She's Up to No Good(74)

“We don’t want any trouble,” she whispered.

“Trouble?” Evelyn asked, confused.

“Your father—he’s powerful in this town. He said no. And—”

“No, Maria, no. He’ll take it out on me. Not you. He’s not like that. Please.”

She looked unconvinced but called for her son, who came down the stairs, bleary and unshaven, freezing momentarily at the sight of her. The moment passed, and he rushed to fold her in his arms, where she sank against him in relief, not realizing until it didn’t happen that she was worried he would turn her away.

Maria wrung her hands, looking at them. “Do you . . . want to sit out here? To talk?” she asked.

Tony nodded and his mother went into the house, shutting the door carefully behind her to avoid hearing anything.

“I’m so sorry,” Evelyn said, the words pouring out of her. “They wouldn’t let me use the phone. They wouldn’t let me out of the house. I didn’t know how—”

“It’s okay.” He took her hands in his. “I understand.”

“It’s not him. I thought it would be Papa, but it’s my mother. She isn’t going to let him give in but . . .” Now that she was here, she knew what she wanted. “We’ll elope. You have to see. It’s the only way.”

She raised her eyes to his, and what she saw terrified her.

“Tell me you didn’t do anything irreversible to get here today.” His voice was quiet, and he dropped her hands.

“I—no—Fred showed up and they thought—but I made him bring me here.”

“Fred?” he asked dully.

Evelyn pointed to the car at the curb. “He’s my friend. From school. He’s engaged. I’ve mentioned him.” She paused, suddenly not sure that she had. “That doesn’t matter. Look. We can go tonight.” She grabbed for his hands, which felt limp and cold in hers.

“He’s Jewish, if they let you go with him.” It wasn’t a question. “Maybe he should matter.”

Evelyn’s mouth fell open.

“Go home, Evelyn. Be with your family.”

“No.”

“I told you all along I wouldn’t do it this way.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Yes. You are.”

“I’ll sleep out here. You won’t have a choice.”

“Is that what you want? To force me to do something I know is wrong?”

“I—” She stopped, desperate. “Why are you doing this?”

He stood and walked to the edge of the porch, looking toward Fred’s car. “Your father came to see me. He offered me money to stay away.”

A look of horror crossed Evelyn’s face. “You didn’t—?”

“Of course not. But he made it clear that you’ll have no family at all if we run off. And I can’t take that from you.”

He turned back to her, leaning against the railing of the porch, arms crossed. “I love you. And I can’t be the reason your heart breaks when your family isn’t at your wedding. And when you have a baby who doesn’t meet his grandparents. And when you can’t be at your sisters’ weddings. And every other time you’ll want your family and not be able to have them.”

A tear trickled down her cheek. “But I want you.”

“I love you enough to let you go. And if you love me, you’ll go. Don’t make me be the one who steals those moments from you.” He paused, finally meeting her eye. “You have to go home, Evelyn.”

“What am I supposed to do without you?”

“Be happy,” he said lightly. “Please.”

“I can’t.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, then crossed to her and kissed her forehead. “You have to.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead one more time and then went into the house, leaving her on the porch, tears rolling down her cheeks.





CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR





I woke up before my alarm, scrunching my face at the memory of the previous night, pressing my fingertips to my cheeks. Did that really happen? I was dreaming, right? I removed my hands and looked around the room. I was definitely in Hereford. In the cottage. Was it something in the air? In the water? Whatever it was that spawned the ridiculous force of nature that was my grandmother was healing me here. It wasn’t just Joe—she could have dangled him in front of me at home a week earlier, and I wouldn’t have cared at all.

I grinned. I was going to see a whale today.

Joe had warned me that we might not find one. But I knew better. If I wanted it enough right now, I could manifest that whale myself.

I sat up, swung my feet onto the wood floor, and went to the window to open the curtains. Another beautiful day.

Humming softly to myself, I went to take a shower.





I didn’t wait for Joe to come to the door when he arrived. Grandma had already figured out that something had happened, and despite her insistence that she was helpful, the last thing any budding flirtation needed was my grandmother giving sex advice. Instead, when I heard his car pull up, I kissed her cheek and ran out the door and down the steps.

“Hi,” he said when I jumped into his car.