Page 89 of Fish Out of Water

“No,” Jake said much more quickly this time. “He’s busy.”

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and took the bag full of brackets, furniture pads, and rug tape into the mudroom to put away.

At just fiveminutes shy of two the next day, Jake headed out to his car with a bottle of water and a small bag of snacks Isabel had packed for Alex in case she was hungry and thirsty after her journey. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon—the first in days. Alex was lucky that she’d just missed the storm Jake had to deal with.

He made to close the backseat door when he saw the gray hoodie balled up on the floor. He took it out and shook it off, making sure it looked presentable for when he gave it to his sister. He’d almost forgotten about it, and seeing it now brought back memories he wasn’t ready to examine.

The hoodie he’d worn, the same exact kind one size larger, had gotten stuffed in the closet as soon as he got home that rainy night. He couldn’t let Isabel see it and wonder what in Mier’s name had happened for him to get a hoodie from Robbie, and he couldn’t wear it around town, either. That name was pure poison, and everyone would question why Jake, of all people, didn’t mind wearing it.

He shook his head and set the hoodie on the seat. He needed to get going lest he make his sister wait outside a train station for her worthless brother.

Alex was indeed waiting outside the small brick-walled train station on a rough wooden park-style bench, duffel bag plopped down beside her. She sat with her legs crossed, swinging the top one back and forth impatiently as she scrolled on her phone. Her face brightened when she saw Jake’s car, and she jumped up, running over to it before he’d even pulled into a parking space.

“Did you want me to run you over?” Jake asked, his voice getting muffled in her hair as she threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, I missed you,” she said, ignoring his jab at her. “It’s been ages, Jake. You look good. The sea air really does wonders, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe so.” Jake pulled back to get a better look at his sister. Her smile was as contagious as it had always been. Her hair was still the same rich dark brown as Jake’s, though she’d forced the reluctant waves into more pronounced ones with some sort of product, and her eye makeup was smudged, which meant she’d probably gotten it on Jake’s jacket when she hugged him. “You know how excited Aunt Isabel is to have you here, right?”

“I know, and I feel super bad that I haven’t been down here since… God, was it really over twenty years ago?”

“It is, and she has the pictures to prove it.”

The heels of Alex’s tall boots clicked on the pavement as she walked around to the passenger side. Why she’d chosen such an impractical outfit for traveling, Jake would never know, but that was just Alex.

“Tell me all about what it’s like living here.” She buckled herself in as Jake threw her bag in the back.

“Oh, y’know. Boring.” They started back to Eventide, the sun just beginning to set. Alex was going to get the best Eventide hadto show: golden hour without a single drop of rain. “You have to come here to Grayland to find anything to do.”

“What about the people? You mentioned some guy… what was his name?”

Jake’s knuckles tightened against the steering wheel, turning white with the pressure. “Robbie. Which reminds me, I have something for you in the backseat.”

Alex reached back and picked up the hoodie. “Oh my God,” she squealed, “this is adorable.”

“I knew you’d like it.”

“Eaton’s Book Nook—is that a place in town?”

“Yeah, but not for long. It’s shutting down and being replaced by a cafe, which will probably kill the only restaurant in town too.”

Alex wrinkled her nose. “That’s a shame. I’m definitely going there while I’m here. Eaton, isn’t that your boy Robbie’s last name?”

“He’s not my boy, but yeah. His parents own the store and he runs it.”

“So I’ll get to meet him?”

“I guess.”

A month ago, Jake would’ve been happy to introduce Robbie to his sister. There was no risk of them not hitting it off at this point. But he couldn’t eventhinkabout standing face to face with Robbie and giving him another part of his personal life now.

“So it’s a family-owned bookstore? That’s cute.”

“It’s really not,” Jake said, forcing back the disdain that threatened to give away how upset he was right now. “Their family isrich-rich, and they have a tendency to buy up businesses in Eventide to have some kind of monopoly on the town.”

“Oh dear. But what about Robbie? That doesn’t sound like the sort of guy you’d want to be around.”

“Robbie’s…” Jake paused, struggling with how to phrase his appraisal of Robbie. “He’s different. He’s not like his parents, and I guess not much like his grandparents either. I don’t know; they’re dead.”