Folly Cove (25 page)

Kim consulted a calendar on her computer. “No problem. We'd be happy to fit you in. Did you have a date and time in mind?”

“Not really. Anytime in the next couple of weeks.”

“All right. First available, then?”

“Wait. Is he good, this dentist?” Elly asked after poking her head around the corner to assure herself that the hall was empty. That distant whining sound of a drill assured her that Jake was busy.

“Oh, yes. The very best. He trained at Tufts. You can't get better than that.”

“Good.” Elly dropped her voice to a whisper. “I've had some rotten luck with dentists. You know the sort of thing I mean, Kim, don't you? Dentists who think they can do whatever they want with their hands while they've got you trapped in the chair?”

Kim's eyes—a bright, unnatural green from her contacts—widened. “I do know,” she whispered back. “The same thing happened to me once with a doctor! But I can assure you that Dr. Williams is a gentleman. A family man. Well liked. Skilled, too. You won't feel any pain at all.”

“He doesn't have a roving eye? Or hands? You're absolutely sure?” Elly said, leaning deeper into the window. Kim's fingertips were bloodred, like rose petals resting on her computer keyboard.

Kim looked uncomfortable. “Yes! Dr. Williams is a very sweet and caring man. You're completely safe here.” She hurriedly began talking about available appointments.

“Nothing after six o'clock next Wednesday?” Elly interrupted.

“Oh, no. The office closes at five o'clock every night except Tuesdays and Thursdays, when we're open until six.”

“Really? Only until six? And Dr. Williams never works on Wednesday nights?”

“No. He used to work late every night,” Kim said with a touch of regret, “but now only Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We'll have to book you a few months' out if you need an evening appointment. Those fill up fast.”

“Thank you. You've been super helpful.” Elly smiled and extracted her body from the window. “I'll call once I've got my schedule sorted.” She left then, aware of the receptionist's curious eyes like twin hot spots on her back.

Elly didn't care. She'd gotten what she wanted: evidence that Jake was up to something. Where was he going, those nights he wasn't working? Obviously, he was doing something that cost money, but what? Gambling? A drug addiction? A mistress?

Or had she been living in Hollywood so long that her imagination was running wild with soap opera plots? Maybe Jake really was the decent guy that Laura and his employees believed him to be, and his dental school loans and insurance were killer debts. Life was expensive, as Kennedy had pointed out.

But Kennedy, too, seemed overly anxious, relying on food for comfort instead of friends. What was worrying her? Body issues? Boys? Mean girls? Or did she know something about her father that she wasn't telling?

Paige was already at the Waterside Pub by the time Elly found a parking space along the Gloucester harbor. She'd chosen this place because they used to frequent it with stolen ID cards when they were teenagers. She needed a drink right now for the same reason she'd longed to drink back then: her family was driving her nuts.

Inside, Elly inhaled the comforting stink of fried food and stale
beer. She smiled as she spotted Paige waving from a table near the rear of the dark, heavy-beamed room, causing several men at the bar to turn their heads and grin as they watched Elly walk across the room.

“Hey, good-lookin'. Sit right here,” one guy said, patting the cracked red leatherette stool next to his. He wore a biker jacket with patches sewn over it and an American flag headband.

“Thanks, but no,” Elly said.

Never mind the fact that these guys were parked in a dive bar at three o'clock in the afternoon; it was still gratifying to be noticed. Especially in the nondescript outfit she'd worn today: faded jeans with tall black boots and a black T-shirt beneath a long tan cardigan. In Southern California, Elly was just one more blonde, and not a young one, either. To most men there she was invisible.

At least she wasn't brunette. If you were over thirty-five and brunette in Hollywood, you might as well be dead.

Paige was dark-haired and had a pleasingly solid build. Her physique should have made Paige an asset in field hockey and lacrosse, both of which she'd played with Elly in high school, but Paige was too sweet. If a girl on the other team fell down, Paige stopped what she was doing to help her up.

