Page 24 of The Quiet Rebuild

Lindsey thought that maybe she’d like to know more of that world, if he was willing to share it.

Back in the car, Lindsey buckled herself in and offered a smile back at Taylor, whose hair was windswept. Her cheeks were pink, as though that was the first real sun she’d gotten in a while. As though she’d opened herself up to the elements for the first time. Lindsey imagined that for most of the year, Taylor had been hidden away in her house.

Maybe this—friendship, laughter, beaches, nice food—was what Taylor Charron needed to recover. Maybe this was the next step.

Just then, an alert rang out on Lindsey’s phone. It was something from a gossip news site, and it read: TAYLOR CHARRON SPOTTED SOBBING ON NANTUCKET BEACH.

Lindsey’s stomach dropped. Jake was driving, talking to Taylor about something Nantucket-related, and Taylor seemed none the wiser. Obviously, Taylor didn’t get alerts about herself like that. She had to protect herself.

Careful not to let Taylor see, Lindsey opened the notification and saw a photograph of Taylor on the bench from earlier, sobbing, red-faced, her shoulders flung forward. She looked terrible, skeletal, at the end of her rope. She looked nothing like the woman who was smiling behind her now, asking Jake questions about his life, about birds, about nature.

Who could have taken the photograph? Lindsey’s heart thudded. She thought back to what Jake had said about Nantucket, how empty it was this time of year. But someone had come along. Someone had decided to sell Taylor out. What was worse was they’d probably gotten a lot of money for it.

Taylor laughed at something Jake said, and Lindsey hurried to hide the photograph away. Maybe Taylor would never have to know about it.

Back at the Harbor House, Taylor shook first Jake’s hand, then Lindsey’s, and thanked them for saving her. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. I thought I was going insane,” Taylor explained. She then raised her hand, waving at Winona, who waited for her on the porch.

Winona’s expression was difficult to read. She waved back, her face marred with panic. Lindsey knew, then, that Winona had seen the photograph of Taylor on the beach. Winona hurried toward Taylor, linked her arm through hers, and muttered, “It’s going to be all right.”

Lindsey and Jake hung back, watching as they scuttled up the stairs and back into the Harbor House. Jake put his hands on his hips, miffed.

“What was that about?” Jake asked.

Lindsey pulled her phone from her pocket and showed him the photograph.

Immediately, Jake’s face transformed. He looked furious. “Who would do this?” he demanded. “This is an invasion of privacy. This is cruel.”

Lindsey nodded sadly, her eyes on the Harbor House. All she wanted in the world was to hurry back inside and scoop Taylor into a hug. “We couldn’t protect her,” she whispered.

Jake sighed and rubbed his forehead. There was nothing else to say.

“I’ll drive you back.”

Lindsey slipped back into the passenger seat. His car smelled of Taylor’s expensive perfume, plus the crisp and cheesy dough from their snacks earlier. She thought to ask him whether today had been a date, but then felt too fatigued to ask. They drove back to the Historic District in silence, where he parked in front of her apartment.

“You were kind to her earlier,” Lindsey said gently.

“I was a person to her,” Jake said. “Just another person.”

Lindsey fought the urge to throw her arms around Jake. She fought the urge to tell him, “I know what it’s like to lose someone, and I’m scared that already, I don’t want to lose you.”

Rather than freak him out, she thanked him for today. “It was really fun,” she said. “I never thought I’d take to birding like that.”

Jake offered her a meek smile. “Do you really mean that?”

Lindsey thought for a moment. “I’ll never be a professional birder. But being out there in the world, hearing why you love what you love, touched me. It’s something I could imagine doing again.” She pressed her lips together and drew her eyes to his.

“It would be my pleasure to do it again,” Jake told her. He said it as though he’d never thought himself half as lucky.

Lindsey smiled, then headed out of his car and hurried into her apartment, where she promptly fell face-first onto the bed and let out an excited scream.

Of course, the night wasn’t meant only for her euphoric feelings for Jake. Candice called half an hour later, groaning. “I’m assuming you saw the photo?”

“Yeah. I did.” Lindsey was curled up in her favorite chair, sipping tea and watching storm clouds brew over the water. “Does Taylor know yet?”

“Yes. It gets worse,” Candice said. “Apparently, Casey was the one to take the pictures. She sold them and left the Harbor House immediately.”

Lindsey was on her feet, her jaw slack. “You’re kidding.”