Page 30 of Against the Current

Before entering the kitchen, Jackie steeled herself, preparing to see Trisha for the first time. But she wasn’t there, either. Where was she? Jackie allowed herself a jolt of hope—that maybe Ryan had left Trisha behind in Chicago. But of coursethat was ridiculous. Trisha was the children’s mother. Trisha wouldn’t have allowed that.

Ryan read Jackie’s face and answered softly as the water boiled. “She’s really tired,” he explained. “She made up the bed and is already fast asleep.”

Jackie smiled with relief. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through the past few days.”

Ryan palmed the back of his neck. Jackie wondered if there would ever be a day when conversations between them wouldn’t feel so strained.Give it time, she told herself.

But then her mind added,We don’t have so much time anymore.

“Listen.” Ryan gestured to the snow outside. “I don’t want you to drive home in this.”

“Your mother can’t drive home in this,” Josh said, entering the kitchen with a big smile.

“Ha. Ha.” Jackie rolled her eyes.

“Why don’t you spend the night?” Ryan suggested.

All three children raised their arms and cried, “Sleepover!”

“We can have a big breakfast tomorrow,” Willa informed Jackie. “We always do when there’s a sleepover.”

“That sounds great to me,” Jackie said.

At this moment, she felt as though she was wrapped in this most delicious and warm of hugs. But she knew in the morning everything was apt to change. The Sutton Estate was momentarily, but necessarily—Trisha’s home. Jackie needed to respect that.

Chapter Eleven

February 2025 - Nantucket Island

It was like something out of a dream. Seamlessly and joyously, Ryan’s mother and father helped him get the kids to bed, tucking them in and reading Rudy and Willa their bedtime stories (Rudy still enjoyed it, and Willa needed it to calm down at night). After that, they enjoyed a nightcap by the fire, telling old stories and looking at one another with wonder, as though each of them was thinking,I can’t believe this is happening.

Ryan knew Trisha wouldn’t be pleased that his parents were staying over. But what choice did he have? His mother had driven into a ditch. The snow was piling up, and driving through it was no longer safe. And Jackie had offered them free lodging at the Sutton Estate—a literal mansion on a gorgeous island in the Atlantic. He wanted to show how grateful he was. He wanted everything to be all right again.

The following morning, Trisha’s face was drawn. She sat on the edge of the bed with a cup of coffee and looked down at Ryan as Ryan slowly awoke.

“A car took out the mailbox,” she said.

“You already knew that,” Ryan said because he was pretty sure Trisha had still been awake upstairs when Jackie had driven in. She’d gone upstairs the minute Ryan and Josh had gotten home, hiding herself away. Luckily, the kids had been too distracted to notice.

Trisha sipped her coffee. “Is this going to be a regular thing? Them staying over?”

Ryan pulled himself up and rubbed his eyes. He felt accosted.

From downstairs came the sounds of sizzling sausages and clacking pots and pans and their children’s laughter. He wanted to point that out.Listen to how happy the kids are!

“It’s just because of the snow,” he said. “Remember, they gave us this place. Mom’s getting me a job.”

“You shouldn’t have quit your last one without talking to me about it first,” Trisha shot back.

Ryan closed his eyes. An ache rolled through him and planted itself between his temples. They’d been over this a thousand times.

“Chicago is our home,” Trisha reminded him.

“If we still feel that way in a few months, we can go back,” Ryan assured her. “We can save money here. We can work our way out of debt.”

“You want me to go get a server job again?” Trisha asked darkly.

“You can do whatever you want,” Ryan said. “You can stay home if you want. You can take online classes. We’ll have a bit of extra cash.”

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