Page 14 of The Summer We Kept Secrets (The Destin Diaries #4)

I t had rained the morning of their barbeque, which left behind a fresh, summery scent that mixed beautifully with the lingering aroma of grilled ribs and charred corn.

Tessa picked up the last of the dinner plates and discarded napkins, listening to Vivien and Kate’s chatter in the kitchen.

More masculine voices echoed up from the pool level where Eli and Dusty had gone to clean up a well-used grill.

Tessa took a moment to breathe it all in, letting snippets from the long afternoon and lazy family-style dinner float over her. Inviting Dusty had been a stroke of genius, she decided. He was just the blast from the past they needed to fill the house with laughter, conversation, and memories.

This past week, things had been a little more tense than usual—mostly with Jonah, and the stress of having an infant in the house.

Dusty had honored her request to keep the specifics about how they’d bumped into each other to himself.

Everyone—including Jo Ellen and Maggie—had been happy to see someone they remembered from the past.

Maybe they didn’t remember him as well as Tessa did, though. She had the benefit of Vivien’s old diary, which she’d kept. This morning, knowing Dusty was coming over, she’d skimmed the pages looking for his name, and boy, had she found it.

The words fifteen-year-old Viv had written only served to make Tessa notice that more than just his name had changed. Dustin—now Dusty—Mathers was nothing like the wild, out-of-control, smart-mouthed teenager he’d been that day.

Life had seriously changed him.

Vivien appeared in the doorway with another dessert tray.

“Oh.” Tessa inched back. “I just put out cookies.”

“This is strawberry shortcake,” she said. “Maggie insisted.”

“People are going to roll out of here,” Tessa said on a laugh.

Vivien shrugged. “Sorry, but if you have barbeque, you’re required to have something with whipped cream after. It’s a Southern law.”

Tessa snorted and eyed the platter of yummy shortcakes and clouds of cream. “Well, I guess I’m not in Upstate New York anymore. We just do decaf and the occasional chocolate chip cookie.”

“Decaf is being brewed.” Vivien waved her toward the house and the kitchen. “Come gossip with Kate. We must talk about Dustin—er, Dusty now.”

She glanced toward the spiral stairs, confident that he’d be downstairs with Eli for a bit. “I’m down for some coffee and gossip.”

She followed Vivien into the kitchen, where Kate was humming away, wiping down the counters and smiling.

“You look happy,” Tessa noted, sliding onto a barstool to face her sister.

“I am, Tess.” Kate leaned over the counter, bartender-style. “Whatcha havin’, little lady?”

“I heard there’s decaf and gossip.”

“Plenty of both,” she said, turning to fill the order while Vivien sat next to her, glancing around.

“What happened to Jonah?” she asked. “He was just here.”

Kate sighed. “Atlas cried, so he went downstairs. Meredith went to find the Baby Bjorn to take the little nugget to the beach.”

“That always calms him,” Vivien said. “Nothing like a pink-tinged sky and lapping waves. Kid lives the life, I tell you.”

“Funny how we know that little man already,” Kate mused. “He’s lived here, what, a week or so?”

“Lived here?” Tessa scoffed. “He runs the place.”

The others laughed, but no one argued. Life had been turned upside down by the nine-pound screamer, but they all loved him so.

“Still, I worry about Jonah,” Kate said.

Vivien nodded. “He was so quiet during dinner and barely ate. I remember barbeques when he was a kid, able to put away three ears of corn.”

“Well, we were talking about things that happened in the last century, long before he was around,” Tessa said. “Maybe he was bored.”

“Maybe.” Kate poured three cups of decaf. “He’s supposed to start classes later this week. He might be preoccupied with how he’s going to balance school and fatherhood. And we haven’t heard from Carly’s parents yet, so that’s on his mind.”

Tessa nodded and glanced around, noticing that her mother and Maggie had also disappeared. “And the sorority sisters?”

“They went up to the apartment to rest.” Kate slid a cup of coffee toward her and the bottled creamer she liked.

A beat of silence passed as Tessa fixed her coffee.

“Sooo…” Vivien dragged the word out with a playful song in her voice.

“Dusty Mathers!” Kate and Tessa replied in perfect unison, making all three of them laugh.

“Seriously,” Kate said, leaning over the counter like she’d been dying to start the conversation. “It’s like he’s not the same kid. Well, obviously he’s a fifty-two-year old man, but he’s so grounded and sensible and warm. Nice-looking, too.”

“And he brought me a purple Boogie board!” Vivien exclaimed, making a face. “How sweet of him to remember he broke mine.”

“That was too cute,” Kate said. “He’s just awesome.”

