Page 63 of Keeping Secrets

“I want him to run it. I want him to get better.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” she asked in a gentle voice.

He didn’t know what to say to that.

“Will you do this for him?”

“I guess so. If he really needs me to, I will. Of course I will. I just… I don’t want to say yes yet. It’s like admitting there’s no hope. He’s still so young. I thought he would be there at the helm until he was ninety.”

She squeezed his hand and nodded. They sat there like that for a long time, hand in hand, watching the seagulls and the wild surf.

CHAPTER 19

Guillermo’s mother lived in a beautiful old Victorian farmhouse. It was the oldest building on the little peninsula that held Pelican Point, and it sat on a rise with an ocean view on three sides.

Standing on the front porch, Keely could see the whole town laid out at the bottom of the hill. She found it endearing that the front door was pointed toward town instead of out toward the sea… though when the house had been built, there hadn’t been any town there at all. It had pointed back toward the mainland then. Toward the warmth of civilization. She felt deeply curious about the people who had built this place and the women who had lived there.

“Keely!” Sunday’s melodious voice greeted her when she opened the door. She wore a boldly patterned dress in bright shades of red and yellow with a matching cloth wound around her head in intricate twists and knots. “You are early.”

“Yes, sorry. I mean, is that okay? It’s a new kitchen, so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time.”

“Of course, of course. Come in, look around. My boys can help you carry your things in.”

“Oh, that’s all right. I can do it myself.”

“I know you can, my dear, but you do not have to. My boys will not mind. They are good boys.”

The ‘boys’ in question turned out to be two stunningly handsome young men who towered over even their tall mother. They were nearly twice the size of Guillermo’s mother, who was still active and spritely despite being a few years away from becoming a centenarian. Keely had seen her around town once or twice; she remembered how the woman’s white hair shone in the sun at the farmers market.

“You must call me Frances,” she said when they were introduced.

“Yes ma’am,” Keely replied, cradling the woman’s delicate hand in her own.

“Guillermo tells me that you have a special treat for me today.”

“Yes ma’am,” she said again. All eyes were on her, Sunday’s handsome sons and a middle-aged couple and a woman who looked to be nearly of an age with Frances. She could feel her cheeks turn pink under their scrutiny.

“I’m turning ninety-three today, did you know?”

“Congratulations.”

Her laugh was high and musical. “Thank you.” She turned to her friend. “I think we should eat in the sun room, don’t you?”

“Aunt Frances, we’ve already set the table in the dining room,” protested the other woman.

“Well, now we can set the table in the sun room. I want a good view of the sunset. Who knows how many more I’ll have occasion to witness. I’ll never miss one, if I can help it.”

There was no arguing with that. While the party guests moved everything from one dining table to another, Sunday’s sons helped Keely carry everything through to the kitchen. They were near her age and resembled each other so closely that she would have had trouble telling them apart if not for the fact that one had short hair and the other had long dreadlocks.

Everything was made, but the main course would need to be heated while the guests were enjoying their appetizers. The long-haired brother disappeared, but the other one hovered in the kitchen as Keely transferred crab cakes to a platter.

“Should I take this through?” he offered.

“That would be great, thank you.”

He smiled so beautifully that she wondered if he was flirting with her. Any time before Pelican Point, she would have been completely smitten. As it was, she was still charmed, even in awe of his good looks, but she wasn’t the least bit interested. The man looked like he had just left a photo shoot for some brand of clothing that sold five-hundred-dollar shirts, but Keely didn’t feel drawn to him. Not like she did to Travis.

Travis magnetized her in a way that she didn’t fully understand. He wasn’t the best-looking man she had ever seen (though he was, she had to admit, very handsome). His career of bartender was less than ideal, given her history with addiction. The way he’d dodged her for weeks was a huge red flag.

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