Page 32 of Happy Harbor
“I just want to be alone.”
“Miss Adeline loved this room. Some mornings, we would have our coffee up here.”
Josie turned back and looked at him. “I have fond memories of this room.”
“I have fond memories of the kitchen,” he said, laughing. “That woman could make a mean peach cobbler. Did you ever try her cheesy grits? They would make you slap your momma!”
Josie smiled. “Trust me, it wouldn’t take much to make me slap my momma.”
Walker laughed. “See? You can smile and joke. I knew you had it in you somewhere.”
She walked over and sat back down in Nana’s chair. “I just don’t know why she would’ve done this. She knows... knew... how I feel about my mother. I’d finally gotten past it, and now I’m stuck in this mess.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Pardon me for saying so, Josie, but it doesn’t seem like you’ve gotten past it.”
“You don’t know me.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But the fact that you had such an emotional reaction means that you have a lot of unfinished business with your mom. I think it’s worth having a conversation with her, at least. Clear the air. Get yourself some closure. You deserve that.”
“Are you trying to use psychology on me?”
He shook his head. “I’m not smart enough to use psychology. I repair boats for a living.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “So you think I should talk to her?”
“I do. I think you owe it to yourself, and your daughter, to be honest.”
“You’re probably right. I need to show Kendra that I tried, or she’ll be mad at me forever. For some strange reason, she loves Happy Harbor.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think it’s strange. Happy Harbor is a wonderful place.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Not for everybody.”
“So you don’t haveanygood memories of this place?”
“I have lots of good memories. Most of them are with my grandmother. But those get overshadowed by all the times that my mother embarrassed me, disappeared, or said hurtful things while she was drunk.”
“Look, I really don’t know Diane all that well other than the times she’s waited on me at the restaurant. But I saw the interaction between her and Miss Adeline. I don’t think she’s the same person you remember, and maybe if you give her a chance, you’ll find that out.”
Josie shook her head. “People don’t change. We are who we are.”
“That’s sad that you think that. I think people change all the time.”
“Well, I sure haven’t seen it.”
Maybe she was talking about herself more than anyone else. No matter how many times she’d tried to change her personality over the years, it just seemed to get worse. She was more untrusting than she had ever been. Being a control freak didn’t help matters either. Having the childhood she did, Josie did everything she could to keep in control as an adult.
When she was in control, she was safe. Or at least that’s what she told herself.
“I’d better get going. I have a couple of boats to work on today. I hope you make the right decision for you and your daughter. But please let me know what you decide, so I know where to send my rent check,” he said, smiling. She saw those dimples of his, and that made her mad. Tall, broad shoulders, muscular, and dimples? Plus a thick head of sandy-brown hair? It was like he stepped right out of some men’s magazine, and she was having a hard time not staring at him.
“Will do.”
He turned and walked down the hallway, his work boots banging against the old hardwood floors. She heard the back door shut, and she reached for the Bible again, placing her hands on top of it.
Closing her eyes, she let out a long breath. “Nana, I don’t know why you did this crazy thing to me. I’m mad at you. But I love you. I miss you. Please tell me what you want me to do.”
* * *
