Chapter 27
27
Liam
I left her alone for five minutes. After she overheard our conversation, I got her changed and resettled and then I had to go to the bathroom. Yes, maybe I was in there for a long time trying to figure out how this all went to shit.
When I came back out, I swear not five minutes later, Tess wasn’t on the couch. She wasn’t in the sleeping porch. She wasn’t in her room. Or Kit’s. I checked mine to be on the safe side.
Empty.
I ran out to the beach, thinking she was there, looking at shells or birds or something, but all I saw was the tide washing out Kit’s footprints from earlier.
I lost her.
I charged back into the house and out the front door thinking maybe she’d gone into the cul de sac for some reason? Like a head wound reason? I was so panicked I couldn’t think clearly. I grabbed my car keys and called Kit. Who, if I wasn’t mistaken, sounded a little drunk.
“Tess is gone,” I said, my eyes closed, the words pulled up from my gut.
“Is she on the beach?”
“No.”
“The sleeping-”
“I’ve looked.”
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
“What do I do? Kit, What. Do. I. Do?”
“Stop panicking, number one. Okay, she couldn’t have gone far.” I heard her mumble something to maybe the bartender. Or someone else at the bar. Voices murmured back. “Okay,” she said. “Everyone here is going to split up and go look around. I’ll check the bookstore. You drive slowly up Harbor Road. Stay in touch.”
Again, Kit was calm and cool in a crisis. Everything about this sucked, but I was glad she was here. I almost said that to her but she hung up.
She wasn’t on Harbor Road, but when I got into town, I parked by the square and walked back along the beach towards our house. I found her halfway between town and our cove. Once I realized the little figure walking towards me was her, I took off at a sprint and fell to my knees in front of her, wrapping her in my arms.
“Oh shit,” I whispered. “You scared me, Tess. You scared me so much.”
“I want my mom,” she sobbed into my shirt. “I want to go home.”
“Okay,” I said. Right. I couldn’t pretend this away. I was in charge and I needed to act like it. “Here, let’s call your mom right now.”
We’d tried to call her a while ago, after Kit left and Tess asked, but we’d gotten a message and left one for her to call us as soon as she could. This time, before I called, I texted Janice SOS. So, she answered on the second ring.
“Is she okay?” She asked, breathless.
“Yeah, she’s fine. She just needs you,” I said, looking down at the tear-ravaged face of this little girl I’d come to love so much.
“I’m running to get a flight right now. I have a four hour layover in Denver and a connection-”
“Stop,” I said. “I’ll send a jet. It will be ready in an hour. It will fly you to Portland, we’ll meet you there.”
She gasped. “Thank you,” she choked out. “Thank you. Can I talk to her?”
“Yeah. But, you need to answer one question.” I turned away from Tess. “Yes or no. I need to hear it from your mouth.”
“I’ll explain when-”
“It’s yes or no, Janice. You know what I’m asking. I want the truth.”
“Yes.”
My life rearranged around me and through me. Who I thought I was, was gone. The life I wanted was obvious. I couldn’t play around anymore. I had to fight for what was mine.
“I’ll see you in a few hours. Here’s Tess.”
Kit
I found them on the beach. Tess was in his arms, her head against his shoulder, both of them looking exhausted from all the emotions. I got it, emotions were exhausting.
I ran to them, the fear and panic of just a few minutes ago making me fast. Sand kicked up as I slid to a stop in front of them.
“Tess,” I cried, throwing caution to the wind and wrapping my arms around both of them. “Oh Tess, you scared us.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I just wanted to go home.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, pushing back her hair. “I’m sure you do.”
“We’re going to load up and head back to Portland,” Liam said. “Janice will be there tonight.” I met his eyes and felt a shiver run down my spine.
This was what he looked like on the ice, when the cameras focused on his face just before the puck dropped. He was focused and battle ready. The hair on my arms lifted like there was electricity in the air.
“Are you okay?” I asked him and fought the instinct to stroke his face, run my hand down the crease between his eyes. I’d forfeited that right this morning and it would only get me in deeper trouble. Not sure how many times a heart could break, but I didn’t want to find out.
“I will be,” he said. “We all will be.”
My father told me everything would be fine more times than I could count and I knew better than to trust his words after everything we’d been through. Especially knowing that his idea of fine and my idea of fine were totally different.
I turned and walked beside him across the beach, to the car in the parking lot. We drove back to the house and within a half hour we were back on the road.
Leaving the best week of my life behind.
It was noon when we got into the city and Liam pulled up in front of Ms. Rene’s house. The garden so different now then when we’d left, like a whole season had passed. It was disorienting. My life felt different.
“Okay,” I said, forcing myself to smile. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Can I say hello to Ms. Rene?” Tess cried from the back seat. The poor kid who hadn’t been whiney or homesick once during the whole trip to Calico Cove was now emotionally miserable.
I got out of the front seat and opened the door to the back seat so I could talk to her face to face. “Honey,” I smiled and stroked back her hair. “You can come and visit anytime, but I think you need to get home and rest. See your mom.”
“I can visit anytime?”
“Anytime.”
I hugged the girl as fiercely as I could while being gentle with her head. She hugged me back just as hard. “I love you, Kit,” she said with all the ease and the innocence of a kid. Tears burned in my eyes.
“I love you too,” I whispered. It was true. After my dad’s betrayal I didn’t think I had any love left in me to give. But then came Liam and Tess.
Big jerks!
I gave her a watery smile and grabbed my bag from the back of the truck. I hurried, wanting to avoid some kind of uncomfortable exchange with Liam. But as I swung my duffle bag out the back, he was there, taking it from me.
“Kit-”
“Just go,” I said, unable to look him in the eye. “It’s better if you’re not here.”
“I’ll be back,” he said, holding my hand, but I still couldn’t look at him. “I promise. I have some things I have to do and I’ll be back.”
“I told you no,” I reminded him. “We’re not friends, we’re not acquaintances. We’re done now.”
I pulled my hand away from his and walked up the stone path. I opened the three locks on the front door and shut it behind me.
Once again inside the nicest house in the worst neighborhood in Portland.
Ms. Rene stopped on the stairs the second she saw me.
“Oh Catherine,” she breathed. “He broke your heart.”