Chapter Two #2
“Kai, you’re not in this conversation,” Palila informed her older brother.
He leaned back, his broad shoulders filling the space, and offered that slow, island spirit smile that usually got him out of trouble with everyone but his sister.
Born in Firebrook Valley, neither had ever claimed to yearn for the sun-drenched home of their ancestors.
No one asked their parents what had forced their drastic relocation, because people in Firebrook Valley didn’t care about who a person was outside of the town.
The town and its harsh winters were an equalizer.
Showing up and helping out mattered more than family background, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or financial status.
When describing the place to my college friends, I once joked that you could get caught burying a body with a tractor in Firebrook Valley and no one would ever turn you in as long as you let your neighbor borrow that tractor in the spring to move some rocks.
The humor had been lost on my city friends because what made the joke work was how potentially true it was.
That underlying philosophy was the reason two extremely rich men could have summered every year for decades in Firebrook Valley and still be little more than tolerated.
As someone who had been raised both in this town and in Boston, I straddled two very different worlds.
One in which my father was powerful and respected and one where he was pitied and because of that—protected.
Kai’s unrepentant smile made his strong features even easier on the eyes. “Not trying to be, but you’re all talking loud enough to include the rest of us against our will.”
“Or you’re all so nosy,” Palila accused.
I looked around. The restaurant was indeed dead silent and actively listening.
In Boston I’d have been offended, but these people weren’t idly interested .
. . they cared. Better to say it once than a hundred times.
So I raised my voice so all could hear. “I received the news last night. Drew and Bella eloped. When we spoke they sounded very happy about adding a honeymoon onto their travels.”
Zion whistled low. “No invite to the wedding?”
I flinched. “Just the two of them.”
Emma blinked slowly. “I’m so sorry. That must have been hard to hear.”
I nodded. “It was.”
Mabel’s eyes narrowed then she said, “Well, I suppose we should have expected that.”
Palila let out a shaky laugh. “Wow, a Holliston-Burke wedding and no one got to see it.”
I swallowed hard. “They didn’t want—”
Mabel held up her hand. “Before you defend your brother, sugar, let me say one thing.” Her gaze pinned mine. “We all understand why they made the choice they did. But they should have invited you. And Drew and Bella should be here breaking the news to both fathers.”
Emma’s voice softened. “Oh, Nora . . . even you weren’t there?”
Kai said, “I believe that was covered when she said it was just the two of them.”
Rushing to her friend’s defense, Palila clarified, “Sorry if it’s impossible for us to imagine Drew not inviting his little sister to his wedding.”
Don’t throw up. Remain calm. “That was a surprise for me too . . .”
Shaking her head, Mabel stood like the ones who offended her could be confronted. “I’d have expected better of them.” Then her voice softened. “No wonder you’re hurting, Nora.”
I stared at my cookie like it was suddenly far too complicated.
“It . . . was hard,” I admitted, and my voice surprised me with how normal it sounded.
Letting my feelings out was removing the sting of them.
“But I understand why they didn’t want a circus.
If they’d announced it ahead of time, it might have been a catalyst to either Gabe or my father reacting negatively and that would’ve been worse.
They wanted it to be beautiful before anyone could do or say anything to tarnish it. ”
“You wouldn’t have done that,” Emma declared.
With a shrug, I said, “Maybe they didn’t want me to feel like I had to choose a side.”
“So they left you out,” Mabel said with disapproval. “And now expect you to tell your father.”
Venting and talking out my feelings was helping me work them through, but I didn’t want it to put others in a bad light. “Drew and Bella intended to call them, but I suggested I be the one to tell our father.”
There was a general sound, an echoing tsk.
I rushed to add, “I don’t want Dad to be alone when he gets the news, and I also know he won’t spiral with me. He won’t even raise his voice.”
That sat heavy and undisputed for a long moment.
Mabel bent and hugged my shoulders. “You’re a good daughter, Nora. And he’s lucky to have you.”
Palila’s expression softened. “Do you want us there when you tell him?”
I gave Mabel’s arm a pat. “No, it’ll be fine because thanks to all of you, I’m already feeling much calmer.
My brother made a choice and it’s one that I respect, even if it was hard at first to swallow.
And it was my decision to come back to tell my father and make sure he’s okay.
This is my wedding present to them. If my father doesn’t handle it well, I’ll stick around until he calms. I don’t want Drew to regret giving Bella a peaceful wedding day.
But I also didn’t want to make the situation worse by saying something I didn’t mean because I was hurting.
