“Yum.” Anna Maria fixed Morgan with a charming, but predatory, smile. “What do you do, Morgan?”

The talk turned to Seal Cove Veterinary. Anna Maria asked thoughtful questions, and Stevie regaled her with several embarrassing stories about Morgan, which she tolerated when she saw the amused curve of Emilia’s lips.

“Morgan knew my dad.” Emilia’s words steered the talk away from a deteriorating conversation about calving, which involved a detailed account of the time Morgan had her shoulder dislocated by a cow she’d been elbow deep inside.

“What was he like?” Anna Maria’s attention sharpened.

“You probably know better than I do,” Morgan said. Emilia’s hand now rested on her inner thigh, which made concentration increasingly difficult.

“I never got to know him.” At their blank stares, she continued. “I’m Emmy’s stepsister. My mom died when my brother and I were really little, so Emilia’s mom basically raised me. Emilia went to see her dad without us.”

At their puzzled looks, Emilia swirled the last few sips of beer in her glass and, without making eye contact, said, “My mom didn’t trust my dad. He . . . sometimes made irresponsible choices.”

“What did you think of him?” Anna Maria asked Morgan.

“Ray was a good guy.” She removed her hand from her beer to reach for Emilia but stopped herself. It didn’t feel right, in front of Anna Maria, to advertise their contact. “We share a dock, and he helped me with my boat.”

“Is that how you met Emilia?”

“I fell in the ocean. Morgan pulled me out,” Emilia admitted.

Anna Maria leaned forward to look at Morgan more closely. “You mean the perfect Emilia fell into the ocean?”

“Perfect Emilia?” Morgan said.

“This one,” Anna Maria explained, “was a nightmare to grow up with. Perfect grades, perfect behavior, perfect daughter. I think you got into trouble what, maybe three times?”

Emilia flushed. “I wasn’t perfect.”

“True. Mom never found you playing Barbies.” She winked at the group. “I knew Emmy was a lesbian the first time I caught her doing unspeakable things with our dolls.”

“Anna Maria!”

“What?”

“I did the same thing.” Lillian came to Emilia’s rescue.

“Tell us more embarrassing things about Emilia,” said Stevie.

“Please don’t,” said Emilia.

“Her first crush was Sporty Spice.”

“Remember how I didn’t actually invite you to visit?”

“Which means you can’t uninvite me.”

“Watch me.” Emilia glowered as she drained her beer.

“Can I get you another?” Morgan asked her.

“Yes,” Anna Maria answered for Emilia. “I’m driving, and she’s had a long day.”

Morgan stood, already missing the pressure of Emilia’s hand, and headed to the bar.

“How’s it going over there?” asked Stormy.

“Besides being interrogated, good.”

“You can handle it. What do you need?”

“Another of whatever Emilia is drinking.”

“Fetching her drinks now? Such a gentleman.”

“I fetch you drinks.”