Her brother was going to be arriving in town some time tomorrow and she made a mental note to talk to him about staying here for a while or at least coming down on the weekends until the yard was completely restored.
Next she made her way down to the pier and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her mother was right–the boathouse was still intact. It had always been her special place here on the property and the fact that it went unscathed in such a fierce storm was a bit of a miracle.
Carefully, she stepped over the missing boards and slowly walked down toward the boathouse. Her heart was beating wildly the closer she got. There were so many memories attached to this place–different from the ones of just a moment ago. This was her spot–hers and Jake’s–and a part of her would always think of it as such.
Touching the door, Mallory turned and decided not to go inside. Right now, she needed to be outside, breathing in the smells of the Sound and just…being. It seemed silly, but more than anything, this is what she needed to get herself together.
Every once in a while, she’d look over her shoulder toward the house and think she was going to see Pops out on the deck waving to her or that Gertie would come out and tell her lunch was ready.
As if on cue, her stomach growled and she cursed the fact that she hadn’t eaten a proper breakfast this morning. Flying was not something she enjoyed doing and it seemed like the smart option not to eat until she got to Aunt Georgia’s. Of course, that went out the window when she decided she needed to come here first.
Priorities…they were a little messed up at the moment and seemingly on their own emotional rollercoaster.
She was tired. Sleep had been an illusion ever since the storm hit and once she got the call about Pops…well…it hadn’t gotten any better. The first thing Mallory had tried to do after getting the news was to get back here to be with her family, but with the storm moving up the East Coast, she’d had to wait. And driving wasn’t an option because she didn’t feel in control of her emotions to be on the road for that long.
Inhaling deeply, she held her breath for a moment before letting it out slowly. She repeated it several times before she felt herself begin to relax.
And she knew it would be an even longer time before she felt like her old self again.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep over the last several days or the fact that he hadn’t been eating much, but Jake was fairly certain he was seeing a mirage. It was the only explanation he could come up with as to why he saw Mallory standing out on the pier beside the boathouse. He racked his brain to try to remember if anyone mentioned her coming home–coming here–but couldn’t recall. Then again, there was so much going on that he was amazed he could remember his own name right now.
Standing exactly where he was and afraid to move or make a sound to spook her, Jake simply stood there and watched her. No doubt she was devastated and part of him longed to go to her and hold her, comfort her. In his mind it seemed like the right thing to do, but he had a feeling he wasn’t the person she wanted to accept comfort of any kind from.
And whose fault is that?
Totally his and he had long since accepted this fact, but when faced with a situation like this one, he couldn’t help but wish things were different.
She looked so sad and even from this distance, he could see she was crying. With her arms wrapped around her middle, she was the portrait of the grieving great-granddaughter. Jake took a minute to look around the property. No one was here. The construction crews weren’t due to come back until next week because they all had personal damage to deal with. From where he stood, he didn’t see a car in the driveway so...how did she get here?
“Hell, maybe I am seeing things,” he murmured, scratching his head in confusion. And then he did the only thing he could do–he walked down to the pier to either confirm or deny that Mallory was really there.
The moment his foot hit the pier, she turned toward him and for a moment, Jake was afraid to move any closer. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but he refused to let that stop him. Now that he knew he wasn’t imagining things, he needed to go make sure she was all right.
Or as all right as she could be, considering the current circumstances.
Jake slowly made his way down the pier and waited for Mallory to say something or to even look away, but she didn’t. When he was beside her, he simply said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” she replied softly.
She’d definitely been crying and now he felt like a jerk for coming here and interrupting her. A ton of questions came to his mind, but they all seemed trite. “Sorry to disturb you,” he finally said. “I...I was just surprised to see you down here. I didn’t realize you were coming in so soon. Wasn’t sure the roads were clear leading in and out of town yet.”
Nodding, she turned and looked out at the water. “I just got in. Mom picked me up at the airport and I asked her to drop me off here. I wanted...no, I needed to come here and sort of see things for myself.”
He nodded too because he understood. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“It still doesn’t seem real. Like, I keep waiting to wake up and have someone tell me it’s all been a terrible dream.” She looked at him with a sad smile. “Any chance of that happening?”
His heart squeezed hard. “Afraid not, Mal.” And then as if of one mind, they moved toward each other and he held her as she cried. She burrowed in close and Jake’s arms banded around her. It was familiar and comforting and yet...different. They weren’t the same people who had once stood embracing on this same pier years ago, but…
Now wasn’t the time to be focusing on that.
Even if it was a great distraction from the hell they were currently living with.
When Mallory pulled back a few minutes later, she immediately began wiping the tears away before she took several steps to put some distance between them. “Um...sorry. I can’t seem to stop doing that.”
“Totally understandable. I’ve done more than my share in the last several days too.” Her look of surprise told him maybe he shouldn’t have admitted that, but...he couldn’t take it back. “I was here with him, Mal. It was...it was the hardest moment of my life.” Tears started to well in her eyes again and he cursed himself for bring this up so soon. “I mean…”
But she held up a hand to stop him. “I can’t. I can’t hear about it. Not yet. Please.”
With a curt nod, he turned and looked out at the water, relieved that the Sound was going down more and more each day. It would be a long while before everything was back to normal, but at least this was progress he could immediately see.
“So... where are you staying?”
“With Uncle Beau and Aunt Georgia. At least for now.” She paused. “I was hoping we’d get the okay to stay here in the house, but I’m sure it’s going to take a while before your engineers give us permission.”
He made a mental note to call in some favors and see if he could make that happen for her.
“We have the option to stay at the townhouse where everyone stayed during the storm, but...I don’t know, I feel like I need to be here in town.”
“I get it. Has anyone talked about...you know...the funeral?” As soon as the words were out, he wished he could take them back. The look of devastation on Mallory’s face gutted him. How could he keep messing up and saying all the wrong things? He was about to apologize or at least try to change the subject when she spoke.