TWENTY-ONE
Brooklyn stormed through the house, slamming doors, stomping up the stairs to her room, and yelling about how stupid Bowie Holmes was. Rennie followed her and agreed with everything she said. That’s what friends did. When it dawned on her that Rennie was echoing her sentiments, she stopped ranting and worked to control her breathing. She pointed toward the window, in the direction where the bonfire took place, and grunted. Rennie laughed.
“How can you laugh at a time like this?”
“Easy, you’re being a bit overdramatic. So what if the town drunk says he hates you?”
“Rennie, he said I should be the one who died . . . in front of my daughter.” Brooklyn held her hand to her chest. “I just . . . I shouldn’t be here. It was a mistake coming back, and now Carly . . .” She let her words trail off. She never wanted Carly to think poorly of her, but the things that Grady had insinuated were enough to put a rift between her and Austin’s mother.
“Who cares?”
“I do.”
Rennie came to her and placed her hands on her forearms. “Carly’s a smart woman. Hell, I bet everyone out there thinks that Grady Chamberlain is nothing more than a loose cannon. Of course he’s going to blame you—you took off while everyone else dealt with the aftermath. You’re an easy target. Let it go.”
“What if Bowie told him?”
“Do you honestly think he would’ve done that, especially under the circumstances?”
She shook her head slowly, and as her body temperature started to regulate, she began to feel overdramatic, as Rennie had said. She covered her face with her hands and mumbled how there was no possible way she could go back out there, not after she’d stormed off.
“I’m fairly certain you’re entitled to have a moment or two. What Grady said, those were hurtful words. I don’t think you’ll find one person out there who wouldn’t have done what you did.”
Brooklyn went to the window. More people had shown up, and she spotted Carly right in the mix of everything. She was thankful Jason was nearby because she would need someone to tend to her if she started coughing again. Who she didn’t see was Grady, Graham, and Bowie.
“I think he’s married.”
“And you care, why?”
She shrugged. “I shouldn’t care, but I feel like we’re dancing around each other, flirting. I almost kissed him, and if he’s married . . . I don’t play that game, Ren. You know that.”
“Ask him.”
She shook her head and sighed. “It’s just old feelings creeping back in.”
Rennie joined her at the window, and they leaned against each other. “The people down there, they mean well.”
“Carly hates that they do this every year, and she’s not a fan of the town having the street fair during this time either.”
“It started after he died, right?”
Brooklyn nodded.
“I’m sure whoever started the fair meant it to be a celebration and not so much a mourning. Which makes it hard for them to move on. Give the lost fisherman a statue, but leave it at that.”
Brooklyn laughed. Earlier, when they were downtown, she had come across a statue of a fisherman. She had stood there, looking at the bronze man, wondering if it was Austin. That would make the entire town of Cape Harbor officially certifiable, but thankfully it was the first man to be lost at sea from town. They were honoring him as well, along with many others; they had just chosen to do it all on the day Austin had set sail and never returned.
“I don’t get it,” Brooklyn said as she continued to watch the people gather. “They’ve done this every year, and not a one of them knocked on the door to see if Carly was okay. If it weren’t for Simone, she probably would’ve died.”
Rennie clasped her hand with Brooklyn’s. “I think you and Brystol saved her. Simone was just doing your job until you could return.”
She shook her head and let the tears she had been holding back fall. “I don’t want to stay here and give up my job, but I also don’t want to leave, because I see what stability is doing for Brystol. She’s happy here. She socializes with everyone. Normally when I’m on a job, she barely speaks to my crew, and now she’s on a first-name basis with everyone. Bowie’s crew dotes on her. And that damn dog.” She paused and sought her daughter out. She was sitting off to the side with Luke right next to her, almost as if he was guarding her. “She wants a home, and if I stay here, I can give that to her.”
“What are you afraid of?” Rennie asked.
“Giving up the life I’ve built. Being Brooklyn Hewett and not Austin Woods’s girlfriend. You know how long it took me to come out of my funk, to realize that for years I allowed him to push his identity on me. I worked hard to get where I am, to make a name for myself.”