When she was younger, Harper had looked at their father like he hung the moon. Hollis would never see that from Jolie.
But that wouldn’t stop him from trying to hang it for her.
He retrieved the paddleboards and a life jacket from the shed out back.
The trek down to the beach was a quiet one, but this time, Hollis didn’t feel the need to fill the silence. He decided instead to appreciate spending time with his daughter.
After a brief on-land lesson, he convinced Jolie to put the board in the water.
“Just sit on it to start with,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m going to be very good at this,” she said. “What if I fall in?”
“You probably will fall in,” Hollis said. “But you’ve got your life vest, and besides, I’ll be here the whole time.”
She squinted up at him, the light of the late-afternoon sun bright and full in her eyes. “Promise?” She clung to his gaze, the weight of the question heavy in the air.
“I promise, JoJo,” he said quietly, hoping his words were more than empty to her.
She flicked her eyes away from his and stuck the board in the water, working her way onto it. The ocean was calm—thankfully—and she was able to sit without any problem. Hollis stayed close while she worked her way up, but before she stood, a gentle wave knocked her into the water.
Her life vest helped right her, but when she emerged from the water, Jolie was visibly shaken. Hollis reached over and pulled her by the arm back over to the board, draping her arm over it so she could steady herself.
“I told you I wasn’t going to be good at this.” Jolie pressed her fingers into her eyes, ridding them of salt water.
“It was a great first try,” Hollis said.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” she snapped.
Hollis wished someone else was there to tell him what to do next. He didn’t want Jolie to hate him, so it was tempting to let her throw the board in the shed and go back to her phone. But that’s not what he wanted her to learn.
“McGuires never quit,” he said.
She glared at him. “I said I don’t want to do it.”
Hollis pulled himself up on his own paddleboard, straddling it as he turned to face her. “Just get up on it for a minute.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t worry about standing,” he said. “Just sit on it.”
Jolie hung in the water for a few seconds before finally heaving herself up. She mirrored Hollis, straddling her board, paddle in hand. “Happy?”
“It’s a great start. Maybe you just tried to stand a little too early.”
“I’m never going to be able to do it,” she said. “I don’t know why we’re even out here.”
“Don’t think about standing,” he said. “Just enjoy the day. Even if this is all you do, it’s progress. I mean, this morning, you couldn’t sit on a paddleboard, and last week, you were scared of the water.”
She steeled her jaw, a look of defiance crossing her face, but after several minutes, they found a rhythm. She paddled quietly beside him, seemingly content, almost as if she’d forgotten she wanted to stand on the board at all.
“Mom called again,” Jolie said.
“And? Is she going to let you stay?”
She was focused on something in the water in front of them—avoiding his eyes. “Said she can’t make such a big decision without talking to you.”
“I left her a message telling her it was fine with me. Called her right after you told me she wanted to talk to me.”
“She wants to make sure,” Jolie said. “In case you’re just saying it’s fine so you don’t hurt my feelings.”
Hollis studied his daughter. “She said that?”
Jolie’s eyes darted to his, then back to the ocean. Jana hadn’t said that—Jolie was making her own assumptions.
“I’ll call her again when we get back,” he said.
“And say what?”
“And say I want you to stay,” Hollis said.
Her jaw twitched. After a moment, she said, “Show me again how to stand up on this thing.”
He did his best to hide his smile, but for the first time, he saw a little bit of himself in his daughter. She wasn’t going to quit. Maybe there was some McGuire fire inside her after all.
He demonstrated again how to stand on the board, then tossed a glance in her direction. “Your turn.”
“You make it look easy,” she said with a sigh.
“I’ve been doing it for a lot of years.”
Gingerly, she inched her legs behind her, pulling herself onto her knees. She steadied the board as it rocked beneath her.
“Don’t rush it,” Hollis said. “You’re not in a hurry.”
She rose up on her knees, waited until she had her balance, and started to stand.
“One foot at a time,” Hollis said. “Nice and slow.”
As Jolie started to stand, the board wobbled and she quickly went back to her knees to balance herself. And then he saw it—a thin line of fierce determination forming across her forehead.
“You’ve got this, kiddo,” he said quietly, so as not to break her concentration.
After several more seconds, she tried again, this time slower, steadier. Hollis watched as his daughter moved her feet underneath her body until eventually she stood on top of the board. She held her arms out as if she were on a balance beam, rocking back and forth with the water until she captured her balance and stayed completely still.
It took a moment for her to realize it, but when she did, a wave of light came across her face. “I did it!”
“You did it.”
She held herself stock-still as the water carried her forward; then she pushed the paddle into the water. The whole time, Hollis stayed right next to her.
Once Jolie got the hang of it, she didn’t want to stop. She’d not only conquered a fear today, but she’d pushed herself to do something she didn’t even think she could do.
And he’d been there to witness it.
The realization grabbed hold of him. He’d been there.
