Casey gave a derisive little snort. “He called off rehearsals today, didn’t he?”
“Oh, yeah. His relatives are moving into their new house and he’s spending the day with them. This whole place is going to be free of people, so I thought I’d go exploring. You wouldn’t want to go with me, would you?”
“Love to!” Casey took four stainless-steel buckets out of a closet. “I was told there’s a stand of blackberry bushes on this property, and I’d like to find it. Wrap up a couple of burritos and we can eat as we walk.”
“Walk, ha!” Tate said. “I live in L.A. We drive from the kitchen to the living room.” He quickly wrapped two burritos in foil, grabbed bottles of water, then held open the door. Outside was a little red utility truck.
“Perfect.” She set the buckets in the back.
Tate put the burritos and water on the seat, then returned to the house. Moments later he came out with a big plastic pie carrier and a huge spoon. “Must feed my addiction.”
Casey laughed as he put it in the back, then got in beside her, turned on the engine, and drove across the lawn. “So who are Letty and Ace?” A flash of something she couldn’t read went across his eyes, then it was gone. It looked like he’d guessed that Devlin had first mentioned the children to her. Was he jealous?
“My mom spent summers here until she was ten. Her real name was Ruth but she asked everyone to call her Letty, short for Princess Colette, because she thought that was the most beautiful name she’d ever heard. The boy she played with every summer was called Ace. When Nina and I were kids, Mom told us stories about what they did.”
“Anything about peacocks?”
“Oh, yes. Ace covered a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil and used it as a shield. He used to run a particularly big peacock away from the well house, where he and Letty had their most secret hideout. My mom said Ace was a true hero, fearless and brave.”
“Like you were with the peacock?”
“No. I didn’t confront the beast. I was a total coward. Threw my shirt over the creature, gave it a push, then ducked down under the window—and he still almost pecked my face off.”
“And Emmie saw it all?”
“Every second of it. It entertained her immensely, but then, she thinks her uncle Tate is fairly ridiculous. So what made you decide to become a great chef?”
“I haven’t reached that level by any means. Ow!” Tate had hit a pothole so deep that her head hit the ceiling.
“Sorry. We are now going into uncharted territory. But you’ve been here for months, so you must know the place better than I do.”
“There was too much snow this winter for me to get out much, and besides, Kit got me quite a few jobs so I was busy. I cooked for him until he dragged his former housekeeper out of retirement. She wasn’t happy about it, and every day she says she’s leaving. What’s that?”
She was pointing at a ramshackle building under a big oak tree. The roof looked fairly new but some windows were missing.
“Probably the old chicken coop.” He stopped the truck. They opened the burritos and began to eat.
“This place has a lot of memories for you, doesn’t it?”
“From my mother’s stories, yes,” he said. “After my father died, I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t there to toss me around and throw a ball to me. My mom did her best, but she was grieving too. She had a baby and a rambunctious four-year-old, and lots of bills.”
“It must have been awful for all of you.”
“It was.” He looked back at her. “But that’s when Mom started telling me the Letty and Ace stories. The kids vowed to be best friends forever and ever.”
“Was Ace his real name?”
“I don’t know. I’ve always wished that I’d asked. At first I was too young to question the name, then later I was too busy with my own life to think about it.”
“Your mom…?”
“Died just before I got my first major role.”
Casey could hear the pain in his voice, and she reached across the seat to put her hand on his.
“Thanks,” he murmured, then in the next second a charge of electricity went through both of them.
Casey snatched her hand away and started to make a sharp retort, but instead she laughed, and Tate joined her.