—ʺthat I want so badly to be true.ʺ
What do you want to be true? Ivy was about to ask, then she saw him turn his head toward the cottage.
Beth sat on the swing. Will on the doorstep, both of them with arms folded.
ʺWhere have you been?ʺ Beth asked, her voice hard.
ʺRace Point,ʺ Ivy replied.
ʺWhy did you go back? Why did he?ʺ Ivy bit back anger at Bethʹs reference to Guy in the third person. ʺWe wanted to.ʺ
Will stood up abruptly and strode away without a word. Beth rose from the swing. At the same time Kelsey appeared at the cottageʹs door, still wearing her satin nightie.
ʺWell, well, well,” she said, holding open the screen door. ʺIvy, the good girl, whoʹd never sneak off on a midnight adventure, returns at dawn.” Kelsey winked at Guy. ʺLooks to me like Ivy had a lot better night than we did.ʺ
Beth pushed her way past Kelsey, entering the cottage. Kelsey glanced over her shoulder, then said, ʺYou owe me, Ivy, for not letting Beth run to Aunt Cindy, getting you in a heap of trouble. And you owe me and Dhanya for a lost hour of sleep Beth was hysterical.”
Ivy turned to Guy. ʺYou had better go,ʺ she said softly. ʺTalk to you later, okay?ʺ He squeezed her hand and silently headed back to the lot. A half hour later, Ivy was the last one to arrive at the innʹs kitchen, dressed for work.
It must have been obvious from Willʹs grim expression, Bethʹs stiffness, the gleam in Kelseyʹs eye, and the furtive glances from Dhanya that something had occurred overnight. Aunt Cindy quickly assessed them, and instead of assigning jobs said, ʺToday Iʹll need one of you in the garden, one with me for breakfast, one cleaning the room that was vacated late, and two to wash down the porch.
Figure it out.ʺ Then she left them to make her usual pot of high‐powered coffee.
Ivy, wanting to be away from the others, chose the least favorite job, cleaning the room. With work light that morning, all of them finished up early. Ivy headed for the beach below the inn. She walked halfway down the fifty‐two wood steps that descended the bluff and sat for a few minutes on the landing with the benches.
She wanted to think about Guy, to remember each sweet moment with him, to run through every sign mat Tristan had come back to her. After a while, she descended the remainder of the steps and walked by the water.
Darker thoughts began to creep into her mind. What if Lacey was right, Ivy wondered, and Tristan had done something forbidden when he saved her? If he was hiding inside of Guy, could her loving Guy damn Tristanʹs soul forever?
At last she returned to the inn and climbed the steps, deep in thought.
“Ivy.”
Lifting her head, she saw Beth and Will standing on the landing. Grim‐faced, shoulder to shoulder, they made Ivy think of sword‐bearing angels forbidding Adam and Eveʹs return to Eden.
ʺExcuse me,ʺ Ivy said, trying to get past them. They blocked her way. ʺWe need to talk,ʺ Will said. ʺThings have gone too far.ʺ Ivy blinked. ʺWhat is this, an intervention?ʺ ʺCall it whatever you want,ʺ he replied. ʺWeʹre doing it because we care. Ivy, youʹre not making good decisions.ʺ
ʺYouʹre taking huge risks/ʹ Beth said. ʺIʹm taking the same risk as anyone who has ever loved a person.ʺ Beth shook her head. ʺBut you donʹt know who Guy is.ʺ
ʺActually, I believe I know Guy better than he knows himself.ʺ
ʺWhich,ʺ Will reminded her, ʺis just what you said about Gregory when his mother was found dead. You felt sorry for him and made excuses for his reckless ways. You said that living with him, you understood him. Now youʹre making excuses for Guy.ʺ
ʺYouʹre making excuses for a person who canʹt remember why he was in a fight brutal enough to kill him,ʺ Beth added. ʺFor all you know,” Will said, ʺGuy could have killed someone and been beaten up in the process.ʺ
ʺThatʹs crazy!ʺ Ivy exclaimed. ʺAs crazy as thinking Guy was the driver who ran Beth and me off the road!ʺ
ʺIvy, heʹs pretending he canʹt remember. Why are you so gullible?ʺ Will cried.
