Unexpected Arrivals(74)
“Hi, is Gwendolyn home?” I squared my shoulders and raised my chin with confidence.
“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong house.”
I stepped back to inspect the front porch to confirm I hadn’t somehow wandered up to the wrong place. “No, this is the right place. I’m looking for Gwendolyn Chase.”
“This is the Morris residence, ma’am.”
“That’s not possible, my grandparents have lived here for years. Well, my grandfather passed away, but my grandmother lives here.” I was rambling about stuff I was sure the woman didn’t care about—she had to be mistaken.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have lived here for nearly a decade.”
My stomach rose into what felt like my chest and bile lingered in the back of my throat. “I-I’m sorry to, um…to have bothered you. Thank you.” I stammered most of the sentence and tried to ignore the look of pity in the woman’s eyes. I felt like a fool.
Ten years. My grandmother hadn’t lived in this house for ten years, and I wasn’t aware of it. I couldn’t fathom why she would have ever left; everyone knew where the Chase family lived—it was a statement just like their lives. Giving it up meant losing part of her identity. None of it made any sense. That mansion had been as important to them as their bank account. And she hadn’t bothered to inform me she’d moved.
The tears only served to irritate me. I wasn’t sad they’d left; that house meant nothing to me. And we weren’t close so I couldn’t figure out why I cared if she moved without sending me her new address. Yet some part of me felt violated and totally out of touch—a stranger to the only person remaining on this earth who shared my DNA. She’d moved on and left me behind.
I ran down the steps that led to the beach. The motion detectors illuminated a path as I navigated the stairs before my feet hit the warm sand, and the sounds of the crashing waves welcomed me back to the white space where time ceased to exist and noise was swallowed by the ocean. And there at the water’s edge, I stood with my face tilted toward the moon and let the emotion fall from my eyes and the tides steal it away.
By the time I finally wandered back to the Carpenters’ house, it was after ten, and most of the lights were out. James waited for me in the kitchen with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. He’d changed into jersey shorts without a shirt or socks, and his bare chest brought me home—back to the only comfort I’d had since my parents passed away. His skin was warm against mine, and his powerful arms tucked me into impenetrable security.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he whispered into my ear.
I shook my head, sobbing into the crook of his neck. His hand stroked my hair, and he kissed my temple. James had been my rock since the day I’d laid eyes on him in Harbrook High, and I knew without a doubt, no matter what we had to go through, I’d never leave his side—because he’d never left mine.
16
Cora
“You ready to go, buddy?” James appeared as excited as Legend was when we got to Dottie’s door.
I was too surprised by her new address to say much. She’d given it to James this morning when he called to arrange a time to get Legend. It was nothing like the home she and Owen had shared. We only stepped foot inside the foyer, but it was cozy and welcoming. There was no staff, she didn’t have ten thousand feet of unused space, and there were pictures everywhere. I couldn’t imagine what had happened to take her from the life of luxury that was prevalent when I was around to upper-middle-class suburbia now.
Just as we were about to leave, I met her stare and saw that same thing I’d witnessed yesterday, something similar to regret, although I still couldn’t imagine why. And once again, it wasn’t the time or the place to question what all had changed since I left Geneva Key, or why she hadn’t been this attentive when I’d needed her most. So instead of poking the bear, I gave her a meager smile and a tiny wave over my shoulder before leaving with my husband and his son.
“You guys have fun. Just give me a call when you’re ready to come home.” Dottie cringed just slightly at the last word.
It had likely started to dawn on her that this wasn’t going to be Legend’s home much longer. And I had to wonder what role she planned to play in his life once we were gone and he was in New York. That too was a topic for another time, and certainly not one to be had in front of Legend. James and I had avoided it as eagerly as we had the presence of her in Legend’s life to begin with. I assumed he feared lighting a flame inside me he couldn’t extinguish along with the one he already fought figuring out he had a child.
The three of us hopped into the rental car and went back to the Carpenters’ house to utilize their semi-private beach-front property. Legend didn’t even notice the monstrosity of a house. His eyes were set on the sand and the water in front of us.
“Daddy, will you play in the waves with me?”
My heart skipped a beat hearing Legend call James “Daddy” for the first time. He hadn’t hesitated, he wasn’t unsure, he owned it as though James hadn’t missed a single day of his life.
“Absolutely.”
As soon as we were out of the car, I grabbed the bags from the back deck. James picked up Legend and swung him onto his shoulders. He jogged the rest of the way to the water’s edge with Legend giggling and an enormous smile on his face. I was witnessing a side of James I’d never seen before, and it made me sad to think he’d desired children and never told me. He was a natural and exactly what Legend needed.