Driftwood Point

by Mariah Stewart

  “That sounds really bad.”

  “It is bad. Termites are no joke. Luckily the exterior is brick, so if they chewed up the windows and areas around the roof, the outside walls are still good.”

  “Do you think you’ll have some time to take a look at the roof?”

  “I’m tied up tomorrow morning, but I can stop by later in the afternoon. Once I have a better idea of what it’s going to take to bring this place back—­assuming the damage under the roof isn’t too extensive and that termites haven’t eaten away the floor beams—then you and Ruby are going to have to decide what you want to do, how much you want to invest. If it can be saved, that is.”

  Alec brushed the dirt from his hands onto his shorts.

  “All right. We’ll wait until you’re finished.” Lis folded her arms across her chest. She’d wanted to say, Doesn’t matter, we’re going to restore even if that means totally rebuilding, but she kept that to herself.

  “Want to lock up and we’ll head back to the store?” he asked.

  “No. I want you to go inside and go into that front bedroom and remove that . . . that thing.”

  “I forgot about that.” He went inside, then came back out a minute later. “I need something to put it on. I don’t know that I want to drag it out with my bare hands. And we need a shovel. I’m going to have to bury it somewhere.”

  “I’ll run back to the store and see if Ruby has a shovel and I’ll get a plastic bag to put that thing in.”

  “Ruby’s shovels are in the shed near the side of the house.”

  “It’s a miracle that old thing is still standing.” She started toward the road. “Even more of a miracle that you haven’t rebuilt it.”

  His lips curved in a slow smile. “It’s on the list.”

  Lis broke into a jog and ran back to the store, replaying the walk through the cottage. She knew exactly how it would look when she—they—were finished with it. There was no doubt in her mind that Alec would be working with her. Which was fine, she thought. Better than fine.

  She decided she wasn’t going to read too much into that kiss. Not right now, anyway, when she was going to go back to the cottage where he waited. She’d think about it later.

  “Of course you will, Scarlett,” she murmured as she jogged the last fifty feet to Ruby’s.

  She reached the general store and poked her head inside to tell Ruby what they were doing, then went out to the shed and opened the door. The exterior may be shabby, but inside, everything was neat as a pin. That would be Ruby, she thought. She’s always been a stickler for putting everything in its place. She found the shovel and tossed it into the backseat of her car, then went inside for a plastic trash bag for the remains of the critter. She drove back to the cottage and was surprised to find an unfamiliar car parked off road on the grass. She pulled up next to the white Cadillac and got out of her car with the trash bag in one hand and grabbed the shovel from the backseat with the other.

  “Alec?” she called, but there was no answer.

  The front door was open, and she walked in. “Alec?”

  Silence.

  Lis walked back outside and looked around, then saw Alec and another man—the owner of the white Caddy, maybe?—out on the pier. They were too far away for her to hear them, but she could see that Alec was standing with his hands on his hips, and the other man was gesturing with both hands, first toward the bay, then toward Lis. What in the world could that be about? she wondered.

  She stood the shovel up next to the front door and placed the bag on the ground next to it, debating whether to walk out to the pier to see what was going on. After all, it was her property. Not hers, exactly, but her family’s. She heard the man’s voice, loud and angry, and could tell by Alec’s stance that he was trying to calm him down.

  Lis decided it was time to join the party.

  She was no more than halfway to the pier when the man turned and headed toward her. As he approached, she smiled and started to say hello, but he went right past her in a huff. Clearly annoyed, Alec followed, his hands in his pockets.

  “Who was that guy?” Lis asked.

  “Just a client,” he replied.

  “What’s his problem?”

  “He doesn’t take disappointment well.” Alec stopped when he reached her. “So did you find a shovel?”

  “How could I not? That shed is more neatly organized than my apartment. It has Gigi’s fingerprints all over it.”

  “Uh-uh,” he told her. “Mine.”

  “You did that? Lined up all those tools in alphabetical order, stacked the pots by color . . . ?”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  “No.” Lis shook her head. “I can’t believe there are two of you. What are the chances you’d find each other?”

  The white Cadillac reversed off the grass, barely missing Lis’s car, the engine revving as it pulled away.

  “He should slow down,” Lis said. “There aren’t a whole lot of little ones on the island, but there are a lot of old folks.”

  “I’ll remind him next time I speak with him.” Alec watched the car disappear down the road, then clapped his hands. “So. The shovel. The plastic bag.”

  “Right by the door.”

  He set off for the cottage, bent down for the bag, then disappeared through the front door. Moments later he returned, the bag in hand.

  “It’s definitely an opossum,” he told her.

  “Good to know. Could you just bury it now?”

  He found a spot a hundred feet from the cottage and began to dig. The earth was soft and sandy, and within minutes he had a hole deep enough for the bag. He placed it at the bottom of the hole and filled the shovel with soil.

  “Want to say any words over the deceased?”

