fingers and laughing. “As you can probably tell, I’m nervous but excited.”
“Tammy, this is Autumn,” Mary said, even though it wasn’t necessary.
Autumn studied her half sister, looking for similarities. They had the same coloring, but Tammy wore her hair very short and stylish, and she had big dimples that appeared when she smiled. Autumn thought she was quite attractive. “My mother has told me so much about you.”
“She’s told me a great deal about you, too,” Tammy said. “She’s very proud of you. And your daughter is just beautiful.”
Autumn pulled the computer closer. “Thank you. I miss her.” She spoke to Taylor every day, but it was still hard.
“I bet you do.”
They visited for the next hour, and Nick stayed for the whole thing, constantly inserting himself into the conversation. Autumn wished he’d let her enjoy this on her own, but she supposed it was only natural he’d be interested. He was Tammy’s brother-in-law, after all.
Luckily, before her mother and Tammy signed off, Caden texted to say he’d forgotten his PE shoes, and Nick agreed to take them over. The way Nick had been acting lately, she was surprised he didn’t demand that she hang up and go with him. She knew he felt threatened by anything that had to do with Sable Beach—was terrified that something might draw her back there.
“Your husband seems like a nice man,” Tammy said after he was gone.
Autumn wanted to tell them both how badly she was struggling, but she feared acknowledging it would only make it worse. So she said, “He is,” and left it at that.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, what with his disappearance.”
“Thank you. We all have our trials.” She certainly hadn’t suffered anything worse than her mother or Tammy.
“I guess that’s true.”
“Next time you come to Sable Beach, I’ll come, too,” Autumn said. “I wish I was there now.”
“So do we,” her mother said.
They talked a little longer, and after they hung up, Autumn put on her gardening gloves and went outside. She was determined to hang on to the good feeling she had from Tammy—how much she liked her half sister and how much her mother seemed to like her, too—and think of nothing else.
But it wasn’t ten minutes later that she had to take off her gloves to dig her phone out of her pocket. Her mother was calling back.
“Hello?”
“I’m sorry to bother you again,” Mary said. “But...”
“What is it?” Autumn asked, instantly concerned, because she could hear tears in her mother’s voice. “What’s happened?”
“Quinn’s mother just died.”
* * *
Quinn spotted her immediately. Autumn was at the funeral. Taylor, Sierra and Mary were with her, but he didn’t see Nick or Caden. Were they still in Tampa? Had she come alone?
Suddenly feeling strangled by his tie, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What was already going to be a difficult two hours had just gotten worse. While he appreciated the fact that she would come to his mother’s funeral, she had no idea how hard it had been for him when she went back to Nick. Seeing her again just brought back all the desire he’d felt before.
“Autumn’s here,” his father muttered. “Did you see?”
“I did.”
“Why do you think she came?”
“Just to be nice,” he said. What else could it be? She’d already moved to Tampa, had been there for six weeks—the longest six weeks of Quinn’s life. When she’d sent him that heart emoji three weeks ago, he’d felt a burst of hope, thought maybe she’d change her mind. He’d wanted to call her and tell her how badly he missed her. But he knew he couldn’t. If she was going to come back to him, she had to do it on her own.
So he’d waited. And waited. And nothing had happened.
The pastor approached the pulpit and everyone sat down. Quinn heard the words of the eulogy. He even got up and said a few things himself. But he felt so disconnected from everything. It was almost as if he was outside his own body, watching what went on.
This will soon be over, he kept telling himself. It wouldn’t last forever.
But the loss—of both the women he loved—would.
* * *
Taylor was glad she’d stayed in Sable Beach. She wasn’t tempted to go to Tampa, but it was hard to be separated from her family. If not for the pregnancy, she would’ve made a different decision, especially since her father had been missing for so long. But having a baby changed everything.
She was