“Guess that means you don’t want the cookies I made.” Cassandra pouts when Parker buries his face in my neck, refusing to look at her.
“You baked cookies?” Mrs. Harrison asks in surprise.
Cassandra executes her signature eye roll, which can either mean, You’re an idiot, or, You’re not serious. Mrs. Harrison laughs.
“Of course not. Please tell me you bought groceries, so we can make dinner.”
“Um … no.” Cassandra sounds insulted. “But we did order out. I was about to start without you if you didn’t arrive soon.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Mrs. Harrison teases, taking hold of her sister’s hand as they walk to the house.
Still carrying Parker, I follow them along the crushed-seashell walkway to the front door.
Mr. Harrison’s great-grandfather bought a cottage overlooking the ocean when he first acquired the property. He purchased a large plot of land, recognizing that land was where the value lay. The house was a quaint two-story beach house, and it’s still here. But this isn’t it. Before Kaden was born, his father built this sprawling beach house, that they just recently renovated with every modern amenity a few years ago. It feels brand-new. Maybe because it’s closed up half of the year and doesn’t get a lot of use.
Every time I step into this house, or even the one they own in Oaklawn, I’m transported into another life. My sister’s slicing words slip into my head as I step across the threshold, but I do my best to ignore them. Because I do belong here. As much as I belong anywhere.
I love it here. I inhale the ocean breeze floating in through the open windows. The house is sprawling and bright; it just feels like summer. It breaks my heart that this is the last I’ll see of it this year. I can only hope that they’ll invite me back to stay all next summer to nanny for Parker and the new baby. Although that’ll probably mean I won’t have much time to spend with Maggie and Kaden. But still … to be here for an entire summer again before I leave for college would be a dream.
“Isaac!” Parker squeals excitedly. I set him down, and he runs to the boy seated on the stairs, looking down at us from between the painted white spindles. “Come see my trains!”
“Not now,” Mrs. Harrison tells the boys before they can disappear upstairs. “We’re going to have dinner, and then you need to take a bath before bed.”
“I’m not tired,” Parker argues with his arms crossed. He’s trying to look defiant, but his puckered mouth and furrowed brows only make him look more adorable.
I laugh and immediately cover my mouth when I realize I shouldn’t encourage him.
“Isaac’s going to have dinner with us too,” I say, trying to defuse the sulking boy. “C’mon. You can sit at your special table.” Which is actually the kitchen table with the built-in window seats.
The adults sit in the dining room, so we can all fit. We designated the kitchen as the kids’ special table, no grown-ups allowed. But considering it’s all open and we can see them easily, we’re technically in the same room.
Parker grabs Isaac’s hand and leads him like he’s the older one of them. Isaac, being the easygoing nine-year old that he is, doesn’t argue and allows Parker to drag him away.
I help Parker with his plate of pasta and meatballs, setting a cup of milk in front of him, while Isaac settles in next to him with his own plate.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I tell the boys before filling my plate and joining the adults at the long dining room table. If not for Kaden, I’d honestly prefer to sit with the kids. More because of Cassandra and her theatrics than anything else.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize Isaac was coming up with Cassandra,” Mrs. Harrison tells me. “I hope you don’t mind.” She’s saying this because she knows I’ll be looking after him too. Cassandra may have been his escort, but she certainly won’t be taking care of him.
“It’s no problem,” I tell her sincerely. “He’s such a great kid. He’ll probably help me with Parker more than anything.”
“Can you believe Violet had the nerve to ask me to bring him along?” Cassandra huffs dramatically. “I mean, he’s not even my brother.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” Niall says, shutting her up. “I haven’t seen my little brother for the past month, so it’s nice to have him here this weekend. I’ll take him out on the boat tomorrow. Would you like to come along?” His attention is on Cassandra’s boy-toy. I haven’t caught his name. It doesn’t matter; he won’t be around long.
And that’s when I notice it. The diamond on her left ring finger. I choke on the water I’m swallowing.
