The Summer Getaway: A Novel(69)

The relief was nearly as intense as the fear and was quickly followed by anger.

“Dammit, Cord. Don’t tell me my kids are missing when you know they’re not. You fighting with them isn’t my problem.”

“They’re both gone, and I don’t know where.”

“Have you tried texting them?”

“No. I’m pissed. Why would I text them?”

She thought briefly of throwing her phone off the balcony, but stopped herself. The gesture would only be satisfying in the moment.

“You’re a lunatic and not in a charming way,” she said, her heart rate finally returning to normal.

“You’re going to text them, so tell them they’re both in trouble with me.”

“Tell them yourself. Goodbye, Cord.”

She hung up and quickly texted Austin. He answered her in seconds.

Waiting in the cell lot at the New Orleans airport. I was driving out to hang with you and Lillian for a bit. Harlow decided to join me. I’m picking her up. We should be there in maybe three days.

There was a lot of information in those few sentences, she thought. And while she had a thousand questions, this wasn’t the time.

Drive safe. We can’t wait to see you both. Love you.

Love you, too.

She tucked her phone back into her pocket, only to see that Mason had left to give her privacy. Which was very polite and just like him.

She knocked on the half-open French door to his bedroom.

“Everything all right?” He stepped outside, his expression concerned.

“Cord, my ex, was being a jerk. He does that sometimes. Austin and Harlow are driving here. Guess you’re going to meet my kids. It’s all good.” She hoped. She had no idea why Austin had quit, and it wasn’t like Harlow to simply take off.

Something big must have happened. Only she and Harlow hadn’t progressed beyond “hey, how are you” in their texting.

“The cats will be much easier than kids,” she said.

He smiled. “One or two maybe. Fifteen will be a problem. Plus however many more she accumulates.”

“You’re right.” She drew in a breath. “Okay, I’m feeling marginally better. I’m going to apologize to Lillian.”

“After that, can I buy you a drink?”

She met his dark gaze. “Is that a literal, we leave the house, you buy me a drink, or a euphemism for having a cocktail with Lillian?”

“Your choice.”

“Let’s have drinks with her. I’m still feeling fragile, and I’d like to spend as much time with her as I can. Plus I want to let her know the kids are coming. She’ll love to hear that.”

“Done.”

She put her hand flat on his chest. “You’re a very good man, Mason Bishop. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.”



* * *



Harlow rested her bare feet on the dash of her brother’s 4x4 Toyota pickup. It was the vehicle he’d wanted when he graduated from high school, big enough for friends, surfboards, camping or scuba gear. She wasn’t sure how a big pickup would fit in in California, but Austin always made it work.

She glanced at him. She’d driven that morning, and he’d taken over the afternoon shift. Getting from one coast to the other was surprisingly easy. He’d gone north to Interstate 10, then west. Except for the brief detour to the New Orleans airport, they would literally stay on this road until they reached Santa Monica.

“Ready to talk?” Austin asked, never taking his gaze from the road.

She leaned back against the headrest. “There’s not much to say.”

“You walked out on the job you’ve been working for since you were a kid, you didn’t bring your fiancé and from what I can tell, you’re still not talking to Mom. It sure seems like something happened.”

When he put it like that, she thought, looking out the side window. “I thought I had everything figured out,” she admitted. “I was wrong.”

“That’s pretty much the case for everyone. Not just you.”

She managed a faint smile. “You saying I’m not special?”

“You’re special to me. Is this still about Kip being married before?”

“Some. There’s other stuff.” She thought about the incident with the beets, but didn’t know how to explain that without sounding like a crazy person. “Mom kept telling me I didn’t know him that well. What if she wasn’t wrong? Everything happened pretty fast, and I was at college last year, so maybe we didn’t have enough time to get to know each other. Tracey’s huge, and the credit card debt.”

She held up her hand. “Not that he has it, but that he didn’t tell me. I know it’s hard to talk about, but he should have been honest with me before he proposed.”

“Would it have changed your mind about marrying him?”

“No.” At least she didn’t think it would have. “I might not have talked about a wedding at the club.” She looked at her brother. “Am I entitled?”

“No more so than most. Harlow, you’re a product of how you were raised. We never wanted for anything, so are we entitled? Probably. You’re not a bad person.”

“Just selfish?” she asked, her tone bitter. “Look at Enid. She’s going to medical school. Because I was sick when I was a kid, she wants to be a pediatric oncologist.”