“Let’s maybe wait on that,” Kailee said. She put her hand on Ross’s knee to comfort him. “I think that’s a very delicate subject. I mean, Ross and I will be having children, and we should have his baby things for his child.”

  “Oh, we can give them to you when our child grows out of them,” Nova said.

  “No.” Ross almost growled. Ignoring his food, he put his two fists on the table.

  “Son,” Wall started to calm him.

  Ross turned on his father. “No, I will not be your best man. No, I won’t let you have my baby clothes. Both my grandmothers and Mom made most of those clothes for me. They are heirlooms. They are mine. And no, Kailee and I will not be there for your Christmas fantasy wedding.”

  Wall spoke up again. “Ross—”

  “No, Dad. Obviously, you and Nova were together before Mom asked you for a divorce. I’ve always tried to do what you wanted me to do, but not anymore. Kailee is my family now. We have our own plans to make.”

  “Ross, I think you’re overreacting,” Nova said.

  Ross ignored her. “I can’t eat and think about all your plans at the same time.” He put his hand on Kailee’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Kailee rose and took Ross’s hand.

  “I’ve got to get back to work,” Ross said. “I’ll drop you at your house on my way to the site.”

  “That’s good.” Kailee gave Ross a few moments of quiet while they rode down Main toward Pleasant. When they arrived at her house, she opened the truck door, then turned back to look at him. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Kailee reached over and touched his arm. “Ross, are you going to tell your mother about your father, and the wedding, and the baby clothes?”

  “Yes. I’ll probably stop by there after work tonight. She’s going up to Boston tomorrow for the first divorce meeting before a judge. I don’t want her blindsided by this information.”

  Kailee pasted a sympathetic smile on her face. “If you need me, call. And I’ll wait up for you.”

  “Thanks, Kailee.”

  “I want to help, you know.”

  “I know you do. And you are helping.” Ross shifted impatiently. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Take care, sweetie,” Kailee said. She hopped down from the truck and went up the walk to her house. Ross drove away.

  Kailee gave herself a moment to breathe in the afternoon air. It was warm, but not hot, and beds of blue hydrangea lined the front of their house, with pink-and-white petunias winking from the soil. How could her mother do it all, Kailee wondered. Evelyn did have a gardener and a housekeeper, but Kailee was certain she’d never be able to accomplish this network of perfection. Her mother’s plans for the Essex Nature Foundation were complicated. Kailee doubted that she could work for her mother and learn about her father’s business, too. She knew her mother needed help, but Kailee hadn’t studied in order to plan parties. She’d studied to learn how to run Essex Construction, and she was eager to start.

  She didn’t bother going into the house. Her mother would undoubtedly ask her to do just one more thing. Kailee jumped into her red Jeep. She’d already put the top down. A breeze blew against her neck, cooling her as she drove, and she didn’t have far to go to get to the business office.

  She was working on a spreadsheet when her cell rang. At the same time, George’s cell rang. And the office’s cell buzzed.

  Kailee hated being interrupted, but she answered.

  Their housekeeper, Gravity, said, “Kailee, your mother has had a heart attack. She’s at the hospital. Your father’s on his way there.”

  * * *

  —

  Kailee drove to the hospital, parked in the emergency lot, and ran through the electric sliding doors into the waiting area. She checked at the desk and hurried down to a room at the end of a corridor.

  Her parents were there, arguing. Her mother was sitting up in a hospital bed. She wore a hospital gown and a furious glare. Kailee’s father looked like a man who’d hiked thirty miles through a desert, dehydrated and wan, every wrinkle on his face suddenly exaggerated.

  “I’m fine!” Evelyn snapped at Kailee the moment she walked into the room. “This is ridiculous. I want to go home.”

  “She’s not fine,” Kailee’s father argued. “She’s had a mild heart attack and needs more tests run. She needs to be in the hospital for at least one night.”

  Kailee went to the high hospital bed and kissed her mother. “Mom, I’m so sorry.”

