by Jenny Hale
Faith stood up, and leaned over to embrace her sister. While she still didn’t feel like Casey had gone about it the right way, she understood now. Casey cried, her face against Faith’s chest, sobbing, as the crashing waves seemed to be hushing them, pushing them to be better with each other. In that moment, Faith couldn’t help but think about that photo in Nan’s book. When Faith was a baby, it had been Casey who’d held her to quiet her crying, and now, here they were—the two of them again—but it was Faith who was taking care of her big sister. She realized right then how right Casey and Scott were for each other and how much better they were when they were together. It also made her think about how no one really has it all together. No one’s life was perfectly happy.
“You need to tell him,” she said as Casey’s crying quieted down. “Take a chance.” She smiled, thinking about how she sounded a lot like Nan. “He’s leaving you because he wants you and he can’t have you. You’ve been too busy. Remember, you just said that there was a time when he was the only thing you noticed. You’ve changed that, and he feels it. You need to show him how you feel.”
“Maybe.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because I don’t know if it will help.”
“But what will it hurt, Casey?”
Casey was quiet, clearly thinking it over. Then, unexpectedly, she said, “You seem very sure about your suggestion for me to share my feelings. Have you shared yours?”
“What?”
“By your outburst today, I can tell how you feel about Jake. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds at the party at all. It wasn’t intentional.”
“It’s okay. I overreacted, and I’m sorry too.”
“So have you told him how you feel?”
“Sort of.” She hadn’t really told him. She’d tried to plant a kiss on him instead. She needed to take her own advice. “You’re right, though. I should be honest with him. And I can see how hard that is. Calling Scott would be hard for you to do, I know. If you need me, I’m here.”
“Thank you,” Casey said, leaning into her sister.
They stayed out on that porch just like they had as kids—the two of them with nothing between them but their past.
SIXTEEN
There was a knock at the door as Faith sipped her morning coffee. She’d slept very well after clearing the air some with Casey, and as a result, she was up bright and early. Since she was the only one up, and, consequently, the only one dressed and presentable, she decided to answer it. There was only one person she knew of who would knock on the door of their cottage, and when she opened the door, her guess was confirmed.
“Hey,” Jake said.
“Hi.” She opened the door wider so he could enter, but he stayed on the porch. It was wonderful to see him again, but she was curious as to why he wouldn’t come in.
He held out his fist. “The cleaning crew found this.” He turned it over and opened his fingers, revealing Isabella’s gold necklace. “Isabella showed it to me. She kept playing with the charm on it.” He smiled, his obvious fondness for Isabella filling his whole face.
His smile made Faith feel happy. She was still a little uncomfortable though. She’d taken a big risk yesterday, and it had backfired. She shouldn’t have kissed him. And she was unsure now of how to proceed. Had they settled the issue of the kiss or should she try to apologize further? She figured it would only make things more awkward if she mentioned it. She reached out and took the necklace.
“It looks like the clasp is loose,” he said, looking at her hand.
“You can’t fix that, can you?” she said, trying to lighten the air. There was so much tension between them that she wanted to tease him to help release some of it on her end. She tried to keep her eyes off of his lips, the masculine quality of his hands, the arms that had held her in the water that day…
For an instant, she saw affection in his eyes, and she had to work to push the air in and out of her lungs so she could breathe.
“Nope, sorry.”
“Did you want to come in?” Faith didn’t know what she wanted to say to him or if, in fact, she wanted to say anything at all—she hadn’t thought it through. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to be around him, and she didn’t want him to go. It was just like Casey had described it: She didn’t notice anyone else when he was around—not even Nan who was standing behind her.
“Jake,” Nan said, putting a hand on Faith’s shoulder for support. “Quit trying to be polite and come in. I’m going to make a pot of coffee, and I need someone to drink it with me. Faith and I can’t drink it all by ourselves, and no one in this house seems to get up before nine a.m.”
Jake smiled again—warm and friendly—and Faith wanted to turn around and hold on to Nan for support.
“I can only stay for one cup.”
“That’s one cup less I’ll dump down the sink then. Come in.”
“What are you up to today?” Nan asked Jake, as she shuffled in to the kitchen and pulled out the bag of ground coffee. Faith had learned long ago not to offer to help her nan. Nan was insistent on doing everything herself.
“I have a little work to do today. I was actually on my way there. I just stopped to drop off Isabella’s necklace.”
“Are you building something today?”
“Figuratively. I’m meeting to see if I can get a few old restaurant owners on Beach Road to sell me their businesses. I want their land.”
“You don’t want their restaurants?” Faith asked from behind them, feeling hopeless and irritated at the same time.
He turned around. “No. I want to build a new one in their place. I need both lots.”
The tension returned immediately. “They won’t sell,” she said, almost to spite him. She hoped they wouldn’t sell. He needed to learn a lesson, that people around here liked what they had. They didn’t want more giant unoriginal towers along their beaches. They wanted character.
“If the price is right, they might. If I can secure their retirement, they always sell. And, given what they’re probably making with their little shacks, I can recoup what I pay them in a few years with my establishments. I’ve done it hundreds of times.”
