Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(46)

Twenty-five

Jake entered his room and unbuttoned his shirt. Meridith and the kids weren’t home from church yet, and he wondered if she’d keep them on the go all day again. Golf lessons, bike riding, a trip to Sconset. It had just been him and Piper the day before. He’d given the dog extra attention on his lunch break, and looking into her big brown eyes, he’d wondered if she missed Eva and T. J. Poor thing didn’t even know what had happened to them.

He heard the front door open, then the kids clomping up the back stairs. He laid his dress shirt across the doily-covered dresser next to a shell-filled vase.

He hoped to sneak some time with them today. He was worried about Noelle. Her feisty behavior had changed. Rather than being excited about a week off school, she seemed sad. A normal part of grief, he knew, but she didn’t have anyone to talk to.

By the end of this week he’d be finished with the two jobs Meridith had agreed to. He dreaded leaving the kids. Even if he didn’t spend much time with them now, at least he was present. He could see for himself how they were doing. If he couldn’t stay and work on the house, he wouldn’t see them at all. The thought nearly tore him in half.

“Knock-knock.” Noelle stood in the doorway, looking way too grown up in her bright pink sundress. Her hair was growing out, and her bangs swooped to the side, falling over one of her sad brown eyes.

“Hey, squirt,” he whispered. “Where’s Meridith?”

Noelle padded into his room and sat at the desk. “Downstairs making cinnamon rolls. She’ll be awhile.” Noelle’s toes played with the rug’s fringe. She’d painted her toenails the same pink as her dress. She and Eva used to paint their nails crazy shades like green and purple.

“Where are your brothers?”

She shrugged. “Outside, I guess.”

“Church okay?”

“Sure.”

Jake lowered himself to the bed’s edge and planted his elbows on his knees. He studied his niece’s face, so like her mother’s. Her skin was still winter-pale, the freckles from last summer faded.

“Missing your mom and dad?”

Her lips quivered, and she nodded.

“Ah, honey. I am too.”

She was in his arms in a split second. She held on so tight it brought a lump to his throat.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “You’re almost done and you’re going to leave and we’ll never see you, and Meridith is still here and the Daffodil Parade is coming up and Dad’s not here.”

How could he have forgotten about the parade? Noelle and T. J.’s annual tradition. It was one more loss.

Noelle pulled away and wiped her face. “I don’t want you to leave.

I like having you here.”

“I like being here.”

“Have you found anything that’ll make a judge send her away?” Noelle plopped on the desk chair.

“Nothing conclusive.” He couldn’t tell her what he’d found when she was already upset. When her face fell he added, “But I haven’t given up, and neither should you. In fact, I’m going to see if Meridith will let me stay longer. Let me work it out, okay? Do you trust me?”

She nodded, and it did his heart good. At least someone had faith in him.

“As much as I miss Mom and Dad, I’m glad they’re together in heaven. They’d be really sad if they were apart.”

“That’s something to be grateful for.”

“And you, Uncle J. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too, munchkin. Me too.”

Meridith kneaded the soft dough and checked the time. Less than a minute. As her hands worked, she watched Max and Ben toss a green Frisbee back and forth in the backyard. Piper played man-inthe-middle, making the boys laugh when she intercepted the disk.

Outside, the cloudless sky seemed to remember it was spring. The sun sparkled off the sound like a million diamonds. The daffodils in the yard had fully bloomed, coloring the yard with splashes of yellow.

The smell of yeast reminded her to check the time again. Done. She gave the dough one last turn, covered it with a towel, scrubbed her hands, then replaced her ring. Breakfast dishes still sat in the sink, plus the ones she’d used making the dough. It was Noelle’s turn to wash. Maybe they could do them together. It would give them a chance to talk.

The girl had been too quiet lately, even through the golf lessons yesterday. Meridith was worried about her. She hung up the towel, checked on the boys one last time, then went upstairs to get her.

Noelle’s bedroom was empty, the light still on, her church shoes lying where they’d been kicked off. She flipped off the light and noticed the door between the wings was open. Meridith had only been locking it at night, as Jake needed full access to the upstairs.

She walked through the doorway and down the hall. She heard Noelle’s voice and followed it to the seashell room—Jake’s room. At the doorway, her stomach did a flop.

Noelle sat in the desk chair, and Jake perched on the bed’s edge.

Two sets of eyes darted to the doorway, and Noelle stopped talking midsentence.

The girl’s eyes widened and her lips parted. She looked to Jake as if seeking help.

Meridith didn’t like it. Not one bit. She made an effort to keep her voice calm. “Noelle, can you come do the dishes, please?”