Chapter 2 #2
At the same time, the obvious ease and love between her mother and her niece, the way the young girl relaxed into her grandmother’s frame and took in her every word with such awe made Faith feel the sting of guilt that she hadn’t been around Isabella enough as she was growing up.
She didn’t have this connection with her niece.
For all intents and purposes, she was a stranger to Isabella.
Faith had let her issues with Casey get in the way of that bond for too long.
She hoped she’d get the chance now to work on that.
“I’ll follow you,” Martha said, looking up from Isabella and waving at Faith. “You know how to get there, right?”
She nodded. As they got into their cars, Faith hadn’t asked, but she’d wondered… Where was Scott? Why wasn’t he with Casey? Had he just decided to stay home? Had Casey convinced him that it was a girls’ trip, and she’d rather see her family alone?
Once the others were in their cars, Faith made her way onto the bypass, and headed toward the cottage. Jake, the handyman—if that was what he was—had still been building things in there. He’d just finished the cabinets.
Would he still be there? If she’d wanted to think of something interesting to say to him, she’d probably missed her chance with Casey around.
Casey would most certainly dominate any conversation.
It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t try to. She was just good at it.
Casey was a people person and she could find something interesting to say to anyone.
It was a skill that she’d mastered to perfection.
Would her sister let her get a word in edgewise with Jake? He was probably gone now anyway.
As Faith drove, Casey stayed on her mind.
In high school, Casey had been a cheerleader and had organized the pep rallies on game day.
She had planned school dances, she’d run for class president, and, with no experience in leadership at all, she had gotten it.
She enjoyed those things and being in the public eye excited her.
In contrast, Faith had been on the newspaper staff, where the only interaction at all would come from the small staff when they did layout and the few interviews she had to do with kids around school.
It was perfect for her, and she was great at it.
The two of them had gone on in very different directions, but it all made sense now, given their personalities.
They were both successful, just in different ways.
It had taken her a long time to understand this.
She stopped at the stoplight and put on her blinker.
The more she thought about this vacation, the more being in close quarters with her sister excited her because maybe they’d have an opportunity to set things straight.
They needed time together, forced proximity to finally discuss what had happened so long ago.
Faith wasn’t mad anymore. It was what it was.
Her biggest question now was, why? Why had Casey so blatantly disregarded her sister’s feelings?
How was she capable of hurting Faith like she had?
When she and Casey had been about eight years old, they’d planned their weddings.
They were going to get married on the same day so they could have the biggest cake ever made.
Faith wanted a dress with a long train and a veil that covered her face.
Casey wanted a tiara and big, puffy dress.
They wanted to marry brothers so that they could live next door to each other and never be apart.
Now look at them. She hadn’t seen her sister in years.
She only realized the radio was on when she pulled into the drive of the cottage.
She’d been thinking about her situation so much she’d not even noticed the music.
The sand gritted beneath her tires as she pulled her car up beside the large white work truck, the rest of the family pulling in behind her.
Faith was thrilled to see that Jake was still at the cottage, this time on a ladder, nailing wooden shingles to the side of the house.
Normally, she’d probably be annoyed that someone was there doing work as she arrived, but not today.
She could hardly contain her excitement at seeing Jake again.
Would he be around all day? Could she bring him some iced tea and steal a few minutes of his time to talk to him more?
Jake climbed down to greet them. He didn’t seem surprised to see her, and his expression when she mentioned her Nan’s birthday earlier now made sense. He’d already known they were coming.
“You must be Sophia, the renter,” he said to Nan, offering her a hand, as she wriggled her way out of the car and stood in front of him.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.” His eyes darted to Faith quickly, a smile surfacing, and then, as quickly as he’d looked at her, he looked away, his attention back on Nan.
Nan tipped her head back to get a look at the cottage, her eyes roaming the entire outside. “It’s quite a cottage,” she said with an approving smile. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“I wish I could have finished it before you all came to stay. I still have some work to do.”
She shooed the comment away playfully with her hand.
“We don’t mind. I told that to the real estate office when they said it was currently under construction.
I don’t want to wait until it’s finished.
Plus, it’ll give me an extra set of strong hands to help me up and down all these stairs you’ve built.
They warned me a hundred times that final touches were still being added, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
” She turned slowly until she was facing her family.
“The minute I heard this place was livable, I wanted to come. I don’t have the luxury of time, so I wanted to get into it as soon as I could—one last beach visit together in our spot.
It was good luck that it had been completed by my birthday.
” She looked over her shoulder at Jake. “Do you mind helping me up there?” She raised a knobby finger toward the steps.
“Yes ma’am.” He walked over and offered his arm. Jake certainly was a gentleman.
Faith noticed the ease in which Jake spoke with Nan.
He had been chatty at Dune Burger—everyone seemed to know him—and he’d known just the right things to say to Faith when he’d found her on the porch of the cottage.
Now, he spoke to Nan as if he’d known her longer than just ten minutes. He acted like they’d spoken before.
“Did you build this house yourself?” Casey asked Jake as they followed him up the long staircase to the porch overlooking the ocean.
“No,” he said, looking back at her while keeping Nan steady step by step. “I didn’t build it at all, the construction company did, but I’m doing a few items on the final punch list and some specialty work. I like doing those things. It keeps me busy.”
“Sounds like me. I like keeping busy too,” Casey said, smiling up in his direction.
Faith noticed how effortless it was for Casey to ease into the conversation.
It was like turning back the clock: Faith was the quiet one again, walking behind as Casey took the lead.
This fact was crawling under her skin uncomfortably as she followed them up the stairs.
They got to the top and Casey pulled Faith aside, motioning for Isabella to follow Martha and Nan into the cottage.
Jake helped Nan in. “Let’s look at this gorgeous view!
” she said. “I’ve missed it so much!” She grabbed Faith’s hand just like she had when they were kids and whisked her over to the same ledge where Faith had been only a little while before. The sailboat was long gone now.
The two women stood in silence, side by side, Casey’s long, blond hair blowing in the coastal wind.
Casey lifted her hand to hold back her hair, her bangle bracelets clinking together like wind chimes.
“Remember when we used to swim through that area right there,” she pointed toward the spot where the waves were breaking, their static sound like music to Faith’s ears.
“We’d get past the breaking point—it was so hard, remember that?
” Casey looked at Faith, a nostalgic expression on her face.
“We’d get knocked around, pushed under. Then, once we got past, it was calm.
We’d just bob in the water, the waves swelling under us and then relenting.
” Her sister looked back out at the ocean, and Faith followed her lead.
Faith did remember that. She remembered holding her sister’s hand as they walked deeper into the water toward the breaking point, the salty wetness between their fingers as they intertwined.
She remembered the burn on her cheeks from the salt, and the relief from the heat as she waded farther in.
“Scott and I are getting a divorce,” Casey blurted, her eyes still on the sea.
Casey’s words took Faith completely by surprise.
She turned to look at her sister, only her profile in view.
Casey blinked over and over as if she were fighting tears, but if she were, she’d never show it.
Faith wanted Casey to turn and look her way.
She was speechless. “You’re probably happy about it, aren’t you? ” Casey said quietly.
Faith was floored by this news. She wasn’t happy about it at all.
She was devastated for so many reasons. Had ruining her relationship with Faith, taking Scott from her own sister, and wrecking Faith’s life been for nothing?
Scott had been important enough to Casey that she would risk her relationship with her own sister by showing interest in him, knowing that Faith was head over heels for Scott.
And now he wasn’t even going to be a part of Casey’s life?