Thank you for helping me sort through my feelings so I can do this calmly and kindly. ”
Straightening, Mabel seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment.
“In the movies loss brings people together, but that hasn’t been my experience with it.
I’m proud of you for working through your feelings and not hiding from them.
Grief and self-doubt are the head lice of emotions.
Pretending either of them doesn’t exist only gives them room to spread. ”
I caught myself reaching to scratch my head and smiled. “I’ll remember that, even though now my head is itchy.”
Mabel scratched at the back of her own neck. “That’s the power of suggestion. I probably should have chosen a better analogy.”
There was a general rumble of laughter. After a pause, I asked, “Do you see Dorry often?” Dorry was Mabel’s second-youngest and her only daughter. We’d been close growing up but had lost touch when I went to college. But I missed her.
Mabel’s face filled with pride. “She pops in now and then. If she hears you’re here I’m sure you’ll see her. Dartmouth has humbled her a bit. She’s working her tail off there. But she still wants to be an ENT and there’s no better place for her than there.”
Emma’s eyes twinkled. “Is it wrong that whenever she tells us about it, we ask her to speak up?”
Palila rolled her eyes. “Kai always asks her to look at his throat.”
Mabel shook her head. “Tim had her half-convinced he couldn’t smell anything. You’d think he’s too old for such silliness, but these kids . . .”
Tim Halvorsen was the chief of police and a mountain of a man. I loved that Mabel still saw him as someone she’d reprimand and withhold cookies from if she caught him using foul language.
With a wink, I joked, “I wonder why Dorry doesn’t come home more often.”
“She loves it,” Kai interjected. “Plus we need a doctor of our own.”
“Kai wants to have her children,” Palila teased.
He threw a balled napkin at her but didn’t deny it.
I’ve missed this place.
Emma wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Speaking of crushes . . .”
I froze.
Palila leaned in, lowering her voice. “You’re back to help with your father. Does that mean that Brady will be back as well?”
“I have no idea,” I said honestly. Brady was the youngest Holliston and he and I had become friends over the past year but not tell-each-other-everything friends.
“Oh,” Emma’s mouth rounded. “We’d heard you were seeing him.”
“We’re friends . . .” I started, then stopped when knowing smiles populated around me.
“That’s always how it starts,” Kai joked.
I shot him a look, pretty certain the only reason he was in our conversation was to annoy his sister. “Kai, don’t you have a fire to put out somewhere? Or a ladder to practice climbing?”
Kai laughed, stood, and walked over. “So mean, Nora.” His smile turned gentle. “Hey, what you do or don’t do with Brady is your business. And we completely understand why you wouldn’t want those rumors making things harder for your father. We’ll keep your secret.”
“There is no secret,” I stated firmly.
“Right,” he drawled, then gave my back a brotherly pat and left.
Palila nodded in the direction of her departing brother. “I hate to admit he’s right. The news about Drew and Bella is going to hit your father hard enough. Keeping whatever you’re doing with Brady a secret is probably wise.”
“How would I be keeping it a secret if you’re all discussing it?” I asked, mildly irritated.
“Good point,” Emma’s voice lowered. “We need to stop talking about it. Whatever happens, happens.”
Oh my God. Do they all think I’m dating Brady? I’m not.
“You barely touched your cookie,” Mabel chided. “Isn’t double chocolate chip your favorite?”
“Mabel,” Palila said in a stage whisper, “maybe she’s cutting back on cookies.”
I smacked Palila’s arm. Harder than I meant to. “Hey, first I can hear you. Second, yes, I’m a size up in my jeans but college does that to a person. And third . . .”
I looked around. Palila was blunt in a way that sometimes bordered on offensive, but she was the first to show up in a crisis. And if I asked her to cover me while I grabbed the cookie and ran for the door, she would have faked a seizure without hesitation. So I added, “I love you.”
Her face transformed from worry to joy and she hugged me. “I love you too!”
“Sorry I hit you.”
“Sorry I implied you might need to cut back on cookies. I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake and suddenly it’s all I can think about.”
“They say sugar is an addiction,” Emma supplied.
“You know who says that?” Mabel added, her hands in the pockets of her apron.
We turned to look at her.
And straight-faced she said, “Miserable bastards. I’ve never met a problem a glass of lemonade and a warm cookie couldn’t make a little more tolerable.”
“Amen,” I said with a huge smile, both because I knew she meant it and she wasn’t wrong. “Could you pack me a bag of both to go?”
“Sure thing, Nora,” Mabel beamed.