Page 4 of The Summer We Started Over

“Probably humbler, too,” Eddie said.

“Actually, yes. Iamhumbler than he is. He’s got a powerful ego. He likes competition, traveling, surprises, being tested.”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t. I’m a pretty traditional guy. I’d like to have a life like my parents have. Live on the island, marry the woman I love, have a couple of kids, spend time with friends.”

Anxiety nipped at her. Before she had time to think it through, she added, “What about reading books?”

“Books are part of my life. Always will be.” Jeff pulled into a small parking area. “We’re here.”

She jumped out of the truck and followed him along a sandy path and up a high dune.

“Oh, wow.”

From here, she could see a long beach stretching into the distance, the blue ocean gliding up onto the shore, gentle waves breaking into white fans.

“Beautiful, right?” Jeff said. “Believe me, it’s seldom this calm. We’re on the ocean side of the island. The waves can be ferocious out here. I’ll bring you out sometime when we’ve got some wind.”

He’ll bring me out here sometime?He was already planning another time to be with her? Her knees went weak. She stumbled.

He caught her arm. “This dune is steep. It will be nice and flat down by the water.” He held her hand as they slid down the dune, and he didn’t let go once they were on the shore.

They strolled down the beach. The sun dazzled the water with colors. It was warm, and the air smelled like heaven.

“Let’s sit,” Jeff suggested.

They settled on the sand a few feet from the tide’s reach with their arms wrapped around their knees as they watched the waves.

He studied her face. “Tell me about your family.”

“Well, there’s my sister, Barrett—”

“Elizabeth Barrett Browning,” Jeff said.

“Score. You must have majored in English.”

“History, actually. So…Barrett?”

“Barrett is my younger sister. She’s working hard to pile up money so she can have her own business on the island.” Eddie lifted a handful of sand and let the grains trickle through her fingers. How could she talk about her brother to a man whose brother was an Army Ranger? “My younger brother, Stearns—”

“Thomas Stearns Eliot,” Jeff said.

She smiled at him. “Right. Um, Stearns died in a motorcycle accident last year.”

“I’m sorry.” He said nothing else, did not press her for details.

“Thank you.” Eddie cleared her throat. “Anyway, now, it’s just me and Barrett and my father. And a dog, Duke. And Duchess, a horse that came with the farm.”

“You must have bought the MacKensies’ place,” Jeff said. “I remember meeting that horse. Although I suppose ‘meeting’ isn’t the right word. She wasn’t interested in me.”

“She’s not interested in anyone. Honestly, she acts as if she’s too good for the rest of us.”

Jeff leaned back on his elbows. “Why did you all move here?”

Eddie wondered how much she could tell him without frightening him away. But he was easy to be with, and if he felt even a fraction of what she felt, he would be seeing her again.

“My father was an English professor at Williams. My mother left my father. Divorced him. She’d never enjoyed the whole mommy-and-wife business. My sister was taking courses at UMass, and Dad suddenly announced he was selling our house and moving us to Nantucket. I was working in New York, and I quit my job to come home and help.” She shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

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