Suddenly One Summer

by Barbara Freethy

  “I guess Gwen finally won,” Monica said, referring to a long-running competition she’d had with her friend Gwen Schilling over their children and everything else in their lives. “She always thought her kids were better than mine. She always wanted what I had, including this house, my husband—”

  “What are you talking about?” Charlotte interrupted. “She didn’t want Dad.”

  “Yes, she did. Gwen and your father dated before we married, but he picked me. He picked me,” her mother said fiercely. “He loved me, only me.”

  “Of course he did. No one could ever doubt that.” She’d had no idea that the basis of her mother’s rivalry with Gwen Schilling was her father.

  “I did everything for your father. I lived my whole life for him,” her mother added with a confused shake of her head. “What am I supposed to do now?”

  Charlotte didn’t know what to say. But it didn’t matter, because her mother had already gone inside.

  Strands of white lights and hanging lanterns lit up the picnic area of the carnival as night descended in Angel’s Bay. A barbershop quartet had been entertaining them the past few minutes; next up was the middle school choral group. The festival was certainly a family affair. Jenna and Lexie were sitting with Kimmy’s family: her mother, Robin, her father, Steve, and baby brother, Jonathan, who was almost two.

  Robin Cooper was a short, curly-haired brunette, who looked more than a little tired. She was a stay-at-home mom. Steve worked as a lawyer doing estate planning and family trusts. According to Robin, Steve spent long hours at the office, and this was the first time in a long time they’d been out together as a family. Steve was currently standing ten feet away, talking to two other men, and had been in that conversation for the past hour. Robin seemed put-out, especially since she’d been wrestling with a squirmy toddler for the past thirty minutes.

  “Can we get a balloon animal?” Lexie asked, pointing to the man making elephants out of balloons at the next table.

  “Sure,” Jenna said, as Lexie and Kimmy got up from the table.

  “Take your brother with you,” Robin told Kimmy. “Hold tight to his hand.”

  “He won’t stay,” Kimmy complained.

  “Well, I’m here if you have a problem.” Robin sighed as Kimmy took Jonathan to the next picnic table. “Thank God, two minutes of relief. You must think I’m a terrible mother.”

  “More like an exhausted one,” Jenna said gently.

  “That’s kind of you. Steve always tells me that his mother raised five children without breaking a sweat. She also cooked four-course dinners every night, cleaned the house, sewed their clothes, and basically performed all superhuman tasks.”

  “Sounds like a tough act to follow.”

  “She’s a lovely woman,” Robin said without much conviction. She gave Jenna a halfhearted smile. “I do mean that. It’s just that I’m tired of being compared to her. What was your mother-in-law like?”

  “Nothing like that, thank goodness.”

  “You were lucky. Well, I guess you weren’t lucky,” she stuttered. “Sorry, I don’t know if you want to talk about him or not—your husband, I mean.”

  “I really don’t,” Jenna said. “No offense. It’s just painful.”

  “Sure, of course. I understand.”

  As Robin fell silent, Jenna noticed a man sitting alone at a nearby table, looking their way. He wore jeans and a blue T-shirt, and a tattoo peeked out from under his sleeve. He frowned when he caught her staring back, then stood abruptly and walked away. Jenna didn’t like men who disappeared on eye contact. “Who’s that?”

  “Who?” Robin asked.

  “That man over by the popcorn machine, in the T-shirt,” she said.

  “Oh, that’s Shane Murray. He’s a local fisherman.”

  “I’ve never seen him around.”

  “He’s a loner. Not much for social gatherings. My husband says he’s a cool guy. With that body, half the single women in town are in love with him. He’s often a Monday night hot topic.”

  “A what?” Jenna asked in confusion.

  “At quilting night,” Robin explained with a laugh. “He’s a popular topic, except when his grandmother, Fiona, or his sister Kara is listening in. You know Kara, don’t you?”

  “Yes, she rented my house to me. I didn’t realize he was one of the Murrays.”

