I can’t think of anything comforting to say in return, because she’s right. Drowning in the woods behind your own house is a horrible way to go. I finally settle on, “I know I only met him a couple of times, but I could tell how proud of you he was. And you took great care of him.”
Her expression darkens. “I don’t know about that. I let him go outside on his own that morning, and I shouldn’t have. But he was having one of his better days, and he said he was meeting a friend, so…”
The back of my neck prickles. “Do you know who?”
“No. I wish I did. Nobody’s come forward, and it would be nice to know how he spent his last morning.”
I pause, thinking about Dr. Baxter’s letter to Uncle Archer. There are things I should have told you long ago. “Had your grandfather, um, mentioned my uncle Archer recently?”
Hazel blinks. “About him possibly being back in town?” Some of her usual energy returns as she adds, “Is he really? People keep insisting they saw him last Friday, but nobody’s spotted him since. I’m not sure Granddad knew, though. He never said anything. Did you guys see him? Archer, I mean.”
I hesitate. It’s been over a week since we talked to Uncle Archer, and Aubrey is convinced he hightailed it off the island. We stopped by the bungalow a couple of times, but the shutters were always drawn and no one answered the door. So she’s probably right, and there’s no harm in feeding Hazel’s curiosity, especially after the week she’s had. “We did. He’d been staying in a little bungalow behind his friend Rob Valentine’s house, but—”
“Sweetheart.” A woman materializes beside Hazel, looking like her middle-aged doppelgänger. “One of Granddad’s classmates from medical school wants to meet you. He’s at Mrs. Story’s table. Can I steal you away?” She turns to me with an apologetic smile, and her eyes spark with recognition. “Well, goodness, speaking of Storys. You must be Milly. I’m Katherine Baxter, Hazel’s mother. I saw a lovely picture of you and your cousins leaving my father’s funeral in the Gull Cove Gazette.”
“Yes, hello,” I say, shaking her outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I didn’t mean to interrupt—”
“It’s fine,” I promise, glad for the escape. I like Hazel, but there are more than enough rumors swirling around Uncle Archer without me adding to them. I probably shouldn’t have said as much as I did, so now seems like a good time to cut my losses and run. “I need to find my cousins, anyway. I’m sure I’ll see you both later.”
I scoot away, nearly bumping into a server holding a bottle of champagne. He tips it toward my almost-empty glass. “Can I top that off for you?” he asks. I don’t answer right away, trying to count how many I’ve had already, and he does it anyway.
Well. When in Rome. I gulp the fizzing bubbles and keep moving, my eyes roving across the well-dressed crowd. Directly ahead of me, I see a familiar blond head: Reid Chilton, fellow Towhee and senator’s son. I have zero desire to talk to him, so I spin on my heel and almost collide with the person behind me.
A hand reaches out to steady me. “Whoa. Sorry. I was just trying to…” It’s Jonah, handsome in a tuxedo, and his eyes widen as he takes me in. He doesn’t say anything for a beat, his Adam’s apple rising and falling a few times before he finally adds, “I forget what I was trying to do, because—all the blood left my head just now.” He swallows again. “You look incredible, Milly.”
Something warm and fluttery nips at my chest. “Thanks. So do you.” It’s true. Maybe it’s because the best tailors on Gull Cove Island were at his beck and call this week, but Jonah looks born to wear a tux. His dark hair is smoothed off his forehead for once, and while I kind of like his usual tousled look, I can’t argue with how the current style accentuates the angles of his face. I hold up my glass before taking another sip. “Have you tried the champagne?”
“No. I had cocoa.” I raise a brow, and he shrugs. “It was, like, made from chocolate they flew in from France and hand-ground with a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg. And also