Lucy wanted to tell her Milton was right. Instead she said, “My lunch break is ending. I should go eat.” They always ate at the project table, but Lucy took her lunch out to the storefront. She knew Eudora was disappointed, but just as she was about to forgive her, she had to go and bring up Ella. Lucy needed some air.
Outside the day was bright and the sidewalk busy. Tourists lingered across the way at the overlook, taking photos. Dog walkers passed, along with the usual stroller-pushing young parents and chatty toddlers. Lucy ate her turkey sandwich slowly, savoring the sun. She wasn’t going to the beach this summer, nor was she hanging out in town. The one bonfire Reya had mentioned, she’d skipped. Those were the things she did with Ella. It seemed impossible to go to them without her.
On her way back in she was surprised to see a tall platform ladder set up by one of the front windows. Brad stared down at her from the upper rungs. “The things I do for this woman.” Lucy watched as he strung tiny paper lanterns across the front window. They were pale blue and delicate, in the shape of little beehives. When he finished the first string, Lucy passed him another from the box on the floor, this one the color of wheat.
“Handmade by a woman in Provincetown who does dinner party decor,” he said before Lucy could ask. “They’ll sell fast.”Lucy had no doubt. It gave her an idea. Ella would love them. She selected a blue string; the price tag was about four hours’ pay for work, but after hesitating she held on to it. “Mind if I save this by the register?”
Brad nodded appreciatively. “Get them while they last. There’s a whole box I still haven’t unpacked. If you could put them out on display, that would be great.” He indicated a spot he’d cleared on the front table.
One thing she loved was going through new merchandise. Leah selected some of the prettiest wares from local craftspeople, things Lucy would never think to buy for herself, but they proved hard to resist. She had just settled the last package of lanterns into a pretty display basket when the bell jangled over the front door.
Jep Parsons stood in the doorway, looking ruffled. “Can I talk to you?”
Lucy glanced around. The store was quiet and thankfully there was no sign of Leah or Brad. “I’mworking,” she said. How many times was he going to pull this stunt? Then, under her breath, “I gave her the note, so let it go.”
“That’s not why I’m here.” Jep’s eyes were drilling holes into hers. “We need to talk. Like right now.”
Had he not just heard what she said? “I can’t.” At that moment Leah emerged from her office.
“Hello there,” she said, looking between the two. Lucy wanted the floor to open up right then and there. Leah had seen Jep before. She’d gone so far as to mistake him for Lucy’s boyfriend.
Jep cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but is it alright if I speak to Lucy really quick?” God, he was ballsy.
Lucy began to protest, but Leah cut her off. “Of course!” Then, looking sympathetically at Lucy, “Go ahead, take as long as you need.”
Damn Eudora. Lucy had no choice but to follow Jep outside. By then, she was livid. She stormed around the side of the house, out of sight of the shop front. “What are you doing here? You’re going to get me fired.”
But this time Jep looked even madder than she felt. “Your family is suing me?”
Lucy froze. Her parents had said they’d filed the suit. Jep must have just found out. “It’s not personal!” she said, hearing just how ridiculous it sounded. Of course it was personal to him.
“Do you know a marshal came to the garage yesterday? Served me papers in front of my dad and all our customers.” Jep’s eyes were wild with the hurt of it.
“It’s because of the hospital bills,” she tried to explain. Though she didn’t have to. It wasn’t her job and what Jep did was the reason he was in this predicament in the first place.
“I’m going to lose everything! My dad’s business. My work. And nowher.”
Her.Lucy flinched. Among everything he was losing, Ella counted. In spite of all Jep Parsons had done to her family, Lucy felt for him. He was just another dumb, flawed human and he was falling apart, right there in front of her.
“How else do they pay all those bills? What if she doesn’t get better?” Lucy asked. “They had no choice.”
“Well, now I have no choice, either.”
It sounded like a threat. Lucy crossed her arms, bracing herself. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know why I sent her that note? I wasn’t going to tell you or anyone else, but now I have to.” Jep stepped so close to her that she could smell his shampoo. His voice wavered, just above her ear. “It was Ella.”
“What was Ella?”
“She was the one driving my car that night.”
“No.” Lucy stepped back against the side of the house, the full effect of his words radiating through her. “Don’t you dare.”
“It’s true,” he insisted. “I let her drive my car home after the party, but I had no idea she was drunk.” He glanced nervously around, but no one was there to hear.
“You’re just saying that,” Lucy hissed. “You’re saying that because we’re suing you. Because you’re scared.”
“I am scared! But it’s still the truth.” Jep grabbed her hands in his own. “You have to tell your parents, so they call off this suit.”
