Chapter 17 #3
All three houses matched, with their elegant brown wood.
I wasn’t sure if they called the style ship plank, but I wasn’t that into architecture.
A manicured lawn spread out gracefully up to the lighter brown door.
White windows glinted in the sunshine, amid the verdant trees.
In the distance, I could see what must be the Atlantic Ocean, stretching as a gorgeous beachy backdrop behind the houses.
If we keep going, we could be in Europe , I thought, gazing at the water in surprise.
Jeremy touched my arm, and I tried to get the wide-eyed wonder off my face and force my expression into neutrality.
“Beach.” He pointed to my left, so I obediently looked.
“Pond to your right. We have entrances to both, but the pond is just behind the trees over there. I’ll show you around later. I don’t want you getting lost.”
As we got out of the car, I could hear the ocean in the distance, and I imagined it would be pretty easy to get lost at their estate. I swallowed, trying to keep myself calm despite the luxury. “I thought your granny called it a cottage?”
“Yes, she does.” Julian shrugged. “We all do. When my grandfather bought the place, apparently it was just a little cottage at the beach. We’ve remodeled a lot since then, but everyone still calls it the cottage.”
“I don’t.” Phoenix said and met my gaze. His gaze seemed stark, somehow, as if he wanted to warn me. “I call it hell. I hate it here.”
Barrett raised his hand, as if voting with Phoenix. “We all have that in common.”
I turned toward the house, a gust of wind catching my hair, as their granny came walking out of the front door.
“Oh, good you’re all here! Go on inside, boys, your parents are waiting for you.
” She made a swishing gesture with her hand, shooing them away.
“I hated the helicopter ride, but I did it. For that, I am proud of myself, at the very least. Come with me, my Alatheia. You are my personal guest.”
She doesn’t live with them? I wondered, following her as she led me to one of the smaller houses.
Barrett froze, calling out, “I want her in the main house with us.”
“Well, my heart, it seems that your parents are more comfortable with her being with me. I’m sure you can understand, for now anyway.
Come along, Alatheia. You can meet the whole motley crew later.
For now, I’m going to get you set up and situated.
Please bring her bags to the back house, Ben, ” she directed the driver before she linked her arm with mine then swirled into motion.
“See you later for dinner, boys. Be good to your parents.”
As if she summoned her, a gorgeous blonde woman appeared in the doorway.
Long and flowing down her back, the golden banner of hair covered her face in a gust of stray wind.
As she freed herself from the hair, I noticed her all white gown, and the way she clung to the doorframe as if it offered life support.
She was supermodel variety gorgeous, but I wasn’t surprised.
Her sons were gorgeous, too.
Dina noticed the other woman and squeezed my arm. “That’s Rosalind, their mother and my daughter-in-law. She’s a sweet girl. Sorry, lady. Woman. Anyway, I wish she had written her own diaries. Lord knows, she could have used them.”
Her diaries . I caught my breath. “I left them in New York.”
“Don’t worry, I grabbed them. I already tucked them into my house here.
” I glanced at the building, surprised she didn’t live with them and instead kept her own space on the property.
“I put them in your room. Welcome to our beach, Alatheia. I hate the beach, and they all get that from me, but their parents love this place. Because of them, we come, we put on our show here, and we try to relax.” She sighed.
“At my age, I’m supposed to care about the birds.
All old ladies do, and I haven’t gotten a single book on birds.
We’re supposed to know the names of this bird and that bird, and be able to point them out if they stop at a feeder.
Me? I don’t care about the damn birds, Alatheia.
Am I defunct? I don’t care if I am. I don’t want to grow things in a garden; no tomatoes for me.
I want to go to the theatre and visit art galleries.
I like long conversations with people, shopping, and having late lunches with mimosas.
Of course, all that said, right at the moment I’m enjoying watching my grandchildren, as I should be. ”
“Now, look.” She clapped her hands, smiling at the building as if it brought her genuine joy.
“This is my house. They do what they want in the main house, and I don’t interfere.
Much.” She winked at me, as if we shared a secret.
“The other house is the guest house, but my reign doesn’t extend there, either.
You are my guest in this house, and this is your room.
The kitchen is over there, and my room is upstairs. Make yourself at home.”
With that, she left me standing in her main entrance, blinking in mild shock.
Why did I think this was a small house? It wasn’t, the sprawling place obviously big enough for multiple bedrooms, not to mention parlors and who knew what else.
It all seemed too big, too much for me, so I simply went toward the room she said was mine.
I stopped in the doorway, my hand going to my throat as if to protect myself from the sheer size of the room.
The king sized bed in the center of the room had been draped in blues and whites.
The white paint on the walls matched the bed, and four dressers were set around the space as well as a seat at the end of the bed.
The curtains were closed, but they were also blue and white, matching the rest of the decor.
When I pulled aside the fabric gently to peek outside, my breath caught in my throat.
The glittering water of the ocean battered the sunshine covered beach, and I couldn’t believe all of it was just outside my window.
“Excuse me, miss? I’m going to leave your bag right here.” The driver set my bag carefully in the doorway before backing up a step.
“Oh, thank you.” Honestly, I didn’t know the proper manners for the situation—should I tip the guy?—so I simply said, “And thank you for getting us here safely.”
He smiled, the warmth in his eyes suggesting I made the right call. “You’re welcome. Enjoy your stay here. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”
I blew out a breath and glanced outside again. Okay. I am in the Hamptons with the Lents. After I put my stuff away, I could get to work for Dina, since that was why she brought me. If I just focused on the work, I could make it through this …
What did she mean when she said Rosalind should have written her own diaries?