by Nancy Thayer
Damn Scott. He could at least call.
All right, Jane thought. She’d make an effort. “Poppy, I think you work with your father at English Garden Creams, right?”
Poppy yawned. “I do.”
“What sorts of—” Jane began.
But Poppy interrupted. “—work do I do? I’m taking over the company from Dad. But not before maternity leave when I have this little one.” She patted her belly smugly, as if too stunned with hormonal pleasure to make an effort to have a conversation.
Jane stopped breathing. Poppy was pregnant? She already had two children. How did Poppy get three children and Jane didn’t get any? This was completely ridiculous thinking, Jane knew, but she was paralyzed with envy.
“How far along are you?” Felicity asked.
“Four months, more or less.”
“So you’re probably over the morning sickness bit,” Felicity said. “I remember—”
“Oh, God, I don’t know. It’s so boring, talking about pregnancy.” Poppy stood up. “I’m going to bed. I can’t seem to get enough sleep. Good night, everyone.”
Jane and Felicity exchanged glances as Poppy strolled into the house.
“I thought we’d sail out to Coatue tomorrow,” David said. “Take a picnic, swim.”
“Sounds good, Dad,” Ethan said, coming out from the kitchen.
Patrick was right behind him, a tall, broad-shouldered, redheaded Viking of a man. “Kitchen’s done,” he announced.
Jane checked her phone—no messages. “Tomorrow’s forecast is for clouds,” Jane told the group, reading from the small screen. “High in the low eighties, wind at fifteen miles per hour, humidity fifty percent.”
“Perfect,” David said.
“No message from Scott?” Felicity asked.
“Not yet.” Jane was on the verge of tears. Damn Scott! But she would drown herself before she cried in front of everyone. She stood up. “I’m going for a walk. Felicity?”
“I’ll stay here. The children,” she added in explanation.
The year had almost reached the summer solstice, and light remained in the sky past nine o’clock. Ethan had brought glow sticks for the children, who were now playing hide-and-seek around the house and in the bushes.
“It’s past their bedtime and they’ve been wild,” Felicity added. “Any minute now one of them will start crying and I’ll have to wrestle them to bed.”
Ethan rose. “I could use a walk after having two helpings of blueberry pie.” He patted his perfectly flat belly.
Uh-oh! Jane thought, but with everyone watching, she said, “Sure. Join me.”
Single file, Jane and Ethan walked through the wild rosebushes to the beach. The white curls of surf were almost fluorescent in the fading light, and they surged up and sank into the warm sand with soft sounds like whispers.
Jane ambled in and out of the waves, aware that Ethan was near her, near enough to touch. Not that she would touch even his hand, of course she wouldn’t. It was enough to have him near. To know that he had chosen to join her.
“You said you enjoy hiking,” Ethan said. “Where have you gone?”
Jane knew she was blushing with pleasure simply because Ethan remembered what she’d said at their first meeting. She bent over to hide her face, pretending to inspect a shell. “Mostly in the U.S. Colorado, Death Valley, Sedona, Mount Washington in New Hampshire. And Scotland, last year.”
Ethan walked nearer to her, almost touching. “So you like adventure, a taste of danger.”
Was that a challenge? Jane said lightly, “Nothing compared to you. Hang gliding? Skydiving?”
“Life is short,” Ethan said. “I believe we should live large, follow our desires.”
Jane sniffed. “Only someone who is independently wealthy can say that.”
“I’m not so sure. For some adventures money is necessary. But some of our best adventures money can’t buy.”
Jane waved a hand at the ocean. “True.”
“Or this.” Ethan stopped her, taking her shoulders in his hands and turning her to face him.
Jane tried to pull away…but she didn’t try hard. Still, she said, “I can’t. We can’t.”
He pulled her closer. “If it were just you and me and the beach and the ocean, tell me you wouldn’t want me to touch you and hold you and kiss you and make love to you.”