They stayed on the water for an hour, then made their way back to the shore when Jolie’s stomach started growling and their skin started to burn.
On land again, they walked—once more in a comfortable silence—toward home, and Hollis thought about his conversation with Emily. He’d have to thank her for her advice. If it weren’t for her words and her willingness to be honest with him, this day never would’ve happened.
If it weren’t for her, he’d probably still be off pouting somewhere.
They found their bags right where they left them, and Hollis fished out his phone while Jolie did the same. She scrolled through text messages, while Hollis turned away, listening as the phone tried to connect him to Jana.
“What are you doing?” Jolie asked.
“Calling your mom,” Hollis said.
Jolie looked surprised.
The call went to voice mail. It was probably pointless to leave another message, but he didn’t hang up. “She’s probably out doing honeymoon stuff,” he whispered to Jolie over the sound of her mother’s outgoing message.
“Jana, it’s Hollis again. Jolie says you want to talk to me before deciding about letting her stay another few weeks—”
The phone beeped and he glanced down to see he had an incoming call from Jana. “Hey,” he said once he clicked over. “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything.”
He didn’t want to think about what he might be interrupting. He’d seen Jana’s new husband, and while the man looked nice enough, picturing buttoned-up, borderline-nerdy Rick and bombshell Jana together on their honeymoon was about the last image Hollis wanted in his mind.
“It’s fine. We’re just heading back down to the beach. Jolie said she wants to stay longer?” Jana sounded incredulous.
“Is that okay?”
“Hollis, what is going on? You can’t tell me you really want her there another month.”
He glanced at Jolie, whose eyes were intently watching him, then turned and walked a few steps away. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
Jana laughed. “You don’t have to pretend, Hollis.”
“I’m not pretending. I like having her here. I want her here.”
“Let me guess, she’s sitting right there and you want to make sure you sound like the good guy.”
“I didn’t realize there was a good guy in this scenario.”
“If I say she can’t stay, then I’m the bad guy.”
“Then don’t say she can’t stay.”
Another humorless laugh.
“Jana, please. I know I haven’t been there for you guys the way I should’ve been, but she’s my daughter.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “I have to go.”
“Auditions are Friday. Can you decide before then and let us know?”
“Good-bye, Hollis.”
He clicked the phone off and waited a few seconds before turning around to see his daughter’s sullen face.
“She’s not going to let me stay.”
“We don’t know that.”
“I do,” Jolie said. “She wants Rick to adopt me.”
Hollis’s shoulders dropped. “What?”
“He wants to adopt me, and Mom thinks it’s the best thing for everyone. She sent me here because she thought if you spent a few weeks with me, it would be easier for you to say yes.”
“That can’t be true.”
“They think I go to sleep a lot earlier than I do,” she said.
Hollis moved toward her. “Is that what you want?”
She shrugged without looking at him, plopping down on the sand.
“Well, it’s not what I want.” He knelt down next to her.
Her eyes, again, found his. “It’s not?”
He shook his head. “Not even a little bit.”
She sat, unmoving, phone on her lap.
“Let’s not think the worst,” he said. “I’ll keep working on your mom, but in the meantime, I’m starving. Burgers?”
“Yum.” She grinned at him, and his heart turned over in his chest. Jolie had smiled—at him.
And it was just about the best thing in the world.
CHAPTER 26
HOLLIS TEXTED EMILY late Tuesday evening.
Thanks for the advice with Jolie. You were right.
I’m always right, Mack, she’d texted back.
And so modest, too.
Are you going to tell me what happened with Jolie or do I have to guess?
Nah, I’d rather tell you in person.
OK. Don’t make me wait too long.
Tomorrow.
Sounds good. Good night, Miracle Man.
Night, Em.
Wednesday morning, Emily made a pot of coffee for Jack and his band of merry workers, tucked her laptop, a new notebook, and her phone into a sturdy backpack, and started out the back door toward the shed where the bikes were.
She’d just pulled her mom’s bike out when she heard footsteps in the yard behind her. Emily turned to see Hollis, his slow, easy stride bringing him straight toward her. She tried not to stare, but he made looking good seem so easy.
He was clean shaven—something he hadn’t been since she’d arrived on the island—and wore a heather-blue T-shirt that pulled across his chest and biceps. His tan seemed to have deepened, and his hazel eyes practically glowed.
“Morning.” She smiled as he approached.
“Look at this,” he said, shoving his phone at her. “I just got it this morning.”
She took the phone and saw the text from Jana.
Fine. She can stay. But you better be taking good care of her.
“She can stay.” A quiet excitement filled his voice, but she guessed nobody else in the world would’ve heard it, he was so subdued.
“She can stay?”
His mouth spread into a slow smile. “I didn’t realize how nervous I was that Jana was going to say no until I saw her text come in.”
Emily handed the phone back to him. “This is great news, Hollis. I’m so happy for you.”
