Page 44 of Against the Current

Jackie and Ryan planned their “stakeout” in Martha’s Vineyard for Tuesday. Neither of them had any showings nor phone calls with potential buyers, and it electrified them to think that they would take the ferry one island away and get to the bottom of Sarah Strong’s terrifying tactics.

Why were they losing clients left and right?

What was going on?

But if Jackie were fully honest with Ryan, she might have told him she didn’t believe anything would come of their snooping. She was heartbroken and almost prepared to give up on Sutton Real Estate fully, sell the Sutton Estate, and cut their losses. But she had a hunch that Trisha would find a way to drag Ryan west if she threw in the towel so soon.

She couldn’t let that happen, not now that she was finally building a relationship with her grandchildren. At the Sutton Book Club the other day, Willa had even taken Jackie’s hand ofher own accord. There was a growing trust between them. There was an understanding.

Jackie had to make it work with Sutton Real Estate. Maybe something would occur to her during their trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Perhaps she would find a jolt of creativity left in her tired brain.

Originally, Jackie had said she would pick Ryan up, but Ryan had all but insisted on driving instead. This left Jackie jittery and nervous, getting up and sitting back down on the living room sofa, waiting for him to arrive.

“I hope he knows what time the ferry leaves,” Jackie breathed. “He remembers it’s March, right? The ferries aren’t as frequent as they are in the summer. And he hasn’t lived here in years.”

“He’s not a teenager,” Josh reminded her with a smile. “He’ll be here on time. You’ll get the ferry.”

Jackie remembered how frustrating it had been for her when she’d first left home. Her mother and father had still treated her like a little kid who didn’t know anything. She didn’t want to do the same to Ryan—especially because he was forty-one years old and a father of three.

It’s almost impossible for mothers to stop thinking of their children as people who need them, she thought.

And then she remembered,He does need me. That’s why he’s here.

Her heart ballooned.

The doorbell rang a few minutes earlier than she’d expected. Here was Ryan, wearing a cool windbreaker and a Chicago Cubs baseball hat. Jackie grinned at him, already forgetting her previous fear that he’d be late.

“Are you all set for our big day out?” he asked.

Jackie laughed and waved to Josh.

“Be careful out there,” Josh said.

Jackie and Ryan had agreed not to tell Josh the specifics of their trip to Martha’s Vineyard. For now, they’d told him there were a number of potential clients on the island, ones who hoped that Sutton Real Estate could handle the sales of their properties. Josh had said, “That’ll be a lot of island hopping! I can sail you over whenever you want. Make myself useful.”

Josh was too good for this world.

Ryan drove them to the ferry and parked downstairs. On the drive, Jackie explained to Ryan that she’d met again with the business adviser Sandy Tomkins, who’d expressed mild happiness at the number of homes they’d sold since Ryan’s arrival. “You’re doing better,” she’d said. “Kudos to you and your son.”

“But she still thinks we should sell the house,” Jackie said, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her. “I need a cup of coffee.”

At this news, Ryan was quiet. They went upstairs to the little coffee shop with its thick windows and view of the thrashing ocean, where they ordered tea and watched the world breeze past. Ryan opted for a scone, too. Jackie guessed he was nervous. He’d always been a bit of a nervous eater like she was. She’d had two slices of toast that morning rather than her typical one.

“We can’t sell the house,” Ryan said, speaking into his tea.

“We won’t,” she told him. But there was an air of disbelief around what she said.

When they reached Martha’s Vineyard, Ryan drove them off the ferry and into whipping winds and violent rains. Jackie clutched her knees, wanting to tell her son to slow down. But he was already going ten or so miles under the speed limit, his hands at ten and two.

“Maybe we should pull over?” she cried. “Until it’s over?”

But when Ryan pulled out of the harbor and onto the backroads of Edgartown, Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. Theweather wasn’t quite so chaotic here. Ryan turned down the frantic windshield wipers and directed them to a little lunch place not far from where two of their ex-clients now lived—in the houses they’d opted for instead of the ones on Nantucket. On Martha’s Vineyard, no one knew them. They could ask questions. They could get the lay of the land.

They could learn more about Sarah Strong.

Jackie knew the plan was half-baked at best. But as they sat at a little red-and-white-checkered table and ordered brunch, she couldn’t help but feel giddy. In the past six weeks, she and Ryan had spent more time together than they had since he’d moved out. She was getting to know and appreciate him as the man he’d become.

The man he’d turned into was sensational—funny and kind and intelligent.

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