The Bookstore on the Beach Page 5

  “I found an article last night on what happened to Quinn,” Autumn told her after she’d swallowed a few bites.

  “You searched for more information?”

  She took a sip of tea and felt a sense of satisfaction as the warm brew hit her stomach. “I did. It kept my mind busy so that I couldn’t focus on other things.”

  “Then I’m glad I told you about it. What’d you learn? Did I leave out anything important?”

  She was teasing with that last question, but Autumn didn’t react to it. “You didn’t mention that Sarah went to prison for ten years.”

  “I knew they convicted her, but I don’t remember hearing the length of her sentence.” She crossed her legs. “That seems excessive, doesn’t it?”

  “According to what I saw on the internet, it could’ve been twenty to life. That’s the sentence for attempted murder in New York State. The only reason it was shorter was that it seemed to be a spontaneous act—and even Quinn pleaded for leniency.”

  Mary smoothed the coverlet. “I feel so bad for her parents.”

  “Do they still live here in Sable Beach?” Autumn used her fork to slide the mint leaves her mother had added for garnish off to one side.

  “They do. Her mother’s a big reader, comes into the bookstore quite often.”

  “Has she ever mentioned her daughter?”

  “Not since the stabbing. But I’m guessing Sarah isn’t an easy subject.”

  “And you prefer to mind your own business.”

  “I wouldn’t want to make her feel worse. I imagine things are bad enough. It can’t be comfortable having Quinn back in town.”

  “Do they blame him for what happened?”

  “Who can say? Maybe. It’s hard for a mother to see any fault in her own child.”

  “It’s always easier to make a villain out of the in-law. I got a taste of that with Nick’s mom. She was so afraid of losing the number one spot in her son’s heart that she did whatever she could to drive a wedge between us—complained about me constantly.”

  “That could’ve been a big problem had she lived much longer than she did.”

  “It was hard enough putting up with it for the first five years of our marriage. She almost managed to break us up. It drove me crazy how Nick allowed her to manipulate him.”

  “He was just trying to be a good son,” her mother said mildly.

  “It was more than that. He defended her against me because he couldn’t see how intentional it all was.” She shoved another bite into her mouth. “So some people are blind when it comes to their mothers, too.”

  “Not necessarily,” her mother said.

  Autumn was surprised that Mary had disagreed with her. “You and Laurie have always gotten along well with Nana, haven’t you? You’ve never said a bad word about her and love having her and Poppy come all the way from Montana to visit every Thanksgiving.”

  Mary stood and crossed back over to the window.

  “Mom?” Autumn lowered her fork. “Has something happened between you and Nana?”

  When Mary turned, she looked tired and drawn despite her beauty. “No, of course not.”

  “So what’s wrong?”

  She lifted a hand to her head. “I didn’t sleep well last night—because of the storm—and woke up with a headache. That’s all.”

  “Then you should be the one in bed, and I should be bringing you breakfast.”

  “Oh, stop. It doesn’t hurt that bad. But I’d better take a painkiller before it gets any worse.”

  “Okay. I’ll bring the tray over when I’m done.”

  “That’d be great.”

  She started down the stairs, but Autumn called after her. “If something was wrong, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

  Her mother’s footfalls came to a stop and Autumn imagined her turning to yell back up the stairs. “Of course I would. Don’t worry, honey. Everything’s fine.”

  4

  Mary took a second to compose herself before opening her own back door. That had been her chance. She could’ve explained what her mother was really like, why Mary had no contact with her, how Laurie, Laurie’s son Jacob, who was ten years older than Autumn, and the woman Autumn thought was her Nana had come to be her family instead.

  But Autumn didn’t need her world to be torn apart right now. She was pale and had lost weight, and she was so exhausted that she had dark circles under her eyes. What she needed was peace, love, consistency, support and plenty of rest so that she could heal.

  Once again, Mary had chosen to keep her mouth shut. But she knew Autumn was curious about her father. What if she got it in her head to take one of those ancestry tests that were advertised on TV all the time?

  Mary was about to go back when the door swung open and her granddaughter came out wearing a visor, sunglasses and a bikini with an orange sarong tied around her hips.

  “There you are,” Taylor said when they almost collided. “Mom up yet?”

  “She’s having breakfast.”

  “It’s not like her to stay in bed. Is she sick or something?”

  “No. She’s lost a lot of sleep over the past eighteen months and is catching up, that’s all.”

  “Okay.” She anchored her bag on her shoulder so she could pull her ponytail tighter. “Caden just texted me. Said he’s met a group of kids our age at the beach and wants me to come down.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “We’ll see.” She didn’t seem completely convinced. “They need me to make the teams even for volleyball.”

  “It’s always nice to meet new people.”

  “Except... I didn’t come here to make friends. I just want to be left alone.”

  Obviously, Autumn wasn’t the only one who needed to heal. “That’s understandable. Grieving makes it hard to socialize. But the right friend can help you through the worst of times.” Mary was speaking from experience. She had no idea what would’ve become of her had she not met Laurie when she did.

