“I think so.” Faith looked toward the beach to see if she could see Casey or Jake. “Do you mind if I excuse myself for just a few more minutes. I want to talk to Casey.”
Nan smiled. “Your mom and I have tons to talk about.”
“Thank you.”
“Chances,” Nan said, her grin spreading across her face. “Glad to see you finally taking chances.”
She felt her pulse quicken, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of Nan’s observation, or the fact that she was going to confront Casey, or both. But she turned and started toward the beach. With every step she took, years of pent-up frustration were simmering, heating up. She was still mad at Casey, she just wanted to stand up for herself, tell her sister to back off, and let her know how she felt.
She walked up the wooden steps leading over the dune and spotted them on the beach. Casey was pointing to a tree further down, and Jake was talking. Casey laughed, throwing her head back, her hand landing on Jake’s arm. Faith stopped, deliberating. Jake didn’t know the whole history she had with her sister, and he may not understand if she just burst in and pulled Casey away to talk. It may seem rude. Before she could contemplate it further, Jake had caught her eye, and he waved. They started walking her way.
Casey had her sandals dangling from her fingers, her hair blowing behind her shoulders, and her dress flapping around her legs. She was so beautiful. Faith tucked her hair behind her ears to keep it from blowing around in circles on her head. Then, she smoothed out her own dress and straightened herself up.
“When we were fishing, Jake had promised to show me an area of beach where he liked to fish. I was asking him where it was,” Casey said, as she neared her. She looked out at the ocean. “This southern climate is quite a change from Boston. I could sell it all and move here,” she said, clearly kidding, but the comment grated on Faith’s nerves.
“It’s an amazing day. I’ll leave you two to enjoy the view,” Jake said. “I’m going to get the sand out of my shoes and then head back in to the party.” He gave them a wink.
Faith acknowledged his statement with a smile, but inside she was still a mess. Once he was out of earshot, she said, “Casey, what do you think you’re doing?” She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“What?”
“What exactly are you doing with Jake?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve watched you! You’re overly flirty, practically yanking the wine out of my hands today to give it to him. Shouldn’t you be focused on your husband?”
The skin between Casey’s eyes wrinkled, her face crumpling in confusion and resentment.
“You always do this!” Faith said a little too loudly, glad that the distance and the surf drowned out her words for those at the party. “You come waltzing in, doing whatever you please, without once thinking about those around you. You only think about yourself! No wonder Scott left!” She was fuming, saying things she didn’t expect to say, but the lid had come off, and it was all coming out. Had she had more time to think about it all, she may have said things in a different manner, but it was too late now, and she’d said it.
“Excuse me?” Casey said indignantly.
“You tell me how much you miss Scott and you’re so upset about the divorce, yet you sure don’t seem to be missing him when you’re off with Jake!”
“Pardonmefor trying to enjoy myself at a nice party with a gracious host,” she spit the words at her. Faith knew she wanted to say more but she was holding her tongue. “You’re being dramatic.”
“I’m being dramatic? Are you serious?”
“Well, it’s either that or you’re still hung up on Scott, so you’re taking it out on me.”
Anger boiled inside her. She knew that was what it would look like to Casey, but it wasn’t that at all. It wasCasey! She was the one ruining everything. “I amnothung up on Scott,” she said through clenched teeth.
Realization suddenly sheeted over Casey’s face. “You have a crush on Jake?” She laughed, making Faith feel ridiculous. As sisters, they had a way of doing this to each other: They could be harsh and downright mean when they were upset, but once it all settled, they’d forgive one another. Forgiveness was far on the horizon today. Casey’s laughter caused a blow of fury to Faith’s gut, and at that moment she didn’t want to ever forgive her sister.
Faith knew what Casey was thinking. She was thinking that they’d only been there for six days and Faith had some kind of schoolgirl crush, and she was throwing a fit over it. But this was more than some schoolgirl crush. She had real feelings for Jake. She was getting out years of frustration over how Casey could always get everything she wanted and Faith had to sit by and watch, even when it hurt her. She’d scarred Faith, betraying her trust. Yes, Faith did think Jake was a great guy, and she did want to spend time with him, but it was Casey’s behavior that had caused this outburst. Tears were surfacing, and she blinked to keep them at bay. Her throat was tight with emotion, her chest hurting from the pressure of it.
“I just wish you’d pay attention to other people sometimes,” she said quietly. The pain had eaten through the anger. Why hadn’t Casey taken the time to notice how she would hurt Faith all those years ago when she’d met Scott? Surely, as Faith’s sister, she’d known she should’ve stopped.
Faith sat down on the bottom step, pushing her feet into the sand. A sandpiper ran along the shoreline, leaving footprints behind it. Casey didn’t sit.
“Heaven forbid you notice those around you. But then again, that would put a damper on your perfect little world, wouldn’t it?” Faith said, still quiet to keep the sobs from bubbling up. This was by far, the wrong place to be having this conversation, but there was no changing it now. The last thing she wanted to do was go back up to the party with watery eyes and a red nose. “You never let yourself feel anything unless it’s happiness. You push the uncomfortable feelings away, and in doing so, you never have to deal with the fact that you broke my heart, Casey. You need to stop hurting people. Think about their feelings. Put a little effort inthem.Workfor it, if you miss Scott. Show him he’s worth your effort. Loving someone takes work, Casey. I’ve learned that by loving you.”
Casey didn’t respond. She was looking out at the horizon, her lips pursed in an angry scowl, her breathing steady. Faith knew that this was hard for her too.
“You are so high and mighty,” Casey finally said. “You spout off about relationships like you know something about them, when you’ve had one, maybe two, and they amounted to nothing. Don’t you dare try and judge my relationship with Scott. You don’t know.” Then, without another word, she walked off, leaving Faith alone on the step.
FOURTEEN
