Page 15 of Forbidden Kisses
“Mom,” Grace said softly, “your marriage to Pete is over.”
“Oh, I’m not trying to fix that, dear. That was over fifteen years ago. I just want to make amends, if that’s possible. You can do that for our family.”
“It’s just a job,” Grace said.
“I think it’s fate.”
Her mother was in rare form tonight. “I didn’t realize you believed in fate.”
Her mother shrugged. “And God. And free will. Whichever one works at the moment.” Her mother looked up. The tremors in her neck muscles were barely visible as she held her head high. “I also believe in you. You could do this for us.”
“I’m not sure that’s even possible. I don’t know if you realize this, but the Sawyers don’t like us very much. I think selling the boat named after their matriarch might have sealed their hatred forever.” Business professional was the most Grace could hope for.
“Buying that boat back would be a good start,” her mother said.
Grace glanced over. “We don’t have the money, and you’ve always said you don’t know who you sold it to.”
“Garrison Tomlin,” her mother said quietly.
Grace’s mouth fell open. “You know who bought the boat?”
“I know. I’m a despicable woman.”
“Stop that,” Grace said, raising her voice. “Just stop. You’re not despicable, but that was despicable behavior.”
“I was jealous, okay? You don’t know how it feels to be second best to a dead woman.”
Grace tried to understand. “So you want me to tell the Sawyers who bought the boat? They’ll still hate us. Probably more, because you knew all this time who the owner was. They could’ve bought it back.”
Tears collected in her mother’s eyes, making Grace feel guilty for her harsh tone of voice. “I don’t know how to fix this. I just know I’m tired of living with what I’ve done.”
Grace moved her hand over her mother’s, trying to still the worsening jerky movements. “I’ll figure this out.”
“All I’m asking is that you try to fix things. I don’t want to be hated when I go.”
“Stop talking about going, Mom. You’re not going anywhere.” At least not on Grace’s watch. She’d do whatever it took to take care of her mother—including finding a way to ease her regrets.
—
Jack looked at his watch on Monday morning. It was still five minutes earlier than the time he and Tristan had agreed on. He’d give him another fifteen minutes before calling. Jack grabbed his sander and started to smooth the rough edges of one of the wood pieces. After twenty minutes had passed, he looked at his watch again.Where the hell was that kid?Jack pulled out his cellphone. Just as he was about to dial the kid’s number, Tristan pulled into the open field across from where the new pier would be built and parked. The teen got out and headed in Jack’s direction.
“About damn time,” Jack said, not in the mood to baby-sit the kid this morning. This was work.
“I’m sorry,” Tristan said, pulling the ball cap on his head a little lower to cover his face. The teen was wearing dark sunglasses.
“What, you’re not even going to try to give me an excuse?” he asked. Not that he could think of any excuse that would appease him.
Tristan shook his head. “No.”
Jack nodded. “Uh-huh. Well, there’s a brush,” he told Tristan. “You can start staining the wood for the second kayak launch,” he said.
Tristan grabbed the supplies and started working without another word. They both labored in silence for a good hour before Jack headed to the truck to get a drink. He looked back at Tristan with his ball cap still low over his face. Dark sunglasses still covered his eyes. “How can you do a good job with those shades on your face?” he asked.
Tristan shrugged.
Jack had a good mind to yank the sunglasses off him, but thought better. Since the kid had arrived, he’d done a good job. “So about that water?” Jack asked again.
Tristan looked up and nodded. “Thanks.”
