After All (Cape Harbor #1)(61)
“I know,” she said quietly.
“If you know, then give me a chance. Give us a chance.” He pulled her hand up to his chest, and she could feel his heart pounding for her. “As much as I hate to admit this, but seeing you, after all these years—my feelings are back. In fact, I’m certain they never went away, just dormant, held down by regret, guilt, and anger. Can you honestly tell me that you don’t feel anything for me?”
She shook her head, which confused him greatly.
“Help me out, B. I’m a simple guy and need words.”
Brooklyn laughed, although it sounded more like she tried to hold back a sob. “My feelings for you haven’t changed in all these years. I’ve thought about you every day since I left. There were so many times when I picked up the phone to call you but could never press the last number. I didn’t know what to say or how to apologize because telling you that I’m sorry didn’t seem like enough. I made a mistake the day I left you, and I’m sorry.”
His cheeks pulled so wide they started to hurt. “I’d like to take you out or at least have you over to my place for dinner. I’m not asking for much, B. Just a chance to see if what we were going to build together is still there.”
“It’s still there,” she told him. “At least for me.”
“Me too.”
“Okay.” She covered her face. “You must think I’m a moron. Yes, dinner at your place or wherever sounds great.”
He chuckled. “And I’d like to take Brystol fishing.”
“I think she’d like that.”
“What about you? Do you want to come?”
She had a feeling he already knew the answer, but she gave it to him anyway. “That’s a giant nope on my part.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I figured as much.”
They walked back toward the bonfire where everyone still sat. She excused herself and went back to the house. If she’d stayed, she would’ve had a beer or two, and she didn’t want to be responsible for what she did or what words came out of her mouth. It was better for everyone involved if she wasn’t there.
TWENTY-TWO
For the first time in years, Carly felt alive. She sat in front of her vanity, brushing her hair as she listened to the laughter down below. Austin’s friends had come out to honor him once again, and she was thankful to have been a part of the celebration this time. Many people she didn’t know or couldn’t remember had come out, but his core group of friends was there, right along with his daughter. It hadn’t escaped her notice either that Bowie had chosen to sit with her girls. She had watched them through the night, and if she hadn’t known better, she would’ve called them a family. Every so often, Bowie would point at the sky, and Brystol would pay attention to whatever he was saying to her. When Carly wasn’t focused on them, she stared out over the ocean, trying to pinpoint the spot where her son had perished as the embers from the fireworks disappeared into the water. As much as she hated the continual merriment, she loved that everyone came together for her son.
She looked at her aging skin and felt sad. Since Brooklyn and Brystol had returned, she’d noticed how old she’d gotten over the years. Carly pulled her skin, trying to erase the wrinkles that had taken over her life in the last fifteen years and for a brief moment saw the woman she used to be.
And she missed her.
She missed the person she used to be. The one who took care of everyone, who opened her heart and welcomed strangers into her home, the one who loved fully and subsequently lost everything. She missed the old days when her days were filled with laughter and her nights occupied by the sound of the ocean crashing on the shore and the taste of a nice chardonnay. After her husband and son had passed, she couldn’t remember what it was like to feel arms wrapped around her, not until Brystol had understood what a hug was and could hold her grandmother in her tiny arms, and now she wanted one every day. From her granddaughter, the woman her son had loved, and his friends.
The inn was coming back alive, thanks to Brooklyn and Bowie, and Carly felt it was time to really give it her all. She would invite Austin’s friends for dinner. She wanted them gathered around her table again, and she would make it a weekly event. Maybe on Sunday, after church services. And yes, she would go back to church to reconnect with the people she had long shut out, with her friends from the community. Seeing a few of them downtown earlier had shown her just how much had passed her by. She would host a card game, maybe start a book club and invite the new winery in Skagit Valley to host a wine tasting in the ballroom.
Yes, life was looking up for Carly.
She stood and went to the window and pushed the pane up. She closed her eyes as the voices from outside washed over her. The light breeze pushed against her white nightgown, and she smiled. She knew it was Skip and Austin greeting her, telling her how much they loved her. The only solace she took in the death of her husband and son was knowing that they were together.
Carly left her curtains open as she retired to bed. She fluffed her pillows and rested her tired, aching body against them. She stared out the window at the moon; it was moving slowly toward the horizon but was still high enough to cast a glow into her room. The familiar tickle was back, and she cleared her throat, hoping to get rid of it. She was going to have to tell Brooklyn before too much more time passed. There were things she needed to know. Unfortunately, it was a conversation she wasn’t looking forward to.