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Alex looked on the verge of exploding. “If you’re this upset about your mother, then I suggest therapy. Back where you came from. And again—if you think this guy over there is any kind of solution to your problems...?”
Wayne’s hands clenched into fists. “You’d better stop that kind of talk, Alex,” he said stormily. “We’ve been through enough, you and me. I don’t think I deserve that.”
Alex placed his fingers on his temples and huffed. He muttered something else, an insult Wayne couldn’t fully hear.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Alex finally articulated. He returned his angry eyes to meet Elise’s. “We’ve been through enough. Way too much, actually. And now that it’s the end of the season and Michael’s back, we can finally tend to the family that has been slowly falling apart over the past several years. You? You just bring heartache and torment and reminders of mistakes. We all did fine without the other over the past forty-some years. Let’s go back to that. Shall we?”
With that, Alex turned on his heel and stomped away. Wayne’s hands relaxed from their fists, but his pulse didn’t calm down. Finally, Elise turned back to face him. Her face was blotchy with tears.
**
WAYNE STEPPED TOWARDElise, placed a hand on her cheek, and swiped his thumb through her tears. Her knees clacked together as her ears replayed the words Alex had said to her, over and over again.
“What can I do to help you?” Wayne whispered then.
“As if there’s anything to be done at all,” Elise returned with an ironic laugh.
“Let’s go grab a drink,” Wayne said. “I don’t know what to say anymore. I just need a drink in my hand.”
Elise slipped her fingers through Wayne’s as they walked toward the Pink Pony. It seemed like years ago, that night that Wayne had taken her there and she’d first confessed that her father was Dean Swartz.Be careful who you tell that to. Some people won’t like that you’ve come back.Maybe she should have run as fast as possible away from Mackinac Island on that night.
It was later in the evening, now, and the sun had dipped low, casting everything in ghoulish light. They walked past the fudge shop, where the owner had dropped down in the little display window, to arrange the décor into a more autumn setting. The owner waved a hand to Elise, having recognized her from her constant treks up and down Main Street. Elise waved back.
“See?” Wayne said with a crooked smile. “You belong here. Everyone sees it.”
At the Pink Pony, Wayne ordered them both stiff whiskeys and remained standing as Elise collapsed onto a stool. That bartender from that first night, Marcy, hustled toward them with their drinks and winked at Elise.
“I heard you were still around,” she said. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Wayne’s a hard one to give up.”
Although Elise was pretty sure Marcy had been the origin of all the gossip surrounding her, Elise couldn’t help but deliver a sterling smile. “Don’t give him too much credit. He’s already arrogant enough as it is.”
Marcy laughed good-naturedly as she disappeared. In her wake, Wayne lifted his glass and said, “To one of the strangest twenty-four hours of my life.”
“To not being an arsonist,” Elise replied.
“That too,” he said.
Elise sipped a sliver of whiskey. She had a million questions. Mostly: what was she meant to do, now? Now that she had spent time with her sister, now that Alex still wanted her out, now that some guy named Michael had returned home and shattered Wayne’s previously intact mental health...
That moment, Wayne received a phone call. Elise was grateful. It gave her time to stew in her own thoughts.
“Hey there,” Wayne said. “Yep, still downtown.” He paused. “Is that right? Okay. Well, I’ll have to check with her, but I imagine it won’t be a difficult sell.” His smile widened slightly.
Wayne’s smile was like kryptonite.
When he hung up the phone, he slowly returned it to his pocket and beamed at her.
“You’re freaking me out,” Elise told him. “What’s up?”
“We’ve been invited somewhere,” he told her.
“We?”
Here we are. A “we.” Isn’t that what I always wanted?
“That’s right. You and me.”
“And you aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?” Elise asked.
