Chapter 15 David
DAVID
David tightened the last connection on the pipe beneath the sink and tested the handle.
Water flowed smoothly, no leaks, no strange noises. Perfect.
He’d gotten to the historical society early, specifically to finish this job before opening time. The manager, Mrs. Patterson, had called Milly yesterday afternoon in a panic about the broken sink in the women’s bathroom, and David had volunteered to come in first thing.
It was a simple fix. Twenty minutes, tops.
He gathered his tools and was about to go find Mrs. Patterson when he heard voices in the main hall.
David froze instantly, recognizing them.
For one awkward moment, he seriously considered slipping back into the women’s bathroom and hiding until they moved on past the bathroom. But then he could be caught in the bathroom if one of them needed to use it.
But before he could decide what to do, it was already too late. Eve, Lila, and Brian were coming down the hallway.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Brian lean close to Lila, pointing at something on a pamphlet they were looking at together. The teenage boy seemed to be getting rather close to her.
A pang of protectiveness hit David square in the chest, completely unwelcome and entirely inappropriate.
He had no right to feel protective of Lila. None at all.
He shook it off, annoyed with himself. But David knew why they had surfaced.
Since he’d met Eve and Lila, he couldn’t stop wondering if he was a grandfather.
Would his grandchildren be younger, the same age, or a bit older than Lila?
David knew if he did have a granddaughter, just how protective he’d be over…
the exact same amount, if not more, than he was over his own daughter.
The idea that his life might be able to return to whatever its new normal was soon had him constantly wondering about his daughter, Morgan.
In fact, David had spent most of the night staring at the photo of Nancy and young Morgan, talking to his late wife’s image as she could somehow hear him across the years and the distance.
Telling her about Eve. About how he felt something he had no business feeling.
About how twisted fate was to put this woman in his path now, at the worst possible time.
He chuckled to himself. He was officially that weird old man who lived in the woods and talked to pictures of his deceased wife and estranged daughter.
Even Chaos had given him strange looks before finally giving up and going to sleep on the rug.
“David!” Lila’s voice rang out before he could duck back into the bathroom.
His heart gave an unwelcome jolt when his eyes met Eve’s startled ones across the hall.
There was no choice now but to approach them.
David walked forward, tools in hand, and arranged his face into what he hoped was a pleasant, casual expression. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Eve said, her smile warm but surprised.
“This is a nice surprise,” David said. “Are you looking into the history of our beautiful town?”
“We are,” Eve answered before either of the teens could speak. Her eyes dropped to his tools. “Are you working?”
“Yes,” David nodded. “I came in early to fix a sink in one of the bathrooms.”
“Now I know where I know you from,” Brian chirped, snapping his fingers. “You do some work for Mrs. Christmas at the Inn every now and then.”
“I helped out at the beginning of this year.” David nodded. “I’m not the regular plumber there.”
“You also did some work for William a couple of months ago,” Brian continued brightly. “He said his basement got flooded?”
“That’s right,” David said with a nod, keeping his voice even. “The regular plumber for the development was sick.”
“Oh look, there’s a hall dedicated to portraits of prominent families,” Lila said suddenly, her voice a little too loud, a little too enthusiastic. “Come on, Brian, let’s go look through there. I love old portraits.”
The look she shot Eve didn’t go unnoticed by David.
Eve’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly at the blatant setup.
The teens ducked into the next room, leaving David and Eve alone in the hallway.
The silence stretched for a moment, charged with something David didn’t want to examine too closely.
“I see Lila’s mother is not with you once again,” David noted, then immediately wondered why he’d pointed that out.
Eve smiled. “Yes, Mia has taken up photography as a hobby. She met a guest at the Inn, a photographer who’s teaching her.”
David’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
“Yes,” Eve said with a nod. “He seems like a nice guy. We all went out for ice skating and dinner last night.” Her eyes warmed with genuine pleasure.
“He seems to have brought Mia out of her shell and put some color back into her cheeks and interest back into her life.” Her brow furrowed.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure I told you this already. ”
“I think you might have mentioned it,” David said politely. If she did, it had slipped his mind, but then again, when Eve was close to him… He swallowed. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Mia finding an interest and enjoying her holiday?” He stored the information about Mia away.
