The Sky Beneath Her(44)

“You should track him down.”

The house had brought me here, but I was back on the Outer Banks for a bigger reason. “I will.”



Cleaning the condos this morning wasn’t traumatic. The fifteen used condoms in unit number three weren’t great, but they were in a lined trash can. And I was using plastic gloves and holding my breath. “A sex fiend rented this place.”

“Jealous?” A grinning Kaitlin loaded up the last of the cleaning supplies into the van.

“Maybe. It’s been a while.”

“Have you had a date since the divorce?”

“No. I thought about it. Even got dressed up and stopped by a local bar. But my bra and heels were cutting off my circulation, and several attempts at conversation were painful. I’ll give it another go soon, but not right now.”

“Never say never.”

“Are you dating?”

“Kinda. As soon as he grows up, he’ll be a great guy.”

“How old is he?”

“Thirty-one. Men tend to grow up a little slower in these parts.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m not knocking the guys. They’re living their best life. You’re not the only one who’s jealous. I’ve always had to be grown up.”

My mind tripped to Nathan. He was living a nomad’s life, but he’d never been frivolous or immature. “An old soul,” as Mom used to say. But he’d also not settled for less than what he wanted.

We pulled into the parking lot of the rec center. Kaitlin had to circle a few times to find a parking space. I had no idea it would be hopping like this.

“Let’s see if Doug is here,” Kaitlin said. “Maybe he’ll have something to say about your Dr. Brooks.”

I was still curious not only about why Dr. Brooks lived directly across from the Oceanus wreck but also about why his house held links to Mom. “Sure, why not?”

Inside the center, we found Doug standing by the reception desk. He was a tall, lean man with slightly hunched shoulders, white hair, and deeply tanned skin. Smiling, he was talking to a woman in her sixties. If I hadn’t lost my touch, I’d have said he was flirting a little.

“Doug,” Kaitlin said.

He turned, and that smile brightened when he saw her. He moved toward us at a slow and halting pace. He took Kaitlin’s hands in his gnarled fingers. “How are you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Working. Lost a few employees, and the new ones don’t arrive for two weeks.”

He turned over her hands and stared at her calloused palms. “Making bank, I hope.”

“Can’t complain. Doug, this is Tula.”

His attention shifted to me, and recognition flickered. “Tula Cassidy, right?”

I braced for the uncomfortable moment people would always have back in the day when they met me. “Yes.”

“I didn’t realize you were back.” Curiosity swam in his green gaze.

“I arrived two days ago. Here for the summer.” The commitment had felt like forever when I’d made it, but now that same clock was ticking faster.

Doug grinned. “Good to have you back.”

“Thanks.”

He arched a brow. “I know you two didn’t show up to talk to an old man like me.”

Kaitlin laughed softly. “Tula’s agreed to do a move-out clean in Southern Shores. You knew Atticus Brooks.”

“I was wondering when someone would clean the house out. It’s worth a small fortune now. Atticus was a fixture around here. Died in 2019 at the age of one hundred and eighteen. That must have set a world record. Hell of a guy.”

“What was Dr. Brooks like?” I asked.

“I didn’t spend much time with him, but I got to know him a little. Quiet. He organized a lot of activities and schedules. Liked to work behind the scenes. We tried to present him with a Volunteer of the Year award in 2018, but he refused it. He didn’t like attention.”

That fit with the man I’d read about so far. “Someone wrote a partial manuscript about the Oceanus. Do you think it was him?”

Doug shook his head. “He was smart enough to write anything. So was his great-nephew, who is a lawyer in Norfolk. But Dr. Brooks never talked about the wreck.”

“Why would the family hold on to the house so long?” I asked.

“The great-nephew came down here a lot, from what I heard.”

“I found a box of articles about the ship.” He’d never been mentioned in any piece. “He also collected news clippings about my mother.”

“Dr. Brooks never mentioned her. But from what I heard about him, he always played his cards close to his vest. Maybe your mother’s adventures reminded him of his younger days during World War II.”

“What did he do during the war?” I asked.

“He said he traveled around the world, buying and selling rare books. But I never believed that.”

“What do you think Dr. Brooks did?” I asked.

Doug shrugged. “This is just a guess, but I think he was a spy.”

“Seriously?”

“He never said that. But again, I’ve pieced together stories I’ve heard about him. I mean, what kind of guy travels around the world during a major war?”