A Sweethaven Summer (18 page)

He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I kinda like that.”

She smiled.

“It’s just easier to sleep here. Besides, I might get a home-cooked breakfast out of the deal.”

She grew quiet as exhaustion set in. With all the driving and the funeral and the secrets and the questions, she’d managed to completely wear herself out.

“You have something on your mind.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I have a lot on my mind.” She sighed.

“Anything I can help with?”

Campbell told him what she’d found out that morning.

The ticking of the clock above the mantel filled the otherwise silent space.

“So you’ve got a benefactor?” Luke asked after a few too-long moments.

“You don’t think my grandfather…?” She couldn’t even say the words. She felt ridiculous suggesting that a man who didn’t even want her in his family would actually find a way to take care of her.

He leaned back on the couch. “There’s only one way to find out.”

She met his eyes. “No. I can’t
ask
him.”

“Why not? You have nothing to lose.”

“I can’t. I can’t face that man.” In a flash, she returned to the night before, standing face-to-face with her grandfather—a perfect stranger.

But she had no proof her grandfather had paid for the house or put money in the account.

“I think you should pay the old man a visit,” Luke said. “I’ve known him for years, Campbell, and I think you’d regret it if you didn’t get to know him.”

Anger rose from a place down deep. “I’m not the one who tried to get rid of him, remember?” She hated that a man she’d never met could inflict a wound that still hurt after all these years. “Look, knowing that man is up the street changes nothing for me. I’m still as alone as I was yesterday and the day before.”

“But he
is
up the street. What if he wants to get to know you?” Luke’s quiet tone told her he didn’t mean to hurt her. He couldn’t possibly understand.

She hesitated and then said, “I can’t, Luke. I guess I was hoping I could ask your mom. Maybe she knows something—maybe my grandfather mentioned it to her. She said they were friends.”

Luke nodded.

“I just want to know whose money it is before I decide whether or not I’m going to keep it.”

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You are crazy. It’s
your
money.”

“Not yet it’s not.”

“Your mom obviously put it aside for a reason. She wanted you to have it. She didn’t want you to struggle. It’s a gift—just take it. Doesn’t mean you owe him anything.”

She looked away. Didn’t it? If she took his money, wasn’t she saying she forgave him?

She hadn’t. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Adele awoke before the birds. She flipped on the lamp by her bed, said a prayer, and then hurried to get ready. She’d been looking forward to the Marvin Estate Sale ever since she heard old Dirk Marvin—Lord rest his soul—had taken his last breath.

Luke’s empty room told her he’d either gotten himself up already or he hadn’t slept there after all. Surely he knew how important this sale was to her. She wouldn’t be able to move that old credenza by herself.

She resisted the urge to push open the door of the guest room and check on Campbell. She didn’t fault her young guest for keeping her whereabouts yesterday to herself—she had a lot on her mind, after all. Still, Adele had found herself nodding off in the chair waiting for her to return before she finally gave in and went to bed.

Downstairs, she spotted someone on the couch underneath the old afghan she’d made after she had Luke. Had Luke slept down here? Probably fell asleep watching SportsCenter again. But as she entered the room she realized the blond head underneath the covers wasn’t her son.

Campbell? What on earth was she doing on the couch?

The smell of coffee pulled her attention to the kitchen where two long legs stuck out behind the doorway.

She cleared her throat.

Luke glanced up. “Mornin’, Ma.”

“You’re up early.” She couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up before her. She sat across from him.

“You said you wanted to leave by seven. Figured I needed a good jolt of caffeine if I’m gonna keep up with you all day.” He grinned at her. She still saw the kindergartner in that grin. Warmed her heart.

Campbell appeared in the doorway, looking disheveled and tired. Luke looked at her and then at Adele.

“Hon, come sit down. Want some coffee?”

Campbell sat in the chair between Adele and Luke.

“It’s not a latte, but it’s caffeine,” Luke said as he poured her a cup. Adele’s eyebrows shot up. By golly, her son seemed more smitten with this pretty little blonde than he had the day before.

“Honey, I’m so glad you’re here.” She covered Campbell’s bony hands with her own and flashed her a smile. The girl’s face brightened, but only for a moment.

