Page 95 of The Edge of Summer
You’ll always be mine. Now that I’ve started, I don’t think I can ever stop concerning myself with her. Not completely.
“It’s my job to be concerned about the people of this island, Delilah. You and your siblings are no different.”
Delilah’s head shakes in astonishment. “Wow. The depths of your saviour complex really are astounding, Chief. Truly.”
“Fuck,” I curse. I run a hand through my hair in frustration. “That’s not what I meant.”
She throws her hands out between us, as if to create abarrier to prevent me from coming any closer. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going home and I’m driving myself.”
She takes a step back. I hate seeing her pull away, but I can’t stop her. She moves toward a closet across the room and pulls out a broom to sweep up the broken glass. She declines my offers to help and soon after, she collects her things in a hurry. I hover, afraid that if I let her be, she might fall apart again. I want to be there to help her collect all her pieces. She locks the backdoor behind us and then doesn’t spare me a glance as she heads toward her car.
And for the third time, I let her walk away.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
LUKE
It’s still earlywhen I knock on the Booths’ front door. I don’t even fully know why I came here. Jodi is always complaining that I never come visit her, but today of all days? Must be something in the air.
The door swings open and Vera greets me with a smile. “Morning, Luke.”
I consider myself a morning person, but Vera is amorning person. When I roll out of bed, it takes me a while to be suitable for human interaction, but she doesn’t require any extra time before her smile graces her face. Already dressed for the day, she sports a red plaid flannel, jeans and a pair of black rubber boots. Her black hair hangs in a braid down her back.
“Hey.” I tuck my hands into my pockets, feeling like I want to turn around and head home. But now that Vera has seen me, chickening out is not an option. Her wife would never let me live it down. “Is Jodi around?”
“She’s still sleeping,” she replies. “She figured you would be by one of these mornings. Come. Walk with me.”
Vera doesn’t wait for a refusal—doesn’t give me space for one. She simply steps outside and pulls the front door closed behind her. Sitting on the bistro table on the front porch is a wicker basket, and she loops it over her arm before taking off. I have no idea where we’re headed, but I’m in no position to argue. I feel a little lost right now—some direction would be welcome.
We don’t talk as I follow her across the property. Jodi and Vera’s little farm is situated far away from the ferry port and all the shops that make up the downtown. If you keep driving down the road, you hit the western edge of Kip Island, where tourists—and Clara—like to hike up to the top of the bluffs. This side of the island is shrouded in trees hundreds of years old.
At the bottom of a slight hill behind the house, a small red chicken coop comes into view. Vera cuts a path straight for it. Inside the coop, she hands me the basket. She begins sifting through straw nests, searching for the eggs that have been laid. I stand in silence, dutifully keeping to my task as she reaches underneath the remaining hens and then sets the pilfered eggs inside the basket.
“Jodi told me you met a woman.”
Well,fuck. She certainly doesn’t pull any punches. “Your wife is a gossip,” I gripe.
She grins at me over her shoulder. “Maybe. But isn’t this what you came here this morning to talk about?” She cocks her head. “Unless you just came by to stand in chicken shit with me.”
I scowl when I note that I am, indeed, standing in chicken shit. I shuffle a little to the side, though that does nothing but prolong my response. I’m the older brother; the person my siblings come to for advice. I don’t know how to ask for help. Even if it’s something I desperately need.
When I look up, Vera has a brow raised, waiting on me. I sigh and relent. “I met a woman.”
“But?”
“But it’s over.”
“Because she ended it? Or you?”
“She did.”
She did and I let her. If it was up to me, I would have kept us both in suspended animation. I didn’t want things to change. But seeing the look on Delilah’s face that day was more than enough for me to understand that wasn’t fair to her.
Vera nods like those two words have told her everything she needs to know. She deposits three more eggs in my basket and then begins to pour feed for the hens. They cluck excitedly, surrounding her on all sides. There is something comforting about the monotony of their routine that lulls me into my thoughts. But then the silence, save for the birds at our feet, stretches. When I deem it too long to be bearable, I speak.
“She wanted more, and I…”
