After All (Cape Harbor #1)(30)

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Brystol sipped from her mug. “Nonnie said telling you would make you worry, that your job was stressful.”

Brooklyn wanted to chide her daughter for keeping secrets, but she couldn’t. She could’ve asked better questions; she could’ve showed Brystol that she cared about what happened here. Moreover, she could’ve been a better friend to Carly.

“Is Nonnie sick a lot?” Brooklyn hated pumping her daughter for answers, but until she could get Simone alone, this was the only way to find out what was really going on here.

“Simi tells me not to worry, that Nonnie will be fine, but last summer I got really scared when I found Nonnie in the bathroom. She had blood around her lips.”

Brooklyn pulled Brystol under the blanket and held her. The lifestyle Brooklyn had chosen wasn’t conducive to raising a child, but she made it work. However, Brooklyn knew that having friends was something Brystol was missing, even though her daughter never complained. When Brooklyn wasn’t working, they explored the cities and towns they were staying in, visiting museums, libraries, parks, and whatever else they could find to satisfy the homeschool requirements. Brystol spent a lot of time on jobsites, helping the crew do their math calculations, which helped her master geometry. They were best friends, but she knew her daughter needed more.

“I’m thinking of taking some time off or at least booking jobs that are local after the inn is finished.”

“Where?”

“Here or maybe Seattle,” she said, smiling at her daughter. Staying in Washington would give Brystol full access to her grandparents and would afford Brooklyn peace of mind if she had to travel or work late. “You’d have to enroll in school.”

Brystol’s eyes went wide with excitement. “I could go to homecoming and prom. I’ve always wanted to get all dressed up. I see the pictures of you and Dad all over Nonnie’s bedroom and wish I could be a princess for one night.”

An ache shot through Brooklyn’s heart. She tried to wish it away, but it lingered. Carly kept photos of her and Austin, still to this day. Somewhere in a recess of her parents’ basement, there was a tote full of mementos. The last thing she remembered putting in there was Austin’s obituary. That was all that was left of their life together, aside from Brystol.

“It would be funny if I went to the same school as you and Dad.”

Brooklyn wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Nothing about it would be funny at all, but she understood why her daughter wanted to go there.

“You think so?”

“Yeah, it would. I bet there are teachers there that you and Dad had. They probably know all your secrets.” Brystol bumped her shoulder into her mom’s and winked.

Brooklyn blushed. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to hear stories of how teachers had caught her and Austin in one too many compromising situations.

“Who was the better student?” Brystol asked, saving her mother from any potential humiliation.

“Your dad was a good student, but I was better. Your dad’s focus was on fishing. He just wanted to be out on the boat or in the middle of the stream fly-fishing. He came to school every day, though, but soon as the bell rang, it was time to go. I remember when the sun would shine, he’d beg me to skip school so we could go out on his boat or go hiking. We never did, though. Your grandparents would’ve been so mad.”

Brystol stood, reached for her mother’s hand, and helped pull her to her feet. Together, they walked a few feet toward the water. Brooklyn shivered as a wave washed over her bare feet but didn’t care once she saw her daughter bend to pick up a shell. Within seconds, Brystol’s hand had a sandy pile stacked up.

“Nonnie will love these,” she said.

“She does love her shells,” Brooklyn added as she searched for her own.

“Where did Dad take you on dates?”

Brooklyn sighed. “Cape Harbor is small, but we made the most of it. Louie’s pizza parlor is downtown—most of the time we went there. Sometimes, when our parents would allow it, we’d drive to Anacortes, or we’d go to Skagit Valley. One spring we went to the tulip festival with Nonnie—it was so beautiful—and before Grandpa Skip passed away, we sailed out to the islands. Nonnie and I ran in the lavender fields while your dad and grandpa fished.”

“Yeah, but what would you do? Did Dad, like, buy you flowers?”

A crouched-down Brooklyn smiled. She pulled a dead starfish from the sand and brushed it off before standing upright and handing it to Brystol. “He did. And he paid for dinner, the movies, all the normal stuff. I paid too because it’s important to be equal. We hung out with our friends. Bowie, Jason, Graham and Grady, Monroe and sometimes her sister Mila, and your aunt Rennie. When we were older than you are now, we’d go bowling, to the movies, or we’d just go hang out at the river and jump off rocks. A lot of the time we would hang out on the beach out in front of Nonnie’s.”

They continued to walk down the beach, scouring for shells. When their pockets were full, and they finally noticed their surroundings, they had wandered quite a way from the inn.

“Hey, Mom.”

“What’s up?” Brooklyn asked.

Brystol pointed toward the house they were in front of. “It doesn’t look like it has beach access, but it’s for sale.”