Fiona storms off before I can offer an apology. I’m left feeling assaulted, like she slapped me across the face. The nerve of that woman! She acts like she’s the expert on parenting, when I know for a fact she doesn’t have kids of her own. And she’s not even my boss. I work for David, but I guess she’s marking her territory, and I just got sprayed.
A door closes softly to my right. Turning, I see Taylor setting down a couple of suitcases.
“Sorry, my mom wanted privacy to tear into David, so she asked me to help unpack his car. I didn’t mean to intrude.” She offers an apologetic half smile that tells me she overheard the whole embarrassing exchange with Fiona. Taylor adds, “For what it’s worth, she seems like a total bitch. If you ever need to get away, come visit us—anytime.”
“Thanks for the offer,” I say, meaning it. “At least with all these windows you’ll see if she tries to murder me in my sleep.”
We both laugh, lightening the mood.
“I’m Taylor,” she says.
“Izzy,” I return. “Really nice to meet you.”
And while I’m still reeling from Fiona’s lashing, I feel a small sense of relief that I might make a friend here after all. I just can’t get so close that she figures out my real reason for coming to the lake.
Chapter 5
Julia
Julia placed her suitcase on the floor in the bedroom next to the Shaker-style dresser her grandfather had crafted from the same wood he had used to build the house. She plopped down onto the four-poster bed, nestling into the feel of the soft, aged quilt made by her beloved aunt Lorraine. Everywhere she looked, memories of love and family surrounded her, stretching back to her earliest days.
The ceiling’s exposed beams made Julia feel like she’d stepped back in time toThe WaltonsorLittle House on the Prairie(aka the saddest show on television). Even the beautiful stained-glass lamps were from another era, and the colorful folk art Julia had collected from local artists added to the room’s charm.
What Julia loved most, however, was the porthole window cut into the wall over the bed. As a little girl, she’d relished coming into what was then her parents’ bedroom. To see the lake through the round window, Julia needed to stand on her tiptoes. Looking out at the water, she’d imagine herself in a ship, traveling across a vast ocean to a distant land inhabited by pirates, fairies, and princes.
When she peeked out the porthole now, she still had a view of the water—but also of David’s jarringly modern house.
“You can see the lake through my windows,” she said, mocking him.
Julia fully intended to turn her indignation into a passive-aggressive assault once their annual Scrabble night commenced. She’ddo all she could to make each word a rebuke of David’s thoughtlessness.
Aghast. Dismayed. Sickened. Perturbed(that would score big).Betrayed.
There. That summed it up.
David might not get the message, but Julia would take pride in her clever revenge.
While they were outside, she’d asked David what on earth had prompted him to build a house more than twice the size of his previous home. His answer, no surprise, proved unsatisfactory, not to mention mildly manipulative.
“You know my father, Mr. Fix-it. He always wanted to add an addition and have lots of grandchildren to fill the space. Now his dream is a reality. How beautiful is that? He may not be here to enjoy it, but I know he’d be impressed with what I made for Brody and Becca.”
There was so much to unpack in that little soliloquy that Julia had been rendered speechless. She was supposed to sacrifice their view so that adead guycould be impressed?Oh, give me a break.But of course, it did pull at her heartstrings because she knew how much the loss of his father had affected David. And true to form, he had flipped the narrative around to make himself look like a hero.
“And just think what a nice modern house will do foryourhome’s value.”
Julia could hardly stifle a laugh. But he was trying—she gave him credit for that. She always felt conflicted when it came to David. He had his grand ego, but she also knew his softer side. David had his kids later in life than Erika and Julia, so he had been like an uncle to Taylor and Lucas.
It was David who bought Lucas his first guitar and set him up with lessons. And when Taylor got a concussion playing field hockey, David called in a favor from a top neurologist, who agreed to take the case on short notice. He never failed to recognize the kids’ birthdays, sometimes with extravagant gifts, but what matteredmost was that he treated them like family. And while you might not always like your family, more often than not, you love them.
Sigh. At least she was here, in her happy place, and all she could do was wait until Erika arrived. Then she’d have someone to commiserate with, as Christian was too busy fawning over David’s newfound wealth to be supportive in that arena.
Julia climbed from the bed, shaking off her annoyance. There was nothing to be done about it now, other than to stop obsessing.Good luck with that.
In the hallway, she paused to listen. All was quiet, unsettlingly so. In times past, Julia would have heard Taylor’s fast-moving feet racing up and down the stairs, or drawers slamming as she rummaged for her bathing suit. Julia and Christian had planned on having two children, but almost ended up divorced over his drinking. Even when Christian got sober, the marriage remained strained. It had never felt like the right time to bring another child into the picture. While she didn’t regret the choice exactly, had she understood how quickly time passed, how fastsmallwould grow up to betall,she might have overlooked some of their marital fissures to have more days with tiny feet and little hands.
Christian appeared at the bottom of the stairs on Julia’s way down. She recognized the excited look in his eyes. It usually spelled trouble.
“Honey, check this out,” he said, thrusting a pamphlet into her hands before she reached the final step. “I found this in our mailbox. It’s from a company called EcoCitizen. They’re offering a burial service where you convert your ashes into a tree through a biodegradable urn.”
