Chapter 2
JONAH
‘Nice shirt.’
‘Don’t start.’
Sophie, my sister-in-law, shot me an innocent look. ‘What? I’m just preparing you for the inevitable onslaught your mother will unleash upon you.’
‘That’s a lot of big words to face before I’ve even had a beer,’ I told her, opening the fridge door and taking one out.
My mother’s personal chef, Jeremy, grinned from over by the stove where he was stirring a large pot.
‘Speaking of the devil, where is she?’ I asked, popping the top off the bottle.
Sophie gently pulled the plastic wrap off a silver tray containing hors d’oeuvres. ‘In the lounge with everyone else.’
‘Is she mad?’
‘That you’re late?’ She pulled a face. ‘I wouldn’t say mad, exactly. She’s certainly displeased.’
‘Her normal mood, then.’
Jeremy snorted, quickly covering it up with a cough.
‘Now now,’ Sophie drawled. ‘In the hopes that we can manage to get through one evening without any squabbling, I won’t tell her you said that.’
‘Squabbling?’ I reached out and plucked a shrimp off the tray. ‘Careful, you’re starting to sound like her.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
I squeezed the flesh from the tail into my mouth and chewed. It tasted of garlic and parmesan. ‘Don’t do it, Sophie. Don’t go over to the dark side.’
She rolled her eyes and slapped my hand away when I tried to put the empty tail back onto the tray. ‘Your mother is a pillar of society, Jonah. I would be lucky to have half her clout.’
‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
‘Sophie, where are the hors d’oeuvres?’ My mother swept into the kitchen like a galley under full sail, frowning when she saw me. ‘Jonah. I see you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence.’
‘I’m ten minutes late,’ I pointed out, leaning forward to kiss her proffered cheek.
‘I raised you better than that.’
‘I’m sorry, you raised me?’
She smiled. It was the way you imagined a shark would smile. ‘You might have had nannies doing the practical parts, Jonah, but who do you think was pulling the strings.’
‘I’m sure Diana, Lila and the others would be pleased to know they were merely your puppets.’
‘It’s simply good manners. If you’re not going to be somewhere on time, you should be early.’
‘It’s a family dinner, not a NATO summit.’
‘Are you saying my time isn’t important? This family’s time isn’t important?’
‘Of course not.’ There was only one satisfactory way for this conversation to end. ‘I’m sorry for being late, Mom.’
‘Thank you. All I’m asking is that you please make more of an effort next time.’
She turned and swept away. Sophie poked her tongue out at me behind my mother’s back and I returned the childish gesture. At least she hadn’t turned into a complete clone of my mother just yet.
We followed my mother along the hallway to the formal lounge, a large open-plan area with a conservatory and formal dining room facing out to sea.
My parents’ house was huge, although it was less of a house and more of a mansion.
Built in the early nineties, shortly before I was born, it boasted seven beds and six bathrooms and an impressive view over Pine Harbor from its vantage point at the top of a hundred-foot cliff.
As well as a view of the harbor, from the large, outdoor terrace you could see all the way up the coast to turtle islands and Dalton’s lighthouse.
On four acres and surrounded by pines and manicured gardens, the house harked back to the golden age of other wealthy island residents, the politicians and Hollywood royalty who used the island as a summer residence.
‘Jonah,’ my father’s voice boomed. ‘You’re just in time to hear the good news.’
His cheeks were red, no doubt from the contents of the almost empty whiskey glass in his hand.
He was a formidable man when I was growing up, but I now towered over him, though his girth was at least twice the size of mine.
Even before he retired, Gray Sawyer had a reputation around the island for enjoying the finer things in life.
I dropped a hand down on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze in greeting, before moving over towards the fireplace and shaking hands with my brother, David.
A fire was roaring in the hearth, the flames cozy in an otherwise sterile room.
The house had been decorated in gold and silver for Christmas, with evergreen branches wrapped around the banisters.
It gave the normally sterile room a festive feel.
Knowing my mother, the morning of December 26th it would all be stripped clean by the housekeepers and put back into storage.
‘What news is that?’ I asked.
‘It’s nothing, really,’ David said modestly, though I could see from the sparkle in his eyes that he was in a good mood.
‘Don’t be modest,’ our mother, Eleanor, told him. ‘Your brother has just been awarded tenure and made an associate professor at the college.’
I stared at him, feeling joy flood through me. ‘Seriously?’
He nodded, looking pleased with himself, as well he should.
‘That’s amazing,’ I exclaimed, pulling him in for a hug and slapping his back. ‘I’m proud of you.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Isn’t my husband clever?’ Sophie placed the tray onto the coffee table then joined him. He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned against him, looking up at him with an adoring expression that gave me a slight pang.
‘He sure is.’
‘It feels like it’s been a long time coming,’ David said. ‘But at the same time, I’m one of the youngest associate professors the college has had in its history, so I suppose I should consider myself grateful.’
