Page 33 of An Island Summer
“I’m not hungry. I only got myself a dinner so he’d feel more comfortable. You two can have it all. I’ll let myself out.”
“Stay,” Meghan said, going out on a limb. She wanted to believe that the kindness that showed in his eyes was real.
He shifted on his feet uncomfortably, his blue eyes nearly swallowing her, making her wonder what was running through that head of his. Something in her gut told her there was more going on than she knew, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.
“I’d rather go. Enjoy the dinner.” The words didn’t match the indecision on his face.
“Wait,” she said, as he turned around to leave. When he did, she could’ve sworn she’d seen pain in his eyes.
“I need to go,” he replied, walking over to the door and letting himself out.
“I’ve dated those types before,” Tess said once he’d left, as she continued unboxing the cornbread muffins, the warm, buttery steam rising into the air and making Meghan’s stomach rumble, her eyes still on the door. “He’s got issues. It’s pretty clear.”
“What do you think they are?” Meghan asked, wishing that he would’ve stayed.
“I’m not a mind-reader,” Tess said, getting two paper plates from the cabinet. “But he’s so skittish.”
“Yeah.” Meghan opened the lid to a box of steamed shrimp and dished some out on their plates, along with a dollop of cocktail sauce.
Tess pulled out a container of macaroni and cheese, filling a serving spoon with the soft noodles. “I thought he might be a good catch, but after seeing him now, I wonder what he’s hiding.”
Meghan’s hands stilled and she turned her attention to Tess. “You think he’s hiding something?”
“There’s definitely something holding him back from being himself. What that is, I’m not sure. But, given what people have said about him, I’d be careful.”
How Tess’s tune about Toby had changed. There was no playfulness in her voice at all—just warning. And one thing Meghan knew for sure was that Tess was excellent at reading people, so while she didn’t want to admit it, Meghan had to believe that starting anything with Toby Meyers could be a big mistake.
THIRTEEN
Meghan held the bunch of daisies she’d gotten at the flower stand tightly in both hands as she lowered herself onto the cool grass under the oak tree, facing Pappy’s grave. She set them down next to the gravestone and ran her hand delicately over the words “John William Gray.”
She recalled being with him that final day in the hospital. She’d gotten a call early that morning that she should come be with him, and the whole way there, she shook like a leaf because she knew what was coming. It was that day that she’d first understood what it would feel like without him.
When she’d arrived at his bedside, she realized she’d already lost the strapping father figure who’d raised her after her parents’ death. He was barely there, the cancer breaking him down to a wisp of a man. He was spouting out things that made no sense at all, having been placed on quite a bit of medication by then for the pain, and everything he’d said had been a jumble of words. Not wanting to remember him in that state, the picture of it came back in vivid detail against her will and she recalled an odd message he’d given her that came back like a scream:Go to Ricroft.It was the only thing he’d said to her that day that had given her pause because the intensity in his eyes had caught her off guard. She’d forgotten about it until now. But as she sat across from his grave, she felt peace, as if he were sitting there in the grass beside her, completely content.
“Pappy,” she said in a whisper, a lump forming in her throat. “I wish you could tell me what to do. I need you so much right now. I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly.”
Tears welling up, she stopped talking and let the words on the gravestone blur in front of her, feeling as though her heart might break right in two. She lay back on the soft grass and stared up at the sky, the billowy clouds floating in the bright blue sky giving her no answers.
You already have the answers, she could almost hear Pappy saying.They’re within you.
Maybe there was some truth to that. Maybe the answerswerewithin her. She just couldn’t see them yet.
When Meghan arrived at Rupert’s room, it was completely dark, despite the late morning hour. She clicked on the lamps and opened the blackout drapes.
Rupert watched her move around, his eyes clear, his gaze steady.
“You okay?” she asked, wondering why he’d been sitting in the dark.
He nodded. “Just been thinking.”
She smiled. “About what?”
“I fell asleep and missed my grandson’s visit yesterday. I wanted to talk to him.” He shifted in his bed. “Hester, you’d adore him.”
“Is that so?” she asked, excited that he understood he’d missed Toby.
“You told me that you wanted me to go on without you, and I have. I’ve had a wonderful life.”
