Jeremiah let that go. “What brings you here?”
“I’m on my way to Canada. Since I was flying past this general direction, I thought I’d stop in and check on you.” He slid his hands out of his leather gloves and stashed both gloves in a pocket. “Have any memories returned?”
“Some.”
“Yet you still don’t trust me?”
“No. I found out you’re the one who’d benefit financially from my death.”
Felix smiled. “You think I tried to kill you by beating you up and throwing you over the side of your boat in order to gain your Camden family inheritance?”
“You’d benefit financially from my death,” Jeremiah repeated.
“Where’s a paper and a pen?”
Jeremiah nodded to the old-fashioned landline phone on the Formica counter between the small living room and the kitchen. Next to it sat a stack of Post-it notes and a cup of pens.
“Here’s the website of my financial planner. Contact him.” Felix wrote on the top Post-it note. “I’ll give him permission to share my net worth with you. Once he does, you’ll know that I have no need of your Camden family inheritance.” Inserting the pen back into the cup with a rattle, he faced Jeremiah. “Any other reasons why you don’t trust me?”
“Other than the fact that you cheated with my mother on your first wife and then cheated on my mother with Max’s mother?”
“Everyone in America enjoys feasting on my past sins. Why should you be any different? They are, after all, very juicy sins.” He appeared almost bored as he crossed to a wall and straightened a fake wood frame. “I’ve admitted to the world at large that I’m untrustworthy when it comes to romantic commitments. But research me even a little and you’ll find that I’ve always taken responsibility for my actions and dealt with the consequences. Which is more than I can say for you right now. You’re living out here as if you’re in the witness protection program.”
“I like it here.”
“You’re avoiding life here.”
“I’m choosing how I want to live.”
“And how much of this choice of yours has to do with a blond sculptor?”
“If you’re asking if she’s manipulated me into following her here, the answer is no. She tried to convince me to stay in Groomsport.”
“I see.”
His memories were returning, but he now viewed his life from a new perspective. Jonah’s perspective. It was as if Jonah was still inside him, looking out at the events and people that surrounded him and helping him determine what mattered and what didn’t. Remy mattered.
He didn’t owe his father that explanation, however.
The silence between them grew long. Was there anything beneficial Felix could provide while he was here? “I found evidence that Alexis was unfaithful to me during our marriage.” Maybe Felix could offer insight on that.
Felix’s face remained impassive.
“Did you know about that?” Jeremiah asked.
“No.”
“It occurred to me that maybe Alexis and I were both unfaithful. Maybe she started having affairs after I betrayed her.”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re alike in many ways. But we’re different in one important way. I’m not faithful to women. You are. I think that’s partly because you saw firsthand the damage that my infidelity did. You told me more than once that you would never do the same to anyone. You were faithful to the girlfriends you had before Alexis, and I have every reason to think that you were faithful to her as well.”
“Then why did she cheat on me?”
“Alexis had many good qualities. She was beautiful and stylish and socially adept. On the other hand, she was demanding. And required a great deal of attention. Perhaps she was looking for someone else to . . . make her feel whole.”
