Page 32 of Against the Current

Ryan set his jaw. “I’ll stay here and work on social media.”

Jackie showed him where all the passwords and log-ins were located—written in a little notepad. Ryan told her it wasn’t safe to have something like that lying around. Jackie looked at him like he had three heads.

“Let’s have lunch,” Jackie said as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. “It’s your first day.”

Ryan wasn’t in a particularly celebratory mood. “Let’s have a late lunch. I want to set everything up and get some ads running. I want to convince a few thousand people to at least consider buying property in Nantucket by one p.m.”

Jackie laughed nervously, but she looked grateful. “They didn’t appreciate you enough at that last job, did they?”

“I’m just trying to earn my keep,” Ryan tried to joke.

But the minute Jackie left for the empty house in Siasconset, Ryan’s smile fell off his face. He set to work on the difficult maze of social media—a landscape that seemed to perpetually shift.

There was one small ray of sunshine, however. At around noon, Trisha texted.

TRISHA: I like the kids’ teachers. Willa’s class has two other students with autism (including one girl), and it’s clear to me that the staff knows and understands how to help her cope (and even learn, sometimes). Feeling a little bit optimistic. Let me know if you want a coffee before I head back to the GRAND ESTATE. (eye roll emoji)

Ryan stifled a laugh and felt his heart balloon. He called her immediately and asked her to swing by. He had the sensation that maybe everything would be all right after all. Wasn’t everything they did for the kids’ happiness? For the kids’ future? But when he spotted Trisha’s car coming down the street, he noticed she was following Jackie’s car. Apparently, Jackie was finished at the empty house and ready to get back to the office. Trisha noticed it, too, and turned around to go home immediately, avoiding the office altogether. Through the window, Ryan watched her go, wondering if he should run after her. But at the red light, she texted.

TRISHA: I’m in too good of a mood right now to see your mom. I’m sorry.

Ryan’s heart sank into his stomach. But when his mother came into the office with a big smile, Ryan had to pretend everything was all right.

“Show me what you’ve done! Show me all your social media posts!” Jackie cried, reaching into her bag for a Tupperware filled with cookies. “I brought supplies.”

Ryan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Wow, Mom. You’ve outdone yourself.”

Yet again, he wondered if he’d made an enormous mistake.

Chapter Twelve

July 2010 - Nantucket Island

Trisha’s pregnancy became the only thing Ryan thought about day and night, the funnel through which everything had to pass. As they drove down the coast on their spontaneous road trip, fueled by adrenaline and anxiety and anger at the Suttons for being so cruel, Ryan remembered to drive slowly because of Trisha and the baby. He remembered to stop only at restaurants with nutrient-dense foods. He remembered to get them motels with better beds so Trisha could get a restful eight to ten hours. “Anything for you and the baby!” was Ryan’s constant refrain.

It felt like a miracle that they’d been allowed to hang their future on the concept of a brand-new baby. Just a couple of weeks ago, they’d been married, and Grandpa Jeremy had died, and Trisha and Ryan’s future had suddenly been called into question. But now? Now, they were full speed ahead (going the speed limit or lower), preparing for a future focused on love and love alone.

It hadn’t taken Ryan’s parents long to realize they were gone. On the third or fourth day after their departure, Ryan’s cell had exploded with calls and texts from Jackie, asking about the pregnancy and the baby. “How did they find out?” Ryan asked, his brow furrowed.

“They must have talked to my mom.” Trisha shrugged.

“You told your mom?”

Trisha gaped at him. “Of course I did! She’s my mom! That’s the kind of thing you tell your mom first thing!”

Ryan laughed and laughed. It meant that Jackie and Josh had somehow gotten ahold of Rhonda. They’d been forced to talk to her and learn the truth.

Ryan and Trisha killed hours, talking about how that conversation must have gone.

“I’m sure my mom was crying the entire time,” Trisha said. “And your mom’s face was probably, like, etched in horror.”

Ryan cackled.

Their road trip roamed along the East Coast for a full three weeks. It was the most joyful time of Ryan’s life. Back at home, responsibilities awaited them—Ryan’s job, the search for a new home that could accommodate them and the baby, Trisha’s urgent desire to get a job that could bring in money but didn’t force her to be on her feet all day. They resolved not to let Ryan’s family bother them. They resolved to keep the baby away from the Suttons unless they changed their tune.

Ryan couldn’t stop telling Trisha how much he loved her. It was the first thing he said in the morning and the last thing he said at night.

For hours, they talked about baby names. Trisha mentioned Vincent and Joel, the latter of which Ryan vetoed because of his little cousin Joel, who’d died so young. Trisha asked him questions about that time of his life and what it had been liketo lose Joel, Joel, who’d been a brilliant baseball player and a hilarious little kid.

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