Hale's Point Read Free Page A

Just not in the house.”
    He leaned against the doorframe, scrutinizing her, his gaze
lingering on her mouth. When he met her eyes, there was something that looked
almost like shyness hiding in them. “You’re not from Hale’s Point. I’d hear it
in your voice if you were.”
    “I’m from…” That was a rough one. “All over. But I live in
Manhattan now, on the Upper West Side. Except I’m subletting my apartment for
the summer.”
    “What’s your name?” Seeing her hesitate, he added, “We’re
going to be living in the same house. I should know your name. I think Emily
Post would agree.”
    “Are you planning on staying here? What, till your father
comes back?”
    “That’s not an answer.”
    A kind of panic seized Harley. She had no way of contacting
Raleigh Hale, but she doubted he would approve of his estranged son just
showing up in the middle of the night and moving in. Perhaps it would help to
remind Tucker what it was like to live under his father’s many rules. “If you
think you want to stay here, then you should know there are a few other things
your father’s kind of picky about.”
    Wearily he said, “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    “He said no eating or drinking anywhere except the kitchen,
dining room, or breakfast room. No dogs or cats allowed in the…”
    Shaking his head, Tucker turned and walked back into the
solarium. With a sinking feeling, Harley noticed that his limp had worsened
considerably since her attack with the baseball bat. He picked up his cap and
put it on, then slung the duffel over his shoulder.
    “I honestly can’t imagine why I came here.” he said when she
joined him. He shrugged his big shoulders. “Sorry I disturbed your sleep.”
    Bewildered, she walked behind him as he made his halting,
pained way out of the solarium and through the house to the front door. He wasn’t
staying? What was going on?
    Shivering, she followed him onto the porch and halfway down
the steps. It really was getting chilly, and she could feel minuscule drops of
rain, like pinpricks, on her face.
    “Where are you going?”
    “Back to La Guardia. Then home, I guess.”
    “Home? But you just—”
    “Just got here and I’m just going home. I know when to cut my
losses. I haven’t forgotten that much in twenty-one years.”
    Harley looked around. “Where’s your car?”
    “Don’t have one. I hitched from the airport.”
    “You hitchhiked ?”
    “And I’ll hitch back.”
    “La Guardia’s seventy-five miles
away. Let me drive you.”
    “You’re not dressed.”
    “I can get—”
    “I don’t want to wait. I’m outta here.”
    “But it’s the middle of the night, and it’s starting to rain.
What if no one picks you up? What about your leg?”
    “I’ll survive. I’m damn good at that.”
    She considered his battered body and wondered what, exactly,
he had survived. She thought about his bad leg, and grimly speculated on how
much damage she had done to the good one with that bat. Was he in a lot of
pain, but just too much of a tough guy to show it? “Tucker—”
    “I wonder if R.H. knows just how
lucky he is to have you watching after things for him.” The statement might
have been taken as a compliment under different circumstances. As it was, his
words, soft-spoken though they were, just made her feel that much colder. “You
couldn’t be more eager to carry out his dictates. Your enthusiasm blows me
away, it really does. You must love rules almost as much as he does.”
    Despite the implied criticism, there was no real rancor or
arrogance in his tone, as if he knew she wasn’t responsible for her nature.
Harley felt numb.
    “Loving rules is something I can’t relate to,” he continued. “My
guess is you need them like you need to breathe. Any hint of disorder, anything
messy or unexpected in your life, just won’t do.” Harley wanted to tell him he
was wrong, but she knew he would see that for the lie it was. “That’s why you’re
incredibly