Page 27 of That Last Carolina Summer
“Fine. Just... clumsy.” She grabbed a handful of napkins and began wiping lemonade off her mother’s legs, apologizing the whole time. Someone needed to tell her that everything wasn’t always her fault.
“Stop that!” Elizabeth shouted. “Stop touching me!”
“It’s okay,” Liam said softly, stilling Phoebe’s hand and taking the napkins. “I’ve got it.”
Phoebe stood, hugging her arms over her chest as Liam smiled up at Elizabeth. “Hello, Mrs. Manigault. I’m Dr. Fitch. Can I help clean you up? It’s just a little lemonade.”
Elizabeth smiled back. “Thank you, Doctor. You’re very kind. Have you met my beautiful daughter?”
Liam straightened. “Phoebe? Yes, actually.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No. My Addie. She needs a man in her life.”
Phoebe looked mortified. “I’m glad Stephanie’s all right. She was very kind to me yesterday, and I...” She grabbed another clean napkin and began dabbing at the chair she’d been sitting in. “I’m glad she’s all right.”
“You should sit down,” Liam said. “You’re looking overheated. Do you feel faint?”
Phoebe shook her head. “No. I think I’m just tired, and I’m still getting used to the heat.”
Before he could press his point, Ophelia and Will came from around the house, each carrying an armful of wood scraps. Sitting on top of Ophelia’s pile was a dusty red hummingbird feeder. “Look what we found!” she announced. They marched past us and dumped their treasures on the grass.
“Sorry to ruin your fun,” Liam said to Will, “but I need Gran in the office this afternoon, so you’re stuck coming with us.”
Will’s face fell. “But that’s so boring. Can’t I stay here with Ophelia?”
Liam shook his head. “Will, you shouldn’t be inviting yourself—”
“It’s fine,” Phoebe interrupted. “I really don’t mind. He can keep Ophelia company and help keep an eye on my mother if I have to run inside for a minute.”
“Please, Dad?” Will asked. “I promise to listen, and I won’t climb any trees.”
“Really, it’s fine,” Phoebe said. “We’d love to have Will stay.”
I stood then turned to Phoebe. “When we return to pick up Will, why don’t you all come back to my house until you have your air-conditioning back on?”
“Please, Aunt Phoebe?” It was Ophelia’s turn to start jumping up and down.
“That’s very kind,” Phoebe said. “Maybe just Ophelia? I know without even asking that Mother will want to stay here, and we’ll both sleep in her room where it’s cooler.”
After we all came to an agreement that included my offer of bringing back takeout when we returned, Liam, Annie, and I left.
As we drove away, Liam asked, “Why were you here?”
“I was worried when Phoebe didn’t answer her phone, and Will and Annie wanted to see Ophelia, so we decided to stop by.” I shook my head. “I think it’s a toss-up between you and Phoebe as to who is more suspicious of my motivations. It’s starting to hurt my feelings.”
“You can’t blame me, Gran. I know how your mind works. But why would Phoebe not want you here?”
“She thought I might have ulterior motives because of the lawsuit.” I sat back against the leather car seat, adjusting the cool air from the vent to hit my face. “If only I had the kind of energy to hold grudges.”
We had reached the next traffic light when he turned to me. “Go ahead and ask the question that’s been burning your tongue since I first showed up.”
He’d always been able to read me just as easily as I could read him. Julie used to say it was as if Liam and I were the siblings and she were the stray.
“Fine. How did you know where we were? And how did you find the house? As far as I know, you’d only been there once before.”
The light turned green, and we began to move forward.
“Since Will was with you, I assumed he was looking for Ophelia. And I guess you’re not the only one who thought it would make it easier to understand their motivations by seeing where they lived.
I’m surprised they never arrested me for stalking back when I would come here and park my car across the street.
I completely deserved it, too, but I was just so angry over what they were doing to you. ”
“They never saw you?”
“The parents and the sisters didn’t. But there was another woman living with them at the time.
She was a lot more observant than the other four.
She saw me lots of times, but I guess she never told anyone.
I always wondered why. I thought that Addie spotted me a couple of times, but she never said anything, either.
Now that I’ve met her, I’m going to guess that she had lots of admirers and enjoyed being watched.
If it makes you feel any better, I never used binoculars to see inside the house.
I just paid attention to their comings and goings.
And telling you this definitely makes me feel like a creeper. ”
He pulled into the parking lot as I pondered over what he’d said. “So, did you ever figure out by watching them why we were put through that mess?”
He put the car in Park and leaned back against the headrest. “Of course not. But I did learn something.”
“Yes?”
“Addie spent more time out of her bedroom at night than in it. I think she was the same age as Julie, but they were polar opposites.”
Memories of Julie sideswiped me, stealing my breath and tugging at my heart. Even after all this time, I missed her just as much as I had the day she’d walked away.
Liam squeezed my hand. “I miss her, too. Every day.”
“Then why don’t you want me to talk to Phoebe?”
He grimaced. “Because none of that is real. No one can predict the future. She had a few lucky guesses—that’s all. I don’t want her to give you false hope.”
He let go of my hand and exited the car then came around to my side to open my door. We walked to the office in silence, my heart having already decided that false hope was better than no hope at all.