Today Paige wore an orange knit dress that made her look like you could roll her down a hill. “Well, I have to confess, it took all my courage to see you, California Girl,” Paige said after they'd embraced and sat down. “I knew you'd be all Hollywood and Vine, while I look like the Great Pumpkin in this outfit. But I haven't had time to catch up on laundry since the honeymoon. It was the only clean thing I had.”

Elly grinned. She'd forgotten how breathless and excited Paige always sounded. “You look exactly like you,” she said. “Adorbs as always.”

It was true. And with Paige smiling at her from across the sticky pine table, Elly immediately felt happy—as well as acutely aware of how much she'd missed seeing people who'd known her all her life. “Let's see that ring he put on your finger, Missus,” she said.

Paige thrust her hand across the table, giggling as Elly genuinely admired the antique setting—it had belonged to Paige's grandmother—and the simple solitaire diamond. It was classy, like everything about
Paige's family. An understated ring that screamed old North Shore money.

They shared a pizza and drank glasses of red wine infused with so much tannin that Elly's mouth puckered. Paige talked about her honeymoon in Italy and her new husband, John, a mechanical engineer with two children from a first marriage.

“He wasn't my mother's ideal candidate, as you can imagine,” Paige said ruefully. “But the good part about waiting to be our age before getting married is that our moms get desperate enough to accept anyone with at least three working limbs, right?”

Elly laughed. “My mom's more desperate to have me sign a recording contract. She's not a big fan of marriage in general.” She snagged another slice of pizza. “So how did you meet John?”

“At the school where I work. I hate to admit this, because it sounds so unprofessional, but I was his son's guidance counselor. I helped him and John work through the college application process and apply for scholarships.”

“John must be a lot older, with a kid in college.”

“Not really. Five years. You and I are getting up there, too, girlfriend.” She reddened, then blurted, “I wanted to invite you to the wedding, Elly. But I thought you'd stopped wanting to be friends.”

“Never!” Elly said. “But don't worry. I'm not offended. Just sorry I missed your big day.”

Paige sat back in her chair, peering at Elly from beneath her dark brows. “So why did you go AWOL on me?”

Elly hesitated, then plunged. She and Paige had known each other too long for her to lie or make small talk. “I met this guy and thought I was in love. He went back to Europe suddenly and the breakup knocked me flat. It also left me with an STD. I was licking my wounds and feeling sorry for myself.”

“Oh, crap, crap,
crap
guy,” Paige said, screwing up her face.

“He
was
a crap guy,” Elly admitted. “I can see that now. Don't know why I couldn't before.”

Funny how telling Anne and Paige about Hans was slowly but surely leaching her memories of their power. Elly knew she could tell
Paige the rest, too—Paige would be sympathetic, if Elly wanted to confide her fears about infertility—but Anne was right. There was no point in worrying about that until she'd met a man who made her believe she could be as good a mother as her sisters were.

“Well. He'd better not try coming here, or I'll run him over with my car,” Paige promised.

Elly laughed, then took Paige's hand and squeezed it. “I really am sorry I missed your wedding. Mom told me it was spectacular. You'll have to show me pictures.”

Paige brightened. “I have a video link I can send you. But only watch it if you're bored out of your skull.”

“I've got a better idea. I'm staying at Laura's. Bring John over there and we'll watch it together. I'd love to meet him. I'll buy a bottle of champagne and we'll toast your happy day.”

“Sounds good. But why are you staying at Laura's and not with your mom? I was always so jealous of you, living at Folly Cove. Your inn always seemed like a movie set to me.”

Elly wondered how to answer this and straightened in her chair. This was an effort; the table was sticky, probably from beer being steadily dripped onto its surface by Gloucester fisherman for three hundred years.

The truth was that she'd never even considered staying with her mother. “Mom doesn't exactly have space for guests.”

“Really? I thought your mother lived in one wing of the inn.”

Elly shook her head. “Not for a long time. You used to come to that part of the inn to see me. After Laura and I went to college, though, Mom moved into a two-bedroom apartment in one corner. Not even the back corner, since guests pay extra for ocean views. So she doesn't have a lot of room.”

