She’d never forget wandering down the aisles, touching the spines of the books she’d already enjoyed. As an only child, the fictional characters they contained were her first friends, and even though she had plenty of real friends as she grew older, she was always eager to retreat into the imaginary world created by a good storyteller. She loved deliberating on which novel to choose next and felt such wonder at the possibilities. Each shipment they received had her rushing to unpack the boxes, especially if one of her favorite authors had a new release.
Maybe she should move back to Sable Beach, she thought. She hadn’t fully realized how suffocating she’d found Tampa lately, but the freedom and happiness she felt here contrasted sharply with the miserable experience she’d been through. She wanted to leave all the upset and negativity behind and start over. It was possible that the only way to let go of Nick would be to leave the home they’d shared and embrace a change of scenery as well as a change of pace. She was certain her mother and Laurie would welcome her help with the store. Since they already had their hands full, she could run the coffee shop, once it became a reality. Then they wouldn’t have to hire someone else.
She’d always planned on coming back, anyway. She’d known Nick wouldn’t be happy to give up the big city. At times, she couldn’t help resenting the fact that he was so resistant to the idea and figured it would only be fair for her to have her way at some point. After all, she’d gone with him to Florida and stayed for the past sixteen years.
She belonged here.
The only thing stopping her from putting her house on the market right away was her children. It wouldn’t be a smart decision to uproot them before they could finish high school. She had a feeling Taylor wouldn’t mind. Since Nick’s disappearance, her daughter seemed listless, as though she’d lost her anchor and was drifting this way and that. Autumn couldn’t help worrying about her. But even if Taylor was willing to move, Caden relied on his friends a great deal, and he was doing well in water polo. She wouldn’t take that away from him.
Two more years, she told herself. She only had to last a little longer. If Nick wasn’t back by then, she’d sell the house and move home as soon as Caden graduated.
She was pulling the stool closer to the counter so she could sit down and dive into a book when the bell sounded over the door.
Autumn didn’t immediately recognize her first customer. The woman came in wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with a flowing cotton dress covering her ample bosom. But as she lifted her head, Autumn came to her feet. It was Mrs. Vizii, Sarah’s mother. She’d aged since Autumn had seen her last, and she’d gained quite a bit of weight, but that beauty mark on her cheek was unmistakable.
“Oh!” Mrs. Vizii sounded slightly startled when she realized it was Autumn behind the counter. “Is Mary here?”
“No, she and Laurie had to take care of something, so I’m filling in. What can I help you with?”
The bell rang over the door before she could respond, and two more women, talking about sharks and whether it was safe to go in the water while they were visiting the coast, walked in. Mrs. Vizii seemed as shy of them as she was of Autumn, but the moment she realized they were just tourists, she visibly relaxed.
“Your mother told me she was waiting for more copies of Neil Gaiman’s new book to come in. I was wondering if they had arrived.”
She hadn’t removed her sunglasses. Maybe she felt the need to hide behind them. After all, her daughter had been sentenced for stabbing her husband less than a year ago, and the scandal had to be pretty front and center again now that Quinn was back in town.
“Let me see.” Autumn checked the computer. “Yes. They should be out on the floor.” She walked over to the G’s in general fiction and pulled a copy from the shelf. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
They returned to the register where Autumn started ringing her up.
“Where have you been living?” Mrs. Vizii asked.
Autumn gestured for her to insert her credit card. “In Tampa.”
“Oh yes. Your mother mentioned that to me. Did you ever find your husband?”
“No.”
“What happened to him?”
“I wish I could tell you,” Autumn said and indicated that it was time for her to remove her card.
She took off her sunglasses and lowered her voice. “Do you think he could’ve been seeing another woman?”
Autumn’s spine stiffened. She hated that everyone jumped to that conclusion. “No. Even if he was, I imagine he’d want half our assets, wouldn’t you? Without money, he’d have to work somewhere, and that should’ve made it possible for me to find him.”
“Have you hired a private investigator?”
“Yes. One here and in Ukraine, where Nick was last seen.”
She put her sunglasses back on. “Still,” she said, clearly unconvinced, “I’ve heard of crazier things. Your mother told you what happened to my daughter, didn’t she?”
She hadn’t said, “Your mother told you what my daughter did.” She’d said, “What happened to my daughter” as though Sarah had been the victim. “Just the basics,” she said so that Mrs. Vizii wouldn’t feel as though Mary had been gossiping about the incident.
“Well, be careful. As long as your husband’s been gone, you’ll be looking to start dating again soon, and there aren’t a lot of single men in this small of a town.”
Autumn put the Gaiman book in a bag with the receipt and handed it to Mrs. Vizii over the counter. “I’m aware of that—and I’m not in any hurry to start dating. I don’t even know if...” Her words fell off before she finished with, “If I’m free to start dating or still married.” Knowing her husband could be alive and going through hell halfway around the world made it impossible to say that. It sounded so cavalier—as if it would be easy for her to walk away from everything they’d built together.
“If he’s coming back?” Mrs. Vizii said.
A lump rose in Autumn’s throat. She’d thought she was through with tears, but coming home and facing what felt like the final loss of her husband of eighteen years was dredging up all the pain she’d experienced in the early months—as well as the suspicion that maybe he was alive and well somewhere, enjoying life while she struggled to carry on without him. Was it possible he’d had a secret bank account? That he’d stockpiled enough money that he could seemingly drop off the planet?
She would’ve noticed that something was up, wouldn’t she? He’d never given her any reason to doubt him. And she knew he loved Taylor and Caden, even if it was possible that he’d fallen out of love with her and she hadn’t realized it. But insecurity could twist the clearest of evidence. “Yes.”