“Let me get you some coffee cake.” Adele cut two good-sized pieces and put them on her favorite plates, vintage gold-rimmed floral saucers.

“This is Me-maw’s recipe,” she told Campbell. “You would’ve loved my Me-maw. She was somethin’ else.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Here we go.” Luke frowned and ran his hands over his belly, which, if she was honest, hardly existed. He’d eaten her out of house and home for years and still maintained all those muscles. The injustice of it didn’t escape her as she glanced down at her thighs spilling over the sides of the chair.

Apparently they wore cinnamon streusel differently.

Campbell took a bite. “I went to Harbortown yesterday. I ended up at the community college.”

“Oh?” Adele didn’t know whether she was surprised or impressed by Campbell’s gumption. Maybe a little of both.

“I have a name.”

Adele set her fork down. “A name?” She studied Suzanne’s daughter. Had she found her father?

“Tony Angelotti.”

Adele stared at her for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “Tony Angelotti.”

Campbell’s eyes darted to Luke, then back to her, and Adele tried to regain her composure. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I know Tony. Well, I did.”

“You do?”

“He’s not your daddy, darlin’.”

“But, how do you know?”

The heartbreak on Campbell’s face halted Adele’s amusement. “He’s older than me, for one thing. Tony fancied himself an artist, but the truth was, the man had no talent.”

“That’s what the professor said.”

Adele covered Campbell’s hands with her own. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. But be thankful. Eliminatin’ names from your list is just as important as addin’ ’em.”

Campbell’s shoulders slumped as she took another bite of streusel. “Any word from Meghan? Did she respond to my mom’s note?”

Adele knew Campbell would eventually start asking about Meghan. Why had Jane and Lila come back but not Meghan? Why were they congregating at her house if Meghan wasn’t even there? Why had she allowed so many years to pass without speaking to her own daughter?

“I don’t know if we’ll hear from Meghan anytime soon. I don’t know if she can get away. She’s so busy.” Luke’s raised eyebrows tormented her from across the table. She cleared her throat.

Campbell frowned. “That’s too bad. It would be good to have
the entire scrapbook put together. It seems strange she wouldn’t at least call.”

How did Adele explain her greatest heartache without reliving the sins of the past? “It’s complicated.”

“Seems like everything is complicated, doesn’t it?” Campbell’s sad eyes gazed down at the table. “Would you be able to call her maybe? See if she’s coming? I’d hate to miss her if she does show up.”

Adele glanced at Luke. “Have you talked to your sister lately?”

“Been about a month.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Campbell asked.

Adele grabbed the coffee pot off the counter. “I need a fresh cup.” She poured more coffee into a nearly full mug.

“Adele. What’s going on?”

“It’s hard to explain, hon.”

“Try.” Campbell stared at her.

“Well, I haven’t talked to Meghan in a long time. We had a sort of fallin’ out, I guess you’d say.”

“How long?”

“Six years.”

Campbell’s eyes widened.

Adele sighed. “Suffice it to say—I am not her favorite person. And all of my attempts to make things right with her have gotten me nowhere. She’s stubborn, like her daddy.”

Luke scoffed.

Adele shot him a look. “Fine. Stubborn like me.”

“But she still doesn’t know Mom’s gone,” Campbell said. “Don’t you think we should tell her?”

Adele did think they should tell her. She’d been thinking about it since she first found out about Suzanne, but hadn’t worked up the courage. “I suppose we should think about that.”

“There’s still a chance she’ll show up, right? I mean, Blossom Fest lasts all week. Maybe she’ll come?” Campbell’s eyes were full of hope. Naïve, Adele thought.

“We’ll see.” Suddenly, Adele didn’t feel hungry. She didn’t know what she feared more, the idea of being face-to-face with her daughter or the realization that if
this
didn’t bring her home, it wasn’t likely that anything would.

Adele glanced at the clock. “We should get going, Luke. Would you like to come along, Campbell? It’s an estate sale, so it won’t be thrilling, but they can be fun.”

“I don’t know if that’s my kind of thing, but thank you.”

“Come on,” Luke said. “You can keep me company. I
know
it’s not my kind of thing, but I don’t have a choice.” Luke smiled an almost sympathetic smile. Did he feel sorry for her? Did he feel the pain oozing from every fiber of her being?

