Chapter 33
Riley
“Ican’t believe you talked me into coming,” I grumble, as my mom tugs my reluctant ass across the sand with an arm hooked firmly through mine.
The reluctance is mostly because I know Steph’s not going to be here today.
Why the hell would I brave a busy town gathering full of annoying tourists, not to mention nosy locals—many of whom still give me the side-eye, I might add—without the promise of at least getting to see her?
I mean, what am I supposed to do here without her?
It’s not like I have many other friends, besides Bobby and Lola, and they’re both working Aroma’s booth in the food pavilion at the entrance to the waterfront.
“Oh, relax,” my mom chides. “It’ll be fun.”
It might have been, had Alex not come down with a late-spring flu and Steph been unwilling to leave him to fend for himself today.
I can’t fault her for being a good mother, but I’m disappointed.
The last summer solstice festival I attended was with her back when we were teens, and it doesn’t feel right showing up again for the first time solo.
Well, besides my mom, but I already know she’ll ditch me for Jack and her other friends once the bonfires get going.
“Plus,” my mom continues, “Aidan and Piper are going to be here. We’re meeting them over by the regatta’s finish line.”
Oh, this keeps getting better and better. I’ve still yet to make any headway where my brother is concerned, despite Piper and me getting along great during my now-frequent visits to the library.
“Does Aidan know that?”
“Well, no …” She pauses at the edge of the temporary stands, which have been set up on the beach to watch the regatta. Bringing a hand up to shield her eyes, she searches the bleachers and crowd milling about below.
“But he will momentarily,” she adds cheerfully, raising her hand in a wave. I follow her line of sight to find Piper eagerly waving back from the top row. My brother sits beside her, arms crossed and glaring daggers in our—my—direction.
With a weary sigh, I follow my mom as she weaves through the crowd to join them.
Piper jumps to her feet once we reach the top, throwing her arms around first my mom, and then, surprisingly, she hugs me as well.
She gives me a reassuring pat on the back, whispering in my ear, “I think I might have finally softened him up for you,” before bending to move the bags and clothing she’d been using to save spots for us.
I glance over at my brother as I take my seat on the other end with the two women between separating us, but he rolls his eyes.
Not so sure about that, Piper.
A few months ago, I was still jumping at any chance to be in my brother’s proximity, desperate for the opportunity to talk, to explain, to make amends.
But after getting shut down at every turn, I’ve begun to accept that maybe not all the burnt bridges can be rebuilt, and maybe the fact I’ve been forgiven by both my mom and Steph is more than I deserve, and I should just be thankful for that.
My mom and Piper exchange pleasantries while I stare down the beach, in search of any approaching boats.
I’m not all that familiar with the sport of rowing, but I lived in this town long enough to pick up a few things.
In the spring and early summer most regattas are 2000 meters long—too far away for us to see the starting line, but I’m gathering from the crowd surrounding us that a race is already in progress.
“I’m so excited!” Piper squeals, drawing my attention back to their conversation.
“Luke and Tessa are participating in the double scull rowing event. I think it’s up right after this one.
” She cranes her neck to look over to where I think I spot the faint outline of a handful of boats on the horizon now.
I know Luke is a friend and colleague of my brother’s, though I don’t remember him from when we were younger, and we’ve never officially met. Tessa, on the other hand …
“Is that the new girl at The Bean?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Piper nods, and then smiles. “It’s so great of Lucy to help her out like that.”
Steph said something to that effect the other day as well, but I’d been too caught up in being out with her in public to give it much thought.
“I know,” my mom agrees. “The poor girl’s been through so much. I love to see Luke and the rest of the town rallying around her.”
“What’s that mean?”
My mom turns to me. “Oh, you remember I told you around Christmas about the woman they found shot at the side of the road? She’d been badly beaten as well.”
“That was her?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, didn’t she have amnesia or something? She was in a coma, right?”
My mom and Piper both nod.
“So she got her memory back?”
“No,” Piper breathes, eyes wide.
I frown, glancing over her shoulder to find Aidan listening intently to our conversation. With only a handful of detectives in our small town, he’s likely intimately involved with the case.
“Okay, but they know who she is? What happened to her?”