“Huh,” Paige said, taking a thoughtful sip of wine. “I always imagined Sarah Bradford as lady of the manor in a dining room with a chandelier, eating off fine china, a butler at her elbow. Everything silent except for a ticking grandfather clock in one corner.”

“Well, she does use real china and sterling silver,” Elly said. “And she has nice antiques. Family heirlooms. But Mom lives modestly and
likes her solitude. Anyway, Laura's the one who called to invite me, and Mom's kind of mad at me right now.”

“Really? Why?”

“I quit singing.”

“You quit completely?” Paige put a hand to her chest. “But why? You were so good!”

Elly shrugged. “I know. But there are lots of singers in the world. I'm nothing special, it turns out.”

“I'm sorry,” Paige said. “It's always such a shock, isn't it, to wake up and realize your life is as good as it's going to get?”

“God, I hope that's not true.” Elly snorted. “Look at me: No job. No husband. Not even a boyfriend! I can only go up from here.”

“You will,” Paige said loyally. “You love California, right? So at least you've found the place you belong.”

“And a career I like.” Elly told Paige about her production design work.

“You're finding your way,” Paige pronounced. “That's not easy. Especially not as an artist. Just keep following what you love. I always tell my students that sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned so you can make room for the life that's waiting for you.”

Elly tried to imagine letting go of her L.A. life. What if, instead of returning to California, she stayed right here? What did she have in Los Angeles that she needed?

A few contacts. But she could network in Boston.

An apartment. But it was soulless and expensive.

Good weather! Except Los Angeles was smoggy, and in the back of her mind was the vague, thrumming anxiety that the city could catch fire, run out of water, or suffer a devastating earthquake any minute.

Then there was Ryder. But he was a pleasant, passing thing, she reminded herself, no matter how much his texts and occasional phone calls made her smile.

“There isn't much to keep me in California,” she admitted.

Paige patted her hand. “I'm sure you'll figure it out. Meanwhile, just be glad to have this time with Laura and your mom. And with Anne, too. It's great that you're all together again.”

“How did you hear Anne was back?” Elly turned the empty glass between her hands, wondering whether she dared to order more of this wretched wine. Better not. She was driving Laura's car, and she needed to be alert enough to follow Jake undetected when he left the office at five o'clock. “I didn't realize you were friends.”

“We're not. I mean, I know Anne a little, because she was always hanging around and you were always trying to get her to leave us alone.” Paige laughed. “That is, unless somebody else did something mean to her. Then you went all pit bull, protecting your baby sister. Remember bitchy Jade Killian? How you shoved her up against the cafeteria wall at school when she said something horrible about Anne's red hair?”

“Anne was a pest, but she was
my
pest,” Elly said. “I'm glad you're seeing her. She needs friends. She's been having a rough time since the father of her baby went back to his wife.”

“
What?
Anne had a
baby
? With a married man?” Paige's mouth opened wide in shock and failed to close.

“You didn't know?” Elly wished she could rewind the conversation and not spill Anne's secret, if it was one.

Paige shook her head. “I haven't actually
seen
Anne. I only knew she was home because of Sebastian. Remember him?”

“Sure. A hottie deluxe. We all had crushes on your big brother.”

“Ew,” Paige said. “Please don't say that. Gross.”

Elly laughed. “Okay. So what about Sebastian?”

“He moved back here, too, about a year ago,” Paige said. “He's renting a house on Halibut Point, somewhere along the road by the state park.”

“Really? Last I heard, he was out saving the world.”

“He still is. Sebastian was in Alaska for a while, working as a forester. Then he was working on sustainability agroforestry projects in Brazil. Now he's teaching at Harvard and doing a forestry research project on the North Shore. That's how he started spending time with your sister.”

Elly remembered Laura's confession about her virtual romance. Not so virtual, if she was actually
seeing
Sebastian. “So he's spending time with Laura, and that's how he found out Anne is here?”