The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,93

you were worried about your friendship, remember? I’m just curious if everything is okay between you.”

“Oh.” Her hair was flying around from static electricity. She smoothed it down as her expression softened. “I’m feeling fine about her.”

“Good. What about the rest of your new friends?” Hoping to see a smile before she left the room, she said, “Is there any boy in particular you might be interested in?”

“No!” she snapped. “And why would it have to be a boy?”

Autumn blinked in surprise. “You had a boyfriend for over a year and a half in Tampa. I thought—”

“Well, I don’t know, okay?” she broke in. “It could be that I’m more into girls. Does that disappoint you, too?”

Suddenly, all the things that Taylor had said and done recently made more sense—the fact that she was hanging out with Sierra almost exclusively, the fact that she’d mentioned Sierra was “different” to sort of test the waters, the fact that Caden was so upset. Maybe she’d told her brother she had romantic feelings for Sierra, or he’d guessed, and he hadn’t taken the news well.

I want to tell you. Believe me, I’m dying to tell you. But I can’t be that big an asshole, even if she deserves it.

If Autumn’s guess was correct, that would certainly explain Caden’s statement before he charged out of the gate toward the beach. Maybe the fight had erupted because Taylor was texting with Oliver, and it had gone from there to Taylor claiming she wasn’t interested in Caden’s friend because she was interested in Sierra. “Are you confused about your sexuality?” she asked.

Fresh tears welled up. “Yes! I’ve never met anyone like Sierra. I like her more than a friend. But she’s...she’s not a guy.”

Autumn sank back onto the bed. “No, she’s not.”

“So...that’s bad, right? That’s something to be sad about.”

Autumn didn’t want to say anything that would make what her daughter was going through any worse. Taylor had to be free to be herself in order to be happy. That was the one thing Autumn felt she had to remember as she dealt with this. “It’s definitely the harder path.”

“Why does it have to be harder?” Taylor asked. “It’s so unfair! Why do people have to care about something that’s none of their business?”

“It goes back to what people have been taught for generations and generations, I suppose. And different has never been an easy thing to be. I see the world moving toward greater acceptance—at least in the bigger cities. I’m sure you do, too. But it’s going to be a while before the stigma of same-sex relationships disappears for good.” If it ever did. Racism remained regardless of greater education. Although advances had definitely been made when it came to racial discrimination, persecution was still a problem, especially in some areas, and acceptance of sexual preference lagged behind that.

“You don’t want me to be gay,” she guessed.

Autumn could tell Taylor was watching her closely. She did feel a strange sense of loss—for the sudden disappearance of the traditional life Autumn had expected for her daughter, which included a husband and kids, she supposed. “I want you to be happy. Period.”

“Which means...”

“You can’t try to be something you’re not. And I’ll accept you no matter who you love.”

“Do you really mean that?” she asked, her tone relieved and beseeching at the same time.

Autumn pulled her in for a hug. “One hundred percent.”

* * *

Taylor sat in bed long after her mother left the house. She felt a lot better. She hadn’t told Autumn the whole truth, but she’d told her some of it, and sharing even part of her secret somehow made it easier to breathe.

She was still sad about Caden, though. And she was a little surprised that, as angry as he’d been, he hadn’t ratted her out. That made her feel even worse about what she’d done to him.

Grabbing her phone, she texted Sierra.

Caden found out Oliver is the father of my baby.

You told him? Sierra texted back.

No, Oliver messaged him. What an idiot!

Except you never answered him. What did you expect him to do?

I know, but I can’t talk to him—not without telling him about the baby.

Maybe if you ask him not to tell anyone until you get back, he’d keep his mouth shut.

I’m afraid to take that risk.

Taylor’s phone rang. “How’d Caden take the news?” Sierra asked without saying hello.

“He’s pissed—just like I knew he would be.”

“I’m sorry.”

Taylor slumped against the headboard. “I am, too. I feel so bad. I wish