Chapter 18
“Down, boy,” Sophia scolded, pausing to give the couple an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he gets a little too excited sometimes.”
The couple offered her another smile and patted Teddy, who continued to wag his tail back and forth. Then he tugged on his leash and pulled her in the direction of the water. She pulled back hard, and they walked along the edge of the water, with Teddy pausing every so often to sniff the ground and kick up sand. When he saw a flock of birds in the distance, he let out an enthusiastic bark and yanked hard enough to make Sophia topple forward.
She righted herself at the last second to keep herself from falling face-first into the sand and shot her dog a dirty look. After securing the leash around her palm, she wagged a finger at him until Teddy sat back on his hind legs and blinked up at her, his face scrunching up in a confused look.
He was too cute for his own good.
Reluctantly, Sophia patted him, and his tail thumped. She straightened her back, glanced out at the water, and smiled. Then she saw a flash of movement and turned toward it, spotting Olive Vasquez a few feet away, talking to a tall, broad-shouldered, angry-looking man.
Sophia’s brows furrowed together as she took in Olive’s wrinkled clothing, the hair matted to her forehead, and the tremble in her lower lip. Before she knew what she was doing, Sophia set off toward them, with Teddy falling into step beside her.
Once she was close enough to see her face, Sophia’s stomach clenched as she noticed the tears streaming down Olive’s face and the angry vein bulging in the man’s neck. He glanced over at Sophia, and his dark eyes tightened around the edges. Then he folded his arms over his chest and puffed it out, a show of strength and capability.
“Hey, Olive,” Sophia greeted cheerfully. “I thought that was you. Teddy and I were just taking a walk, and we thought we’d come over and say hi. I’m so glad you called me to catch up.”
Olive swallowed and gave her a weak smile. “Hey, Sophia. I didn’t know you had a dog.”
“I’m fostering him till we can find a forever home. Have you ever fostered a dog before? I’m really enjoying it.”
“We were in the middle of a conversation,” the man told her coldly and with a lift of his chin. “You’ve said hi already. Now, go away.”
“But Olive asked me to meet her here.” Sophia gave him a confused look and swung her gaze back to a frightened-looking Olive, who had folded in on herself. “Don’t you remember? You said that you were walking along the beach if I wanted to join you.”
Olive looked over at the man and back at Sophia. “Oh, right. Yeah, I completely forgot.”
“Listen here, I don’t know who you are—” The man took a menacing step toward her, but Sophia stood her ground and refused to back off. Teddy stepped between them, pulled his teeth back, and growled at the man. Startled, the man took a few steps back and gave Teddy a bewildered look.
Teddy’s bark sliced through the air, spittle forming on the sides of his mouth.
Olive drew closer to Sophia and tucked herself into Sophia’s side. Teddy continued to bark until the man’s expression darkened, and he stormed off. Sophia waited until he was far enough away to drape an arm over Olive’s trembling shoulders. As soon as Sophia gave them a squeeze, Olive’s shoulders began to shake, and she burst into tears. Sophia patted her back and led her in the direction of the house.
Once they stepped in through the front door, Sophia unclipped Teddy’s leash, and he ran toward his water bowl. She took Olive into the living room, draped a blanket over her lap, and went into the kitchen. In silence, she placed the kettle under the faucet, and while she waited for it to fill up, she sent her sister a message. Then she carried two mugs of hot chamomile over to where Olive sat and handed one to her with a small smile.
Olive sipped on her drink quietly, a gaunt look on her face.
By the time Lily and Ben arrived, Olive was sound asleep. Ben stepped in first, grim-faced and unable to meet Sophia’s gaze. Olive stirred awake once her brother crouched in front of her. Lily gave Sophia a quick, distracted hug and joined them in the living room while Sophia paced in the kitchen, unable to keep herself from eavesdropping.
“I thought I told you to be careful,” Ben whispered before tucking Olive’s hair behind her ears. “You know how dangerous Zeke is.”
Olive nodded. “I know, but he told me that he found out who killed my baby, and I…I just wanted to know the truth.”
Lily took both of Olive’s hands in hers and squeezed. “No one can blame you for wanting to know, Ol, but you shouldn’t believe anything he tells you. You know he’ll say anything to get you back.”
“I’m just so glad Sophia showed up when she did,” Olive murmured with a quick look in Sophia’s direction.
Sophia blushed and awkwardly looked away, pretending to rummage through the cutlery drawer as she did. When she lifted her gaze back up, Ben and Lily were sitting on either side of Olive and patting her back. After exchanging a quick look, Lily stood up and wandered over to where Sophia stood, pretending to examine the spice rack.
“Thanks for letting me know she was here.”
Sophia set down the knife and fork she was holding. “Yeah, of course. Her ex looked like a piece of work, honestly, and he gave me the creeps. But Teddy is the one who scared him off.”
Lily glanced over at the dog dozing in his bed by the fireplace. “Remind me to bring him a big steak as a thank you.”
Sophia took a step closer to Lily and lowered her voice. “Is Olive going to be okay?”
