Page 36 of The Summer House
Luke shook his head. “I’ll be helping Mitchell to bed tonight, I can tell.” He chuckled. “Julie isn’t always like this, but she deserves to have a night out. She’s only recently divorced,” he said quietly. “And she’s had a rough go of things for the last few years. I’m glad to see her finally happy.”
“Divorce is a messy endeavor,” Lillian said. “I know from experience.” She’d gotten a glass of wine from one of the waiters and was holding it with both hands, her diamond rings swinging around her finger with the weight of the stones. “It was devastating when I had to go through it, and I’m so sad Juliette has to go through the same thing.”
“Me too,” Luke said, putting his arm around his mother and kissing the top of her head. Then, switching gears in an obvious attempt to lighten his mother’s mood, he said, “I think you need to hang out with us tonight.”
She looked lovingly up at her son. “I’d never manage. I’ll be asleep before you all have even started.”
“Nonsense. Aiden and I will keep you going.”
Callie sat down. She was taken with Luke’s relationship with his mother.
He shook his mother’s shoulders playfully. “Come on…” he coaxed.
“Stop it,” she scolded with a laugh. “You’re going to make me spill my wine.” When he let her go, she added, “You can’t stay up too late if you’re going to take Callie surfing anyway. You don’t want to sleep all day.”
“Did you hear that, Callie?” Luke said, plopping down beside her on the sofa. “Mom says we’re going surfing tomorrow. I never argue with my mother.” He winked at Lillian.
Callie didn’t argue either.
Wyatt, exhausted, climbed into the back of Gladys’s car and covered up with the beach towel that Luke had returned as promised—all clean and freshly laundered. Callie had gone with Olivia to meet Gladys out front of the Sullivans’ so she could wish him goodnight before Gladys took him home. She noticed the news van had gone.
“I painted a few wine glasses tonight for fun with Adelaide.” Gladys opened her car door but stood just beside it, carrying on their conversation. “It was Adelaide Foster, Callie,” she said.
Callie tried to recollect the name—it sounded familiar.
“Oh! Yes. The lockbox. Did she give you Frederick McFarlin’s contact information?”
Gladys frowned. “No. I’m sorry. She couldn’t find it.”
“Aw, that’s too bad,” she said, shaking her head. “Well, we tried.” As Gladys climbed into the driver’s seat, they said a quick goodbye to Wyatt and headed inside.
When they entered the house, Aiden met them in the entryway. “Luke said to go upstairs and get him when you’re back in. He’s putting Mitchell to bed,” he told Callie.
Olivia followed Aiden into the living room while Callie took the steps carefully, the drinks she’d had making her just relaxed enough that she felt the need to hold the railing.
When she found the room, Luke was on the floor, leaning against a large, four-poster bed, reading to Mitchell from a chapter book. Something he’d read had made Mitchell laugh and Callie could see Luke’s smile emerge just before he turned to look at her.
“Hi,” he said, looking so content that she had to catch her breath. Images of him as a father flashed through her head, questions about what he’d be like years down the road came flooding in. She willed herself to stop.
He ruffled Mitchell’s hair. “That’s it for tonight, buddy. Happy birthday.”
Mitchell smiled and yawned, turning over in his bed, exhaustion winning out.
Luke nodded toward the door.
When they got downstairs, Olivia had already settled in beside Aiden in the living room. He had his arm around her in a way that could be just friendly but Callie had to wonder.
“I’ll get us a drink,” Luke said, leaving her to have a seat on her own. She went over next to Olivia.
“Aiden has always had great business sense,” Lillian was telling Olivia when Callie joined them mid-conversation. “Edward, his uncle, dotes on him any chance he gets.” Lillian smiled, clearly glad to be able to speak highly of her nephew.
“Oh, my gosh, I know,” Juliette said, her eyes heavy. “Dad just loves Aiden.”
Luke appeared, handing Callie some sort of pink drink with a wedge of pineapple and a maraschino cherry, his gaze lingering on Aiden.
Callie took a sip of her drink. The band started playing again, and Juliette popped up. “Oh! They’re playing ‘Brown Eyed Girl’!” Her feet were bare, her heels on their sides under the large window. Her glass of wine sloshed as she started to dance. “Luke, get out here and dance!” Juliette swayed before resuming her dancing.
“I thinkyouneed to dance, Mom,” Luke said, standing up. He turned to Callie. “The next song is yours, I promise.” He flashed that smile that sent her stomach whirring, so she took another sip of her drink to try to squash it.
