The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,144
she feared it had come off rather feeble when she saw the look of compassion that entered her daughter’s eyes. “That’s nice of you, Dad. Thank you,” Taylor mumbled and stuffed that syrup-soaked bite of French toast into her mouth.
Caden cleared his throat. “So you’re okay with moving here?”
Nick still had a whole plateful of food. He didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, either. He kept cutting and moving his pancakes around but not eating them. “Sure. I mean, whatever’s best for the rest of you. I can see why Taylor wouldn’t be happy to return to Tampa. And with your grandmother opening a coffee shop in the bookstore and your mother hoping to help with that, maybe this is a better place for us to be, for the time being. You told me last night that you’re willing to change schools. If you can do that, I guess I could work remotely for a while.”
The men in the family would sacrifice for the women, but it hadn’t been like that when Quinn was part of the picture. It’d been new and fresh and exciting. Autumn got the impression that even Caden hadn’t minded the changes. He’d become close to the twins, so he had people he cared about here, too.
“Yeah, I think staying is probably good,” Caden said. “I’ve already registered for school and everything.”
“So...will we live in the new house?” Taylor sounded as though she couldn’t imagine it, and Autumn felt the same.
“We could,” Nick said. “It sounds like a nice one.”
Autumn stared at her plate. She’d picked that house out with Quinn. It was his Realtor friend who’d told him it was about to go on the market, so they were able to get in the first day. It didn’t seem right that she would now move into it with another man.
“It’s a great house,” Caden said. “Right on the beach.”
Autumn couldn’t force down another bite. She set her fork by her plate and concentrated on sipping her coffee. The acid in the coffee was probably partially responsible for the way her stomach was twisting and burning, but the warmth of just holding it in her hands was soothing. The restaurant had the air-conditioning turned so low she was freezing despite the heat and humidity outside.
“Maybe we could go see it today,” Nick said.
Autumn didn’t know what to say. She thought they should just move back to Tampa. It would be too hard to run into Quinn around town. She didn’t think she could bear it. But before she could decide on what to say to get out of showing Nick the house, a shadow fell over their table, blocking the bright light from the many windows, and she looked up to see Mrs. Vizii glaring at her in a bright red hat. “You’re with another man already?” she said. “What, did Quinn cheat on you like I said he would?”
Autumn felt her jaw harden, but she refused to embarrass her family by making a scene. “This happens to be my husband, Mrs. Vizii,” she said politely, suppressing her anger. “He’s back.”
“I can see that.” She propped a hand on one of her broad hips. “Did you know what your wife was up to while you were gone?”
“Whoever you are, we have enough problems,” Nick said. “Please, just mind your own business and move along.”
“I’m going,” she said but looked at Autumn before she took a single step. “You should consider yourself lucky,” she added. “Quinn isn’t half the man you think he is.”
That wasn’t true. To Autumn, Quinn was everything a man should be. The way he treated his parents and her and the kids... Even how he’d treated Sarah after she stabbed him—standing up for her in court the way he had, asking for mental help instead of incarceration. Sarah was the one who’d failed their marriage, not Quinn. But Autumn couldn’t defend him the way she wanted to without making what Nick was going through even worse. She told herself to just ignore the old lady, so it surprised her when Taylor spoke up instead.
“Then you don’t know Quinn the way we do,” she said softly.
* * *
As soon as Sierra picked up the phone, Taylor plugged one ear so that she could hear above the large truck rumbling past. “It’s me.”
“You’re done with breakfast?”
She began pacing along the covered sidewalk in front of the bookstore, head bowed, phone pressed tightly to her ear. “Yeah.”