‘You should do no such thing,’ Sophie scolded him. ‘You’ve worked extremely hard to get where you are. They’re the ones who should be grateful.’
‘Mark my words, you’ll be a full professor before you’re forty-five,’ Dad agreed, draining his glass.
‘You must be so pleased that your career is on track and progressing exactly as you’ve always planned,’ Mom said. ‘You’ve always been our ambitious child.’
The smile briefly faltered on my brother’s face, and I felt my jaw clench. I hated when she did this. Turned what should be a celebratory moment for him into an opportunity to take a shot at me.
‘Subtle, Mom,’ I said, refusing to let her see how pissed off I was. ‘Real subtle.’
Dad waved a hand. ‘Leave the boy alone, Eleanor.’
‘The “boy” is almost thirty-two,’ she retorted. ‘And still floundering about without a career.’
‘I have a career.’
‘No, you have a hobby. And a dangerous one at that.’
I shot Sophie a look. ‘What was it you were saying in the kitchen about having one night without any fighting?’
She sighed and lifted her wine glass towards her lips. ‘Don’t drag me into it.’
‘When are you going to stop playing around on that boat and get serious about your future?’ my mother continued. ‘Your father isn’t getting any younger. You need to learn the business from him so he can retire.’
I shook my head. ‘How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not taking over the hotel before you start believing me? Find someone else to manage it. I’m not interested.’
‘Someone else?’ She placed a hand against her chest. ‘Are you trying to kill me? Is that what you want? You are a Sawyer, Jonah. It is in your blood.’
‘I’m not the only Sawyer though, am I? David and Anna share the same blood.’
As if on cue, my sister, Anna, came into the room, concentrating on tweaking the dials on a baby monitor.
She was followed closely by her husband, Myles.
My best friend growing up, he’d done me dirty by hooking up with my baby sister.
I’d forgiven him, though, when I realized how much they actually loved each other.
I’d even stood beside him as his best man at their wedding three years ago.
As usual, he was weighed down by a nappy bag and an assortment of baby accessories that, apparently, they couldn’t travel anywhere without these days.
‘Right, Isabelle is down for her sleep,’ she said. ‘She should be good for a couple of hours.’ She put the baby monitor down on the table and reached for a prawn, noticing me. ‘Oh hey, Jonah,’ she said, then poked out her tongue. ‘You’re late.’
Myles held out his hand and I slapped mine into it, before we pulled each other in and lightly bumped shoulders. ‘Run while you still can,’ he whispered into my ear. ‘Your mother has been ranting about you for the last half an hour, at least.’
‘Nothing new, but thanks for the heads-up.’ I peered closer at something white on his shoulder. ‘Is that…?’
He sniffed it. ‘Baby vomit. Yup.’
‘Gross.’
Anna rolled her eyes. ‘It’s just my breast milk regurgitated.’
‘That doesn’t make it any better.’
‘You’re so immature.’
Myles fished a baby wipe out of the nappy bag and wiped his shoulder clean. ‘It’s nothing compared to what comes out the other end.’ He shuddered. ‘Who knew a human being could poop those colors?’
I put the prawn that I had just picked up back down on the tray. ‘That’s disgusting.’
‘Your turn will come.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Speaking of starting a family,’ Mom said. ‘I hear Jessica is single again. Of course, not terribly surprising. I knew she and that Archer wouldn’t last. He’s far too boring for her, not to mention that, according to her mother, she still has feelings for you, Jonah.’
It took a huge amount of effort to keep my face straight. ‘So?’
‘I’m sure she’d be willing to give you another chance, if you apologized.’
I frowned. ‘Apologized for what? Refusing to be manipulated into a marriage I don’t want?’
‘At your age, your father and I had already been married for eight years and had two children.’
‘I think you forgot to add the word happily somewhere into that sentence,’ I told her.
‘You’re wasting your life,’ she said, ignoring my dig. ‘Playing about at being a lobsterman, having casual flings whenever the urge takes you. Don’t forget, in this town, I hear everything. You need to grow up, Jonah, and accept that you have responsibilities to this family.’
I drained the rest of my bottle of beer and put it down on the table, deliberately missing the coaster by an inch, then smiled at my brother.
‘David, I’m happy for you, I really am. But if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just remembered I have somewhere else I need to be.’
Anna rolled her eyes, a habit she’d developed at thirteen and never grown out of. ‘Here we go.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ our mother said. ‘You’ll stay for dinner, as planned.’
‘I’ve lost my appetite. Night, all.’ I turned and walked away.
‘Aren’t you going to say something?’ I heard her say to my father.
‘He’s a grown man, Eleanor. If he wants to go, he’ll go. I can’t stop him.’
I slammed the front door behind me, heading for my truck. There was a beer waiting at The Cozy Catch with my name on it.