“It is,” Eve said, but he caught the moment of hesitation in her expression. Then she brightened. “We’re looking forward to tonight.”
Tonight?
David’s mind went blank for a moment before he remembered. The barbecue. Milly had invited them to the woods.
“Oh, yes,” David said with a nod. “Me too, although you shouldn’t get too excited. It’s just two log cabins in the woods.”
“To a teen, it’s an adventure,” Eve pointed out with a laugh. “And I haven’t been to a barbecue in years, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Yes, so was he, David admitted to himself. More than he should be.
Though he was also dreading it.
They never invited anyone to the woods. It was their sanctuary, their safe place, the one location where they could let their guard down. Having Eve, Lila, and possibly Mia there was a risk.
But Milly had insisted, and Dan had agreed, and David hadn’t been able to come up with a good reason to say no that didn’t involve revealing things he couldn’t reveal.
“I must send you the directions,” he told her.
“It’s okay,” Eve said, pulling out her phone. “Milly already sent them to me. But since I have you here, maybe I could clarify the route? There doesn’t seem to be a road that she told me to take.”
“Right,” David nodded. “That’s because it’s not on a map.”
He stepped up beside her and instantly regretted it.
Her scent wafted up to him, light and floral, with an undertone uniquely hers, creating havoc with his pulse and senses.
David swallowed and got a hold of himself, forcing his attention to the phone in her hand.
She held it up, angling the screen so he could see, and their hands brushed.
A jolt shot up David’s arm, electric and undeniable.
He heard the soft intake of breath from Eve.
David nearly yanked his hand away, but forced himself not to make any sudden moves. He kept his voice steady as he explained where the unmarked road was, how to find the turn-off between two large oak trees, and how to follow the dirt path for half a mile until the cabins came into view.
As he pulled away, their eyes met and held.
David felt like he was being drawn in, pulled toward something he’d been running from for twenty-eight years.
Connection. Warmth. The possibility of something other than loneliness and regret.
“Aunt Eve, come look what we found!” Lila’s voice shattered the moment.
She stood at the doorway to the portrait room, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Sorry, I’d better go,” Eve said with a nervous laugh. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes, of course.” David nodded, stepping back to give her space.
He watched her walk away, catching the lowered conversation as she joined Lila.
“You have to see the portrait,” Lila was saying, her voice hushed but urgent. “You’re not going to believe it.”
David’s sixth sense kicked in immediately.
That tone. That urgency. The way Lila’s eyes had been bright with discovery rather than simple interest.
They’d found something. Which meant they were looking for something.
David tried to shake it off. They were in a historical society.
It was probably something about the island.
He was being paranoid. But David found himself quietly walking to the doorway, staying just out of sight, and positioned himself where he could see into the room.
Lila took Eve to stand in front of a tall, painted portrait hanging on the far wall.
David heard the soft gasp that escaped Eve’s lips, saw the excitement flash in her eyes. The kind of look that said, ‘We’ve found something important.’
He stepped a little closer but stayed hidden in the shadows of the hallway.
“You’re not going to believe who she is,” Brian told Eve, his voice low.
“I can guess,” Eve said, glancing back at the portrait. “It must be...”
David couldn’t hear the whispered words.
“No,” Brian and Lila said in unison.
Eve looked at them and frowned. “Then who is she?”
Lila tilted her head close to Eve’s ear and whispered something that made Eve’s eyes widen in shock.
Her head shot back around to the picture. “No way,” she spluttered, her eyes now glued to the painting.
Even more curious now, David took another small step to get a better angle.
His blood went cold.
It was the portrait William had donated to the society many years ago.
A formal oil painting of his grandmother, Isabella Lillian Moore, that was painted sometime in the 1940s.
She stood in an elegant dress, her dark hair swept up, her intelligent eyes looking directly at the viewer with the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly who you were.
David knew that portrait well. Everyone in St. Augustine knew that painting.
“Are you sure?” Eve was saying, her voice confused. “Because if this is true then...”
“What we thought back at the development was true,” Lila said softly. “Which means...”