26. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KINSLEY
I ’m sweating, and my arms are coated in a thick layer of charcoal-gray grout by the time I finish wiping down the new ceramic tiles in Donna’s kitchen. After thoughtful consideration, we went with a black and gray mosaic pattern for the backsplash that will go with the gallery wall I’ll get started on tomorrow.
“That looks amazing,” she says, stepping into the room. “I can’t believe you did this all on your own.” She sets down a stack of six-inch square photos that I’ll have reprinted in black and white.
“Just wait till it’s all finished,” I say, wiping at the grout.
“I can’t wait,” she says, beaming. “Here are the pictures I want to use. Do you think this will be enough?”
I count them out, reliving some of the shared memories as I flip through them. There are pictures of each of the kids alone, but most of them are group shots. Photos of them at birthday parties, camping trips, and graduations. Donna and Kevin’s wedding photo and one of Kevin in his Marine Corps uniform. I flip through a few more, running my fingers along their edges, and stop when I come to Ethan’s boot camp photo. This is the Ethan I knew all those years ago. We were so young.
“He looks just like his dad,” she says, her expression a mixture of tenderness and reflection.
“He does,” I agree. “He has the same laugh too, that deep, heavy chuckle.” I think of my own mom and how I used to see myself in her. That was before I realized that the shape of our faces and the color of our eyes and hair were all nothing but a coincidence.
Donna, eyes sparkling, takes the photos from my hand. She flips through a few more and then pauses. “This one’s my favorite.” She places it in my hands and sets the rest on the counter.
My heart trips over itself as I examine the very clear, very vivid picture of Ethan and me from last night. I’m sitting at the bar. Ethan’s standing next to me. I’m mid-laugh, with my eyes closed and my head tipped back. Ethan’s pressing his shoulder against mine, watching me with unmistakable adoration.
Blinking back tears, I look up at her.
“Carter took it after the engagement fiasco and texted it to me. I know there’s nothing really going on between the two of you, and I know you might not stay here on Hope Island, but I haven’t seen him this happy in a long, long time. Not since the two of you were together. Before Kevin passed away. I printed it out immediately. I need a reminder that my son remembers how to smile.”
“Donna, it’s not what it looks like.”
“Oh, sweetie. I’m not telling you to stop. Not at all. Maybe others would tell you to be careful, to be careful not to hurt one another. But I want you to have fun. Go out and enjoy yourselves. Ethan hasn’t gone out on two consecutive nights since he’s been back. You’re both still so young and have a lot of life to live.”
My shoulders relax a little, and the ache in my chest dulls, even though I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Having fun, yes. But the way he’s looking at me in this picture, like I’m the sun and he’s the earth, is more than I can handle right now, especially after last night.
Taking the pictures with me, I head to the store and make a set of black and white copies for Donna’s display wall. My next stop is Maggie’s house. If I have any hope of finding anything by the end of the week, I need to put more effort into looking. And I’m more motivated than ever now that I know there’s a chance the farm will be torn down to become a stupid warehouse run by my awful ex. I shudder at the idea.
I spend the next several hours upstairs, digging in dresser drawers, sorting through the contents of Maggie and Ezra’s life. I separate it all into three piles. One for important things, like photos, books, files, and wood carvings, a second for clothes I can donate, and a third for trash.
If Maggie were here, would she be angry that I haven’t visited her? Would she be mad that I’m tearing apart remnants of her life for the sake of a piece of paper? Would she even want me to have her house? I’m lost in these thoughts when voices from outside startle me.
Holding my breath, I make my way to the window and peer through the worn screen. There are two cars in the driveway behind mine. I can’t see any people, which means they’re more than likely already at the—
Knock, knock, knock .
“She’s probably inside.” The voice is loud and unmistakable.
I freeze. Shit. Jay. My stomach tightens, and a knot begins to form.
Knock, knock, knock . “Kinsley. I know you’re in there. I see your car.”
The screen door rattles, and my stomach completely bottoms out. He’s letting himself inside, as if he’s welcome, when he’s clearly not.
Dammit. Where did I put my phone? With my heart in my throat, I scan the room. But then it dawns on me. I left it downstairs on the counter. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I have no reason to be scared. It’s just Jay and probably his associates. I’ll just go down there, tell them to leave, and threaten to call the cops.
I’m halfway to the bedroom door when another familiar voice catches my attention.
“This is private property,” Ethan says, his tone authoritative. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave unless you can provide documentation giving you permission to be here.”