“That’s okay, thanks.” She had to admit, she wanted to spend the day with him. She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday, wandering the beach alone, directionless.

“I’ll throw in a free latte. With whipped cream.”

She met his eyes. “Well, if you put it that way…”

Adele clapped. “Oh, good. Thank you, son, for speaking her language. Now, run get dressed, darlin’. You look like you just woke up.”

“I did just wake up.”

“That’s my point. Hurry it up. We’ve gotta beat the crowd. Especially Harriet Dillon. That woman had her eye on Old Man Marvin’s grandfather clock and I want it. If Harriet wants it, she’s gonna have to buy it from me.” Adele rushed out of the room.

Campbell laughed, thankful the tension in the room had dissipated. “All right, I’ll hurry.” Before she could leave Luke grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “She and Meghan have been carrying this grudge for a long time. I think she makes herself busy by fixing everyone else. That way she doesn’t have to face up to her own issues.”

Campbell’s shoulders slumped. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. She doesn’t mean to be flip. I hope you know that. She just—she’s tried to make amends with Meghan, but my sister is even more stubborn than she is. She refused to speak to her. Said she couldn’t trust her anymore. ”

Campbell knew she should be thinking about something other than the way his hand felt wrapped around hers, but she couldn’t concentrate. Questions about Meghan and Adele flittered around in her mind, and she couldn’t seem to lasso a single one in. “It’s fine, Luke, really. I’m fine.”

He stood, still holding her hand. “Let me know if that changes, okay?”

She nodded. Words escaped her.

“All right, you should hurry. If I know Mom she’s probably already in the truck.”

A horn sounded from outside.

They laughed.

“I told ya. She’s serious about these antiques.”

Campbell hurried to get ready, and after a few short minutes, she met Luke and Adele in the driveway. Adele hopped down and let Campbell sit in the middle.

She climbed up and inhaled the scent of Luke’s woodsy cologne.

Not everything in Sweethaven confused her. Some things
seemed straightforward. Like these budding feelings she couldn’t contain when she sat next to Luke.

The truck bounced on the brick road as they headed out of town, toward what Adele described as the Estate Sale of the Century.

“I teased Old Man Marvin I was gonna walk away with that clock when he wasn’t lookin’. It’s beautiful. It’s gonna be heavy. Luke, we’re going to need more than just you to move that thing.”

“I figured,” Luke said. He seemed to be half-listening.

“Are you payin’ attention? I need you to pay attention.” Adele leaned forward and glared at him.

“I’m right here, Ma. Can’t hardly ignore you.” He grinned at Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed the playful banter between Luke and his mom all the way through town, then out past Adele’s shop and finally down a winding road called Kennedy Hill. They turned on a long gravel driveway, passed through an open wrought-iron gate, and spotted several cars parked in the grass around the old house.

“Is that Harriet’s old Buick?” Adele squinted in the morning sun. “If she beat me here, Luke, you are in trouble.”

“What’d I do?” Luke looked surprised.

“You drive slower than Me-maw.”

Campbell laughed.

“Okay, that’s not Harriet. You’re lucky, son,” Adele said. “Just drop me off here and go park.”

“So bossy today, old lady.” Luke slowed the truck.

Before he’d come to a complete stop, Adele opened the door and hopped down. Campbell watched her trot up to the front where a short line had begun to form.

“Look at her. There’s no stopping her.” Luke leaned over the steering wheel. “She’s on a mission.”

“How does this work? Does she have to beat everyone here in order to get what she wants?”

“She gets first dibs if she’s first. There’s a whole set of rules to this stuff.”

“I thought it was like a garage sale.”

“Don’t let my mom hear you say that.” He laughed. “You’d get an earful.”

She focused on the driveway as Luke pulled into a makeshift parking space alongside the outermost car.

“We can hang out here for a few minutes. We probably should’ve driven separately—it’s going to be a long day,” Luke said. “I don’t think she’ll even need me for a couple of hours.”

“We should go get that latte you promised,” Campbell said, in dire need of more caffeine. Sleeping on Adele’s couch had made for a fitful night.