An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(115)

Alexis wanted to teach Lulu and Daisy to play hopscotch—after having politely asked Maggie if it would be okay if she chalked up the front sidewalk—but Natalie was nowhere to be seen.

“Gracie, where’s your sister?” Maggie asked.

“She’s inside watching TV,” Grace told her.

“Watching TV?” Maggie frowned. While they had guests? On the Fourth of July?

“Yeah, DEAN is playing in that big concert, and it’s being televised.”

Of course it would be. Maggie started toward the house.

“I love DEAN,” Alexis said. “They’re my favorite band.”

Maggie paused halfway across the patio. “You know Emma is Chris Dean’s mother, don’t you?”

“She is not.” Alexis stared at her and repeated, “She’s not.”

“She most certainly is.” Maggie pointed to Daisy. “Tell her, Daisy.”

As she was about to go inside, Maggie realized Jamey was missing as well. Maybe he was watching the concert with Natalie.

But when Maggie walked into the family room, she found only Natalie.

“Mom, watch this. I sent Chris videos of the parade.” She backed up the image on the screen until she arrived at the place where Chris and his bandmates could be seen mounting the stage.

“Are you recording this?” Maggie asked.

“Of course. Here, watch. Watch his face.” Natalie giggled.

Chris was at the microphone, singing for several minutes. Then his hand went to his pants pocket, and he pulled out his phone. He kept singing but turned his head and laughed before sticking the phone back into his pocket.

“I sent him the kazoo band. He loved it.”

“Obviously.”

“No, he did. He texted me when he got off the stage.”

The image on the screen continued to run, and Maggie stood in the doorway, watching as Natalie sat without moving when Chris began to sing a slow song, something about shooting stars that appeared to have an effect on her daughter.

Oh dear. Maggie inwardly sighed. This might not end well.

“Nat, we might have to have a talk later about Chris and you.”

“Don’t go there, Mom. We’re good. So please don’t ask me to put a label on our relationship. I don’t want to call it anything. Just leave it be.”

“All right.” Maggie still perceived danger ahead but let it go for now. “Have you seen Jamey?”

“Not since he asked me where the beach was, but that was a while ago.” Natalie’s attention was still on the screen.

“If anyone asks, I went to find him.”

Maggie could tell Natalie had barely heard her even as she opened and closed the front door.

Chris was a good kid. God, she sounded like Emma. A good guy. He’d never intentionally hurt Natalie. He wouldn’t take advantage of her or their friendship.

Then again, he was a guy. A guy with an international reputation and about a million young women willing to throw themselves at his feet. She wondered what the chances were Chris was as infatuated with Natalie as she appeared to be with him.

Maggie walked to the end of the street and removed her sandals before stepping onto the beach. She scanned the rocks, then saw him atop the lifeguard stand. She walked across the sand and took a deep breath before she began to climb. He might not want company, but he was going to have it.

“Jamey.” She stood on the top rung of the ladder and motioned for him to scoot over to make a place for her to sit. “We missed you.”

“Why?”

“Because I—”

“Don’t say because you’re my grandma. You’re not.” He stared straight ahead, not blinking.

“Well, in one sense, you’re right. But in another . . .”

“You’re not my dad’s mother.”

“I didn’t raise him, that’s true. But I did give birth to him.”

“And you gave him away because you didn’t want him. You abandoned him, and my grandparents had to find him and bring him home because you didn’t want him. You didn’t love him then, so why are you wanting to hang around with him now?”

“Well, that’s a very deep question, Jamey. I can see you’ve been thinking about this, and you deserve an honest answer. So I will tell you the absolute truth.”

“Right.”

“You asked a question. I want to answer. You want to hear it or not?”

After a long moment, he nodded, but he still hadn’t looked at her.

“I did not abandon your father.” She paused. “You’re old enough to understand what adoption means, right?”

“Yeah. It’s when you don’t want your kid, so you give it away.”

“Jamey, I was very young when he was born, and I knew I could not take care of him. I wanted to, but I knew I could not. My parents were not accepting of the situation I was in. Your grandparents wanted him desperately. They were very special people, and I knew they would give him a wonderful home and the happy life he deserved. Things I couldn’t give him when I’d just turned eighteen.”

“You were eighteen?” He frowned.

“Yes. Not much older than you. You think you’d be ready to raise a baby in six more years?”

“That’s not the point.”