Chapter 33
Maggie watched with pride as Keondre took another lap across the pool. His hands sliced rhythmically through the water as
his legs propelled him forward in a long, lean line. He was already faster than he’d been at their first lesson. He was swimming
as straight as an arrow and his sneaky breaths were nice and smooth.
Kyra came up beside her, offering a glass of lemonade.
“Thank you.” After standing in the August heat for almost an hour, she found the cold liquid welcome and refreshing. “Mmm.
Very nice.”
“The key to good lemonade is simple syrup.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
They watched Keondre turn at the far wall and begin another lap.
“I can’t believe how far he’s come with you in just a matter of weeks. We’re ecstatic with his progress.”
“He’s eager to learn. It’s a joy teaching such a coachable athlete.”
“His confidence has soared. He’s so sad you only have one more lesson together. We both are.”
“I am too.” Maggie also hated the thought of leaving—not only Keondre, but Erin and Josh and Seabrook. In all her efforts to avoid the island since Ethan’s death, she’d forgotten this was her home too. There were good memories here. Memories worth hanging on to. “He’ll be fine. I’ll give him some things to work on. He’ll make the team and he’ll learn a lot more from his coach.”
“Are you sure we can’t hide you away in our attic? We’ll take real good care of you.”
Maggie laughed. “Tempting. But I can’t afford to quit my day job.” Though the lessons had ended up being more lucrative than
she’d imagined. She hadn’t planned on making any money this summer.
Kyra sipped her lemonade. “Pity.”
Ten minutes later, Maggie started her car and put the windows down to release the stuffy air. It was after one now. Keondre’s
lesson was her third today—she’d grouped them together to make childcare more feasible.
Today she’d left Zoey with Sharon. Her neighbor’s granddaughter was visiting for the day, and the woman thought the girls
might enjoy each other’s company.
Maggie had just been glad for something to do. Ever since she’d awakened this morning, she dreaded her mother’s phone call.
Speaking of which...
Maggie checked her phone—and her stomach dropped at all the notifications from her mother. When Mom hadn’t reached out first
thing this morning, Maggie assumed she was planning to let her stew awhile. It was one of Mom’s favorite games: Guilt Maggie,
Then Ghost Her for Punishment.
But Maggie had made a tactical error. She should’ve checked her phone between lessons because Mom had called seven times and
left three—no doubt scathing—voice mails.
Crap.
***
From the pier Josh waved good-bye to Big D. They had a one-hour lunch break between their morning and afternoon tours, which they often took together. But Josh had some bills to pay, and he often used a table on the main deck to work on them during his lunch break.
Will disembarked the Carolina Dream . “I’m off to lunch. See you at one.”
“Hey, thanks for helping out with the sick passenger.” A woman had gotten physically ill and didn’t quite make it to the railing.
According to Big D, Will cleaned up the mess and directed her to the middle of the boat once her misery subsided.
“No worries, man. All in a day’s work.” With a wave Will took off.
Josh went to the upper deck and grabbed the stack of bills from the pilothouse. When he came back downstairs, his sister was
boarding. With her short blonde hair up in a stubby ponytail, she looked about eighteen. The summer sun had bronzed her skin
and a pair of white shorts and a pale pink top set off her tan.
“Well, hey there,” he said. “What are you doing here? Everything okay? The kids?”
Her smile didn’t quite reach her green eyes. “The kids are fine.”
“Well, what is it? You haven’t been down here since I took the family on Carolina ’s maiden voyage on the river.”
“You got a minute?”
Something had upset her—hopefully she hadn’t spotted Will on his way out and thought she’d seen Ethan’s ghost. “Sure, my next
tour isn’t for another hour.” He ushered her to one of the booths that overlooked the river and sat across from her.
Erin pinched her shirt and fanned herself. “Feels good in here. It’s been miserable outside this week.”
“Gotta be close to a hundred.”
“It’s the humidity. Even that storm the other day didn’t help matters. You can’t walk outside without melting.”
He observed her as she glanced around the vessel. She’d always been one to settle into a conversation, and even though his
curiosity was killing him, he let her.
“You’ve made some upgrades in here.”
“Some paint, new upholstery on the booths, new flooring.” He’d done a lot more than that, but he wouldn’t bore her with mechanics—electric
and plumbing updates. His sister only noticed the aesthetic stuff anyway.
“It’s nice. Warm and welcoming.”
“The old girl needed some love for sure. I wouldn’t have gotten such a great deal on her if she’d looked like this when I
bought her, though.”
“Business still good? Mom said you hired someone recently.”
“Uh, yeah. He’s working out real well.”
“That’s great.” Her attention drifted back to him and her expression turned serious. “A while ago I got a phone call from
Nora.”
He swallowed back a curse. “Maggie’s mom?”
“None other. I would’ve gone straight to Maggie with this, but she tolerates enough from that woman. I wanted to spare her
the drama if it just turned out to be a bunch of her mom’s narcissistic bull.”
