Page 23 of Between the Lines

Essie smiled faintly. “I can’t help but be concerned. After what happened with Ryan, I thought she’d drop the lawsuits.”

“Yeah,” Liliana said. “I would have thought so, too.” She sighed. “Sometimes I think I never should have shown you those TikToks of hers.”

“Don’t say that. I’m glad you told me about them,” Essie said. “Even if they were hard to watch.”

Liliana’s gaze was on her son as he scooped water into his bucket and squealed when it splashed over his hands. “From the videos, she seems…almost frantic,” she said. “Angry, maybe. And a little exhausted at times. It’s hard to tell.”

“That’s how she is in person. Hard to read,” Essie said. “Very closed off.”

“And then there are those lawsuits,” Liliana said quietly. “I know I don’t have the full picture, but it feels like those color everything.”

“They do,” Essie said. “Every conversation, although she’s not big on talking. But it hangs there, in the air. At least for me. It’s impossible not to think about.”

Liliana folded her arms loosely. “From the outside, it looks like she doesn’t trust anyone right now. And maybe she doesn’t know who she can trust after what happened. Just playing devil’s advocate here, but Frank did hire a private investigator to watch her.”

“No,” Essie said, needing to set things straight. “Frank hired him to watch Ryan. That’s how we found out he was cheating on Sophie. That’s how that all came about.”

“Oh.” Liliana’s brows lifted. “He was just watching out for his daughter.”

“Yes,” Essie said. “You can’t fault him for that.”

“Nope. Not a bit.”

Essie looked out at the water. The waves came in steadily, indifferent to it all. “I don’t know what to do with her,” she said. “I want to be kind without her feeling like I’m trying to smother her. I want to show her that I’m available if she wants to talk. That I’m not going to judge her, just listen.”

“That’s a big ask,” Liliana said.

“Yes,” Essie said. “Worse, I don’t think she wants to even try.”

Mattie ran over, sand stuck to his legs, holding up his bucket like a trophy. Essie praised him and admired the shells he’d collected in his bucket. Barely a minute had gone by before he ran back to the water, absorbed in the hunt again.

After he left, Essie looked down the shoreline once more. Families passed by, couples walking slowly, a woman shaking out a towel. No Sophie. She must be at the pool. Maybe she’d gone there because she’d anticipated they’d be at the beach.

“She might come later,” Liliana said.

Essie nodded. “Or she might not.” Either way, she thought, the spot beside her would stay open if Sophie wanted to join them. And when they went home, the door would be, too.

They stayed at the beach a little longer than Essie had planned, but that was all right. She was happy that the kids were enjoying themselves.

They were there long enough for Mattie to lose interest in his bucket and decide the water itself was more interesting, long enough for Mira to wake up and have some playtime of her own in the sand.

But as the day wore on, they all got tired and when Mira got fussy, that was the cue to pack up and head back.

Essie shook the sand from the towels, folded them, and put them in the beach bag. Then she helped Liliana gather shoes, buckets, and all the important shells that could not possibly be left behind. They walked back to the house in a loose line, Liliana balancing Mira on her hip, the diaper bag over her other shoulder.

Essie held Mattie’s hand while he chattered on about everything he’d done that day, as if Essie hadn’t been watching. She used her free hand to pull the wagon with all their stuff. She smiled, amused by his every word.

Back in the house, the rhythm of childcare took over. Baths first, to get the sand off, then Liliana put them straight into their pajamas.

Essie made a quick supper of dinosaur chicken nuggets and mac and cheese with a salad for herself and Liliana. Essie didn’t mind the extra work. There was comfort in having her family here, even with the added stress of Sophie.

After dinner, Essie cleaned up while Liliana settled on the couch with Mira. Mattie sprawled across the rug with his cars.

Essie went to the cabinet and pulled out bowls for popcorn, already thinking about which movie would keep everyone still and occupied for ninety minutes. Or was that too much to hope for?

She set the bowls on the counter, then decided to put her phone on the charger in the master bedroom and send Frank a quick text.

That was when she noticed the door to the guest room was closed. It hadn’t been when they’d left for the beach.