Jane put her hands on his chest to push him away, but the contact sent desire racing through her. “We’re not alone on a desert island.”
“Well, we are on an island,” Ethan pointed out. “And right now, we’re alone.”
He kissed her then, wrapping his arms around her, sliding his lips gently against hers so that she felt his breath and the silk of his skin. He was taller than she was, just the perfect height to meet her upturned mouth, and as he kissed her, he pulled her against him, so she felt his body all up and down, pressed against hers.
He drew her down to her knees. He was on his knees, kissing her, and the cool night surf swept up and swirled around them.
I can’t do this, Jane thought, but she had never wanted anything more.
Abruptly, Ethan dropped his arms and stood up. “Damn.”
Jane almost toppled into the water. Ethan caught her by the shoulders and helped her to her feet.
“Look,” he whispered.
She turned. Bars of glowing green light were advancing toward them—Daphne, the tallest, in the lead, the other children behind her, and a grown-up, they couldn’t quite make out just who, taking up the rear.
“The joys of a large family,” Ethan said.
“Uncle Ethan! Uncle Ethan! Wait for us!” Daphne called.
The children raced up to them, waving their glow sticks and shouting. Felicity sauntered behind, keeping her eye on the little ones, but taking a moment to telegraph a message to Jane: I saw you kissing him.
ten
Sunday morning, Alison woke to the tapping of raindrops against the window.
“Oh, no,” she moaned, turning over and burying her head beneath a pillow. David had planned to take them all sailing over to Coatue for a picnic, but it wouldn’t be much fun in the rain. David had warned her that on Nantucket even June days could be too cool for the beach. “Does the weather forecaster ever get it right for this island?”
“Can’t count on it.” David lifted a corner of her pillow. “We’ll take them to the Whaling Museum,” he said, as if he read her mind.
“Oh, David, you’re a genius!” She tossed the pillow aside so she could give him a long, enthusiastic smooch.
After she showered and dressed, Alison went downstairs. Ethan was in the kitchen, making pancakes.
“Good morning, Ethan! Oh, heaven, you’ve made coffee. Is anyone else up?”
“All the kids, of course. They’re still in their pajamas, all watching cartoons in the den. I told them I’d call when breakfast is ready.”
Alison poured herself a large mug of coffee, added milk, and took a fortifying sip. She leaned against the counter, watching Ethan work at the stove. “Felicity and Noah don’t let their kids watch television.”
“That’s harsh,” Ethan said.
“I agree. But I don’t interfere when I visit them. And I think here on the island we all should abide by David’s and my rules, and for heaven’s sake, it’s raining, so they can watch television all day if they want.”
“I agree.” Ethan lightly flipped some pancakes on to a pan and set them into the oven to keep warm. He poured more batter into the skillet.
“David said we can take everyone to the Whaling Museum today.”
“Good idea. The kids will love it.”
Alison opened the refrigerator door. “Have we got enough bacon…yes. I’ll start microwaving it. I prefer doing it this way because the fat soaks into the paper towel…
”
“Good morning.” Jane came into the room, wearing a slightly frayed yacht club sweatshirt. “I hope you don’t mind. I found this on a hook and I’m freezing. I didn’t think to bring warm clothes.”
“We’ve got plenty of sweaters and warm clothes here,” Alison said. “Help yourself.”
“Hi, Jane,” Ethan said. “How did you sleep?”
“Beautifully, thanks,” Jane told him as she poured herself a mug of coffee. “I love sleeping with the ocean breezes drifting through the windows. It’s like sliding into a dream. How did you sleep, Ethan?”
“Okay, once I settled down.” Ethan flipped the pancakes.
Alison kept her eyes on the bacon she was laying out on the paper towel–covered plate. Was she crazy to think there was some kind of undertone, some sort of playful almost flirtation in Ethan’s and Jane’s voices? Well, she couldn’t blame Jane. Ethan was gorgeous, and funny and smart, too. And it was a pleasure to hear a kind of mischief in her older daughter’s voice. Jane lived such a serious, grown-up life. It would do her a world of good to be flirted with by Ethan. Alison knew Jane was far too responsible to take it any further.
