If for Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,77
it.”
“Mrs. Daniels,” Emily said, “I have a sort of strange question, but did you know my mother—Isabelle Ackerman?”
Shae’s eyes darted over to Nan, who was sitting within earshot at the check-in table next to Hillary. “I did, Emily,” she said. “Once upon a time, we were very good friends.”
Emily felt her breath go shaky. “The night she died—did you talk to her at all? Was she on the way to see you?”
Shae took Emily’s hands. “I wish she had been, but no. We’d lost touch a few years before. We’d run into each other occasionally, at the grocery store or down at the beach, but we hadn’t been close in some time.”
Emily hesitated. “So she wasn’t on her way to your house that night?”
Shae shook her head. “No, I lived in the opposite direction in those days. In—”
“’Sconset,” Emily cut in.
“Right. And the accident was out on Cliff Road.”
Emily’s heart dropped. Cliff Road. Just like the article said. The opposite of what her grandma had told her.
“Do you know who she might’ve been going to see that night?”
“I’m so sorry, Emily, but I don’t.” She squeezed Emily’s hands. “Your mother was a wonderful person. I wish we’d made things right before she passed away. It’s one of my greatest regrets.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Emily said. “Maybe one day you can tell me stories about when you guys were friends. I’d love to know more.”
Shae smiled warmly. “I’d be happy to.”
CHAPTER 28
THE NEXT DAY, Jolie sat on the sofa like a hawk on a telephone pole, watching, waiting . . . stalking.
“Jolie, come eat something,” Nan said. “You’re going to go crazy if you keep staring at your phone.”
“GrandNan, I can’t eat at a time like this,” Jolie said. “What if I didn’t make it?”
“Oh, I’m sure you made it,” Hollis’s dad said. “Emily wouldn’t cut you from the show.”
“Grandpa.” Jolie glared at him. “I don’t want to make it because Emily is Dad’s friend. I want to make it because I’m good.”
Hollis stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter, holding a nearly empty mug of coffee.
“Worrying about it isn’t going to do anything but ruin your day,” his mom said. She looked at Hollis, then motioned toward Jolie with her head, as if he should be the one to comfort her in the midst of her worries.
“When are they going to send the list?” Jolie whined. “It’s been literally hours.”
“They’ll send it when it’s ready,” Hollis said. “Let’s try to get your mind off it for a while. We could paddleboard now?”
She shook her head. “I can’t do anything until I know my fate.”
Mom smiled. “She certainly does have a flair for the dramatic.”
Just then, Jolie gasped. “It’s here.”
Mom set a plate of pancakes on the table and Dad glanced up from the newspaper.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Hollis asked.
“I’m scared to open it,” Jolie said.
“JoJo, you’ve been waiting literally hours for this list. Open it.” Hollis set his mug down and walked into the living room, where his daughter held the phone as if it were a ticking bomb.
“Will you look at it?” She extended the phone in his direction.
Hollis stared at the phone, her in-box open on the screen. She wanted him to look for her? The expression on her face squeezed his heart. “Sure.”
He sat down next to her and opened the e-mail. “‘Dear Brave Auditioners,’” he read.
“Skip that part,” Jolie said. “Just find the link to the cast list.” She sat cross-legged on the couch, eyes tightly shut, hands folded in front of her as if she were praying. Her lips moved quickly, a slight whisper escaping.
Maybe she was praying.
Hollis scrolled down until he found a link that said Cast List, clicked on it, and waited for the page to open.
“Well . . . ?”
“It’s loading.”
“That’s what we get when we don’t have any Wi-Fi. I have to use data and . . . oh, why is it taking so long?”
The page loaded the words Congratulations to the Cast of Alice in Wonderland. He scrolled until he found her name. He looked up at her.
“Jolie?”
“Is it bad? It’s okay if it is. As long as I’m in it, I’ll be okay. I’m in it, right?”
“It says you’re the Queen of Hearts.”
“I’m the Queen of Hearts?” Jolie snatched the phone out of Hollis’s hand and looked at the list as if she couldn’t believe it until she read her name for herself. “I’m the Queen of Hearts!”