Strange. She always answered her phone. That uneasy feeling grew. But he couldn’t see a reason to leave a voicemail when she’d texted him only an hour before that preparations were going smoothly.
“Hey, boss!” one of his dockhands called. “Can I get your help over here?”
Connor pocketed his phone as he headed down the pier. But the disquiet persisted all afternoon.
Chapter 33
Maddy and her sisters had spent the morning closing the hurricane shutters that had been installed long ago and recently painted by Connor. Maddy did the second story, insisting she didn’t mind the heights. She had to keep Nora safely on the ground.
The newly dried paint on the shutter hardware made the job more tedious than it should’ve been. Maddy peered nervously at Connor’s cottage. He didn’t have hurricane shutters, but she’d seen plywood in his garage. He was so busy taking care of everyone’s boats at the marina that he wasn’t going to have time to protect his own home.
They’d been texting off and on, and each time a text came from him her heart gave a hard squeeze. She kept her answers brief. He must’ve sensed something was wrong, because around two o’clock he called and didn’t leave a message. She couldn’t talk to him right now. He’d hear it in her voice, and this was terrible timing for a breakup.
There isn’t going to be a good time,her heart cried.
When the storm was upgraded to a category one hurricane, Maddy took one last look at Connor’s house and enlisted her sisters’ help. The wind had already picked up, and it buffeted them as they boarded up Connor’s windows. Sand pelted Maddy’s skin, and she squinted to keep it out of her eyes as they hammered the boards in place.
He’d already brought in his lawn furniture and his one potted plant, so when they were finished with the windows they headed back to the cottage. Darkness had fallen even though sunset was at least a half hour away. Maddy shot Connor a brief text, letting him know his windows were boarded.
He replied with gratitude and confirmed the marina was still flocked with customers. He was staying there until everything was under control. She didn’t text him back.
Maddy pulled open the kitchen door, and the sisters ducked inside. She was relieved to be out of the wind. Gritty sand coated her skin and had worked its way into her scalp. She was desperate for a shower.
Pippy was trembling, clearly unhappy to have been left at the house with Gram during all the excitement.
Nora picked up the dog. “There, there, sweetie. It’s all right. We’re home now.”
“Here’s some nice cold tea for you girls,” Gram said, pouring them glasses. “The wind’s already blowing up out there, isn’t it?”
“My mouth tastes like sand,” Emma said.
It was unnaturally dark in the kitchen with the shutters closed. Maddy hoped the power wouldn’t go out, but they were prepared. Gram had set out flashlights and candles on the kitchen counter, along with a battery-operated radio.
The phone rang, and since Maddy was closest she grabbed it.
“Hello?”
“This call will be recorded,” a stilted male voice said. “I have a collect call from inmate... Jonathan Winters... at the Pondville Correctional Center. If you would like to accept the call, press one. If you would like to deny the call, press two. If you would like to block the call, press three.”
Maddy turned to Nora, who’d set Pippy down and was drinking her tea. Jonathan’s name had been said in his own voice. He was in prison?
Emma saw the look on Maddy’s face first and froze. “Who is it?”
“It’s... it’s for Nora.” The recording had begun repeating itself.
Nora approached, her look turning wary as she took the phone from Maddy. “Hello?” Her face went slack, and her eyes swung to Maddy, holding her gaze for a long moment before she pulled the phone from her ear and hit the Power button. She set the phone on the counter and went back to her iced tea as though the call had never happened.
Maddy’s thoughts scattered. Nora obviously wasn’t surprised her husband was in prison. And apparently she wasn’t taking his calls.
“Nora?” Maddy shook her head. “What in the world is going on?”
Gram closed the refrigerator door and looked between them.
Nora reached for her tea, holding the glass like a barrier between them.
“What happened?” Maddy asked softly.
Nora’s hand shook with the glass of tea. Her spine seemed to shrivel. “Jonathan’s in prison.”
