I dig around inside my brain for something that feels safe to share. Something easy and comfortable. The kind of thing you can lay out on the breakfast table next to the biscuits and the butter. But I’ve never been good at this kind of thing. I settle on a funny story about playing the part of an apple tree in The Wizard of Oz, even though I’m allergic to apples.

And that seems to satisfy them.

At least for now.

The rest of the talk over breakfast is about auditions. The monologues we’ve prepared. What we’re wearing. We harass Jude with questions about what to expect, but he just grins and says his lips are sealed.

We’re almost finished eating when a man in khakis and a wrinkled blue dress shirt comes into the cafeteria. He’s going bald, but he has a handsome face. I watch him stop at the hot-food bar and load his plate up with eggs and biscuits. Jude waves, and he comes over to our table.

“Morning, Jude!” His voice is louder than I expect it to be. “These must be some of our new recruits.”

“Lex, Avril, and Val,” Jude says, “this is Brody Culver. He’s the artistic director here at Whisper Cove.”

And just like that, I’m face-to-face with someone else who would have known my mother that last summer of her life. I want to ask if he remembers her. But I don’t. Not yet. I just stare at him and wonder.

“He’s also Willa’s husband,” Jude clarifies. But we all knew that already.

“Most important part of my title,” Brody says with a chuckle. “Mr. Willa Culver.”

And he’s Cole’s father, of course. But there’s no sign of Cole in this man. Cole is all dark hair and intensity. Like his mother. This guy is almost too relaxed and casual. Too laid back to be genuine.

“Sorry to fill my plate and run,” Brody is saying. “But I need to get back to my office. You won’t see a lot of me. My focus is on the professional shows we have going up the second half of the summer. But you’re in good hands with Willa.” He slaps Jude on the back. “And with my buddy Jude here, of course.”

When he’s gone, we finish our breakfast and dump our trays, then everyone splits off to work on their audition monologues. Lex and I make plans to rehearse together, but Jude catches us on the way out of the cafeteria. “Hey, Avril,” he says, “do you mind if I steal Lex for a little bit?” He’s talking to me, but those big brown eyes are trained on Lex. Just like last night on the beach. “I promised I’d show him around this morning.”