  Naomi Landers, a physician and the mother of one of Kailee’s friends, came into the room, chatting away as she performed a thousand mysterious tasks with electronic gadgets. She was tall, thin as an IV pole, with long dark hair clamped up behind her head, and a stethoscope hanging over her white coat.

  Dr. Landers said, “Bob, Kailee, you should be glad. She’s had a warning signal and now she can get her life calmed down.”

  “My life is exactly the way it’s always been!” Evelyn snapped.

  “Yes, my dear,” Naomi replied. “But you have changed. Your body has changed. You can’t do what you did five years ago.”

  Evelyn wrenched her face away from the doctor. “But I want to! I can’t sit around knitting!”

  “No one says you have to knit,” Naomi said. “But you’re going to have to change your life. Your schedule. If you keep on like you’ve been going on, a serious heart attack is waiting for you.”

  Kailee sat on the side of the bed, took her mother’s hand, and said, “I’ll look at your calendar and see how I can help.”

  “I don’t think you understand,” Evelyn said. “I have some very important things to accomplish. If I don’t, our island will suffer and people will…will hate me.” She lay back against her pillows and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Naomi left the room, quickly returning. “Okay, I’m going to give you a little IV Valium. It’s an anti-anxiety agent.”

  “I’m not anxious!” Evelyn snapped. “I just want to go home.”

  Naomi continued her work, moving slowly, speaking calmly. “You need to relax, Evelyn. We’ll take care of you here. Your husband and daughter can take care of things out there.” Naomi shot piercing looks at Kailee and Bob. “They’re going to leave now, and you’re going to sleep.”

  Kailee tried to kiss her mother, but Evelyn angrily turned away. Kailee walked out into the hall to find Ross waiting there. She told him what she’d learned, and Ross pulled her into his arms. While they were standing in the hallway, Kailee’s father joined them.

  Bob said, obviously trying to be the boss of something, “Let’s go home. Evelyn’s resting and there’s nothing more we can do.”

  Dr. Landers agreed. “Your father’s right, Kailee. And you must be Ross.”

  “Yes, Doctor, I am.” Ross took his arms from around Kailee but held her hand.

  “She’s going to be rested and spitting mad by tomorrow, so you all need to get your rest, too. When you come back tomorrow, we’ll have instructions printed out for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  In their own cars, the three drove back to the house on Pleasant Street. They went in the back door and found Gravity waiting for them in the kitchen. It was three-thirty.

  “How is she?” the housekeeper asked.

  “Cranky,” Bob said.

  Gravity let out a sigh of relief. “Sit down a moment, you three. Have a nice glass of iced tea.”

  Kailee watched her father for a cue. She was relieved that he sat. He seldom showed emotion, and she knew he must be aching with worry for her mother. They told Gravity about the doctor’s diagnosis and instructions and agreed they were too shaken to do any real work. Gravity left, reminding them to call her anytime. Kailee’s father went upstairs to take a nap.

  Ross put his hand on Kailee’s. “She’ll be okay. She was her normal self when we left.”

  “I know,” Kailee said. “And you can go back to work, but I—”

  Ross was indignant. “I’m not going to work now!”

  “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I mean, I want to go work on Mom’s stuff. Emails, organizing, anything. It will help me pass the time. It will make me feel that I’m helping her become less stressed.”

  “That’s a good idea, Kailee. I guess I’ll go back to the site and do some heavy lifting. We’ve got a lot of daylight left. Call me when you hear anything. On the way home I’ll stop by Mom’s and see how she is.”

  Kailee bristled. “You don’t have to worry about your mom. She’s not in the hospital.”

  Ross leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Kailee thought he was probably counting to ten.

  “She’s still my mom,” Ross said quietly. “She’s still going to be your mother-in-law.”

  Kailee burst into tears. “Oh, God, I’m so mean and jealous, aren’t I? I’m sorry, Ross. I’m so worried about my mother.”

  Ross stood up, pulled Kailee up against him, and hugged her. “It’s okay. Your mother will be fine. And you’ve had way too much family for the day. My dad. That Nova woman. Now your mother. I’ll stay here with you if you want.”