“You may have. But you’ve not done it a hundred times here. What if people don’t want that?”
“When their property values soar and the smaller businesses start to benefit from the increased tourism, they’ll want it.”
“It’s not always about dollars, Jake.” She was arguing with him—she could feel it—and she knew what he meant by the two of them not seeing the future the same way. The only thing was that she didn’t let it cloud what she felt for him. It made her want to convince him even more.
“Faith, my feet are starting to ache from standing. The coffee’s percolating. Will you please fill us all mugs of coffee?” Nan interjected.
Jake walked Nan around the bar and over to the table where she lowered herself into a chair. The coffeemaker was still making coffee, but Faith took the carafe out and filled up three mugs. She slid it back into its holder, and it sizzled on the liquid that had escaped when she’d pulled it out. Faith took two of the mugs over to them.
“Are you going to make an offer today?” Faith asked, sitting down beside Jake and leaving her mug in the kitchen. She didn’t want to have any coffee. Her stomach was already upset from the discussion, and the coffee would only make it worse.
“No. I’m just going to talk to them and look at the land today. I need to really assess it, take measurements, and get a feel for the location before I make an offer.”
“What time are you supposed to meet them?”
“Nine o’clock.”
“How long will it take?” She had an idea. It was time to take action.
The skin between his eyes wrinkled and he looked at her, clearly trying to figure out her motives. “About two hours.”
“Is that all you have to do today?”
“Why?” He took a slow sip of his coffee.
&nb
sp; “I want to show you something.”
His face was curious, but cautious. “I can pick you up at around eleven.”
“Perfect.”
“I’ll have to have you back at the cottage by one, though. I’m dropping off some supplies for a friend of mine. I’m helping someone build a boat. He needs the supplies by one.”
“Ha!” Nan laughed. “I’m glad you don’t have too much planned today. Only the purchase of two lots and a boat to build.” She winked in his direction. “Well, as you all are making plans, Jake, please keep next Friday free. That’s my birthday party.”
Would Jake be coming to Nan’s birthday? The party was so intimate that having him there would be like including him as part of the family. It would be difficult for her to have him in such close proximity all night.
Jake raised his eyebrows in response. “What time?”
“What time, Faith?”
She hadn’t though it through. She’d mentally prepared for something low-key with her Nan—just the family. Having Jake there would add a new dynamic.
“We hadn’t decided on a time… How about four o’clock?”
“Great. I’ll be there,” Jake said.
Faith toyed with Isabella’s necklace on the table, thinking about the moment they’d shared when he’d given it back. “What kind of boat are you building?” she asked, still looking at the necklace.
“It’s just a small cruiser—a two-seater with a single bench at the back. It’s gorgeous, though.”
Faith thought to herself that it was too bad Jake wasn’t in the boat-building business. He could build as many of those as he wanted, as extravagant as he wanted, and they wouldn’t matter at all. Why did he have to be involved in something that she was so completely against? Why couldn’t things be easier?
“Hi, Jake!” she heard Isabella call from the other room. She came running down the hallway and stopped at the table, her blond hair fuzzed up on the back from where she’d been sleeping. She climbed into the chair, her long nightgown catching under her legs and winding up around them. The only things sticking out were her two bare feet.
“I found something of yours,” Jake said, his voice sweet.
She sat up on her knees and rested her elbows on the table as Jake hooked his finger through her necklace and held it in front of her. “Oh, my necklace!”
“I think the clasp came apart.”
“Would you like any breakfast, Isabella?” Faith said.
“Mom said she’s going to get me some, but she’s talking to Daddy on the phone.”
“Is she on the phone right now?” Faith became nervous for her sister. She hoped that Casey was telling Scott how she was feeling. As strong as Casey seemed, this would be hard for her. Faith also wondered if her sister would actually admit being miserable without him.
“Yep.” Isabella had pushed the chain of her necklace into the shape of a heart. “Daddy has to go on a trip.”
Isabella seemed very upbeat when talking about her father. Clearly, Scott was a good dad, and an important part of her life. And Casey’s. Faith hoped they could sort things out.
“Good morning!” her mom said, joining them. “Hi, Jake. Nice to see you again.”
As they made pleasantries at the kitchen table, Faith wanted to slip away and check on her sister. What kind of trip was Scott taking? Was it a work trip? Had he met someone else? She was dying to know for Casey’s sake. She wanted to be there to hold her sister’s hand, to help her through it, to encourage her when she wanted to make light of the situation or brush a difficult discussion under the rug. She needed to be in there with Casey.
“Mom, do you mind getting Isabella some breakfast? I’m just going to check on Casey.”
As Faith got up, she looked at Jake, ready to apologize for her early exit, but, before she could say anything, he lightly grabbed her arm, sending tingles all the way up. “Everything okay?”
His concern warmed her. There he was, sitting at the table, as comfortable as if he were one of the family. The odd thing was, he seemed to just fit. They barely knew him, but he already fit. She was willing to bet that if his decisions had been different, and they didn’t have their disagreements about development and the type of lifestyle he wanted stacked against them, it would be easy to love him.
