Page 66 of The Summer House
“I admitted to him that I wouldn’t be opposed to getting to know Frederick.” He turned back to his mother and the others.
Lillian’s eyes bulged.
“The press will eventually get wind of all this,” Lillian said. “We need to have an organized response in case we’re cornered. But right now, we need to decide how to approach Edward when we speak to him again.”
Callie hadn’t experienced it in her own life, but she could spot it—that defending instinct of a mother protecting her child. Lillian was intense as she tried to think through how to handle the situation.
Luke spoke to Juliette in a whisper. They seemed so close, and it was clear that hearing that they were half-siblings, while a huge thing, hadn’t tainted anything between them. Callie had worried about how Juliette might take the news, but in the end, he was still her brother. Juliette put her head on his shoulder for a moment.
“I want to be there too,” Aiden said, shifting forward. “If you’re concerned about me taking the company, Luke, you don’t have to worry about that.” Aiden leaned in. “I’ve always thought I could run the business but I never believed that it belonged to anyone other than you.”
“I feel like I should be there too,” Lillian said, shaking her head. “I have to finally tell him what happened all those years ago. I’m not proud of it,” she said, “but it’s part of my past and I should be present to answer Edward’s questions. He’s going to have quite a few for me, I’m certain.”
“We’ll be there to support you,” Luke said. His knee bounced up and down. “He won’t talk to me right now. Let’s let him cool off—let this all settle in—and I’ll call him.”
Law enforcement is asking that you stay away from any remaining flooded roadways until the rest of the water can recede. Flash flooding is still a problem. Tree limbs and branches cover the roadways due to high winds and they are causing hazards, along with other road debris. As you can see behind me, stoplights are swinging into the water, and the wind is still blowing hard, making clean-up and repairs difficult. I urge you to use caution upon return. The mayor has issued a mandatory curfew of nine p.m. I’ll update you every hour on the hour, right here, on Channel Six.
Luke camein and sat down. He’d just taken the last of the things to the car and everyone was nearly ready to leave, all of them completely exhausted from staying up last night. Luke had tried to see Edward again, but he’d checked out already, so he let him go, promising his mother he’d call him after they’d all gotten settled back home. After everyone had gone to bed, Frederick had returned quietly, and he hadn’t said a whole lot this morning, clearly immersed in his own thoughts.
The storm wasn’t as devastating as they had predicted but there was still quite a bit of damage and everyone was eager to get home to see things for themselves. Luke had had room service bring up breakfast and coffee at five a.m., and he’d insisted all the ladies stay and have their coffee while he packed, telling them they needed to watch the news so they could update him if they heard anything that might inhibit their return.
“What have they said?” he asked his mother, as Frederick left to take a dolly down to the car.
“It’s just a mess down there, like it always is after a hurricane.”
Callie had seen pictures on the news in other years, but she hadn’t experienced the complete worry that the residents faced every time it happened. It had always been a tragedy, but by the time she’d returned for vacation, the entire place was rebuilt, open for business, ready for the tourists who flocked down and settled on those glorious beaches. Once the damage had been reported, the media moved on to the next story, and the rebuilding process every time went unmentioned. But now, seeing the damage, and knowing it could be like that at her new home, where her life was now, it filled her with fear.
The news program had focused mostly on the villages further north of Callie’s, the major tourist locations where the rest of the country would relate, so she hadn’t been able to see the fate of Waves.
“Did you secure your surfboards?” she asked suddenly.
Luke nodded. “I tied them up in the rafters of the shed. Unless it was blown away, they should be just fine.”
“Okay,” she said with an exhalation, apprehension still assaulting her.
“We’d better get a move on,” he said.
