Page 50 of An Island Summer
“John was inside, buying a Coke, and when he came out, I told him we were taking you two to the ice cream parlor in town.”
So that was how Nanna had met Pappy.
“And you flirted with John the entire time.” The old man rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Always a flirt. But John wasn’t a stupid boy. He caught on right away, which only made you try harder, chatting him up.”
The hair on her arms stood up. That sure sounded like Pappy. “What did he do?” she asked with a grin.
“He smiled politely and gave you his usual nods and ‘yes, ma’ams,’ but he spent the rest of the afternoon making small talk with Audrey. They had a lovely friendship for some time. They didn’t develop feelings for each other until later.” He gave her a knowing look as if she had some insider information. “But their bond began as partners in keeping you on the straight and narrow.”
“What brought us to the Outer Banks? Do you remember?”
“Your cousin Ian was an archeology student at that fancy school. He wanted to finish out one of his projects here. He was so busy all day that you girls were left to entertain yourselves, so you sent regular postcards to his mother to let her know how everything was going. While you sat on the bench, writing your postcard to your aunt, Audrey was inside the shop, buying a cream soda with the nickel Ian had given her to spend that day.” Suddenly, a smile spread across his face.
“What is it?” Meghan asked, riveted.
“John and I had just worked all day on the fishing boat. We were dirty and hot. The two of you looked like rare flowers sitting there, giggling and happy, and when I asked what you were doing in the Outer Banks, you answered, ‘Having an island summer,’ as if the area were more than a patch of sand along the road.” He chuckled. “It still makes me laugh.”
“Thank you for sharing the story with me,” she said, feeling as if she were meant to have met Rupert because he could tell her what Pappy had never had a chance to. In a way, she, too, was having an island summer with her best friend, although hers wasn’t quite as rosy so far.
“Hello,” a familiar deep voice came toward her from behind. Meghan turned around to find Toby striding in. “I was on my way to Mariner’s and thought I’d stop in to see you for a quick minute, Gramps. How are you today?” he asked, giving Meghan an uneasy glance.
“Never better when I have the company of this lady,” he said. “I was just telling Hester about meeting her that first day. She wanted to hear the story again.”
“That’s nice,” Toby said, but the sentiment didn’t really show in his eyes. He sat in the wingback chair opposite them.
“You know, with all that’s gone wrong in my life, the good things still shine through.” Rupert put his hand on Meghan’s and gave her a tender smile, their moment still lingering.
Right then, she felt like she could actually see the man he’d been, and she wished she had more time with him before he slipped away again.
Then, she looked over at Toby and his face dropped as if he were pondering a comment of his own, and not quite sure of the validity of it.
Suddenly, Meghan checked the time on her watch. “I need to go,” she said. “I have to… get to work early today and it’s so beautiful out that I walked here, so I need to go home and get my car.” She also needed to check on Charlie. With no way to keep him cool, she wanted to make sure he was going out to swim through the back door they’d left cracked and to give him fresh water as the temperatures began to rise. The problem was that she had no idea what to do if he didn’t go out and it actually was too hot for him in Pappy’s cottage. But the other option was to turn on the AC and risk burning the place down, as well as putting him in harm’s way. She considered searching for pet daycares in the area, but she’d need a minute or two to find one.
“Always working,” Rupert said. “Are you shooting a movie in the Outer Banks?”
“It’s top secret, remember?” she said with a grin. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she told him with a gentle squeeze of his hand.
“Stay for just a bit more,” Toby said, surprising her. A little thrill tickled her insides. “I’m on my way to the inn. I can drive you if Tess can take you home.”
Meghan would have to ask him to drop her by the cottage, and she didn’t want to have to explain herself. But without a reason to say no, she said, “All right,” sitting back down. After all, he was the boss. “Let me text Tess so she knows,” she said, pulling out her phone, texting her friend about what to do with Charlie.
“You’re going to watch Hester shoot a movie?” Rupert asked, disorientation showing in the creases between his brows as he waded through their conversation, clearly trying to make sense of it.
Before Toby responded, Rupert nodded as if he understood some sort of insider information and leaned forward toward his grandson. “Good boy, making up a reason to take Hester in this heat so she doesn’t swelter,” he whispered.
What neither of them knew was that, with no air conditioning at home, she’d nearly acclimated to the heat outside and it actually felt nice.
“I’m tired,” Rupert abruptly announced out of nowhere, as he did.
“We’d better get you back to your room then,” Toby told him, standing up.
Meghan picked up her handbag and followed him over to Rupert, where they helped him stand and make his way back to his room. Then, Meghan and Toby walked out into the sunshine, the warmth of it settling on her skin.
“I have to admit something to you,” he said, stopping at the Range Rover and not getting in. “I was headed to the inn to findyou, but I thought you might actually be with my grandfather, so I came here first.”
Meghan looked up at him, the gold flecks in his eyes sparkling in the sun.
He clicked his key chain and the back hatch of his vehicle raised, revealing an antique French Provincial style dressing table. Meghan walked over to it and peered in at the cream-colored paint with gold piping and little pink roses on the drawers, next to the circular brass drawer pulls. “This is stunning,” she said, turning back to him to figure out what was going on.
