“It is one of the best things about Whitaker House,” Eleanor agreed.
“The tide is out,” Sophie said suddenly. “We should go see if we can find a sea glass stopper. It’s been forever since we’ve even looked.”
Nate felt a pang in his chest at her suggestion, which reminded him so much of the days when she used to adore him.
They used to love beachcombing on their beach at low tide to see what new treasures the sea had delivered to them.
She was right. It seemed like forever since she had wanted to.
“A sea glass stopper?” Jess asked, looking confused.
“It’s one of the most elusive of beachcombing treasures,” Eleanor explained. “The stopper from a bottle or a jar. It’s easy enough to find agates and your average, everyday sea glass washed smooth by the ocean. But an intact stopper is almost impossible to find. We’ve been on the hunt for years.”
“We never find one, but it’s still fun. We might not find what we’re looking for, but we always find something,” Sophie said.
“What a good idea and the perfect end to a delightful day,” his mother said. “Let me change into my beach shoes.”
“Are you sure you feel up to that?” Jess asked.
Again, his mother looked slightly perturbed at the question, though she quickly concealed it.
“I’ve been traipsing up and down that path since long before you were born. I’ll be fine. You can go ahead without me, if you want.”
“We’ll clear away the food while you change your shoes,” Nate said.
While they carried the dishes and the take-out meal inside, Sophie kept up a long-running conversation with Jess about surfing, about the end of the school year in a few more weeks, about her plans for the summer.
In about five minutes, she freely spilled out to this virtual stranger more info about her world than Nate could drag out in a week.
“Okay. I’m ready,” his mother announced as they were loading the last few dishes into the dishwasher.
They set out on the walk that made three hairpin turns down a fairly steep hill to reach the bottom.
California’s beaches were all public up to the high tide mark but access to them was sometimes closed when they were surrounded by private property. In the case of Sunshine Cove, the only egress was through the land surrounding Whitaker House.
The Whitaker family had always allowed townspeople to park on the road and walk through to reach it but as there were easier beaches to reach without the longish walk, few visitors ever found their way to the small beach.
Sophie was right. In many ways, it still felt like their own private little cove, shared only with the seals, otters and seabirds who sometimes visited.
“What will you do with a stopper if you find it?” Jess asked as they made their way down.
“I don’t know. Maybe a necklace or something, don’t you think, Gram?”
“Yes. We could find something fun to do with it.”
“Gram makes jewelry with the sea glass and agates we find. I have a bunch of cool earrings and a ring she made. She also has a display case in her house that contains some of the things we’ve found in our cove.”
“I’ll have to remember to show that to you,” Eleanor told Jess. “I believe that’s not something I plan to get rid of anytime soon.”
“Cherished treasures should definitely stay in the save category.”
Sophie held the leashes of both dogs as they trotted down the path first. That was another family rule. Though they could let the dogs off leash as it was basically their own private spot, his parents had always insisted dogs remain leashed until they reached the cove to make sure there weren’t any seals or sea turtles on the sand that the animals might bother.
Eleanor was next in line, which left him taking up the rear with Jess walking beside him. She didn’t seem particularly comfortable with the arrangement but he decided this was his best chance to apologize.
“I’m glad to have the chance to speak with you privately,” he said when his mother and Sophie had moved farther down the pathway ahead of them.
“Are you?”
Her tone wasn’t at all encouraging but he pressed forward anyway.
“I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I owe you an apology.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Whatever for? Threatening to call the police on me?”
Had he really done that? He winced. “I’m afraid I didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for you. I do apologize. I was hoping I would have the chance to apologize last night, but you didn’t come to dinner.”
“I’m sorry I inconvenienced you.”
Her dry tone again made him wince. “I’m doing it again.”
“Doing what again?”
“Stepping in it. I’m trying to apologize and not doing a very good job of it. Let me try again. I’m very sorry I was a jerk. The last thing I expected to find when I came home to grab some blueprints and a sandwich was a stranger parking a trailer on the property.”
“Did Eleanor explain why she didn’t tell you I was coming?”
“Not really. Only that she was afraid of my reaction, that I might think she was trying to close the book on the chapters of her life involving my father.”
“Is that what you think?”
“No! Of course not. She loved my father very much. She was a loving, caring wife to the end.”
“I’ve only known your mother through correspondence for a month or so and in person for only a day but I received the same impression. She doesn’t want to forget those years, she only wants a fresh start as she prepares to move on with her life alone.”
He looked ahead at Eleanor smiling down at something Sophie was saying to her. Where would he have been after Michelle died without his mother’s calm, steadying presence?
“I’ve become a bit protective of her since my father died. She lives alone here. Though Sophie and I are technically on the property, our house is through the trees. Plus, I work long hours and Sophie has school and her friends. We’re not always here.”
“She has Charlie.”
He snorted. “Right. Her killer Cavapoo, who is more likely to lick an intruder’s face off than bite him.”
Jess smiled slightly, just enough for Nate to feel as if he had accomplished something remarkable. “Even without Charlie, your mother strikes me as someone who can take care of herself.”
“In most situations, yes. But she has a soft heart.”