“I hope everything’s okay,” she said quietly, trying not to show her feelings. “It was nice to see you.” She produced the most casual smile she could.
“You too.”
“I’ll see you around eleven.”
“Okay.”
She wanted to stay and talk with Jake, but Casey needed her, so she walked down the hallway to her sister’s room, tapped on the door lightly, and pushed it open.
Casey was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, her chin resting on her arms. The phone sat beside her, not in use. She looked up at Faith and smiled a half smile, as if that was all she could muster. Faith couldn’t read into the call at all just from looking at her, and she was dying to know how it went.
“Isabella told me you were talking to Scott,” Faith said, sitting down next to Casey. “What did he say?”
“He’s going to Colorado. He’s flying out Friday.”
“What for?”
“To meet with the manager at the Boulder office. I think he’s planning to relocate.”
Scott was relocating. That meant that he was moving on, starting over without Casey. Faith watched her sister closely for emotion. She wanted to be ready when Casey fell apart, but Casey didn’t. Her face was blank, empty.
“What did you say to him?” She wanted to tell Casey to snap out of it, get back on that phone, and scream at Scott not to do it. What about Isabella? Would she have to fly back and forth from state to state to see her parents? Or was he going to just leave them behind? She knew him well enough that she couldn’t imagine he’d do that. What was he thinking?
“What could I say, Faith?”
They sat in silence, side by side as Faith tried to digest this information. She thought way back to those years she’d known Scott, trying to find some rational reason why he’d go so far away from his wife and child. People did it all the time—she knew that—but Scott wouldn’t do it. At least the Scott she knew wouldn’t do it. …Unless he was running.
She remembered what it felt like to see him after he and Casey were married. She didn’t want to have to watch his affection for someone else, let alone her own sister. She didn’t want to bump into him in public, have to smile as if nothing bothered her, knowing that her life had been altered. What if he felt the same way about Casey? What if he worried she’d find someone who didn’t mind her sporadic work schedule, and the fact that she was never still? What if she started to fall for this new person and he’d have to run into them in public? What if Scott loved Casey too much to endure that?
“You need to tell him to stay. Tell him you don’t want him to go.”
“It’s clear what he wants. I’m not going to grovel. I can stand on my own two feet.”
Casey was trying to act as if she was okay with everything. She was too proud to admit defeat, and she wasn’t used to not getting what she wanted, so she pretended like this was what she wanted. But Faith was determined to get through to her.
“What if he wants you back so badly that he can’t stand the idea of seeing you if he can’t be with you, Casey? Did you tell him how you felt?”
“He didn’t give me a chance.”
“Let me call him.” She hadn’t really spoken to Scott in any significant way since that party so many years ago. She had never thought the idea of calling him would come so easily for her. But it had been long enough. Scott had been her best friend; she’d told him everything at one point in her life. She wanted to find out his side of things.
“What?”
“I want to call Scott. I want to find out what he actually thinks about all this.”
Confusion was clear on Casey’s face as she looked at Faith.
Her whole life,
Faith had thought everything came easily for Casey, that she never had to struggle, yet she, too, had insecurities—Faith was finding that out more and more. Even Casey didn’t feel confident enough in her own relationship to tell Scott how she felt. It seemed so silly. Was she worried he wouldn’t feel the same about her?
Faith knew what her sister needed and she might be able to fix it all if her hunch was right.
“Let me call him. Mom’s getting Isabella’s breakfast. You can help her.”
“I don’t know…”
“Casey. I want to do this as much for me as for you. I’d like to talk to him. I promise not to plead with him or tell him what you think. But I want to hear what he thinks. And he might tell me, Casey.”
Still slightly hesitant, Casey reached for her phone on the floor, typed in her passcode, and handed it to Faith. “Come get me when you’re done,” she said, and then stood up and left the room.
Faith’s fingers felt light with anticipation as she tapped the phone icon and typed in Scott’s name. His number came up. Seeing his name and number, gave her pause. As she stared at his name on the screen, she realized how long it had truly been. This was a big move for her, and she knew it, but just like Nan had said, it was important to take a chance. She needed to finally be supportive of her sister and her brother-in-law. She hit “call” and put the phone to her ear. Her heart pounded as the phone pulsed its ringing signal.
“Casey,” he answered on the first ring. Had he been hoping she’d call back?
“It’s,” she cleared her throat. “It’s Faith, actually.”
She heard rustling on the other end of the line, as if he were sitting up. “Faith? Is everything okay?”
“Yes and no.”
SEVENTEEN
It was as if the weight of the world had been taken off Faith’s shoulders. She was talking to Scott and she was fine. She was really fine. And she realized that she’d missed having him as her friend. That was what they were best at and what they would always be. She explained that Casey and Isabella were both okay, but the bad news was that she’d heard he was moving away, and she wouldn’t get to have all her favorite people together at once anymore. She told him how seeing Nan this week had put it all into perspective, and she felt awful for not spending more time with her family. Now, he was moving away just as she was hoping to have him back. She waited to hear what he had to say.