He smiled at her, and she felt her limbs go weak. “Strangers are just people. We’re all similar in many ways. I enjoy finding those similarities.”
“It seems so easy for you.”
“It’s like chipping away old paint. Sometimes, you find a color you never knew was there. People put up what they want others to see, but if you strip away that façade, you find unexpected pieces of their personalities sometimes.”
“I’d never thought of it that way.”
He smiled again, that almost doting look showing in his eyes. “See? You just chipped away my paint. You found out why I like to meet new people.”
She wished she’d have had a chance to see how many more pieces of paint she’d have been able to chip away, had things gone differently between them.
“Do y’all mind helping me set the table?” her mom called from inside.
“I’d be happy to,” Jake said, opening the door wider so that Faith could enter first. She walked under his arm and went inside.
At moments like this Jake was so personable and modest that she forgot all about the lifestyle he had. She could only imagine what he’d paid for the dishes she’d eaten off of at his house, yet here he was, setting the table with paper plates and napkins, not a care in the world. She loved that about him. But it wasn’t enough.
After helping her mom, Jake excused himself to go downstairs and cook with Scott. When Faith went back out to the porch to sit with Nan, she could hear them making small talk down below. Jake laughed at something Scott said, and it sent a plume of happiness through her.
Nan looked out toward the ocean. “I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely evening.”
“The weather is nice,” Faith agreed.
“Mmm. I’m not talking entirely about the weather. It’s fantastic to have everyone here. I’m so glad you girls are together again.”
“Thanks to you,” Faith said with a smile.
“It’s hard work keeping this family together. “
Nan could always keep everyone together. What was her secret?
“When did you know that my grandfather was The One?” Faith asked her.
“Where’s this coming from?” she said, her words coming out in an affectionate laugh.
“You seem to know just how to keep us all together, and I just wondered how you made it work so well.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose that it was the understanding that it won’t all be perfect. So the imperfections were what made it great.” She turned her rocker to face Faith. “He burned toast,” she said. “I don’t know how he did it, but he did. It made the whole house smell. I can still remember the swirling smoke floating up around the lamps. It was awful. All he’d had to do was ask, and I’d have made it for him. Instead, John insisted on putting bread in the pan and then busying himself with something. I tried to tell him to stand there with it, but he never did. And then, he’d leave for work and I’d have to smell that smoke all day.” She laughed and then became serious. “I’d give anything to smell his burned toast.”
Faith grinned, but her heart ached for Nan. “So when did you know?” she asked again.
“I knew quite early on,” she said. “There’s always that possibility that it won’t all work out. It isn’t rainbows and fairytales. But I knew right away that when I was around him, I wanted to know more about him, and I liked what I already knew. That was all I needed. I just took it day by day.” They rocked a while, the sound of the ocean like a lullaby. “Jake sure does get along with everyone, doesn’t he,” she said, changing the subject and looking down her nose to peer over at the two men as they steamed clams and grilled fish down below.
“Yes. He does.”
“So, Jake,” Nan said as they all sat squeezed in around the small dinner table, “what brought you back to the Outer Banks?” They’d been talking for what seemed like hours. Jake had now leaned back in his chair, his arm propped up on the back of it.
“Opportunity,” he grinned. “I wanted to build here because the landscape and culture provided a unique obstacle for development. People want large-scale facilities with all the bells and whistles, and I enjoyed the challenge. I love it here.”
“I can see why,” Nan said.
Faith knew that Nan didn’t have the whole story about what Jake saw in the Outer Banks, and he knew that too, but when she said she could see why he loved it, Faith noticed something on his face. He was thinking about something. Did he feel guilty misleading her? He’d heard her thoughts about the growth of the area when they’d taken their boat ride. He knew how she felt.
Isabella asked for more milk and both Scott and Casey got up at the same time. Casey grinned at him, and sat back down, her face giving away all of her feelings.
When Scott returned with Isabella’s drink, her mom said, “Dinner was great, boys.” She was right: Dinner was great, but not just the food. For so many years, it’d been just the girls. It was nice to have Jake and Scott there. They added an element to the conversation that had been missing.
After dinner, Scott, Casey, and Isabella went for a walk on the beach, Nan was asleep in the chair in the living room, and Faith and her mom were cleaning up dinner dishes.
