Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(86)

What?

“Unfortunately, the contracts for Summer Place have been signed, but the proceeds, what little there is, will go to the children. The closing is set for the end of June, so I imagine you’ll want to stay here until then. My flight to St. Louis is scheduled for Wednesday after the hearing, so I’ll bring the children with me and you can—you can take them from there.” She cleared her throat, and the tremor he’d thought he heard in her voice disappeared. “I guess that’s all. If you have any questions, they can be directed to the attorney . . .” She left his name and number, then hung up.

Jake played the message again, catching the details this time. She was leaving the kids to him? Leaving them here? He swiped the phone off the table, and it hit the wall with a thump.

This wasn’t what he wanted. Yes, he wanted the kids, but not at Meridith’s expense; they needed her. He needed her. Hadn’t she listened to his messages? Didn’t she know he loved her? If only he could make her believe it.

How had his resolve to get the kids ended in such disaster? With him losing Meridith, with her losing the kids and going back to her lonely life clear across the country.

Or would it be lonely? Now that the kids were out of the picture, was she planning to reunite with Stephen? That thought set him on a disturbing path that winded and curved its way to an ugly dead end.

Would Meridith go back to that after what they’d shared? It seemed inconceivable.

He had to do something. Something to make Meridith see how sorry he was. To see that he loved her, that they belonged together, all of them.

The phone rang, and Jake retrieved it from behind the TV, surprised it still worked. Maybe it was Meridith. She wouldn’t get voice mail this time.

“Hello.”

“Uncle J, it’s Noelle, guess what?”

He stuffed down the disappointment. “I know, I heard.”

“We get to live with you! I’m so happy! I mean, I know we’ll still lose Summer Place, but at least we’ll be together, and we’ll get to stay on the island, that’s the important thing.”

He thought of Meridith telling the children, how happy they must’ve been at the news, how hurt Meridith must’ve felt at their reaction. Didn’t the kids have a single heart among them? Didn’t they see how much Meridith had done for them, how much she’d sacrificed for them—was sacrificing even now to give them what they thought they wanted?

“Uncle J, isn’t it great?” Noelle was saying. “We can be together now!”

He tempered his frustration. “I need to talk to you kids. Not over the phone, in person, and someplace we can be alone.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

The kids were out of school now, and Meridith kept such a close eye on them. “Where can we meet before Wednesday? What are your plans tomorrow?”

“We’re going to Rita’s to swim in the afternoon.”

“Is Meridith going?”

“She has an appointment with the attorney. That’s why we’re going to Rita’s.”

Maybe it would work. “All right. Don’t say anything to the boys.

I’ll try to be there.”

“All right . . .” He could hear the shrug in her voice.

Jake retrieved the phone from the floor and set it back on the table, feeling more hopeful than he’d felt in days.





Forty-seven

Meridith knew Wednesday would arrive, but she’d no more than blinked and she was walking into the courtroom with the children in tow. Her eyes scanned the rows of empty seats, the tables up front. Jake wasn’t there yet. Instead of calming her, his absence produced more adrenaline.

Over the past weeks she’d become accustomed to his presence, and the recent days had been like withdrawal. Maybe she didn’t recognize him for who he was while he’d been with her, but she recognized the changes his presence had brought about. Changes in her.

She went forward and took a seat behind one of the tables, and the children seated themselves behind her. She could hardly look them in the eye. Could hardly bear their excitement.

They’d been quiet. Their anger seemed to have drained away in the wake of her announcement two days prior. That was something. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself as she smoothed her blouse and checked the buttons on her jacket.

She laced her fidgety hands on the wood table, then checked her watch. She was a couple minutes early. Eager to get this over with, and yet . . .

She heard Max behind her, swinging his feet under the bench, his shoestrings tapping against his shoes. An ache swelled inside so great it felt as if it would consume her. She would miss them so much.

“Where’s Jake?” Ben whispered.

“Shhhh,” Noelle said.

Their voices echoed through the big empty room.

What was she going to do without them? Without Max’s dimpled grin, Benny’s hugs? She’d even miss Noelle’s sassy comebacks. She’d never see them after today. They would go on living separate lives. How could she bear it?

Meridith tightened her clasped fingers. She had to stop thinking about it. Come six o’clock she’d be on a plane bound for home and she could cry her eyes out if she wanted. But for now, she wouldn’t think ahead to what awaited her in St. Louis. Or rather, what didn’t await her.