All the Little Raindrops(66)

“He wants to spend some time with her. I told him he could come along tonight.”

“And then?”

Noelle let out a small laugh. “I have no idea. I’ll hear the reason why he came here. And then I guess he’ll go back to Reno, where he lives.”

“I see.” There was a short pause, and Noelle looked at Chantilly to see that she was considering her as she tapped a nail to her lips. “This dress,” she said, her gaze moving down Noelle’s body. “Are you sure it’s only to inspire confidence?”

Noelle gave her a small eye roll, knowing what Chantilly was suggesting. “Yes. I mean, firstly, he’s angry with me. Secondly, any connection we ever had is based on . . . very unhealthy things. And as if that isn’t enough, he might be with someone for all I know. It didn’t exactly come up.”

“Ring?” she asked.

Noelle let out another small laugh. This woman was ridiculous, but she was so thankful for her. Her mother had been murdered when she was still a girl, and although she’d missed her over the years, she also knew she was very lucky to have both a friend and confidante in Tilly. A mother of sorts, but also a friend who she trusted implicitly. “No ring.”

Tilly took in a breath, looking satisfied. “Tilly,” Noelle warned. “Really. It’s so much more complicated than that. Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “Okay, well, I’d like to say one more thing if I might.” She took Noelle’s hand again, leaning forward slightly. “I’m so very, very sorry for what happened to you, my darling. But mostly, I’m proud. What you did . . . escaping . . . recovering . . . from something so deeply evil. You are the strongest person I’ve ever known. Find happiness.”

“I have found happiness.”

“Find more. Go after it with gusto in whatever way you are able. You did not crawl out of that cage to live a timid life.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE


Evan saw them immediately—the feminine figure he’d know anywhere, still, even after all this time, holding the hand of the little girl. His little girl. The thought still made him dizzy. He’d spent the day attempting to organize his emotions, and he’d thought he had a handle on them, but one glance and the earthquake that had rolled under his feet when he’d first seen her was rumbling again, even if the magnitude was slightly less.

It was dark on the beach, but the moon was high and bright, and starlight was scattered across the sky. Noelle turned as he approached, and though he couldn’t quite make out her expression, he thought by the way she held her shoulders she might be nervous. Once he’d read her so well. Now . . . “Hi,” he said.

She gave him a small close-lipped smile. “Hi. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Good. Thank you.”

There was an awkward pause, and then they both laughed, Evan running his hand through his hair. “Let’s start again. Hey, Noelle.”

“Hey, Evan.” She stepped aside to where Callie was looking in the other direction, out toward the ocean. “Callie, honey. You remember, Evan, right?”

Callie turned, giving him that same gap-toothed smile. “We met yesterday,” she said. “Have you seen baby turtles hatch before?”

“I haven’t,” Evan said. “But it sounds pretty cool.”

“It’s very cool,” Callie said. “Just wait!”

She took his hand in hers and led him the few steps to where they had a blanket spread out on the sand. Other people had spread out blankets as well or were sitting in beach chairs. The soft murmur of conversation filled the air, muted by the sound of the waves hitting the shore and the crickets singing from the seagrass behind them. The weather was warm, but there was a breeze off the ocean, and Evan couldn’t remember experiencing a more beautiful night.

“They’re why it’s so dark down here, huh?” he asked Callie when they’d sat down, Noelle joining them and folding her legs to the side as she smoothed her dress.

“Yes,” she said, and he smiled at the way her missing tooth gave her a slight lisp. “When the babies hatch, they go toward the moon. That’s how they make it to the ocean. But if there are other bright lights, they get all confused and turned around.”

“Ah,” he said. “I’ve been confused and turned around before. I know how that feels.”

Callie giggled. “Me too. Once, Miss Tilly bought me a swirly dress, and I twirled around so many times I didn’t know where I was!”

Evan laughed. Noelle took a few water bottles from a small fabric cooler and handed one to him and one to Callie. “Miss Tilly is the owner, right? Chantilly?”

“Yes. She owns all of Sweetgrass. She’s the boss of everyone, and my second-best friend after my mommy,” Callie said.

“Ah. She must be pretty great then.”

“She is. She rides in a wheelchair, and sometimes she sits me on her lap and we go super fast down the ramps!”

“Oh, Callie.” Noelle laughed, but Evan heard the slight note of disapproval. He wondered if Noelle ever had to discipline Callie harshly. He supposed she did. Callie was a child, after all, and even the most well-behaved children were naughty on occasion. He wondered if she ever felt lonely, or overwhelmed, or wished she had a partner to pick up some slack. He wondered if she ever wished that person were him.