Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(59)

Jake had already forgotten her name. “Kids are expecting me. I’ll catch you later.”

Wyatt shook his head.

By the time Jake stumbled upon Meridith and the kids, his stomach was rumbling. They were situated in a circle of lawn chairs, a red-and-white cloth spread in the middle. He was relieved when he didn’t recognize the family sitting with them.

“Jake!” Max was the first to spot him.

“Did you see us in the parade?” Ben asked.

“Sure did, little man. It was the best car there.”

“Have you eaten?” Meridith asked.

“No, ma’am.” He noticed Meridith’s foot propped on a cooler, a bag of ice over the ankle. “What happened?”

“Oh, she took a little stumble,” the brunette woman offered.

“You okay?” Jake lifted the Ziploc bag. Her ankle was almost purple. “Ouch.”

“Told you I was clumsy.”

The word took him back to the dance lessons, and he could almost feel Meridith in his arms again.

“Don’t think we’ve met.” A bearded man stood, offering his hand. “I’m Lee Lawson.”

“Jake. I’m working on Summer Place.”

“I’m Rita, a friend of Meridith’s.” She shook his hand, then gave Meridith a peculiar look before introducing her two teenagers. “We’ve already eaten, but we have plenty of leftovers. Let me fix you a plate.”

Lee set up another lawn chair beside Meridith, and Jake discreetly pulled it a few feet away, behind the Lawsons’ car, where he could hide from anyone who might know him. He tugged his ball cap lower for good measure.

By the time Jake sat, Rita was setting a loaded plate in his lap.

“Thanks, appreciate it.”

The turkey club hit the spot, settling his empty stomach. The group talked about the festival and which cars they’d voted for.

“There’s Martin O’Neal,” Lee told his wife. “Haven’t seen him all winter.” He went to talk with his friend.

“Can we walk around?” Noelle asked.

“Yeah, can we?” Ben asked.

Max and the Lawson girl stood.

Meridith scanned the crowd. “Oh, guys, I don’t know. It’s so crowded, and I can’t go with you.” She gestured to her ankle.

“I was about to suggest a walk.” Rita stood. “Jake can keep you company.”

The group was off and walking before Jake could finish chewing his bite of cranberry salad. He watched them go, watched the Lawson boy settle in next to Noelle. She elbowed him, laughing.

Rita took Benny’s hand, and Max stole the hat from the Lawson girl’s head. She chased him a few feet before recapturing it.

“I think they’re going to be okay,” Meridith said. She’d shaded her eyes with her hand, watching them. Despite the ankle that must be throbbing, she looked at peace.

He remembered when the Galaxie had come into sight earlier. He’d been standing in the crowd lining Main Street, catching up with people he hadn’t seen since fall. They’d been near the end of the parade behind a black antique Ford. But once his eyes caught on the Galaxie, everything else faded away.

The kids waved at the crowd, all smiles. Even Meridith’s face was wreathed in joy, obviously enjoying the Nantucket tradition. His breath had felt stuffed into his lungs for just a moment. They looked . . . like a family.

“Don’t you think they’re going to be okay?” Meridith’s question belied her former confidence.

“Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for.”

“What do you know about kids?” Meridith teased.

“Used to be one.” He traded a smile with her. “Pretty cool what you did for them today.”

Meridith took her hand down, looked at Jake. Those green eyes were downright mesmerizing.

“I didn’t do anything.” She shifted the ice pack. “I couldn’t believe it when Noelle and Max brought out those mementos. Pretty smart kids.”

“Pretty smart big sister.” More and more he was coming to see it. If he could only understand why she’d take them from their home. But he didn’t want to think about that today. Would rather think about the way the sunlight made copper sparkles in her hair. Or the way her nose turned up ever so slightly on the end.

“I worry about them, you know?” she said. “It’s tough being a kid.”

“For some. Others are more blessed.”

She cocked her head at him. “Not you?”

He wondered how she knew that.

“You mentioned a foster mother once.”

When they were dancing. He remembered now. “Not me.” He tried not to think about it and mostly succeeded. “I was in foster care most of my childhood—parents died young.”

“Like my siblings’.”

He nodded. Being separated from Eva was the worst. He’d been too young to understand, but old enough to feel responsible, even if he was the younger one. At first they’d seen each other regularly, but busy schedules had gotten in the way, and soon he’d lost track of her.

“I was pretty tough, though,” he said. “Made it through with only a few scars.”

“That I can believe.”

Her smile made him want to stare at her all afternoon. He thought of Willow’s cousin. Her beauty was no rival for Meridith’s pixie chin and guileless eyes.