  Kailee clung to him, grateful for his strong arms and his sturdy heart. “I don’t want to let you go,” she said.

  “Then I’ll stay right here,” Ross assured her.

  “You’re mine,” Kailee said to him.

  Ross chuckled. “Yes. I’m yours.”

  “I have to blow my nose,” Kailee said.

  Ross pulled away. “On my shirt?”

  Kailee laughed and stepped away from him. She took a tissue from the box on the counter and blew her nose heartily. “I love you, Ross. I’m okay. Let’s both get to work.”

  After Ross left, Kailee went into her mother’s office and sat at her computer. Evelyn’s desk was piled with folders. Evelyn had downloaded dozens of pages from environmental groups. Her computer screen was framed by reminders stuck on Post-it notes.

  One of the notes, in Evelyn’s handwriting, read: Ask Heather to join ENF?

  NO! The word rose automatically in Kailee’s mind. She wanted to reach out and rip off the note, crumple it, and toss it in the wastepaper basket.

  Stop it, Kailee told herself. Stop being so bitchy. She needed to be nicer to Heather, nicer to everyone. It might be the karmic move that would keep her mother safe.

  Kailee worked on the computer until she heard her father come downstairs. She met him in the hall. He had bags under his eyes, and she knew he hadn’t slept.

  “Let’s have a drink,” Kailee suggested. “It’s after six.”

  “Brilliant idea,” her father said.

  Kailee poured Glenfiddich over ice for him and made a vodka tonic created mostly from tonic for herself. She sat in the den with him. He’d turned on the television and was watching BBC news.

  After a while, Kailee said, “Dad? Could we watch something else?”

  At that moment, Ross came in. He’d just showered, so his hair was damp, and his clothes were clean, not covered with sawdust.

  “Bob, we’re ahead of schedule out at the site. I texted my mom. She’s out, so I left her a message.”

  Bob said, “I called Evelyn. She’s bored but calm.”

  “She’s calm?” Kailee grinned. “I think that calls for a deluxe pizza.”

  Her father did a thumbs-up. “Genius. Let’s order two.”

  They ordered the pizzas and ate them while watching The Mark of Zorro on an old movie channel. They phoned the hospital and were told that Evelyn was in good shape, and asleep.

  They said good night and went to bed. Kailee didn’t want to leave her father in the house alone, and she didn’t want Ross to leave her alone, so while her father was in his bedroom, alone without his wife, Kailee was in her bedroom, with Ross sleeping next to her, and she felt safe.

  twelve

  Heather arrived home after grocery shopping and let Sugar out for a run around the yard. She was yipping and jumping with excitement, trying to sniff new smells and water new spots. Heather sat on the front step and watched her, smiling. Sugar had learned not to go beyond the walls of trees. She was in her territory, and proud of it.

  “Come, Sugar. Dinner!”

  Sugar was a smart dog and knew exactly what Heather was saying. She scurried up to her, her tail wagging her entire body, and followed her through the house and out the kitchen door, where Heather set her bowl of food. She returned to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of wine, and took it out to the patio. She’d put large pots here and there on the patio, not minding that the pots only looked like terra-cotta but were made from some new miracle material that was lightweight and made it easy for her to lift. Candy-cane geraniums grew happily in the pots, and around the edge of the yard, her petunias were multiplying daily, creating waves of purple, white, and pink. She sighed, relaxing.

  This morning, Miles had been so busy with clients that Heather didn’t have time to be embarrassed or even flirtatious, which was a good thing. She’d worked on the computer, answered the phone, adjusted Miles’s work calendar, and chatted with the clients who were waiting to see the lawyer. Most of them told her they’d known Miles when he was just a boy. He was such a great fellow, they said. They would trust him with their lives.

  When the last client left, Miles remained in his office. Noon came, and no one was waiting, so Heather stuck her head around the door.

  “Is there anything else I can do?” she asked.

