Carolina Mist (26 page)

“I
think she tried to dump me
on my
grandfather,
but
obviously, he didn’t want me, either.
Maybe
he just didn’t feel up
to
raising a child. Or maybe his wife didn’t want
to
be reminded that he’d had an affair which had resulted in
a
child…
”

“Drew, I cannot believe that Leila would have turned you away. I simply do not accept that.” Abby put her fork down quietly. “If you had showed up at her door, she would have taken you in.”

“You think she would have taken in her husband’s illegitimate grandson?”

“Yes. And from what I know of Thomas, I can’t understand why he would not have welcomed you with open arms.”

“Well, all I know is what my mother told me.”

“Which was?”

“That she was given money to leave and not to come back. And, frankly, that probably satisfied my mother at the time.”

“It just sounds so incongruous with everything else I knew of them.” Abby shook her head. “But what about your mother’s family?”

“I never met any of them, either. I think she was originally from Omaha, someplace like
tha
t…
in any event, it never mattered.”

“I think it mattered very much.” She could have bitten he
r tongue. “I’m sorry, Drew…
”

“Don’t be. It’s the truth, of course. It did matter very much. And I guess that’s why now it means so much to me to be
able to see Thomas’s things…
to read his books, to sit where he sat and read the words he wrote. It’s the only tangible evidence that I had a family. That I came from someplace. Whether he wanted to share that place with me or not.”

She watched his face as he turned his gaze to the water and stared out at the boat whose sails were being readied for a trip back across the Sound. With Drew, it seemed to Abby, there was always something underneath the surface, just waiting to be revealed. She wondered if the words that seemed always to stick in his throat would ever be spoken.

Abby’s gaze drifted down to the deck area, which had been brightly illuminated with lanterns around the perimeter, and noticed a woman standing at the top of the steps, staring up to where they sat.

“Drew.” Abby touched his arm to get his attention. “I think that woman is trying to get your attention.”

“What woman?” He frowned.

“There
…
at the end of
the deck. She’s wearing a red-
and-white shirt and red pants
…
the blonde.” Abby all but pointed the woman out with a finger, but Drew still seemed confused. “Drew
…
the blonde in the red-and-white shirt. She’s the only person dressed in red and white on the deck. Dark glasses. Straw
hat
…
”

“Well, she’s gone now.” He shrugged. “I can’t imagine who I’d know down here, though.”

Abby looked down toward where the woman had stood. “She certainly looked like she knew you.”

“Well, they say that everyone looks like someone.” He tossed it off as if it was of no consequence.

“I don’t know that I’d be so quick to pass her by,” Abby teased. “She looked very pretty, from what I could see.”

He shrugged off the blonde and returned his attention to his meal.

The drive back to Primrose was quiet. Drew turned on the radio and found only static. Abby offered to find music for him, being more familiar with the local stations.

“Rock or country?” she asked.

“Ummm
…
country’s fine.”

She turned the dial to her favorite country station. Chet Atkins was singing a thoughtful ballad and cleanly picking the steel strings of his guitar, his voice just smooth enough, just husky enough. Abby leaned her head back and hummed along.

“From everything that you’ve told me about your aunt, I wish they had taken me in. I think I would have liked growing up in Primrose,” he said wistfully.

“We would have had fun in the summers. The three of us.” Even as she spoke, Abby wondered how the presence of a third party—and another boy, at that—would have changed things. If Alex had had a choice between bike riding with her or with another boy, which would he have chosen?

“Three of us?”

“Alex spent the summers here, too. With Belle.”

“I see. So you two really go back a way, don’t you?”

“I guess I’ve known him for about twenty years.”

“That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Oh, he just had this look
of
…
I guess
possessiveness
is as good a word as any, when I met him a few weeks ago. Maybe he was just being protective of an old friend.”

“I’m sure it was nothing more than that,” Abby said more stiffly than she had intended.

He pulled in front of her house and turned off the engine. It was still and quiet on Cove Road, and the only lights on were the ones in Naomi’s kitchen and the street lights at the very end of the road.

“This was the best birthday dinner I’ve had in many years,” he told her as he walked to the porch with his hand on her elbow.

“Is today your birthday?”

“Actually, it’s Wednesday, but I figured on this being my celebration.”

“If I’d known, I’d have baked you a birthday cake,” she told him.

“I can’t remember the last time someone did that for me,” he noted.

“Then you’ll have to come back and let me make dinner for you on Wednesday night, and you’ll have a proper birthday,” she insisted. “We’ll see if we can make up for the birthday parties you did not have here when you were little.”

