Page 64 of An Island Summer
Tess looked over at Meghan, the suspense clear in her rounded eyes.
The woman nodded. “Mm-hm,” she said, pulling a key from a drawer and walking around through the swinging half-door to their side. “Come with me.” She led them through a large entry into a room with locked boxes covering the walls. “For years, we’ve been told that the great Hester Quinn has a box here, and she’s allowed access for anyone in her or John Gray’s direct line. We called him years ago, and he said that either his daughter or granddaughter would probably retrieve the contents.” She went over to the box. “If you have the combination, you’re welcome to use it, or I can use the master key. I’ll be outside.”
As the teller left, Meghan stared at the box in disbelief. Pappy had been trying to tell her…
“Oh my gosh, Meghan!” Tess said, bouncing beside her. “Open it!’
With shaky fingers, Meghan moved the three small dials, lining up the numbers: 34-26-19.Click.The door opened. She reached in and pulled the small metal box from the interior, setting it on the counter in the middle of the room and opening the lid. Inside was a leather journal. Meghan peered over at her friend.
Tess clapped a hand over her mouth.
Meghan opened the book and gasped. She ran her finger down the bumpy ridge inside the journal where pages had been torn out, noticing that the color of the paper within and the thinness of the writing lines looked exactly like the ones she’d been reading at Lost Love Coffee. “That’s my mother’s name,” she said, as she tapped the top of the note inscribed on the first page, the swooping letters blurring in her tears. She cleared them enough to read:
My dearest Jacqueline,
Audrey was the most grounded of the two of us. She was the one who was meant for a family, the one with the highest capability of real love. At the time, neither of us knew that she couldn’t have children, so it made all of this a bit easier to bear once we found out.
When I first met your father John, I fell hard and fast for him. It was like freefalling off a cliff, scrambling to reach the ledge for safety, only to realize there was no return. That last night of summer, under the stars with him, I let myself go and gave in to my impulsive spirit. I never regretted it because if there was one truly great person in this world, it was him.
That night, I told him that I couldn’t imagine a better place to live than Hatteras, but I think we both knew deep down that I wouldn’t survive there. I needed the city lights, the buzz of the crowd, and the energy. In the end, that was my true love. By the next day, I had told him that last night had been wonderful but the daylight revealed that neither of us would be happy with one another. The best of both of us together had been that one night.
I want you to know, my dear girl, that I adored him. I loved him, and I love you. When I realized I was pregnant, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give you the life you deserve…
Meghan wiped the tears that had spilled down her cheek, unsure if she wanted to read any more. “Hester is mygrandmother?” she said into the air, unable to focus on Tess.
“No wonder you look like her,” Tess said in barely a whisper. “Read more.”
Her stomach in knots, Meghan continued.
In the nine months that I was away, trying to figure out what to do, John and Audrey had begun a sweet friendship that had blossomed into romance. Audrey had said that she didn’t want to be anywhere except with John, and she’d stayed, giving up all her upbringing for the man she was wholeheartedly in love with.
Audrey was the best friend I’d ever had, and for some unknown reason, she stuck by me, when I wasn’t capable of being the kind of friend anyone would ever want. She offered to adopt you, and she and your father raised you as their own. They wanted to tell you about me, but I made them promise not to because I never wanted Audrey to be less than what she was: a mother. She was your true mother. I just brought you to her.
Every so often, when you were a baby, I’d come to see you. But as you grew, it became too difficult for me to see the life I could’ve had with my own child and a wonderful man. I’d even come to the realization, years later, that there was, in fact, someone I did love as much as your mother loved your father. But that, too, was out of my reach.
The last time I was there, I left a note for your mom and dad, telling them that I promised to come back, but I didn’t. I tried—believe me, I tried. But you’d gotten older and I didn’t want to have to explain why I was a sniveling mess. When I told your parents that I’d left you this journal, it was my wish that they tell you, but only after you’d led a full and happy life.
Meghan stared at the words, wishing her mother could’ve read them. But she’d never been given the chance. How heartbroken Pappy must have been over it. “I can’t believe this,” she said, flipping the page to find more writing.
“Keep reading,” Tess urged her.
But now, it’s time to tell you the one thing I need to say. If he isn’t already in your life, Rupert Meyers is someone you need to know. He was my best friend and the one person who kept me sane most of my life. I’ve left your inheritance with him. He has family overseas and I thought he might know better what to do with that amount of money than your father would. This journal was to be my fresh start. I ripped out my old life and was ready to make a new one with Rupert, but I was too late. By the time I realized that I could love the man who’d been in love with me my whole adult life, he’d already moved on. In a note, I’ve told your dad all of it, explaining to him that he’s to give the inheritance to you when the time is right. Rupert has my will.
Every paycheck I received, Rupert handled, paying my bills and putting away the rest. Rupert’s currently holding $45 million of my money in his name, in off-shore accounts. I told him to keep it until you come for it. I know it isn’t the love that you deserve from me, but it’s everything I’ve sacrificed and worked for. And in my lowest moments, once I realized the years of love I’d never had, the idea of giving it all to you was what kept me going.
“Forty-fivemillion?” Tess asked, her eyes rounded, her mouth hanging open.
Meghan looked up from the letter, Toby’s comment coming back into her mind with the speed of a freight train, causing her head to pound.We knew he had off-shore accounts, and inheritance from our family overseas, but we had no idea just how much until he gave me full access to his books.“If Hester left it to Mom and Mom left her inheritance to me…”
“I think you can get that comforter set you wanted now,” Tess said, a glimmer in her eye.
“Oh my goodness.” Meghan struggled to stand, her knees weak. “What if Toby has been usingHester’smoney?”
“What do you mean?”
“He told me that Rupert had off-shore accounts. And what about the rumors that he’s going to steal it all to build onto Mariner’s?”
“Well, if he is, it’s yours, so he can’t steal it.”
