Page 29 of Return to Whitmore
“We are home,” Jack said darkly.
Charlotte didn’t know what to make of his strange mood.
When Charlotte went off to “meet” Amos, Jack said he had things to tend to and disappeared as well. A part of Charlotte was terrified that she wouldn’t see him again. But off she went to the harbor, dressed in her prettiest dress, pretending to be a tourist with a question. When she finally got up the nerve to talk to Amos, he smiled handsomely at her in a way that made her think that maybe, maybe she could stay on the island and fall in love with him. Maybe Manhattan and “Seth Green” and Italy and Jefferson Albright were nightmares she didn’t have to maintain.
But when Charlotte finally broached the subject of “Angelo, an Italian man I met a few years back, have you seen him?” Amos’s face transformed to one of rage.
“I haven’t seen him,” Amos blared, turning back to the sailboat and flashing paint across the base. “If he’s alive, if you ever see him again, tell him to stay away from me. He already ruined my life once. I won’t let him do it again.”
Charlotte felt as though she’d been smacked. In a tentative voice, she asked, “How did he ruin your life?”
But Amos no longer trusted her enough to tell her anything. He wouldn’t look her in the eye when he said, “If you know anything about Angelo, you know he’s in the habit of ruining lives. Just go look at the White Oak Lodge. It was one of the greatest luxury hotels on the East Coast, and now, it’s a pile of rubble.”
Charlotte inhaled sharply. “Thank you, Amos,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. Before he could say anything else, she fled, twisting on her heel and running back down the dock. Thefire that had lurked behind his eyes had terrified her, drawing her back into the violence of their shared past.
Throughout that time, Charlotte had worked the front desk at the White Oak Lodge, greeting guests, taking them to their rooms, pouring welcome drinks, and maintaining order and unity at her family’s iconic resort. If she’d known what her uncle was up to, would she have done something about it? Or would she have protected Tio Angelo and Jack and everyone else in his crime bubble? Oh, she didn’t know. She felt sick over it.
When she got back to the hotel, Jack waited for her in the rental car and waving, with a serious expression on his face. She hurried over to him, preparing to apologize. “He doesn’t know where he is,” she said. “I’m sorry. I did everything I could to figure it out.”
Was that a lie? She didn’t know. It was her first time going “undercover,” and she didn’t feel like she was very good at it.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jack said with a sigh. “Get in.”
Charlotte had no idea where they were going. But after she slammed the door closed behind her, she realized that all of her things were in the back seat, taken from her motel room. He’d checked them out. Why hadn’t he told her?
As they drove, Charlotte tried to focus on her breathing. Rain pelted the windshield and dropped her into a sort of meditation.
When Jack stopped in front of a little house on Madequecham Beach, Charlotte came to and asked, “What are we doing here?”
Jack’s eyes were stormy. “I bought this place today.”
“What?” Charlotte’s ears rang with alarm. “With what money?”
But Jack was already out of the car and heading up the walkway, a key dangling from his hand. Charlotte hung back, watching until Jack shoved the key into the door, opened it, and waved her in.
They had property back in Nantucket again. Charlotte didn’t know what to make of it. Suddenly terrified of the brother she wasn’t sure she understood, she followed him inside and locked the door behind her. Jack pulled a bottle of champagne from the fridge. “Let’s celebrate.”
Charlotte’s heart spasmed. “Why?”
Jack poured two glasses and handed her one. “We’re celebrating two things,” he explained. “One, that I bought this house for next to nothing. And two, that one day, sooner rather than later, I’ll find Tio Angelo and make him pay for what he did to our family. He ruined us, Charlotte. There’s no denying it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Summer 2025
After they left the wine bar, Charlotte, Addison, and Nina drove out to the White Oak Lodge to show Addison where they’d grown up. It was the first time Charlotte had gone out there in quite some time, and at the prospect of returning with a member of the Whitmore family, a shiver raced down her spine. Standing at the edge of the property, she crossed her arms over her chest and remembered the man who’d worked in the stables all those years ago, the man who’d been raising his daughter down the beach. Instead of lingering with Nina and Addison, she trudged along the water until she found the cabin and felt a stab of alarm when she realized it was empty. So many years had passed, but somehow, she’d wanted that man to remain here, tending to the property, making sure what was left of the White Oak Lodge was safe. She forced herself to stop crying and returned to the White Oak Lodge to find Nina and Addison at the back doorway, where Nina gestured vaguely toward the halls beyond and explained that she and Amos hadgone back there because he’d wanted to show her where Tio Angelo had hidden the drugs all those years ago.
Charlotte still hadn’t told Nina about the day she’d gone up to Amos and pretended to flirt with him in exchange for information about Tio Angelo. It wasn’t her proudest moment. She decided to keep it to herself.
“Listen,” Charlotte said then, shifting her weight.
Nina and Addison turned swiftly around and gave her a look that meantare you finally going to tell us what you really know? As though Charlotte had any of the answers.
“Seth was convinced that Tio Angelo was still alive and that he needed to answer for what he’d done to our family,” Charlotte said, her voice shaking. “My best guess is that he bought that house here in Nantucket so he could keep an eye on things. And he’s letting me stay there, um, I guess because I’m the only person in the world who knew he bought it.”
Addison’s eyes were electric and strange. “Why would he change his name?” she asked in a meek voice, gesturing toward the rusted-out sign out front that said “Whitmore.”
Nina and Charlotte blinked at the sign. Tears spilled down Addison’s cheeks. “Come on,” she said. “I’m here, aren’t I? I want to help. No matter what, Seth is my husband. He’s the man I love, and the father of my kids. I want to help you protect him, but I also need to find him.” She swallowed. “I need to know everything you do.”