Kaden rubs my back. “You okay?”
I nod, still unable to tear my eyes away from the large emerald-cut diamond flashing light like a disco ball.
“What are you doing?” Mrs. Harrison questions in alarm.
“What?” Cassandra responds, unaffected, continuing to pour white wine into her glass. “Relax. It’s only one glass.”
Mrs. Harrison presses her lips together, visibly fighting to keep her temper in check. She doesn’t want to make a scene. I can tell. She is the epitome of class—unlike her sister. But this once, I really wish she’d let her have it, whatever she’s upset about. Maybe Cassandra just got out of rehab or something. It wouldn’t surprise me.
Her … fiancé … remains quiet across from her, the furrow in his brow the only indication that he also doesn’t approve. But Cassandra ignores everyone staring at her, gulping down a large swallow of wine like she’s dying of thirst.
“I’d love to come out on the boat with you, Niall,” the guy says. “Thanks for the offer.”
Neither man bothers to ask Cassandra. From the way her fiancé’s currently looking at her, he’d probably push her overboard if she accepted.
“Kaden?” Niall directs his attention to his younger brother. “Like to join us?”
“No thanks,” Kaden replies, taking my free hand under the table. “I was planning to take Parker and Faye to the beach in the morning.”
“I figured you’d say no, but I had to ask,” Mr. Harrison says with a subtle smile, looking between us.
“Are you two still together?” Cassandra asks, scrunching her nose like she can’t believe it’s a possibility.
I bite back the snappy retort on the tip of my tongue and smile. “Yes. We’re still together.”
“That’s so messed up,” she says with a judgmental laugh.
“Cassandra, must you?” Mrs. Harrison scolds before silently apologizing to me.
Cassandra dismisses her with a deliberate sip from her glass.
Kaden squeezes my hand as I clench my teeth together. How is she possibly related to Mrs. Harrison? They had to have been raised separately or something. Or maybe some people are just born evil. Even so, apparently, someone loves her. I feel bad for him, but then again … he did ask her.
“I’m duuun!”
Grateful for the excuse to leave the tense table, I rise to attend to Parker at the kitchen table.
“I’ll help you,” Kaden says, standing with me.
He doesn’t like conflict either, maybe less than I do. Perhaps it’s because his parents fought so much the first few years of his life before his mother finally left his father, also leaving him and his older brother behind. Eventually re-marrying a younger and wealthier man to start a new family. But Isaac is with us so often; evidently the second family didn’t take either.
“Let’s get your tomato face into the bath,” I say to Parker, who’s wearing more sauce than probably made it into his mouth.
I wipe at Parker’s hands before he can cover everything he touches with marinara and help him from his chair. Kaden takes our plates to the sink, Isaac carrying his and Parker’s.
“Can I have bubbles?” Parker asks, racing across the hardwood toward the wrapping grand staircase.
“Of course,” I call after him.
“Isaac, wanna take a bubble bath?” Parker hollers from the stairs.
Isaac looks to me with
a face that says he doesn’t, but he feels bad, saying it.
“He’s already had his bath,” I tell Parker. “This one is just for you.”
Isaac reveals a small smile of appreciation. He doesn’t say much but somehow expresses everything.
From behind us, the tension continues to boil over.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want with my body! Don’t you dare get all high and mighty with me. This isn’t yours. It’s mine!”
Mrs. Harrison must have voiced her disapproval about Cassandra’s drinking once we were out of earshot. Although half the island is within earshot of Cassandra’s response.
“Good to see Cassandra is calmer than usual,” Kaden murmurs sarcastically.
“She’s engaged?” I can’t hide my disbelief.
We continue into Parker’s room, where he has already started undressing, throwing his clothes everywhere. I scoop them up and toss them in the hamper.
“Really?” Kaden looks confused.
“She’s wearing a huge diamond ring.”
“No one said anything to me. It must’ve just happened.”
