“Louisa Elizabeth Chambers, I cannot believe you were so reckless,” she’d say. “Are you trying to drive me to an early grave?”
“Yes, Mother,” Louisa would reply. “Because I secretly want your figurine collection and custody of Teddy.”
Louisa had spent the whole of her childhood begging for a puppy, so when her mother announced she’d gotten a Bernese mountain dog to keep her company now that Louisa had moved away, she’d tried her best not to get angry. Daddy tried his best too, though sometimes Louisa wondered if her parents would one day have to cite “giant teddy bear dog” as the reason for their divorce.
So far they were holding it together, but for how long, Louisa didn’t know. Maybe love wasn’t really meant to last.
Why she was thinking about that, she had no idea. Same way she had no idea why her end-of-life bucket list had taken such a dramatic turn there at the end.
I wish I’d fallen in love? Who was she? Noni Rose, the famous Nantucket matchmaker who drank in love and romance like it was more important than air—something Louisa knew firsthand was quite far from the truth?
She rubbed her face with her hands. Maybe she shouldn’t call her parents after all.
Her mother would view this near-death accident as a personal affront, as if Louisa had decided it might be fun to almost drown just to upset her mother’s equilibrium. In recent years, JoEllen Chambers had taken up yoga, feng shui’d her entire house, and declared on more than one occasion that her only daughter could certainly benefit from a more minimalist lifestyle.
“You overcomplicate things,” she’d told Louisa on their last visit to the island.
Louisa had rolled her eyes, but she knew her mother had a point. Mothers always had a point. Like when her mom told her all those years ago not to go on that date with Cody Boggs.
“There’s too much at stake here, Lou,” she’d said. “Danny and Marissa are our very best friends. If you break their son’s heart, there will be messy feelings.”
Louisa had ignored the advice, of course, because what did her mother know, and had she seen how gorgeous Cody had gotten this past year? He had muscles and that swift summer tan, not to mention eyes as deep and rich as chocolate cake and hair to match.
What if she had listened? What if she’d heeded her mother’s advice? She wondered that often, unfortunately. Because if she’d been wiser, there was a good chance Mr. Boggs would still be alive and their two families never would’ve fallen out.
Conversely, however, her mother had been charmed by Eric Anderson, Louisa’s only real grown-up boyfriend. (It didn’t escape her that those two things seemed to contradict each other. After all, the very idea of a “boyfriend” didn’t sound very grown-up.)
Everyone was charmed by Eric—he was charming. None of them ever saw him for who he really was. Last time she’d talked to her mom, the older woman had asked if there was any chance of reconciling with “that dashing Eric from the hotel.” As if all her hopes and dreams were pinned on that relationship. As if their breakup had simply been another one of Louisa’s silly mistakes.
So perhaps mothers didn’t know everything.
Yes, maybe she wouldn’t tell her parents. Maybe they’d never find out their daughter would be dead right now if it weren’t for the strong, firm, muscular arms of their old pal Cody Boggs.
Yeah, and maybe pigs would fly.
“Should I come back?”
Her eyes shot open and instantly drank in the sight of a fully grown and eternally handsome Cody Boggs. This was terribly unfair, she thought, that he emerged from this morning’s fiasco looking like he’d just stepped off a photo shoot for the “World’s Most Eligible Bachelor” and she looked like she’d decided to try out life as a drowned sewer rat. With red hair, no less.
Thank goodness nobody had given her a mirror. Although right about now she was wishing she’d at least done a quick pass over the curls.
“Louisa?”
“Sorry,” she said. She ran a hand over her hair and felt the frizz, stifled a groan. “No, it’s fine.”
“Just came to see how you’re feeling,” he said. “And to tell you how stupid you were to be out there without a life vest.”
“You don’t have to be ugly about it,” she said. “I didn’t mean to get out that far.”
She’d been careful to stay within the designated swim zone—was it really her fault the current had picked her up and dragged her so far out? Maybe the empty beach should’ve been a clue. Everyone else knew better. She wanted to hide—it was her fault!
“Lou—” But he quickly caught himself. Probably realizing they weren’t friends anymore and calling her by any nickname was a little too familiar for two people who’d split twelve years prior and had never spoken again.
He appeared to take a deep cleansing breath. “I’m sorry,” he said—much more levelheaded this time. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“You do know you could’ve died.”
She stilled. “I know.”
He was staring at her. She wasn’t looking at him, but she could feel him studying her. Her face flushed with heat.
“Thanks for saving my life, I guess.”
“You guess?”
She forced herself to look at him then. “Thanks for saving my life. I would’ve hated to have to tell my parents that I drowned. Especially since I wasn’t wearing a life vest. My father would’ve killed me.”
He kept his eyes trained on her for several seconds, then looked away. “This isn’t funny, you know.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
Then he was looking at her again, and as soon as she realized it, her toes tingled. Traitors! “It was pretty scary.”
He wore that serious expression again, like an angry principal who’d just found out she was the one who’d vandalized the girls’ locker room.
What was she supposed to say? That she’d been terrified out there? That she was panicked and counting the minutes before a big wave hit and took her under for good? That she wasn’t so sure she deserved to be saved and, oh, wasn’t it ironic he’d been the one to pull her from the water when her actions had inadvertently led to his father’s death?
Did he wish he could throw her back?
“So you’re in the Coast Guard now,” she said dumbly.
He pressed his lips together as if trying to decide whether or not to respond to her statement of obviousness. In the end, he didn’t get the chance because the door opened and Doogie walked back in.
“How are we feeling?” He gave his boyish smile, and Louisa glanced at Cody, who showed no sign of emotion. Did they teach them that in Coast Guard school? Good afternoon, men. Today we’re going to learn how to affix a permanent scowl to your face and double as a robot.
“Just ready to go home, Doc,” she said.
“I’m told we have you to thank for saving this one.” Doogie turned to Cody, who shifted uncomfortably but gave a firm nod.
At least he wasn’t denying he was the one who’d done the saving. That was something, she supposed.
“We sure are grateful, aren’t we, Louisa?”