Page 45 of Summer Rose

Rebecca propped herself up on her hand and studied her mother’s face, which glowed from various face creams and the soft gray light outside. “The veteran community respects and loves you so much, Mom. They need those dinners more than I understood. I’m sorry I went behind your back to host one. I just…” She trailed off. “I wanted to prove to you how much I respect what you’re doing at the Book Club. I wanted to show you that so much of my heart apparently still lives here… in Nantucket. And I never could have guessed that, not after so many years away.”

Esme shifted her head slightly to lock eyes with Rebecca. “What your grandfather started there is very important to me. I still miss him so much, but it’s a way to carry his memory forward.”

Rebecca thought of Joel’s bedroom and the fact that they never spoke of him after his death. Still, his name was too painful to say in front of Esme just now as they cuddled close together in a single bed as the winds and rain had their way with them.

Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table began to ring. Esme leaped toward it and squinted to read the name on the screen. A moment later, she answered, “Doug? Are you all right?”

Rebecca’s heartbeat quickened.

“Oh. Oh, dear me. Doug, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Esme twisted so that her feet hung over the side of the bed. “Goodness. Do you need help?”

Rebecca, Bethany, and Valerie all shifted up to press their backs against the headboard. None of them knew what to do. It was as though they’d just woken up to remember they were in their forties.

Very soon, Esme got off the phone. “That’s just terrible,” she whispered as she placed the phone on the bedside table.

“What happened?” Rebecca asked.

“Doug’s old house is a disaster,” Esme said. “The recent storms have really taken a toll on it. Apparently, a big tree limb crashed through the window in the living room. Doug’s been sleeping in there since he has a massive hole in the ceiling of his bedroom.”

Rebecca jumped from the bed, suddenly anxious. All she could think of was Ben, who cared for Doug in that ancient, broken-down house all by himself. “I’m going to go check on them,” she said firmly.

“Oh. Would you?” Esme asked.

“Can you give me directions to their house?”

“Of course.” Esme described the route to Rebecca, explaining that Doug and Ben lived in a once-beautiful home along the coast. “It would probably cost millions to live there now, but Doug’s been on the island forever. He got the property from his parents, who got it from theirs.”

Rebecca thanked her mother. “You three will be in contact?” she asked her sisters and mother, who remained in bed.

“We’ll be here all morning long,” Bethany said. “Go. Make sure they’re all right.”

Rebecca nodded. She then hurried to her bedroom, where she dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a spring jacket. Downstairs, she found her father sitting in the shadows of the living room with a thick book on his lap. He looked listless.

She was surprised to see him there. Had he heard the Sutton women upstairs, attempting to heal from the events of the past without him?

“Dad…” Rebecca began.

Victor startled. After a moment, he managed to smile. “Hi. Good morning.” He adjusted in the chair. “Where are you off to?”

Rebecca furrowed her brow. “It’s Doug and Ben. A tree limb came through their living room window. I want to go make sure they’re all right.”

Victor’s eyes widened. Just when Rebecca thought the morning couldn’t get any stranger, he asked, “Can I go with you?”

And for reasons Rebecca couldn’t understand, she said, “Of course. Let’s go.”

Chapter Nineteen

The damage in the old house couldn’t have been worse. Ben stood many feet from the gaping hole with his coffee mug lifted, watching as fresh rain fluttered across Doug’s bed. Despite the chill, Ben’s T-shirt was soaked with sweat because he’d just hauled the television from the living room and unplugged all electrical devices in the area.

Doug sat wrapped up in his winter coat at the kitchen table in front of an untouched bowl of oatmeal and a mug of coffee. Since the enormous crash forty minutes ago, they’d hardly spoken to one another.

Sounding listless, Doug confessed, “I called Esme.”

Ben turned to look at Doug, genuinely surprised. It was a rare thing for Doug to ask for help. The Veterans’ Dinners were something else; they were on offer and not requested. This proved just how frightened Doug actually was. All this time, Ben had thought Doug had simply shrugged off the continued destruction of his beautiful family home, but he’d been wrong.

“What did she say?” Ben asked. Feeling chilled, he removed his T-shirt and put on his winter coat, then sat across from Doug at the table.

“She asked if we needed any help,” Doug admitted.