Chapter Four #2
The box of her important documents she’d keep inside because she didn’t think Wayward Harbor was a hub of crime, but it wasn’t smart to keep them in the car.
To that box, she added the notebook in which she’d scribbled all kinds of random information.
Half of the papers, old receipts and torn envelopes shoved between the pages had passwords written on them.
Someday she’d make a better system, but for now it worked.
Lucy also dug her small sketchbook out of the bottom of a bag and added it to the box.
It was where she brainstormed fun cocktail ideas—whether the liquors or fun add-ons, like glitter or rim sugars.
While she was most creative with pen and paper, she always took photos of the pages and uploaded them to a digital notebook.
She condensed the towels and sheets in the bathroom’s linen closet and took the resulting empty shelf for herself.
Her core wardrobe—jeans, leggings and simple tops—fit on the shelf, along with a lingerie bag she filled with underthings.
Other items, like her cardigans and pajamas, could stay in a duffel, but she didn’t want to dress in bag-rumpled clothes every day.
Once she’d pulled what she needed for daily life, she was down to a duffel bag, two boxes and her tote in the living room. The rest she was able to pack back into her trunk.
It felt good to have that done, but there was one more thing she had to do before she could fully relax, and that was call her mother.
Maybe Iris Macauley wasn’t the most maternal of figures, but Lucy hadn’t told her where she was going.
For all Iris knew, her daughter was staying with a friend in Las Vegas.
And whether she deserved it or not, Lucy didn’t feel right about her mother not knowing she’d actually driven to the opposite coast.
It was late enough in the afternoon that the time difference wouldn’t be an issue, so she went out to the front porch.
For some reason she didn’t want to be in Gran’s cottage while she talked to Iris—as if her mother’s toxic energy could infect the place through the phone.
After wrapping herself in blankets because the wind never let up here, she sat down and dialed.
Iris answered on the third ring. “Hi, Lucy. I only have a few minutes because I’m on my way out. What’s up?”
No asking where her daughter was. Or if she was okay. Definitely no apologies for doing nothing while her boyfriend threw her out. Typical Iris.
“I just wanted to let you know I’m in Maine.”
“Maine? What are you doing in Maine?”
“I’m visiting Gran.” The ensuing silence stretched on for so long, Lucy pulled the phone away from her ear to see if the call timer was still running. “Mom?”
“You’re visiting my mother? Why?”
Because my life blew up and you chose your boyfriend over me, so I had nowhere else to go. “I wanted to get away.”
“How is Mom?”
Lucy forced herself to relax her jaw and her grip on her phone. Iris wasn’t going to even broach the subject of the Fairee debacle because, deep down, she was ashamed of not sticking up for her daughter and wouldn’t want to admit it out loud.
“She’s great.” She wasn’t sure why, but she kept the fact Helen was off on an adventure to herself.
“Good. I worry about her living in that cottage all by herself.”
Not worried enough to actually call, Lucy thought. “Mom, she does 5k charity runs. I think it’s going to be a long time before Gran’s worried about living in the cottage alone.”
“She may not be worried, but I am. It’s hard to have an aging mother so far away. I really wish she’d sell it and move into a retirement home where people can keep an eye on her.”
Lucy wondered if Iris would be so worried if Helen lived in a plain old house in the woods somewhere in the middle of the state.
The uncharitable thought should make her feel guilty, but her mother’s attraction to men grew stronger with every dollar in their bank accounts.
It wasn’t far-fetched to suspect Iris’s concern for Helen was driven by the property’s value.
But she also knew if she pointed out Iris hadn’t given a thought to Helen’s welfare until Lucy was in a position to potentially manipulate her grandmother, there would be raging and tears that wouldn’t end until Lucy apologized just to make it stop.
She wasn’t in the mood to hear it, especially from a woman who’d chosen her boyfriend—who was noticeably dragging his feet on engagement ring shopping—over her own daughter in crisis.
“I’ll bring it up,” she said finally. “If I have concerns.”
“You don’t want to leave it too late, honey. You’d never be able to live with yourself if something happens to her and you could have prevented it.”
Lucy blinked away the angry tears filling her eyes. Iris didn’t used to be so…toxic. They’d been incredibly close during Lucy’s teen years, but her mother seemed to get more desperate with every passing year.
