The Ivy House - By Drea Stein Page 0,61
other talents. She was very encouraging that way. She’s the one who kept sending me art supplies and books, even bought me my first computer so I could use a graphics program.” Phoebe’s voice had dropped back into her own.
“So, she wasn’t the prima donna the press made her out to be?” Chase’s voice was low, a dangerous growl, but she could sense the humor in it.
“Well, like I said, she was more like an Auntie Mame than an Auntie Bess, but I guess she did her best.”
Surprised, Phoebe found her eyes tearing up. She’d been so focused on taking care of Savannah, of sorting through things, that she had put her memories of Savannah far away.
“I always thought she was more like a fairy godmother than a grandmother. I could never call her Grandma. She made me call her Aunt Savannah. I mean, she was absent and forgetful, but then she could be generous to a fault.
“And now?” Chase asked.
“I miss her, but she was so sick at the end. Cancer. But I feel like in some respects, I never really knew what made her tick. She was an actress to the end, playing a role, keeping her secrets.”
Chase laughed. “Well, everyone has those. Do you know that my grandmother didn’t love Leland?”
“Well, of course she didn’t.”
“No, I mean before he ran away with Savannah. She thought she loved him, but they didn’t love the same things. Leland liked the big life. My grandmother was more of a small-town girl.”
“So?” Phoebe didn’t know where this was going. So far, they had avoided the fact that their grandparents had been lovers.
“Well, let’s just say Leland wasn’t leaving a happy marriage behind. Or perhaps that Savannah didn’t have to do much to get him to come.”
“You know, Savannah always said he was the love of her life. It wasn’t easy, but I think they were really, deeply in love. Passionate and stormy, but it was more than just an affair.”
“And is that what you think love should be?’ Chase asked, his eyes dark as he looked at her.
Phoebe shook her head. “No. I think that’s the kind of love that doesn’t survive. It consumes people, makes them resent each other. Savannah was a passionate person, but she could be passionate about many things. I think she could claim Leland was the love of her life because she didn’t have to spend the rest of her life with him.”
She glanced away, out over the water, swallowing before she continued. “My parents loved each other and I don’t remember stormy at all. They seemed happy. Like my mom would smile when my dad came home early and my dad’s face lit up when he saw her. They could count on each other. I think that’s what love is.”
“So no dark and stormy for you?” Chase’s voice was dangerously low, and Phoebe looked at him for a long moment before she replied.
“I think dark and stormy could have its place, for a while.”
Chase gave her his lopsided smile. “Good to know.”
He’d taken off his sunglasses and his eyes were boring into her, laying her bare, and Phoebe felt a shiver run through her. She never should have told him so much and wished he wouldn’t look at her that way. It made not thinking about that kiss all the more difficult.
“There she is.” They sailed past the Queensbay Show House, which almost looked like it were about to pitch into the water. There was a large hand-lettered banner across the front, which read “Save the Show House.”
“Guess it’s fallen on some hard times.”
“Yeah.” Chase’s hand was on her shoulder and he squeezed it. It was a simple, friendly gesture, but her body didn’t respond that way. She wanted to move away, but here she was trapped in a boat, with not a lot of room to hide.
The Show House slipped behind him and Chase took over the wheel. He handled the boat through the channel out into the Sound, gliding past a long pile of rocks that guarded the entrance. Chase headed east, and they sailed along the wide-open water for a while, until he turned again towards the shore. He switched on the motor and she took the wheel as he dropped the sail. He came back and maneuvered them into a narrow passageway that opened up into a wide-open cove, ringed by marsh and trees. It was beautiful, Phoebe thought, and peaceful. A few houses ringed the shoreline, but it was quiet.