"We were all stressed out."
"You're a generous person, Willow. You get that from your father. Why don't you move back to Seattle? It would be nice to have you closer to home."
"I'll think about it. I'm not making any more decisions tonight. I just want to have dinner with my family." I couldn't remember the last time I'd wanted to do that, but now I couldn't wait.
Chapter Thirty-One
I woke up to sunshine on Saturday morning. I blinked against the bright light, but I felt happier than I had in days. The long nightmare of my life was finally over. I remembered everything.
I sat up abruptly. I had remembered everything, but I'd also forgotten something important. In the madness of yesterday, I hadn't even thought about what else I'd seen in Dillon's van—Melanie's diary.
Dillon had confirmed that he'd picked it up on the beach. That's why he'd gone to the Chadwick's house, to take it back to Melanie.
Where was the diary now? Was it in Dillon's house?
Scrambling out of bed, I opened my door and ran down the hall. Kelsey was in her bathroom, blow-drying her hair. She gave me a worried look.
"What's wrong now?" she asked. "I thought all the bad was behind us."
"Nothing is wrong. I just wondered if Dillon mentioned Melanie's diary. Did he have it in the cabin? Did he show it to you?"
"No. He never mentioned her diary. But I'm sure he'll tell you if you ask him."
"Right. I can just ask him." I ran back to my room and grabbed my phone. I looked up the number for the hospital, then called and asked for his room. A woman answered the phone, identifying herself as a nurse. "I'm trying to reach Dillon Petrie," I said.
"I'm sorry, he's still asleep. Visiting hours are at two. You can speak to him then."
I ended the call. As I was debating my options, my phone rang. It was Drake.
"Hi," I said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. I had a thought, Willow."
"Melanie's diary."
"Yes," he said. "If Dillon had it, it might still be in his cabin."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I just called Dillon. He's asleep. The nurse said I could see him at two."
"That's too long from now."
Drake and I were on the same page today. "I agree. I do need to pick up my car. If we're all the way out there, we could try to look for it."
"I can pick you up in ten minutes."
"Give me twenty. I need to get dressed."
"I'll see you soon."
Nineteen minutes later, I ran out the front door as Drake pulled into the drive. I hopped into his car as he came to a stop. I didn't want him to get out. I didn’t want to delay our mission with conversation with my family.
"Still afraid to have me run into your parents?" he asked wryly.
"No. They would probably love to tell you how sorry they are. I'm more eager to get to the cabin and find that diary before someone else does."
"Who else would be interested?"
"I'm sure she wrote about Gage."
"Good point. But Gage has his hands full with his mother and with Carter. He's probably also trying to keep Preston and Sean from falling apart."
"You're right. I just feel like I need to get it back for Melanie, like it's the last thing I can do for her."
"I understand. I feel the same way." As he pulled away from the house, he added, "So, what are your parents sorry about?"
"A lot of things. Not being more supportive of you and your family when Melanie disappeared. Not being forthcoming with their answers. Leaving the island as soon as possible."
"They've come a long way around."
"Losing Kelsey for four days, not knowing if she was dead or alive, made them realize what your parents went through. They know they're lucky they didn't have to experience the same terrible outcome."
"Because of you, Willow."
"And you."
His brow shot up with a questioning look. "You're giving me credit when my moves put Kelsey's life in danger?"
"I'm not giving you credit for that. I have a lot of problems with what you did, Drake. But I also know that we wouldn't have gotten to the truth without your stubborn persistence and refusal to give up. You convinced me that Kelsey's disappearance was tied to Melanie's, and you were right."
"When I got the venue to cancel, I told myself the means justified the end. All I could think about was getting justice for Melanie before the ten-year anniversary of her disappearance. Kelsey's happiness didn't factor in," he said honestly. "All I saw was an opportunity to get everyone back on the island at the same time. I wasn't really going to stop the wedding or try to ruin it. And I never imagined Dillon would kidnap Kelsey."
"How could you? I never imagined there were so many secrets, so many lies. I really was blind to what was going on right under my nose. I wish you would have told me about switching the venue a few days ago, though. It hurt that you kept that from me. Especially after we got close."
"I know. It was a bad decision. I just didn't want to put a wedge between us. It was nice to have you working with me. You cared as much as I did about finding the truth, and you were willing to risk your life to get justice for my sister. It felt good to have you on my side."
"I was always on your side, Drake."
"I realize that now. My actions put you in danger, as well as Kelsey. You have a lot of reasons to be angry."
"I do have reasons, but you didn't put me in danger. I did that by myself."
"Not all by yourself," he said. "But speaking of danger, there's something I've been wondering about, Willow. Who pushed you in the water? It couldn't have been Eileen. She wouldn't have been on the dock that late at night."
"No. I'm pretty sure it was James. I saw him yesterday when he was trying to get off the island. I asked him flat out if he did it. He didn't admit it, but I could see the truth in his eyes. And it makes sense that it was him and not Carter. James has always been a sleazy asshole. It doesn't matter. He's long gone now. And I have no energy for going after him." I took a breath. "There's something I've been wondering about, too. Did you pay someone to break the ice sculpture for Kelsey's wedding?"
He shook his head. "No, I did not do that. I didn't even know there was an ice sculpture."
"I guess it was just an accident, probably the caterer or one of the servers. I'm glad it wasn't you, but I did wonder if it was part of your plan to shake everyone up."
"My plan wasn't that detailed," he said with a small smile. "I was winging it."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't do it. How did it go with your parents?"
His smile faded. "It was painful and exhausting. My mom cried for hours. My father barely said two words. In the end, he just got up and walked out of the house. But he didn't go far. He just went out to the old swing set and sat on the swing the way Melanie used to do. He must have sat there for two hours while my mom and I watched him from the window. When he finally came in, he said, 'I hope you can let this go now. I hope you can live your own life.'"