But as he drove off, I grinned becauseno onecould mistake this for a little festival.
The whole town center was covered in stars. Twinkling lights zigzagged across the street, and people strolled beneath them, laughing and dancing to the music that spilled out of the arcade. Silver paper stars hung in streamers from lampposts.
Lety and Bubba had turned the parking lot near the Concha into a patio area, where people clustered around tables, clinking their glasses in the soft yellow glow from the paper lanterns strung around. Even the food trucks parked near the wharf were each topped with a light-up star.
It was everything I’d specifically told Gage not to do.
Thank God he hadn’t listened.
Whispering Key had never looked like this in my lifetime, but I knew without question that this was how it was supposed to look all along. How it would look from now on. Cheerful. Festive.Alive.
And the funny thing was, nothing much had changed—the fundamental elements of the island and the people were exactly as they’d always been—buteverythinghad changed, because now the place felt hopeful. Filled with possibilities. And the possibilities made it beautiful.
Which was kind of how I felt about my own life now…
Andoh my God, I’d caught whatever sappy disease Fenn and Beale had fallen victim to. They’d never let me hear the end of it. But Jay wouldn’t mind. In fact, I kinda thought he’d love it.
“Rafe! Good Lord, son! You are a sight for sore eyes!” My dad came lumbering over with little Gloria practically trotting along beside him to keep up.
He’d never looked so happy to see me in his entire life. I was immediately suspicious.
“You didn’t return my texts,” I said as Gloria threw her arms around me. “Or my calls.”
“I know!” Dad said gleefully. “But some things you just have to see for yourself, huh?” He turned in a circle, admiring the decorations, beaming with pride. “So, tell me all about Wyoming! How was Aimee?”
“She’s fine. As you probably knew.”
“Well, more or less,” he allowed. “But it’s still good to hear. I worried about her. I’m glad she’s happy.”
His voice rang with truth, and the kick of it was… I believed him. He loved us,allof us, even though he had really bizarre ways of showing it, and he tried hard to do right by us which resulted in him fucking up in all kinds of large and small ways.
A crowd of people roared and clapped from the park, just beyond the carousel, and a voice yelled out, “Thank you so much, Whispering Key! I’ve got one last song for you!”
“Chet?” I asked my dad. “He’s already almost done?”
Dad grinned like a cat who’d eaten a canary and gotten away with it. It was mildly terrifying.
“What did you do?” I demanded.
“I got a fill-in act for your fill-in act!” Dad rocked back and forth on his feet. “Ha! Who says I can’t get things done, Gloria?”
“No one, Mr. Mayor!” Gloria said, gazing up at him worshipfully.
“That’s right. And now that I’ve not only found the Whispering Key treasure, raised enough money to restore the bridge to the mainland,andsuccessfully planned and executed this Extravaganza, I think I’m ready to take on my next challenge.”
I groaned. “Raising the Lost City of Atlantis, perhaps? Inventing your own language? Raising turkeys?”
“Nope. Grandchildren!” Dad said happily, and I choked on the warm night air. “But first I’m going to make Gloria here my bride. And we’re going to go on a little cruise.”
“Around theworld,” Gloria added.
“You’re going on a cruise around the world?” I repeated. “But you’re mayor of the town for another year. How the hell is that going to work?”
“Well—”
“Rafe! Hurry up! Chet’s almost finished.” Beale jogged over, panting slightly. “Dad,” he chided, “you were supposed to bring him right over to the stage!”
Dad pursed his lips. “Honestly, Beale! I was doing arevealover here, and you’ve completely ruined it! I swear, not asingle oneof my sons was born with a sense of timing.”