  “There are a lot of them; it’s hard to keep track. His brother Michael runs the Irish pub. Patrick doesn’t live here anymore. Then there’s Kara and Dee. Dee works with her father, Finn, running a charter boat service.” Robin paused. “You should come to quilting night. You’ll meet people, have fun. I’m sure this Monday night everyone will be talking about that girl, Annie, and her baby—and who the father might be.” Robin’s gaze traveled to her husband again.

  Was Robin worried about Steve? It was obvious there was some tension in their marriage. “I’m sure the father is a teenage boy,” she said, hoping to reassure Robin. “She’s very young.”

  “I’m not sure that matters when a pretty young girl is willing and available. My father cheated on my mother more than once,” Robin added bitterly. “I guess that makes me worry that my husband could cheat on me. Not that I think it’s him. My God, of course I don’t. Forget I ever said that. It’s just that things have been kind of off lately between us,” Robin continued, obviously needing to vent. “Ever since I had Jonathan, I haven’t been all that interested in—you know—sex.” She blushed furiously. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, you must think I’m crazy.”

  “I don’t,” Jenna said quickly, even though she was a little taken aback. She and Robin were barely acquaintances.

  “I’m just so exhausted I can’t think straight. Some days I feel like I don’t even have time to brush my teeth, and then Steve comes home and wants to know where dinner is and why I didn’t pay the bills and what did I do all day besides watch the kids. As if watching a two-year-old isn’t a full time job! Yesterday Jonathan climbed into the dryer. He could have suffocated in there and it would have been my fault. Sometimes I think I wasn’t meant to be a mother. I’m not very good at it.”

  “Motherhood is a tough job. I never realized until I had a child just how difficult and overwhelming and worrying it is, and I only have one kid.”

  Robin gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks for being so nice. I hope we can get to know each other better. Kimmy and Lexie have formed such a good friendship, maybe we can, too.”

  “I’d like that,” Jenna said, feeling bad that she couldn’t be as honest with Robin as Robin was being with her. She looked up as the kids returned with their balloon animals.

  “Mommy, can we play skee ball now?” Kimmy asked.

  “Can we?” Lexie echoed.

  Before Jenna could answer, Kara Lynch stopped by the table.

  “Hey there,” Kara said. “Sorry to interrupt. I was hoping to see you here, Jenna. Do you have a minute?”

  “Well,” Jenna began, “I think we’re off to skee ball.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll take the kids,” Robin offered as she got to her feet. “Jonathan isn’t going to sit still another second anyway. You can join us when you’re done.”

  Jenna hesitated. She hated to let Lexie out of her sight, but the skee ball game was just around the corner. “Okay, but stay with Kimmy and her mom,” she told Lexie.

  “I will,” Lexie promised.

  Kara sat down on the bench as Lexie left with the Coopers.

  “So what’s up?” Jenna asked curiously.

  “I have more information on Rose Littleton, if you’re interested.”

  “I am interested.”

  “I spoke to my boss, Ben Farraday. He’s Rose’s nephew and he told me a little about the family. Apparently Rose was one of four girls. She and her sister Martha never married, and they lived in the house until first Martha died, then Rose a year later. The other two girls got married. Cornelia was Ben’s mother. Thelma moved to South Carolina and had seve
ral children, and Ben doesn’t know where she is now. But what I thought you might find interesting is that Rose was a piano teacher, just like you. Ben said that his aunt was very good. She used to play at church every Sunday. Isn’t that funny? In fact, that’s her piano you’re giving lessons on.”

  A shiver ran down Jenna’s spine. Another coincidence? She didn’t think so. Something was going on that she didn’t understand, and right now anything that she didn’t understand could potentially be very, very dangerous.

  “Ben said his aunt Rose was convinced that she was descended from baby Gabriella, who was rescued by the town after the wreck. Apparently she had a birthmark just like the one Gabriella had, the angel’s wing that you saw on the quilt, remember?”

  “Yes,” Jenna said, her heart pounding. Rose had a birthmark the same as Lexie? It seemed unbelievable.

