Peter sat at Will’s side, just staring at his son. “Now you’re sure you don’t need to see a doctor? Nothing hurts? You don’t feel dizzy or weak?”
“I’m okay, Dad. Honest,” Will managed between mouthfuls.
Peter nodded. “All right. You get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll see how you feel in the morning. Daniel said you need to drink a lot of liquids. You might be dehydrated.”
“He did? How does he know stuff like that?”
“He’s trained as a first responder, EMS,” Liza said. She walked over to Will and slung her arm around his shoulder, then planted a big kiss on the top of his head. She dropped down in the seat on his other side, across from her brother.
“You scared us to death, Will. The Cape Light bloodhounds were out, trying to sniff down your trail.”
Will’s eyes widened in surprise. “They were?”
Liza laughed. “Not quite… but almost.”
“We were worried sick,” Peter cut in. “Where were you all day, Will? We didn’t know what had happened to you.”
“I don’t know. Just riding the bike around.” Will shrugged. “It’s a pretty small island, I’m surprised you didn’t see me.”
Liza’s gaze narrowed, recalling how she had searched her assigned area for hours, even on foot. “It’s hard to find somebody who doesn’t want to be found, even in a place as small as this.”
“How did you end up in the cave?” Peter asked. “Were you hiding down there all day? I checked in the morning. We didn’t see you.”
“I didn’t go down there until it got dark. I got a flat on the bike, and I left it on the side of the road behind some bushes. I was near the caves and felt pretty cold, so I thought it would be a good place to stay for the night.”
“Was it?” Peter asked, meeting his son’s gaze.
Will smirked. “It was pretty creepy. All the bats and spiders and stuff.”
A good story to tell his friends though, Liza realized. A tale to swap when they boasted about their camping trip.
“So, why did you do it, Will?” Peter asked, his tone almost pleading. “Can you just tell me that?”
Liza sat back and looked at her nephew. He had stopped eating and was staring at the table, avoiding his father’s gaze.
Peter just waited, and Liza gave him points for patience.
Will shrugged. “I don’t know… I just felt like it.”
Peter let out a frustrated sigh. “You just felt like it? That’s all the answer I get? After what you put us through today?”
Liza gave Peter a quick look and shook her head. It wasn’t going to help if he went off the deep end and lost it.
“It must have been more than that, Will,” she said. “Can you just try to tell us how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking about right now? We were terribly worried, but we’re not mad, honestly.”
“We just want to understand,” Peter told his son.
“We really do,” Claire chimed in. “How can we help if you don’t tell us what’s wrong?”
Will slowly raised his head. He looked around at all of them. “I… I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
“I won’t be. I promise. Just tell us,” Peter said quickly.
Will looked at him, seeming doubtful. But then he stared straight ahead and said, “I don’t want to go back to Tucson. I want to stay here.”
Peter sat back as if someone had slapped him. “You want to stay here. Because you don’t want to come live with me half of the time, is that it?”
Liza saw him struggling to keep an even tone.
Will shook his head. “That’s not it. That’s not it at all. I would come live with you part of the time, but I just hate the way you and Mom are always fighting about it. Fighting over me. You’re so angry all the time. You make me feel like it’s all my fault.”
Peter looked shocked. “Of course it’s not your fault, Will. Your mom and I breaking up had nothing to do with you. We both love you very much.”
Liza felt Peter’s frustration, but she understood what Will was saying, too. Maybe he even understood intellectually that his parents’ divorce had not been because of him. But he didn’t feel that way deep inside. And almost two years later, they were still fighting about his living arrangements.
“I can just give up, Will,” Peter said softly. “I can just agree to let your mom have custody, and I’d visit you every other weekend. Is that what you want?”
Will shook his head. “Not really. I wouldn’t mind living with you, Dad… if you could be the way you are here.”
Peter looked puzzled. “The way I am here? On the island, you mean?”
Will nodded. “Yeah, like more fun and stuff. The way you were that day we went bike riding and when we took photographs together. The way you used to be before the divorce… Not all wound up and crazy and fighting with Mom over every little thing.”
Peter took in a long breath. He held Will’s gaze but didn’t answer for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he said. “Okay. I’m glad you told me what’s on your mind, Will. I need to think about this. It’s pretty serious stuff. We can talk more tomorrow after we’ve all had some rest. Is that all right with you?”
Will nodded. “I feel pretty tired. Like I’m going to nod off into my soup.”
“That would be… messy,” Liza said with a smile.
“Why don’t you finish your supper and take a hot shower?” Claire suggested. “I bet you fall asleep tonight before your head even hits the pillow.”
“I bet we all do,” Peter said. He looked over at Liza and sighed.
She wondered how he felt now about Will, and even about selling the inn. But she didn’t want to press him. Not tonight.
WHEN Liza got up the next morning, she thought she would be the first one downstairs, so she was surprised to find her brother in the front parlor. He sat at the oak table with the photo albums and a mug of coffee.
“Did you recover from the search and rescue mission?” he asked, as she took a seat at the table.
“I think I recovered when we first spotted Will down in that cave. It was brilliant of you to think of that, Peter.”
He shrugged and smiled. “And of Daniel to suggest going back there a second time. I’d say we were lucky. But I did get to thinking about that last night and realized that it was almost as if my happy memories of this place led us to him in some strange way. If I hadn’t been sitting here, reminiscing about my own adventures, I wouldn’t have thought of it.”
Liza smiled, charmed by the idea. “That might be true.”
“I feel it is true, Liza,” Peter said, with more emotion that he usually showed. “I do feel differently here, just like Will said. Maybe getting back in touch with a happier time in your life does that. I can see it’s happened for you,” he added.
“Yes, something has happened to me here. Something… important,” she said quietly. “You know, when I first came and started cleaning out the closets with Claire, I was surprised at how hard it was. I don’t mean physically. Emotionally,” she explained. “And Claire said, ‘Of course it’s hard. This is your past. It’s your family. It’s part of you.’ ” She looked up at her brother. “It’s part of you, too, Peter.”
He sipped at his coffee and nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I can see that now.”
“This old, broken-down house is the only link left to our past, our family,” Liza continued. “For me, it put me back in touch with some part of myself that I lost along the way. Maybe that’s why I feel so strongly about staying here, staying connected to that more hopeful, optimistic version of myself. It gives me a way to go back and start over,” she tried to explain.
“I understand,” he said quietly. “I mean, I really didn’t before, but I get it now, Liza.” He sighed. “I’ve been feeling the same thing but fighting it,” he admitted. “It’s definitely more than nostalgia. I got in touch with some buried part of myself, too. Some better version of me. Isn’t that what Will was trying to say last night?” Without waiting for her answer, he continued, “This place is a touchstone-all we have left of our folks, and of Elizabeth and Clive. I was wrong to think we could let someone come here and knock it down. Or even sell it,” he said finally. “The inn and the island are important to both of us. To all of us. I want Will to know this place and share it, too.”