Page 27 of Against the Current

“You’re a Sutton, honey. Your children are Suttons.” She’d paused before adding, “Your wife is a Sutton.”

“It’s so generous, Mom. This place we’ve been living in, it’s not that nice. That’s putting it lightly.” He’d sounded so ashamed, then added, “I can’t believe the Sutton Estate is empty.”

She’d steeled herself and said, “Well, it’s possible we’ll sell the property down the line. But I want to avoid that at all costs.”

“Sell it?” Ryan had sounded surprised.

“Real estate isn’t what it used to be,” she’d lied. “But I could use your help. I’m not as young as I once was, and you’re a brilliant marketer.”

“What are you saying?” he’d asked as though he couldn’t fully believe it.

“Go into business with me. If everything goes well, you can take over when I retire and keep Sutton Real Estate going. When things are good, they’re really good. Trust me.”

It was incredible to hear herself say it. It almost made her believe it was possible.

She did not tell him about the loss of millions. She did not tell him about the bad business advice. She just wanted him to come home.

Suddenly, there was a way forward together.

Tonight, the first night of Ryan’s return, Jackie was in the kitchen with a mug of tea, looking over the spreadsheets she’d sent Sandy, the new business adviser. She hadn’t yet told Sandy about her decision to hire her son. But more houses sold equaled more benefits for Sutton Real Estate, surely. Maybe if Ryan and Jackie sold enough houses late winter and into spring, Sandy would say,Problem solved! You can keep the Sutton Estate! Retirement, here I come!

Of course, Ryan had never worked in real estate before. As far as Jackie knew, all he’d done for work post-college involved marketing and sales from the safety of a desk. Real estate was different. It was real-time sales. You had to charm the clients. You had to make them believe in a future you wrote for them. More than that, you had to make them believe they’d come up with that future themselves.

They couldn’t feel you were manipulating them—even if that manipulation was in everybody’s best interest.

But tonight, Jackie was going crazy. All she wanted to do was jump in the car and go to the Sutton Estate. Ryan, Trisha, and the grandkids had reached Nantucket earlier that afternoon. But Ryan had asked for a day to unwind before seeing her. He suggested they’d need space.

It broke Jackie’s heart. But she understood, sort of. So much had happened.

Although, if she was really honest, Jackie’s memory blurred on the specifics of everything that had gone wrong. All that remained was her broken heart and her urgent desire to make things right.

But where was Josh? It suddenly occurred to her that she’d sent Josh to the grocery store more than an hour ago. Snow whirled past the window and coated the back patio in white. It was bound to get rough out there. That was what the news and the radio and all of Jackie’s friends were saying. Again, shechecked her phone, but there wasn’t a message—not from Josh or Ryan. Feeling on the brink of insanity, she called Robin, but Robin didn’t answer and texted back that she was in the midst of a “homework meltdown with the kids.”

Jackie bit her lip and called Josh. He didn’t answer, either. What was going on?

Feeling like a little kid, Jackie stomped her foot. As though the island wanted to answer back, a mad wind rushed against the house and made everything creak. It felt as though the house was going to fall apart.

I can’t be alone like this!she thought, trying and failing to laugh at herself.I’m a little old woman!This couldn’t have been further from the truth, but the thought of it made her smile. She was Dana Sutton’s daughter. She’d never been helpless.

Finally, she texted Josh a series of increasingly frantic messages.

JACKIE: Where are you?

JACKIE: I don’t understand why you’re ignoring me.

JACKIE: The storm looks bad.

JACKIE: Please call me back when you can.

Fifteen infuriating minutes later, Josh called back. Jackie picked up the second her phone lit up.

“Hello?” She sounded angrier than she meant to.

“Jackie, hey!” Josh sounded strained.

“Are you all right? What happened?”

Josh laughed nervously. Something was certainly up. “It’s a funny thing. Um…”

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