Beachcombing in the Bahamas (Once Again #11)

Chapter 31

31

Y vette ran across the sand until finally she fell to her knees and heaved up everything she and Brock had enjoyed in their private cove.

Her eyes watered, her guts ached. And her heart bled.

With nothing left, she rose and kicked sand over everything Adeline had ripped from her. And she ran again.

She ran until there was no beach left, just rocks and pounding surf. She sat then, pulled her knees to her chest, curling her arms around them until she became a tightly wrapped, impenetrable ball.

She felt Brock sit beside her, but he didn’t touch her. “It makes a perfect kind of sense,” she said. Her heart, having lost all its blood, was nothing more than a withered, dying husk. “This is why she’s always hated me. Because she believed your father got my mother pregnant. I thought Harris was visiting my grandfather. Because they were friends. And that’s why he was always so kind to me. Even after my grandfather died, he made sure my mother and I were okay. When my mother got sick, he was there to help us. He gave me the job.”

Finally, he spoke, “It isn’t true.”

But she knew the truth. “I can see now that he was in love with my mother.”

“Adeline is lying,” he insisted. “We have to fight her. Don’t you remember the promise we made to each other in the cove? That we’d never let anything or anyone break us apart?”

“I remember,” she whispered. “But Adeline wasn’t there. She didn’t hear us. And she didn’t care what we promised.”

He took her hand, pulling it to his chest until she could feel the beating of his heart. “She lied. Those test results are false.”

“She’ll never stop.”

He pressed her hand to his heart. “I don’t care what she does. We belong together.”

Finally, she looked at him. “Pierce was always so different from you and Trevor. I thought it was because he was a middle child. But I realize now it was because he wasn’t your father’s son.”

Brock closed his eyes, swallowed, then finally exhaled in a long sigh. “Oh yeah, I believe that part. My mother slept with another man and got herself pregnant to spite my father because she believed he’d cheated on her.”

She curled her fingers around his. “No.” She shook her head. “Because she knew your father didn’t love her. That he loved someone else. That he would never love her.”

Brock opened his eyes to look at her. “ My father?” he stressed.

And she whispered, “ Your father.” Then she softly added, “ My father died when I was very young. I don’t remember him. But I know my mother loved him. Maybe Harris loved her. And maybe in the end she loved him too. But she always loved my father.”

She placed her fingers over his. They’d made that vow to each other in the cove. Nothing would keep them apart. Especially not Adeline.

And she whispered her mantra, “I’m not afraid of her.” She wouldn’t allow Adeline to win. “When we have our own DNA tests done,” she said, “without your mother’s influence, it will show the truth.” She had to believe it. She would believe it. “My mother loved my father. And your father was just my grandfather’s friend.”

There seemed no point in staying on the island. After Darryl’s misdeeds and Adeline’s treachery, a pall hung over the family. The next morning, New Year’s Day, Brock made arrangements to leave. He didn’t go to Yvette’s cottage. And she didn’t come to his. What should have been a day of relaxation and celebration was more like a day of mourning.

With every fiber of his being, Brock knew Adeline had lied. He would allow nothing else. She’d manufactured those test results. It didn’t matter how. It didn’t even matter why.

But finally, after all these years, he understood why she’d always hated Yvette. Adeline had truly believed his father loved Yvette’s mother, and she’d let that belief fester in her heart for over fifty years. Through births and divorces and deaths. And adultery. It was hard to truly imagine that she’d been so angry, she’d borne a child by another man. That Pierce had been his half brother.

There were so many unanswered questions that he would never ask his mother. He would never know if he was getting the truth or another lie.

Once again, Adeline sat in the plane’s front row as they flew home. No one sat with her or spoke to her. Yvette had taken a seat facing her daughters.

Brock sat a few rows back, Garth next to him. His son asked, “What are you going to do, Dad?”

Mildly, Brock said, “About what?” Though he knew what his son wanted to know. And without further prompting from Garth, he added, “We’ll get our own DNA tests.” Then he looked at his son. “I never asked you outright if you’re okay with this. Me and your aunt getting married.”

“Aunt Yvette is a wonderful woman.” Garth smiled. “She’s always been good to me and Ethan and Malcolm. And they feel the same way I do. You both deserve to be together.”

He wasn’t asking for his son’s blessing. He wasn’t even asking permission. He was simply tired of fighting for his and Yvette’s happiness. And Garth’s words meant everything to him.

“I love you, son.” His words were heartfelt. “I love all of you.”

They were on their way home, the trip cut short. But no one seemed to mind. The last few days had stripped away all the fun. Adeline was up front, facing the bulkhead, and the next three rows behind her were empty. No one wanted to get close.

Adeline had made her bed. And now she’d have to lie in it alone.

Seated across from her daughters, Yvette had her back to the woman. From here, she could see Brock, and her heart beat faster when their gazes locked. This would work out. It had to work out.

I am not afraid of Adeline.

She leaned on the table between her and the girls, the sound of the engines covering anything she might say from Adeline’s prying ears. “I’ve decided to move out of the gatehouse.” She paused, waiting for a reaction. But neither Jodi nor Kacey said anything. “I’d planned to stay until you were both done with college and in your own apartments. The gatehouse was your childhood home, but I can no longer live on the same property as Adeline.”

“We understand, Mom,” Jodi said, as if she and her sister had talked about it.

