The Cousins(43)

I inch a little closer to the edge of my seat. “Uncle Archer, do you know what the letter meant?” He furrows his brow, and I clarify. “The you know what you did letter that Donald Camden sent. Do you, um…know what you did?”

“I have no idea.” He spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. “I’ve never been able to understand what she meant. I’d give anything if I could.”

It’s the same answer Dad has always given, and that I’ve always accepted without question. But now that I know how duplicitous my father can be, I’ve been considering his response through a different lens—his eyes would shift just a little, his jaw tighten, and his nostrils flare. Small tics that make me wonder what he might have been hiding. When I search Uncle Archer’s face, I don’t see any of that, though. All I see is sadness, and confusion.

“Did you ever think about trying to see Gran?” I ask.

“Constantly,” he says. “But the longer I was here, the more I realized I’d been kidding myself to imagine that I could become part of her life again. Me, Adam, Anders, Allison—none of us can. Whatever happened to change Mother’s feelings hasn’t faded in more than twenty years. Our chapter of the Story legacy ended a long time ago. And then I saw an article about you, Aubrey.”

I tilt my head, confused. “Me?”

“Yeah. Your swim team was in that national meet that USA Today covered. I read the article, and it hit me all over again how fractured our family is. It felt like such a waste, to know so little about you that I hadn’t even realized you’d become an elite swimmer.”



“I’m not elite,” I say, my cheeks warming. “It was a team thing.”

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment!” Uncle Archer insists, and I have to blink back sudden tears. My father didn’t even go to that meet. He said he wasn’t feeling well, but he probably just didn’t want to run into his girlfriend with his wife there. “I was proud of you, and I wanted to congratulate you. But I was afraid that would seem strange and out of the blue, since we hardly know one another. Then I thought about Mother, and how she’s never met any of you. I told Edward that if she did, maybe she’d realize what a mistake she’d made cutting off her entire family tree. That’s when the idea took hold of me, and wouldn’t let go.”

Milly’s held her tongue the entire time Uncle Archer and I were talking, but she can’t keep quiet any longer. “To bring us here under false pretenses?” she blurts out.

Her words are harsh, but her tone isn’t, and Uncle Archer smiles ruefully. “It seemed a lot more virtuous in my head, but—yeah. In a nutshell, I guess that’s it. Edward was planning on leaving Gull Cove anyway, so I convinced him to invite you guys under Mother’s name.” He clears his throat. “I, um, don’t have the best of relationships with any of your parents, so I didn’t clue them in. I figured they’d forgive the deception if things worked out like I hoped.”

My head is starting to hurt from all the new information I’m trying to process. “Were you the one who tipped off the Gull Cove Gazette?”



“Yes,” Uncle Archer admits. “I thought it would buy you some time, since Mother cares a lot about appearances. I didn’t expect you’d run into her on the very first day. But I’m glad you did, because—I was right, wasn’t I? She does want to know you. She’s invited you to Catmint House, and to the Summer Gala, hasn’t she?”

“Well, yeah, but only after ignoring us for two weeks. Which seems more like she’s trying to save face than mend fences.” Milly frowns, shaking her head. “I mean, what’s the long-term plan here? Did you think she’d never find out that you’re the one who brought us here?”

“Oh no.” Archer looks shocked at the suggestion. “I’ve been planning to tell Mother everything after the gala.” He rubs a hand across his face. “In a letter, probably. It’s highly unlikely she’d agree to see me.”

Milly stares at him like he’s just sprouted a second head. “But she’d be furious at you for pulling something like that. You’d never get re-inherited.”

Uncle Archer’s brow creases. “Re-inherited?”

“You know. Back in the will. An heir once more,” Milly says. “Isn’t that what you want? It’s what my—it’s what our parents were hoping,” she adds, glancing first at me and then at Jonah. “Right?”

Jonah clears his throat. “It’s definitely what my, um, parents were hoping.”

“Mine too,” I say.

“Well.” Archer blinks. “This is going to sound naive, I suppose, but all I really wanted was for her to get to know you. And vice versa.”

We’re all quiet for a minute, absorbing that. I almost don’t believe it—a Story who doesn’t care about his lost fortune? That goes against everything I’ve ever known about my father’s family. But the thing is, I can’t imagine any scenario where this situation turns out well for Uncle Archer. Even if Gran ends up happy to have us here—which feels like a big if—she’d still have been duped by her youngest son. And we already know she’s not the forgiving type.



“Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be fired the next time I show up at work.” Uncle Archer sighs and looks at the floor. “Which is why I’ve been avoiding it. So to speak.”