Page 36 of Bluebell Tides

All at once, Sloane’s cheeks lost their color. “Oh, yeah. He mentioned it,” Sloane said. “But I couldn’t make it.”

It was clear that Sloane was lying, that Jimmy had gone to a Manhattan party without telling her. Ruth’s heart leaped with hope. Maybe Sloane and Jimmy would break up soon. Maybe Sloane would get it through her head that these elite Yale guys weren’t good enough for her.

When the other Yale student vacated the café, Sloane studied her soup dispassionately, as though she couldn’t believe she’d been eating it. She slid a spoon through the top, then dropped it in. She looked glum.

Ruth felt a rush of panic. She knew Sloane was overthinking and worried that Jimmy was going to break up with her. “Honey,” Ruth murmured, unable to stop herself. “Maybe this is for the best?”

Sloane flared her nostrils. “What are you talking about?”

“Things with Jimmy? I mean, he’s one of those Yale guys. You know what I mean? He isn’t good enough for you,” Ruth said.

Sloane glared at Ruth. For nearly a minute, she didn’t say anything. Ruth sensed she was trying to come up with the perfect response, sharpening her blade. And then, Sloane said, “I don’t want to grow up to be you, Mom. I don’t want to be alone.”

The strike was clear and focused. Sitting there in the café with the only person she truly loved, Ruth could hardly breathe.

19

Present Day

A week and a half after Quentin and his lawyer, Alex, stormed through the front door of the Bluebell Cove Eco-Lodge, Sophie found herself on a plane, heading west toward her future. Directly to her right was her mother, Celia, her brow knitted with worry.

To Sophie’s left, miraculously, was Ruth Landers—Sophie’s new friend and confidant. As they sped across the continent, she sipped a glass of wine and scribbled something in her journal. Sophie ached to know what was on Ruth’s mind. She knew that Ruth had wanted to get out of Bluebell Cove, away from the Caldwecks. But Ruth remained a mystery. Despite having lived at Celia and Landon’s place, Ruth still hadn’t fully confessed why the Caldwecks were after her, nor what she wanted with them. Worse than that, Sophie still hadn’t discovered a way to prove that the Caldwecks were doing anything illegal at their factories. She hadn’t been able to help.

Everything on that front felt stagnant. Sophie wondered if the Caldwecks and Ruth would soon give up on their war. She wondered if Ruth would return to Manhattan and busy herself with other things.

Of note, though, Ruth had still never mentioned her daughter, Sloane. When Juliet had brought up children, Ruth had again maintained that she didn’t have any.

Why would Ruth lie about that? Sophie still felt unclear. Like many writers, she was worried that Ruth was a little delusional.

But Sophie knew she had to focus on her own life, her own problems, just now. She couldn’t burrow herself into someone else’s just because it was more comfortable.

That evening, Dina, Ruth’s friend and the prominent lawyer set to take over Sophie’s case, planned to pick them up from the airport and take them to what she called “the best restaurant in the Pacific Northwest.” According to Dina, Ruth, and her mother, it was time to build Sophie’s legal strategy. It was time for them to attack Sophie’s case head-on and ensure that she didn’t have to pay any fees to the state of Oregon—or worse, serve time.

Sophie had made the mistake of googling what happened to people who started forest fires. Understandably, because of strict environmental protections, they were not often let off the hook.

Here on the plane, Celia reached for Sophie’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll get this figured out,” she said. “And then we’ll get you back on campus. It’ll be like nothing happened.”

Sophie tried to smile, but it fell off her face. She wasn’t sure what made her mother and Ruth so sure that Sophie would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Ethan and the others came from families of enormous wealth and prosperity. Obviously, they’d throw the best and brightest lawyers at the case, as well. Maybe those lawyers would decide that Sophie was the perfect scapegoat, just as Ethan and his friends had.

Dina, the lawyer, drove a sleek rental BMW, the kind of car that made Sophie think everything would turn out all right if she only trusted Dina. Dina shook Sophie’s hand and winked, saying, “Let’s get this case cleaned up so we can have some fun.”

But fun felt like something other people were allowed to have. Sophie couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like she was having a good time.

Dina parked outside a quaint fish restaurant in downtown Portland. She sidled up next to Ruth and strung her arm through hers, still talking a mile a minute. Sophie and Celia walked behind them, silent, studying the two friends. It was clear they’d known one another for a long time. There was an ease between them that spoke of family.

Over a first round of rosé and appetizers, Dina beamed at Sophie and explained that there was enormously good news in the case. “Apparently one of the people in your group, a girl called Jen, wants to come forward and tell the truth about your involvement. Apparently, her boyfriend broke up with her? And threatened her, saying something about needing her to get this story off their backs. Protect their friends. Something like that.” Dina shook her head. “I got a call from Jen’s lawyer the other day, and he explained that Jen wants to cooperate. It’s great. Makes my job a whole lot easier!”

Sophie gaped at Dina. Lost in her head, she remembered that night so many months ago, now. It was true that Freddy, Cedric, Ethan, and Lizzie had been the main ones to build the fire. Where had Jen been in the midst of all that? Jen certainly hadn’t chimed in to help Sophie. She hadn’t said anything about needing to stop the fire.

“It’s enormously helpful,” Dina continued. “I don’t know where we’d be without Jen. An eyewitness from the other party, willing to betray her friends.” She shook her head and took another slice of buttered bread.

Sophie’s heart swelled. She looked at her mother, who beamed and squeezed her hand. Because Celia had been so instrumental in changing environmental protection laws in Washington, DC, Sophie felt like a shadow in her shadow. She felt as though she’d never earn her rightful place as Celia’s daughter again. But she told herself she would spend the rest of her life trying to make up for what she’d failed to stop.

And she didn’t deserve prison, nor enormous fines. She knew that, too.

“You’ll need to testify,” Dina said then. “The judge will want to hear from you and only you, about why you were there, about what this event has taken away from you. Can you speak from the heart about this?”

Sophie nearly swallowed her tongue. All summer, she’d pulled herself so far from the truth that she’d struggled to say anything real to anyone but Lily and Ruth. But now, she, Ruth, Celia, and Dina were on a journey together. She owed it to them to open herself up.