Chapter 14
Maggie’s heart was heavy after the trip to Rock Hill. It was difficult to act as if everything was okay. Finding out the truth
had triggered those old feelings of loss and anger. A part of her felt abandoned by Ethan all over again. It didn’t make sense,
but there it was.
So over the next week and a half, Maggie focused on establishing a routine. Their arrival had been so disrupted by that random
sighting of Ethan’s twin that they hadn’t had a chance to settle in.
In the mornings they ate a healthy breakfast, got ready, and took a walk on the beach. Zoey collected shells, asked a million
questions, dodged waves, and petted every friendly dog they passed. During their walks Maggie also shared random facts about
Zoey’s father: his favorite childhood book ( The Foot Book ), his insatiable curiosity, his ability to remember just about everything he read. Sometimes Maggie shared a brief memory
or two. After their walk they worked on Zoey’s numbers and letters, then she played while Maggie piddled around the house.
Then came lunch.
Afternoons were usually spent on the beach. Sometimes Erin and the kids joined them. Wednesday and Fridays were for swimming
lessons with Mia and poolside chats while the cousins played.
But even as she went through the motions, she feared her joy would never be restored. That all her work toward healing had been in vain. But about a week after their return, Maggie found herself climbing out of that mire of despair and hopelessness. She still had her beautiful daughter and a summer at the beach. She wouldn’t waste it rehashing her grief.
Josh checked in regularly via text. He came over the following Sunday and had dinner with them. His sidelong looks betrayed
his concern. But they watched a movie with Zoey and shared some laughter, and by the time he left, Maggie was in a better
place.
Then the Fourth of July was upon them. June seemed to have vanished like vapor. Early in the morning Maggie staked out a spot
on the beach. Erin and her family were coming over later and so was Josh. The group would grill burgers, then they’d watch
the fireworks from the beach. Zoey was beyond excited to see the “firelights” and hear the big booms.
Erin arrived first, juggling three sacks of groceries. “Figured I might as well shuck the corn over here.”
“Come on in.” Maggie helped her with the bags, then covered the pot of boiling eggs and set the timer.
“Aunt Erin!” Zoey threw her arms around her aunt’s legs as if she hadn’t seen her just two days ago. “Where’s Mia?”
“She’s coming later with Uncle Patrick and Owen. Wanna help me shuck corn?”
Zoey tilted her head, wrinkling her nose. “What?”
Erin laughed. “Oh, you’re gonna love this. We’ll do it on the deck so we can keep the mess outside.”
“I’ll join you while the eggs are cooking.” Maggie grabbed the trash can and followed the two outside.
Erin set down the sack of corn and settled in one of the chairs. “I can’t wait to have your deviled eggs again.”
Maggie’s eggs, topped with candied bacon, were a hit with the whole Reynolds family. “I’m more than happy to send you the recipe.”
“I’d rather you keep making them for me.” She handed Zoey a corncob and demonstrated how to peel away the layers.
Zoey took right to the task. When she got down to the corn silk, she held up the ear. “Look, Mommy, it has hair.”
“It sure does. But we don’t want to eat that part, so we have to pull it off like this.” Maggie demonstrated.
Zoey followed suit but soon gave up on the tedious task, leaving the ear covered in corn silk when she set it in the finished
pile.
The sun had long since passed overhead, leaving them in the shade. But the temperature, tipping into the nineties, made sweat
bead on Maggie’s skin. The beach, usually abandoned by sunbathers this time of day, teemed with people claiming spots for
tonight’s display.
They chatted as they shucked, and when the timer buzzed, Maggie transferred the eggs to a bowl of cold water and set it in
the fridge. When she returned to the balcony, Zoey was gone.
“She got a little bored and decided she’d rather go play,” Erin said.
“She’s been playing with those finger puppets Mia loaned her. That was awfully sweet of her.”
“She doesn’t share with just anyone.” Erin tossed her short blonde hair from her face and gave Maggie a sheepish look. “So...
I may have mentioned Mia’s swimming lessons at a ladies’ luncheon this week.”
Maggie turned a questioning look on Erin.
“It seems a couple of them were wondering if you might have time to work with their kids the rest of the summer.”
“Erin.”