Desperate for what, she didn’t know. Security? Love? Money? But Iris was always chasing something, and that something was usually a man with the means and desire to take care of her.
“I have to go, Mom,” she said once she was sure she could speak. “My battery’s almost dead, but I’ll call you soon.”
Once she was off the phone, Lucy snuggled deeper into the fleece blankets. She left an opening around her eyes and nose, though, so she could breathe. And also so she could look out over the water.
A few minutes later, she heard a truck pull into the driveway and peeked out of the blanket burrito to see Nick walking toward her.
“You okay?” he asked. “You were so still I thought you’d dumped a pile of blankets in the chair, but then I saw your feet and was afraid you’d actually suffocated yourself this time.”
“Very funny,” she said as he dropped into the other chair. “I called my mom to let her know where I am.”
He nodded, his gaze locked on the horizon. “Did she know you were coming here?”
“No.”
“So you left Las Vegas and drove all the way here, and you’ve been here for a couple of days, and she still hadn’t called you?”
Lucy shrugged one shoulder, which he probably couldn’t see because the gesture barely shifted the blankets. “I’m an adult, and she’s not exactly the helicopter mom type.”
“Did she ask how long you’re staying?”
She snorted, seeing right through the attempt to get that information for himself. “No, but she did ask me to convince Gran to sell this place and move into a retirement home.”
She wasn’t sure why she told him that. Talking about some of her mother’s less attractive personality traits wasn’t her style, and it certainly wouldn’t improve Nick’s view of the situation any. But there was something about sitting on the porch with him that made her comfortable sharing.
Nick looked at her, and she held her breath because it looked like his lips might curve into an actual smile. “I’d like to be in earshot when you suggest that to Helen.”
“Great way to pay her back for her hospitality, right?”
“Honestly, it’s probably something she’d expect from her daughter.” He cleared his throat. “Everybody knows they’re not close.”
“It just feels so gross.” When he turned so he was looking at her, that familiar neutral expression on his face, she tilted her head. “What?”
“Trust me when I tell you I do not want to wade into your family business, but…there’s Helen, you know? So I’m just trying to figure out where your head is on this before I say anything.”
“Where my head is? I’m angry that I have a mother whose only reaction to finding out I’ve driven all the way across the country is to realize she might have an opportunity to grow Gran’s bank account, which I guess she thinks she’ll inherit.
I’m offended she thought I’d just go along with it.
I’m sad for Gran. And because I’m mad, I’m getting hot in these blankets, but I know if I throw one off, then I’ll be cold. That’s where my head is.”
Was it just her imagination, or did his face actually soften? “I’m sorry your mother’s putting you in this position, but the important thing is that you know she’s doing it. Will you tell Helen?”
“I don’t think so. It would only be hurtful, I think.
” She unwrapped the top blanket and pushed it behind her.
“Unless Iris starts reaching out to her directly, thinking my being here will be an opportunity for them to reconnect. I’d rather not be confrontational with Iris, but I won’t let her take advantage of Gran, either. ”
“Good.” He pushed up out of the chair. “I’m starving, so I’m going to rustle up something to eat.”
Lucy stood abruptly, almost falling over as the blankets tangled around her legs. “I’m sorry. I had to wait to call my mom because of the time difference and I didn’t realize it was so late. I should have made something.”
Nick paused with the screen door half open to look at her. “I don’t expect you to make me supper, Lucy.”
He was so close she could see his eyes weren’t as dark as she’d originally thought. The lighter shades of brown captured her attention, and she might have stood there staring if he hadn’t cocked an eyebrow.
“Sure,” she said, trying to gather herself. “But even if you don’t expect it, I should make dinner. I mean, you’re letting me stay here and you work all day and I’m doing…nothing.”
“You’re not doing nothing. You’ve been through a lot and you drove a long way. Taking a few days to rest is not a bad thing.” He stepped inside and held the screen door for her. “Let’s go throw something on the grill.”
“There’s a grill?”
“Of course there’s a grill. Who doesn’t own a grill?”
Lucy just rolled her eyes and followed him inside. At least he hadn’t offered to make her a bologna and tomato sandwich.