Page 88 of Fish Out of Water

“Where are you going?” Robbie asked.

Jake whirled around. He hadn’t realized Robbie was standing so close behind him. “The rain’s pretty much stopped. I’m gonna go home. Want that ride back to the manor?”

Robbie shook his head. Jake couldn’t tell if he was angry or hurt or sad or a bit of everything combined. He didn’t say a word as he unlocked the door for Jake. He just turned the key, stood back, and let Jake leave.

For a second, just a split second, when Jake had one foot out the door and the other still inside, he thought about turning around, scooping Robbie up, and telling him he would be happy to stay. But he couldn’t do that. It was never going to work. They knew that three months ago. and they knew that now.

“Nothing’s changed, Robbie,” he said.

“Bullshit.” Robbie kept the door open as Jake walked out. “Everything’s changed.”

A bitter taste flooded Jake’s mouth. His chest was heavy, and the gentle rain that darkened his hoodie in pinprick spots made him shudder with newfound cold. “Not for the better.”

23

EXPOSED

Jake didn’t have much time to think about how his last conversation with Robbie had ended. In the days that followed, he had to meet with Carson, pay a visit to the hardware store, then meet with Carson again after he called Jake at seven in the morning telling him he forgot to mention a few things and could Jake meet him for breakfast.

In whatever downtime might have ordinarily remained, Isabel kept him busy maintaining a house so clean it sparkled. It wasn’t being shown for another few days, not until after Isabel had her reunion with the other half of the Wynn sibling duo, but she insisted that they not get behind on the cleaning.

“Otherwise, it will be a nightmare when we start having open houses,” she told Jake when he got back from breakfast with Carson. “And neither you nor I need that stress right now.”

“You could say that again,” Jake mumbled, toeing the edge of the rug in the living room.

He pulled open the yellow plastic bag sitting on the coffee table and took out a roll of white tape, from which he cut a piece to size and pasted it under the spot where the rug kept lifting. It’d been a problem for a while, but Isabel had mentioned oncewhat might happen when someone inevitably tripped and fell, and that was enough to get Jake to make that unpleasant trip to Eaton Hardware.

“There.” He smoothed out the corner. “No one’s gonna trip now, although you can always peel it back up if you’re in the mood for sabotage.”

As he stood up, Isabel gave him a funny look, cocking her head. He’d fucked up with that little quip. It would’ve worked with Robbie, but it was too dark for her.

“You’ve been in an odd mood lately,” she finally said.

“I’m just preparing for when Alex gets here.”

“What time are you picking her up tomorrow?”

Jake pulled his phone out. Above a photo of a dog she’d met at the park and a two-paragraph-long recounting of a recent mishap at the coffee shop she frequented, Alex had sent him a screenshot of her ticket. “She’s supposed to get in at three, so I’ll try to be there a few minutes early. Trains are always late anyway, so I’m not too concerned.”

“Not always, sweetie,” Isabel warned him gently. “You should leave at one-thirty just to be sure.”

“Uh-huh.” Jake had just noticed that Robbie had sent him a message a few minutes earlier, and as he pretended to listen to his aunt, he debated opening it so soon after it was sent.

Finally, he tapped his thumb on the screen and held his breath. It was merely a press release about the new cafe:

Coming soon to Eventide’s historical downtown district: the new Eaton Cafewill be replacing the old bookstore, with full renovations including a drive-thru window and a charming little outdoor seating area.

Attached to the press release was a photo of a slightly younger-looking Robbie with perpetually waxen Madeleine and Robert Jr. on either side of him, standing on the beach.

“Jake, are you even listening to me?”

“Huh? Oh, um, sorry, Aunt Isabel. I was reading something.”

“From Alex?”

Jake hesitated. “No. Robbie.”

Isabel’s expression lightened, much to Jake’s chagrin. “Ah, I see. Well, never mind then. It wasn’t important. Are you seeing Robbie tonight?”