“Don’t hit me. I know you’re here for rest and relaxation, so no pressure, truly. I only mentioned it in passing. Ella has a daughter who’s six and can’t swim yet, despite her best efforts, and Kyra has a teenage son who’s going out for the swim team this year... and one thing led to another.”
Would it be so awful to have something besides the mystery man to occupy her mind? Because yes, the sighting was still haunting
her. When she was at the beach or the grocery store or a restaurant, she searched the crowd for that familiar face. Couldn’t
seem to help herself.
She hadn’t mentioned it to Josh. He’d suffered the same disappointment and she was reluctant to pull him into it again. He
hadn’t brought it up, so maybe he’d been able to move on with no real answers.
“I’ll tell them you’re not available,” Erin said. “No big deal.”
Maggie shook her thoughts away. “I don’t know how it would even work. There’s no pool here. And what would I do with Zoey?”
“I’m happy to watch Zoey anytime. The Johnsons have a pool—they’re the ones with the teenage son. And you could use my pool
to teach Ella’s daughter. She’s in the same class as Mia at church, and now that Mia’s putting her face in water, you could
probably teach them together.” Erin threw her hands up, palms out. “Not that I’m pushing you on this. It’s totally your call.”
Maggie gave her a dubious look.
“There’s money involved. Just saying. But that’s it. No pressure from me.”
Maggie tossed the shucked corncob into the pile and began removing silk from another. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s great. I’ll let them know.”
Maggie hadn’t anticipated doing any kind of work this summer. But teaching swimming was a joy. Truth be told, she enjoyed coach ing the swim team more than teaching expository writing to a class of restless students.
“You seem a little better today.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve seemed a little sad and withdrawn the past week or so. I’ve been worried about you. Is your mom giving you grief?”
“No more than usual.” And here she’d thought she’d done such a great job of hiding her feelings. “I’ve been struggling a bit.
These waves of grief—you’d think I’d be over it by now.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain. I still grieve him too. It can hit at the oddest times. One day back in February I saw butter
pecan ice cream at the grocery store and it hit me so hard, remembering the way I teased him for liking such an old-man flavor.
I barely made it out of the store before falling apart. I felt so stupid.”
“You should’ve called.” She’d had a million such moments, it seemed. “He sure did love his ice cream.”
“Remember when he bought that three-gallon tub from Scoops?”
Maggie chuckled. “It took up half our freezer in that little apartment.” Sometimes it seemed like yesterday. Other times it
seemed he’d been gone a decade.
Erin grabbed her hand. “Don’t ever feel you have to hide your grief from me, okay? I feel it too.”
The warmth in her friend’s eyes soothed Maggie’s soul. “Thanks, Erin. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”
Erin squeezed her hand. “Sister. We’ll always be sisters.”
Daylight gave way to dusk, lifting the heat of the day. The smells of grilled burgers and gunpowder lingered in the air. Maggie snuggled with Zoey in one of the beach chairs and dug her toes in the sand. Josh sat beside them holding a sparkler while Zoey and Mia looked on. Erin lay on a beach towel reading a novel, and down at the shoreline Patrick and Owen tossed a Frisbee.
While Mia favored her mother, Owen resembled his dad. They shared a lean build, an olive complexion, and thick dark hair,
though Patrick’s hairline was already receding. He jokingly blamed his congregation.
Maggie’s stomach was full of good food, and her heart was lighter from the pleasant company and conversation. Her mother had
called to guilt her about being absent for the holiday weekend, but Maggie wouldn’t focus on that.
“Wave it around, Uncle Josh,” Zoey said.
Josh moved the sparkler in a figure-eight pattern. “Your daddy loved fireworks. We had a great time playing with them on the
beach.”
Maggie recalled them shooting bottle rockets at each other when they were teens. She gave Josh a stern look. “But fireworks
are very dangerous, so we have to be careful.”
Erin set her book aside. “Anyone wanna take a walk before we lose the light?”
“Me, me!” Zoey scrambled off Maggie’s lap.
“Me too,” Mia chimed in.
“I think I’ll stay and keep Uncle Josh out of trouble,” Maggie said.
“You know how he gets with fireworks.” Erin followed the girls toward the shoreline. “You’ll have your work cut out for you.”
