Page 30 of Vineyard Winds

Rina returned from her run to find Steve on the front porch swing in his sweats, drinking coffee and reading a book. His face was serene, and he was barefoot, his toes shifting gently on the ground as he swung back and forth. She felt a wave of tenderness for him, for all they’d gone through together—and resisted the temptation to rush up the porch steps, throw her arms around him, and kiss him on his plump, wonderful lips.

Instead, she waved hello, breezed back through the house, poured herself a cup of coffee, and joined him on the swing with a book. It was pleasant to feel the sweat on her arms and legs dry, leaving a crisp layer of salt. The temperature was still in the sixties, and a blanket of clouds crept toward them, stretching over the sterling-blue sky.

Despite the chaos of the world and all that Rina didn’t understand, she felt serene in a way she hadn’t ever felt in her house alone. She could practically feel the sturdy beat of Steve’s heart just a foot away. It was grounding.

It would be difficult to find a man like Steve, Rina knew. But she had to try. Eventually. When she got up the energy to date again.

“What’s your plan today?” Rina asked, hating to break the smooth air between them.

Steve set down his book and sipped his coffee. “Depends on your plans, I guess.” His eyes sparkled. “Are you going to visit your mother?”

“Not till this afternoon,” Rina said. “And afterward, I was thinking of asking my father out to dinner. Maybe, if I get him at a table, I can pester him for details about my mother’s accident. Maybe he’ll have nowhere to run?”

“You’re crafty,” Steve said.

Rina tilted her head, her thoughts spinning. “Actually, maybe you should come, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I think you’d throw him off a little,” Rina said. “He’ll try to impress you and be all over the place.”

“Okay. You’re craftier than I thought. I’m in.” Steve frowned, then added, “Do you want me to pretend to be something? Like, I don’t know. Your boyfriend?”

Rina winced. She felt the question like a knife through her stomach.

Still, it made sense. If Wally thought Steve was a potential incoming member of the family, perhaps he’d open up more. Perhaps he’d want to talk “man to man.”

“If you feel comfortable doing that,” Rina said. “I don’t want to pressure you.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Steve said. “We’ve practically been doing that in front of my family for the past nine months.”

Rina pulled her feet onto the swing and wrapped her arms around her legs, forming into a ball. She decided to ignore this comment because it hurt too deeply to acknowledge it.

“Have you heard from Claire?”

Steve nodded. “She sent me loads of messages last night. Apparently, Nathan was Gail’s boyfriend. Abby’s pretty sure they broke up, but Gail never mentioned it, and Abby didn’t pry. Abby wasn’t too fond of Nathan.”

Rina groaned. “And what does Abby think of the theory that Nathan had something to do with Gail’s disappearance?”

“I don’t know,” Steve admitted. “We’ll have to call her later. After dinner, maybe.”

“After dinner,” Rina agreed.

* * *

When Wally learned that Rina had a boyfriend from out East, his eyes sparkled with intrigue. “A boyfriend? I never thought you’d try again with that whole thing. That makes me happy.”

Rina supposed “that whole thing” meant romance, companionship, starting again. She decided not to take issue with the flippant way he referred to her life, not now. There were bigger fish to fry.

They stood in the bottom hallway of the hospital, with its glowing white walls, its linoleum recently mopped. It was impossible to know how many lives had been destroyed in this very building and how much bad news had been received. Rina set her jaw. Her mother was healing—but she still hadn’t mentioned anything to do with the accident. Wally knew something; there was a darkness behind the sparkle of his eyes.

“He wants to meet you,” Rina continued.

“And I’d love to meet him, too. It’s not every day your forty-five-year-old daughter has a new boyfriend.”

Rina’s stomach curdled. “Dinner? Tonight?”

“You name the place and time, and I’ll be there.”

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