Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(3)

The detail made everything too real. Her dad had lived here. His kids were inside right now. Her brothers and sister.

Something thudded hard inside her, and she told herself it was only the echo of the suitcase bumping along the walk. She steadied her breathing as she approached the steps.

A woman’s voice leaked through the screen door. “She’s here . . . Come on, Max. Noelle! Hurry up, honey!”

Meridith lowered the suitcase’s pull bar and carried it up the wooden steps. The porch spindles were poorly spaced, she noted. Just wide enough for a child’s head.

The screen door opened, and through it came a plump brunette. Her dark hair was cut in a long bob so glossy it looked like a bottle of sunshine had been poured over it. A cluster of faint freckles covered her nose, and a twinkle lit her eyes.

A small body was latched on to her right leg.

“Welcome! You must be Meridith.”

A large dog darted out the door and sniffed Meridith’s hand.

“Yes, hello.” Meridith pulled her hand from the dog’s slimy nose and extended it to the woman, but found herself enveloped in a fleshy hug. She stiffened. Her fingers tightened on the luggage handle until her nails bit into her palm.

“I’m Rita Lawson from the church,” the woman said, drawing away. “And this is . . . Ben, honey, you have to let go just for a second. Give your sister a hug.”

Your sister.

The sandy-haired child turned his face toward Rita’s waist.

I understand just how you feel, buddy. “That’s okay,” she said to Rita, then addressed Ben. “Hello there, Ben.” Meridith extended her hand, but the little boy only buried himself more deeply into Rita. She saw little of her father in his face. He must favor his mom.

Rita ruffled his short hair. “He’s feeling a little shy, I guess,” she said, then mouthed Later. “Ben is seven and a little sweetheart, aren’t you, honey?” Rita rubbed the dog behind the ears. “And this is Piper. Such a good girl!”

The golden retriever wagged her tail.

“Well, come in, Meridith, you must be tired after a long day of travel.” Rita let Piper inside, and Meridith imagined the dog hairs flying around on the loose, getting in guests’ food.

She followed Rita, stepping over a high threshold. Tripping hazard.

She noted the wide staircase that undoubtedly led to the room where she’d be sleeping and left her bag at the base. The house smelled of something savory, a hint of lemons, and a faint essence of Old House. The wood floors creaked under her feet as she followed Rita and her extra appendage across a living room that was dominated by a massive cobblestone fireplace. Original, Meridith guessed. Antique furniture circled an oval rug, driftwood sculptures posed on every table, and paintings of beach scenes on the walls reminded guests they were on vacation.

She had a sudden mental image of the apartment where she’d grown up. Sticky carpet and Goodwill furniture, tiny rooms with dirty walls. This was a far cry from Warren Street.

Clomping footsteps on the stairs drew her attention to a dark-haired boy. He had a stout build that probably had him shopping in the husky department and chubby cheeks that dimpled when he smiled shyly.

“Max, come here.” Rita encouraged him, but the boy willingly extended his hand.

“Hi.” He ducked his head, but not before Meridith saw her dad’s brown eyes.

“I’m Meridith. It’s nice to meet you.”

Rita gestured to one of the vintage mahogany-framed sofas that flanked the fireplace. “Have a seat.”

Ben settled into Rita’s side on the other sofa, Max beside him. Piper plopped down on Max’s scruffy tennis shoes.

“Max is ten,” Rita said, looking toward the stairs. “Noelle, honey, come downstairs, please!” She addressed Meridith. “You must have a million questions, and I’ll try to answer as many as I can, but I have to leave in about”—she checked her watch—“ten minutes to pick up my daughter from cheerleading practice and my son from wrestling. Then there’s homework and dinner, but you don’t need to hear all that!”

“Do we have guests at the moment?”

“Not until the weekend, and even then, it’s only one couple. This is a slow time for tourism, as you can imagine. Mrs. Hubbard probably knows more about running the place, but bless her heart, she’s recovering from pneumonia just now.”

“She goes to our church too,” Max said.

“Well, I’m certain I’ll figure things out. I appreciate all you’ve done for the children, Rita.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Max, will you go tell your sister to come along?”

“I already did.”

“Well, go get her, please. Ben, you go with him.”

After the two boys were up the stairs, Rita leaned closer to Meridith. “I wanted a few minutes to chat with you in private. The kids have had a terrible blow, of course. You saw how clingy Ben is, and Noelle . . . well, she’s thirteen, and you know how that is even under happier conditions.”

Meridith nodded.

“Max is probably the most stable of the group. He likes to talk, build models, and I think that helps him cope. But of course their loss is devastating and their world is suddenly unstable.”

Meridith knew all about unstable. “Do the children know I’ve been granted guardianship?”