“Mom’s never hinted about a run,” I said.
“But she’s a Carmichael, and there are always murmurings.” Rita shrugged. “Governor Eckley plans for everything.”
“President? This is all about politics?” Maya spoke to no one in particular. Her face crumbled. “What would I have to do?”
“Sign a contract saying you’ll never acknowledge him and never ask for money,” Rita said.
“In exchange for what?” I asked.
“Silence and safety. Eckley won’t want his wife to know.” Tess dug out some legal papers, spread them on the table, and tapped a section. “According to the prenup—”
“So there is a prenup! And you have a copy.” Fee peered over Tess’s shoulder.
“The contract would have to insist that neither of you would ever acknowledge your connection to the other. Make a permanent break.”
Maya sat in a chair next to the window that overlooked the ocean. She stared at the water, lost in thought.
“Wait a minute,” Ham interjected. “She should get something out of him, a one-time payment, at least, after everything.”
Mei and Fiona both nodded.
Maya shook her head, but she didn’t turn from the window. “Even if he offered me a dime, I’d tell him where to shove it.”
“Think, Maya,” Fiona said. “I know you hate him. Hell, we all hate him, and none of us has your reason, but this could change—”
“Change what? Bring my mom back?” She whipped her head around.
Everyone looked away, except me. I moved closer. Kneeling down, I took her hands in mine.
She didn’t pull away.
“What about a fund to help people like Florence? You wouldn’t even have to take the credit. It could be anonymous, but you could make a difference with money like that, help women like your mom, or like Flo.” I watched her shoulders sag, and she turned her face to wipe away a tear.
“Who’s Florence?” Rita studied the Twitter photos.
“She’s not up there,” I said. “Maya wants to be a community organizer.”
Rita pounced on the idea. “We could arrange that, I’m sure. From what I understand, Eckley would lose everything, even his dog, which he loves more than anything, if his wife finds out about any indiscretion.”
“But if he’s not involved in this”—Mei motioned to the folders on the table—“how will he get his wife to stop?”
“This.” Rita unearthed a file from her bag and spread photos on the table. “Governor Eckley has been canoodling with this man for years.”
Mei leaned over to study the photo. “Is that—?”
“Yep. The Texan running for senator.” Rita tapped the photo. “This is how Eckley convinces his wife to back down. And this”—she pointed to Maya—“is how we protect Maya. Mutually assured destruction for husband and wife, but they won’t know it. Eckley won’t want his wife to find out about Maya, so he’ll force the governor, who wants to run for president on family values, to back down lest he expose her own affair. We’ll deal with them separately, of course, but they’ll shut up. Both have too much to lose.”
“How’d you know about the affair?” Ham asked.
Rita’s shrug made one thing clear: it was best not to ask questions. How many of our secrets did she have in her back pocket?
Fee let out a deep breath. “That’s brilliant. Sick, but brilliant.”
I glanced at Maya, who nodded. She then stood and left the room, without uttering a word.
“This is an ugly world,” I said.
“And it’ll only get uglier,” Mei responded as Ham rested a hand on her shoulder.
***
I found Maya in the library, gazing out the window. Lights from the TV crews over the ridge could be seen off to the far right. She faced left, watching the ocean.
“Hi,” I said, approaching her shyly.
She didn’t turn around. “Do you know what I hated the most growing up?” she said.
I perched on the window ledge next to her. “What?”
Maya crossed her arms. “Feeling like everything was my fault. If I hadn’t been born, my mom would probably be alive.”
I blinked away tears.
“You have your own burden,” she went on, finally facing me. “Pat wasn’t kidding when he said your parents had you after Craig’s death and Ham’s injury, was he?”
“No. He wasn’t kidding.” I looked away, ashamed.
“Ham’s eye isn’t that bad. I was expecting much worse.”
“For years, he’s been told the opposite.”
“So much baggage, even before we were born.” Maya sighed. “Earlier, when I was talking to Mom, I realized you’ve only introduced me to Fiona and Pat. In class, you don’t talk to anyone but me.” She stared out the window again. “You’re just as alone as I am, if not more. You’ve lived your life in front of the world, yet you have so few connections. What was it like?”
I wasn’t expecting her to ask me a question, and my voice came out thick with emotion when I answered. “It’s all I’ve ever known.”
“Is it all you want?”
I followed her eyes, her focus on the moonlight shimmering over the rolling water. At night, from the safety of the library, it looked beautiful, peaceful. But the thought of being out there alone was terrifying.
I shook my head.
Maybe she sensed my fear, because she added, “Sometimes you have to be alone to learn how strong you can be.”
I tapped a finger against the glass. “I feel like I’m adrift in the dark out there, and I can’t find the lighthouse to bring me home.”
Maya mulled over my words. “I’m really sorry about… the video. I had no idea.” She massaged her eyelids.
