“I like Jean Sommers.”
“My God, Willy, you even started a business to give a bunch of bored old people something to do.”
“I have to earn a living.”
“Then there’s the diner. You’re banned from ever going in there again, for heaven’s sakes.”
“That wasn’t really my fault. Craig Watson is a—”
“And Uncle Jake’s funeral? AndBeverly andClyde ’s wedding? Oh, and let’s not forget last year’s town meeting debacle. Shall I go on?”
Willa closed her mouth and stared into the fire.
“I’m getting a divorce because Richard and I barely talk to each other anymore,”Shelby said softly. “I stuck it out for the kids, but I simply can’t do it anymore.” She laughed humorlessly. “Jen finally came right out and told me that if I didn’t leave Richard, she was leaving us . She said she couldn’t stand the tension anymore, and she’d take Cody and live with Emmett.”
“Emmett? Not me?” Willa said in surprise.
Shelbywrapped her arms around Willa and gave her a squeeze. “They love you to death but only in small doses, Willy. They don’t want to be fussed over; they want to fight their own battles.”
“I do not fuss over them.”
“Yes, you do. You fuss over everyone—except yourself. When was the last time you went out on a date?”
“In March.”
Shelbysnorted. “Peter Thomas doesn’t count. He’s old enough to be our father, and that was a sympathy date because his wife had run off with a younger man. Let me rephrase the question: When was the last time you got laid?”
Willa scrambled to her feet and glared down at her sister. “How did this conversation get turned to my love life? We’re supposed to be discussing your divorce.”
Shelbyalso stood up. “There is nothing to discuss, Willa. Well, except for my living arrangements. It’s going to take me a couple of weeks to find a place I can afford to buy, so I had planned to move in here with you. But there are only four bedrooms, and Peg has one of them. That leaves one for Cody, one for Jennifer, and yours.” She grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled her glass. “I suppose I could stay in the cottage.”
“I’ll stay in the cottage. That way, you won’t have to worry about my fussing over your kids.”
“It was an observation, Willa, not a criticism. And I have no intention of kicking you out of your home. I’ll move my things into the cottage tomorrow.” She smiled impishly. “But I’m eating here. I’ve never had roast chicken that tasted so good.”
Willa set her glass on the end table, strode into the kitchen, and grabbed her rain slicker. “You can have the house and the housekeeper. I’ll move my stuff out of my bedroom tomorrow.”
Shelbyfollowed her into the kitchen. “Willa!”
Willa ran out the door and down the steps, holding the rain slicker over her head as she dashed for the cottage, fighting the wind howling off the ocean. A swaying branch snatched the slicker right out of her hands, and she was soaked to the skin when she finally reached the cottage. The door was locked. Who in hell had locked the door? She ran back down the stairs, dug in the mud for the key she kept under the step, then finally stumbled into the darkened cottage and felt around for the light switch. The lights didn’t come on, and she looked out the window at the main house and saw that it was also pitch black.
Feeling her bottom lip beginning to quiver, Willa stripped out of her clothes by the door, felt her way to the bedroom, crawled under the covers, and burst into tears.
“Oh, Auntie, I told you not to take it personally,” Jen said with a sigh, sitting on the bed and brushing
Willa’s hair back off her face. “You cried all night, didn’t you?”
Willa pulled the pillow over her head.
Jen snatched the pillow away and stood up. “Well, crying time is over, because you have to teach me to drive my truck on the way to school. Then you can take it to work and pick me up at three, and we can practice until supper. I can apply for my license by the end of August, which only gives me three months to get the hang of it.”
Willa pulled the blankets up over her head. “You’re a teenager, Jen. You’re not supposed to be bright and cheery in the morning.” She brought the covers down to her chin and glared at her niece. “Besides, your mother should be the one teaching you to drive.”
“Are you nuts? We’d kill each other. Come on,” Jen said, trying to pull the blankets off.
“Hey, I’m naked under here! Go see if the clothes fairy hung my clothes up to dry last night, would you?”
“The power’s still out on your road,” Jen said, heading into the main room. “You’ll have to shower at work. Peg sent down clean clothes for you and milk and cereal.” She walked back into the bedroom carrying a neatly folded bundle of clothes. “And she told me she was going to move into the cottage this morning, so Mom can have her bedroom. I told her I’d rather stay in the cottage.”
“It’s my cottage, and I’m staying in it,” Willa sat up. “Jen,” she said when the girl turned to leave. “I’m sorry your parents are getting divorced.”
Jennifer gave her a sad smile. “I’m more sorry that they don’t love each other. But their separating will be better for all of us. Mom will start laughing again, and Dad will work fewer hours and spend more time with Cody and me.”
“How did you get to be so wise?”
Jen shrugged. “You hang around Emmett long enough, I think you get it by osmosis. Hurry up, I want to get to school early, so everyone can see me driving my new truck,” she said, whirling around and shutting the door on the way out.
Willa couldn’t help but smile. Jennifer reminded her so much of herself at that age; she had haunted Emmett’s boatyard every day, too. Willa knew he had always hoped she’d take over his business one day, since he had no children to pass it down to. It looked as if Jennifer was the new heir apparent, which pleased Willa to no end. Jen had a passion for wooden boats, and for Sengatti sloops in particular. Though only sixteen, she had already designed and built a day sailer that Emmett had proudly put into production last year.
“Is the RoseWind really yours, Auntie?” Jen asked through the door, her words sounding garbled.
“Abram left it to me in his will,” Willa called back as she dressed. “Hey, are you eating my cereal?”
“We’ll pick you up something on the way to school. Wow, do you know how much that boat cost new?
It’s in the seven figures! Abram must have been really rich. Was his family upset that you got it?”
Willa stared at the closed door. What was she going to tell Jennifer about Abram’s will? AndShelby ?
Or anyone else, for that matter. She snorted and pulled her sweater over her head. She sure as heck wasn’t telling them she was a multi-multi-millionaire.
Even if it was only for three months.
But she was keeping the RoseWind , no matter what happened. Sam had said none of them cared much about sailing, and she couldn’t leave that beautiful sloop with anyone who couldn’t appreciate what a work of art it was.
“I need a hairbrush,” she said, walking into the main room.
“I think you need a hairdresser more. Emmett said the RoseWind is the fastest sloop he’s ever built. I wish I could have sailed her here with you.”
“I wish you had been with me, too. Sam Sinclair was more trouble than help.” She snickered. “He can swim, though.”
Jen’s eyes widened, her spoonful of cereal stopped halfway to her mouth. “Sam Sinclair was with you?”
she squeaked.
Willa wanted to kick herself. “That is not common knowledge, young lady. Especially don’t tell your mother.”
Jen set her spoon in her bowl, her breakfast forgotten. “Are Abram’s grandsons as cool as Abram? Are they handsome? And single?” She shook her head. “What am I thinking? If they’re rich and handsome, of course they’re already married.”
“They are three confirmed bachelors, and women everywhere can be thankful for that. I came this close”—Willa held her thumb and finger an inch apart—“to tossing Sam overboard.”