Moonlight in the Morning Read online

  Jecca stopped smiling as she tried to translate what Nell was saying. Then it hit her. “Are you saying that Rebecca’s mother shops for her in New York at Bergdorf’s and Saks?”

  “That’s it!” Nell said, laughing. “Dorfy and Bags.”

  “Hey!” Tris called. “Are you two having a party? Without me?!”

  “Yes!” Nell yelled back. “A wonderful party.”

  Jecca watched Teccment. ris and Nell run to each other. If anyone saw them they’d think they hadn’t seen each other in a year. He swung her around and her laughter echoed through the woods. Then Nell snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder, and they walked back to Jecca.

  As soon as Tris saw Jecca’s face he lifted his brows to ask what was wrong. She mouthed “later,” and he nodded.

  As Jecca watched Tristan admiring their paintings, she thought that there must be a way to solve Nell’s problem of the dreaded birthday party. Maybe Jecca felt so strongly about it because it was familiar to her. When she was eight she’d shown up at a birthday party wearing a dress her father had chosen for her: below her knees, ruffles everywhere, a sash tied in a big bow at the back. Jecca knew she’d go to her grave hearing the laughter of the other girls.

  Of course Nell wouldn’t go dressed as an escapee from a religious sect, but she’d be competing with “Dorfy and Bags.” From a female point of view it was the same difference.

  “What would you like to look like?” Jecca asked.

  Tris asked, “What are you talking about?” but Nell understood instantly.

  “French,” she said.

  “I see,” Jecca said, smiling. “A French exchange student, visiting the U.S., looking at the peasant Americans.”

  “Oh yes!” Nell breathed.

  “What are you two up to?” Tris asked.

  “Secrets!” Jecca said. “Girl secrets. Anybody hungry?”

  “Me,” Tristan said, and Jecca and Nell laughed together.

  Sixteen

  Roan returned that evening with a carload of supplies—mostly unneeded—and the bad mood he’d been in seemed to have left him. He escorted Jecca out of the kitchen and began encasing the fish Tris had caught in a thick layer of salt.

  “He’s a good cook when he wants to be,” Tris said.

  Their evening meal was pleasant, with Roan making them laugh at things he’d seen in Edilean that day.

  After that night they fell into a companionable routine. Jecca and Nell were in charge of breakfast, while Tris did lunch. “If you call getting stuff out of the refrigerator making a meal,” Roan said.

  Dinner was Roan’s job, and he took the opportunity to show off his skills. There was an old chest freezer in the back and it was full of meat and vegetables.

  “You missed your calling,” Jecca said as she ate a chicken leg that had been marinating in some secret sauce. “You should have been a chef.”

  “And hide away in the kitchen all night?” Tris said. “You don’t know my cousin very well. He wants to be in the middle of the action, entertaining people with his verboseccme

  Jecca looked at Roan, wondering how he’d take that remark, but he laughed. “Why would I miss the chance to share my great wisdom? The world needs me.”

  They all laughed together.

  During the day, Tris, Jecca, and Nell went hiking. Tris and Nell knew all the trails around the cabin, and they wanted to show them to Jecca. Sometimes Tris fished, but some days he just stretched out on a blanket and dozed.

  Jecca painted everything she saw, including Nell and Tristan. Her sketchbook filled up, and between her and Nell taking photos, she filled an entire digital disk.

  At night, Jecca and Tris made love. They slipped out of the cabin and into the moonlight and came together with all the pent-up desire they’d suppressed all day. There would be a first explosion, hard and fast, urgent with their desire for each other. Then they’d go more slowly, taking their time, touching and caressing.

  Afterward, they’d lie in each other’s arms and talk of the day. “Do you think Roan minds that we’re taking up his time for writing?” Jecca would ask. “What were you and Nell giggling about this afternoon?” Tris would ask.

  On the fourth day at the cabin, it rained hard and they stayed in. As a result, the four of them settled into a quiet domesticity. Tris had brought some medical journals, so he sat on the end of the couch and read. Jecca took the other end, her feet entwined with his, and sketched. Nell made herself a nest in one of the big chairs. She arranged her many dolls and animals into a horseshoe shape, backed into it, and curled up to read a paperback of some sci-fi adventure. Roan took the chair across from her and read an adult sci-fi adventure.

  Jecca couldn’t help smiling at the peacefulness of it all. This is how it had been with her dad and brother when she was growing up. If her father was occupied, they were a very calm family. But after Sheila came into their lives, the peace was gone.

  After lunch the rain came down harder. Nell went to the bedroom to, she said, give her dolls a rest. Jecca checked on her later, and Nell was asleep. Jecca went back to the couch.

  “What are you drawing?” Tris asked. “Something for Kim?”

  Jecca looked at him and smiled. She knew his look. If Roan hadn’t been sitting a few feet away, they wouldn’t have any clothes on right now. “Actually,” she said, “I’m designing an outfit for Nell to wear to her cousin’s birthday party.”

  “That’s good,” he said, “because it’s a fashion show this year.”

  Jecca lowered her sketchbook and stared at him. “A fashion show? What are you talking about?”

  Tris put down his medical journal and stretched.

  “He means,” Roan said as he got up to stoke the fire, “that those parties Savannah puts on for her kid are extravaganzas worthy of Versailles.”

  “They’re not quite that bad,” Tris said. “But they are spectacular.” Jecca was waiting for an explanation. “Every year for Becca’s birthday, Tyler, her dad, shells out for whatever kind of tev#82party his wife can come up with. They run for two days, and lots of kids and adults are there for the events. Savannah plans them and—”

  “And Tyler pays for them,” Roan added. He didn’t seem as enthralled with the parties as Tris was.

  “That’s his problem,” Tris said. “I’m just happy that Nell is always invited to the sleepover part, even though I don’t think she and Rebecca are buddies at school. Becca is a good kid.”

  Jecca didn’t comment on that last statement. “What does Rebecca wear?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” Tris answered, and Roan shrugged.

  “Is it possible that Rebecca’s mother takes her to New York twice a year to buy clothes for her?”

  Tris gave a little smile. “If you told me that Savannah flies to Paris to have Becca’s clothes made I wouldn’t be surprised. Tyler never stops complaining about how much she spends.”

  “If he didn’t have family money, he’d be bankrupt by now,” Roan said.

  “What kind of parties has she given?” Jecca asked as she went back to sketching.

  “Last year she hired some circus people,” Tris said. “They set up a trapeze and the girls swung out over a trampoline.”

  “How did Nell do with that?”

  “Great,” Tris said. He was smiling in a way that said he had a secret.

  “‘Great’ doesn’t describe what I heard,” Roan said.

  “Well,” Tris said, and there was pride in his voice, “Rebecca did hit the edge of the trampoline. If it hadn’t been for Nell’s fast thinking, more than likely she would have gone over the side. Nell probably saved her from a broken bone or two. But thanks to Nell, Becca ended up with just a few bruises.”

  “What did the other girls do when that happened?” Jecca asked.

  “Stood there in terror, is what I was told,” Roan said.

  Tris nodded. “The girls were pretty shook up, but then it happened very quickly. Nell just . . .” He trailed off, but his pride