How to Keep a Secret

Her grandmother was right about one thing. Her mom was always there for her. No matter how much Mack yelled or stomped off or said mean things. Her mom was always in her corner.

Mack noticed she had her “London look” about her. She wore tailored pants, a silk shirt and a simple gold necklace Mack recognized as one Ed had given her at Christmas.

She remembered her grandmother’s words about how hard things had been for her mom since Ed died.

“Hi, Mom.” She saw anxiety in her mother’s eyes and felt guilty because she knew she was the one responsible.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

The endearment almost cracked her heart open. “Grams made homemade lemonade. Do you want some? There’s more in the fridge.” She was going to do better, she promised herself. She was going to stop thinking about herself all the time. She wanted to start by saying sorry, but she didn’t know where to begin. “I’ll fetch you some.”

“I’ll fetch it,” Nancy said, “but first tell me how your meeting with the bank went.” She stood up and gestured to her chair. “Sit down. You look exhausted.”

“The meeting with the bank didn’t go so well,” Lauren said and Mack noticed her mom’s mascara was smudged.

“They said no?”

“Oh, those stupid people.” Nancy sounded cross. “How long have the Stewarts lived on this island? I’ve a mind to call them up myself and give them my opinion.”

“Don’t. It isn’t necessary.”

Mack wondered how her mother could possibly think that. “Without the money, you can’t start the business. And that business is your dream.” Suddenly it mattered very much that her mom had a dream, too. “Maybe we could call Aunt Jenna. Four heads are good, right? We have to find another way.”

“There is another way. Scott wants to loan us the money.” The look she gave Mack was cautious, even a little nervous. “It’s his way of stepping up and helping.”

Nancy nodded approvingly. “I hope you said yes.”

Lauren didn’t answer right away. “Do you mind if I talk to Mack for a minute?”

Mack’s heart sank. Her mom was going to lose it with her, and she deserved it. Was she going to tell her that Scott had been so appalled by her childish explosion he’d set sail to the Bahamas?

“I’ll fetch that lemonade,” Nancy said and Mack waited, miserable, as her grandmother vanished into the Sail Loft.

Her mother was twisting the ring on her finger. Ed’s ring.

“Mack, there’s something I need to—”

“Me first.” Mack blurted the words out. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. For yelling at you. For yelling at Scott. For behaving like a brat when you were dealing with so much, for being so difficult and h-horrible to you—” Tears started to fall, flowing like a river in full flood. She gulped and swallowed, tasting salt on her lips and on her tongue and then her mother was hugging her tightly, rocking her as she’d done when Mack was a child.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Don’t cry.”

The love in her voice made Mack cry even harder.

How could her mother possibly forgive her so easily?

“I’ve been h-horrid, and you keep forgiving me and being there and trying to help and I’m such a mean person.”

“You’re not a mean person. It’s not you that’s horrid, it’s the situation.” Lauren smoothed Mack’s damp hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. “You’re a good person, and you’ve had to deal with more than any person should.”

“But you’ve had to deal with it all, too, and you’ve had to deal with me, and I made it worse instead of better.” She was choking on her tears, gulping air in between sobs, breathing in the mix of her mother’s floral scent and the sea breeze. There was nothing on earth that smelled as good as her mother. She smelled like home and safety. She smelled like love.

“Oh, Mack, you make everything better. All of it. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how I’d carry on.”

Mack clung to her mother. “How can you say that after the things I said earlier?”

“You were upset. Understandably so. And I’m sorry you saw that because I wouldn’t have wanted you to.”

Mack noticed her mother didn’t say she was sorry she’d kissed Scott.