Page 98 of Fish Out of Water

TREADING WATER

“The house has an offer,” Carson said triumphantly as Isabel poured three cups of strong peppermint tea.

“Just one?” Jake looked up hopefully, waiting for Carson to amend his statement.

“Uh, yes, one currently.”

“Great.” Jake picked up his cup and took a sip, knowing full well it would burn his mouth. He didn’t care.

The last month had been a flurry of house showings and trips to Sandway and long walks along the beach when he couldn’t sleep a wink. Isabel had been there for the first of those rote activities, and sometimes the second, but never the third.

Jake was always alone at the beach now. He got there too late for anyone else to be up, and he stayed just until the sun began to peek over the horizon, when sleep pricked at his eyes like the tiny grains of sand that got stuck in his sneakers.

That was his cue to go home, shower off the grime of nature, and climb back into bed before his aunt woke. He usually got a couple more hours of sleep after that, having driven himself to sheer physical exhaustion, but it was never enough.

When he got up every morning, he checked his phone as usual. And, as usual, he had a text or two from Alex, sometimes something from his mom or dad, and never a single message from Robbie. Not one.

He missed seeing Robbie’s name pop up in his notifications. They hadn’t spoken since that fateful night at the old Eaton Manor. Jake had seen him around, of course. It was impossible not to in a town this size. But every time he did, Jake ducked behind a shelf or knelt down to tie his shoe, concentrating on anything but Robbie.

If Robbie ever noticed him in those moments, he never acknowledged it. They were living in parallel worlds now. They said hello to the same townsfolk, they had their mail delivered by the same mail carrier, and they shopped at the same stores, but they never crossed paths. They couldn’t break the illusion.

The one time Jake had mustered up the courage to look Robbie up was on MatchdUp. He had to re-download it and reset his password after entering it incorrectly too many times, and when he finally did get in, he immediately searched for Robbie’s name.

Nothing came up. The profile with the grinning man and the bio that ticked every single box for trying too hard was missing. That version of Robbie was never coming back again, and neither was the one Jake had known for a few all too short months.

“An offer, hm?” Isabel smiled politely. “That’s nice.”

“It’s a good one, too.”

“How good?” Jake asked before he could stop himself. It wasn’t about the money. It was never really about that. But something had set alarm bells off in his head, and now he waited with bated breath, the scent of the mint that wafted up from his cup sending a confusing wave of nausea coursing through him.

“Well…” Carson shifted, sensing the danger in Jake’s puerile scowl. “It’s 30k under asking price, but that’s really quite reasonable considering the house market in this area.”

“I see.” Isabel took a sip of her tea, and Carson quickly mimicked her as though that would soften her toward him.

“Who put in the offer?” Jake asked. He could feel his blood running cold. He was so certain of the answer already, but he had to hear it from Carson first. He had to confirm it before he allowed himself to fly into a burning rage.

“Uh…”

“It’s a simple question, Mr. Crowley,” Isabel said calmly. “Please answer my nephew.”

“Mr. And Mrs. Robert Eaton.”

The wrath Jake had prepared to unleash shrank back like a wave curling away from the shore. All he felt now was a sense of championship over Carson, like he had won in this prizeless game. He was right. He had pegged it. He knew the Eaton family better than he’d ever given himself credit for.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, nodding slowly.

“I’m not selling to them.” It was Isabel’s turn to be angry, and she didn’t hold back. “I refuse to let those vultures gut my house and turn it into a charmless B&B so they can suck more of the life out of Eventide.”

“But, Mrs. Haver?—”

“Absolutely not,” she said firmly. “You can tell them I’m not interested.”

“And to go fuck themselves,” Jake added. Isabel didn’t chide him for this one.

Carson set his cup back on its coaster carefully, using two hands to make it as silent as possible. “I understand that they are not the sort of couple you were thinking of, but you must know as well as I do that the Eatons will be the most solid buyers one could hope for. This will be open and shut in a matter of weeks,and then you can move on with your life like you wanted.” He could tell he wasn’t getting through to Isabel, so he stood up, stuffing his shirt back into his slacks where it had ballooned a bit from sitting. “I’ll leave you to consider the offer for a day or two. Shall I call you when we’re ready to meet back up, Jake?”

Jake glanced at Isabel, whose eyes were alight with a kind of fire he’d never seen her possess before. “That’s probably for the best,” he said.