Marc stopped her with a hand on her arm. “She’s perfect in every way, Mom. I’m sure you’ll agree because . . . sh-she’s my daughter.”
An explosion couldn’t have caused more of a reaction. His mother blanched, and his father nearly fell into the ocean. Marc steadied his dad and kept his hand on his mom’s arm. The situation could go either way, though he was betting on his mother’s desire for grandchildren.
She stared into his face. She must have seen the truth in his eyes because she nodded. “She’s four, right?”
“Yeah.” He could see the wheels turning as she did the math, since she’d attended Elin’s wedding. “I didn’t know when she married Tim. You know me well enough to realize I would never have abandoned my baby. Elin had a bad time when her dad died and . . .” He looked away. “Anyway, I don’t want you to think badly of her. She told Tim, and he wanted to marry her anyway. He never wanted me to know.”
His mother shook off his grip and got up with difficulty in her tight dress and high-heeled sandals. “I think it’s scandalous she never told you. And us. We had a right to know. I’ve longed for grandchildren forever, Marc. Forever! And you. You’ve missed years of your daughter’s life. How dare she deny us the knowledge we had a little granddaughter?”
Marc scrambled to his feet too and stopped her before she could march toward the house. “Calm down, Mom. Tim made her promise to keep it to herself. He loved Josie and was good to her. I’m grateful for that.” No reason to tell them about the killer just yet. They had enough to absorb with the news about Josie.
His dad struggled to his feet. “How are you handling this, son? Did she just tell you because she wants child support?”
Trust his dad to look at the legalities. “I was shocked. And Elin hasn’t mentioned support.” He made a mental note to start writing her a check every week. And there was no reason to tell them she wouldn’t have admitted Josie was his if he hadn’t guessed. It would make them think even more poorly of her. “I already love Josie. You will too. She looks just like me.”
His mother’s face crumbled at his words. “Like you?”
“Brown curls, hazel eyes. She has your chin, Mom.” He offered her his roll of mints. “Here, have a mint.”
She thrust them away. “A mint won’t calm me like it does you.” Her eyes swam with tears, and she clasped her hands together. “I can’t wait to see her. What does she know?”
“She’s only four, so all she knows is I’m the kind of daddy who gives a little girl her hair and eyes. It was hard to explain it to her last night. She’s excited about having another grandma and grandpa though.” He told them about Ruby’s dementia.
“Poor little mite. We want to help in any way we can,” his mother said. “Can we meet her now?”
He nodded toward the house as Elin and Josie headed their direction. “Here they come now. Take it easy on Elin. She’s had a rough time.”
But he was speaking to the wind because his mom was already flying toward her granddaughter.
TWENTY-FIVE
The sound of the chopper rotors faded into the distance as Sara walked toward her car. The bright-blue bowl of sky overhead did nothing to lift her mood. She hadn’t been able to keep her gaze from Josh all day. Her cousin’s insinuations—no, downright accusations—kept poking themselves into her thoughts.
But this was Josh, not some stranger lurking in the shadows. She knew him, knew his dedication to saving people, his concern for other people.
“Hey, Sara,” Josh called from behind her.
She turned to wait for him and Curtis. They’d both changed into jeans and T-shirts. Josh wore a Dodgers one and his wellworn matching ball cap. They fell into step together and walked toward the parking lot. “I was just heading over for ice cream. Want to come?”
Curtis grinned. “Not today. Amy and I are meeting with the adoption agency. We got a call last night. They’ve got a little girl, two days old. I think we’re going to get her today.”
“Seriously?” Sara squealed and hugged him. “That is awesome news!”
“Amy couldn’t sleep, and I found her painting the nursery this morning when I woke up. I told her she should have awakened me, and I would have gotten up to help.”
“It was yellow, wasn’t it? I bet she painted it pink.”
Curtis grinned. “You’re close. Lavender. I didn’t even know we had lavender paint. She’s been out gathering supplies all day. Stuff like diapers, powder, sleepers. I think she’s texted me twenty times today with pictures.”
“I don’t blame her. It’s super exciting. I want to meet the new baby as soon as you get her all settled.”
“Libby plans to have a baby shower next week too. She arrived at the house this morning before I left.”
They reached the parking lot, and Curtis headed for his truck. “Talk to you all later.”
Josh leaned against her car. “I heard you had a date the other night.”
She pressed her key fob to unlock the door. “Well, dinner at least. Just getting to know Ben a bit.”
Was he jealous? She eyed his placid expression. He didn’t seem upset or anything. Maybe he really didn’t care. Or maybe he was relieved there wouldn’t be any pressure on him to commit to something.
“Gonna go out again?”
Now there was an edge in the question. She considered her answer. While it might be telling to see if she could make him jealous, she didn’t want to play games. Maybe it was a little naive of her to think their relationship was better than that.
“I don’t know,” she said finally. “He hasn’t asked me, but we had a nice time. How did you know about it?”
“I overheard him telling someone he was going to marry you.”
She blinked. “Whoa, that’s a little extreme. We barely know each other.”
