After lunch Jared went to his truck to get some tools to make a repair. When they were alone, Dilys told Alix she had a boat and that in a week or so Jared would get it out of storage and put it in the water for her.
“He seems to do a lot for people on the island,” Alix said.
“He has responsibilities. He’s the oldest son of an old Nantucket family. The name carries duties with it.”
“Not a modern concept,” Alix said.
“There’s a lot about us Nantucketers that isn’t modern.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” Alix said. She wanted to give Jared and Dilys time alone, so she went outside to walk along the dock that protruded into the sea.
When Jared came back to the house, Dilys noted the way he looked around for Alix, then seemed to relax when he saw her outside on the long dock. Minutes later, he was on his back on the floor, his upper half inside a cabinet as he repaired Dilys’s leaky faucet.
“I’ve never seen you so comfortable with any woman before,” Dilys said.
“I owe Ken. Hand me that wrench.” He took it. “Unfortunately, her parents have kept Nantucket a secret from her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Neither of them told her that they visit here.”
“But Victoria comes every year.”
“Alix knows that now, but Victoria told her daughter that she goes to some cabin in Colorado.”
“Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know,” Jared said. “Try the water now.”
Dilys turned on the faucet and it worked perfectly.
Jared got out from inside the cabinet. “Ken told me that Victoria didn’t want anyone to know her books were actually set on Nantucket and based on the Kingsley family.”
“Everyone on the island knows that.”
“And we keep what’s ours to ourselves. She doesn’t want the outside world to know.”
“So what’s Ken’s excuse for not telling Alix that he visits often?” Dilys asked.
“He was forbidden by Victoria. She said that if Alix knew her parents visited Nantucket, then she’d want to come here too.”
Dilys had trouble understanding that idea, but then she nodded. “It has to do with Addy, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe. I know that Victoria didn’t want her daughter visiting Aunt Addy. They got too close when Alix was here and Victoria didn’t like it.”
Dilys shook her head in memory. “I remember how depressed Addy was after Victoria took Alix away. I really thought we were going to lose Addy. Actually, I thought the whole business was cruel of Victoria. And it hurt Alix too. How that child cried!”
“Alix seems to have turned out all right. I don’t think she consciously remembers much, but she knows more than she thinks she does. She moves around the kitchen like she’s spent her life in it.”
“Don’t tell me she can work that horrible old green stove.”
“That stove is great! And Alix turns those knobs without even thinking about it.”
Dilys pulled back to look at him. “What’s that strange sound I hear in your voice?”
“It’s respect, and it’s what I have for Ken and Victoria’s daughter.”
“Don’t give me that, Jared Kingsley. I’ve known you all your life. You see something different in her.”