The Summer Getaway: A Novel(115)

“Goodbye, Robyn.”

With that, he went down the stairs, the sound of her crying following him until he walked into his bedroom and carefully shut the door.



* * *



Harlow returned home to find that Kip hadn’t thrown her things out into the parking lot of their apartment building. Instead he’d taken them all the way to her mom’s house and left them there—across the front lawn. Most everything might have been salvageable if the sprinklers hadn’t destroyed her laptop and most of the clothes.

She got out of the Uber from the airport and stared at the wreckage. She’d taken her tablet with her to California, so that was saved. But pretty much everything else she owned was soaked and lying in sad piles.

The driver hesitated. “You going to be okay?”

“Fine.” Kip didn’t deserve her tears. Apparently she’d been engaged to a real bastard. That was on her, but no way was she going to cry over him. Never again.

She rolled her suitcase inside, then went to inspect her stuff. Most of the clothes could be salvaged, she thought grimly. Not many of the shoes. She moved closer to her laptop and saw not only had it been soaked by the sprinklers, it had also been run over.

She took everything she could carry into the garage, where she quickly sorted her things into keep and toss piles. She stuffed her ruined things into large trash bags. She would put them into her car to dispose of later. Her mom was upset enough without knowing what Kip had done.

Luckily, Harlow had arranged her flight several days ago, so she’d been able to fly out before dawn. Her mom and Austin had followed with connecting flights that had them landing late that night. She had a few hours to clean up the mess Kip had left.

It took less time than she would have thought to sort through the remains and bring in what could be saved. She started a load of laundry and took the rest of her stuff to her room. At least when she moved, she would be traveling light.

After unpacking, she made a quick trip to the grocery store. Her mother hadn’t eaten since Jase had shown up yesterday, but at some point she was going to get hungry. Plus Austin was always up for a meal.

Thinking of Jase made her think of Mason, which was much harder. Seeing Jase humiliated had been kind of fun, but knowing that Mason was in pain hurt her heart. She didn’t know what her mom had said to Mason, but it couldn’t have been what he wanted to hear. He was in love with Robyn, yet her mom was flying home. Mason had looked like he’d been diagnosed with a terminal disease.

When Harlow had tried to talk to her mom, Robyn had said she needed to be alone, and that was the last Harlow had seen her. She’d left before anyone was up.

By early evening, she was done with laundry and was looking at the remains of her sad wardrobe. She would have to do a little shopping before she moved, she thought. Just casual stuff and a few dresses. Maybe two or three pairs of shoes.

Her mom had told her to go through the house and take what she wanted. Harlow and Austin planned to rent a truck and cart her stuff down to Key West after she got an apartment. Places down there were tiny and expensive, so the less she took, the better.

She had a small sofa in her bedroom that would work, and her bedroom set was fine. She’d take the TV on the dresser. All she needed was a small table and a couple of chairs for an eating area and maybe a handful of end tables. There were plenty of those in the house.

She texted with Enid, then watched Netflix until close to midnight, when she heard a car in the driveway. She went outside and saw her mom and Austin getting their bags out of the trunk of the Uber.

“Welcome back,” she said brightly, looking toward her brother, who shook his head.

“Harlow.” Her mother sounded exhausted and looked worse. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, Mom. I have food in the house, if you’re hungry, and I put fresh sheets on everyone’s bed.”

“Thank you.” Her mother gave her a smile that trembled at the corners. “I’m tired, so if no one minds, I’m going to bed.”

She rolled her suitcase down the hall and disappeared into her room. Harlow and Austin went in the opposite direction. She followed him into his room.

“How was the flight?” she asked.

“Okay. Long. She didn’t say anything.” He tossed his suitcase on the bed. “She was quiet the whole time. She didn’t cry, she didn’t read, she just sat there, looking out the window. It was scary.”

“She’ll be okay. She just has to figure out a few things. It’s been a lot, Austin. Too much has happened. She has to take it all in.”

He stared at her. “What about Mason? The man is shattered. Whatever they said to each other, it broke him. I think he’s in love with her.”

“He is.”

“Does she love him back?”

Most of the time she thought of her brother as grown-up, but every now and then she remembered he was still a teenager. Now, with the worry and questioning in his tone, he sounded more like a little boy than an adult.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I hope so. He would be good for her.”

“Love sucks.”

She smiled. “You say that now, but one day you’re going to meet a woman who changes your mind.”

“Naw. I’m going to play the field. I’m never getting serious about anyone.”