Page 83 of The Sunken Truth
Reaching across, Maria squeezed her hand. “He was also concerned that you’d thrived despite him and not because of him. He worried that he’d never really given you a proper home, and that you should have had more people around you.”
“Really?” Lily’s forehead wrinkled with a frown. Maybe Maria could help her with her questions after all. “He said that?”
“Yes.”
“I’m surprised that was something Uncle Derek thought much about.” She paused, thinking. “When I was growing up, we didn’t stay in one place for longer than a couple of years. I’d make friends and then we’d move on and I’d have to make new friends.”
“He always did like to travel,” Maria said hesitantly. “He was a restless soul – never liked to stay in one place for very long.”
“Sometimes the travelling felt like an adventure. But…” Lily’s mind wandered, poring over her childhood, trying to figure out what she was missing from her story.
“But what?” Maria asked eventually.
“He was overprotective.” Lily winced slightly, hating to say anything negative about Uncle Derek. “Almost paranoid sometimes. As though he saw danger around every corner. When we’d arrive in a new place, he’d always sign me up for martial arts classes and self-defence lessons. He could be a little obsessive about it.” Tilting her head, she looked questioningly at Maria.
There was a flash of something in her features that Lily couldn’t read. Maybe more guilt.
“Perhaps that was because of your parents’ death,” she ventured slowly. “It was such a tragedy, and it was pure luck that you weren’t at home with your parents. He mentioned that a few times – how grateful he was that you hadn’t been in the house.”
“Yes,” Lily muttered. “That was probably it.”
Maria’s features relaxed. “It seems as though you’ve settled into life here easily. Do you think you’ll stay? Or have you inherited Derek’s itchy feet?”
“I’m staying,” Lily said without hesitation. “I feel at home here. Probably more so than I’ve ever felt anywhere.”
“You certainly seem to have taken to ice cream makinglike a pro.” Her lips twitched upwards. “I think Derek would have been really amused by that.”
“Me too.” A rush of warmth flooded through her. “I used to jump from job to job. Nothing held my interest for very long. But Uncle Derek always said I’d find my passion, eventually.”
“You think it’s ice cream?”
She paused, her thoughts jumping to all the time she’d spent investigating mysteries since she arrived on the islands. Maybe she’d found two things she was passionate about.
“Making ice cream feels therapeutic,” she said after a moment. “I love the creativity of experimenting with flavours. And then getting to see people react to it is fantastic.”
“I always enjoyed it, too.”
“Feel free to come and give me a hand any time you want.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I think I’ll leave it to you, though. It’s probably more nostalgia than I can take.”
Lily handed the photo album back and thanked Maria for bringing it over.
She was feeling decidedly nostalgic herself when she said goodbye to her at the door.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lingering outside Jago’s house,Flynn mentally prepared himself for what would no doubt be a difficult conversation.
“They’re out on the patio,” Sylvie told him when she answered the door. “Go through.”
“They?” he asked.
“Trystan’s here.”
He nodded and made his way along the hallway and into the kitchen. He stepped outside to find the two brothers relaxing in the sunshine.
“Grab yourself a beer,” Jago called happily at the sight of him.