  Miles looked up from a long document. “No, Heather, thanks.”

  “All right. I think I emailed you, but I won’t be here tomorrow. I have to go off-island.”

  Miles grinned. “Just be sure to return.”

  “I will.” She tore herself away from his gaze and left the office.

  As she drove home, she thought about tomorrow. She was driving off the boat and off the Cape, up to the western part of the state to the Concord District Court where she would stand before the judge and ask for a divorce. Her lawyer told her it wouldn’t take long. Since Wall and she had both signed legal papers declaring the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage, it would take only a few moments for the judge to accept the separation agreement. Heather would be able to drive down to Hyannis and catch the five-thirty ferry. She’d be home by eight-fifteen. Ross had promised to come feed and walk Sugar, so she wouldn’t be alone all day.

  It was quiet in her yard. She had space to consider her choice one more time. She’d thought about divorcing Wall for so long, but she’d never dreamed she’d be sitting here, on Nantucket, drinking wine, with only a dog for companionship. She loved the moment in movies when two lovers finally came together for that long, romantic kiss. As a girl, she’d always wondered what happened to Cinderella and the prince after they married. During her teenage years, she realized that married life was not all sugar and violins. Her parents had not divorced, but they’d allowed their marriage to grow stale. They’d stayed together, rather like two legs holding up a table, and at night Heather had heard them arguing in their bedroom. And yet, when her father died at seventy, her mother died three months later. They definitely had been a matching set.

  Heather thought of the friends she had in Concord who were older. Both men and women, all clever, educated, witty. Marjorie Smith, a grand dame who’d been head of a private school, had told Heather one day when they were having tea that this death thing had been arranged incorrectly. Everyone feared getting older, Marjorie had said, because of weakening bodies and eventual death. Wouldn’t it be better if, at eighty, suddenly you were twenty again but you could eat all you wanted without getting fat and have all the sex you wanted without getting pregnant? That way, people would look forward to getting older, and death could nab you when you were cheerfully eating cake.

  Heather smiled, remembering. She missed Marjorie, who’d passed away two years ago. She’d miss so many people in the town, and the beauty and history of Concord itself, but she knew she needed to leave it. To live somewhere else.

  She wished she could live here, on Nantucket. Could she afford it? The sale of the Victorian house in Concord might give her enough money for a small place, like this cottage, but she’d have to work, and she’d have no health plan or pension. Miles wouldn’t need her full-time, but maybe he could recommend her to another law office. She needed a serious job.

  Sugar raced over to her, carrying a stick in her mouth, demanding she stop brooding and play with her. Heather laughed and rose and threw the stick. This was a game Sugar could play endlessly, and it was almost twilight when Heather and her dog went inside.

  Heather had bought herself a sandwich from Sophie T’s. She found her current mystery novel, leaned it against the salt and pepper shakers, and sat down at the table to eat. Not until she got ready for bed did she listen to her messages on her phone.

  Her son said, “Mom, I’m at the hospital with the Essexes. Evelyn had a slight heart attack. I won’t be able to get over to see you tonight. Don’t worry, Evelyn’s sitting up in bed and talking, but Kailee and her father and I are hanging with her until the nurses chase us out. Love you.”

  Was there anything she could do? Heather wondered. It would be odd to send flowers to the hospital if Evelyn would be going home tomorrow morning. She could call Evelyn, but not while Evelyn was surrounded by nurses, doctors, and beeping machinery. She decided she could do nothing, maybe make a casserole when she returned from Concord and take it to the Essexes, although with all their friends, they would be smothered with casseroles.

  Heather prepared herself for bed, set her alarm, and fell asleep at once, thanks to the pure ocean air.

  * * *

  —

  In the morning, Heather drove her car onto a car ferry, and waited until they were well under way before calling Ross. She got sent to voicemail, so she simply said, “Hi, Ross. I hope Evelyn is doing well. I’m going to Concord for the day. Will you still be able to stop by the house and let Sugar out for a pit stop and a run? Love you.”