Jared and Jilly got out their overnight cases and went to the fast ferry. On the hour-long ride over, they sat at a table. Jilly looked at a copy of the newspaper, Yesterday’s Island, while asking him about who she’d be meeting.
He leaned back in the long bench seat, coffee cup in hand, and talked about the people on Kingsley Lane. “Ken is staying in the guesthouse for now. He’s Alix’s father.” Jared didn’t want to ruin anything by saying he thought Jilly would really like the man, but he did run on a bit about how Ken had helped him get started, and how if it weren’t for Ken he’d probably be in prison now, and how Ken and he had built Jared’s final project at school, and how Ken was unmarried and looking. Just a few facts.
Jilly listened politely, never making a comment, and said, “What about Alix’s mother? I know she’s a writer like Cale, but what’s she like personally?”
Jared smiled. Physically there couldn’t be two more different people. Cale was small and trim while Victoria was tall and hourglass curvy. “Victoria isn’t like anyone else,” he said, “but she isn’t there right now. Ken is building the chapel for Alix’s friend’s wedding.” Jared told about Alix’s design and the approaching nuptials and all that was being done for the wedding.
“I guess you know your whole face lights up when you talk of Alix,” Jilly said.
Jared looked away for a moment to restore his New England reticence. “We seem suited to each other.”
“Then I hope you don’t lose her,” Jilly said. “So tell me about your other neighbors on the lane.”
A minute later Jared had her laughing about Lexie and her mega-rich boss, and how Alix and Toby teased Lex about him. “The girls say he’s not bad to look at, but personally, I don’t see it. The pictures I saw of him look kind of girly to me.”
Jilly laughed.
When the ferry docked, Jared carried their luggage and they walked up Main Street. He’d always liked being around first-timers. Seeing Nantucket through their eyes renewed his vision of the island’s beauty.
“Oh, yes,” Jilly said. “My family will love this place.” There were beautiful buildings, perfectly proportioned, with tall windows with elegant panes. Brick crosswalks ran through the cobblestones to make walking easier. She was turning one way then the other as she looked at the old houses. When they came to the Three Bricks, she paused a moment to take in their majestic beauty before starting down Kingsley Lane.
At the first house on the right, she stopped. “BEYOND TIME,” she read on the quarterboard above the door. “Is that the house Cale was talking about? The one that’s for sale?”
“You have it right. Is she already campaigning to get your family to buy it?”
“She is, and after I report back to them, she’ll win. Besides, Kane is so mad about his wife that he’ll do anything for her.”
“Good,” Jared said, then quickened his pace. He was eager to see Alix.
Just three buildings down was his old house and he didn’t think it had ever looked so good to him. They went through the side gate toward the back and by one of those cosmic coincidences, Ken was just coming out of the guesthouse, a rolled-up drawing in one hand, a steaming mug in the other.
But Jared knew the meeting was no coincidence. Turning, he looked up at an attic window and there stood his grandfather. He was staring down at Jilly as though he were studying her.
Frowning and not liking the idea that his grandfather could have made this happen, Jared looked back at Ken. He was looking at Jilly with wide eyes, as though he were seeing a divine vision, an angel come to earth—and she was looking right back at him with the same expression.
Jared felt like congratulating himself but he only indulged in the smallest of smiles. “Ken, Jilly; Jilly, Ken,” he said and stepped toward the house. “Mind if I go see Alix?”
No one answered. They just stood there looking at each other.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going.” When he turned away, he smiled broader.
As soon as he was inside, he thought of calling out to Alix, but didn’t. His grandfather was in the doorway.
“Where is she?”
“Front parlor,” Caleb said. “But first, we need to discuss a certain matter.”
“Later,” Jared said, walking through his grandfather and to the front room. He thought Alix would be curled up with a sketchbook, working on a plan for a guesthouse, but she wasn’t. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and was surrounded by boxes of dusty old documents. Papers and tied-up bundles of letters covered the couch, tables, and chairs. There was a foot-tall stack of yellowed sheets on Alix’s lap.
“Hi,” he said softly.
When she looked up, the way her face lit up, as though she’d just seen the most wonderful vision on earth, showed her happiness at seeing him again. She jumped up, papers falling to the floor, leaped across two boxes, and threw her arms around him as her mouth landed on his. Their kiss was deep—and joyful. They’d missed each other a great deal and their lips and tongues told how much.
“Did you think about me?” he asked as he moved to kiss her neck.
“Yes and double yes!” she said, leaning her head back. “I have so much to tell you. Dr. Huntley found John Kendricks and brought me some papers about him, but I haven’t read them yet. Toby and Lexie and I did tons for the wedding. And Caleb told me about the Captain and Valentina and about her cousin Parthenia and—”
Jared put his hands on Alix’s shoulders and held her away from him so he could look into her eyes. “Caleb? When did you see him?”