Soon the others drifted in, lured by the aroma of bacon.
The adults stood around the kitchen drinking coffee, or in Felicity’s case, green tea, while the four children sat at the table eating pancakes.
“Poppy,” Alison said, “did you get my email and the video of bridesmaid dresses?”
“Yeah, I got it,” Poppy said bluntly. She bent to pull Daphne’s hair back into a low ponytail.
Alison persisted. “What did you think?”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Poppy went to the sink and ran the water full force. She drank a glass of water, then returned to her children.
All righty, then, Alison thought. Later.
“So, kids,” Felicity said, “since it’s raining today, we’re all going to go see the Whaling Museum.”
“Does it have whales in it, Mommy?” Luke asked, eyes wide.
Daphne and Hunter laughed.
“Duh!” Hunter yelled. “It has a great big old whale skeleton,” he continued, bugging his eyes out.
“Patrick and I will take our kids somewhere else,” Poppy said. “They’ve already seen the Whaling Museum.”
“Oh,” Felicity began. “I thought this would be a good way for the children…”
“I’m done, Mommy,” Luke said, sliding off his chair.
“Felicity, you might want to wash his hands before he gets sticky syrup everywhere,” Poppy said.
“Of course.” Felicity bit back an irritated response.
“Here, Filly,” Jane said, handing her a wet paper towel.
“We use only cloth towels,” Felicity said weakly. But her younger child was squirming and all the kids were talking at once. She took the paper towel, grateful for her sister’s support.
As the day went on, Felicity was happily surprised at how engaged Jane was with her niece and nephew. Children were noisy and messy, that was simply a fact, and Jane was usually so anal and starchy, but as soon as it was agreed they’d go to the Whaling Museum, Jane announced she’d take Felicity and her children in her rented car. And at the museum, Jane had taken Alice around with her, giving Felicity some precious one-on-one time with Luke. Maybe Jane was testing herself, to see if she truly enjoyed children.
By noon, the rain had stopped, but the sky was still cloudy. They met their mother and David and his clan at Barnaby’s Place in the Bookworks and let the kids each choose a book to buy. While David paid at the counter, the others herded the children outdoors where Daphne, who had insisted on buying a jump rope instead of a book, drove the others into jealous squeals as she leapt up and down on the sidewalk.
“We’re quite a mob, aren’t we?” Felicity whispered to her mother.
Alison nodded. “Yes, but at least it’s stopped raining so the children can be outdoors.”
David came out of the shop. “We’ll take everyone to lunch at Something Natural. They have picnic tables out on the lawn and trees to climb on.”
“Oh, darling, you’re a genius!” Alison cooed and kissed David on the mouth.
Felicity turned away. Why did she feel such a twinge in her belly when she saw her mother and David kissing? She was glad for her mother, and she honestly liked David. So it wasn’t that kind of envy.
Maybe it was because she hadn’t spontaneously kissed Noah like that for a long time. He was always so busy with work, and she was always so busy with the children…Maybe the twinge was a kind of worry. Even a kind of warning?
* * *
—
After lunch, back at the house, as everyone spilled out of the cars, Daphne shouted, “Hide-and-seek time!”
“Outside? Not many places to hide,” Alice remarked.
Felicity held her breath. Alice was seven, a year younger than Daphne, and until now had followed the older girl’s lead. Both girls had strong personalities—Felicity hoped they wouldn’t argue.
“You’re right,” Daphne agreed. “We’ll play hide-and-seek in the house.”
Poppy stood with her hands braced on her back. “I’m exhausted. I need a nap.”
Alison yawned. “I could use a nap, too.”
“Well, I’m taking charge of tonight’s dinner,” Ethan announced. “It’s time everyone tasted my delectable eggplant parmesan.”
