After All (Cape Harbor #1)(52)

After they caught their max, they sailed back into port. Austin taught Brooklyn how to tie a proper knot and how to prepare the buoys. At the dock, Austin showed Brooklyn how to secure the boat, and then he helped her onto the wooden walkway and handed her his keys.

“Can you pull my truck up so we can load the fish into the back?”

She nodded and ran up the dock and to his truck. They had only been dating a few weeks when he had let her drive. At first, her nerves made her so jumpy she could barely turn the wheel, but after weeks of practice, she had no problems driving his truck.

The guys were waiting for her when she pulled up. She stayed in the cab until Austin came around to the driver’s door. She scooted to the middle as he climbed in. “Where now?”

“The homeless shelter.”

Brooklyn looked at the three coolers in the back, filled with fish. “Aren’t you going to sell any?”

Austin shook his head. “Not today.”

“Wow” was all she could muster.

“What?” he asked, looking over at her. His grin was wide, pulling his cheeks up, adding to his boyish charm.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just in awe.”

He turned and quickly gave her a kiss. “Maybe tomorrow you’ll volunteer with me after church.”

“I’d like that a lot.”

The next day, she went with him to volunteer at the homeless shelter, and every Sunday after that, and even though the food donation was kept private, everyone there seemed to know Austin was the one who brought in all the fish.





NINETEEN

Carly stood in the doorway of Brooklyn’s room. The two women stared at each other. Carly’s expression was unreadable. Brooklyn’s, however, questioned what Carly was doing. She was dressed in jeans, probably Gloria Vanderbilts or some other older-era fashion line, with a red polo and white sweater cuffed and draped over her shoulders. Every day since she had showed Carly the finished room, she had made an effort to dress better, which secretly made Brooklyn happy. She saw her daughter’s expression each time Carly came down for breakfast. At first, shock, which turned into the biggest, cheesiest grin she had seen on Brystol’s face. While Brooklyn and Carly hadn’t always been the best of friends, they were cordial and respected one another. Carly had expectations of Brooklyn, who failed to meet many of them. Mostly on a daily basis. And Brooklyn . . . well, the only thing she expected from Carly was for her to be present in her daughter’s life.

“What are you doing?” Brooklyn finally asked after Carly let out multiple audible sighs. She set aside the rendering she was working on and watched as Carly strode into her room. She stopped at the window and peered out. That was one of the best things about the house and the inn, so many rooms had a view of the ocean, and Carly had had the keen sense to decorate the rooms to reflect the beauty of the outside. The bedrooms were white with wrought iron beds. Small touches of navy blue created enough pop to make the room feel homey, beachy. Shells that Brystol had collected over the years added to the decorations. But it was the battery-operated candles in the windows that really set these rooms apart from the others. Brooklyn knew Carly did this so the seamen had a guiding light back home. Surprisingly, she felt at home here, despite the tension between the two of them.

“We should go out.”

Brooklyn was confused. This was a woman who not only refused to leave the house but who also hid her granddaughter from the town, and now she wanted to go out? Although Brooklyn knew she wasn’t much better. Last night she had a chance to go downtown with Simone and Brystol, but she chose to stay home, complaining of a headache when she was fine. Truth be told, she didn’t want to run into Bowie. Rumors had spread that he was married, which made Brooklyn feel like a total fool for thinking he was flirting with her. “Where exactly would you like to go?”

Carly turned. She smiled at Brooklyn before turning to gaze out the window. “Do you know what today is?”

Unfortunately, she did. She knew the date all too well despite many attempts over the years to forget it. “I do.”

“Tonight, your friends will gather on the beach . . . my beach . . . and celebrate the life of my son, their friend. They’ve done this every year, and tonight marks the fifteenth anniversary. Austin’s been gone fifteen years, Brooklyn.”

There were two things she wanted to say. One, they weren’t her friends anymore—at least she wasn’t sure she could call them that—and two, she was fully aware of how long Austin had been gone. She had a daughter to remind her of that every day. Instead, she sat there silently, watching Carly.

“Why would they do this? Sit on my beach where I can see them?”

In that moment, Brooklyn wanted to hug Carly, but she couldn’t move from her seat. All she could do was answer her honestly. “I think it’s because this was where we always hung out with Austin. This was our place, our beach. This was our home away from home. You made us all feel like we were your children. I don’t think they’re doing it to hurt you; more so, they’re probably trying to show you they still care and trying to hang on to a little bit of the lives they had back then.” Brooklyn couldn’t be certain of this, especially since no one had come around to check on Austin’s mom. If they had put in as much effort to remember Carly as they had her son, then maybe she wouldn’t have turned into a recluse or closed the doors on the inn. Brooklyn’s efforts weren’t much better, but at least she spoke to Carly.