How to Keep a Secret

And Scott, Mack thought. They still had Scott.

Mack thought about the life she had here. She thought about waking up in the morning to the sound of the ocean and the call of the birds. “I guess the life we have here isn’t so bad.” You virtually had to write a suicide note before you went cycling in London, but here she cycled everywhere and it gave her a sense of freedom. “Mom?”

“Yes, honey.”

“I think Grams might be in love with Ben.” She saw her mother smile.

“I hope you’re right.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Mind that my mother finally finds happiness? I think it would be great, don’t you? They have been seeing a lot of each other, that’s true. I wonder if they’re—”

“No!” Mack held up her hand. “Don’t go there, I beg you.”

“You’re right. It’s never a good idea to think about one’s parents having sex.”

“And for me it’s grandparents, so—enough said.” Mack shuddered. “As long as I don’t bump into him in the night on my way to the bathroom.”

Nancy appeared at that moment with a jug of lemonade in her hand. “So are you going to take Scott up on his offer?”

Lauren held a glass steady while her mother poured. “Taking a loan from him ties him into our lives.”

“That’s good, isn’t it? It will stop him sailing off when I say the wrong thing and irritate him.” Mack flushed as her mother looked directly at her. “And anyway he’s already in our lives.”

“He wants to be more involved. He’d like to see more of you.”

“After what I said to him earlier?”

“Yes. What do you think?”

Mack tested the idea out in her head and decided she liked it a lot. “I guess that would work. Maybe the three of us could go sailing together. If you could handle that.”

“She’ll handle it.” Nancy topped up Mack’s glass. “And you’ll take that loan. To Coastal Chic and the future. And speaking of the future, I have news, too.”

“What news?”

“I’ve decided to sell The Captain’s House after all.”

Mack saw her mother frown.

“You’re selling to Scott?”

“I offered it to him, but he has other plans now so I’m going to talk to a Realtor.

After all our hard work someone might like to buy it as a rental property. I wanted to discuss it with you first. I told Jenna this morning while we were making adjustments to the website.”

“Why wouldn’t Scott want it?” Mack sipped her lemonade. “Or maybe he can’t buy it and loan you the money.”

“Are you sure, Mom?” Lauren said. “After all these years of battling to keep it in the family?”

“Exactly. I’m tired of battling. Where does it say that life has to be a battle? I want a more peaceful existence, and I want my life to be full of the things I want, not the things I’m keeping out of obligation to others or some ridiculous sense of responsibility. That house is too big for me. It doesn’t fit with this new phase of my life. I’m going to live right here in the Sail Loft. Ben is going to help me design a garden that is going to be the talk of the island.”

Ben.

Mack caught her mother’s eye.

It was difficult to imagine people falling in love when they were as old as her grandmother, but it probably happened, didn’t it?