Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Anna
It was Monday evening, and the kitchen smelled like rosemary and lemon, the roast chicken in the oven sending waves of comfort through the house.
Anna wiped her hands on a dish towel and peeked at the twins through the pass-through window.
They were at the table, coloring placemats Lily had made with markers and crayons splayed everywhere like confetti.
Cody’s voice echoed from the hallway, low and steady, and then a giggle from one of the twins broke out.
Anna smiled. Cody was good with them, better than she’d expected, really.
It still surprised her how easily he’d fallen into this life, like he’d never left the island at all.
He was a former Marine, resembled their Uncle Henry in mannerisms and stoicism, but looked as though he could be their father’s twin.
Cody had spent a long time swallowing and hiding emotions because of his service, and she had assumed that’s why he ended things with Nessa.
They’d been together for five years, but Cody suddenly ended things just months after their father had died. People deal with grief in a multitude of different ways, and it didn’t shock anyone that Cody might start pushing people away to deal with it. Their mother had done the same thing.
Because of his military service, Cody wasn’t able to be around the twins a lot over the last nine years, but judging from how the kids adored him, that didn’t matter. Cody was a natural with his niece and nephew, and they loved him.
Cody stepped into the kitchen with a bouquet of daisies in one hand and a half-eaten cookie in the other.
Lily entered behind him, smiling with her eyes as she took in the chaos of the kitchen and the coloring station. She dropped a kiss on Cody’s cheek before heading over to the twins.
“Hey,” he said, offering the flowers to Lily. “Stole these from the neighbor’s yard.”
Anna arched a brow. “You mean Mrs. Ellery’s garden? She’ll haunt you if she isn’t already.”
Cody chuckled and shrugged. “Worth it. I couldn’t come empty-handed.”
“I’ll put them in some water,” Anna said as she took them, tucking the towel over her shoulder.
“Thanks. They’re perfect.” Lily smiled. “I told the twins they could each have one cookie before dinner if they finished their drawings. Cody helped enforce the deal.”
“I’m a man of my word,” Cody replied, tossing the rest of his cookie in his mouth.
Anna leaned against the counter, watching the three of them, Lily brushing hair back from Nora’s eyes, Cody pretending to examine Blaze’s art like he was a museum curator. It was noisy and messy and beautiful. For a moment, it almost felt like things were okay.
But it was just a moment.
Even now, as laughter echoed off the walls and warmth curled in her chest, that cold knot of fear remained buried somewhere beneath her ribs.
Where are you, Luke?
She hadn’t heard anything since the last official update from the military, even though she called daily. He was considered missing in action. That phrase haunted her. It was too vague, too empty. Her mind filled in the blanks with every worst-case scenario imaginable.
And still… she felt him. She couldn’t explain it, not even to Lily. But she felt him. Somewhere, somehow, he was still alive. She was holding on to that.
Dinner was loud and imperfect, the way the best family meals always were.
Blaze dropped a fork and made a production of getting a new one, Nora sang part of a song Cody had taught her, and Lily told a story about a parent who wanted to pay her for her kid’s pottery classes in homemade candles, which she accepted.
Cody added sarcastic commentary where appropriate, and Anna just tried to soak it all in.
Somewhere between second helpings and dessert, Anna’s phone buzzed. She checked it out of habit, still nothing from the military, nothing from any unknown number that might be someone calling with news about Luke.
Just a text from Jess, a photo of her in front of a computer, surrounded by notebooks and what looked like a Pinterest board for coastal aesthetic branding.
Anna stared at it for a beat, then smiled.
“I still can’t believe you asked Jess for help,” she said softly, placing the phone face down beside her plate.
Cody looked up. “Mom did?”
Anna nodded. “For the pottery studio’s social media. Said she’s giving her a ‘chance to prove herself’ or something like that. I think it’s more than that, though.”
“Sometimes all we need is someone to give us a hand up,” Lily said with a smile. “That’s all Jess needs. She’s so talented, and soon the entire island will be begging her to help them.”
“You’re right, she definitely needs that,” Anna said.
“I didn’t think you knew what social media was,” Cody said teasingly.
Lily swatted playfully at him.
After dinner, Lily gave Anna a pointed look when she began collecting plates.
“I’ll handle baths and bedtime,” Lily said, brushing a hand down Anna’s arm. “You and Cody need to talk. Go sit outside. Get some brother-sister bonding in.”
“You sure?”
Lily arched a brow. “When am I not?”
