The little turtle flailed around on its back, and Joe gestured to his daughter. “Want to get that one on its way again?”
Hailey nodded and gently turned the little creature right side up. It began its determined movement to the water again. And more turtles kept on coming out of the nest. He estimated the clutch had been around fifty eggs, and another twenty still needed to reach the water. He and Torie lined the path and shouted at the gulls and terns as the little procession marched on.
When the last turtle reached the waves, he exhaled and smiled. “I don’t think we lost a single one.”
“We didn’t, Dad. I was watching. I’m glad I found them in time. There were a lot of birds out here. The turtles should have waited until they went to sleep.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “What do you say we get some fudge to celebrate? Care to join us, Torie?”
Her brown eyes flickered, and she bit her lip. “I wish I could, but it will take a while to bike back. I smelled the fudge as I went past. What’s your favorite, Hailey?”
“Peanut butter and chocolate. Or maybe rocky road. And the butter pecan is good, but I like anything with chocolate.”
“A girl after my own heart,” Torie said. “Maybe I’ll come find you when I get back.” She looked around. “Now where did I drop my shoes?”
“I’ll help you find ’em, and you can ride with us back to the hotel. I can put your bike in the back of my truck,” Joe said.
Why was she questioning what had happened to Lisbeth when she’d just arrived?
* * *
If Torie had hoped to grill Joe in a subtle way, it wasn’t going to happen easily. Hailey was at that age where she talked constantly.
Hailey slurped her chocolate shake while sitting on a bench under a wash of dim light from the streetlamp. “Did you know loggerheads lay their eggs on the same beach where they hatched? They are migratory, so they swim over three thousand miles to get back to their site. I wonder if the hatchlings we saw just now were boys or girls? The temperature of the nest determines the gender. And we’re not supposed to use bright lights because it can disorient them.”
Which explained why the lights all over the island were so dim. Torie nibbled on her chocolate peanut butter fudge and listened to the child ramble on. She was a cute kid with red hair in a ponytail that swung with the girl’s constant motion. Her green eyes held a world of interest and enthusiasm.
Torie must have looked as dazed as she felt because Joe grinned. “In case you’re wondering, she never shuts up. Except when she’s sleeping. The rest of the time, the mouth is engaged.”
Hailey wrinkled her nose. “Dad, that’s mean. You didn’t listen very well to the sermon last week. ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.’”
He tugged on her ponytail. “Oh yeah? Well, what about, ‘Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another’?”
They were quoting Bible verses to each other? Who did that? Certainly not her father or any of her friends’ families, even though she attended church every Sunday. The affection between them was interesting though. Maybe it was because they had only each other.
Silence settled between them as they ate their treats. Guests strolled the path to the shops and the hotel, and Torie closed her eyes a moment to breathe in the aroma of the resort: suntan lotion, ocean, freshly mown grass, lavender, and Russian sage—all blended with the sweet scent of myriad fudge flavors. She could almost hear Lisbeth’s voice calling for her to hurry to the beach with her. Or asking if they could please have two flavors of fudge this time.
Torie’s eyes stung, and she opened them to stare down at the treat in her hand. It had suddenly lost its allure.
“You okay?” Joe asked.
“Fine.” She opened her mouth to blurt out her questions about Lisbeth’s death when she heard Genevieve’s voice calling to Joe.
“It’s Miss Genevieve!” Hailey bolted from her chair and raced to intercept Torie’s aunt.
“There’s my favorite girl.” The older woman embraced the child, hugging her around the waist.
Torie turned her face away from Genevieve. Was that actually affection in her aunt’s voice? Growing up, all Torie had heard from her starchy voice were criticism and orders. Aunt Genevieve had no children of her own. She’d always said the hotel was the only child she needed, and Torie had always understood she was to stay out of the way and not draw attention to herself.
Her mother had tried to protect her, but Lily Bergstrom’s gentle voice and manner was no match for the juggernaut named Genevieve. When Dad was around, his sister-in-law backed off, but he was often gone visiting other hotel properties.
While her aunt’s attention was on the little girl, Torie rose to her feet. “I have to go. Catch you later, Joe.” Her pulse pounded in her neck as she hurried off.
Her aunt’s voice carried on the sea breeze. “Who was that young lady rushing off?”
“Torie Berg,” Joe said. “She’s working at the hotel in the IT department.”
“I hadn’t realized we’d hired someone. I will have to meet her. She should have introduced herself when she arrived.”
Torie rounded a cottage far enough away to catch her breath and let her heart rate resume its normal rhythm. Surely her aunt wouldn’t recognize her after all this time. Torie’s hair had darkened from its corn silk color to dark brown, and she was pale-skinned now, too, not the tanned urchin running around the property the way she’d done when she was a child.
It would be impossible to work at the hotel and evade the attention of Genevieve Hallston, who micromanaged the resort down to how many tea lights to order. Her aunt’s reputation meant everything to her, and Torie was under no illusions that an IT employee would go unnoticed. Her aunt attended to every detail of the guests’ wants, and Torie didn’t expect the job to be easy.
But she wasn’t ready to face her aunt just yet. She had to be able to mask her heartache. Right now things felt too raw.
With her heartbeat finally at a normal rhythm, she hurried to her cottage. Her luggage was just as she’d left it inside. She shut and locked the door, then rolled it out of the way. Leaning against the closed door, she exhaled. She was finally alone and didn’t have to manage every word, every expression. This was already harder than she’d ever dreamed it would be.
She panned her gaze around the cottage, and she began to walk through it. Medium-tone wood floors gleamed in the light from the lamps. The coastal vibe of the comfortable sand-colored furniture and pale-aqua walls made her feel at home. The perfect touches of beach décor on glass-topped tables and shelves made her wonder if her aunt had decorated this place. Either that or the designer had followed Aunt Genevieve’s explicit instructions.
The living room opened into a dollhouse kitchen. The white cabinets looked new, and she ran her hand along the smooth surface of the pale-gray quartz countertop. She’d be very comfortable here. At least she’d have this sanctuary for escape. She’d have to order in groceries. There was nothing in the house to eat, and though she wasn’t hungry, she would be by morning.