He held up his sizzling sparkler and called out to Erin, “I haven’t even caught anything on fire yet.”
“Is that where you’ve set the bar?”
The family never let Josh forget about setting their neighbor’s bush on fire when he was eleven. The bush blaze had then spread to the house’s overhang and the fire department got involved.
Josh’s sparkler fizzled out and he stuck the stick in the sand under his chair. “Did you see the pictures Mom posted today?”
“The one of your dad holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a keeper.”
“I can’t believe she convinced him to participate. He must be really relaxed.”
Maggie was so glad they hadn’t ruined his parents’ trip with false hope of Ethan’s survival. It would’ve devastated them.
“They’re headed to the Greek isles next. Mom’s been talking about Santorini and those blue rooftops for years. I’m not sure
how it can live up to her expectations.”
“I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.” She scanned the beach. It was getting darker and more difficult to make out facial features.
Down at the waterline Patrick jumped for the Frisbee and missed, then got hit by a wave, soaking him up to the hips. Owen
cackled.
“How was business this week?” she asked.
“Crazy busy. Every tour was full.” He afforded her a humorless grin. “Conner quit.”
“Oh no. He’s your snack-bar guy, right?”
“He started seeing Addison a couple weeks ago and he was way more into her than she was into him. Saw it coming a mile away.
Now he’s off to greener pastures.”
“Did he give you any notice?”
“Only a week. He got a job with a home-improvement company, making better money. Big D’s gonna cover till I can find someone
to take his place.”
“I’m sorry. That’s probably the last thing you needed during high season. I can pitch in some if you don’t mind my having a four-year-old around to help.”
“That’s sweet, but I think we can manage until I find someone. Also, you might eat up all my profits in cotton candy.”
“There’s a good chance.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “You seem a little better today. I know it’s been a rough patch.”
“It’s been hard for you too. How are you doing?”
“Staying busy has helped.”
She was glad he had work to keep him occupied. Even as busy as he’d been this week, he’d still made time to check on her.
She was blessed to have such a devoted brother-in-law. That kiss from two and a half years ago flashed in her mind, flushing
her face with heat. She could hardly believe that had ever happened. And yet the memory only seemed sweeter with time.
Before guilt got a stronghold, she pushed the thought away. “Did I ever thank you properly for going to Rock Hill with me?
I don’t know how I would’ve handled the news alone.”
“We’re in this together. Grieving sure isn’t for the faint of heart, is it?”
“Amen.”
As they fell quiet, Maggie breathed deeply of the briny air, mixed with the metallic tang of fireworks. She hadn’t celebrated
the Fourth in Seabrook since Ethan was home on leave. They’d watched the display with his family from the town pier. Then
they’d driven home to Fayetteville and made love late into the night. Would the memories ever stop haunting her? Then guilt
nipped at her.
She should hold tightly to every single one. She just didn’t want them to make her so sad. She’d been doing better before this whole doppelganger episode. Before she’d given hope a foothold. Now it seemed she’d lost some of her hard-won progress.
“You’re still looking for him, aren’t you?” Josh said.
Maggie’s gaze snapped to him. “What?”
“You’ve been scanning the crowd all evening. You’re still wondering about him. Trying to figure out who he is and why he looks
so much like Ethan.”
He was right. She’d been searching for him without thought. “I can’t seem to help it.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“I’ve already dragged you down this road once and it was painful for both of us. I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”
“I can take care of myself—and I’ve been wondering about him too.”
“You have?”
He offered a humorless grin. “It’s been driving me crazy. There has to be a logical explanation.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Same reason you didn’t.”
His concern warmed her heart. But she was relieved she wasn’t the only one still working this puzzle around in her head. “I
don’t think we’re going to figure it out—unless we find him.” She turned her attention to him. Would he be willing to take
this another step?
“I agree...”
“But?”
“But I’m reluctant to cause you more grief.”
“Know what’s causing me grief? Not knowing why there’s a man roaming Seabrook who looks just like my husband.”
He chuckled, his eyebrow doing that little involuntary bounce that upped his appeal 1,000 percent.
“There it is.”
“There what is?”
“Nothing. Let’s start looking for him again.”
He studied her for a long moment, then something flared in his eyes. “Tomorrow night?”
“It’s a date.”