“I owe it to you,” he said. “Doing this play—”
“Wait.” She cut him off with an upheld hand. “Rule number one—we aren’t doing a ‘play’; we’re doing a musical. It’s important for you to understand the difference, especially if you’ve got a budding actress in your house.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A play doesn’t have music. A musical does.”
He grinned. “Doesn’t seem too hard to remember.”
“You’d be surprised how many people get it wrong.” She started walking the bike toward the front of the house.
“Well, whatever it’s called,” he said, “thanks.”
“Are you going to tell me what I was right about?” she asked, referring to the text message from last night. “I mean, what I was right about this time.”
He bumped his shoulder into hers. “So cocky, this one.”
She gave him a shrug in mock confidence. “What can I say? When you got it, you got it.”
“Well, in this case, I do owe you. Yesterday was a total success.” He smiled. “Took her paddleboarding. Didn’t force the conversation. I felt like we really connected.” Then he shifted. “She smiled at me, Em.”
Slowly her opinion about his parenting changed. She saw in Hollis a man who was desperately trying, nothing like the man who’d abandoned her mom all those years ago as soon as he found out there was a baby coming.
“I told ya,” she said, somewhat surprised her advice had merit given the current condition of her life and the lack of successful relationships she’d had over the years.
“She doesn’t know yet,” he said.
“About staying?”
Hollis nodded. “She was still asleep when I left the house. I’m going to head home and wake her. I just wanted to tell you first.”
Something about that stirred Emily’s insides. “I’m glad you did.”
He glanced at the bike as if noticing it for the first time. “Are you leaving?”
She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “Jack’s already here, so I thought I’d ride into town. Get out of the way. Turns out set-building classes don’t exactly prepare you for remodeling a house.”
He laughed. It was a nice laugh and one she hadn’t heard much since she’d been back.
“So where are you going?”
“To the arts center,” she said. “Lots of work to do before auditions.”
“So you’ll be gone all day?”
“Why, you gonna miss me?”
His eyes sparkled with amusement, but the serious edge in his expression didn’t change—and then it did.
“No, just making sure there’s no danger of you colliding with the power tools.”
She laughed. “Okay, I’ll see you later. I’m glad things are going better with JoJo.”
He smiled. “Yeah, me too.”
She rode off down the driveway, willing away thoughts she didn’t want to have. Emily Ackerman was a person without attachments, so how had Hollis and his entire family woven their way back around her heart in such a short time?
She pedaled toward the arts center, forcing herself to take in the beauty of the morning, and once she reached town, she had to ring the bell on the old bike twice to warn people she was coming up behind them.
Each time, the bell reminded her of her mother. Each time, she shook the image of her out of her mind.
She’d spent too much time thinking about her mother already. It hurt.
After all these years, it still hurt. A psychologist would probably say she hadn’t properly dealt with her mother’s death.
A psychologist would be right.
Emily pulled open the door to the arts center and instantly heard chatter—so much chatter that she wondered if they had an event going on this morning that she wasn’t aware of. Could she slip by unnoticed and hide away in he
r office?
She walked through the lobby and followed the noisy conversation up the stairs with her eyes, realizing that she’d have to pass right through the crowd to get to the office Gladys had given her. Maybe she could find a classroom down the hall to work in—
“Emily?”
She glanced up and found Nan McGuire standing at the center of a large group of women of varying ages.
“Nan?”
Hollis’s mother hurried down the stairs, meeting her in the lobby.
“You caught us.” Nan tossed a glance upstairs, where the group of women was still visible thanks to the open atrium above where they stood.
“What are you all doing here? Is there some sort of event today?” Emily asked.
“Of course not, silly,” Nan said. “We’re here for you.”
“I don’t understand,” Emily said.
“Is this her?” Another woman, about the same age as Nan, rushed down the stairs. Well, she more waddled than rushed.
“Emily, this is Pearl Whitmeyer,” Nan said. “She’s an expert seamstress.”
Pearl brightened at the compliment. “I haven’t used my sewing machine in a lot of years, but once I start, I know it’ll all come back to me.”
“And up there is Cheryl Davidson, our marketing expert; Elise Santana, who will handle all your props; and I hear you already met Marisol Duncan—she’ll be your right-hand man.”
By now, the other women had come downstairs, and each gave Emily a slight wave as Nan introduced them.
“We thought you might need some help, so we assembled a few key people.” Nan beamed.
“We didn’t think anything,” Cheryl said. “This was all Nan—and we were happy to pitch in. We think it’s wonderful what you’re doing for our kids.”
“These are just a few volunteers,” Nan said. “Once you get your cast put together, we have a plan for mobilizing the parents.”
Just like the old days.
Before she knew it, the women had formed a circle around her and the circle started moving, pulling her along like a fish at the center of a school. They were walking through the hallway beside the theatre and back toward the classrooms.
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