  “Ben also told me that his aunt was trying to find out who Gabriella’s parents were. I guess the survivor reports were pretty vague. Legend has it that an angel saved the baby and brought her to shore. If you’re interested in the history, there are some journals and letters at the library.”

  “I am interested,” Jenna replied. Especially because the town’s history seemed to be colliding with her own.

  A big, burly guy in a police uniform walked up behind Kara and put his strong hands on her shoulders. Kara smiled up at him. “Hi, honey. This is Jenna Davies. I don’t think you two have met. This is my husband, Colin, on duty as usual.”

  “We haven’t officially met,” Colin said with a broad smile, “but I did see you on the pier after you rescued the jumper. She owes you a debt of gratitude.”

  Jenna shrugged uncomfortably. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a conversation with a police officer, but Colin was sliding onto the bench next to Kara. He gave his wife a tender kiss on the cheek.

  “Jenna is too modest,” Kara said. “She gets embarrassed when people make a big deal about her bravery. I’m sure you don’t know what that’s like, honey,” she added with a laugh and a nudge. “Colin loves being the center of attention. He’s a big ham.”

  “Not true,” Colin said. “I’m very shy.”

  Jenna didn’t believe that for a second. She knew a charmer when she saw one. And while she had become very distrustful of anyone in a uniform, she had to admit that Colin Lynch seemed more like a big, huggable teddy bear than a threat to her safety.

  “So how do you like Angel’s Bay?” Colin asked. “Are you planning on staying?”

  “I think so,” Jenna said. “Lexie—my daughter—loves the school and her friends.”

  “It’s a great place to raise kids,” Colin said. “Kara and I both grew up here. We met in first grade. I tripped her on the playground. She scraped her knee and called me a moron. It was love at first sight.”

  “You were a moron. And it was not love at first sight,” Kara interjected. “I couldn’t stand you until at least the fourth grade.”

  “After that we were inseparable,” Colin finished.

  “Except when we fought—which was a lot. Colin is stubborn.”

  “And Kara talks way too much.”

  “You’re the one who is boring Jenna senseless,” Kara pointed out.

  “No, you’re not,” Jenna protested, enjoying their teasing exchange. She hadn’t been around many happily married couples, but these two were practically glowing.

  “Jenna is interested in the history of her house,” Kara continued. “Do you know anything about the Littleton women who used to live there?” She turned to Jenna. “Colin knows a lot about this town. He’s a history fanatic. Oh, and he believes in the angels, too.” She rolled her eyes.

  “That’s right—I saw one once,” Colin said.

  “Really?” Jenna asked.

  “I was fifteen. I was diving by some of the caves around the point. You can only reach them at certain tidal periods, and you have to dive under rocks to get into the caves. I became disoriented and couldn’t find my way out. All of a sudden this girl appeared; she was my age. She gave me her hand and the next thing I knew, I was coming up inside the cave.”

  “You were probably hallucinating from lack of air,” Kara told her husband.

  Colin shook his head. “It was an angel. She saved me. I would have drowned if she hadn’t shown me the way. Miracles happen when you believe.”

  Jenna wanted to believe in miracles, but how could she? She certainly hadn’t seen any sign of angels wanting to help her. “That’s really interesting, but I should probably go. I need to catch up with Lexie since I have the quarters for the games.” She got to her feet. “I really enjoyed meeting you, Colin. And I’m glad that an angel saved you, because you seem like a good guy.”

  He smiled at her. “I am. If you ever have any problems, just give me a call.”

  As much as Jenna liked him, he was the last person she would call, but she simply said, “I will,” and left the table. She headed toward the skee ball game, but there was no sign of Lexie, Kimmy, or the rest of Kimmy’s family. As she moved through the carnival, her heart began to race. She told herself not to panic, but all of her instincts were screaming that something was very wrong.

  Finally she spotted Robin. She was wrestling again with her squirmy toddler and talking somewhat heatedly to her husband, Steve.

  “Where are the girls?” Jenna interrupted.

  Robin looked startled by the urgency of her question. “Why, they’re right over there.” She turned her head and pointed toward a water toss game.