I sit on the edge of the tub to turn on the faucets, running my hand under the water to check the temperature before taking the bottle of bubble bath from Parker, who’s waiting impatiently to get in. “Who’s the guy?”
Kaden shrugs. “I wasn’t here when they arrived. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve met him. Although, now that I think of it, that was shite of me not to introduce myself.”
I grin. I love when his British-isms sneak out. He doesn’t have an accent, but every once in a while, he’ll slip in a British expression. It’s adorable.
“Don’t feel bad. I didn’t introduce myself either. It was hectic with us arriving and sitting down to dinner before we even settled in. Cassandra has a way of stealing everyone’s attention.”
Kaden bends down to speak directly into my ear, “Will you be able to stay with me at the cottage tonight?”
I blush. Last summer, I wasn’t needed as much to care for Parker and had quite a bit of free time. They brought me to the island for when the adults needed time to themselves or to occupy Parker when Mrs. Harrison had work to do. There were many nights toward the end of the summer, after it became obvious just how in love Kaden and I were, when I’d sneak down to the cottage to be with him. I don’t know if Mr. or Mrs. Harrison knew, but if they did, they never said anything.
“I don’t think I should,” I say regretfully. This summer, as Mrs. Harrison’s stomach has continued to grow, she’s been relying on me more and more to look after Parker since she’s less able to keep up with him. And he’s full of endless energy. “But I can come see you after Parker’s in bed. And stay late.”
Kaden grins, knowing what I mean.
I turn off the tap, and Parker practically jumps in.
“I’ll go see if Isaac needs anything,” Kaden tells me as I wipe bubbles off my bare legs.
After tucking Parker in and having his parents kiss him goodnight, I read him his favorite story … three times. Once I’m certain he’s asleep, I slip away to my room across the hall. As much as I want to rush down to the cottage to be with Kaden, I really need to unpack and change into something more comfortable—or easily accessible. My cheeks redden at just the thought of it.
I’m not a prude exactly. But I’m not sexually liberated like Maggie, who has no problem sharing her torrid hook-ups and drunken exploits. I don’t drink. And Kaden is the only person I’ve been with—and plan to ever be with. I wasn’t saving myself for marriage, but for the person I loved. Whenever that was. I didn’t want to cheapen the act by losing my virginity with just anyone. I wanted him to love and respect me and for me to love and respect him in return. I didn’t think that was a huge ask. When Maggie discovered why I was a virgin at the beginning of last summer, I thought she would never stop laughing.
But it happened exactly as I always dreamed it would. Slow. Gentle. Caring. A moment of love shared between the two of us. And, yes, there was passion. So much. I blush again, recalling that night at the beginning of August. A night I will never forget.
We weren’t the only ones staying at the Harrison household that weekend, and I had no idea about the drama happening behind closed doors. I was so swept up in being with Kaden, I was oblivious to everything else. Until it became too obvious to ignore. But at first, our time together was as magical as it had been the last time we were together.
Is he asleep?”
“I think they all are, except Niall. But he never sleeps.” I ease the door closed behind me like I’m still sneaking through the main residence despite being in a completely different house.
Kaden wraps an arm around me and swings me around. I yelp in surprise as I collide against his firm chest. He twirls us, easing into a slow, rhythmic dance. I slip my arms around his neck, laughing, and sway with him, our bodies pressed close. I run my nose along his neck, inhaling the clean, fresh scent of him. Kaden stills when my mouth follows the same path, sucking on his tender skin, eliciting a low rumble in his throat.
I know this is his spot. The sensitive place that drives him crazy.
“Are you trying to kill me already?” he moans, squeezing my waist.
“It’s been the longest two months of my life,” I murmur with my lips still connected to him, my tongue darting out to taste the salt on his pulse.
“Maybe …” he falters in his words, distracted by the heat of my mouth. “We … go on the roof. Talk … first.”
I sigh, easing into a hug. The fireworks of want settle into sparks dancing in my belly. “Okay.”
