Page 53 of The Summer Swap

“It’s a long story. Some coincidence involved. And some good timing. I’m working for a local management company, caretaking properties. I was looking after Dune Cottage and then your grandmother arrived. I needed somewhere to live. She let me stay here.”

He waited. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me? Cut me some slack, Lily. I’m worried about my grandmother.”

“And you think I’m exploiting her in some way?”

“What? No. Of course not. Why would you think—” He shook his head. “I’m in the dark here, that’s all. A week ago, my grandmother did a runner from her own party. I’m guessing you know about that. Massive cake. A hundred people gathered together ready to wish her happy birthday. Champagne. The only thing missing was the birthday girl. And while it’s true that there have been plenty of parties I could happily have run away from in my time, I don’t think that’s what this was. She was behaving strangely. It’s not that long since she lost my grandfather. My mother was worried sick, but she’s scared of things she can’t control and she had a lot on her mind, what with Dad and everything, so I wasn’t too worried at first. But a week—a week is a long time, so I thought I’d check for myself. The plan was to put my mind at rest, and then melt away quietly.”

“But here you are.”

“Can I help it if I was born with a curious mind?” He grinned. “Not only do I discover that my grandmother is living in a property she has apparently owned virtually forever and told no one about, but you’re staying there with her. I have a few questions. More than a few.”

Lily sat up straighter. “I can’t answer those questions. If there are things you want to know about your grandmother, you need to ask her.”

He sighed. “You didn’t inherit a gossip gene, did you? I should have remembered that about you. All right, so you won’t tell me about my grandmother—I’m impressed by your discretion and loyalty by the way—but you’re allowed to tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?”

“I know you gave up medicine.” His voice softened. “I know you’re living here now. Fill in the gaps for me.”

It wasn’t something she wanted to think about, especially not now, at two in the morning, when she was trying to calm her mind.

“I’m here because I needed to get away. That’s all you need to know.”

He was silent for a moment. “You used to talk to me about everything. School. Art. Your parents.”

“That was a long time ago.” Before she’d dropped out.

“Not so long. And I’m the same person.”

Maybe he was the same, but the circumstances had changed.

If there were things she might have said to him before, she wasn’t going to say them now.

“I’m here because I like it here. I like the way the place makes me feel.”

He nodded. “That’s a good reason to stay somewhere. Also, it’s far away from your old life. If you’re going to run away, this is a good place to be. I get it.”

“I never said I was running away.” But she was. That was exactly what she was doing. “You think I’m a coward.”

“No. If you are, then I’m a coward, too. Why do you think I’m here?”

She couldn’t imagine him running from anything.

“I thought you came to check on your grandmother.”

“That, too.” He was silent for a moment. “I don’t expect you to betray confidences, but how worried should I be about her? And don’t say she’s fine, because I know she’s not fine.”

Lily thought about the night Cecilia had arrived. The broken paintings. The sobs.

She’d witnessed a deeply personal moment that shouldn’t have had witnesses and she had no intention of revealing the details.

She was about to shut him down again but then she saw the worry in his eyes and relented.

“I can’t share the detail because I don’t actually know it. I do know that she was upset when she arrived and that she seems a little better after a week here.” She hesitated. “I do know that she needed to come to this place.”

“She thought my grandfather had sold it. Which meant they had secrets.” Todd stared out to sea. “After all those years together, they had secrets. Imagine discovering something like that after someone has died. You can’t ever find out why they didn’t tell you. You can’t ever have closure.”

“Maybe there are always things we keep from those closest to us.”

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