Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(50)
“Yeah.”
“Ben said Mrs. Goldman helps decorate the old car in the garage for the parade?” She hoped phrasing it as a question would spark a conversation.
“Classic.”
“What?”
“It’s not an old car, it’s a classic. A 1959 Ford Galaxie convertible with a V8 and a dual exhaust.”
Meridith smiled, encouraged at the response in spite of Noelle’s irritable tone. “I have no idea what all that means.”
When Noelle said nothing else, Meridith tried again. “It was your dad’s car?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why does Mrs. Goldman decorate it?”
Noelle sighed hard, as if responding to a pestering preschooler. “There’s a parade every year at festival time and the Goldmans come for it, and Mrs. Goldman arranges flowers and stuff for her work so she helps decorate the car.”
Meridith tried to ignore the girl’s Are you happy now? tone. “Oh, I see.”
She watched Max wade into the water to his thighs. When a wave hit his belly, he squealed and ran for shore. Ben, who hadn’t dared to venture in past his ankles, laughed.
Meridith considered how to continue the subject of the parade. “Would you and your brothers want to participate in the parade?”
The wind blew a strand of Noelle’s hair across her cheek, and she smoothed it back without opening her eyes. “It wouldn’t be the same.” Her voice all but disappeared under the shush of a wave.
“That’s true. But it’s kind of sad to let traditions die.”
They’d already lost so much, and this was their last chance to participate, though Noelle didn’t know that. It might be cathartic to carry on this one last time.
Noelle blinked at Meridith, shading the sun with her hand. “I guess we could. The boys might like it.”
It was good to hear a splash of hope in her voice. Meridith smiled. “All right then, let’s do it.”
“Oh, I forgot. I think something’s wrong with the Galaxie. Last time Dad tried to start it, he couldn’t. I don’t think he got it fixed.”
So much for that idea. Unless she could get it repaired before the parade. Her bank account back home was dwindling quickly. Meridith knew nothing about cars, but she had a feeling repairing a classic wasn’t going to be cheap. But Noelle had sounded so hopeful, and now her face had fallen again.
“Maybe we can get it fixed. Let me look into it, okay?”
“Really?”
“We have a week and a half. Maybe it’s something simple, just a twist of a wrench or something.” Who said she wasn’t Pollyanna?
“Okay.” Noelle sprang upright, then scrambled to her feet. “I’m going in.”
She watched the girl go, sand spraying behind her feet, and a satisfied smile tugged Meridith’s lips.
“Noelle said you wanted to get the Galaxie running.”
Meridith jumped at Jake’s voice. She hadn’t heard the screen door.
“You walk like an Indian.”
“You were lost in thought. The Galaxie’s not running?”
She tucked her feet under the Adirondack chair and looked out over the harbor where evening had turned the sky pink and purple. She’d tried to start the car when they’d returned from their ride.
“Something’s wrong with it. You wouldn’t know a good mechanic, would you? Someone that wouldn’t break the bank?”
“I could look at it.” He perched on the edge of the chair next to her. Too close.
She raised her brows at him. “You fix cars too?”
He shrugged. “I’m good with my hands.” The arrogance was back. The cocky half grin, the bold stare.
She was sure he’d meant nothing by the comment. Still, heat climbed her neck and settled in her cheeks. She was glad for the dim lighting.
“Give me the keys, and I’ll try and start it.”
Maybe it was another ploy to stay. It would save money, maybe a lot, but was it worth it? “Already did that. It just clicks.”
“Probably a dead battery.”
“That would be cheap, right?”
“Depends. Old cars can be tricky, and if you take it to a repair shop, sometimes they don’t know what they’re doing. Unless it’s a specialty shop, and then they’ll charge you an arm and a—”
“Okay, I get it. How long would it take?”
“If it’s just the battery, have it done tomorrow.”
“What about the fuse box?”
“All set to go in.”
One day on the car, one on the electric, then he’d be out of her hair. “Two more days?”
“Eager to see me go?” That knowing grin.
He did things to her insides, and he knew it. Meridith pressed her lips together and watched the sea grass bow against a breeze.
“Two days and you’ll be rid of me,” Jake agreed. “So long as it’s just the battery.”
Twenty-seven
Meridith woke to a fumbling noise. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. Twelve fifteen. The college guys were back. A loud laugh—Sean’s, she thought—echoed through the hall. There was no way Jake was sleeping through that.
Meridith turned over and pushed down the covers. It was unseasonably warm, good weather for spring break. She and the kids had gone for another bike ride, this time to Sconset. They’d brought a picnic for lunch on the beach, then enjoyed ice cream cones from Siasconset Market before their ride back.