Page 35 of Against the Current

“I went home a few days ago, and you weren’t there. You never came back.”

“I called you. Many times,” Ryan said hesitantly.

Trisha shrugged. “I didn’t want to talk on the phone. I wanted to talk face-to-face.”

Ryan sat down on the chair nearest the hammock and put the lemonade glasses on a rickety table beside him. His hands were sweaty. “I’m here so we can talk face-to-face.”

“But you were with your family,” Trisha said matter-of-factly.

“So were you.”

Trisha was quiet. She got up and stretched her arms over her head so that her shirt revealed her stomach beneath. Would she ever be pregnant with his baby again? Or was Grandma Dana right? Should they end this now?

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Ryan spotted something.

Tucked into the line of trees about a football field away from the house was a car. It was bright red and glossy and unlike all the rusted-out and broken cars in the front yard. It looked as though it was hidden there. Ryan stood to get a better view. It felt like a gut punch.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Trisha? Why is my grandfather’s Cadillac here?”

Trisha gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”

Ryan couldn’t tell if she was playing him or not. He pointed at the car and waved his finger around. “My grandfather’s Cadillac? His pride and joy?”

Trisha snorted. “It’s obviously not your grandfather’s. It’s here. Probably one of my brothers is fixing it up for someone.”

But Ryan was already storming off the porch, edging toward the forest. Trisha chased him barefoot through the grass until they reached the car. Ryan would have recognized his grandfather’s Cadillac anywhere. It was the color of tomatoesand had soft gray-blue leather seats. It had a license plate that said SUTTON on it. It literally couldn’t have been anyone else’s.

Trisha looked just as stunned as Ryan felt.

Together, they stared at the car in silence.

Ryan tried to read Trisha’s expression. He tried to reckon with the fact that she’d come to the Reeds for sanctuary only to learn that they were thieves and liars.

Still, Ryan was pretty sure he knew why they’d stolen it. They were angry with the Suttons for belittling the Reed name. They were angry with Dana for rejecting Trisha. They were angry with Ryan, presumably, because he’d dragged Trisha into that mess.

They were angry with the Suttons for the tremendous amount of money they had. Ryan understood that, too.

Trisha’s eyes glowed with fear and humor, if Ryan wasn’t mistaken.

Finally, she asked, “So, Ryan. What do we do now?”

Ryan let out a strange and sardonic laugh. Trisha joined him. For the first time since they’d lost the baby and lost each other, they stood together, falling all over each other, laughing themselves silly.

Ryan thought,I never want to lose her again.

Chapter Thirteen

March 2025 - Nantucket Island

Jackie and Ryan were at the little Mexican restaurant three blocks away from Sutton Real Estate, having margaritas in celebration of what Jackie said was “the best month Sutton Real Estate has had in six years.” Jackie dunked chips in salsa and listed off all the ways she appreciated Ryan’s help since his arrival: the social media, the increased number of clients, and the boost in sales. “Everyone’s suddenly excited to get a house on Nantucket again!” she cried. “They’re coming out of the woodwork.”

Ryan’s smile was slightly somber, and it worried Jackie. Ever since his move back to Nantucket, it was as though his face was filled with shadows. Maybe Trisha was giving him a hard time at home. Perhaps she was telling him it was a mistake they’d moved back.

Ryan looked down at the salsa and said, “I can’t help but think something is going on behind the scenes that we don’t understand.”

Jackie’s heart sank.That’s exactly what I was thinking!she wanted to say although her ideas revolved around Ryan and Trisha rather than Sutton Real Estate.