores beneath the chin. “I took Louie to lunch, and I was just dropping him back off.

“Whered you go?

Lisa smiled as the dogs licked her hands. “My house.

Delaney felt a twinge of jealousy and realized she was lonelier than shed thought. It was the Fourth of July and a Friday night. The weekend stretched before her—empty. She missed the friends shed had in Phoenix. She missed her busy life.

“Im glad I ran into you. What are you doing tonight? Lisa asked.

Not a damn thing, she thought. “I dont know yet.

“Louie and I thought wed have some friends over. I want you to come, too. His house is on Horseshoe Bay, not far from where theyll shoot the fireworks out over the lake. The show is pretty awesome from his beach.