“We don’t have any eggplant,” Alison told him.
“I’ll go buy some,” Ethan told her. “Want to come along, Felicity? You could help choose salad makings.”
“Sure, I’ll come.” Felicity smiled, absurdly pleased to have been chosen instead of Jane. “But the children—”
Patrick spoke up. “Jane and I can watch the children. We’ll give them some time in the house, and if the sun comes out we’ll take them down to the beach.”
“Is that okay with you, Jane?” Felicity asked.
Was Jane’s smile a bit too bright? “Sure!”
Daphne gathered the children into a cluster and was seriously giving them the rules of hide-and-seek. “I’ll hide first,” she said, and raced into the house.
“How are you going to get any sleep?” Felicity asked Poppy.
“Are you kidding?” Poppy asked. “You could prop me against a post at a rock concert and I’d fall asleep. Hormones.” She blew a kiss at her husband, called “Thanks!,” and went into the house, followed by Alison.
“I’ll just check on the Red Sox.” David went inside, heading toward the den.
“Felicity?” Ethan swept an arm toward the open passenger door. “The front seat is yours.”
Dear Lord, he is handsome, Felicity thought.
* * *
—
Ethan drove them back into town and down Polpis Road to Moors End Farm, where Felicity found an abundance of ripe tomatoes, eggplant, onions, lettuces, carrots, and red and green peppers. They stashed the bags in the back of the Jeep and headed into town to buy red wine. In the liquor store, Ethan held out various bottles, asking Felicity’s opinion, as if she were sophisticated enough to have an opinion about red wines.
On the drive home, Ethan said, “I hope you’ll help me prepare dinner, Felicity. That will give Alison a break, and besides, that way I’ll get to know you better.”
Felicity almost melted into the leather car seat with pleasure. Ethan wanted to get to know her. So he wasn’t a flirt, after all. He was simply a good guy trying to make connections between his father’s family and Alison’s. It was only that he was so handsome that he seemed to be flirting.
* * *
—
Back at the house, they each took bags from the Jeep to carry inside.
The sun was slowly creeping out from behind the clouds and the air was humid. They carried their groceries down the hall and in
to the kitchen. They found the family gathered there, all of them with terrified faces.
“What’s happened?” Felicity cried.
Poppy said, “It’s okay, Felicity, we’ll find him. While I was napping, the kids played hide-and-seek, and we seem to have misplaced Luke.”
Felicity’s heart lurched. “ ‘Misplaced’ him? What do you mean?”
Everyone talked at once. Ethan took Felicity’s bags from her and went toward the refrigerator.
Patrick raised his voice. “Let’s have some quiet. We only now found out. Daphne, you’re the oldest, so can you tell us what happened?”
“That’s not fair,” Poppy snapped. “You can’t blame it on her.”
“I’m not blaming anything on anyone,” Patrick told his wife. “I’m just asking Daphne, who has been so wonderful at entertaining all the kids, to tell us what has happened.”
With everyone looking at her, Daphne seemed to shrink from a broad-shouldered, domineering miniature troop leader into a frightened child.
Patrick knelt next to his daughter and put his arm around her. “It’s okay, Daphne. We just need to know what you know to help us find Luke. Remember, he’s only five, not a big kid like you.”
“We played hide-and-seek,” Daphne said in a very small voice. “It took a long time because the house is so big…”
Alice spoke up. “We took turns. By age, to make it fair. First Daphne hid, then I did, then Hunter, then Luke was last.”
Alison squatted down on her heels to face Daphne. “Honey, can you tell us where you hid? Luke is only five, so I’ll bet he hid somewhere one of you hid.”
“I hid in the closet upstairs where the blankets are!” Hunter yelled. “I climbed to the top shelf and no one could find me in forever!”
“It’s true,” Daphne said. “Hunter was the hardest to find. He had the best hiding place. I hid behind Granddad’s clothes in the closet in their bedroom.”