“We’re going to take her home and take it from there.” Lily’s hand darted out, and she squeezed Sophia’s. “Thank you for bringing her here.”
Sophia gave her a small smile. “Of course. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
On their way out, Olive stopped to draw Sophia into a long, drawn-out hug. Then she bent down to give Teddy a kiss on his forehead. He kept wagging his tail until they disappeared down the driveway and into Ben’s car. Once they rounded the corner, Sophia stepped back and slammed the door shut.
For the rest of the night, she kept reliving the entire incident, everything from Olive’s tear-stained face to the man’s cruel sneer. She kept checking in on Lily till she was sure they made it back to Provincetown. Then she went back into her own apartment, threw herself onto the mattress, and stared up at the ceiling.
Poor Olive.
It was bad enough that she’d lost her kid to a hit-and-run. Now, she was stuck with an unstable and volatile ex who clearly wasn’t happy about her moving on with her life. Not only that, but he was willing to lie and manipulate her in order to get what he wanted.
And to what end?
The two of them needed to heal and find their way back from the darkness. Using trickery and deception wasn’t going to do either of them any good.
With a sigh, Sophia sat up, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed. Through the walls, she listened for the sound of her dad’s footsteps. Once she heard his familiar low timber talking to someone on the phone, she smiled.
Teddy curled up next to her side of the bed and placed his head between his paws. Absentmindedly, she stroked the top of his head and stared at the wall. Once she heard her father’s TV, garbled through the thin walls, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Before she drifted off to sleep, she thought of Olive Vasquez again and sent up a quick prayer.
In the morning, a soft rapping on the door jolted her awake. She scrambled for her phone, peered at the time, and waited for the security camera app to upload. As soon as she spotted Zoe’s familiar face, her daughter in a knee-length floral dress and carrying two brown bags with Emily’s familiar logo, Sophia’s stomach grumbled.
Teddy raced to the door and sat down in front of it.
Sophia threw the covers off, stuffed her feet into a pair of slippers, and reached for her robe. After securing the sash, she threw the door open and pulled Zoe in for a hug. Zoe patted her mom’s back and drew back a short while later.
Zoe chuckled and gave her mom a bemused look. “Good morning to you, too. Everything okay?”
Sophia nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Zoe to brush past her and make a beeline for the kitchen. “I’m just really glad to see you.”
“You don’t seem surprised that I’m here. Did I mention it already? I meant to surprise you.”
Zoe set the bags down on the counter and began to take food out, starting with cream cheese bagels, then cheese croissants, and ending with blueberry muffins.
Sophia slammed the door shut and padded over to where her daughter stood. “No, I don’t think you told me you were coming by. Can’t I just be happy to see you?”
Zoe pushed herself up to the tips of her toes, her ponytail brushing her shoulder blades, and grunted. “You can, but what’s the occasion?”
“Someday, if you decide to become a mom, you’ll understand.”
Zoe retrieved two plates and spun around to give her mother an amused look. “Okay, you’re really going to love what I have to say next.”
Sophia tore off a piece of the croissant and held it out to Teddy. “What am I going to love?”
“At Uncle Frankie’s fake retirement party, I talked to Aunt Heather and him about my internship. We agreed that I’m going to be interning there for one month, but I’m also going to be doing online courses.”
Sophia paused. “Why the change of heart?”
Zoe leaned over the counter and nibbled on the edges of her bagel. “The habitat program doesn’t sound as appealing anymore, and it’s so far away. I don’t know. I think Zac’s enthusiasm just got to me.”
Sophia searched her face. “Are you sure it has nothing to do with the guy you’ve been seeing?”
“Logan has nothing to do with my decision,” Zoe maintained, in spite of the flush stealing across her cheeks. “I mean, I have thought about the fact that it would be easier for us to date if I wasn’t on another continent, but I don’t want that to be the only reason I don’t go.”
Sophia nodded and tore off another piece of her croissant. “Good, because while I think love is a beautiful thing, it’s not something you put your life on hold for.”
“I know, Mom. You taught me better than that.”
“Have I? I sound like a wise and cool mom.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Not when you say it like that, you’re not.”
Sophia’s lips twitched. “Come on, you can admit that your mom is cool. I got you to tell me the guy’s name, didn’t I? How do you know I won’t stalk him now?”
Zoe pushed herself off the counter and went to the fridge. “Mom, I say this with love, but you’re terrible at social media. You and I both know that you’re not going to be able to find his profile, much less do a deep dive on him.”
Sophia popped the food into her mouth. “I could’ve gotten really good at it since you moved out.”
“Please don’t embarrass me, Mom.” Zoe took out the pitcher of orange juice and set it down on the counter. Then she retrieved two glasses and poured them a generous amount. “I really like this guy, okay? And I think there might be a future with him, so we can’t both come on too strong.”
Sophia chuckled. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t scare him off till you bring him over for dinner. And when he meets your father, I’ll be an angel in comparison.”
Zoe threw her head back and groaned.