  She walked closer and peered into the hole.

  “I’m sorry you got stuck in the closet and couldn’t get out. I could say that’s what you get for breaking and entering, but I realize you were unable to foresee the consequences of your actions. So I’ll just say if there’s a rainbow bridge for wild animals, I hope you crossed in peace and have joined your family and friends on the other side.” She looked up at Alec. “How was that?”

  “Impressive.” He nodded. “Really impressive.”

  He filled the hole and handed her the shovel.

  “Now you have something to cross off your list of things to do to make this place habitable.”

  “And I’m grateful. Thanks, Alec.”

  “My pleasure. Any time you find critters in the old place, you know who to call.”

  “There are more,” she told him.

  “More?” He frowned. “More what?”

  “Mice. I heard them when I was inside earlier.”

  “That’s a given. We can get rid of them.”

  “I don’t like traps.”

  “We can get someone in to clean the place out.”

  “How?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “I guess not.”

  They reached the house. “I’ll lock up and then give you a ride back to the store.” Lis fished in the pocket of her shorts for the key.

  “Thanks anyway, but I think I want to walk around a bit.”

  “Walk around the island?”

  Alec nodded.

  “Oh. Okay. Well, thanks for coming out here and disposing of the body and for doing a walk-through with me.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll be in touch after I’ve gone over the roof.” He opened the back door of the car and put in the shovel. “Make sure you put it back where you found it.”

  Lis rolled her eyes.

  “Maybe you should take the key in case you need to get back inside.” She handed it to him.

  “Good idea. I’ll lock up and I’ll drop it off at the store after I finish tomorrow.”


  “Okay.” Lis nodded. “Well, thanks again. See you.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  She got into the car and turned it on, put it in reverse, and backed out onto the street. Alec was still standing on the grass, his hand raised in a wave as she pulled away.

  “That was too damned odd,” she said aloud.

  Something strange had happened, but she had no idea what. It was as if the arrival of the man in the white car had provoked a change in Alec, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was.

  “And things had been going so well, too,” she muttered as she parked behind the store. One minute he was kissing her and it felt all cozy, the next minute he was distracted.

  She found Ruby inside, sitting at the table in the front of the store, reading her book. She looked up when Lis entered.

  “Alec do you right?” she asked without looking up.

  “Yes. He’s going to go back tomorrow with a ladder to look at the roof. I let him keep the key.”

  Ruby nodded. “He’s a good boy, Alec is. Glad to see you getting along.”

  Lis’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nice to be in touch with old friends again.”

  “We were never really friends,” Lis told her.

  Ruby looked up. “Whose fault would that be?”

  “Mine.”

  “Some learn from their mistakes. Some don’t make the same one twice.” Ruby went back to her book.

  Lis wanted to remind her that she hadn’t been allowed to make friends, hadn’t been allowed to think beyond the island, but what was the point. She went upstairs and took a shower, the kiss still on her mind. He said he’d been wanting to do that since fifth grade. Should she have told him about all the nights she’d dreamed of him? Of all the times she’d watched him in the hallway, taken the long route to class so she could pass his locker, tried to get a table near his in the cafeteria or the library, just so she could watch him, hear his voice, listen to his laughter?

  Probably not, since she’d barely admitted it to herself, then or now.

  She’d just finished drying her hair when she heard a car door slam. She looked out the window and saw Alec’s Jeep heading toward the bridge. She watched, expecting him to drive over it, but instead, he made a left and headed back onto the island. The dark car disappeared momentarily, then she saw it pull up in front of the old Mullan place and park. Alec got out and walked through the overgrown lot and around the side of the house.

  Odd, she thought. No one’s lived there in years.

  Moments later, a black pickup drove over the bridge and made its way around the curve and reappeared to park next to the Jeep. She watched as someone got out and presumably joined Alec around the side of the house.

  It could well be that the family has decided to sell the property and has asked Alec to give them an estimate to make it presentable.

  And that would make sense, but why hadn’t Alec mentioned it when they were back at the point? It would have been perfectly natural for him to have said something about renovating other places on the island, but he hadn’t.

  Her thoughts went back to the man in the white Cadillac.

  Something about him didn’t feel quite right. She knew it wasn’t any of her business, but all the same, she couldn’t help wondering who he was and what he was doing on the point.

  Diary~

  Ruby tells me the visit with her great-granddaughter is going well, which I was sure it would, but then again . . . well, you know how families can be.

  Speaking of which, our little family is about to grow again! Our Lucy and Clay have announced that a little one is on the way and will be born just in time for Christmas! Now, I cannot lie and say I did not know, but “knowing” and being told are two different things. When you know before others do, well, you can’t share, and where’s the fun in that? Okay, so I did tell Ruby, but her lips are always sealed. If you want to share a secret that you know will never be passed on, Ruby Carter is your girl. One hundred percent guaranteed.

