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“Have fun today.”
“I will,” she said and disconnected.
After he was gone, she remained on her bed, waiting to feel...something. That she missed him. That she couldn’t wait for him to arrive. That he cared about her. But those feelings didn’t come.
What was wrong? she asked herself. And how could she fix it?
She fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe she’d been so busy finishing school and taking the bar that she hadn’t realized how much things had changed between them. She’d accepted her own excuses—told herself that things would get better when they got out of school and started their post-grad lives together.
But if Remy was caught up in what he was doing now, it would only get worse during his residency. Those hours were notoriously long. Although she had several hard years ahead getting her practice started, his would likely be worse. At least she could set her own hours. Did she want to feel alone and neglected when she got home at night?
He was preoccupied trying to accomplish something great, she reminded herself, and that was no reason to give up on him. She wasn’t that kind of person. He said he loved her, that he needed her to be patient and support him, and she didn’t want to let him down. Once he got to the island, they’d be able to work things out.
Gathering her energy, she got up and texted Jack.You awake? How are you feeling?
She didn’t get a response, so when she came back downstairs, she told Bastian, who was hanging out on the porch wearing a tank top and swim trunks and drinking another beer, that she was going to see her brother.
“You taking the Jeep?” he asked.
Her mind raced as she paused on the steps of the porch. She didn’t need a vehicle. If she took the Jeep, where would she park it so he wouldn’t be able to see it? “I...um, no. I think I’ll walk.”
“To town?That’ll take an hour, at least.”
“I’ll call an Uber if I get tired,” she said. “Have a great day!”
The restoration company had finally come and set up some giant fans, and Bo and Jack were ripping the baseboards off the walls when Ismay reached the bungalow. She’d walked beyond the turnoff, then doubled back so Bastian wouldn’t see her heading to the caretaker’s. She didn’t think he was following her, but she thought it wise to be cautious all the same. “Wow. You guys are working already?” she said when she walked in.
“I tried to tell your brother he should spend his first day with you, going out to see the island, but he said there’d be time for that later.”
“Now is when you need me,” Jack clarified. “Ismay can show me around later. Maybe by then I’ll be better company, anyway,” he added.
“I’m not expecting you to pretend to be happy and go out with me,” Ismay said. “I know how you’re feeling. I just wanted to get you away from the situation at home.”
There was a loud popping sound as he pulled off more of the baseboard. “And I appreciate it. I just need to stay busy right now. It helps.”
Ismay indicated the growing refuse pile. “That’s a lot of trim.”
Bo tossed another piece onto the pile. “Some of the Sheetrock will have to go, too.”
“Are you going to replace it yourself or hire someone?” she asked.
“We might as well replace it ourselves,” Jack said. “Together, we can do it fairly quickly.”
Ismay rested her hands on her hips. “Since when haveyoudone anything like this?” she asked her brother.
“Who do you think helped Dad remodel the kitchen a couple of years ago?” he asked.
“And there’s always YouTube,” Bo joked.
“Whatever the Windsors are paying you, it isn’t enough,” she told him. “Are all caretakers as capable as you are?”
He shrugged. “I like knowing I’m earning my keep.”
Trim work was specialized enough that he could easily have told Annabelle it was beyond his skill level and forced her to hire a contractor. But going above and beyond by doing the work himself seemed to be a matter of pride to Bo, which made Ismay like him all the more. He wasn’t lazy, he didn’t complain, and he didn’t think only about himself. He just stepped up and made a difference, whether that was helping to repair a house, getting a generator started for someone during a terrible storm, or letting a complete stranger stay with him.
“You’re certainly unusual,” Ismay said.
His lips slanted into a crooked grin. “I prefer to think of it as being one of a kind.”