ʺAnd why are you so ready to think the worst of someone?ʺ she countered.
ʺI got an e‐mail from Suzanne/ʹ Beth said quietly.
ʺYou did?ʺ Ivy leaned against the railing, feeling suddenly worn down by the arguing. ʺSheʹs been dreaming about Gregory.ʺ Ivy thought for a moment.
ʺThatʹs not surprising.ʺ
ʺSheʹs been dreaming about him for the last two weeks.ʺ
ʺBeth, all of us have been thinking about Gregory and Tristan for the last two weeks,ʺ Ivy pointed out. ʺI read the e‐mails,ʺ Will said. ʺSuzanne canʹt remember the dreams — she just knows sheʹs talking to Gregory.ʺ
ʺIn the dreams, you mean,ʺ Ivy responded. ʺSheʹs reliving past scenes.ʺ
Will clenched his fists with impatience. ʺI said she canʹt remember the dreams.
But she feels like he is haunting her.ʺ
Ivy looked from one to the other. Willʹs forehead was beaded with perspiration.
Bethʹs fingers pinched her amethyst so hard, their tips had turned bloodless white.
ʺIt was bound to happen,ʺ Ivy reasoned. ʺWhen Gregory died and the truth came out, Suzanne handled it ʹbeautifullyʹ as everyone said. But thereʹs no way a person can handle that kind of situation ʹbeautifully.ʹ It’s a nightmare and it will produce nightmares, and it will not go away until it has. There is no shortcut to healing from it. Suzanne is finally doing that now.ʺ
ʺNo. Gregory is back,ʺ Beth insisted, taking two steps down to Ivy. She laid a cold hand on her arm. ʺIvy, you almost lost your life two weeks ago — in a car accident, just like the one Gregory caused last year. What will it take for you to believe me?ʺ
Ivy pulled her arm free and slipped through the gap between her friends. ʺYour imaginationʹs running away with you, Beth. You and Will have made up your minds, and youʹre not even trying to listen to me.ʺ
ʺIʹm listening,ʺ Beth called over her shoulder. “And I hear things that you cannot.”
IT FELT STRANGE, BEING AT ODDS WITH HER TWO best friends. Ivy was worried about Beth, but there was no point in discussing her concerns with Will, not now, when he was convinced that Ivy was the one going off the deep end.
Late that afternoon, having made plans to go with Guy to a summer carnival, Ivy went upstairs to look for something special to wear. She found Beth pacing the bedroom, her cell phone pressed to her ear.
ʺNo, Iʹm busy,” Beth said to the caller. ʺIʹve already made plans for tonight.ʺ
Listening for a moment, Beth frowned. ʺI never said that, Chase. . No, you canʹt come with me.ʺ
Seeing Ivy, Beth turned her back and hunched over the phone.
Ivy watched her for a moment in the mirror, then continued toward her bureau.
ʺSorry, I have to go,ʺ Beth said, and clicked off the phone.
Ivy glanced over her shoulder. A week ago, she would have sat on the bed, patted the place next to her, and asked her friend, Howʹs everything? Now she gazed silently at Beth, who frowned at her image in the mirror, wriggling her shoulders as if she had touched something distasteful, and headed downstairs.
ʺSTRAWBERRY DAYS!ʺ IVY SAID SEVERAL HOURS LATER, happily slipping her hand in Guyʹs and gazing up at a banner that stretched between two antique fire trucks. The annual week‐long carnival, which raised money for the Capeʹs fire departments, was a colorful jumble of booths and rides spread beneath strings of lights.
ʺWhere do you want to start?ʺ she asked.
ʺGames,ʺ said Guy, smiling down at her. ʺI feel lucky tonight. How about darts?
Over there.ʺ
The booth, tended by a woman wearing a fire hat, had rows of red, white, and blue balloons. Guy plunked down two dollars.