“Abby, you don’t have to do that. I mean, I appreciate the thought,
but
…
”

“No ‘buts.’ Is seven okay? And can you make it back? I mean, with your business schedule and all.”

“It’ll fit in just fine, Abby, but don’t you think maybe you should discuss this with Belle?”

“No, I do not. Belle will have to learn to live with it.”

“I just don’t want to be the source of tension between you,” he said as he took the key to the front door and stepped forward to slip it into the lock. “Look, Abby,” he whispered, and pointed to the stand of pines off to the left of the house. “There’s an owl
…
see it, there, toward the top branches?”

Abby walked to the edge of the porch and peered upward. “No, I don’t see it. Where are you looking?”

He came up behind her and turned her slightly in the direction of the street. “There
…
do you see it now?”

“No, I don’t see anything. Are you sure?”

“Sure. He’s right there
…
well, wait now, from this angle, I can’t tell for sure if that is an owl or the way the branches are sticking up.”

“I think you’re seeing things,” she teased.

“I could have sworn.” He shrugged, slid the key into the lock, and quietly swung the door open. “I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday. If you’re sure
…
”

“I am positive. Look at it this way,” she said as she stepped into the dimly lit hallway, “with any luck, I’ll be
able to sell this house long before your birthday comes around again. This could very well be your last chance to celebrate a birthday in this house. I’d take it while I could, if I were you.”

“Okay.” He laughed. “I get the picture. And I’ll be here promptly at seven.”

“Great.” On impulse, Abby reached up and gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you then,” she called over her shoulder, and closed the front door, unaware that he remained standing on the front porch, watching her through the door’s glass panels as she walked to the back of the house.

And he, in turn, could not have known that just as he stood watching Abby, so he was being observed from somewhere in the shadows of the ancient shrubs that huddled close to the house and offered shelter to those who would prefer to remain unseen.

30

“
I
want you to know that I do not approve of this, Abigail,” Belle pronounced with all the haughtiness she could muster.

“Belle, I am sorry. But I am having a birthday dinner for Drew here on Wednesday night, and that is that.”

The sound of the ringing front doorbell ended the discussion, as far as Abby was concerned. Through the glass panels, Abby could see a tall, dark-haired woman standing at the top of the porch steps with her back to the house and her hands on her hips, as if taking in the scenery. Abby unlocked the door and swung it aside.

“Yes?” she asked. “May I help you?”

“Abby?” the visitor asked tentatively as she turned toward the opening door and removed her sunglasses.

“Susannah?” Abby stepped onto the porch, barely able to believe her eyes.

“Yes. I hope you don’t mind. You said to come anytime. We were on our way back from Disney World, and I though
t since we were this close…
”

“But absolutely. I’m so happy to see you, Sunny. It’s been years
…
God, twelve at the very least.” Abby gave a welcoming hug to her favorite cousin. “Please come in, Sunny.”

“Well, I have to get Lilly out of the car first.” She smiled and walked to where she had left her sporty little Mercedes at the end of the driveway.

A curious Abby followed and watched as Susannah opened the door and gently nudged the shoulder of a sleeping child.

“Sunny, I wasn’t aware that you had a child,” Abby said quietly as she peered into the car just as a little girl, with hair and eyes like coal and skin the color of walnuts, woke up.

“Well, actually, I haven’t been a mom for all that long.” Sunny knelt down and whispered something to the little girl, who smiled and stretched, arms high above her, before getting out of the front seat.

“Hello, Aunt Abigail,” the child said in careful, clipped words with a hint of a British accent.

“Well, hello.” Abby smiled as the girl grinned shyly and took the hand Abby held out to her. “And what is your name, might I ask?”

“Lilly Claire Hollister-Ross,” she said solemnly.

“That is a lot of name for a small girl,” Abby noted.

“Mommy said I’ll grow into it,” Lilly replied earnestly.

“I’ve no doubt you will.” Abby suppressed a smile.

“Would you like to come in and meet Belle and Meri Puppins?”

“Are they your children?”

“Sometimes I wonder. No, Belle is my friend, and Meri Puppins is her dog.”

Lilly poked cautiously into the front hallway and waited until her mother caught up with her before venturing further into the quiet house.

“Come this way, Lilly.” Abby gestured.

“Belle, we have some unexpected company,” Abby announced from the doorway.

