“You’ll never come visit Mom again?”
“Oh, sure,” Garrett said easily. “I suppose we might run into each other at a family function of some sort.” He shrugged one shoulder. “We’ll just pretend like this conversation never happened.”
Eloise’s tears were dangerously close to falling, and she pulled in a tight breath.
“Two,” Garrett said. “You fight me on this, and I will ruin you, him, and everyone you know.” He glared at Aaron and looked back to Eloise. “Your choice.”
She couldn’t believe the man standing in front of her was her brother. She didn’t know him at all, and she never wanted to see him again.
Still, it felt like a piece of her flesh had been carved out of her back, and she didn’t know how to deal with the feelings of betrayal and shock coursing through her.
“You have until Friday evening to wire me the money,” he said, picking up his expandable file folder. “I suppose if I get it, I’ll know what you chose. If I don’t, well, I’ll still know what you chose.”
With that, he turned his back on her and Aaron and walked out of the Cliffside Inn. When the door closed, Eloise flinched from the slamming noise of it. She sank back into her folding chair and broke down crying.
“Shh,” Aaron said, settling beside her again. “It’s okay, Eloise. Shh.”
How he could say that, she wasn’t sure. Hadn’t he heard Garrett literally threaten everyone she loved—including him?
She had so much to absorb and so much to think about that she really wished she didn’t have anyone she loved or anyone who loved her. That would make this so much easier, because then Garrett wouldn’t have anything to hang over her head.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kristen took out the pitcher of iced tea and set it on the counter just as someone knocked on her front door. “Come in,” she said needlessly, because Robin was already opening the door.
She entered, a happy smile on her face. Behind her walked Alice, Eloise, and AJ. Kelli would be done with work in five minutes, and then she’d come to Kristen’s cottage too.
“How are you all?” Kristen asked, surveying them as they scattered to various places in the small house. Alice went to the couch with Eloise, and the two of them started to whisper as if Kristen hadn’t even asked a question.
Robin and AJ—never the pairing Kristen would put together—came into the kitchen. AJ detoured to the small table, and Robin got down a glass and started filling it with water.
“Good,” she said, and she actually sounded like she was. “Duke’s boat finally arrived this week, and he’s been gone all day.” She grinned like this was a spectacular thing, and Kristen laughed.
“And she booked another wedding,” AJ said from the table.
“That too.” Robin drank from her glass and smiled at the two of them. “What about you? How’s life on this rock?”
“Windy,” Kristen said. She was oh-so-tired of the wind. She’d lived with it day-in and day-out for seventy years, and she’d started to wonder if perhaps the Lord could just turn it off for one day.
Robin laughed, and even AJ giggled. “One of the cons of island life,” AJ said.
“What’s with them?” Kristen asked, looking toward Alice and Eloise. She swung back to Robin in time to see the sourness on her face before she could wipe it away.
“Some legal stuff,” she said, her tone definitely not as chipper as previously. So she was jealous. Kristen had seen that look on so many teenagers’ faces in the past, including Robin’s. She marveled that even after thirty years of friendship, there could be some jealousy between these women.
Surely their friendships had ebbed and flowed over the years, and she thought they’d have worked out their place with each other by now. She supposed that women simply never felt comfortable in their own skin, and while Robin had been strong and confident as a teen—and she still was—she still wanted to be liked and accepted. She’d never liked being on the outside of something, that was for sure.
The door opened again, and Kelli bustled in. “I sent Parker up to see Jean,” she said. “I love you all, but I have Julian to deal with, and so much to do.” She put her purse on the tiny table beside the door. “So let’s talk quickly, if we can.” She looked around at everyone, and Kristen had definitely noticed a change in her since her husband had come to Five Island Cove. Kelli had always had multiple sides, and Kristen had never seen the one labeled “wife.”
“Duke’s boat got here after a delay,” Robin said. “My life is finally getting back to normal.”
“I’m leaving on Sunday,” AJ said. “And my boss called today and said he wants to meet with me on Monday morning.” She grinned. “I just know I’m going to get an on-air spot—finally.”
Kristen smiled along with the others as they congratulated her. She lifted her teacup to her lips, because she didn’t have any news. She knew her girls had been through a few hard weeks, and she was glad the sun appeared to be coming out again.
“Frank has an interview on Monday morning,” Alice said. “So Monday might be a good day for all of us.” She smiled as she stood up. She embraced Kristen and started pouring herself a glass of iced tea. “Oh, and I just signed another client.”
“I booked a wedding,” Robin added.
“Julian and I found a house on Pearl,” Kelli said, pushing her hair off her face. “It’s far for me and Parker, but I think we should live together and do our counseling together and all of that, so I’m willing to commute.” She sighed and reached for a piece of the banana bread Kristen had made that morning. “I loathe the idea of moving again, but it is what it is.”
“Any news on Zach?” AJ asked.
“Oh, yes.” Kelli quickly finished her bite of bread and swallowed. “Aaron told me this morning that he’s moved out of that apartment above the Chinese restaurant. We found out he had a one-way ticket for New Hampshire.”