“The realtor gave us permission. That should be good enough,” a third voice snakes its way into the conversation.
“Cindy gave you permission to be here without her? That doesn’t sound like her. Let me give her a call, and if she can verify, then I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait. You’re that guy,” Jay says.
I creep to the stairway and poke my head around the corner.
“That guy?” Ethan parrots, unamused, standing tall in his full uniform.
Jay puffs out his chest. “Kinsley’s fiancé.”
“Sure am. And you’re the guy who can’t keep his dick in his pants,” Ethan retorts.
“Now listen,” a woman I can’t see says. “I think we should all start over. We’re just here to see the square footage—”
“The second I noticed unauthorized vehicles on this property, I called dispatch. There are two other officers on their way over now. I’m sure you won’t mind if I call Cindy to verify your story, now, will you?”
“Cindy?” The woman’s tone is laced in confusion.
“The realtor who gave you permission to be here without a key,” Ethan says. He glances up, his attention catching on me, and tilts his head to the side, as if telling me to stay hidden.
“Okay, okay. There’s no reason to call anybody,” the woman says. “Mrs. Fletcher’s lawyer gave us permission to look around. Mr. Owens accepted our bid for the property on Mrs. Fletcher’s behalf, pending some so-called will. The door was unlocked, so we figured we’d take a look inside, but we can see this wasn’t a good idea. We can show ourselves out.”
The screen door creaks open, then the group tromps down the porch steps. I don’t move. Not yet. Some sixth sense tells me that somebody is still in the house.
“You listen here,” Jay snarls. “You may be a cop, but there’s nothing you can do about Warehouse Solutions buying this property. It’s already been rezoned. I visited Maggie, you know. She said Kinsley’s wasting her time looking for a will that doesn’t exist.”
“Kinzie.”
“What?”
“You called her Kinsley. She goes by Kinzie. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to write up a report and get it filed so your unauthorized visit is documented.”
The door opens and closes again, then tires roll over gravel outside. I tiptoe back to Maggie’s room and sink onto the bed.
The stairs creak, and then there’s a light rapping of knuckles on the bedroom door.
Sitting up, I huff a breath. “Come in.”
“Next time you’re here, lock those doors,” Ethan says as he steps into the room. “Better yet, don’t come out here alone. Something tells me this isn’t the first time they’ve been here, and it’s likely not the last.”
I shake my head. “That woman. Was she short and thin, with blond hair?”
With a nod, he sinks onto the bed next to me.
“She was here the other day and handed me her card. It was before I realized Jay was involved. There was something off about her. Like she hoped I’d help her move this along quicker.” I sigh and fall back on the mattress. “I can’t believe Jay visited Maggie.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Ethan hauls himself up, then grabs my arms and pulls me to my feet. “You are not falling for his lies. I can all but guarantee he said that to get under my skin because I wouldn’t play into his game. Best thing you can do with a guy like that is ignore him.”
My body deflates. “Even so, I’m probably wasting my time.”
“Seriously? Is that what you really think?”
I close my eyes and blow out a breath. “No.” Even if there is no paperwork, being here, sorting through Maggie’s belongings, remembering her how she used to be and the memories I have of her and Ezra, it’s enough.
“Then ignore him,” he whispers into my ear.
When I open my eyes, Ethan is hovering over me. He’s so close, I think he might kiss me. My heart rate picks up, and my breathing goes shallow.
Instead, he takes a step back and tells me to grab my things.
Deflating, I ask why.
“It’s my turn to cash in on our bet. The terms and conditions of our wager changed the minute you told my sister that you won, which means you no longer have to tell me about your mom if you don’t want to. You do, however, have to come with me to an event I cohost in Savannah.”
“An event? What kind of event are we talking about? Do I have to change?”
He gives me a once-over, and my body warms instantly, despite the cool breeze drifting in through the open window.
Rather than answer, he shakes his head and leads me down the stairs. “If you have anything in your car, we should take it with us. I’ll have patrol out here monitoring the property, but I don’t want to risk anything being stolen.”
I pull a small duffel from the back seat, then hit the lock button on my key fob. Ethan takes the bag from me and opens the passenger door of his truck. As he holds a hand out to help me in, my stomach flips, and I have to remind myself that we’re just having a good time.
It’s fun. Like Ethan’s mom and my sister said. We’re still young, and we deserve to enjoy ourselves. Even if I’m insanely attracted to Ethan. Possibly more now than before. As Ethan pulls out onto the road, I rest my head against the seat and close my eyes, determined not to worry, at least for a little while.