Page 83 of Fighting the Tide
She looks around nervously as she tightens the strap of her purse over her shoulder.“Meet me back at the theater’s parking lot.Back corner beside the tree.It’s the only place that’s hidden.”Then she hurries away, her long hair swaying out behind her.
The server comes forward, giving me an apologetic look as I move from the table and shrug.“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”He nods as I make my way back to the parking lot, just in time to see a black sedan leaving.Is that the speed of a guilty woman who knows her intentions to meet me here would go against her engagement?Or is her current relationship one wrought with fear and control?My feelings for Cassie may have ended a long time ago, but I still wouldn’t want her to be in a dangerous situation.
I get back in my vehicle and head back into Chatham; the drive taking me less than ten minutes, and when I see the twinkling lights of Brooke’s Cinemas, an image of Colette swims through my mind.I can’t deny that I would like nothing more than to walk in there and seek her out, just to learn a bit more about her.The dry humor I witnessed today, along with that tiny, vulnerable piece of her, is only a fraction of the jigsaw puzzle I want to put together.She intrigues me and I just can’t figure out what that says about me.Am I sick?Am I curious?Do I long for a family of my own?
I easily find the section of the parking lot Cassie was talking about because I know it all too well, and there’s the black sedan parked in the very far corner, hidden by the hanging leaves and large branches.I pull into the spot beside her as she quickly gets out of the car, once again scanning her surroundings before running to mine and opening the passenger side door.
Once she is sitting in the seat, she turns to look at me with a soft smile and warm eyes.“I’m sorry about that.I just didn’t want to take the chance.Rumors die hard here in Chatham.”
It’s the perfect opening I need as I lean in on the center console, bringing us closer and saying, “I need to know all the rumors about Colette Eastham and her parentage.”
“You really do think she’s yours, don’t you?”She bites her lip and looks out the windshield toward the theater’s back door.“She showed up here about two years ago and began living at Brooke’s house.Mitch and Brenda had been gone for years.I think they’re living somewhere in Europe now, and I swear the first time I saw her, Nolan, I thought I was looking at Brooke’s ghost.”I don’t bother to tell her I know the feeling, that five years ago I was plagued by what I thought was Brooke’s ghost as well.“Then the little things started to stand out.Her hair is darker, a little more unruly, her skin is more golden, and those eyes are the strangest things I’ve ever seen.Everyone was quick to provide theories of who she was and where she came from, and when she started speaking to the townsfolk here and there, she revealed Brooke was her mother.”
“There were signs,” I admit to Cassie as my throat swells with emotion.“There were things I ignored when I came home that first year from college.I fell back into this push and pull with Brooke, and I didn’t see them or I didn’t connect the dots.These last few days, I’ve been trying to work my mind over all the clues that were right there in front of me, and a huge one was at Brooke’s funeral.I remember two little girls looking distraught, and even though I didn’t pay much attention to them, I would bet one of them was Colette.”I rest my head back against the seat as I press my fingers into my temple.“Who was the other little girl?”
“Don’t beat yourself up.I was there at that funeral, too.I didn’t know the girl in one of the housekeeper’s arms.I’m also guessing that was Colette, but the one that was standing there with her mother was Brooke’s baby cousin.I recognized her.”My chest deflates with relief, but it’s minor because there’s still a woman there inside that theater who holds all the answers and she’s refusing to hand them over easily.
“What were people saying, Cassie?What were they saying when this young woman showed up back in Chatham?”My question seems to echo around us as Cassie stares at the side of my face.I can feel the heat of her eyes, but I refuse to meet her gaze.
“At first, it was a guessing game of who her father could be, and yes, you were a contender.When it became obvious that the townsfolk were playing a game about who fathered her, Colette came forward and began to tell people that her father was Sean Clark.It’s believable, Nolan.Try to remember how Brooke and Sean were.She couldn’t resist him, and he just couldn’t stay away.I was there every summer when they would find each other again and the sparks would fly between them.I know you loved Brooke, and I think there was a part of her that loved you too, but Sean Clark was her true love.”There’s pain with her words, a true, agonizing torture, but it’s either dulled over the years or I’ve grown accustomed to it.Brooke was my true love.I’ve been so sure of it, but the more I hear what people have to say, the more I realize I didn’t know everything.It took me years to be able to even stand to hear her name, and even longer to sit in one spot and listen to the stories of her with someone else.“Am I saying that Sean Clark is her father?”I finally break my stare away from the theater door to turn and look at Cassie.“I know she was with you both that summer,” she says, confirming everything I’ve been trying to say.“When I look at Colette, I don’t see you and I don’t see Sean.So, I can’t give you a definitive answer, but this should be the final nail in the coffin of you and Brooke.This is proof that she never cared enough to let you know about Colette’s existence.I’m sorry, Nolan.”
A buzzing from her purse breaks the hold her words have over me as she scrambles through its contents to find her phone.Her whispered curse tells me that Kasen is calling her and I turn to find her phone in her hand with his name blinking on the screen.“You should probably get that before he thinks you’re avoiding him,” I suggest.