Belle turned with a somewhat unwelcoming look on her face, as if the visitor would be the last person on earth she’d want to see. When she saw the well-dressed young woman and child in the doorway, she brightened somewhat.

“Belle Matthews, this is my cousin, Susannah Hollister. You might remember her as part of that wild and woolly crew from Montana that occasionally descended upon Aunt Leila for a visit.”

“Of course, dear. Susannah’s mother, Catherine, was your mother’s sister, if I recall correctly.” Belle beamed at the newcomer.

“You’ve quite a memory, Mrs. Matthews,” Sunny told her.

“Doesn’t she, though?” Abby could not help but add.

Ignoring Abby’s barb, Belle motioned for Susannah to be seated on the small wicker sofa opposite Belle’s own chair. “What brings you to Primrose, Susannah?”

“Abby invited me to come when I could arrange it.” Sunny sat as she had been directed to do and motioned for the tiny girl to follow her. “We’ve been in Florida, at Disney World
.”

“Well, hello there.” Belle was startled at the unexpected sight of a child in the doorway.

“Lilly, please say hello to Mrs. Matthews.” Sunny prodded the child to remember her manners.

“Hello,” Lilly whispered shyly, her eyes never leaving the ball of fur draped across Belle’s lap.

“Meri, do go make friends with Lilly,” Belle told the dog, who promptly hopped from the lap of her mistress to investigate their visitor with curious sniffs.

“Let me get something cool for you to drink,” Abby offered, “and then we can sit and visit. I’m so delighted that you’re here, Sunny.”

“Now, Lilly.” Belle leaned forward slightly. “Tell me all about Disney World. I’ve seen it on TV, of course, but I’ve never been. So
tell me what you saw there…
”

Lilly relaxed and began an animated recitation.

“I think I’ll help Abby.” Sunny laughed and followed Abby’s path to the kitchen.

“You didn’t mention Lilly in your letter,” Abby said as she removed ice from the freezer.

“We’re still in the process of adopting her
…
at least, I am.” Sunny frowned and took the glass of iced tea Abby held out to her. “Better put Lilly’s in a cup. She’ll never drink all that.”

Abby reached into the cupboard for a cup and eyed Sunny curiously. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“There is.” Sunny nodded and gazed out the back window. “I always loved this house, the view from the back, out over the river
…
can we walk out back?”

“Sure. Do you want to see if Lilly wants to come? Or do you think she’d rather have a snack first?”

“Snacks will do it every time,” Sunny told her. “Do you have a cookie or two?”

“I do.” Abby pulled an old cookie tin from the pantry shelf and popped open the lid. She handed the tin to Sunny to make her selection.

“I’ll be right back,” Sunny promised, taking the cup of milk and the cookies into the morning room.

“Lilly would rather stay with Mrs. Matthews and the dog,” Sunny announced as she took her own drink and followed Abby out the back door. Draping an arm over her cousin’s shoulder, she sighed. “Oh, Abby, it’s so good to be here again. You don’t know how many times over the years I’ve thought about Aunt Leila and this house and you. It makes me feel more settled just to be here.”

As they walked toward the river, Sunny admired Abby’s fledgling efforts to restore Leila’s garden, and she exclaimed over the view of the river. “Just like I remembered it,” she marveled. “Isn’t a wonder, how little things have changed?”

“Bring me up to date,” Abby said as they seated themselves at the edge of the dock. “What have you been doing with yourself, besides adopting a beautiful little girl?”

“She is just so precious, isn’t she?” Sunny beamed. “I just couldn’t
not
keep her, Abby. From the minute they brought
her off the plane, I just knew she was meant to be my daughter. And nothing or no one is going to interfere with me adopting her.”

Abby looked at her cousin quizzically.

“Justin—my husband—had agreed to adopt a child. We’d been married for six years, and it didn’t look like we’d ever have a family. I’d read about this international agency that placed children privately, called them, and went through the whole process. Justin really could not have cared less, but he agreed to do this because I wanted it so badly. He turned on the charm for the social workers, and we were approved. Right about that time, there was a greater availability of children from Romania, and he agreed to adopt one of those cute little blond curly-haired baby boys whose pictures are always on the first page of the adoption books. That’s what he wanted, that’s what he asked for, and that’s what he expected to get. Lilly, you might have noticed, is neither blond, Romanian, nor male.”

“I noticed. She’s, what, I’d guess Indian, Pakistani?”

