I WANTED TO SCREAM, but most of all, I wanted to jump out of the boat and send Masie and Weston home so they didn't have to face the wrath that was Mrs. Lincoln.
Weston faced me, and the boat slowed. "What the hell is she doing here?"
"No clue." I watched Nora unfold her arms and walk further down the dock. "You guys drop me off and take my boat back to your place."
His expression appeared as if I had insulted him. "Hell no."
I didn't fight Wes as we drifted toward the wooden planks, hopped out, and tied the boat to the moorings.
"Nora, I wasn't expecting you," I said as my sea legs found their strength again.
Nora glanced between Weston and me, then to his house—as if analyzing the situation. Her sunglasses kept her sleek, black hair from blowing in her flawlessly powered face, giving me the perfect view of the irritation woven into every line on her forehead. "I couldn't get a hold of you today."
"I wasn't on my phone."
"I see." Her eyes flickered behind me where Weston stood so fast I almost missed it. I felt the distaste radiating from her. Gone was the pseudo-motherly act, replaced by a pissed-off, gossiping secretary.
"Would you mind if we talked in private?" she asked.
"Uh," I gave myself time to conjure the proper response. "I'm busy, but I can chat for a second here if you want."
"If that's what you'd prefer." Her mouth twisted into a brazen grin—like a wolf bearing its teeth before tearing apart its prey. "In that case, I wanted to speak with you about the fundraiser. Can I be honest with you?"
Did I have a choice?
"Of course."
"Although we raised a great amount of money for the cause, I'm actually quite displeased with how the night played out, as were many other guests."
My throat went dry. "Displeased?"
"Ivey—" She stepped toward me, taking my hands. "Don't take this the wrong way, but people are beginning to suspect that you had a very poor relationship with your parents, which I know is untrue." Her tone made it sound like she was in my defense. "I tried to tell them otherwise, but considering you ran off last night, it doesn't look great."
A scoff sat, lodged in my throat. A poor relationship? What the hell was she talking about?
"I needed a moment alone."
"Yes, but you were supposed to join me on stage for the donation reveal."
"I—"
She cut me off. "I didn't want to have to tell you this because I have this motherly urge to protect you, but, honey, you've been very selfish lately, and I think it's time you were told for your own good."
"Okay," Weston's stern voice cut in before I could respond, causing me to jump. "That's enough."
Nora let go of my hands, stunned by his interruption. The whites of her eyes were more prominent, and her brows more taught. "Excuse me? You are not a part of this conversation."
"And you think you are? I have never met anyone who has made someone else's death about them as much as you and this entire town have done with Ivey's parents."
Nora blinked wordlessly at him, and so did I.
"How much of that donation money actually goes toward the charity?" He paused. "Or the better question is, how much of it are you pocketing for your own profit or for Clifton's? You milk other people's tragedies because it keeps you entertained, keeps the money rolling, and gives you free pity."
"You have no right speaking to me this way, considering who gave you your job."
"Weston—" I tried to intervene, but he was fuming with as much grace as one could burn with. Although he was trying to protect me, I recognized these pent-up feelings went deeper beyond my problems with Clifton and my parents. He had just as many grievances as me and needed to get his truth out for his sanity.
He calmly said, "There is nothing you could say or hold over my head that would prevent me from telling you how I feel."
"Oh, Weston." Nora clicked her tongue. "It's a shame you have sex with anyone that can give you a better reputation. You may have used my daughter, but it didn't work out how you wanted with Ivey."
She stepped closer, her voice sickly sweet. "And I thought patients were supposed to trust their healthcare professionals? It's too bad residents would rather go off the island to seek treatment than support their local doctor's office. Oh wait, that's right, you aren't a doctor."
"Are you serious?" Blunt laughter poured out of me directly into her face. I didn't know how else to express my utter astonishment, but my rage was a boiling kettle, and I was ready to blow. "Get off my property."
Nora stumbled backward.
"I said, get off my fucking property."
The dock wobbled, and all three of our heads whipped toward the movement to see Zoe standing with her phone pointed toward her fiancé and us a couple of steps behind. The muscles in her jaw were ridged, her lips drawn together in a slight pout, and I knew things were about to get much worse.
"Zoe," Nora was the first to speak. "Honey..."
"How dare you?" Zoe's voice was barely audible, and I could hear the pain lodged in her throat. "How dare you speak to my friends that way... about me that way."
Weston slid his hand into mine and pulled me against his body, his touch grounding me back to reality. I clung to him like my life depended on it, hoping my parents were lingering somewhere, watching this mess unfold.
"About you?" Her mother laughed nervously. "None of this is about you, sweetheart."
"Weston's not a doctor; he's just a nurse practitioner, right?" Zoe threw her mother's dig right back at her and ambled closer.
Nora's red lips parted, but no words came out in her defense. Even her own brain could not back her up. "I was not talking about you, and you know that."
"Do you know why Weston and I are such good friends? Because we bonded over the shitty mothers, we had in college. And one of my biggest mistakes was sending him here because he had to be degraded by you too."
Nora's tough exterior began to crumble. Her lip quivered, but she fought it by standing straighter. "I will not let you talk to me like this."
"Doesn't feel good, does it?"
Nora looked between her daughter, me, Weston, then Ben. When none of us spoke, her jaw clenched and unclenched before she hiked her purse further up her shoulder and stormed off. Ben placed his hands on Zoe's shoulders, and she slouched.
None of us spoke for a while.
"I'm sorry, guys," Zoe whispered.
"Do not apologize. None of this is your fault," Weston reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't have met Ivey if you hadn't sent me the job application."
My heart swelled as a bit of joy breathed back into me.
"You okay?" Zoe directed her attention toward me, and I nodded. Though Nora's words hurt, I could cope with her exploiting my parent's death because it was not a blow to my character, but I couldn't handle the comments toward Weston.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm used to it, but getting off my chest felt good." She shrugged. "So, you two then?" Her brows and lips raised despite her wet eyes.
Weston and I shared a knowing look, and heat rippled through my core from the memory of last night and today on the beach. He took my hand, answering her question, even though we both knew that whatever was between us was ending soon.
"I told you that dress would work on him." Zoe winked, and Weston asked what she meant. I forgot to tell him about our dress-shopping excursion, and we laughed at his cluelessness.
Zoe and Ben left shortly after, leaving Weston and me on the dock alone.
We sat side by side, our feet dangling over the edge while my head rested on his shoulder. His thumb brushed soothing strokes over the back of my hand. As we watched the sun disappear over the horizon, I whispered, "You're enough."
"Hmm?"
Lifting my head, I stared into his brown eyes and repeated, "You're enough. You're a great nurse and a good person. Anyone would be lucky to be taken care of by you. Thank you for standing up for me."
Staying silent, he smiled and kissed my forehead.
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: annasteffeyy
vote • comment • follow
Thanks for reading ♡
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