It was as baffling as it was exasperating.
However, Annie now knew she needed to confront Simon again and get him to confess to the real reason he was there . . . and if it was, in any way, related to why he had divested himself of all things “Andrew Simmons.” Including his brothers and his nephew.
And while none of it might be connected to why he’d cut off communicating with her about Brian’s accident, she was now haunted by the question Simon had asked her back in the cottage:What do you know?It had now become more important to Annie to learn what it was that shedidn’tknow.
But as she logged off the computer, Annie wondered if Meghan had been right, that the whole thing was a coincidence. Maybe Simon didn’t even remember the scared young widow he had interviewed. He’d had a new name for many years now, and a whole new life. In a bigger city. On a much bigger stage. With his grad school days long gone and probably forgotten.
Then she remembered his toast when she’d approached him on the beach: “Cheers to the old days. May they be forgotten. And to all our days. May they be forgiven.”
Whatever that meant.
Chapter 28
Annie walked the two miles from the library back to the hospital, wanting the exercise, wanting to think. Somewhere between the five corners and the drawbridge, she knew she needed to refocus on the present, on Kevin, and on Meghan. The old days were done. And, as Simon had further noted, “It’s crap, anyway.”
When she arrived in the ICU, Meghan was sitting in the same chair in the waiting room where she’d spent the night. Next to her was Earl. He was holding her hand.
Annie smiled. Earl was such a kind, caring man. He would have made a perfect father-in-law.
She sat down on the other side of Meghan. “No news?”
Meghan shook her head. “Earl’s been telling me how hard Kevin worked on the Inn, especially on the actual hands-on building. That’s what he always loved to do. When our business got so big that he had to stay in the office, he hated every minute of it. He was happier when he was hammering.”
“Yes, Kevin’s a hammering fiend,” Annie said. “And I’ve had enough headaches to prove it.”
Meghan laughed a sweet, gentle laugh. A laugh so much nicer than Taylor’s.
“I brought Kevin some clothes,” Earl said. “Not that I think the kimono isn’t attractive on him.”
“It’s called a johnny, Earl,” Meghan said. Her disposition seemed lighter, which was likely due in no small part to Earl’s company.
“Speaking of johnny . . .” the jokester said, “here he is now.”
Annie didn’t catch his meaning until a voice from the doorway said, “Hey, Dad.”
She counted to three before turning her head.
“Annie,” John said, then looked over at Meghan and nodded. “How’s he doing?”
“The same,” Meghan said. “So that’s good.”
“Great.” He looked back at Annie. “Can you give me a minute?”
She closed her eyes for a second, then stood up. “The garden okay?” Not waiting for a reply, she said, “Excuse us.” She left the waiting room, knowing John would follow but not wanting to think about why he wanted to talk. Maybe he was there merely in a professional capacity.
It was hotter on the rooftop than it had been earlier; the sun had inched across the sky, its rays now flared up from the cement walkway. “How many eggs did you fry out there?” her dad used to ask whenever she came inside after playing hopscotch in the driveway on a steamy summer afternoon. She wondered how many dad-isms he’d said over the years; she wished she remembered all of them. Especially now, when she’d rather be thinking about that than the impending conversation.
“How ’bout here?” John said. “No sense walking all the way to Aquinnah.”
She stopped at a bench; she realized then that they’d already passed a few. He must have thought she was losing her mind, as Kevin had told Earl.
He sat down next to her. “Man,” he said, “this has been one lousy way to end a summer.”
“I had a lot to do with it. For starters, I practically browbeat Kevin into coming back.”
“Does he know about Meghan?”
“No. She didn’t want me to tell him. So I told him he was shirking his responsibilities at the Inn. Which probably made things worse. He must have been exhausted from rushing to get a flight, then coming all this way. I never knew he was afraid of flying.” She lowered her head, stared at the concrete squares that were laid out in a great grid for hopscotch. If she wanted to play, she’d only have to number the squares and not draw all the lines. She wondered how many eggs she could fry on it. She sighed. “God knows how long he went without sleep—which must be why he grabbed his gun when he heard us arguing.”
