“Do you want to talk about work?” his mom asked as she set down the bowl of mashed potatoes and took her seat.
“Not really. No offense, but I see you almost every day; I think you know about everything that goes on there.”
“Okay, what about your love life? Ever since the Holmeses became grandparents, I’ve grown rather jealous. I see Linda out and about with Brystol all the time and wonder when I’m going to get the opportunity.”
Graham sat in silence as he listened to his mother’s pleas. At times, he longed for a companion, especially after seeing his best friend Bowie reunite with Brooklyn. He had never given much thought to parenthood, though. Truthfully, none of his friends had. It was almost as if that ship sailed for everyone when Austin died. Somehow, he took a piece of each of them with him, and none of them had ever fully recovered.
“I don’t know, Mom.”
“Maybe you should try a dating app or something,” she suggested with a shrug.
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.” He stopped talking as soon as his father walked into the room. The moment George sat down, it was time to eat. Throughout dinner, his mother sighed, and Graham suspected it was because the chair across from him remained empty.
FIVE
Waking up to the sound of the ocean, the waves crashing against rocks, and the booming echo of the foghorn was a happy reprieve from the normalcy of car horns, screeching tires, and loud voices, most often arguing with someone over a parking spot. It took Renee only a split second for the realization to set in—she was in Cape Harbor, and for the next few days she was Rennie, the outgoing, wild, and fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants person she longed to be in Seattle. Here, among her closest friends, she could be herself and not worry about the facade of being a professional. She could snort at the corny jokes and add her sarcastic two cents when someone talked about their current existential life crisis. Here, a few hours north of her hustle-and-bustle life in Seattle, she was free.
She rolled over and took in her room. She was on the third floor, at the end of the hallway. The converted rooms were the Driftwood Inn’s version of a suite and had the most privacy from the busy reception area. Her room had a sliding glass door and balcony, whereas other rooms only had windows that opened to let the ocean breeze in. The bed had an antique wrought iron frame painted white, set up against a navy wall. Across from the bed, the shiplap wall held lantern sconces and a piece of artwork she was sure Brystol had created of an anchor made from seashells. The room was different from when Carly Woods had owned the inn. Rennie wasn’t sure when the inn had been constructed but remembered clearly the decor. She had spent one summer cleaning rooms for Carly and hated all the brown fake wood that was everywhere. Part of her missed the old look, mostly because it meant Carly would still be around and Brystol would have her grandmother.
The soft knock on her door caused her to sit up in a flash. Her hand went to her head, as if to push back the impending headache. Coffee: she needed it—and fast. “Whoever is there, you better have your own key and a cup of coffee for me.” She heard the mechanical lock adjust and suspected the person on the other end was her best friend, Brooklyn Hewett.
The door crept open slowly, and long wavy brown locks made their appearance before Brystol stepped into the room with a mug in her hand.
“Brystol.” Rennie sighed and held her arms out for her niece. It hadn’t been very long since they had seen each other, but since her two favorite people returned to Washington, Rennie had been trying to spend as much time as possible with the mother-and-daughter duo. The teen made her way to Rennie, set down the mug, which was filled to the brim with coffee, and crawled into bed.
Brystol rested her head on Rennie’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’ve missed you, Aunt Rennie.”
Hearing her niece’s sweet voice brought a smile to her face. She kissed the top of Brystol’s head and adjusted so she could look into her breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes. “I miss you every day and am so happy your mother decided to stay.”
“Me too.”
The two rearranged the way they were sitting, and Brystol handed Rennie her coffee. “I knew you needed this.”
She nodded and inhaled the aroma. “This is why you’re my favorite niece.”
Brystol chuckled. “I’m your only niece. Oh, get this. We were talking about family in my social studies class, and so I list everyone, right? Well, Tessa Cary raises her hand and says you’re not really my aunt. She literally argued with me in class over it.”
“Who is Tessa?”
Brystol rolled her eyes. “Like, the most annoying girl in school . . . and the most popular.” The last bit came out in a much-quieter voice, bringing back memories from Rennie’s high school days. She took a few sips of her coffee and set the cup down on the nightstand next to her bed.
“Here’s the deal, B. We’re family because we say we are. I’ve known your mom for most of my life, and the day you were born is the day I became your aunt. I’m your aunt because I say so and because you say so. Who cares what Tessa Cary thinks? She’s not in our family, is she?”
Brystol shook her head.
“Besides, she sounds like a mean girl.”
“Oh, she is.” She rolled her eyes again. “We like the same guy, and it sucks.”
“Does this guy like you or her?”
Brystol pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “He likes both of us. Says he can’t decide.”
Rennie rolled her eyes in dramatic fashion, and Brystol giggled. “Run, girl. Run!” she screeched. “You don’t need a guy messing with your feelings. He either likes you, or he doesn’t. If you’re going to date . . . wait, does your dad know there’s a boy?”
She shrugged. “He’s been over before, but he’s scared of my dad.”
“As he should be. What’s his name?”
“Seth Sabine.”
“Well, Seth sounds like a politician.” Rennie adjusted her pillow and held out her arm, inviting Brystol to cuddle. “Honestly, B, before you find the right guy for you, you’re going to kiss a lot of frogs, figuratively speaking. The point I’m trying to make is, don’t waste all your emotions on this guy if he’s not willing to do the same for you.”
Brystol sighed. “You’re right. I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Me too, B. I really needed this minivacation. Now, tell me . . . does Simi have those amazing cinnamon rolls downstairs?”
Brystol sat up straight and nodded excitedly. “Yes, but you better hurry. We have a lot of people staying here, so they’re going fast.”
“I’ll be down in a few, okay?”
They got out of bed at the same time, and Rennie walked Brystol to the door. After shutting it, she picked her phone up off the dresser and scrolled through her notifications. All quiet on the work front. She mentally calculated Theo’s flight to Japan and figured he would be landing soon. Rennie turned the ringer on, opened her music app, and took her phone into the bathroom. She wasn’t worried about missing the cinnamon rolls, because she knew either Brystol would save her one or Simone would make another batch. Simone was good like that.