“So it’s over.” Alice looked so hopeful.
“Hopefully,” Kelli said, and she certainly seemed to be carrying less of a load. That made Kristen’s heart happy, and she reached over and squeezed Kelli’s hand.
All eyes turned to Eloise, who hadn’t moved from the couch. Her eyes scanned the group, but she never let her gaze settle on any one of them. She finally looked at Alice, who nodded slightly.
“I have something,” Eloise said. She got up and approached the kitchen area, where most of them were loitering. “It’s not good news.” She pulled a sheaf of papers from her bag and started laying them on the table one by one.
“My brother is not a nice person,” she said. “He got my father to sign some paper to cancel out the will, and he owns all the properties.” She didn’t look up at any of them. “The inn wasn’t an inn, but a gentleman’s club. Joel attended regularly.” She tossed a photograph onto the pile on the kitchen table.
Everyone had gathered around by this time, and Kristen’s heart squeezed terribly tight at the image of her husband on the arm of some woman. A drink rested on the table in front of him, and the air was obviously thick with smoke.
“And Guy.” Another picture landed on top of Joel’s. Kristen’s pulse pounded in her chest, and she just wanted all of this to stop.
“Aaron’s father. Principal Drake. Peter Springfield.” All prominent men in the cove, and while Kristen might have believed Peter Springfield would go to a gentlemen’s club to be entertained by scantily clad women, she never would’ve put John Sherman in that group.
The man had just announced his intentions to run for mayor next year.
“And your mother, Alice.” A handful of pictures got dropped over the others, splaying out like a fan. Denise Williams smiled broadly in all the ones Kristen could see. She sat on some men’s laps, danced in other photos, and looked to always have a drink in her hand.
Alice sucked in a breath, and she was the first to move at all. She reached toward the pictures, her fingertips hovering just over them.
“Garrett knows you�
�re nearly broke,” Eloise said. “He owns your house, Alice, and he can take it in a second. Robin, he knew Duke’s boat was delayed, and he said it would be a shame if it got damaged at the dock. Kelli, he knows you and Julian just bought out your biggest competitor and owe millions on your loans. AJ, he suggested that the reason you haven’t gotten your spot on the air yet is because of me.”
Her voice faded to almost nothing, and she kept her head down, her spirit completely broken. “He made fun of me for wanting to restart the Cliffside Inn, and he even insinuated that he could get Aaron’s ex-wife to come back to Five Island Cove and break us up.”
She sniffed, but she didn’t sniffle. “It was a terrible meeting.”
Silence descended, and Kristen’s heartbeat would not settle. She finally managed to tear her gaze from the pile on the table to look at the others gathered around. Kelli was already crying, and AJ’s jaw was clenched so tightly, it looked like it might break. Anger rode in her expression as well.
Kristen was used to finding out the people she’d thought she knew were actually only a version of themselves, but she was still shocked to see her husband with other women. That would never be easy for her, as she simply hadn’t known that side of him at all.
Alice’s face had turned white, and Robin looked one moment away from a complete panic attack. It was she who said, “Is he going to do all of that?” She stepped in front of Eloise and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Is he going to sink my husband’s boat?”
Tears slid down Eloise’s face. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” Robin said, her voice stunned and hushed now. She spun in a circle, looking around wildly. “I have to call Duke.”
“What did he want?” Alice asked, her voice stalling Robin’s frantic movements.
“He wants the money,” Eloise said. “In the accounts I found in the wall. He said Dad—” She sobbed and shook her head. “He said my dad was going to turn them over to him too, but he died before Garrett could get it in writing.”
“So give him the money,” AJ said, her voice low and tight.
“It’s not that easy,” Eloise said.
“Yes, it is,” AJ said, and Alice started nodding too.
“Give him the money, Eloise,” Alice said.
“You need the money,” Eloise exploded, her voice growing so loud Kristen actually fell back a step. “You all need the money! Robin doesn’t live in a house she owns. Kelli’s up to her eyeballs in debt. Frank has no job—which he also knew about, Alice. In fact, he said that it was so strange how Frank has slept with so many clients, and yet this one cost him his job.”
“This isn’t happening,” Alice said, rubbing both hands down her face. “Eloise, tell me this isn’t happening.”
“How can he know all of this stuff about us?” Robin asked.
“Did he send Zach here?” Kelli demanded, her voice suddenly much stronger than the tears on her face would suggest.
“He didn’t mention Zach at all,” Eloise said. “But honestly? Anything is possible. That’s one thing Aaron and I agree on. Anything is possible.”
“I don’t need the money,” AJ said. “How do I get out of this?”
“You can’t,” Eloise said. “Because you’re too tied to me. You’re all too tied to me.” She looked around at all of them. “I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down her face now. “I’m so sorry.” She turned and started for the door, making it all the way there before Robin jogged after her.
“Eloise, wait,” she said, blocking her exit. “You’re going to give him the money, aren’t you?” She searched Eloise’s face, pure panic in her eyes. Kristen could feel it lilting through the air, and it was the strongest scent in the room.
