“I know how that is. I’ve been divorced, too.”
Startled laughter burst from several members of the family.
“Mom,” Fiona pointed out, “you’ve been married to Dad, your only husband, since you were young. You haven’t been divorced.”
“Yes, I have, and it was very hard on me,” Mom said.
And so it went.
The sense of belonging she found in the midst of her big, quirky family brought her peace.
She’d been the difficult one growing up. Certainly the most difficult of the seven kids. During those years, when she hadn’t felt smothered by the O’Sullivans, she’d been frustrated with them. When she hadn’t been frustrated with them, she’d taken them for granted. But after America had learned of her affair with Felix, and the world hated her, her family’s love had instantaneously become one of the most precious things in her life.
Ever since, she’d been proving her devotion through action. She was the one who’d ensured that her nieces and nephews could afford to go to the college of their choice. She was the one who always had a job at her company or a room in her home for anyone who needed them.
The feisty will that had made her so challenging when young now made her the sibling who championed the rest, the one who bent over backward to help them, the one who always fought for their best.
After returning from the O’Sullivan family lunch, Jeremiah repeatedly tried to get a hold of Remy on her cell phone.
She didn’t respond to texts and she didn’t answer his calls.
It was now six o’clock and inky darkness blanketed Maine. Worried, he paced his house.
Texted her again. Nothing.
Finally, he got in his BMW and drove to Wendell’s.
He waited on the front stoop for Remy to answer his knock.
At last, the door creaked open. Wendell filled the opening.
“Did you bring my delivery of chicken tikka?” Wendell asked jokingly.
“Not this time.”
Wendell winked. “In that case, best not to expect a tip.”
“I came by to speak with Remy. Is she here?”
“No, son. She returned to Islehaven this morning. She left your car key here and asked me to give it back to you.”
ChapterNineteen
Remy had left? Without telling him?
Denial rose within Jeremiah, mixing with confusion as it gathered force.
Gigi had arrived and so Remy had run? Why was she punishing him for Gigi's actions?
That wasn’t fair, his conscience pointed out. Gigi was 1.0’s issue and he lived in the body of 1.0. Also, if he’d answered Gigi’s texts or calls, he could have stopped things with her before she’d taken action and shown up at his house.
Also . . . Gigi probably wasn’t the only factor that had motivated Remy to go. There was also Remy's desire to return to her island and her work, his dead ex-wife, his amnesia, and the complication of their kiss.
Still. Why had she gone without telling him? That hurt. His body was struggling to metabolize the fact that she was no longer nearby on the mainland. She was the only person he cared about deeply, and she’d left him behind.
“Here you are.” Wendell handed over the key to the Cobra.
“Thanks.” Jeremiah started toward the classic car. “I’ll be back soon to pick up the BMW.”
