Page 59 of The Summer House
Aiden, who had started packing the cars, came out with more bags.
“Aiden and Olivia can ride with Mom, and you and Frederick ride with me,” Luke told them as he began to transfer Callie’s things from her trunk to his vehicle. He popped the back open—it was already full. He moved his bags to one side to make room for the cooler. “I got three rooms at The Berkeley in Richmond,” Luke said, shifting one of his suitcases. “I reserved all they had left.” With a pause, he looked down at his painting, blinking for a moment, his face neutral. He put it in the back.
“We can make it work,” Aiden said over his shoulder as he headed inside one more time.
Frederick came out and climbed right in with his things as Olivia and Wyatt walked briskly over toward Lillian, each lugging a suitcase. Luke jogged toward them and took both bags, lifting them easily. He slid them into the back while Olivia helped Wyatt into Lillian’s SUV.
“Hop in,” Luke told Callie, opening the back door. “Let’s try to get ahead of the crowd. Anything else inside that you need?”
Luke looked around, as the group offered a collective “no” from their various locations with head-shaking and worried glances. Callie couldn’t help but feel safe watching Luke take charge. He was calm, direct, and focused, and it set her racing heart and flooded mind at ease. She was so worried about their safety that she didn’t allow herself to think about the fact that they wouldn’t have the funds or time to repair any major damage from this storm or that Frederick was coming along and she had no idea how that would work. She got in the SUV and shut the door, the others doing the same. Luke jogged around and climbed in the driver’s side.
Callie turned back to take one last look at The Beachcomber before they drove away.