He pressed his lips together. Leave it to Nora. She’d spilled the beans about their relationship. “Let’s have it.”
Erin aimed her eyes at him like a heat-seeking missile. “She was fuming because she’s under the impression you and Maggie
are seeing each other.”
He maintained eye contact, resisting the urge to squirm in his seat. Their gazes tangled the way only a brother and a sister’s could. Erin could always see right through him. But Maggie was her best friend. Should he prevaricate? He put up a mental shield while he decided how to handle this.
Erin huffed. “It’s true. You’re dating Maggie.”
So much for that shield. He couldn’t lie to her or even distract her—she was like a dog with a bone at times like this. “It’s
brand-new, Erin. We’ve only had two dates.” Three if you counted the aquarium and four if you counted last night’s pizza—which
he wasn’t.
“My best friend is dating my other brother and neither of you bothered to mention it? This is a huge shift—and it affects
the whole family.” She gave her head a hard shake. “She was Ethan’s wife, Josh. I feel like the whole world just turned upside
down.”
“Don’t buy into Nora’s irrational thinking. We’re not exactly committing incest here, you know. Nora’s only upset because
she wanted Maggie to pair up with the son of a board member to further her own career. That’s what this is really all about.”
“Dr. Derrick?”
Josh blinked. “He’s a doctor?”
“Listen, I know how Nora can be and I don’t necessarily share her outrage. But at the same time, I’m having trouble wrapping
my mind around this.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “And a little heads-up would’ve been nice. She blindsided me.”
He couldn’t believe Derrick was a doctor. He was surprised Nora hadn’t thrown that in his face last night. He shook the thought
away. “Well, that’s what she does.”
“And yet Maggie confided in Nora about your relationship?”
Josh gave a harsh laugh. “Of course not. Her mom walked in on us at the beach house last night and had a hissy fit.”
“Walked in on you... what?” Erin scowled. “Just two dates, huh?”
“It was just two dates.”
“And already there was something to walk in on?”
He glared at his sister. He couldn’t believe Nora had gone behind their backs like this. Stirred things up. It shouldn’t have
surprised him, though.
“All right, fine.” Erin crossed her arms. “It’s none of my business.”
“Finally.”
“But this does affect the whole family, whether you like it or not. And it would’ve been nice if my brother or best friend
had at least mentioned it in passing.”
“We wanted to let it play out without pressure from the family. We wanted to see how it went.”
“And? How’s it going?”
“It’s going well, Erin, that’s how it’s going.”
“Excuse me for being a little caught off guard here. Maggie and I tell each other everything—or so I thought. I’ve spoken
with her almost every day this summer.”
“Don’t you dare give her a hard time about this. We were just waiting till the fifth anniversary passed. We didn’t want to
spring it on the family when we’re all about to face that day. Nora’s already scolded and shamed her over this—it was painful
to witness and all I could do to stop myself from throttling the woman. Maggie was shaking by the time she finally left.”
Josh pinned Erin with an unwavering stare. “The last thing she needs is her best friend heaping guilt on her too.”
Erin held his eye contact. Then she slowly leaned back in the booth, her gaze sharpening on him with a knowing look. “You’re
in love with her.”
He gritted his teeth. He hadn’t meant to give himself away like that. “If I am, you’re sure not the first person I’d tell.”
Erin’s expression softened. Then she looked to the window where a model bow tug made its way upstream.
“Don’t you dare tell her.”
Erin glanced his way, all innocence. “Tell her what?” Then her lips tipped in a warm smile. “Does she feel the same way?”
“I don’t know,” he grumbled. Shifted in the booth. He knew he should’ve added some padding to the seat backs.
“I’ve never seen you quite like this.”
“Testy?”
She chuckled, the smile lingering on her mouth. “In love.”
He huffed. “Yeah? I was married for four years, remember?”
“Oh, I remember...”
He was not going there. Not with Erin, not with anyone.
“You’re right about Nora,” Erin said. “Maggie’s been through a lot. It’s a wonder she turned out to be such a wonderful person.
Don’t worry. I won’t give her a hard time.”
As Erin’s approach softened, his shoulders relaxed. “Well. Thanks for that.” He hated to even tell Maggie what her mom had
done. Or maybe Nora had already called to gloat about it. She was a master manipulator. And Josh didn’t relish the thought
of opposing her in this battle.
“There’s one more thing,” Erin said.
At her serious tone, his gaze swung to hers.
“Nora asked me for Mom’s number.”
He stiffened. “You didn’t give it to her.”
“So she could blindside Mom too? Of course not. But she’s clearly on a rampage, out to manipulate everyone to get what she
wants.”
His sister was no dummy. But now, thanks to Nora, they might have a real mess on their hands.
“You should talk to Maggie before this escalates any further.”
“I will.”
A moment later she leaned forward, eyes twinkling. “You know, I think I could get used to seeing you all dopey-eyed over my
best friend.”
“Shut up,” he muttered. But his lips twitched as he said it.