Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
SAWYER
T he village was a madhouse. Tourists scrambled to make the ferry back to the mainland. Service would continue to run as long as it was deemed safe, usually about twenty-four hours after a hurricane warning got called. As I’d determined this morning, Willa and I were already well-stocked out at Sutter House, with hurricane panels for the windows, fuel for the generator, plenty of plastic sheeting, and sandbags. But we joined the throngs of other locals emptying the market’s shelves of bottled water and non-perishables, along with extra dog food for Roy. At the hardware store, we stocked up on batteries and duct tape. I rushed us through, feeling Willa’s tension ratchet up with all the people pressing too close in the aisles, their own varying degrees of panic fueling her anxiety.
“Let’s get home. We’ve got lots to do.” I’d never prepped a house as large as Sutter House for a hurricane before, and already a mile long list was spooling through my head.
As we loaded our purchases into the backseat of the truck, someone called our names.
“Sawyer! Willa! Just the couple I was looking for.” Mimi trotted across the parking lot.
I pulled her in for a hug. “Hey. You stocking up for the storm like everybody else?”
“Sure am.” She squeezed me tight, then opened her arms to Willa. “Hey, darlin’. It’s good to see you again.”
“You, too. Do you and Florence have everything you need to ride things out?”
“Supplies, yes. But if y’all can spare the time, we could use a hand getting the last of the hurricane shutters up. Flo thinks we can do it all ourselves, but she’s thinking with the brain of someone who isn’t vertically challenged. I’m capable of a lot of things, but lengthy reach isn’t one of them.”
My lips twitched. Mimi was 5’1” on a good day. Mama Flo was nearer to 5’10”. Ford’s height came from her. “Of course, we’ll follow you on out. Are you headed home now?”
“Sure am.”
“Meet you there.”
The village was so congested it took nearly twenty minutes to make it all the way to the lighthouse. I was glad we’d be able to bypass it on the way back to Sutter House. Mama Flo was at the top of a ladder when we pulled up, a drill in her hand.
I slid out of the truck. “Maybe you ought to let us help with that before you fall and break your neck. Ford would be mighty pissed if you did.”
“We prepped for hurricanes out here long before you were big enough to help.” In defiance, she drilled in the last screw on the hurricane shutter she was attaching.
“Nobody’s questioning your general badassery. You’d yell at me if I was up a ladder by myself with nobody home, too.”
She opened her mouth. Closed it again. “Well, you’ve got me there. I suppose, since you’re here, I could use a hand.”
Mimi humphed and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like, “Stubborn, pig-headed Amazon.”
Willa must’ve caught it too because she snorted a laugh before covering with a cough. “What can we do?”
Between the four of us, we made quick work of the last of the prep. The lighthouse itself didn’t need extra attention, so it was just finishing up all the windows on the cottage and helping them cart the outdoor furniture and grill inside.
When we were through, Mama Flo dusted off her hands. “I have to admit, that went quicker. Y’all come inside for a glass of tea and some cookies.”
“Would those be double chocolate chip?” I asked, hopeful.
Mimi grinned. “They would.”
“Twist my arm, why don’t you?”
The kitchen was a lot darker with the windows shuttered, but no less inviting. The two women bustled about, pouring tea, plating cookies. Because they waved us away, Willa and I sat at the table, taking the window seat. Roy lapped at the bowl of water they brought him, then found a cold spot to stretch out on the slate floor.
Willa propped her chin in her hands. “I’m a little surprised we haven’t heard from you since our party. I figured you’d want the update.”
“Oh, well, we wanted to let you two settle in,” Mama Flo admitted. “Not that the Universe got that message. Married one week. Hurricane the next. But how are things?”
“Well, I got served.”
Mama Flo paused, pitcher in hand. “So, they’re really going through with it?”
“Looks like. Roland has reported our marriage, and now we’re playing a waiting game. He said it could take days or weeks before we hear anything. Not gonna lie, the waiting is killing me. Everything moves so freaking slowly. I just want it settled and done, one way or another.”
Because I felt her tense up again, I slid my hand beneath her hair and began to knead at her nape. Her eyes closed, and she sighed, leaning back into the touch. I saw Mimi noticing from where she piled cookies on a platter and chose to ignore the satisfied nod. “My buddy’s getting started on backdating things, in case they come after her about the haste of our marriage. Everything’s lining up, exactly as we planned.”
The ladies joined us at the table, setting glasses of sweet tea in front of us.
Mama Flo sank into a chair on the opposite side. “Good. I don’t think anybody here is gonna question it. For what it’s worth, marriage looks good on you both.”
What the hell did that mean?
Willa apparently didn’t know what to do with that either. She sipped at her tea. “I’m about ready to get back to work on the Cypress Beach project.”
I assumed this was one of the grants she was writing. With everything else going on, her work had been the last thing on either of our minds.
Mama Flo waved a hand. “Honey, it’s okay. We have plenty of time. You’ve got bigger things to worry about just now.”
“I know, but things stalled out weeks ago, when Granddaddy died. Life won’t stay on hold forever, and either way, I’m ready to get back in the groove. It’ll be a good distraction from the rest.”
“Fine. But later. After the hurricane goes through, we’ll talk and finish making a game plan for tackling what’s left.”
I picked up a cookie and bit in, closing my eyes as the sweet, buttery taste of it hit my tongue. “Oh my God, this is my childhood, right here.”
“You used to work for cookies.” Mimi remembered. “It was the only thing you’d let us send home with you for the longest time.”