  “That’s hard to believe,” she grumbled. “I’m so tired of the friends I have.”

  “You’ve known a lot of them for years. What don’t you like about them?”

  “Everything they say and do seems lame.”

  “They haven’t experienced what you have.”

  “I guess. Anyway, will you tell Mom where I am?”

  “Of course. She’ll be in before too long.”

  “Thanks.” Her ponytail bounced as she whirled around, clutching her beach bag, and Mary had to wonder how the secrets she’d guarded for so long might impact her grandchildren.

  She battled a sinking feeling as she went inside to finish cleaning up. She was convinced they were all better off not knowing, which was why she hadn’t told them.

  Hopefully, they’d have at least one more summer just as they were. After what’d happened to disrupt their lives already, she thought they deserved it.

  * * *

  The group Caden had met consisted of three girls and three boys. Taylor could see them lounging on the sand not far from one of the volleyball nets strung across this portion of the beach. The ball itself sat next to a tall, skinny dude with red curly hair and turquoise swim trunks.

  Caden was far more outgoing than she was, so he was usually the one who made new friends and then introduced her. Although she’d never admit it to him, she appreciated that she had someone to make that process a little easier, but she still hated the part at the beginning, when she didn’t know someone and it was awkward and uncomfortable.

  Once she realized that she’d be meeting more kids than she’d anticipated, she probably would’ve chickened out and turned back, except her brother spotted her right away, jumped to his feet and came jogging over.

  “These guys are cool,” he said as he reached her and took her bag. He knew from experience that she was often resistant when it came to unfamiliar settings and people, that he had to ease her into it, so he’d gotten good at it. She guessed he’d taken her bag as a way of committing her, since she’d have to ask for it back if she changed her mind.

  “How do you know?” she grumbled, eyeing them warily. “You’ve barely met them.”

  “We’ve already played one game.”

  She slanted him a glance. “Really? One whole game?”

  He ignored the sarcasm. “You never like anyone until you get to know them. Give these kids a chance, will ya?” He lowered his voice. “Besides, the girls are hot. I could really use you as a wingman. Chicks always feel more comfortable when a guy’s got his sister around.”

  “Remember that you owe me a favor the next time we’re arguing over who will ride shotgun,” she muttered under her breath and braced for first contact—for her, the equivalent of having a bucket of ice water thrown in her face.

  “You can have the front seat for the entire summer,” he said magnanimously.

  She would’ve made a wisecrack about the fact that he hadn’t even bothered to negotiate—she would’ve settled for two weeks—but the others were getting up and coming toward them, and she was afraid they might hear.

  “Hi,” she said, feeling self-conscious as they drew close.

  “This is Penn.” Caden introduced the guy with the curly hair before indicating a much stockier boy, about her height, with blond hair and blue eyes. “Shawn—and Chester.”

  Chester had dark skin, brown eyes and a ready smile. Something about his apparent friendliness helped make her a little less anxious. “Nice to meet you,” she said as Caden moved on to the girls, who were bringing up the rear.

  “And this is Adrienne, Shawn’s twin sister. Don’t let her size fool you. She’s got a wicked serve, so be prepared for it. I’ve been bragging about how good you are. You can’t let me down,” he joked.

  Blond like her brother, Adrienne was maybe five foot two and weighed less than a hundred pounds. For some reason, Caden was always attracted to that sort of girl—the petite kind that made Taylor, at five-ten, feel like Sasquatch. So Taylor guessed Adrienne was the one he was most hoping to impress. Until she looked into the face of the next girl—who was called Jasmine, she was told. Her name fit her well. She looked as though she was of Mediterranean descent and was so gorgeous with her long black hair, olive-colored complexion and liquid brown eyes that Taylor assumed she couldn’t also be nice—then felt guilty for making such an assumption when the girl smiled and said hello.

  “I’m Sierra Lambert.” The last girl introduced herself before Caden could even get to her.

  Sierra was attractive, too, but in a completely different way. She had short, spiky blond hair with dark roots, several piercings going up each ear, a nose ring and an intricate and very large tattoo of a tree climbing one arm. She wasn’t especially tall, only about five six, but she was lean and well toned. She reminded Taylor of how she’d imagined Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo back when she’d read it. Bold. Smart. Determined. Self-sufficient. And somehow...exciting, probably because she seemed so daring.

  “I like your tattoo.” Taylor was being honest; the artist had done a fabulous job.

  “Oh yeah? That nearly got me kicked out of the house,” she said with a careless laugh.

  “Why? Did you have to lie about your age to get it?”

  “I did. But I’m seventeen, so it’s not as if I had it done when I was twelve or something. I don’t think waiting five months would’ve changed my mind.”

  “It’s new?”

  “I’ve had it for a while, but my birthday is coming up in August.”

  “What’d your parents say when they saw it?”

  “It’s just me and my dad. And you should see how tatted up he is! But with him it’s ‘do what I say, not what I do.’ He doesn’t consider tattoos to be feminine. Says I’ll never be able to catch a husband.”

