Page 60 of The Summer House
Twenty-One
By the timethey’d made the almost four-hour trek into Richmond, it was nearly dinnertime, and they were all hungry and tired from driving. The journey had been mostly silent, the only sound being the radio spewing updates—the same information over and over until the station received new weather data, which was about once an hour.
Callie felt like she was going to burst with uncertainty. Every time she looked over at Luke, he wouldn’t respond, keeping his eyes on the road. She didn’t know what to say anyway because Frederick was in the car, and she hadn’t told him that Luke knew everything. Her mouth was bone dry, her hands icy with worry.
They’d stopped for a snack and a bathroom break when they’d crossed the North Carolina state line and entered Virginia. Callie noticed that Lillian had stayed in the car, and she wondered if Luke’s mother had realized that Frederick was with them. They’d climbed into the cars so quickly. How would she feel seeing him again? Were they on good terms? After all, she’d hidden all of this from Luke.
Had Luke even confronted his mother yet? She’d wanted to ask him all these questions, but stayed quiet. The blank look on Luke’s face was unnerving. She wanted to read him like she’d gotten good at doing but it was clear that he wasn’t going to allow her. He hadn’t even offered a glance in the rearview mirror at Frederick.
They didn’t stop again until they pulled in front of The Berkeley Hotel. Luke lined up their bags on the curb of the cobblestone street as the valet parked the SUVs. The weather wasn’t great in Richmond either, the outer band of rain from the hurricane stretching as far as Virginia, leaving a light drizzle on everything. Callie moved under the large green awning stretching out from the front door of the hotel.
It was an odd sensation to be back in Richmond with Luke. Callie had lived here nearly her entire adult life. Her mother was here in the city. Callie had worked down the street, and she had lived along the James River in an apartment on Tobacco Row. She’d walked past the Berkeley more times than she could count, but this would be the first time she’d stayed here, the first time she’d be considered an out-of-towner.
The hotel was a gorgeous, historical landmark, its elegance incomparable to anything else on the street. It sat along the cobbled road, a grand awning stretched out, a smiling, suited doorman ready to help them. It was a stark contrast to the beachy vibe she’d just left.
The two vehicles were parallel parked, one behind the other, and Lillian, who’d jumped in to help unload the bags from the car before the rain, was struggling to pull her suitcase out. Both Luke and Aiden were already occupied inside and the valets, with their black vests and white gloves, were loading the luggage onto brass caddies. Callie could see Frederick hanging back—only for an instant—as if he were trying to figure out when best to approach Lillian. Callie could hardly breathe. They hadn’t seen each other in decades, she was sure.
“Let me help you,” Frederick finally said, stepping forward, his words heavy with unsaid thoughts, his eyes on her.
Lillian stopped cold, and it was clear that she just now realized who had been on the drive with Luke for four hours. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. And, Callie thought, in a way she had. Tears filled Lillian’s eyes, but she blinked them away, coughing into her fist once as if to take the focus away from her reaction. She squared her shoulders, but emotions kept flooding her face. Callie looked away a moment, feeling as though she were intruding, her head swimming with anxiety.
Quietly, Frederick took Lillian’s bag and, with an uneasy smile, passed it to the valet and went inside, leaving Lillian on the curb as Aiden and Luke returned.
Once the others had gathered around on the sidewalk, Luke ushered them inside to check in and get their rooms. The lobby was all dark wood and formal furnishings. Tan valences were drawn in perfect pleats at the top of the windows, the furniture upholstered in burnt orange and dark butter creams. Luke popped over to the front desk and spoke to the clerk. Things had been so crazy and haphazard getting out of town that it hadn’t occurred to Callie until now how they were going to split the rooms, so she asked Luke, who’d offered to get their keys. She felt jittery and edgy, wondering how this would all play out.
“I kept our family together,” he said. “I’ve put Mom, Juliette, and Mitchell in one room; you, Olivia, and Wyatt in a second; and then I figured I could share with Frederick and Aiden.” His gaze moved over to Frederick and it seemed as if just looking at him was difficult for Luke. He was uneasy and tense.
It was really the only way to divvy it up, but she worried about Luke and Frederick.
“I won’t say anything to upset him,” he said flatly, still clearly distressed by the situation, but deciphering her thoughts easily.
She let out an anxious breath. “I know.”
The front desk clerk gave Luke the keys and told him the rooms were ready. Luke thanked her and handed them out. “Why don’t we all settle in and then we can get a bite downstairs?” he told the group as they all moved toward the elevator.
When the doors pinged open, they piled in, their luggage filling half the space. Not everyone could fit.
“I’ll wait for the next one,” Luke said.
Callie stepped back beside him. “Me too.” Maybe if she was alone for a moment with him, she could get him to talk.
She stared at the doors as they closed, not knowing how to begin, her heart thudding in her ears. Time was limited before the next elevator opened, and she had to know what was going on in that head of his. “What a mess,” she said, finally looking up at him and bringing the subject out into the open.
He sucked in a breath and it looked as though he didn’t want to talk. Then, out of nowhere, he spoke, making her jump. “You know, everything was going along just fine before all this.” He rubbed his eyes and then dragged his fingertips over his temples for a split second before dropping his hands.
“I couldn’t keep it from you once I knew,” she said. She’d have wanted to know.
“Says who?” he nearly stormed. “You? You get to make decisions about my family? If you hadn’t meddled in our lives, we wouldn’t be facing any of this right now.”
The doors swished open, taking her off guard. Luke stepped into the elevator and hit the button. Callie scrambled in, her mind going a hundred miles an hour.
“So you’d rather have had me hold on to this information—sensitive information that wasn’t mine to keep?”
“I’d rather have had you not snoop.”
As they stood there in silence, she worried that he might have a point. If she hadn’t read Alice’s journal or tried to open the lockbox, she wouldn’t be in this situation right now. It was her nosiness that had brought all this on. Guilt swelled in her stomach. If she had just managed to keep her mouth shut to Frederick, it would have been in his hands. When the doors opened again, Luke got out and walked toward his room. Callie stepped into the hallway and leaned against the wall, trying to get herself together.
Callie had beenin the bathroom trying not to listen to the hurricane updates. They made her so nervous she could hardly stand it. She’d showered, dried her hair and reapplied her make-up, pushing away tears over Luke. As she came out of the bathroom, she couldn’t deny how good it felt to be clean and in fresh clothes.