  And speaking of girls, well, that’s what Lucy will be giving birth to, though she doesn’t know that yet. I even know the name they’ll choose, but I won’t even commit that to writing. That would be bad luck.

  But back to new babies—Ellie and Cameron O’Connor’s baby boy was born a week ago. Cameron Junior, I’m told. They’re a lovely family and I know that somewhere on the other side, Ellie’s great-aunt Lilly is rejoicing along with Ellie’s mother, Lynley, who left us all too soon.

  So that’s my news for today—only happy news this time around, I’m so pleased to say. Though Ruby tells me a storm is brewing over her island, a storm guaranteed to cause some waves, if you’ll forgive the pun. I’m just hoping—praying—it doesn’t spread to St. Dennis. Though I know my nephew Alec is right at the center of it, and that his heart is at risk. Oh, if only I could move that along just a little. I suppose I should just let things play out, but one gets so impatient sometimes. It’s so tempting to just give a little bitty push, if you know what I mean . . .

  Grace

  Chapter Seven

  His hand still raised in a wave, Alec took a few steps toward the road as he watched Lis drive away. When her car had disappeared, he went back to the cottage and locked up. He was still annoyed that Deiter had popped up unexpectedly the way he had. The last thing he wanted to do was explain to Lis that someone else wanted to buy the point, knock down the cottage she’d just set her heart on, and build a bunch of houses there. The look on her face as they’d walked through together had told him everything he needed to know about the future of Ruby’s old home. He’d been hard-pressed not to tell her what he really thought the prospects were for the old place. He’d wait until he could determine how extensive the termite damage was, and whether the support beams had been compromised. He’d really hate to burst that happy bubble of hers, especially if renovating the cottage meant that Lis would be around for more than a week or two. She had stayed tucked away in the back of his mind like unfinished business; perhaps it was time to explore what might have been.

  More than time. He hadn’t planned on kissing her today, but he was damned glad he had. He hadn’t been kidding when he told her he’d wanted to kiss her since fifth grade. He could have added that he’d wanted to kiss her every year after that as well, but he was pretty sure she got the drift. Kissing Lis had been everything he’d thought it would be, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he kissed her again.

  Now was a good time to warn himself that the situation on the island was going to be touchy enough without tossing his own heart into the mix, and that was exactly what he was doing. It had been hard to keep his eyes off her—harder still not to touch her, even if only casually while they walked through the little house. Lis was still the golden girl as far as he was concerned. Over all the years, she’d been the only one who’d gotten into his head and stayed there. The last thing he expected was for her to come back to Cannonball Island and talk about staying. What were the chances that would happen now, of all times, when he was involved in what some might see as the exploitation of the island and its few resources?

  From the start he’d tried his best to make the right decisions where the potential development of the island was concerned. He loved the wildness of it, the archaic cabins and the deserted chapels built by dueling ministers, but his fear was that someone who didn’t appreciate its idiosyncrasies would ignore the history and the natural beauty and destroy everything that made Cannonball Island unique.

  He’d debated with himself before he turned to the one person whose opinion and instincts he trusted above all others.

  Of everyone he knew, Ruby Carter was the wisest, the most grounded in reality. He’d sought her counsel even before he’d accepted the job, and he’d laid out everything he knew about Deiter and his company. The developer had made it very clear a
t their initial meeting that he wanted to buy up as much property on the island as he could. Since the point was the single largest parcel on the island, Alec knew that it would draw Deiter’s attention immediately. Before he had any conversations of any substance with ­Deiter, he wanted first to work through his own doubts about whether this project would be good for the island, and second, to learn whether Ruby had any interest in selling that particular bit of ground. If not, he’d have to find a way to steer Deiter away from it and point him elsewhere.

  He’d sat with Ruby on her new back porch on a Sunday night and laid it all out. She’d listened without interruption until he finished.

  “You say this man—this Brian Deiter—he be wanting to build new houses here on the island,” she’d said. “How many houses he got in mind?”

  “We didn’t talk about any specific number, but I made some calls, spoke to some people who have dealt with him in the past. They say he likes big projects that will make him a lot of money, that he’ll want to build the maximum he can.” He’d rocked slowly in one of the two rockers he’d brought outside at Ruby’s request. He found the gentle motion calmed him, and he thought Ruby knew what she was doing when she told him they’d sit out here and go over whatever it was that was on his mind. “But they also said he was reasonable if you present a logical case to him.”

  “You be a logical boy, Alec.” Ruby rocked even more slowly than Alec. “He been here? On the island?”

  “He has. He said he drove around and noticed there was lots of empty space out here.”

  “Different reasons for that,” she replied. “Some folks left their places and moved away. Just locked the doors and left. Their reasons be their own. Others got tired of bailing out after the storms. Had some come through here, battered the island something fierce. Some folks had enough of putting their roofs back on and trying to dry out. Others places, don’t even know who owns them legal these days; folks died and left no kin.”