  “What do you say to that?” she asked, intrigued in spite of herself.

  “The truth. I don’t think I want one. Do you?”

  Caught off guard, Taylor stepped back. “Um, I don’t know.”

  They all laughed at her answer but she’d never considered a future any different than her mother’s. She thought she’d go to college, meet someone, get married and start a family. What did Sierra plan to do that would be so different?

  “Let’s start another game,” Penn said, tossing the ball in the air and catching it.

  Taylor was eager to do that. She’d much rather play than stand around trying to talk to people she didn’t know. Sports created a sense of camaraderie with her teammates, which made things easier.

  She took off her sarong as Caden dropped her bag near the spot where they’d left their own belongings.

  “You’re over here with me, Jasmine and Chester,” Caden said as the others ducked beneath the net to go to the other side of the court.

  Because Taylor wasn’t warmed up, she wasn’t able to contribute a great deal to the first game, but she did much better in the second. She loved volleyball, but that wasn’t the only reason she was having fun. The longer she played with Caden’s new friends, the more she began to agree with him. They were nice.

  The only person she wasn’t sure she liked was Sierra. She was different. But it wasn’t only her piercings, tattoo and cocky attitude that set her apart. It was the way she watched Taylor that put Taylor on edge. Every time she looked up, she found Sierra staring at her with an inscrutable expression. What was she thinking? And why the interest?

  When they finally dropped onto the sand where they’d left their towels, sweaty and exhausted from battling out a close three-game set in which her team had finally eked out the win—on her serve—Taylor was slightly relieved when Sierra didn’t join them. She ran down the beach and plunged into the waves by herself, and eventually Penn and Adrienne joined her.

  Taylor told herself that this was her chance to relax and get to know the others. But every few seconds she found herself glancing toward the ocean, searching for one person in particular.

  * * *

  Autumn enjoyed being at the bookstore anytime, but especially when she could be there by herself. On her second day in town, as soon as her mother and Laurie went to the bank, where they were hoping to secure a business loan to put in a coffee shop upstairs, she stood behind the counter and smiled. Being there, gazing out the large front window at the town where she’d been raised, reminded her of when she was in high school. In the afternoons she’d drive her mother’s car over, spread her homework on the counter and complete her studies between serving customers. Sometimes her mother and Laurie would be gone, taking care of various errands, but more often one or the other would be there with her. She didn’t mind either way. She liked the atmosphere and the customers who frequented the store, and she was always excited when she finished her homework, because then she could read for pleasure.

  She’d never forget wandering down the aisles, touching the spines of the books she’d already enjoyed. As an only child, the fictional characters they contained were her first friends, and even though she had plenty of real friends as she grew older, she was always eager to retreat into the imaginary world created by a good storyteller. She loved deliberating on which novel to choose next and felt such wonder at the possibilities. Each shipment they received had her rushing to unpack the boxes, especially if one of her favorite authors had a new release.

  Maybe she should move back to Sable Beach, she thought. She hadn’t fully realized how suffocating she’d found Tampa lately, but the freedom and happiness she felt here contrasted sharply with the miserable experience she’d been through. She wanted to leave all the upset and negativity behind and start over. It was possible that the only way to let go of Nick would be to leave the home they’d shared and embrace a change of scenery as well as a change of pace. She was certain her mother and Laurie would welcome her help with the store. Since they already had their hands full, she could run the coffee shop, once it became a reality. Then they wouldn’t have to hire someone else.

  She’d always planned on coming back, anyway. She’d known Nick wouldn’t be happy to give up the big city. At times, she couldn’t help resenting the fact that he was so resistant to the idea and figured it would only be fair for her to have her way at some point. After all, she’d gone with him to Florida and stayed for the past sixteen years.

  She belonged here.

  The only thing stopping her from putting her house on the market right away was her children. It wouldn’t be a smart decision to uproot them before they could finish high school. She had a feeling Taylor wouldn’t mind. Since Nick’s disappearance, her daughter seemed listless, as though she’d lost her anchor and was drifting this way and that. Autumn couldn’t help worrying about her. But even if Taylor was willing to move, Caden relied on his friends a great deal, and he was doing well in water polo. She wouldn’t take that away from him.

  Two more years, she told herself. She only had to last a little longer. If Nick wasn’t back by then, she’d sell the house and move home as soon as Caden graduated.

  She was pulling the stool closer to the counter so she could sit down and dive into a book when the bell sounded over the door.

  Autumn didn’t immediately recognize her first customer. The woman came in wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with a flowing cotton dress covering her ample bosom. But as she lifted her head, Autumn came to her feet. It was Mrs. Vizii, Sarah’s mother. She’d aged since Autumn had seen her last, and she’d gained quite a bit of weight, but that beauty mark on her cheek was unmistakable.

  “Oh!” Mrs. Vizii sounded slightly startled when she realized it was Autumn behind the counter. “Is Mary here?”

  “No, she and Laurie had to take care of something, so I’m filling in. What can I help you with?”