“Sometimes a woman comes along who makes a guy reconsider his decisions in life.”
Was he talking about himself? He’d never really responded to her confession the other day. She’d hoped he would tell her he loved her too, but that hadn’t happened. Was this as close as she was going to get?
She put her hand on his arm. “What does that mean, Josh?”
He took off his Dodgers cap and raked his hand through his brown hair. “I don’t know myself, Sara. I don’t deserve a woman like you. I’m afraid I would fail you in the end. I want you to be happy. I’m not sure I could make you happy.”
His expression tugged at her heart. “I don’t know why you would say that. You’re the first one to volunteer for dangerous missions. You do things for other people and never tell them about it. If I hear about someone finding a basket of food on her front porch or his lapsing insurance miraculously paid, I know you’re the one who has done it. What has caused you to be so mistrusting of your own worth? You never talk about your past or your childhood. Something has hurt you, but you can let it go and move on if you want to.”
He lifted tormented blue eyes to meet hers. “It’s not that easy. I’m afraid of being like my father.”
“You’re not your father, Josh. I know the man inside you. You’re a good man, the best. You can’t look at your father’s failings and take them on yourself.”
“It’s more than that.”
At least he was opening up. “What do you mean?”
“He beat my mother and me. And I stood back and let him beat my brother to death.” His face paled, and he dropped his gaze to the ground. “So much for being a good guy, huh?”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
She couldn’t help stepping closer to hug him. He stood stiffly in her embrace, then sighed and dropped his head into the crook of her neck. His arms came around her, and he crushed her to his chest. She lifted her head, and he looked into her eyes. Her lids fluttered shut of their own accord. His lips came down on hers, and she tasted him outside of her dreams for the first time. Or maybe this was a dream. But no, her fingertips rested on the hard muscles of his chest. His hands
fanned across her back as he pressed her closer.
If this was a dream, she wanted never to awaken.
He kissed her like a starving man, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the love welling in her heart, an emotion she’d never been able to express before. When he finally pulled away, she made a mewl of protest and tried to pull his head back down for another kiss.
His hands fell away and he stepped back. “I was trying to say good-bye, but you make it really hard, Sara.”
“Good-bye?” She tried to clear her fuzzy thoughts.
“I told you—I can never make you happy. I know that about myself. And you deserve so much more.” He turned and ran off toward his truck.
She didn’t even try to go after him.
“Are those people my grandma and grandpa?” Josie asked in a loud whisper. She clung to her mother’s hand.
Elin squeezed her daughter’s small fingers. She was nervous too. Marc’s mother had always terrified her. Christine Everton was one of those people with a personality bigger than life. She’d always been kind to Elin when she’d been at their house with Sara, but whenever Elin looked into her hazel eyes, she felt so inadequate. Christine did everything well.
She swallowed hard and pasted on a smile as Marc and his parents neared. “Welcome to Seagrass Cottage. It’s a little remote, but your suite is very nice, and I think you’ll like it.”
Christine seemed not to hear. Her attention was fixed on Josie. Were those tears in her eyes? Elin felt horrible as she recognized the overwhelming love on the older woman’s face. She’d thought she was doing the right thing in honoring Tim’s wishes, but it seemed she was wrong about so many things.
Christine knelt in front of Josie. Her smile wobbled a bit. “You must be Josie. You look just like your daddy did when he was your age.”
Josie looked from Christine to Marc. “My hair is brown.”
“I know. And curly. You’re beautiful.” Her voice was choked.
In that moment, Elin opened her heart to Christine. Any woman who would show such unfettered love for her daughter was worthy of friendship and love. She looked up and met Marc’s gaze of approval. Something fluttered in her chest.
Josie hung on to Elin’s leg, but she began to smile as Christine coaxed her forward with a piece of bubble gum she dug out of her purse. The older woman scooped up Josie as soon as she stepped forward. Surprisingly, the little girl didn’t struggle. She stared at her new grandmother with wide eyes.
Frank stood close as well, and his big smile seemed to calm Josie. She hadn’t been around a grandfather very often.
“Want to go find some seashells?” Frank suggested.
Josie looked uncertainly at her mother, then nodded. “Are you coming too, Mommy?”
“I’ll be right here. Your new grammy and grandpa will take good care of you.”
Josie’s expression said she wasn’t so sure about that, but she let Christine carry her toward the sand dunes. Elin exhaled. “That went better than I expected.”
“I was afraid Mom might tear you limb from limb for depriving her of her granddaughter.” Though he smiled, Marc’s voice held a serious edge.
“Josie could use some extra loving. She doesn’t understand the way Mom can change and ignore her.”
“Where is Ruby today?”
“Napping. She’s been extra tired the last few days. I probably ought to get her in to see the doctor. Something might be wrong.” Elin didn’t want to think about one more problem though. What if her mother had something seriously wrong? Though the time would come sooner or later, she wasn’t ready to lose her mother. The dementia was bad enough.
“Is Kalianne with her?”
She shook her head. “I gave her the day off. I knew I’d be home all day.” There was something in his manner she couldn’t put her finger on. “Is something bothering you?” The breeze blew a long strand of hair into her eyes, and she swiped it away.
