Mandy had never seen a Maybach before. As far as she knew, it was just another nice car with dark windows. When it pulled up beside her on the road that ran along Danskammer Beach, she took a step away toward the scrub. A half mile back, she’d spotted a trail that snaked through the trees to the water and an old man fishing where the waves met the shore. Mandy had always been a fast runner. If she kicked off her shoes, she could make it back there in minutes.
Then the window lowered. “You must be Mandy.” The man behind the wheel was handsome. Mandy’s mother had warned her not to trust handsome men.
She said nothing in return. She already had a heel halfway out of one shoe.
“You’re on your way to see my wife.” The man said it slowly, as if she might be stupid. She didn’t want him to think she was dumb, so she cleared her throat.
“What’s her name?” She didn’t sound nearly as tough as she wanted to.
“Rosamund Harding. She’s very excited to meet you. I’m Mr. Harding,” he told her. “I’m heading home. Hop in and I’ll give you a ride. It’s cold and you’re limping.”
The cold hadn’t bothered her, but her feet ached from walking three miles in her funeral shoes. Still, she demurred. “That’s okay,” Mandy told him politely. “I could use the exercise.”
The man sighed. “Here,” he said, opening his wallet and pulling out his license. She bent forward without moving her feet. The name on the card was Spencer Harding. “My address is Eighteen Culling Pointe Road.”
That was the address she’d been given. Still, she stayed put.
“Don’t get me in trouble,” Spencer pleaded. “Rosamund will murder me if she finds out I let you walk the rest of the way.”
Mandy remembered the kind voice on the other end of the line. Mrs. Harding did seem like the sort of person who’d be upset by such things. And it was very cold, now that he mentioned it. And the back of her heels were worn raw.
“Okay,” Mandy agreed, trying to smile as she reached for the door handle. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he assured her.
When, at last, she realized what was happening, Mandy cried for her mom, who was always so sad. Whenever Amber got drunk, she’d make Mandy promise to always be extra careful. She worried bad luck might have rubbed off on her girl.
Mandy refused to ever let her mom know that it had. So she opted to play it safe and not fight. And when it was over, she thought, she’d keep it all to herself.
In the end, it wasn’t a decision she got to make.