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“You’ll tell Tuck, and then he’ll tell Bishop, and then Bishop will tell—”Bishop. Just having hisnameon my tongue sends a rush of heat through my body. If my brother’s best friend ever kissed me, I’d be in real danger of spontaneous combustion.But at least I’d die happy.
“Please,” Margo scoffs. “Bishop won’t tell anyone. The man can keep a secret, believe me.”
“What do you mean?”Does Bishop have a secret?
Margo takes another sip of tea and avoids my eyes. “I just mean that he’s a lawyer, so he knows how to keep a secret. Anyway,” she says, changing the subject, “you haven’t told me why you’re moving out.”
I get the impression that she’s holding something back about Bishop, but she’s clearly not going to speak any more on that subject. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I focus on the story again. “Mama showed up just as I was finishing up the patch for Coop’s pants. She looked between the two of us and said, ‘I guess the cat is out of the bag?’ And Coop said, ‘Yup. And it’s about time, too, because I have a question that I’ve been meaning to ask you.’”
“No….” Margo’s eyes light up. “Heproposed?”
I nod. “Sure did. He didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed to be wearing my purple pajama pants with the pink polka dots, either. He kneeled right there on the kitchen floor.”
“Awwww,” Margo squeals. “What did he say?”
“It was something like—” I clear my throat and lower my voice an octave in an imitation of Coop’s voice— “'I’m just an old fisherman who hasn’t seen much of the world. But I reckon nothing’s prettier than your face in the glow of a Georgia sunset. And I’ll count every grain of sand on Friendly Beach if that’s what it’ll take to marry you under a pink sky.’” My eyes sting with unshed tears as I think of my mother’s face. She’s never been one to be overly emotional, but she’d cried freely at his words.
“Wow,” Margo breathes. “Coop’s a poet.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “So, the honeymooners will need their space soon. Coop and I worked out the details in a matter of minutes. We’re going to swap houses. He offered his place rent-free, but I told him I’m happy to pay rent, so long as I can redecorate to my liking.”
A tiny smile tugs at Margo’s lips. “Isn’t Coop’s house next door to Bishop’s?”
“Sure is.” My voice remains calm despite the rapid acceleration of my heart.
Too many feelings are whirring within me. Happiness for my mother. Hope and anticipation of seeing Bishop more often. But most of all—shame. Because there’s another feeling lurking just below all the others:jealousy.
After hearing Coop’s proposal speech, it’s plain as day that he’s madly in love with my mother. He loves her the way she deserves to be loved. Completely, with his whole heart. It’s the sort of love that Margo and Tuck share.
And it’s something I have never known.
I’m jealous of the people I love. How messed up is that? I’m even jealous ofJared—and that’s the most shameful of all. He’s on the cusp of adulthood, at the very beginning of his adult life, and he’s already running a successful business. And like his grandmother and his uncle, he’s desperately in love. He’s even hinted that he’ll be proposing to his high school sweetheart, Mandy, this Christmas.
I want nothing more in this world than for my son to be happy, healthy, and successful—yet I’mjealousof him.
I must be the worst mother on the planet.
It just feels like the surf is moving too quickly around me. Everyone else in my life is surfing along the top of the wave but it’s barreling right over me.
As I hold back tears and chew on another bite of pie, I hear a faint whisper in the back of my mind. It’s hard to make out the voice, but I’m pretty sure it’smine.
If you don’t want to drown in the darkness, it’s time to swim toward the light.
Chapter 4
Bishop
Afteralongworkday,I’m happy to be sitting at the end of my private pier with a cold drink in my hand. I’ve already cast my fishing lines and now I can relax as I wait for the fish to bite.
My house abuts the marsh, and my pier extends over the tidal creek. The depth of the creek changes drastically with the tide, but the water is usually calm, and I don’t have to worry about losing my bait in the surf. I have numerous pole holders attached to both sides of the pier’s railing, so I don’t even have to hold the poles. Best of all? There’s no sand. It’s a fisherman’s paradise.
So, why do I haul my fishing gear five blocks to Friendly beach most mornings? Because Hazel Tuck likes to take morning walks on the beach.
Pathetic, I know.
But now, she’s going to be myneighbor. So, maybe I won’t have to go to such lengths to see her.
The mayor and Coop.I got the whole story from Coop after court. The news has already spread through town. It’s the biggest story in Friendly history. Only Tuck’s wife, Margo, seemed unsurprised by the news.