“I don’t know,” Eloise said. “I’ll let you know.” She left, and Robin stared through the open doorway, her eyes as round as dinner plates. She turned back to the group, opened her mouth, and screamed.
Kristen flinched away from the sound of it, and when it stopped, she found Robin snatching her purse from where she’d laid it on the counter. She stomped toward the open door too.
“Where are you going?” Alice asked.
“To the dock,” she said. “I am not going to let someone ruin my husband’s only way to make money.” She walked out too, and Kristen wondered if her departure had just signaled the end of this friendship.
“I need to go call Frank,” Alice said, reaching into her back pocket for her phone. “Find out who he slept with and how she’s connected to Garrett Hall.” She too left the cottage, and Kristen felt some of her own life go with Alice.
Kelli looked at AJ, and they both looked at Kristen. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, her voice weak and aged, just like how she suddenly felt.
“What am I supposed to tell Julian?” Kelli asked.
“This is unbelievable,” AJ bit out. “I’m going to see if I can switch my flight and get off this stupid island.” She strode out of Kristen’s cottage too, no goodbye coming from her mouth.
“Kelli,” Kristen said.
“I have to go,” she said, hurrying to her purse. “I guess I got what I wanted—a quick conversation.” She turned and looked over her shoulder. “It’s amazing how fast something can go up in flames, isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for Kristen to answer before she walked out, pulling the door closed behind her.
Kristen found she couldn’t stand, and she quickly pulled out one of the table’s chairs and collapsed into it. She didn’t want to believe any of the things Eloise had said, but the proof of it was all right there, on her dining room table.
She sifted through the pictures, finally getting to the one of Joel. “Why did you do this?” she whispered to the horrifying image. “Was life here with me really that bad?”
He was dead and gone now, and he’d never been able to answer any of her questions. Fury and fear rose within her, and they were not good playmates.
She was more used to shocking news than the others, and they’d all rallied around her in her greatest need. She wanted to help them too, but when she finally looked up from the picture, she felt the keen sense of emptiness in her cottage.
They’d all left.
They’d all left in various stages of anger, disbelief, horror, and fear.
“Please don’t let them end like this,” she whispered. She’d spent many a night praying for her Seafaring Girls, and not just this group of them, though these five girls had meant more to her than any of her others.
This just couldn’t be the end of them.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Robin finally left the dock when Duke agreed to talk to the head of security. He’d gone to do that, though he didn’t fully understand her hysteria. She wanted to get together with someone to talk about this. Her first thought was Alice, but she suddenly didn’t trust her friendship with her anymore.
She didn’t trust anything in her life to anyone anymore.
She choked on a sob and just let herself drive, making a turn here or there. Before she knew it, she pulled to a stop in front of her mother’s house. If she couldn’t talk to Alice or Eloise, where could she go?
If she couldn’t tell AJ or Kelli her worst fears and hopeful dreams, who could she confide in?
If she couldn’t go to the lighthouse and get Kristen’s advice, who was left?
Her mother.
She got out of the van and crossed the lawn, though if her mom could see her, she wouldn’t be happy. Her mother loved her emerald green grass and worked daily on the yard to make it beautiful.
Robin took the cement steps two at a time and opened the front door without knocking or ringing the doorbell. “Mom?” Her voice cracked, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t know how to contain it.
Her mother didn’t answer, and Robin quickly ducked into the formal living room off the main entrance. She wasn’t there.
Robin went into the kitchen, the scent of something toasty in the air. Through the windows on the back wall, she caught moveme
nt, and she practically sprinted toward the back door. “Mom,” she said as she went onto the back deck.
Her mother raised her head out of a flowerbed, surprise etched on her face. “Robin.” She straightened, her gloved hands holding a couple of weeds she’d just plucked from the earth.
“Mom.” Robin ran across the deck and down the steps. She was sobbing by the time she reached her mom, who grunted as she enveloped Robin into her arms.
“What in the world?” her mom murmured, but she held onto Robin tightly.
Robin didn’t cry very often, but right now, she felt as if she could sob and sob for hours. She couldn’t believe Eloise hadn’t already transferred the money to her brother’s accounts. She didn’t even want the money.
But somehow she’d thought the rest of them did.
“What’s going on, dear?” her mom asked. “Come on, let’s go inside and get something to drink.”
Robin stepped back and nodded. She let her mom lead her inside. She accepted the cool cloth her mom gave her, and she wiped her tears away as her mom got out a couple of cans of soda. They settled in the living room, and Robin pressed her unopened can of diet cola to her forehead.
The cold burned her flushed skin, and she found she couldn’t look at her mother. The pop and hiss from her mother’s soda helped Robin focus. “Mom, why did you get after me so much as a teenager?”
Her mother drank and let out a long exhale. “I don’t honestly know, Robin.”
“You like to argue,” she said.
“My mother has said it would serve me well and haunt me,” her mom said. “And haunt me, it does.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, you’re the only one of my children who speaks to me on a regular basis, and I’m surprised you still do that.”
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