“And Ruby’s gone,” Gabe concluded.
Eli stared at his daughter’s former fiancé.
“What?” he said.
“Her phone’s still plugged in, back in the guesthouse, and I can’t find her anywhere.”
“She’s probably down on the beach,” said Ronnie.
“No,” Sam and Gabe said at the same instant. The two of them exchanged another puzzling glance, and Sam said, “I was just down there, and I didn’t see her.” He looked away, adding, “But I wasn’t really looking.”
Ronnie stared at her son. “You’ve been down to the beach already?”
Sam fidgeted and murmured something about wanting to see the sunrise.
“I didn’t see her down there, either,” said Eli.
“I checked, and her swimsuit and her hat and her cover-up are all still in the bedroom,” Gabe said. “And she never even unpacked her sunscreen.” He didn’t have to explain that Ruby never went out in the sun without protecting her fair skin. “And wouldn’t she take her phone?”
“No reception down there,” Eli said. His face felt frozen, all his joy and relief replaced by worry.
“Maybe she went to get muffins. Or into P-town for breakfast,” said Ronnie. “Are all the cars still here?”
“I’ll check.” Sam trotted down the stairs.
“I’ll go with you,” said Gabe, and hurried after him.
Eli pulled out his phone and dialed his daughter’s number, before remembering that Gabe had said she’d left her phone in the guesthouse. He tried Sarah, hoping she’d finished her swim, but the call went straight to voicemail. A moment later, Sam called upstairs. “The minivan’s gone, but the rest of the cars are here.”
“Sarah took the minivan,” said Ronnie, forehead wrinkling as she frowned.
“Okay,” Eli said. “Where would Ruby go? What should we do?”
“She could have taken a bike,” Ronnie said, almost to herself. “Eli, why don’t you take the boys down to the beach. See if the paddleboard or any of the kayaks are gone. I’ll stay here to answer the phone. Someone should head into P-town…”
“I can do that,” Sam volunteered.
“And hit the ocean beaches, too. Head of the Meadow and Longnook. Maybe she went for a swim,” said Ronnie. “And I’ll text Sarah and tell her to check Gull Pond and Slough Pond.”
“How would she have gotten to a pond without a car?” asked Eli.
“It’s not that far on a bike,” Ronnie said. “Or maybe she’s got friends out here?”
“I don’t think her friends are coming until tomorrow.” Eli tried to sound confident, even though he didn’t know for sure. The wedding plans had swirled around him while he’d been oblivious.
“Sarah used to have a boyfriend whose family had a house out that way,” Ronnie said. “Which is how I know it’s bikeable. It’s even walkable, if you’re really committed.”
Eli frowned. Had his wife ever mentioned a Cape Cod boyfriend? Had that been one more thing he’d missed? I’ll talk to her as soon as I can, he thought. For now, the important thing was finding Ruby, and making sure that she was all right.
Sarah
Owen was waiting for her at the edge of the pond, right where he said he’d be. Sarah looked at him and felt time rewinding. His smile, when he looked at her, was just the same as it had been, all those years ago.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. Sarah spared a thought for anyone who might have recognized her, then decided that she didn’t care. Had Eli held back for even a minute? Let them look; let them see.
“Want to swim?”
“Yes,” he said, and took her hand. “But there’s something else I want to do first.” He took her by the hand, picked up his towel, and led her deeper into the woods, to the clearing where they’d been together for the first time.
She thought it would be bliss, the same ecstatic reunion they’d had back in New York City. Only this time, for some reason, it wasn’t. Maybe it was because Sarah was still furious about what she’d seen down on the beach, her mind heavy with things she wanted to say to Eli, trembling not with lust but rage. Maybe it was because of what Ronnie had told her, how her mother had said that her affair hadn’t been about the other man, but about how he’d made her feel, and how she’d decided she didn’t like who she was when she was with him. Sarah detested the idea of her mother betraying her father… and yet, here she was, betraying the father of her own sons, becoming someone she didn’t like.