“Did you think I’d relish the idea of telling you what a sham our marriage had become, Emma? After I threw away our relationship to have him? You think I wanted to sit here and spill my guts while you gloated over my misery?”
“I never would’ve done such—”
“Or how you would’ve enjoyed hearing that I’m now destitute and homeless, and my own daughter will barely speak to me. And, oh yes, let’s not forget how I was investigated for culpability in my husband’s crimes and how my name was dragged through the mud. I was humiliated. All those women who professed to be my friends—where are they now? They won’t even return my phone calls.”
“Oh, Nora,” Gram said on a breath.
“That sounds just awful,” Maddy said.
“I was never more happy to receive Connor’s call that day. Of course I prayed you were safe, Gram, but there’s nothing more I wanted than to escape my so-called life. I was days away from sleeping in my car. At least here I have a roof over my head and people who aren’t staring straight through me.”
Nora brushed her tears away and straightened, as if trying to regain her dignity.
“I’m so sorry, Nora.” Maddy’s heart ached for her sister. “I should’ve been there for you. I will be, from here on out. You have my word.”
Emma turned away, knuckled her own tears. She put her glass in the sink. “If y’all will just excuse me... I think I’ll go shower off all this sand and lie down for a bit.”
Gram’s brows scrunched together. “Are you feeling all right, dear?”
“I’m fine, I just—feel a little worn out right now.”
It seemed Emma took all the oxygen in the room with her. Maddy turned to Nora and Gram, and they stared at each other for a long, poignant moment. So much had been disclosed in the past twenty-four hours.
The wind howled, pushing the door open with a quietsquawk. Pippy slipped out through the crack.
“Oh no,” Nora said.
“Pippy!” Maddy called.
She and Gram followed Nora onto the deck and scanned the area for the little dog. The sea oats bent to the wind’s demands, and a plastic grocery bag tumbled across the dunes. But Pippy was nowhere in sight.
“Pippy!” they called again and again.
Where had the dog gone off to? Of all the times for her to get out. Emma would be frantic with worry. That little dog meant the world to her. And Pippy wasn’t very big. If they didn’t find her soon she could literally be blown away by the storm.
The sky was a gray abyss, and the sea churned with foam. The heavens chose that moment to open up, and raindrops pelted them. The wind kicked up. The storm was making landfall.
Nora shielded her eyes with her hands. “I’ll go after her. You take Gram back inside.”
“No,” Maddy said. “It’s getting worse out here. It’s too dangerous.”
“I have to—it’s my fault! I didn’t shut the door all the way, and if anything happens to Pippy, Emma will hate me even more.”
“I’ll go too.”
“No... I think I know right where she is. I’ll be back soon.” Nora took off down the deck stairs.
Maddy ushered Gram inside, wiping the grit from her own wet face and still thinking she should’ve gone after the dog too.
She decided to take a quick shower in case they lost power. They’d already filled the tub with water, but she drained it, showered, and refilled the tub. She emerged from the bathroom and went downstairs. Gram said there’d been no sign of Nora or the dog. She had tried to call Nora’s cell phone, only to realize it was sitting on the kitchen counter.
Outside, the wind buffeted the shore, and the gray sky seemed to have dropped down to earth, making visibility poor. Debris swept by, tumbling through space. A sudden thought made Maddy’s chest tighten. What if something had hit Nora and knocked her out? She could be lying unconscious all alone out there.
Chapter 34
“I’m getting worried,” Gram said from the other end of the couch. It had been twenty minutes since Nora had gone after Pippy. “I called 911, but they made no promises. They’re swamped with calls.”
“That was a good idea.”
