The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) Read Free Page B

often catered events like this. Ted picked up pocket money
during high school working with Papa. He felt like he should put on a vest and
grab one of the waiter’s trays.
    “You kids having a
good time?” Harry, his trademark glass of Scotch in hand, joined Ted, Meagan
and Chris.
    “You sure know how
to throw a bash, Mr. H.” Ted took a pull on his Henry’s long neck.
    Meagan slipped her
arm around Harry’s waist. “Mr. Hardwick. This is an outrageous party,” she
cooed.
    Meagan was pretty
enough, with blue eyes and perky blonde hair. Her short, low-cut dress was
skankalicious, great for a night on the town, but to meet her boyfriend’s dad?
Ted would never have let his little sister out of the house dressed like that.
    “Harry, where have
you been all night?” Candace, with Mama in tow, slid in next to Harry. Her red
cocktail dress was appropriately conservative, but with her bod, she’d look
good in a gunny sack.
    Candace delicately
removed Megan’s hand from Harry’s waist. “Have you seen the governor yet?”
    “I was just
getting to know Meagan a little.” Harry turned to Meagan. “It’s too bad your
parents couldn’t be here.”
    Meagan reached for
another glass of champagne. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m used to it. They’re never
around for my events.”
    “I would think
that this would be a pretty important day for them.”  Harry swirled the Scotch
in his glass.
     “My Dad’s in India, working on some kind of project.” Meagan’s finger rubbed the rim of her champagne
glass.
    “He works for
Microsoft, doesn’t he?” Harry asked.
    He seemed to be
sizing Meagan up.
    “Yeah, he’s some
kind of software geek or something.” Meagan hunched her shoulders and looked
down.
    “How about your
Mom?” Harry pressed.
    “She works at Microsoft
too. She’s a technical writer.”
    “No, I meant why
couldn’t she be here?” Harry snagged a hors d’oeuvre from a passing tray.
    “Oh, well . . .”
Meagan’s voice trailed off. She looked everywhere but into Harry’s eyes. “She
had another one of her migraines.” 
    “Those can be
rough.” Harry never took his eyes off of her.
    Ted felt a slight
twinge of satisfaction. The ritualistic first grilling of the girlfriend.
    “Harry, where are
my manners?” Candace interrupted. “Have you met Ted’s mom yet? Roberta, this is
my fiancé, Harry Hardwick. Harry, this is Roberta Higuera.”
    Ted’s heart
stopped. How would Mama handle this? She was a tiny woman with no schooling.
Her English was okay, but it wasn’t up to Harry’s standard. Harry was one of
the top lawyers in Seattle. Hell, he was one of the top lawyers in the country.
He had defended capital murder cases and argued in front of the Supreme Court.
He had an ex-governor and an ex-senator working for him.
    “We met earlier at
the graduation. I’m really happy you could make it up for Ted’s graduation,
Mrs. Higuera.” Harry extended his hand. “I’m as proud of him as I am of my own
son.”
    Mama took his
hand. “My son has told me so much about you. You have a lovely house.”
    Ted cringed at her
heavily accented English. Harry didn’t seem to notice.
    “It’s mostly
Chris’ mother’s doing.” Harry stared out over the water. “She always wanted a
large family. We bought this house so the kids’d have lots of room to run.”
    “Teddy told me
that she passed away while Chrees was still in high school.”
    Harry paused.
There was a moment of awkward silence.
    Ted looked at
Harry, at Mama, then back at Harry.
    “Mr. Hardwick?”
Mama finally broke the silence.
    “I’m sorry . . .
ah . . . I was thinking about Sally,” Harry slowly returned to the present. “We
met when I was at the lowest point of my life.” He seemed to recover his
composure. “I was a football player at the U-Dub.”
    “A football
player? You were up for the Heisman Trophy.” Ted remembered the Harry Hardwick
display in Husky Stadium.
    “In my senior
year. I was leading the world in