Last night he’d said he was fromNewtown. Elkins Villagewas in Newtown—it’d definitely been his Jeep I’d accidentally climbed into that night. Beyond embarrassing, but it also made me wonder what relative of his lived there.
Did he visit often?
Now wasn’t the time to ask, and I found I didn’t want to ask. Because while I could talk about Annie, I knew I would tear up if I also mentioned Elkins.
“Have fun at camp,” I told Finn and Teddy.
“You’re welcome to tag along,” Connor said. “We can walk around Edgartown after dropping them off.”
“Oh, that’s really nice,” I said, truly tempted. Because one of Annie’s Polaroids showed her in front of the island’s Old Whaling Church, and, thanks to my research, I knew the Old Whaling Church was in Edgartown. This was the perfect opportunity to start following in her footsteps.
Although I hesitated, as if I weren’t ready to explore Annie’s past yet.
“But I should take a shower and then actually eat breakfast before we leave for the beach.”
“Will you still be there at three?” Teddy, eavesdropping, called from the Jeep.
“I can teach you how to crab!” Finn added.
Connor chuckled. “Dude, what about Claire Dupré?” He shook his head, then turned to salute me. “Duty calls…”
“I see you met Connor,” Sage appeared at my side once Connor’s Jeep had disappeared down the driveway. “He’ssomething, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He’s definitely…happy.”
That was the only word for him.
“Oh, yes,” she agreed. “I’ve only known him a couple days, but I think he’s living his best life.” She smiled. “It’s hard not to on the Vineyard.”
I smiled back, hoping it was true.
* * *
The Carmichaels had a small stretch of Oyster Pond Beach, but Nick—who seemed to be the unofficial cruise director—hustled everyone and their beach gear down the dock and into a bobbing Boston Whaler. This group was all cousins; someone would circle back for my dad, Erica, and other, older adults. “Where are we going?” Bryce asked once Nick fired up the boat’s engine.
“Over there.” Charlie pointed across the pond, toward the horizon. I could see the bright blue ocean, but there was a beach in the foreground, dotted with a rainbow of beach chairs and umbrellas. “Since we don’t have ocean access, our friends let us use their beach.”
“You mean theyownit?” I asked, incredulous. The closer the Whaler puttered, the bigger the beach looked. “The whole thing?”
Charlie nodded. “The wholemile, yes.”
Wow, I thought.And I thought the Carmichaels’ spread wassomething…
Sage dropped the anchor several yards from shore; the sunbathed water came up to my knees, but it was refreshing as I waded to land, the sand soft beneath my feet.
Although my heart lurched when I felt something scuttle over my toes.
“Hey, are there crabs…” I started to ask, but trailed off upon noticing a pack of children wielding tall nets in the pond’s shallows. What had Finn told me earlier?
“I can teach you how to crab!”
As if on cue, a curly-haired boy skillfully scooped a blue crab out of the water, its orange-tipped claws tangled in the netting. “Everyone, look!” a girl in a pink suit shouted. “Look what Oliver caught!”
Bryce and Maisie couldn’t join the scene fast enough; once Charlie had scouted out the perfect place to make camp, my siblings dumped their stuff and fled back to the pond. I watched in wonder; Bryce immediately started helping Oliver untangle his crab while another kid offered Maisie her net.
Oh, to be ten, I lamented, but I unlocked my phone to snap some photos. Annie would love them.
Soon I went from photographer to lifeguard. “I’ll keep an eye on them,” Luke offered as I shifted from one foot to the other. His pinging phone was nowhere to be seen; he now looked like he was in total vacation mode, wearing a frayed baseball cap with his sunglasses. He popped the tab of a lemon La Croix once he’dcollapsed into his beach chair. “You relax, alright?”
