Page 46 of Bluebell Tides

“When do you see him?” Sophie asked, furrowing her brow.

“We’re meeting tomorrow at the Cove,” Ruth said, her stomach tightening into knots.

“You’ll call us if you need anything?” Celia asked. “We’re close.”

“I’ll call you,” Ruth promised. She still couldn’t believe she’d agreed.

After a gorgeous first night at the Eco-Lodge, where she shared a room with Kellen and was endlessly grateful to listen to his little snores throughout the night, Ruth and Kellen walked down to the Cove and leaped into the waves. Kellen still couldn’t swim, so he held Ruth’s hand as the waves crashed into them. He yelped with happiness.

For a moment, so enraptured by his face, Ruth forgot who they were meeting.

But when the dark figure appeared behind them, gazing at them, Kellen turned and cried out, “Quentin!” He scampered out of the water and ran headlong for his grandfather’s legs, which he hugged tightly. Ruth watched them for a moment, transfixed by how alike they looked. Kellen had his mother’s face, but Sloane had looked every bit like her father.

Quentin raised his hand in greeting. Ruth hadn’t spoken to him in person, not during the trial at all, and only on the phone after. He’d been the one to reach out, and she’d only agreed because Kellen hadn’t stopped asking to see him, not since they’d gotten to New York.

Together, Quentin and Ruth sat on a blanket and watched Kellen make a sandcastle. It was a surreal feeling. Ruth half imagined Sloane sitting near them, watching the scene unfold. What would Sloane make of it? She’d probably tell Ruth it was time to forgive him.

For a little while, Quentin asked question after question about Kellen’s life in New York City. It was clear that he approved of everything from Kellen’s school to Kellen’s after-school activities to the neighborhood they lived in. It was clear, too, that Quentin missed him.

“I’m getting divorced,” Quentin said then, surprising them both. He laughed. “You should see your face.”

“I’m sorry,” Ruth said. “I’m sorry for you and for CeeCee. What happened?”

Quentin shrugged. “I don’t know. The trial drove all the Caldwecks apart. Now that Ren has to pay up for what he did to the babysitter, it’s like we can reckon with what happened, who we really are, and who we want to be. Now that we lost Kellen—which is a good thing, don’t get me wrong—we can regroup.”

Ruth nodded, trying fully to fathom it. She’d never imagined that the Caldwecks would lose, not in any game that life threw at them.

“Having Kellen around for a few years was really wonderful,” Quentin said quietly. “For twenty years, I mourned the loss of my daughter, the daughter I never got to know. And then, when she died, and we did what we did…” He shook his head. “I knew it was wrong. I still know it was. I’m sorry, Ruth. I’m sorry for all of it.”

At that, Kellen stood and raised both his hands into the air, watching as a flock of seagulls wheeled overhead. He cried out. And for a moment, Ruth could picture herself and Quentin, all those years ago, dancing and drinking and laughing on a Nantucket beach. Back then, she hadn’t known how powerful their love was, nor that it would bring two beautiful humans into being. But she had to be grateful—to Quentin, to every decision they’d made along the way. This was her big, beautiful life. She hoped there would be so much more to it.