Beach House Reunion (Beach House #5)(69)

“You better, little brother, or I’ll sic Aunt Cara after you!”



AFTER LUNCH, LINNEA went directly to Tradd Street to talk to her mother. The gate was open, and after parking her car, she walked through the garden. She found her mother there in her broad-brimmed straw hat and gardening gloves. A basket sat at her feet, but she wasn’t working. She was standing, cross-armed, staring at a bed of annuals that looked like they needed a good weeding. If anything was a red flag for her mother’s health, it was weeds in her garden. Linnea had arrived all bowed up and ready for battle, but now her battle cry dissipated, replaced by a real concern.

“Mama?” she called gently, walking up to her side.

Julia startled and swung her head around. “Linnea! What a surprise! What brings you here?”

“Can’t a girl visit her mama when she misses her?”

Julia’s face crumpled, and she leaned in to hug her daughter. Pulling back, Linnea was caught off guard to see tears gathering in her mother’s eyes.

“What’s the matter, Mama?”

Julia exhaled heavily and, lowering her head, removed her gardening gloves. “Oh, Linnea. I don’t know where to begin.”

“Let’s sit down in the shade.”

“Do you want some tea?”

Linnea shook her head. “I just came from lunch with Cooper.”

Understanding flickered in Julia’s pale-blue eyes. “I see.”

“Mama, he’s not looking good.”

“No.” She bent to pick up the empty garden basket and led the way to the stone bench under the live oak for a respite from the southern July sun. Julia removed her hat and set it on the bench beside her.

“Child, what are you wearing?”

Linnea looked down at her skirt and top. “Don’t you like it? It’s vintage fifties. Cara gave me some of Lovie’s old clothes. I think they’re gorgeous.”

Julia smiled softly. “I thought I recognized them. Sweet Lovie.” She sighed. “I surely do wish she were alive today. We all could use her wisdom. She had a way with your father.”

Linnea sat down on the bench beside her. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Cooper said all hell’s breaking loose here.”

Julia laughed shortly. “That about describes it.”

Linnea didn’t speak.

Julia sighed again, then filled the silence. “He probably told you that the business isn’t doing well?”

Linnea nodded.

“Poor Cooper. I’m sorry he has to witness this. But a mother can only protect her children from so much.”

“It’s not the business that has him worried. Or me. It’s Daddy’s drinking. I noticed it at the party last month. Daddy has always liked his drink, but not like this.”

“No,” she agreed in a soft voice. “Not like this. Linnea, I can’t protect you from the truth either. It doesn’t matter, really. It’s all going to be public soon enough.”

“What?” Linnea asked, truly alarmed now.

“It’s not just the business that’s failing,” Julia began. “He’s invested most of our savings in a real estate project and even borrowed from our friends. He was so sure this one deal was going to make his fortune. He’s always wanted to surpass his father’s successes, you know.” She paused. “He really didn’t care for his father.”

“Yes. It’s no secret.”

Julia scowled. “Stratton Rutledge was not a very nice man. And a worse father. He made your father’s life a living hell while he was alive. I never liked him, and to be honest, I was a little afraid of him. I can’t bear that portrait of him hanging in the living room. I feel like he’s staring down at us, finding fault. Cursing us. The old son of a bitch,” she murmured under her breath.

Linnea had never heard her mother swear or speak ill of another person.

“What about the investment?” Linnea asked, bringing her mother back to the point.

Julia sighed again, this time with disgust. “I don’t know for certain, but I suspect”—her eyes flashed with import—“strongly, that there’s trouble. Your father is terribly worried.”

“What did he invest in?”

“I can’t remember the name. Something to do with mermaids, I think. It’s in real estate. Here in Charleston.”

Linnea shook her head. “I remember talking to him about a big project at the beginning of summer. Or rather, I asked, but he shifted the conversation away. Makes sense now. What happens if Daddy loses his investment?”

“Oh, darling,” Julia said, a tinge of frustration in her voice. “What do you think? We’ll be bankrupt.”

A stunned silence followed. For a moment Linnea thought she’d misheard. Not in trouble. Bankrupt. Could it be possible, or was her mother exaggerating?

“But that’s ludicrous! He can’t be that badly off. He has the business, even if it’s not doing well. He’s always managed to stay afloat.” For a dreadful moment Linnea thought she might burst into tears. Instead, she put her forehead in her palm to calm herself. “Mama, you’ve got to stop Daddy’s drinking. It has to be affecting his business.”

“I’m trying, Linnea!” Julia said, her voice rising with her temper. “We argue about it all the time. But he won’t stop! What can I do? I’ve thrown away bottles of bourbon, and he just goes out and buys more.”