“You didn’t. I had a great time. I love how your family goes along with Joni’s extravagant stories.”
“She’s a firecracker, isn’t she? She’s got a lot of her mama in her. Did you know Carlotta?”
“No. I only met Rowan a few years ago.”
“Well, you missed out on meeting a very special woman. Carlotta didn’t believe in marriage, but she loved my son and Joni deeply. Losing her was a painful reminder that we must live for today. It’s a shame Joni will never know her.”
A pang of sadness moved through Cait. “Not knowing a parent definitely leaves you with a sense of emptiness.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry that you never had a chance to meet Ava. I know you’ve heard stories about her alcoholism and how difficult that was for everyone who knew and loved her. But I want you to know that before she lost her way, she was a wonderful, loving mother and wife. I remember when she came to the island. She was troubled, drinking too much. At the time, none of us knew she’d been forced to give you up. But we could see that she had a big empty spot inside her. We girls swooped her into our nest, and she became one of us. But it was Olivier who made her heart sing. It was love at first sight, and their relationship was truly beautiful. She was devastated when he passed away. We all were.” Olivier had died when Deirdra was eleven and Abby was nine. “That’s when she turned back to alcohol. But in my heart, I still see her in that better place, and you remind me of the woman she was back then, when your sisters were little. I really miss her.”
“Thank you for remembering her so fondly.” It made Cait happy knowing that despite her alcoholism, Ava had been loved by so many people.
“If you’d known her, you’d understand why we all do. Ava was special. She saw everything so clearly back then. She had the ability to see things none of us looked deep enough to find, like my Brant does. I’m sure you know he sees the very heart of everything, not just people. I swear he thinks boats are living beings. He takes the ones others have taken for granted and showers them with love, bringing them back to life. But I’m getting off track.” She laughed softly. “That’s easy to do when I talk about my kids. I get the sense that like Ava, you also see things others don’t, and I guess I want you to know that I see Ava in you. The very best parts of her.”
“Thank you. I like knowing that.” She thought about her unopened letter, wondering if it held more about the best parts of her mother.
“Good. And please don’t think I’m trying to push you toward Brant or to get on your good side or anything like that. I just wanted to share those things, woman to woman, because life can be scary, and we women need to look out for each other. I hope you know that if you ever need anything, I’m here. Even if you never go out with my son.”
Cait’s heart squeezed. “That means a lot to me. Thank you.” It was no wonder Ava had settled on that island. It was easy to imagine Gail and Shelley and the other women their age that Cait had met welcoming a troubled teenage Ava into their close-knit circle.
Gail took Cait by the arm in the maternal way Faye and Shelley often did, and they headed back toward the cottage. “For what it’s worth, I’ve never seen my son look at any woman the way he looks at you. Again, I’m not pushing, just sharing an observation.”
The sincerity in her voice touched Cait, but she still had that nagging worry about Brant being better off without her. She looked across the lawn at him holding Scrappy, ruing her history once again. “I don’t think you’re pushing. But Brant and I are different. I don’t even know how to be the way your family is.”
Gail looked confused. “Why would you want to be like us?”
“Are you kidding?” Cait could think of a hundred reasons why. “Your family is warm and open, and you’re all so carefree.”
“Oh, honey, we have more cares than you could fit on this island.”
“You don’t seem to. You’re always happy, and Brant is like a beacon of positivity.”
Gail looked thoughtfully at her family talking and goofing around in the yard. “I guess we do come across that way most of the time, don’t we? And we are happy, but we have our issues, like every family. I worry incessantly about all of my children, and my granddaughter. I worry that Rowan lives too much in Carlotta’s shadow and that Tessa will never give a man a chance to love her. And don’t get me started on my Jamison. The girls are right—he needs someone to clue him in on love. And then there are our businesses and parents. Life is generous. It gives us a series of worries, but you can’t let those worries steal the joy that life lays out before you.”
“Sometimes that’s easier said than done,” Cait admitted.
“Oh yes, it can be. Let me share the secret we’ve found. We surround ourselves with people we love and trust, and we talk about everything ad nauseam. A person can drown in their worries or they can set them free. We always go for setting them free. Some worries linger and take a while to scramble up to shore; others are carried away with the wind, and yes, some try to wrap around our ankles and drag us under. But that’s where those trusting friends come in. When our concerns get to be too much, we lean on each other.”
Cait thought about their conversation over dinner and said, “Like Brant going to class with Randi.”
“Exactly. Sometimes you have to be open to being vulnerable in order to find your trusted tribe, or as I call them, my lifelines.”
“But what if you trust the wrong person?”
“We all do at some point.” Gail took her hand, holding it up between them. “That’s when you grab hold of those good friends with both hands and let that bad one float down the river all by its lonesome. Your friends on the Cape sound like they’ve got you with both hands.”
Cait nodded. “They do. Always.”
“That’s good, sweetheart, and from what I’ve heard, you’re finding that here, too. If you’re open to it, you’ll find your lifelines, and you’ll know in your heart who they are.” She nodded to Brant striding toward them with Scrappy in his arms. “Here comes someone who I believe wants to be one of them.”
Brant had spent the last twenty minutes fielding questions from his siblings about Cait. She had loosened up over dinner, gracing them with her good humor and those radiant smiles he adored. His brothers and sisters loved her and were rooting for them, just as he was. But Cait had said enough last night to let him know that her wounds ran deep, and he could only hope she’d open up to him. As he closed the distance between them, Cait lowered her eyes, nodding. He wondered what his overcommunicative mother had said to her. His mother was wonderful, but she acted as if everyone was as open about their lives as she was, and he worried about how that might affect Cait. He scooped up Scrappy, in case Cait needed a little extra comfort.
Cait lifted her gaze, and the light in her eyes brought relief that maybe his mother hadn’t pried too much after all.
“Are you done telling Cait all of my secrets?” Brant teased.
“I haven’t even started spilling your secrets yet.” His mother patted his cheek. “I almost forgot to ask, have you invited Cait to movie night?”