Chapter 26
On a gorgeous day in June, more than a week after that terrifying night, Hannah felt more hopeful than she had in years.
Julien had taken a much-needed day off from the docks, and Hannah watched from the beach in front of the old Kaiser house as he painted the back door.
He wore no shirt, and his muscles glistened in the sun.
When he turned back to catch her eye, she blew him a kiss, and he smiled in a way that made him look twenty years younger.
She loved him. However, she wouldn’t be ready to say it for another few months.
It wasn’t about not frightening him away.
She was pretty sure he could handle her emotions.
He’d been able to handle everything else.
Rather, she wanted to enjoy the floaty feeling of falling in love.
She wanted to enjoy every minute of their story.
When they finished painting the door, they put on their swimsuits and went for a swim.
Hannah watched as Julien dove into the waves, then emerged, throwing his head back so that his hair flowed out behind him.
She swam over to him and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him saltily.
She wondered if she’d get the nerve to ask him to sleep over soon.
She knew Minnie would be okay with it if she asked.
She knew that Minnie was trying to be softer with Hannah, that Minnie was so grateful to be home, to be rebuilding a life here in Nantucket, especially after everything that had happened with her father.
Most notably, they’d hired a therapist to try to help them through the next era.
Meanwhile, Kendall was in prison in Florida, awaiting trial.
Two of his “colleagues in crime” had been arrested as well, including the father of Gavin, Minnie’s ex-boyfriend.
Sometimes Hannah didn’t know what to make of this.
On the one hand, the Legacy Club committed its fair share of crimes in the name of “saving Nantucket.” On the other hand, they’d saved Minnie’s life, and therefore Hannah’s. They’d shown her their dramatic powers.
And Hannah, both intrigued and floored by the ways these women worked, had agreed—tentatively—to join their ranks.
In fact, Eleanor Pike was coming over for dinner later.
She’d already called twice to ask what Hannah was cooking.
“Good. I know exactly what kind of wine to bring,” Eleanor said.
She was the kind of woman who knew her way around a kitchen, around a wine cellar, and around a fine-dining experience. She was a surprise in every way.
After their swim, Hannah and Julien went inside to clean up and get dressed.
Minnie had sent a text saying that she and Viggo would be coming back in a few minutes.
And by the time Hannah was in the kitchen, chopping an onion, she heard Minnie and Viggo coming up the porch steps, laughing.
When they entered, Minnie came up to hug her mother, then removed two sodas from the fridge.
Viggo blushed, still embarrassed to be around his girlfriend’s mother.
But Hannah had to give him credit. When Viggo had learned about Minnie’s kidnapping, after they’d returned to Nantucket, he’d come over to the house almost immediately with flowers and donuts and tears in his eyes.
With the door to Minnie’s bedroom open, he’d sat on her bed and talked to her, holding her hand.
Hannah had done her best to give them privacy.
Hannah might never know what was said between them. But Minnie had explained to Hannah that Viggo now understood who he was getting involved with. “He doesn’t think it’s crazy,” Minnie had said. “He said he gets it. All relationships are weird.”
Now, Minnie and Viggo set the table on the porch, then sat on the sand, talking and sipping their sodas as they waited for Eleanor to arrive.
Hannah stirred the chowder and set out the fresh bread and butter.
The chowder was a recipe she’d read online—a recipe that called itself “quintessential” when it came to Nantucket living.
She hoped that it would impress Eleanor.
She hoped that it would show her that Hannah was serious about settling down here.
She felt like it was a symbol.
Now that Hannah’s research into the Legacy Club was finished, Hannah had boxed up the letters written to Georgia Kaiser. She’d made up her mind. She’d ask whatever needed asking, straight to the members of the Legacy Club themselves. They had no reason not to trust her.
Maybe it was sad to put her journalism career to bed for now. But Hannah reasoned that she was ready for a fresh chapter.
“There she is,” Julien said from the front window. “She brought Rosamund and Clarice along with her, too.”
Hannah reached for two extra bowls, spoons and glasses, hurrying out to add them to the table.
She’d never met any of the other members of the Legacy Club, and she wanted to make a good impression.
When she returned inside, she found Julien hugging the older woman, asking after their families.
They asked about Nora, his mother, and he said, “She’s not bad.
Her memory’s failing her, but she’s not bad.
She’s happy, even.” He smiled, as though to let them know he knew what they’d done for her, for his family. He’d never forgotten.
When Eleanor went out onto the porch, Minnie popped up and smiled confusedly. “It’s you,” she said, as though they’d met before. But when she glanced at Hannah, she shut her mouth.
“I gave Minnie a ride a couple of weeks ago,” Eleanor said. “I didn’t realize she was your daughter.”
Hannah knew that was a lie, that Eleanor had known from the minute she’d spotted Minnie that Minnie was Hannah’s daughter. After all, they were twins.
Together, the three older women, with Hannah, Minnie, Viggo, and Julien, sat around the table, filling their bowls with clam chowder and their glasses with the wine Eleanor had brought.
The orange and red sunset glowed on the horizon, giving the sand a pastel hue.
Hannah felt an endless feeling of gratitude rolling through her.
She couldn’t believe all she’d lost, nor all she’d gained.