“My pride couldn’t hold up to your double chocolate chip cookies. The peanut butter ones, either.” I took another bite and chewed. “Not that I didn’t notice the stuff you had Ford sneak into the pantry and freezer when he came over. I appreciated it. You’re probably half the reason Dad and I ever ate anything resembling a vegetable that wasn’t a potato.”
Mimi laid a hand over mine. “Your daddy had a big heart, same as you do. It just never recovered from losing your mama and sister.”
Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, I twitched my shoulders and shoved the last of the cookie into my mouth.
Beneath the table, Willa’s hand settled on my thigh and squeezed. “Have you heard anything from Ford?”
“Briefly this morning, actually.” Mama Flo refilled her glass. “He’s two weeks into a relief aid mission in the Philippines after that recent typhoon, but he still heard about the hurricane warning here and called to check on us.”
I paused, another cookie halfway to my mouth. “Did you tell him about us?” I’d considered the ramifications of telling Jace, but I hadn’t once thought about what I’d tell my other brothers. What would they think of this lunatic plan I’d agreed to? Would either of them have gone this far to protect Willa under the circumstances? I didn’t like the sick feeling that curdled my gut at the thought of one of them being the one to kiss her. To comfort her after a nightmare.
Mine. My wife.
“We thought about it, but ultimately that’s y’all’s news to share,” Mimi declared.
I blinked, and the irrational jealousy slid away again. Get a friggin’ hold of yourself, Malone.
“Probably for the best,” Willa added. “We haven’t had the chance to loop Jace in yet, either. I’d rather he didn’t hear it from anyone but us.”
“Fair point,” Mama Flo conceded. “Anyway, he’s doing well, and he said to tell y’all hello when next we saw you.”
We chatted for another few minutes, until we’d finished our tea, and I’d grabbed a third cookie. “We should probably get on. Lots to do at home.”
Willa’s gaze jerked toward me, but I couldn’t read the expression in her eyes.
Mimi rose from the table. “Let me pack up some more cookies to send back with y’all. Least we can do for your help.”
“I will never say no to your cookies.”
After more hugs, a big Tupperware of cookies, and promises to check in soon, Willa and I loaded Roy back into the truck and headed for the north end of the island. Wanting to avoid Sutter’s Ferry entirely, I headed east for the coast road that would take us up the Atlantic side. We’d have to cut across on the lone road that snaked through the woods, and it would add another ten minutes to the already nearly twenty minute drive, but at least we’d avoid the crowds.
“We should probably discuss what we’re gonna send Dax.”
“What are we going to send Dax? What does he need us to do?”
“To some extent, he’ll layer in some more affectionate language into the existing communication. Love you. Miss you. That kind of thing. But he’ll need more. And we’ll need to draft some emails and texts from scratch for him to sprinkle through.”
She shifted in her seat, as if this were the ancient clunker with the sprung springs I’d driven in high school, instead of a late model Ford. “Is that a thing we really have to discuss? Can’t we just write stuff up and send it?”
“Well, for one, the things we write will be feeding off each other. For two, if we get subpoenaed and asked about it, it’d be super weird if we don’t remember the things we allegedly said.”
“Okay, fair point. Where do we start?”
“We’ll have to decide where and how things changed, so he knows when to seed things.”
She took a breath. “I kind of already made something up for Gabi.”
“Oh?”
“She’s my best friend. She knows me really well. I had to give her something when we showed up married.”
“Not criticizing your decision, Wren. What did you tell her?”
“About three years ago, we met in Raleigh, while you were on leave, for a quick weekend before you had to get back. We’d just planned to hang out because we wanted to see each other and catch up. But one thing led to another.”
I didn’t miss the color that bloomed in her cheeks. “Did we go to bed together?”
“I didn’t spell it out, but that was the implication.”
I could picture it. Finally giving in when we were miles away from home and anyone who knew us. I wouldn’t have come up for air for that entire weekend.
And now I was the one squirming in my seat. “Okay, I’ll dig back through my records and figure out some dates that will work. You’ve probably got more flexibility on that than I do, in terms of documentation of where you were when.”
She cleared her throat. “Yes.”
“Okay, what else?”
“We kept it a secret because of Jace. Because we weren’t sure how he’d react.”
“Well, that’s the God’s honest truth. Are we going to tell him the full story when he does find out?”
But Willa didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed out the side window, and that pretty pink had faded from her cheeks.
“Wren? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t go this way,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Not this road. I’m not… I can’t…” As her breath went shorter, Roy strained against his seatbelt to stick his head over the seat, trying to reach her shoulder.
What the hell?
I pulled over, throwing the truck into park, and reached for her. “Baby, what is it?”
“Os…prey Beach. I can’t… I’ve never… been back.” She shook under my hands, and I cursed myself eight ways from Sunday as I realized what she meant.
I’d been about to drive right by the site of the bonfire. It had never occurred to me that, in ten years back on the island, she’d never been back.
I pulled her in, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Okay. Okay, I’ll find another route. I’m sorry. I didn’t think. It’s okay.”
Keeping my arm around her, I awkwardly shifted the truck back into gear with my left hand and steered us back onto the road, making a U-turn and heading back toward town. I’d take whatever route she needed rather than subjecting her to this.
By the time we reached the road that circled the edge of town, she’d stopped shaking, but her hands were still twisted in knots. “Sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. This is fine.” We still had plenty of time to get everything done. “In sickness and in health, and in taking the longer road home. I’ve got you, Wren.”
Always.