The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,22
made her angry. He thought he was scared? The worst that could happen to him was he’d have to pay child support for eighteen years. As bad as that sounded, especially at their age, it would be much worse for her. Not only would she have to pay at least as much, she’d also have to carry the baby, deliver it and raise it—unless she had an abortion or gave it up for adoption. “I hope not.”
There was a long silence. “Does that mean you don’t know?” he asked at length.
She glanced over at Sierra, who was adjusting the straps on her swimsuit. “That’s exactly what it means.”
He said nothing for a moment. She wanted him to comfort her, to reassure her that she wouldn’t be in it alone. But she knew that was asking too much. He wouldn’t be there for her; they weren’t even together. “Will you let me know when you find out?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry if you’re scared,” he said. “If it comes to that, we’ll...we’ll figure it out, okay?”
Not only did his words surprise her, they also came off as sincere, dissipating some of the tension, fear and anger she’d been feeling. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Sure thing,” he said, and then he was gone.
“Who was that?” Sierra asked as Taylor put her phone back in her purse.
“A guy from Tampa.”
“Your boyfriend?”
Taylor saw Caden coming toward them and wanted to stop talking about Oliver before he overheard and started asking questions. “I’ll tell you later,” she muttered under her breath.
Sierra’s eyes moved from Taylor to Caden and back again. “Your secrets are safe with me,” she said.
* * *
“Let’s go over to The Daily Catch for dinner.”
Ever since her mother and aunt had returned from their errand at the bank, Autumn had been curled up on the antique red velvet couch in the corner, deeply immersed in Kristin Hannah’s latest book. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been relaxed enough to read for pleasure, so it felt familiar in the way coming home felt familiar—cathartic, healing, right. “Tonight?” she said to Laurie, who’d been the one to suggest it.
“Why not?” Laurie put several pens into a drawer as she straightened the register area. “Chris is dying to see you, and he loves that restaurant almost as much as you do.”
Autumn’s mind reverted to her encounter with Sarah’s mother and what Mrs. Vizii had had to say about Quinn. “I can’t wait to see Uncle Chris.” She was about to suggest they go somewhere else, though. She wasn’t eager to run into Quinn, given her embarrassing behavior when they were younger and then his awkward situation now.
But as she opened her mouth to continue, Laurie spoke again. “I try to give them my business whenever I can. I heard that one of Beth’s cancer medications costs eight thousand dollars a month. Can you believe that?”
Using one of the bookmarks they gave away for promotional purposes, Autumn closed her novel and sat up. “No way! That’s outrageous. How could one prescription cost so much?”
Laurie shook her head. “I have no clue. It’s a crying shame—that’s what it is. And, apparently, it’s not the only medication she needs, so there are other bills piling up.”
Mary had just carried a box of books that hadn’t sold into the back so that she could make room for all the new releases. “There was talk around town of creating a GoFundMe campaign to help cover her treatment,” she said as she returned, keeping up with the conversation while she worked. “But Mike and Quinn wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Why not?” Autumn prompted.
Mary glanced toward the front, apparently to make sure someone wasn’t about to walk in and catch them talking about the Vanderbilts. “They won’t accept any help,” she said when she found that the coast was clear. “They don’t feel right asking others to sacrifice on their behalf.”
With so many people asking for handouts on the internet, Autumn couldn’t help but admire their determination to remain self-reliant. That wasn’t very common these days. But if they were already falling behind, how would they ever catch up? The restaurant seemed to make a decent living—it was popular—but the Vanderbilts had never been considered rich. “That’s admirable,” she said, changing her mind about what she’d been so eager to suggest before. She couldn’t ask to go somewhere else, not if the Vanderbilts needed money to help finance Beth’s cancer treatments.