I snorted. “That was the idea. I didn’t want you to know how much of a loser I am.”
She smiled sadly, and I thought she was going to reply that she knew. Instead, she said, “I never thought of you that way. I still don’t.”
“How do you feel about me, then? About us?”
Maya took my hand in hers. “I’m still working that out in my head.”
I stared down at my Nikes.
Turning, Maya craned her neck and lifted my chin with one finger. “The way I see it, it’s good that I’m still thinking about it. Usually, I make snap judgments, but you have this way about you.”
Perhaps I knew what she meant, because I felt the same about her. Everything had been against us from the beginning, and on some level I think I sensed that. But I couldn’t walk away. The day I met Maya, my life changed.
“Do you see that?” Maya pointed out the window.
“What?” I squinted, half expecting to see Susie Q belly crawling up the beach.
“That.” Maya tapped the glass.
“The spiderweb?” Grandmother must really be losing her marbles to not have noticed that.
“No. A handkerchief left by a fairy.”
“Wh—?” I started to argue. Then I remembered our conversation at Walden Pond. “Well, look at that.” I leaned my forehead against the cool glass. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is.” The two words were filled with emotion.
I turned my face to Maya, my forehead against the pane creating a muted screeching sound. But Maya wasn’t staring at the web; she was gazing at me.
Maybe I could believe in fairies. Hell, before I met Maya, I hadn’t even believed in love. Not for me, anyway. With Maya by my side, I realized I could believe in anything. I reached for her hand, and she laced her fingers through mine.
***
Fee popped her head around the library door. “You two ready for dinner?”
The three of us found Ham, Mei, Rory, Pat, and Agnes in the dining room, where ten empty chairs were positioned around the table.
“Where are Rita and Tess?” I asked.
“Heading to Texas,” Ham said.
“Does that mean—?” Agnes was unable to finish her q
uestion.
“It means you and Maya don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“We can stay?” Agnes probed.
“Absolutely. And if you ever have any problems, just give me a call.” Ham passed Agnes a business card.
She gasped. “You work in the White House?”
Ham winked, and then motioned for Maya and me to sit. “I’m famished, and I’m not sure my manners will hold out much longer. Agnes, Pat, this smells delicious.”
“I can’t take the credit. It was all Agnes.” Pat tucked a napkin into his shirt.
A smorgasbord of fried chicken, deviled eggs, cornbread, Jambalaya, creamed corn, baby back ribs, dinner rolls, and other side dishes I didn’t even know existed covered the table.
Fee pointed at a plate. “Are those fried green tomatoes?”
“They sure are.” Agnes grinned. “Ever had one?”
Everyone but Maya shook their heads.
Rory bit into one. “You’re hired.”
“Rory!” Fiona and I shouted.
Ham rolled his eyes. “You’ll have to forgive my cousin. He’s been living on cafeteria-style food.”
“Ham!” Mei said.
Rory laughed. “It’s true. In and out of rehab since I was sixteen. Unlike the rest of the clan, I’m rough around the edges.”
Fee stiffened in her seat, but then she glanced at her brother and her posture softened—a small miracle.
“I’m glad you approve.” Agnes smiled at him. “I love cooking for people. You’re always welcome at our house, all of you.” She gazed around the table.
“Does that mean the Sunday dinners will continue?” Pat asked.
“Of course. And now that I’ve discovered you know your way around the kitchen, Pat, you should come over early. I’ll show you all I know. Maya only enjoys making coffee.” Agnes winked at her.
“I’ll make sure he’s there bright and early.” Fiona bit into a drumstick.
“Would Mrs. Carmichael…?” Agnes blushed. “I mean would Lillian and Ainsley like to join us for dinner? There’s plenty for everyone.”
I sucked in my breath at hearing Agnes say those names.
“Mom, Ainsley is sitting next to you.” Maya patted her hand as if Agnes were a dementia patient.
“She means my grandmother,” I explained.
Maya’s jaw dropped. “You’re named after your grandmother?”
I nodded.
“So you really are the Chosen One,” she muttered.
“I was,” I replied in little more than a murmur. “Now, I’m just Ainsley.”
“Agnes, to answer your question, Mother and Grandmother have left the estate.” Ham reached for a rib.
“Where’d they go?” Fiona asked.
“Back to Boston.”
“Do they know?” I jerked my head in Maya’s direction.
“They’re aware that everything has been taken care of.”
“Golly, Ham, this is a first.” Fiona looked shell-shocked, but it was hard to determine whether she was happy or scared about the power shift. Ham had always craved power, but could he handle it? Only time would tell whether Ham would turn out like Grandmother.
“It’s best for all of us if we act as if everything is normal. That means you two”—he pointed to me and Maya—“go back to school on Monday.”
Maya’s shoulders slumped.
