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“I’m more than sure,” she muttered.
Elizabeth ran up the stairs with the energy of a much younger woman to freshen up and get her bag. When she returned, the tension in the air had increased. When Justin’s back was turned, Maggie nodded her head in his direction as if to sayget him out of here, when she just really wanted both of them gone.
“Okay, well, I’m off. Justin, thank you! Let’s go. I’m looking forward to whatever is going to happen.”
Justin looked at Maggie once more, forlorn. But she wasn’t having it.
“Thanks for bringing Brulee back.”
“My pleasure,” he said, looking her in the eyes, tipping an imaginary hat.
The gesture was so goofy, she sputtered, laughing, but still resisting him, she quickly turned away and got busy cleaning up the kitchen.
From the window, she watched them walk to the truck, Justin opening her door and holding it for her aunt, and the anger surfaced again. She’d never even driven in the man’s truck or even gone on a date with him, but she’d had sex that had been observed. The anger switched quickly to remorse that she’d exposed her heart like she had without considering the consequences. He was just as bad as Russ.
She didn’t want to hang around and stew, so she woke up little Brulee, who was still snoozing, dressed her in her tiny lifejacket, threw together towels, bug repellent, water, dog bones and a piece of fruit, and headed to the skiff. They were going to have an adventure that afternoon rather than sit around the cottage feeling sorry for herself.
Chapter 8
After the text came, Val Amotte started to pace in front of Café Delphine. Unlike the rest of the village, who had seen Betty Bonnet over the years when she came to visit, Val hadn’t seen her in a long time. Not that looks meant so much to him, but he had been reassured by the others that she hadn’t deteriorated into a little old lady. Catching a glimpse of himself in the plate-glass window, he was an old man, and his reflection made him cringe a little bit, so he stood up straight and held his head up a little higher.
Justin rounded the corner from the dirt trail to Main Street, and Elizabeth saw Val right away.
“Oh god, he looks exactly the same.”
She’d recognize that posture anywhere. Chills settled over her cheeks, and she felt her mouth quiver a little bit. That was Val.
Glancing over at her, Justin smiled. He’d been surprised at how old Val looked with white hair and wrinkled skin when he returned to Cypress Cove. Then Val took on the renovation of the old mansion, and it was a common sight to see him on a twenty-foot extension ladder, nailing siding in place, or up on the roof carrying a bundle of shingles precariously across its peak, or scaling up scaffolding like a mountain climber, or in the hardware store with a tool belt around his waist that must have had twenty pounds of tools hanging off it. He realized that white hair wasn’t a barometer of a man’s strength.
“He’s in good shape, too.”
Elizabeth rubbed her arms to warm up.
“I’ll turn the AC down.”
“It’s fine,” she replied. “I’m just nervous.”
Parked at the curb across the street, Justin turned to her again. “I won’t go over with you. But send me a text if you need a ride back.”
“Okay. Thank you, Justin, but I’ll have Gus run me home when I’m done.”
She pulled her purse along with her and got out of the truck, thanking him again, and then caught Val’s eye. They smiled at each other as she walked across the street, and then he took a step off the curb to meet her.
“You look exactly the same!” they chorused.
They grasped hands, looking into each other’s eyes, and Elizabeth giggled.
“You really do look the same. I love your hair!”
“You’re not gray.”
“Val, maybe you need to have your eyes examined.”
He turned around and put his arm around her shoulders, just like he used to when they were kids, and led her to the café.
“Let’s have coffee in front of the people,” he said, laughing. “Give ’em something to talk about.”
“I can’t wait to hear about your house.”