“They will want to see her often, Elin. Are you ready for that?”
At least he was being direct. “I think so. It did me a world of good to see the love on your mom’s face. There’s never too much love in a child’s life.”
“No.” He continued to look at her with an unfathomable expression.
“What?”
“Elin, she needs a father in her life too.”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” Her pulse sped up at his expression. Surely he wasn’t going to ask for custody.
He took a step closer. “She needs two parents. All the time.”
“That’s not possible though. At some point we’ll have that maniac behind bars. You’ll go back to Norfolk to your job, and I’ll go back to mine. But at least she can see you often. And your parents. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s how lots of kids live.”
On one hand, his presence made her feel more secure, but it also left her unsettled. She couldn’t decide if she was looking forward to him moving out or not.
“I don’t want my daughter to live like that.” He took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I think we should get married.”
The breath left her lungs. She gaped but no words came. Studying his face, she saw he was serious. Or crazy. Or maybe she was the crazy one because her mind was conjuring up lovely images of a life spent with Marc. She couldn’t love him, could she? Love didn’t strike so fast, surely.
When she didn’t answer, he rushed on. “Hear me out. I wouldn’t expect anything from you, not a real marriage, of course. Too much water under the bridge for that. But we could buy a big place together where we each had our own space. Then we’d be there for Josie. Both of us.” He turned and gestured at the big cottage. “Maybe even live in this place. I could get transferred out here maybe. You work from home anyway, so it doesn’t matter where you live.”
“B-But don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t look away from his penetrating gaze. “Josie will be fine. She’ll know she’s loved. It warms my heart that you already care about her so much, but I think you’re going a little overboard.”
“I don’t think so. Can you at least think about it, Elin? Josie deserves to be put first.”
“I always put her first!”
He nodded. “I’m not saying you don’t. But I’m willing to change my life for her. Can’t you do the same?”
She turned her back on him and ran for the house. Because the one thing his proposal had shown her was that she was developing feelings for the infuriating man, and the thought of a loveless marriage left her cold.
TWENTY-SIX
Elin didn’t know how she got through the rest of the day. All she wanted to do was think about Marc’s proposal. It was like probing a toothache with her tongue. She couldn’t seem to think about anything else. She got her guests situated for the night, then went to her bedroom.
The light was on, and she paused to take in the scene in her light-blue bedroom. Dressed in a light-blue nightgown, her mother lay curled up on her bed. “Mom, what are you doing in here?”
Her mother’s blue eyes sharpened as she sat up and put down her book. “Elin, there you are. You should have been in bed at nine. I came to tuck you in. You should have sent your friends home long ago. Their parents will be worried.”
If only she were ten again and could crawl into her mother’s lap and tell her all her woes. Even if her mother understood what she was saying, she couldn’t help. “They are Marc’s parents, remember? They’re here to see him.” She’d tried to tell her mother Marc was Josie’s father but had been unable to make her understand. “You should get to bed yourself, Mom. It’s nearly midnight.”
“Is it? I’m wide-awake.”
And her mother did look a little brighter and more alert than she’d seen her in a while, even if she did think Elin was a child. Elin joined her on the bed. It almost felt like when she was a teenager and would lie on her mother’s bed and tell her about her day. Maybe her mother would understand tonight. Sh
e so needed someone to bounce around her thoughts with her. Just smelling the scent of her mother’s cologne, a sandalwood she’d worn forever, took her back to her teen years.
Her mother brushed the long hair from Elin’s face. “You look troubled, honey. What’s wrong?”
Elin’s eyes burned at the compassion in her voice. Every day it seemed she lost more of both herself and her mother. Why did life have to be so hard?
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s boy trouble.”
The tips of her mother’s mouth turned up into not quite a smile but an expression of commiseration. “Tell your mama all about it.”
The familiar entreaty brought tears surging back to her eyes. “It’s Marc. He wants to marry me.”
“But isn’t that a good thing?” Her mother caressed her cheek. “He is Josie’s father.”
Elin gasped. “You knew?” She hadn’t thought her mother had understood.
“I’m not in my dotage yet, Elin.” Her mother shook her head. “I knew the first time I saw Josie that Tim wasn’t her father. You couldn’t hide something that big from me. I know you too well. So what’s the problem? Surely you told him yes.”
“I ran away.” Her voice wobbled. “All he wants is to be with Josie. I don’t want to be just Josie’s mother. What kind of marriage would that be?”
“You love him.” Her mother smiled.
Did she? “I–I don’t think it’s love. Maybe it could be, but it’s mostly that I realize now that I want a real family someday. Not some kind of sterile arrangement.”
Her mom patted her hand. “Honey, it only takes seeing how he watches you to know he cares about you. He might have his guard up and not know it yet, but he’ll figure it out.”
“You really think so? I don’t see it. Tim feared this would happen, you know. He hated Marc.”
Even now, she could see the determination on Tim’s face when he threw Marc out of the house that day. His jealousy had grown into downright hatred.
Seagrass Pier Page 17