Anna laughed and let herself be guided toward the porch with two glasses of iced tea in hand.
Cody followed her out, grabbing a hoodie from the coatrack on the way.
The sky was the color of dusty lavender, stars blinking faintly into existence.
A breeze rolled in from the harbor, lifting strands of Anna’s hair and ruffling the hem of her shirt.
They sat side by side on the swing, the porch creaking softly beneath them. For a while, neither of them said anything. The sounds of the twins splashing and shrieking in the tub filtered through the window, comforting in their predictability.
Cody stretched his legs out and sighed. “This place still feels like home.”
Anna nodded. “It is home.”
He glanced at her. “You okay?”
“No,” she said. “Not really.”
He didn’t respond, just waited.
“I keep thinking… what if something already happened to Luke?” she whispered.
“What if we’re just sitting here, eating dinner, trying to move forward, and he’s…
” She stopped herself, swallowing hard. “But then… I feel like I’d know.
I just know he’s still alive. It’s like something in me is tethered to him. ”
Cody was quiet for a long beat, then reached out and squeezed her hand.
“I believe you,” he said. “You’ve always had that kind of connection with people. It’s kind of your thing.”
Anna blinked, surprised by the tears welling in her eyes. “Everyone else is starting to treat it like it’s over. Like we just… wait now. Or we move on.”
“But not you.”
“I can’t,” she said. “And I don’t want to. Luke deserves more than that.”
“He does,” Cody agreed.
She leaned into him slightly, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “Do you miss Dad?” she asked suddenly.
He was still for a moment. “Every day.”
“I hate that he’s not here for this. For any of it.”
“I know.”
They sat there a while longer, watching the stars come out one by one. Eventually, Anna tilted her head and looked up at her brother. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Why did you and Nessa really break up?”
He smiled without humor, exhaling like he’d been waiting for the question.
“I loved her,” he said. “Still do, in a way. She was there for some big moments in my life. But we weren’t right anymore. Not for where we are now.”
“What changed?”
“We did,” he said. “I think we both thought we’d settle down eventually. She wanted to travel, live in cities, and build something new every six months. And after Dad died… I didn’t want any of that.”
Anna studied his face in the dim light. “You came home.”
“I had to,” he said. “For Mom. For me. I didn’t know how to help her. I still don’t, half the time. But I couldn’t be on the other side of the country while she was falling apart.”
Anna nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”
“Nessa didn’t understand. She didn’t want to understand,” Cody continued. “Family wasn’t her priority. And I couldn’t fault her for it… But I also couldn’t pretend it didn’t matter to me.”
Anna reached over and took his hand again. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He looked at her, his eyes soft. “Me too.”
They sat in silence for a moment before Cody nudged her with his shoulder. “You know what I missed most about being here?”
“Lobster rolls?”
“That, and… you.”
Anna blinked, warmth blooming in her chest. “You’re such a sap.”
“Only for my baby sister,” he teased. “And those twins. Blaze tried to convince me earlier that the moon is made of cheese.”
“Sounds legit.”
“He had a whole story. There were astronauts and crackers involved. He tells those tall stories just like Dad used to.”
Anna laughed, the sound breaking some of the heaviness in her chest. She leaned her head on his shoulder again, and this time he wrapped an arm around her.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For being here. For not running away from all of this.”
“I think we both know who the brave one is,” he said. “You’re keeping everyone together, Anna. Even Mom. Even with everything going on.”
She didn’t reply. She didn’t need to.
“Do you think, since Mom asked Jess for help, that she’s better now?” Cody continued.
“I hope so,” Anna said. “She was so out of it for so long after Dad. But this… this feels like something. And Jess is good, like really good, and I think Mom’s right, people will see that. Honestly, I think this is good for both of them.”
“I think you’re right. They could both use the distraction.”
“Mom even said that Dad would have been excited, that he always told her to ask Jess marketing questions.”
“And now she’s doing it, that’s great.”
“Mom always has had a way of helping people without them realizing it,” Cody said.
Anna nodded her head, because he was right. She had been so strong for everyone else in their circle for so long. She would quietly support those she loved and she was doing that now with Jess.
The porch swing creaked beneath them, the night wind gentle against their skin.
And for just a little while, as they sat side by side beneath the stars, Anna allowed herself to believe that everything would be okay.
That Luke would come home. That Jess would find her way.
That their mother would keep healing. That love didn’t have to be loud or perfect to be real, it just had to be. And right now, it was.