  Jenna saw Kimmy’s ponytail and started to breathe a sigh of relief until she realized that Lexie was nowhere in sight. She ran over to Kimmy and grabbed her by the arm. “Where’s Lexie?”

  “She went to the bathroom.”

  “You let her go alone?”

  Kimmy’s mouth started to tremble, and Jenna realized she was scaring the little girl. “It’s okay, honey, I’m sorry. I just need to find Lexie.”

  “What’s wrong?” Robin asked, coming up behind them.

  “Lexie went to the bathroom alone. I have to find her.” Jenna took off on a run toward the public bathrooms on the other side of the carnival. She couldn’t believe Lexie would have gone by herself; they had spoken about never going anywhere alone over and over and over again. She never should have left her—not for one second.

  She ran into the bathroom and stopped abruptly, staring in disbelief at the empty stalls. She called Lexie’s name in desperation, her voice echoing off the cement walls.

  “Is she here?” Robin asked, running into the bathroom, Kimmy’s hand in hers.

  “No,” Jenna said, feeling the most intense fear she had ever felt.

  “We’ll find her,” Robin said. “I’m sure she just went back to the games.”

  “Or to see the angels,” Kimmy put in.

  Jenna stared at Kimmy. “What did you say?”

  “Lexie wants to see the angels. She said she has a question for them.”

  And suddenly Jenna knew exactly where Lexie had gone.

  EIGHT

  Reid drained the beer from his plastic cup and tossed it in a trash can. The carnival was going strong, with happy screams coming from the Tilt-A-Whirl, and laughs and cheers from the game area where kids were throwing basketballs in hoops and aiming darts at balloons. The smells of buttery popcorn, hot pretzels with mustard, and sweet cotton candy were making him restless. Ever since he’d arrived in Angel’s Bay, he’d felt as if he’d stepped into a Norman Rockwell painting or a nineteen-fifties movie where everything was wonderful.

  He wouldn’t have minded growing up like these kids. He could have handled hanging on to his innocence a little longer. He could have been satisfied with having two parents who cared about him, who took him to school and helped him with homework. He would have enjoyed riding on the shoulders of his father, like the three-year-old boy in front of him.

  But he’d stopped wanting things he couldn’t have a long time ago. This wasn’t his life. He was just passing th
rough, and the sooner he got out of town, the better.

  Turning away from the carnival, he crossed a parking lot and headed toward the bluffs that ran above the ocean. About a half mile down, the cement walk-way turned into a well-trodden dirt path. The traffic out to the cliffs had been heavy the last few days. At the farthest point, he could see groups of people huddled together, awaiting the appearance of the angels. He hoped he could gather more information.

  It was a bright night with a full moon, but the ocean was in a wicked mood, the waves bouncing off the rocks below, sending up a white spray that caught on the wind and put a fine sheen of moisture on his face. He’d never been a beach person, but he was starting to like the taste of salt in the air, and the energy of the sea made his heart beat a little faster in anticipation of something, though he didn’t know what.

  He was about a hundred yards away from the cluster of people when he saw a small, lone figure standing at the edge of the cliff. As he drew closer, he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Jenna’s little girl, Lexie. And nowhere in sight was the ever-protective, ever-watchful Jenna.

  As he drew closer, he said, “Hey there,” in a soft voice, not wanting to scare her.

  Lexie jumped about a foot when she saw him, and he could see her eyes fill with fear. For a split second he was afraid she would take a backward step right over the side of the cliff. While there was a makeshift fence farther down the bluff, here there was nothing between Lexie and the sea below.

  He quickly put up a reassuring hand. “It’s okay. I’m the man who took your mom’s picture the other night. Remember? My name is Reid—Reid Tanner. I’m a reporter. I’m here to report on the angels. And I heard your name is Lexie.”

  Lexie didn’t answer.

  “You need to move away from the edge,” he added. “It’s dangerous to stand that close.”

  She didn’t say anything, but she did take a step away from the cliff, which he found reassuring.

  “So where is your mom?” he continued. “I bet she’s worried about you being out here all alone. How come you’re not at the carnival?”