The Girls on Rose Hill Read Online Free PDF Page B

tension dissipated. I stared out into the harbor and squinted in the still strong afternoon sun. I should have brought my sunglasses. The harbor was busy with several small speedboats bobbing near the bridge. Without my glasses I could just make out the rods held carelessly by the beer drinking fisherman. The men shouted over blaring 70s classic rock, surely scaring away any potential fish. In the distance a sleek gray sailboat sliced through the harbor's gentle swells and headed toward the low bridge. The boat tacked left and expertly maneuvered next to the Conroy's dock, only a few yards from my chair.
    A tall sandy-haired man, early forties I'd say, shirtless and clad only in faded khaki shorts, jumped from the boat with a thick rough rope in his hand. I swallowed the remainder of my wine as he pulled the boat closer to the dock. The boat secured, he reached in and lifted out a cooler. He held the cooler in his right hand and ran his left though his wild hair. He had the hard physique of a man who clearly hadn't spend his life behind a desk. His boat was tied to our neighbor's dock so he must be one of the Conroy boys. Hard to believe this Adonis with once one of the scrappy little boys who'd hit baseballs twice through my grandmother's front window.
    "Catch anything?"
    He looked over and smiled. "A few fluke. Ellen, right?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    "Billy Conroy. " He climbed the low fence that separated the two properties and walked towards me.
    "That can't be. The Billy Conroy I know had long hair and a motorcycle."
    "Well," he said, "I still have the motorcycle."
    "Billy, when was the last time I saw you?"
    He smiled. "I think I had flunked out of college, and you were off to law school."
    "It can't have been that long. Anyway, things have been so crazy I didn't have a chance to thank you. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't found my mother when you did."
    "How is she?"
    "As well as can be expected, I suppose. They moved her to St. Francis Hospice last week."
    Billy's bright blue eyes clouded over. "My father was at St. Francis for his last two months. It's a good place. Clean, and the staff is kind."
    We were both silent for a moment and then I asked with forced cheer, "How did you manage to escape from work and go fishing?"
    "Helps when you're the boss."
    "I didn't realize that you owned Gold Coast Construction," I said, somehow remembering the name on the truck that was often parked in Barbara Conway's driveway.
    He smiled again. "I didn't remain a screw up my whole life, Miss Murphy."
    "I didn't mean it like that."
    He laughed. "Yes, you did, but I'll forgive you if you pour me a glass of that wine."
    "Of course, sit down and I'll get you a glass." Billy took the chair next to mine. In Lisa's well stocked kitchen, I loaded a tray with the bottle of pino, a glass for Billy, a small bowl of salsa and large bowl of nachos.
    "I brought a few snacks." I set the tray down on a side table.
    "Perfect."
    After I filled the glasses, I sank into my chair. "When did you become such a sailor? Didn't you used to avoid your dad's sailboat like the plague?"
    He laughed. "Probably because he wouldn't let me smoke pot on it. No, the boat was my dad's and Jimmy's thing. And Tom's when he wasn't busy memorizing the periodic table."
    "It must be tough being the black sheep. What have your brothers been up to anyway?"
    "Jimmy's a hot shot lawyer in the city and Tom's an oncologist out in California. They're both married, Jimmy has three kids and Tom has four."
    "Impressive. Barbara must be proud."
    "Yeah, although who does she call when she needs a bulb changed or the driveway shoveled? Yours truly." Billy smiled, but was unable to hide the sting underneath.
    "You have your own business, Billy. She must be proud of you too."
    "Yeah, well, you'd have to ask her."
    "So you never answered my question. When did you start sailing?"
    "I'd say about fifteen years ago. My father was so happy that I was finally interested, and once