The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,139
was starting to relax. This wasn’t turning out to be nearly as difficult as she’d anticipated. Tammy seemed to have turned out as normal as anyone could, and she was warm, understanding. That helped to alleviate Mary’s fears.
“How’d you get my number?” she asked. “I never dreamed I’d hear from you.”
“That’s an interesting story,” Mary replied and settled back to tell it.
She spent the next thirty minutes talking about Nora and Jeff and hearing about Tammy’s marriage, the five children she raised and her divorce. Tammy’s deceased great-aunt had left her with enough money that she was able to open a clothing boutique, which she loved, but she’d never inherited any money from her parents. Mary had been right when she’d assumed they’d spent every dime on their defense, which explained why Nora was living as she was. Tammy told her Nora had expected to pick up right where they’d left off once she was released from prison, but Tammy had told her to stay away.
They were still on the phone and Mary was explaining why she’d changed her name, and how she’d chosen Sable Beach as the place where she wanted to live, when there was a knock at the door.
Assuming that it was her family, that they were back from the restaurant already and Caden had beat everyone else to the door, she figured Autumn would let him in as soon as she could get out of the car. But that didn’t happen. Whoever it was knocked again, this time more insistently.
“Just a sec,” she told Tammy and got up to answer.
Eager to get back to her phone call, she jerked the door open without looking through the peephole. She knew everyone in Sable Beach, and although she locked her doors out of an abundance of caution, she was currently too preoccupied to be that careful. It was 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night, not too late or even dark outside.
But as soon as she saw who it was, she gasped and dropped the phone.
“Nick!”
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Nick looked ten years older. He had much more gray in his hair, and he’d lost at least forty pounds. The man standing before Autumn seemed like a gaunt stranger—and yet, he was her husband and the father of her children.
“Dad!” Taylor cried as soon as she saw him and threw herself into his chest and burst into tears.
Caden, who’d come into the house last, stood in stunned surprise, apparently as shocked as Autumn was.
“I texted you,” Mary said to Autumn. “I tried to tell you, but...”
But Autumn had been having too much fun at the restaurant. Quinn kept coming out to their table, even though he was supposed to be cooking in back, bringing dish after dish—far more than they could ever eat. She hadn’t even bothered to check her phone.
“Where have you been?” Caden asked.
Autumn couldn’t breathe as she awaited Nick’s response. Where had he been? Why hadn’t he contacted her instead of just showing up out of the blue?
“It’s a long, complicated story.” His eyes remained riveted on her face as he spoke. “Maybe...maybe your mother and I should go out to the apartment and talk for a bit before...before I go into everything with you.”
Everyone turned to her, but Autumn didn’t know what to say. It would feel odd to have Nick in her apartment again. Quinn’s shoes were now the ones that were kicked into the corner of the room! Had he left any of his other things there? His sunglasses on the nightstand? His toothbrush in the bathroom? His razor in the medicine cabinet?
What was she going to say? What was she going to do?
“Mom?” Taylor prompted. She’d let go of her father so that Caden could hug him, and now Caden had stepped back so that she could reach him. But Autumn didn’t rush toward him as they had. She couldn’t move, couldn’t find her voice, either. It felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of her.
“I think that would be a great idea,” Mary said, speaking up on her behalf. “Why don’t you two put on a movie or a game while your parents take a few minutes. I’m sure they’ll be back in soon.”
Taylor and Caden looked uncertain. They were probably afraid to let Nick out of their sight. Autumn could understand why. She wanted to reassure them, to soothe their fears, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Fortunately, Mary had more presence of mind than she did. Her mother grabbed her