“He’s been through a lot,” Tessa said. “His wife died, and I get the impression she was sick for a while.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” Vivien said. “But he seems so…stable. Knowing him as a teenager, I would have expected…”

“Jail time,” Tessa finished with a snort. “And I say that as the current owner of one of your diaries.”

They both gave her questioning looks.

“I flipped through it looking for his name today,” she confessed. “Do you remember the time he showed up on the beach drunk in the middle of the day?”

“He barely had one beer today,” Kate noted.

“He said there were ghosts,” Vivien said softly, sitting up as she remembered.

“Yes! That’s what you wrote in your diary. What did he mean?”

“I don’t know, but I never forgot it,” Vivien said. “I remember the hairs on the back of my neck standing. I was a kid. I thought he meant real ghosts.”

“Maybe he did,” Tessa said.

“Please.” Kate tapped the counter. “He lived around here, right? He was a local, not a summer kid, as I recall.”

“He’s definitely a local,” Tessa confirmed.

“Well, I’ll tell you something else that changed,” Vivien said, leaning in playfully. “He looked at you like you were made of gold-dipped bacon all day today, Miss Tessa Wylie.”

“Oh, come on.”

“It was adorable,” Vivien added. “And weird. He used to be the only boy in town who wasn’t in love with you.”

“We were always buddies,” Tessa said. “And as I recall, we got into enough trouble being friends.”

“Hmm.” Kate nodded as she sipped. “One word: bonfire.”

Tessa cringed. “It was his fault the fire department had to come.”

“Well, you could call them tonight,” Vivien teased. “He burned you with every look.”

“Will you stop?” Tessa rolled her eyes. “I think he was just grateful I invited him. And with all the reminiscing, no one brought up how frequently he was kind of a wreck.”

“All in the past,” Kate said. “And, for the record, Vivien’s right. Any chance that attraction is reciprocated?”

She was saved by the sound of male voices and footsteps coming across the deck, answering with a noncommittal smile.

“Grates need a soak,” Eli announced, heading toward the sink carrying a big black iron…thing.

“We attempted to do it the old-fashioned manly way,” Dusty said, holding up his filthy hands. “But we’re not old-fashioned or manly.”

Tessa would disagree, but she just smiled. “Make that shine and there’s a strawberry shortcake in your future.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jonah walked in from the front door, his posture tight, jaw set.

“Oh, I thought you were on the beach with Meredith,” Vivien said.

“And Atlas,” Eli noted. “Is he with her?”

“No, Dad. I left my month-old baby on the beach alone,” he retorted, no humor in the snark.

“Whoa,” Tessa muttered. “There’s strawberry shortcake on the deck if you need some sugar to get sweeter.”

His eyes shuttered and he started to respond, then stopped.

“Are you okay?” Eli asked, stepping forward.

Jonah took a breath, then held out his phone to his dad. Tessa couldn’t see the screen, but she had a good idea what the picture might be.

“This came up in my memories,” Jonah said. “I miss her, that’s all. I still can’t believe she’s…gone.”

He looked around, wearing that ravaged and lost expression that made less frequent appearances but still could be evident.

“Sorry,” he murmured, looking at their guest. “Didn’t mean to ruin the party.” He looked at the photo, then shook his head and turned. “I’m going to lie down. God knows that kid won’t let me sleep tonight.”

He walked out and down the stairs, leaving a wake of silence and discomfort.

“I’m going out on a limb and guessing he’s referring to his son’s mother?” Dusty said.

Eli nodded. “She was killed less than two weeks ago in a head-on collision.”

“Oof.” He gave his chest a punch. “That’s…wow. I hear a lot of tragic stories, but with a newborn? He’s actually handling it remarkably well.”

Eli nodded. “Most of the time, but Atlas’s grandparents have threatened to try and take the baby, although we haven’t heard anything from them. And while he’s got all of us to help him, he’s supposed to be starting an intensive program at a local college.”

The frown on Dusty’s face deepened, showing some creases…and plenty of empathy.

“Hey, I don’t want to overstep, so tell me to shut up and go home, but…” He put his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts and settled his gaze on Eli. “Could I talk to him? As you know, I’m a therapist, but grief is kind of my specialty. I don’t want to push, but maybe I could help.”

Eli considered that, then nodded. “That would mean a lot and, honestly, as his father? I feel like I should have the words. Nothing prepares you for this.”

He put a hand on Eli’s shoulder and gave a warm look. “You’re doing amazing, my friend.”

Tessa watched the exchange, vaguely aware of pressure on her chest. How kind he was, and how…cool. He had something—emotional intelligence, she presumed—that was sorely lacking in most men. Most men in her life to this point, anyway.

Just then, he turned to her, almost as if he sensed her gaze on him. He started to say something, but caught himself.