“I should probably just get going.”She silences the call and turns to look at me.“My number is still the same.Call me if you need anything.”She steps out of the vehicle, giving me a lingering look, and then shuts the door.She rushes back to her car, placing her phone to her ear, and a few moments later, she’s pulling out of the parking lot.
I should leave too.There’s nothing here for me but a near-empty parking lot, telling me the theater isn’t having a busy night tonight.I place my hand to my chest, wondering where that tug has gone, knowing Brooke’s daughter now controls it.If she is in close proximity, I’m not feeling it.I’m about to put the Range Rover in drive when the back door opens.
Colette steps out, her hair in a high ponytail, the ends still reaching the middle of her back.She’s wearing a light blue blouse and a dark pair of pants, looking every inch the owner of the theater until my eyes find her shoes.I can’t hold back the startled chuckle that escapes when I find high-top Converse that are worn and scuffed.She falls back against the brick wall with her arms crossed over her chest, looking a little frustrated, and it takes everything in me to keep my ass inside this vehicle.She’s not my responsibility and I can’t keep intruding in her life.I accused her earlier of following me, and if I happen to run up on her now, she’ll be able to make the same claim.So instead, I settle into my seat and decide to watch her.I know it’s creepy, but I can’t help myself.I need to somehow figure out how to convince her to take a DNA test because I can’t live like this.
About ten minutes go by and I would almost believe that she fell asleep if it wasn’t for her toe-tapping into the asphalt of the parking lot.I couldn’t imagine myself at nineteen, living alone and owning my own business with no one to support me.No friends or family.Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions because I’ve only been here a few days.I don’t know who her friends are or if she has any, and maybe Mitch and Brenda treat her a lot better than they ever did Brooke, but looking at her now, all I sense is an overwhelming feeling of loneliness.
She goes back inside, letting the door slam shut behind her, and I tip my head back to look up at the sky through the moonroof.I wonder if Brooke is watching all of this and if somehow she’s the one who’s guided me back here to Chatham and to her daughter.Maybe she was tired of seeing us both lonely, as absurd as that sounds.
I think I’m tired of being lonely myself.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
TheTVfillsthenoise in the room as I take the last mouthful of the dinner I made and lean back on the couch.I had debated going to Avery and Monica’s house to tell them about everything that’s happened today, but I was feeling uneasy and needed to work through everything myself before telling anybody else.In a few days, they’ll have their engagement party and my commitment here in Chatham will be over.I should be going home the next day, but I won’t be.I have to somehow convince Colette to do that test for me, and then patiently wait for the results to come back that could change my entire life.I push up from the couch and head over to the minibar, refilling the tumbler I used the night before with the same whiskey, and then head out toward the backyard.
If I’m going to be here in Chatham, I might as well enjoy the ocean.It’s the one thing I can say I sincerely love about this town.I unlock the door and open it to step out onto the back porch, making the motion-detecting light turn on.The area around me illuminates in a golden glow and just as I’m bringing the glass to my mouth, a throat clears nearby, making me freeze mid-motion.“Do you know how many Range Rovers are in Chatham?”Her voice is like silk, smooth and velvety, coupled with just enough rasp to fray the edges.“Just one, if you’re wondering.”
I set my glass back down and turn to find her sitting in one of my chairs wearing a pair of shorts and a thin hoodie, both of them the color of turquoise, the tone setting off the vibrancy of her skin.“What are you doing here?”I ask, impressed when my voice stays even.
“You asked me today if I was following you,” shetsksas she pushes up from the chair and stands in front of me, her height bringing us nearly eye to eye.“But I should be asking you that exact question, shouldn’t I, Mr.Sears?”
“Sorry, I was meeting a friend, and it was the only discreet spot I knew besides this cottage.”It’s the truth, but not completely, and I can see she doesn’t buy it with the narrowing of her eyes.
“Do you always meet friends in dark parking lots after the sun has gone down?”She folds her arms over her chest and raises a perfectly shaped brown eyebrow.
“Maybe.”I shrug and bring the glass to my mouth, swallowing down a gulp of the amber liquid.She leans back against the railing as her hair, still in that high ponytail, slips over her shoulder.
“Why don’t you put that glass down and join me at a party that’s happening up the beach?”Her pink-painted fingernail points up toward the beach where I can hear the heavy bass of music and laughter carrying on the wind.
“I’m a little too old for that.”I grin at her as I finish the contents of my glass and place it on the table.“Although, the sounds of it are bringing back some memories of a long time ago.”I want to tell her I see her mother laughing as she tipped the vodka bottle up to her mouth, but it all shatters when the memory of Brooke leaning over the edge of that lighthouse filters through my mind.
“Suit yourself.”She shrugs as she steps down from the porch, giving me a mischievous smile.“I’ve always loved a good beach party.”
I don’t know what it is about her walking away that has my heart pounding through my chest and my stomach tightening into knots.I subconsciously take a few steps forward, bringing me to the edge of the porch as my hand wraps around the railing.“Don’t drink too much!”I call out, and she stops walking to look at me over her shoulder.It’s hard to see the details of her eyes and her mouth, but I would assume the look I’m receiving is filled with arrogance by the sound of her voice.