“No,” Aidan responds, shocking me, and when I turn back to him once more, it’s to find his eyes on mine.
He holds my gaze, and I swallow, waiting with bated breath to see if he’ll offer up anything more.
“The case is dead in the water,” he continues.
A muscle ticks in this jaw, and I don’t have to be close with him anymore to know he’s frustrated about it.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. For her, and what she’s been through, but also for him, because I can tell he’s a guy who doesn’t like to leave loose ends.
Aidan shrugs. “We’ll figure it out. It’s just taking longer than I’d like.”
“So … in the meantime, she’s been walking around town with no clue who she is, where she comes from, or how she got here …?”
“Pretty much,” Piper answers with a sad smile.
“But … her name …?”
“Apparently, she likes that one,” my mom says. “So … she picked it. I think it’s pretty.”
“Me too,” Piper agrees. “She told me it makes her feel safe when she hears it, so maybe she knew a Tessa before. Or maybe it is actually her real name.”
I look at my brother, who once more meets my eyes, and I’m elated—just fucking elated, despite the upsetting subject matter—that we’re actually having something resembling a conversation. “Are you worried for her safety?”
He sighs and nods. “She’s living with my buddy, Luke, so he can keep an eye on her. He has an apartment over his garage.”
“Ah. Hence, the rowing partners?”
“Something like that.”
I want to ask more—anything to keep my brother talking—but our conversation is put to an abrupt stop by the roar of the crowd as the boats that have been slowly approaching all this time finally draw near to the finish line.
Piper and my mother hop to their feet, caught up in the excitement as two standouts pull ahead of the group, each vying for the win.
Remaining seated, I sneak one final peek around their legs to my brother, who’s also remained seated, and he shoots me a slight smirk that, if I didn’t know better, might almost be described as commiserating.
As predicted, Mom ditched us shortly after Jack showed up. She’s moved down the beach to where the locals have set up their own bonfire away from the large, more central one crawling with tourists.
I trail awkwardly after Piper and Aidan as they make their way over to a nearby craft beer tent, and I’m nearly bowled over when Aidan orders three, silently passing me one before joining a group of their friends congregated around a picnic table.
Two of the women slide over to allow Piper to join them on the end, while Aidan and I remain standing at the edge of the group.
I’m briefly reintroduced to the aforementioned mechanic Joe and, thankfully, his new girlfriend, who happens to have been a former teacher of mine.
I’m also formally introduced to Luke and Tessa, along with Mark, another detective, and his boyfriend, Owen.
Piper does all the talking, first congratulating Luke and Tessa on placing second in their race, then gushing over baby Cece, whom she’d visited with earlier in the day.
Lucy and Noah had apparently completed their move this week and decided, unsurprisingly, to skip this year’s festivities in favor of settling in at home with their two-and-a-half-month-old.
I loiter silently on the edge of the group for a while, watching my brother watch his wife with a faint smile on his face.
His eyes are filled with reverence, and I love that for him—for both of them.
It makes me think of Steph, because I can relate, and I wish she were here.
Still, I’m beyond pleased to be here with my family and filled with rekindled hope for my relationship with Aidan.
At some point, he remembers I’m here and glances over, catching me watching him.
I offer up a mildly sheepish, mildly hopeful half-smile that fades the longer he continues to stare at me.
He studies my face, his eyes intent and searching.
I’m not sure what he’s hoping to find, but I do my best in this moment to convey my eagerness and sincerity.
Just give me a chance, Aidan.
Finally, he drops his shoulders on a long sigh and says, “Let’s take a walk.”
Holy fuck.
“For real?” The question slips out before I can stop it, and I hold my breath, hoping I haven’t just pissed away this opportunity by making a big deal about it.
He nods, then abruptly turns away. I watch as he moves up behind Piper. She leans back in her seat, already sensing his presence in the way of couples with a deep connection like theirs, before he drops his hands to her shoulders. Tilting her head back, she meets his eyes.
“I’m gonna take a walk up the beach with my brother for a bit,” I hear him tell her over the chatter at the table.
Points for actually being called ‘brother’?
She adjusts her position, eyes darting briefly to mine, before turning back to him with a smile, clearly pleased.