“Really? I never would have guessed. You were so good at keeping your opinions to yourself.”
“I am sorry, Dad,” she said and this time she meant it. “Really, I am.”
“Oh, well, bad taste in the opposite sex runs in our family.”
“That’s not true. I mean it is for you and Mom, but Eric was …” Alix grimaced. “Actually, he was awful. Izzy said I only liked him because he gave me the opportunity to do two designs instead of one.”
Ken laughed. “I’ve always liked Izzy! And she knows my daughter well.”
“I’m going to miss her. She’s leaving in the morning.” Alix thought it was better not to tell him yet about moving the wedding to Nantucket. He might think she was taking on too much. “That blasted fiancé of hers wants her to be with him.”
“Inconsiderate devil!”
“That’s just what I said.”
“Look, Alix, it’s late and we both need to sleep. When’s Montgomery getting back?”
“I have no idea. I stayed in and worked while Izzy spent the day buying me new clothes.” She didn’t tell him that Izzy said the clothes were to impress Montgomery.
“And sending the bills to your mother, I hope.”
“Of course. Those two and Mom’s AmEx are the very best of friends. A holy trinity.”
Ken chuckled. “I miss you already. So get some sleep and call me after you meet Montgomery. I want to hear every word of what happens.”
“Love ya,” she said.
“Love ya back,” he replied.
Chapter Four
“I’ve decided to leave tomorrow,” Jared said to his grandfather Caleb. It was early evening and they were in the kitchen of Kingsley House. Jared had just returned from his fishing trip and hadn’t yet showered and changed. “I’m going to clean these fish, take them out to Dilys in the morning, then leave the island.”
“Wasn’t your original plan to stay for the summer? Didn’t you have some work to do here?”
“Yeah, but I can do it in New York.” Jared pulled the fish out of a bucket and tossed them onto the drainboard.
“It was about some house, wasn’t it?”
“I have a commission to design a house to be built in L.A. for some movie stars. That the marriage won’t last two years is none of my business. I thought I told you about this.”
“I remember you said that in New York you had so many responsibilities outside of designing that you could no longer think. You said you wanted to spend a year on Nantucket.… What was that saying you had? Something about roots.”
“You know I said that I wanted to get back to my roots.”
“I believe the word was ‘needed.’ You needed to find where you belong. Is that right or have I contracted some illness that distorts my mind?”
“You’re too old for any disease.” Jared was dirty and tired and hungry and angry. Yes, he’d planned to stay on Nantucket for the whole summer, but then his aunt had left his house to … to her.
“So you’re running away,” Caleb said. He was standing by the kitchen table and glaring at his grandson. “Abandoning young Alix.”
“I think of it as a sort of protection. You, better than anyone, know what my life’s been like. Does she deserve that? Besides, it would be better if she never found out who I am off the island. As a student, she probably thinks I’m a hero. I’m not even close.”
“So now we hear the truth,” Caleb said softly.
“What did you think? That I was afraid she’d ask me for my autograph? I wouldn’t mind that.” He gave a half smile. “Preferably on some body part. But not this girl.” He got up to start cleaning the fish, but changed his mind. Instead, he went to the tall cabinet by the refrigerator and poured himself a rum and Coke. “What happened to all the limes that were in here?”
“I ate them.” Caleb was glaring at his grandson.