“I’ll be right by your side,” I whispered in her ear, taking her hand in mine.
She squeezed my hand. “You better stop me from punching Susie Q’s lights out, then.”
I giggled. “Oh, I wish.”
***
Around ten, everyone dispersed to their rooms to settle in for the night.
After saying goodnight to Agnes, Maya and I walked to my bedroom.
“I know you probably want to talk, but it’s been a long day. Do you mind if we go to bed?” Maya asked.
I nodded meekly.
In bed, I clutched Maya like it was the last time I would ever hold her in my arms.
“Is it weird?” she asked.
“Jesus!” I put a hand to my chest. “I thought you were asleep. Is what weird?”
“Having me in your bed, here?” She had her back to me, but I sensed she was grinning.
“Oddly, it’s not, even though I know it should be. Does that make sense?” I rolled onto my back.
“It makes Ainsley sense.” She flipped over and brushed a red curl off my cheek.
“What does that mean?”
She shrugged.
“Can I ask one question?”
Maya feigned a dramatic sigh and puffed out her cheeks. “If you must.”
“That brand on your arm, it’s your real initials, isn’t it? CT, for Carisa Torres. That’s why Agnes got so upset.”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and nodded.
“Promise me we’ll talk more in the morning?” I ran a finger down her nose.
“I promise.” She yawned, nestling her head down into the pillow.
An odd silence invaded the room, but outside, the wind stirred the trees, scraping branches against the side of the old house. When I was small, I’d been convinced the house was haunted. Tonight, I’d learned about the family’s real phantoms. Was it possible to shake them off? I sighed, leaving the question for now. The real question was whether I could go forward—with Maya.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next morning, I awoke alone.
I hadn’t expected Maya to slip out during the night, but maybe I should have.
The kitchen was silent. It was half past six, and for the first time in my family’s recent history, no bugler announced the new day on the Carmichael compound.
I hummed as I prepared the coffee pot.
“Don’t tell me we have to live with your shitty coffee this morning.” Fee wore one of Pat’s shirts, and her hair was a complete wreck.
“Afraid so.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?”
I chewed at the corner of my lip.
“She may come around, with time.” Fee gave me a one-armed squeeze.
“Maybe.”
Fiona slid six slices of bread into the toaster.
“Is Agnes gone too?” she asked.
“I’m assuming so.”
Pat yawned in the doorway, more bedraggled than Fiona. “Where’s Grover? Outside?”
We both shrugged, and Pat frowned.
“Maybe he slipped into Ham and Mei’s room,” I said.
“Nope.”
We turned to find Ham and his fiancée, looking only slightly more put together than the rest of us.
“The doggie door is locked.” Fee pointed to it.
Pat wiggled the door handle. “But the door isn’t locked. Has anyone come or gone?” He didn’t wait for an answer, shoving the door wide open. “Grover,” he called, growing increasingly frantic when the dog didn’t appear.
The only answer was a whip of wind coming off the Atlantic. A storm was brewing on the horizon.
We quickly broke into search parties. Pat and Fiona headed for the grounds around the big house. Ham and Mei set out for the tennis court area. And I had my sights on the dunes, where he’d played fetch with Maya the previous evening.
I cupped my mouth with both hands. “Grover!”
Not a sound, only the wind.
I pushed on, cresting a slight hill and praying the news cameras were gone. Some miracle brought forth the first big storm of the season, scaring off the press. In another hour or so, flakes would be flying and the waves crashing.
“Grover!” I called, straining my ears when they picked up a small bark off in the distance. I called his name again and cupped my ear. Sure enough, I heard a bark. “I’m coming, Grover!” I yelled, running toward the water.
A tennis ball whirred by my head.
Tennis ball?
Grover zoomed after it, yapping.
The dog’s enthusiastic bark was followed by laught
er.
Could it be?
The terrier dropped the ball at my feet. “Come here,” I said, and he jumped up and licked my face. “You scared us, little man.” Grover yipped in reply.
I chucked the ball in the direction it had come from, and he took off after it like a bandit. I followed, hoping beyond hope.
Each step brought me closer to the truth, and I held my breath.
Laughter carried on the wind as the dog ran into the grass, and I arrived in time to witness Maya scoop Grover into her arms. She turned back toward the house, waving for me to follow.
And I did.
“Are you ready for coffee?” she asked when we reached the house, a squirming Grover still in her arms.
A tear trickled down my cheek. “You’re still here.”
A broad smile mirrored the happiness in her eyes. “Of course! Who knows what would happen if I left you all alone.”
I pulled her into my arms, squashing Grover, not that he minded a group hug.
“I love you, Maya the Gray,” I said and then kissed her.
“The Gray?” She cocked her head and quirked one eyebrow.
I didn’t answer. I was too busy kissing her. And I didn’t have any intention of stopping.
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