“Indian,” Sunny said. “Lilly was found in an alley in New Delhi, sitting alongside the body of her mother, who had died after giving birth to Lilly’s baby sister right there in the alley. A Western photographer found them and took them to the local orphanage. The baby sister, being a newborn, was placed with a family right away and shipped off to her new home in Los Angeles. Lilly, however, was older—she was around two at the time—and therefore less desirable, plus she had some serious health problems.”

“How old is she now?”

“We think between four and five, but we’re not exactly sure. No one ever came forward to claim her or her sister— or her mother’s body, for that matter.” Sunny sipped at her tea. “She spent almost two years at the orphanage—that’s where she learned to speak English before she came to us. The sisters at the orphanage were British.”

“She must be bright to have learned the language so quickly.”

“She is very bright,” Sunny said proudly. “And now that
we are on the road to clearing up some other problems she has had—a severe infestation of intestinal parasites, for one—I think the sky’s the limit for Miss Lilly. And Justin be damned.”

“I take it Justin hasn’t taken to Lilly.”

“He has never held her, has never addressed her by name. He was in such shock when he saw her that first time— ‘Really, Susannah, you can’t be serious about keeping her. Tell them to take her back.’
” Sunny’s voice dipped a few octaves to mimic her husband. “As if she was an ill-fitting pair of shoes or drapes done in the wrong color. And that was what it was, you know.” Sunny’s crystal-blue eyes looked straight into Abby’s without blinking, without apology for her bluntness. “Lilly is unacceptably dark-skinned as far as Justin is concerned.”

“Sunny, I am so sorry.” Abby put an arm around her cousin’s shoulder.

“Believe me, so am I. I took this trip with her to try to sort things out. You know, things between Justin and me have been rocky for the past several years. For a while, we looked past it because of the business—we own a business that makes specialty software for computers. Then I thought maybe if we had a child, things would be better— you know, I’ve always wanted a huge family and just assumed that I’d have a bunch of children, like my mother did. We went through all the infertility testing, and they couldn’t find anything wrong with me—Justin, of course, refused to go through the regimen. I didn’t mind so much, I have no problems with adopting. But Justin has a problem with Lilly, that’s for sure.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, the purpose of this little trip was not just to take Lilly to see Mickey and Minnie. I needed time to sort out what I feel and what I want. I want Lilly. I do not want to be married to a man who cannot love a child simply because she doesn’t look the way he expected her to look.”

“You’d divorce your husband because of Lilly?”

“In a New York minute. But it’s not just because of Lilly. It’s been a long time coming. I think I just didn’t want to see
it. I’ve had lots of time these past few weeks to take a serious look at the situation and put things into perspective. I’ve already called my lawyer with the deal I want to offer Justin. My lawyer feels it’s too generous, but if it gets me what I want, I don’t care.”

“Sunny, do you think you might be moving a little too quickly?”

“Not at all. Justin can buy out my share of the business at current value—which is a great deal for Justin, since I started the company with my money and my ideas—and all he has to do is act like a loving father for the social workers when they do their final visit next week, and show up to sign the adoption papers for the judge. Then he gets to keep the business and the house, and I will take my daughter and quietly leave Connecticut.”

“Where will you go?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Sunny smiled. “I’m actually looking forward to finding someplace new to start over. Maybe I’ll start another business, who knows? I think it’s great to be able to start your life over. I mean, look at you. You’ve left the craziness of corporate America behind, and you have all this.” Sunny spread her arms wide. “You are the luckiest person I know. You have this incredible house in this wonderful town, you have the peace and quiet and easy lifestyle that most folks would kill for.”

“Are you crazy?” Abby turned an incredulous face toward her cousin. “I have no job, no income, and I’m working my fingers to the bone renovating this white elephant which I may or may not be able to sell.”

“Abigail McKenna!” Sunny’s incredulity matched Abby’s own. “How could you even consider selling this place?”

“Come with me, and I’ll show you. Then you can tell me again how lucky I am.”

They checked in on Lilly and Belle, who were happily chatting away, and Abby gave Sunny the “construction tour.” They had gone through the entire house and around the outside, full circle around the house.

“I think you are the crazy one,” Sunny insisted as they stood on the front sidewalk looking back at the house.

“It’s taking all my time and all my money,” Abby lamented. “I can’t afford to keep this house. Even if I could find a job around here, I couldn’t support a house this size.”

“Then put the house to work for you.”

“What?”

“Abby, this house screams ‘B & B.’ ”

Abby looked at her blankly.

“Bed and breakfast,” Sunny explained.

“I know what it means,” Abby told her crankily. “I just don’t see myself in the role of an innkeeper.”