Nan put her hand on Faith’s wrist, her fingers light and cold. “The past is the past,” she said in her wise way. “We’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She smiled and leaned back in her chair. “All the girls are back together.”
The girls. It had always been “the girls.” Her father had left when she was so young that she couldn’t remember him, her grandfather had passed before her birth, and now, both sisters were single. Perhaps they were cursed. Or maybe they were just better asthe girls. Maybe they weren’t meant to find anyone. As she looked at Nan, Faith began to wonder if she should be going out with Jake at all. She should be there, in the cottage, with them all. How insensitive of her to have not considered this earlier.
“Nan,” she said. “Do you want me to stay here instead of going out? Would you rather have all us girls together?”
“You mean sit like a bump on a ninety-year-old log?”
“You’re making light of it,” she smiled affectionately. “We’ve all been running around like crazy since we got here. Do you want us all to stay together? It’s your birthday and this was a trip that you planned after all. I just want to make you happy.” She was saying the words, but Faith also knew that staying together in the quiet of the cottage would mean dealing with some of the things Faith didn’t really want to delve into. It was easier when they were out at the beach, with people passing by, or getting ice cream. But when they were alone as a family, things would inevitably come out, and Faith didn’t really want to deal with them. It was easier to just push it away and move forward.
Nan had laughter in her eyes. “Silly girl,” she said. “What makes me happy is not having you sitting here by my feet. I’m aware that I can’t move around like I used to, and it may seem to you like I’m just sitting here alone, but when you all are ‘running around’ as you say, I’m happier than I’ve ever been because I get to watch youlive. Life is about taking chances, and I’ve learned that things can be disastrous if we don’t do that. Go see the lighthouse and then come home and tell me all about it. I can’t wait to hear.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure! Now, get up before you get all wrinkled!”
Faith stood up and decided to wait on the porch for Jake to arrive. At this time of day, the sunrays were the color of champagne, and the air wrapped around her like a warm hug. Before she could get to the door, however, there was a knock, and she felt her pulse quicken. She tried to quiet her nerves.He’s just being friendly, she said to herself.Stop being so dramatic. Act like you’ve done this a million times before.She opened the door.
For the second time since she’d met him, Jake was all cleaned up, and she thought again how handsome he was. When he was working, he had a rugged look to him—scruff on his face, strong hands, his T-shirt tight against his biceps—but when he was spruced up, it was as if he was just as comfortable. Someone who didn’t know him would never believe—wearing what he was wearing now—that he worked with his hands. With his pressed shorts, white polo shirt against his slightly tanned skin, his hair perfectly cut, it looked like he should work some sort of office job.
“Hey,” he said with a smile.
His eyes wanted to move away from her face—she could tell because he’d done it before at the window when she’d been in her silky pajamas and again in her swimsuit—but he kept his gaze matched with hers. It made her want to smile, so she swallowed instead.
“Ready?”
“Yep!” she said, grabbing her handbag and throwing up a hand to Nan.
They walked together out to the driveway and Faith gasped. She shouldn’t have, but she couldn’t help it. She stood with her eyes fixed on what was in front of her. When she was finally able, she tore herself away from it and looked at Jake for an explanation. He only smiled and opened the door of the sleek silver Mercedes. “Well, you didn’t think I’d pick you up in the work truck, did you?” he said with a chuckle. Still processing the fact that she was about to slide into this car—its new car smell overtaking even the sea air—she remained silent.
“Have fun…” Casey said from the top of the dune, her words withering to silence as she, too, noticed the vehicle. This wasn’t the usual Mercedes—not that any Mercedes would beusualin Faith’s circles, but this one looked like something out of a car show. The paint finish on the outside was so glossy, Faith wondered if it had been driven very much. She waved to her sister, telling her with her expression how she was just as surprised, and slid farther into the car. Jake shut the door and walked around the back. The black leather interior was spotless—not a speck of dust. Faith tried not to stare at the gorgeous wood-grain console, so she looked up at Jake as he got in.
With only a push of a button, the car purred. It was so quiet, Faith wasn’t quite sure it was actually running. “Windows down or air conditioning?” Jake asked as he began pulling onto the road. She buckled her seatbelt.
Faith noticed how comfortable he was driving the car. His shoulders were relaxed, his hand resting on the gearshift in the center console. Did he own this car? Realizing that she hadn’t answered his question, she said, “Air conditioning.” The last thing she needed was her hair blowing around and sticking to her extra shiny lip gloss, and she wouldn’t dare risk sand getting blown into the black interior.
As Jake drove down Beach Road, the only sound in the car was the hiss of his tires as they rolled through the sand on the surface of the road. Faith was dying to ask him about the car. In only three days, she’d found him to be very friendly, and he seemed to be quite open whenever they’d spoken; yet there was so much—clearly—about him that she didn’t know. A handyman with a Mercedes? Friends who owned yacht-sized sailboats? Was he involved in something illegal? She caught herself fiddling with her fingers as her mind spun, so she stilled them on her thighs. Jake looked over at her and flashed a smile, making her glad she’d flattened her fingers out on her shorts. It kept them steady.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, and she felt the heat in her cheeks.
Faith swallowed, but there was no saliva left in her mouth so the gulp of air and dryness rolled down her throat slowly. She cleared it with a little cough. Scrambling for an answer to his question, she blurted, “How did you meet Rich?”
Oh! That was a terrible question!she scolded herself. What she really wanted to know was how the two men had met and become friends—they seemed to belong to completely different worlds. Now it looked like she might be interested in Rich, for goodness’ sake. She was not getting off to a good start. Casey would never have asked such a ridiculous question.
“We went to college together,” he said, thoughts behind his eyes, the skin between them puckered in confusion. “We’re in the same line of work.”
I know. Stupid, stupid question, she wanted to agree with his unspoken thoughts, but as what he said registered, more questions began to swim around in her mind. Same line of work?
“Rich is a handyman?” she asked, the thought tumbling out before she could rein it in.
Jake was quiet for just a moment. Then, out of nowhere, he let out a loud “Ha!” and threw his head back in laughter. His chest was still rising and falling with little bursts of amusement as he looked back at her, and she could see that affection again in his eyes. What had she said? What did he find so funny? The worry from this settled in her stomach, making her feel a little queasy. The very last thing she wanted to do was to insult him in any way.
His smile waned to a grin, and it was clear, his thoughts were elsewhere for a moment. “Why the interest in Rich?” he asked very directly.
“I wasn’t really asking about Rich,” she said. “I was wondering how you’d met someone who clearly has so much…”Oh, now she was going to look like some kind of golddigger.She was digging herself into a deeper hole. No wonder Casey was better at getting the guy. She would have never talked herself into such a situation as this.
Jake steered the car around a turn and then looked back at her. “What do you mean, ‘has so much’?”
“He has… sailboats,” she said, “and… is this car his?”
