Luke had paid the tab for their drinks and they’d all gone back to their rooms, having decided to just get room service. It was clear that everyone needed space. The rain had let up, the stifling heat assaulting them still every time the doors had opened downstairs, but Frederick had said he was going for a walk. He’d been gone for hours.
Aiden had come to Callie and Olivia’s room, and they’d been watching the storm coverage, Callie’s mind drifting back and forth between the possible damage to the cottage and the Sullivan family, as surely the others’ thoughts were as well. There was a knock and when Callie answered it, Lillian was at the door with Mitchell and Juliette.
“We checked on Luke. He wanted to be alone,” Juliette said. “May we come in?”
“Of course.” Callie stepped aside to let them enter. Juliette went straight over to Aiden and sat down beside him, while Lillian sat on the chair closest to the sofa. Mitchell found Wyatt, who had built a small fort in the corner with Legos. Aiden put his arm around Juliette, almost as if he could protect her emotions with that one gesture.
They all sat quietly, the TV and the sound of the boys playing filling the silence. Watching them all, the one thing Callie saw was love for each other. As upset as Juliette had been about her mother’s decision to keep the truth from Luke and her father, they had still seemed almost unified at the door. Now Aiden, Juliette, and Lillian were all sitting together, watching the storm coverage but seemingly comfortable in each other’s space. Callie focused on the television.
It was as if the newscast was on a loop: After about a half hour of watching, Callie realized that the reporters hadn’t really said anything new, and were starting to repeat the major points which were that the storm was hitting the Outer Banks, causing destruction in some areas, and moving out rather quickly.
There was another knock and Olivia got the door this time. It was Luke. Callie felt herself almost stand up—she wanted to check to see if he was okay. But she caught herself, unsure if he’d want to talk to her, and waited for him to come in.
“I called Dad.” He dropped down onto the sofa between Aiden and his sister, his movements edgy as he allowed a little extra room to accommodate everyone. He looked tired. The gray skies outside cast a grim light across the room. “I asked if I could see him.”
Wyatt and Mitchell stopped building with their Legos for a moment but resumed making the fort for their action figures when Olivia asked them about their creation.
“I want to be the one to tell him,” Luke said. “If you tell him, Mom, he’ll just be angry with you, but if I tell him, we could get to the heart of what he really thinks. I said I needed to speak with him in person, and that what I had to tell him wasn’t easy.”
“What did he say, Luke?” Juliette asked.
“He’s on his way.”
“What?” Lillian asked, worry showing in her pursed lips.
“I told him where we were. He’s reserved a room across the street at the Omni, and he’ll be on a plane in an hour. Luckily, there was one available.”
“What if he feels like we’re all ganging up on him?” Juliette fretted. “This is news he may want to hear privately.”
“Yes,” Luke nodded. “I’ve already thought of that. I’m going over to meet him. He’s gonna text me when he arrives.”
Until eleven o’clock, when Luke got the text, barely anyone spoke a word.
Frederick still hadn’t returned. Olivia and Juliette had put the kids to bed in one room, Olivia offering to stay with them until everyone turned in for the night. It was nearing two a.m., and the hurricane coverage still chirped away on the television. The eye of the storm had passed and residents who’d stayed in the Outer Banks were hunkering down for the last half of the storm.
All eyes were on the screen, but Callie knew where their thoughts were: with Luke. He’d been gone for ages, and she was hoping things were going well. She felt like this was all her fault, and with Luke’s noticeable distance from her and the outburst by the elevators, she knew he held her responsible as well.
The door opened and every head swiveled toward it.
Luke’s face was stark; he looked completely exhausted. Callie had taken his gentle, affectionate looks for granted, but was now yearning to see them again.
“What happened?” Juliette asked, standing up to meet him. She took his hands, tilting her chin up to look at her brother, concern engulfing her face.
“I, uh…” He let go of Juliette and sat down on the sofa, completely broken, the words not coming out, despite the thoughts that were in his eyes.
Lillian put her hand on his back, tears surfacing.
“I feel like I lost my father tonight,” he said, nearly breathless, turning to his mother as if she could help him in some way. “He said he had suspected it, that as I grew up, he had always wondered, but he couldn’t imagine it…” Luke ran his hands over his face, complete grief in his features.
“Give him time,” Juliette said. She was now kneeling beside him. “He just needs to process it. Let him have a few days, get back to work—you know how he is. He needs to continue on. He’ll have to call you to begin the progression of you taking over the company, and it’ll force him to talk to you. You’re great at being understanding; you’ll know just how to handle the situation as it comes.”
“Well, it won’t happen like that because everything’s going to Aiden.”
Juliette gasped in exasperation.
Callie remembered that proud look Luke made whenever he was around her. His expression was a far cry from that right now. He looked hurt, sad. Her stomach churned like the wild seas back home.
“I admitted to him that I wouldn’t be opposed to getting to know Frederick.” He turned back to his mother and the others.
Lillian’s eyes bulged.
“The press will eventually get wind of all this,” Lillian said. “We need to have an organized response in case we’re cornered. But right now, we need to decide how to approach Edward when we speak to him again.”
Callie hadn’t experienced it in her own life, but she could spot it—that defending instinct of a mother protecting her child. Lillian was intense as she tried to think through how to handle the situation.
Luke spoke to Juliette in a whisper. They seemed so close, and it was clear that hearing that they were half-siblings, while a huge thing, hadn’t tainted anything between them. Callie had worried about how Juliette might take the news, but in the end, he was still her brother. Juliette put her head on his shoulder for a moment.
“I want to be there too,” Aiden said, shifting forward. “If you’re concerned about me taking the company, Luke, you don’t have to worry about that.” Aiden leaned in. “I’ve always thought I could run the business but I never believed that it belonged to anyone other than you.”
“I feel like I should be there too,” Lillian said, shaking her head. “I have to finally tell him what happened all those years ago. I’m not proud of it,” she said, “but it’s part of my past and I should be present to answer Edward’s questions. He’s going to have quite a few for me, I’m certain.”
“We’ll be there to support you,” Luke said. His knee bounced up and down. “He won’t talk to me right now. Let’s let him cool off—let this all settle in—and I’ll call him.”