Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
Peyton tried to picture his parents as a teenage bride and groom. “Where did the rest o’ the Cabots figure into all of this?”
“For a long time, they didn’t,” his mother said with a sigh. “Your granddaddy always supported us, and I don’t have to tell you that what he said was the law of the land, as far as the Cabots were concerned. The rest of the clan didn’t really care where your daddy was or what he did as long as he was right there with the money when they needed it.” She paused and looked at Peyton. “I’m sorry, son. They’re your family, and I shouldn’t talk about them like that.”
“It’s weird. Except for Winston and Prentiss, they don’t feel like family right now.”
“I know how confusing all of this is,” his mother said as she reached over and squeezed his hand lightly, “and I’m so sorry to put you through it.”
“It’s not your fault.” Still, he had more questions. “So you and Daddy married right outta high school and then you went to UGA with him?”
“I did. At first, I got a job as a receptionist at the local hospital, but once I made friends with some of the nurses there, I started to think about becoming one. Your daddy always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to. Thanks to the Cabot money, neither of us really had to work, but we both wanted to do something with our lives—something meaningful. I got accepted into the hospital’s nursing school, and by the time Marshall was in law school in Athens, I was a travel nurse, going out into all these little rural communities to help families that didn’t have a doctor. He talked about becoming a public defender for a while. But in the end . . . well . . .”
“In the end?” Peyton prompted.
“In the end . . . his family overwhelmed him,” she said in a voice filled with sadness and regret. “Once Marshall finished his law degree, we moved to Tybee. Over time, though, his work for the estate pulled us off our little island and into the Cabot fray. I got a job at this hospital, working with Ida—Nurse Drill Sergeant, as you so affectionately call her—and stayed till I found out I was expecting you.”
They sat watching Peyton’s father breathe in and out, praying he didn’t stop.
His mother put her arm around his shoulders. “I know his drinking has been hard on you, Peyton. But you have to believe me—he loves you very much. I know it doesn’t make sense, but in his way, your daddy’s trying to protect you by keeping his distance.”
“Protect me from what?”
“From himself. From whatever followed him home from the war.”
They were quiet again before Peyton said, “He used to come to all o’ my games.”
“He still does.”
“Ma’am?”
“It’s true—he comes to every single one.”
“I never see him there.”