Don't Speak (A Modern Fairytale, #5)(89)
The younger woman sighed but nodded her head. “Yeah. It’s hard to leave.”
“It’s especially hard to come back,” said Laire softly, more to herself than Kelsey.
She’d already been back on the Banks for three days, and none of her family was any the wiser. Now that she was here, she found she wasn’t in a rush to see them, though they were a huge reason for why she’d decided to move here for a while. Then again, it made sense to settle Ava Grace in at the Hatteras Elementary School and move into Judith’s condo first, right? Yes. No sense in jumping the gun. Once they were settled in Hatteras, she’d call Kyrstin and ask for her advice about arranging a visit.
“Mama,” said Ava Grace, peeking around the bathroom door, “you know that I have a new friend?”
Grateful for the distraction, Laire grinned at her. “You do?”
“Uh-huh! His name is Oscar!”
She ducked back into the bathroom, and Laire chuckled as she turned to Kelsey. “Oscar? I didn’t realize that there was another child staying in the inn.”
“Oh,” said Kelsey, licking her lips and giving Laire a funny look. “He’s not a kid. And, actually, his name isn’t Oscar. It’s—”
“Mama!” screamed Ava Grace.
Laire’s heart kicked into high gear as she crossed the room in three strides, rushing into the bathroom. “Ava?”
Ava Grace was sitting on the toilet with her snow pants around her ankles, pointing at the shower. As Laire looked around the curtain, she saw a hairy spider the size of her palm resting on the white tile.
“Oh, God,” she said, cringing. “Gross.”
Kelsey, who had followed her into the bathroom, gasped, then groaned. “Second one this week. I think they got washed in by the storm. They’re comin’ up through the pipes.”
“Mama,” wailed Ava Grace. “It’s so yucky!”
Laire backed away from the arachnid and handed her daughter some toilet tissue. “Wipe.”
“I’ll get Grandpa,” said Kelsey, backing out of the small room. “Spiders give me the creeps!”
“Me too!”
Ava jumped off the pot and flushed, and Laire helped her take off her boots, snow pants, and parka, settling her in front of the TV with a snack bag of cookies.
It was hours later, after Mr. Leatham had dispatched their hairy friend, and Ava Grace was happily eating order-in pizza for dinner, that Laire realized she’d never gotten the details on her daughter’s mysterious new friend, Oscar.
***
Erik spent most of the day at Utopia Manor with a local handyman, Charles McGillicutty, assessing the damage to the mansion and coming up with a plan for repair and renovation. The dock had been broken by waves and thrown about twenty yards onto the lawn, which was covered with detritus from the sea. Parts of the boardwalk needed repairs. The pool had been flooded, and the water had leaked through the sliding doors into the living room, destroying the ground-floor hardwood floors, carpets, and furniture. The basement had also flooded, killing the electrical panel. And several third-floor windows had been broken by flying debris, causing damage to the interior and exterior of the house. It was thousands of dollars of damage in landscaping and structure, and Erik needed Hillary to call his parents’ insurance agent in Raleigh to come out and make a report right away. He guessed it would a few days for someone to get out to the Banks, so Erik would probably be stuck there until at least the first of January.
Standing on the balcony off his room in the late-afternoon sunshine, he pulled out his phone and texted Hillary, relieved to discover that he had edge service.
ERIK: Hey. Are you around? At UM.
While he waited for her to respond, he placed his phone on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the expanse before him: the pool, lawn, boardwalk, and dock. He remembered the first time he ever saw Laire Cornish, standing below him on the pool deck, her green eyes so innocent and lovely as she insisted she didn’t have crabs.
For the first time in many years, he chuckled softly about a memory connected with Laire, but his laughter tapered off quickly, and his smile faded. If he’d known that day the heartache that would follow, would he have spoken to her, followed her around like a puppy, carried her coolers to the kitchen, and insisted on a date? Or would he have said hello, then walked back inside, to the safety of his bedroom, and stayed there until she was gone?
Simply put, would he exchange all the wonderful moments that summer for the pain that followed?
It was a difficult question, but Erik sensed that it was at the heart of his success in moving forward with his life.
If he could go back in time and never meet Laire Cornish, would he?
His phone buzzed on the railing, and he picked it up.
HILLZ: Here. What’s up? How’s the house?
ERIK: In bad shape. Can you call Town & Country Insurance and have an adjuster sent out?
HILLZ: Sure. I’ll call today.
ERIK: I’ll stay until they can get here. I’m staying at the Pamlico House. Tell them to call me there. Phone service isn’t good out here. I can only get texts out.
HILLZ: Will do.
He stared at the screen waiting for her to say more.
HILLZ: How are YOU?
Erik flinched.
As a rule, he wasn’t a fan of the sort of soul-searching he was forcing upon himself—one, it felt self-indulgent, and two, staring hard truths in the face wasn’t that pleasant—but he couldn’t keep living his life as he had been. It was time for a change.