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“Why not?” she asked. “It’d be an escape—from everything. You have some savings, don’t you?”
“What we were planning on using for a house. But if we divorce, I’ll have to give half of that to Ashleigh.”
“You’ll still havesomething. Use it to come out here and rent a house. Spend the summer with me.”
“On Mariners?”
“Why not? It might be a good change for you, help you figure out what you really want in life.”
“What about Dad? He needs me, or I wouldn’t have started farming to begin with.”
“The other kids are older now. Mom and Dad will be okay. Hank likes to farm. He’s been helping lately, too, right?”
“He has. It’s been more fun having him around.”
“Just...think about the possibility,” she said. “I don’t want you to make a decision right now. But if you need to get away...”
“Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to escape the wreckage she’s leaving behind.”
“I’msosorry,” Ismay said again and felt tears well up in her eyes. “I’d do anything I could to save you from this.”
“I know. That’s why I called you.” He chuckled without mirth. “Big sister to the rescue.” She heard something in the background, then he said, “I have to go. Dad’s waiting for me to bring the tractor down to the south forty.”
“Come to Mariners,” she said. “It’s time for a fresh start.”
She thought he’d turn her down; she was certain he wouldn’t be able to pull away while he was going through something as difficult as a divorce. But he shocked her by saying, “Maybe I will.”
“What is it?” Bo asked after she disconnected.
She set her phone on the table and watched it like it was a cobra that’d just taken a bite out of her. “My brother’s wife left him last night.”
“That’s too bad. Do you think he’ll come to Mariners?”
“Not really. But I wish he would. It’d be good for him.”
“If he does, I can probably get him a house-sitting gig. All he’d have to do is look after the place—wouldn’t have to pay rent.”
She felt a fresh burst of hope. “You think that’s a real possibility?”
“I do. You know that widow I mentioned? Her kids have been after her to come to Pennsylvania, where they live. Two of her grandchildren are on a travel softball team, so they can’t visit the island like they usually do. She turned them down because she won’t leave her house. But if I assure her it’d be in good hands, I bet she’d take the opportunity. As lonely as she is, it’d be good for her, too.”
“That would be fabulous!”
He nodded and after being so careful not to get anywhere close to her, he surprised her by lightly touching her shoulder in an obvious act of compassion. “I’ll talk to her.”
6
At least two inches of brown dirty water covered the floor. It sloshed around as Bo entered his bungalow and stared up at the tree that’d crashed into his living room.
Even with a chainsaw, it was going to take forever to cut that behemoth into small pieces he could haul out of the house. Then he’d have to patch the roof. It would take days for even large fans to handle the drying process, and he needed to get professionals started on that right away, or he risked black mold, which would make the place unlivable.
“Of course, this would happen,” he muttered. Things had been going entirely too well.
He lifted some debris that’d caved in from the roof. As confident as he’d pretended to be when he was with Ismay Chalmers, he didn’t think he’d be able to get even halfway through such a big project in one day. He had to make sure Honey Wellington had survived the storm before he could even start.
With a sigh, he made his way to his bedroom in rubber boots and managed to get some dry clothes from his closet before wading into the bathroom. He was willing to bet Ismay would’ve let him shower over there had she thought of it, but he knew Remy wouldn’t like that. She’d already been kind enough to him.
Besides, he liked her even more since last night, and that meant he’d be better off keeping his distance. A potential friend would ask more questions than a mere acquaintance and would also remember the things he said. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily get tripped up. Ismay was essentially off-limits. All he had to do was avoid her until Remy arrived on the island. Then there’d be no danger.