Kaden leads me through the cottage. It’s quaint and comfortable with its worn, wide plank floorboards. The kitchen was updated sometime within the last ten years, not nearly as new as the main house. But the original wooden cabinets and counter bases were kept, keeping the authenticity of when it was built seventy or so years ago.
The space that’s intended to be a dining room is being used for a family room with a broken-in couch set in front of a television displayed on a distressed grey console. It’s meant to look like it’s aged, but I know that it’s not. The expense of it is evident every time I sit in that room. There’s not much space for anything else other than the old leather trunk converted into a coffee table.
There’s a small guest bedroom on this floor as well, the door cracked open. It’s the only feminine space in the cottage with its white wrought iron bed draped with an eyelet duvet. The standing oval mirror and matching dresser are as old as the house. Their age adds to their elegance. It’s one of my favorite rooms on the property. With the long window that nearly reaches the floor, letting in the sunlight through the sheer curtains, it’s a cheerful space. I spent many hours of my free time reading or writing in my journal in that room last summer while Kaden busied himself with other things. It was nice, being under the same roof as him but having my own space.
I follow him up the narrow staircase to the loft level with its slanted ceiling. The space opens up into a study, occupied by a dark-stained antique desk, distressed leather couch and built-in bookshelves filled with leather-bound books and picture frames. It even smells masculine, the leather mixed with the scent of aged pages. It’s Kaden at his essence, thoughtful and comforting. Studious and pragmatic. Yet a dreamer. A heart filled with devotion and love.
The door to his room is ajar, as is typical in a house where everything hangs askew. The metal latches don’t always catch quite right, so I’ve learned that nothing is never really closed, even when I expect it to be. The rumpled quilt and sheets on his bed tempt me—I can practically smell the clean scent of his soap and natural fragrance infused in the threads. He’d often find me with the blankets pulled up over my chin the nights we spent together, just so I could inhale him, even when he was lying right beside me. He would tease me, but I found comfort in the feel of him wrapped around me within the fabric.
We continue our journey to the stairs that lead to the roof. The
y weren’t part of the original design when his great-grandfather built it. Kaden’s grandfather wanted access to the roof with a widow’s walk. A feature found on some of the original homes on Nantucket—back when it was known for its whaling industry, before it became a refuge for some of the richest people on the planet. The stairs are steep, resembling a ladder tilted at a severe angle. The railing does little to comfort me with each precarious step.
I pull myself up onto the flat roof while Kaden holds the trap door open by a rope tied in a knot on one end. Once I’m on my feet, he lowers it. The white-painted railings surrounding the small square landing are low, barely reaching my hips. But that doesn’t keep Kaden, or others who visit this spot, from sitting on the wide beams, which always makes me nervous. It’s not like it’s a high-rise, but still, it’s tempting fate. This vantage provides a magnificent view of the ocean during the day and the stars at night.
The wind off the ocean incites a shiver as I stand beside Kaden, gazing out at the dark water, the white caps luminescent as the waves rush toward shore. I cross my arms, staving off the trembling. Kaden wraps his arms around me, creating the warmest blanket of body heat.
“Sit or lay?” Kaden offers, nodding toward the twin rocking chairs and the daybed.
“What do you think?” I say, hugging his arms tighter around me.
Kaden guides us over to the bed. I crawl under the blankets he pulls from the weatherproof chest, with him following. Keeping me wrapped tight against him, Kaden sighs as I nestle my head on the crook of his shoulder.
“What do you think of your teachers this year?” he asks, knowing I started classes this past week.
“Inept for the most part. They’re jaded and convinced any effort they make is wasted. Except for my honors English teacher. She’s new to the school, doesn’t know any better yet. I’m hopeful she’ll actually teach us something.”
“Did Olivia write the letter of recommendation for your admission applications?” Kaden asks, his fingers running through the long strands of honey-blond hair draped over my shoulder.
The Cursed Series, Parts 3 & 4: Now We Know/What They Knew Page 37