“Try to understand, Maddie. You’re Nancy’s only heir. If she’d given the land to them herself, you wouldn’t have had the chance to make the choice. But, yes, both she and Joe were hoping you would. She claims she has no idea how her grandfather came to have it, though she thinks he might have made a deal with the government a long time ago. She did, however, want to know ‘ahead of time’ what you’d do. She knows the properties are worth a lot. But more than that, she wants you to be happy. And your father, too.”
“And Joe knows all this.”
Rex stood up. “He does. But he didn’t like being part of it, either. Once you see your grandmother again, I think you’ll understand. It’s always been easier to agree with her than contradict her.”
“Who says I’m going to see her? We’re leaving in the morning. Rafe and I. On the earliest possible ferry.”
“Please. Don’t leave the Vineyard until I’ve found her. Then you can decide whether to see her.”
“And I should do that because . . . ?” Maddie did not like feeling duped. Cheated. Made to feel as if her feelings hadn’t mattered.
“Because Nancy won’t be around forever. I think she used the land as an excuse. I think she just really wants to see you before she dies. She figured if you thought she already was, that you’d come to the island to settle her estate. So, she’d get to see you. She’s pretty spry for her age, but not enough to jump into her old rattletrap pickup and drive up to Green Hills. And she’s too proud to have anyone take her. Joe already offered.”
Maddie sat there without moving, trying not to cry again. “Why didn’t she just wait at the cottage and see me when I got here? Talk to me? Hug me? Why all the theatrics?”
“She didn’t know if your father would be with you. I also think she wanted to know if you’d reclaim your heritage or just sign a few papers and be on the next boat home.”
“I never knew about my heritage.”
“She didn’t know that. Now she does. Because we told her.”
It made no sense. Or maybe it did.
“Please, Maddie, don’t hold this against her. The bottom line is, she loves you and she wants to see you. Promise me you won’t leave until I’ve found her.”
It still was hard to tell if Rex was on her side.
“I have a question about you, Rex. How did you get hooked into this? Did you feel sorry for her, too?”
“That’s another story,” he said. “Maybe she’ll share it with you, if you let her. But first, we have to find her. I’ll go get Joe. She can’t be too far; she hates even going down-island when she has to.”
He left the bedroom, then left the cabin, too. She heard him start his truck and drive out of the driveway. And Maddie still didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. Or what in God’s name she should do.
Chapter 30
She needed to call her father.
Hauling her exhausted body from the bed and then out to the living room, she grabbed her purse and fished inside it for her phone. Then she brought the things into the guest room, climbed under the covers, and sat with her back against the headboard. And she made a commitment to let those pesky bygones just be bygones.
“Dad,” she said when he answered. “Are you okay?”
He paused. “Yes. Are you?”
“Dad, I hate to ask, but can you come back to the island? I really need to see you, and I can’t go home yet.”
“Neither can I,” he replied. “Not until this is settled.”
She was puzzled, to say the least. “What do you mean?”
“Where are you now?” he asked.
“On the Vineyard.”
“But where? Exactly?”
“At a friend’s cabin in Aquinnah. There was a fire at the cottage. . . .”
“Are you at Rex’s place?”