Kacey stared at the tabletop and the three glasses of champagne the flight attendant had poured for them. Her lips thinned, and she filled her lungs with a deep breath before she finally said, “Once we get home, I’m going straight back to school. I know it’s not the end of the break, but I’m tired.”

Yvette wondered if she wanted to patch things up with Darryl.

As if she sensed her thoughts, Kacey said, “But I’m never going back to Darryl.”

Yvette reached across the table to take her hand and squeezed. Then she held Jodi’s hand, and they formed a circle.

“I’m going back too,” Jodi said.

If not for the disastrous events of this holiday, Yvette would have been devastated. As if they were leaving her. But she understood now. They all needed to distance themselves from Adeline, as well as from the vacation and all that had happened. “That’s okay. I’m glad you’ll be together.”

The two girls looked at each other, and as if they’d rehearsed this, deciding who would say what, Kacey started with, “About you and Uncle Brock.”

Jodi added, “What are you going to do?”

As their mother, she’d always wanted to keep secrets about the part of her life that didn’t revolve around them. Her life with Pierce, his drinking, his gambling, his cheating. Her life with Adeline, her cruelty, her lies, her scheming. And finally, her affair with Brock. As if she were protecting them. But she had to wonder if she’d only been protecting herself.

Now, after everything that had happened, her protecting days were over. The truth was the real protection. “We’re getting our own DNA tests. And then we’ll make our decision.”

Jodi’s jaw tensed, and if they weren’t in a plane with roaring engines, Yvette was sure she would hear her teeth grinding. Then her daughter said, “You know she’s lying.”

Jodi had always been so deferential to her grandmother. But now there was something in her tone, anger, maybe disgust. It certainly wasn’t deference.

“I don’t think she’s telling the truth either,” Yvette admitted. But since it was her life, hers and Brock’s, she couldn’t help the ripple of fear that Adeline might win.

I am not afraid of Adeline. She’d repeated the mantra so many times in the past two days that she didn’t even have to truly think it; it was just there.

“We all talked about it,” Kacey said. “After we left the party that was no party at all.”

“And none of it makes sense,” Jodi went on.

Kacey swirled her index finger in the champagne’s condensation on the table. “I mean, they supposedly both cheat on each other, they have children with other people, and then they just go on like nothing happened?” She raised her hands as if she were mystified.

“Then they even have Uncle Trevor after that?” Jodi finished for her.

“And really.” Kacey wagged her head. “If Grandfather knew Adeline was so angry with him for cheating that she paid him back by cheating on him and having a baby that wasn’t his—” The sentence was almost too complicated to understand. But then, that was typical of Adeline’s stories. “—why would he ever bring you into the company?”

“Yeah,” Jodi said, getting into the argument as if they’d been over and over it. “Why would he subject you to Adeline’s wrath?”

Adeline’s wrath. Her daughter had hit the nail on the head, to use an old but very appropriate cliché. Why would Harris do that?

“Right,” Kacey said, earnestness dancing in her eyes.

“You two must have talked about this last night.”

“We did. And that’s what Garth thinks. Grandfather never would have done that.” Jodi looked over her shoulder at Garth, seated with his father.

“Maybe they forgave each other,” Yvette suggested. Even if she’d never believe it.

Jodi barked out a laugh. “She never forgets. And she never forgives.” So true.

“That’s why we think she made it all up,” Kacey said, as if they’d debated the whole thing and that was their conclusion.

Yvette looked at the bubbles still rising to the top of her champagne glass. And her heart was suddenly full. No matter what happened, her daughters’ love filled her up. “Thank you.” Then she admitted the truth. Because sometimes a mother just had to talk about her fears. “I was so afraid that you might never forgive me. I thought you might walk away from me forever.” She couldn’t help the tremble in her voice.

Both her beautiful daughters squeezed her fingers.

“I love you, Mom,” Jodi said. Her voice wobbled too.

Kacey folded both hands around Yvette’s. “I love you. I’m sorry I was so horrible to you. I only said all that terrible stuff because I was so upset about Darryl. But that’s no excuse.”

Yvette cut her off. “It must have been awful to walk in on us when you were already so scared.”

Kacey left out a tiny laugh, not much more than a puff of air, but still a laugh. “You never want to think about what your parents are doing behind closed doors.” She shuddered dramatically.

Yvette had to laugh with her. “Just like you never want to think about what your grown daughters are doing behind closed doors.”

They giggled together, softly, but with a hint of joy.

Then Jodi’s eyes turned serious. “I see the way you and Uncle Brock look at each other. I see the love. And I know you were meant to be together.”

“We all see it,” Kacey agreed.

Jodi added, “We’ve never seen you as happy as you were those first few days on the island.”

“Before everything happened,” Kacey finished as if they were speaking from one mind.

“It was because you were together.” Jodi squeezed her hand. “We all knew that.”

“At least we know it in hindsight. When I think back,” Kacey said.

Yvette couldn’t help the single tear that slid from her eye. “We are happy. And I’m so glad you’re happy for us.”

“You shouldn’t have to give him up,” Jodi declared.

“Just because Grandmother lied,” Kacey finished.

Oh yes, they had talked this out, because Jodi added, “I think Adeline has been telling us a lot of lies for a lot of years.”

Maybe it was a terrible thing for a mother to think, but she was glad that Adeline had finally shown her true colors without Yvette needing to say a thing. She wanted to get up right then, walk back to Brock’s seat, and throw her arms around him.

Instead, she clasped her daughters’ hands tightly. “I love you both with all my heart. And I always will, no matter what happens.”