Chapter 11
Faith

She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head. The hangover pounded into her brain, and the sunlight that streamed through the window dug into her eyelids. How much did I drink last night?

As Faith rolled over, flashes of last night appeared. She remembered the darts and how she’d gone drink for drink with all the guys—except Matt, of course. Then the billiards. No, it wasn’t just pool. Truth or dare. And the kiss. Oh God, the kiss.

The more she thought about last night, the more details emerged. How it had gone from a stupid dare to something more. She was sure of it. Alex had to have felt it, too. Right?

Even if he did, I didn’t have to go running after him! Did I think throwing myself at him would do something? But she couldn’t help it. Faith pushed the heels of her hands into her closed eyes and let out a moan. Maybe it isn’t as bad as I think.

She reached toward her phone on the bedside table. After she’d stumbled home drunk with Caleb and Matt, she couldn’t remember the details. Mascara had rubbed off onto her hands, and her phone was nearly dead. Clearly, she hadn’t had enough sense to wash her face or plug in the iPhone.

It was early in the morning in California, but Natalie would answer. She called Natalie on FaceTime and checked her smeared makeup on the screen. She looked nearly as bad as she felt.

“Why are you calling so early?” Natalie asked groggily. Faith could make out the familiar floral duvet cover and baby-blue pillowcases. “Jesus, what happened to you?”

“A lot of whiskey happened to me,” Faith said. She rolled onto her back and held the phone above her head. “Whiskey and a lot of stupidity.”

“Oh yeah?” Natalie asked with a yawn. “The two tend to go together. What’d you do?”

“Why do you think I’m the one who did anything?”

“Because you always instigate,” Natalie said with an eye roll.

“Okay, fine. I went drinking with all the guys here I told you about. Well, almost all of them. We went to some dive place on the mainland.”

“You? You went to a dive bar?” Natalie asked. “Why do you always tell me no when I ask you to go—”

“Listen!” Faith said. “Anyway, we’d had a couple of drinks already, then I said we should play pool.”

“Okay . . .”

“And truth or dare.”

“Oh God, Faith,” Natalie said. “All right. Who’d you kiss? It was the hot one, right? The brooding one you told me about?”

“Shh!” Faith hissed into the phone. She glanced around the room. “Yes, okay? God, how did you know?”

“How did I know? You always go for the mysterious ones, Faith! You act like I don’t know you at all.”

“Yeah, well, that wasn’t the worse of it.”

“No?”

“After, you know. He booked it out of there, and I followed him.”

“You followed him.”

“Okay, I, like, ran after him.”

“Oh my God.” Natalie rubbed her eyes. “What happened? Was he drunk, too? Maybe he doesn’t remember.”

“I mean, we all drank the same amount. He pretty much blew me off and left. I don’t—I haven’t seen him since then.”

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Natalie yawned. “I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

“Maybe,” Faith said. “Ugh, my phone is about to die. I need to let you go, go find the charger.”

“Okay,” Natalie said. “But seriously? Don’t worry about it. Even if he remembers, you can write it off as being drunk.”

“You think?”

“You were drunk, weren’t you?” Natalie asked. “It’ll be fine.”

Faith blew Natalie a kiss and scrambled out of bed to look for the charger. As soon as it was plugged in, she started to search for other contractors in the area. Downstairs, she heard the occasional door close and pot bang, but all was quiet. Mae must have figured out they were all hungover and wouldn’t bother with a grand breakfast.

She pulled a granola bar out of her bag and tore through the sweetness as she perused contractors. Most were available on Saturdays and answered her calls. The first couple had accents so thick she could barely make out what they said. The next handful provided ballpark bids so astronomically high she almost choked. George really is giving me a deal, she thought. It was tough to give up such an attractive bid, but she knew she had to. If he’d screwed over Alex like that, there was no way she’d hire him.

Finally, she called Just Peachy Contractors and an upbeat man with a voice that reminded her of her dad’s answered. “This is Craig.”

As soon as she introduced herself and gave him the address, he interrupted.

“You mean Lydia’s old place, ma’am?” he asked.

“You know it?” By now, she wasn’t surprised.

“I know all the properties on Saint Rose.”

His bid wasn’t nearly as good as George’s, but it was doable. Remember the inheritance, Faith told herself. She hadn’t touched the cash Lydia had left her, so it still didn’t seem real. Still, even if she used that cash for the renovations, she’d have plenty left over.

She hung up with Craig feeling lighter and with a verbal agreement to meet at the site to finalize the bid and planning.

Now for the tough part. George. Faith sighed and kicked her long legs out from under the covers. She felt a little bad about George having already done some of the groundwork but knew she shouldn’t. After all, she’d still pay him for the survey work and what he’d done so far. She couldn’t be the only client who’d pulled out early in the process.

Faith scrolled through her recent contacts until she found a 912 area code from the day she’d talked with George. “Faith!” his voice crowed when he answered. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He lingered over the word “pleasure” in a way that made her feel dirty. I’m doing the right thing.

“Hi, George,” she said and adopted the professional voice she used when speaking with troublesome clients. “I just wanted to give you a call and tell you that I’ve decided to go a different direction. With Lydia’s property. So, I, uh, I’m sorry, but I can’t hire you.”

“You can’t hire me,” George repeated. His voice had changed, gone nasty. “Don’t you mean Alex won’t let you hire me?”

“Alex?”

George gave a mean laugh. “C’mon, Faith. How stupid do you think I am?”

“I don’t think—”

“Alex put you up to this and don’t try to say otherwise.” She heard him spit a stream of chew. “Little fuckin’ cunt.”

“What?”

“Alex,” he said slowly, but not until after a long pause.

“Look, George,” she said. “I can assure you that I made up my own mind about this. And after talking to you now, I know I made the right decision.”

“Y’all are goddamned morons if you think any contractor in the state is going to offer the kind of bid I did. That was a fuckin’ friends ’n’ family discount. Hear me? I was doin’ y’all a goddamned favor—”

Faith hung up before she could hear any more. She longed for the days of landlines, when she could have slammed the phone down, especially as she noticed her shaking hands. Where did that come from?

She set the phone screen-side down on the table and swung her legs off the bed. Coffee. That was what she needed. Something to help clear her head.

Faith made her way downstairs in a pair of little pink pajama shorts and the matching lace-trimmed cami. A silk robe wrapped around her felt cool and comforting against her skin.

“She lives,” Mae said as Faith entered the kitchen.

Faith offered up a little smile.

“Coffee?”

“You read my mind,” Faith said.

“Hardly. You’re just not the first guest I’ve had who overimbibed the night before.” Mae set down a steaming mug of coffee in front of Faith. “No cream, no sugars?” Mae asked.

“You remembered,” Faith said.

“Hard to forget something like that,” Mae said with a raised brow. “Never been able to drink my coffee black, as many times as I’ve tried over the years.” She poured a spoonful of heavy cream into her own mug along with a lump of white sugar.

“Mae, can I ask you something?”

“You just call me Mama, sugar,” she said.

“Oh, um, okay,” Faith said with a blush. “Do you know George Stephanos?”

“Unfortunately,” Mama said. She didn’t stop stirring.

“Oh. Well, I had been talking to him about renovating the property.”

“I know,” Mama said.

“Well, I called him this morning. Just now. And told him I’ve decided to go in another direction.”

“Oh? You find someone better suited?”

“I guess you could say that.” Faith took a big swallow of the hot rich coffee. How much does she know? Did Alex talk to her about this stuff? “But when I called George to tell him? He got really nasty with me. And I don’t know why. I’m paying him for the work he’s done so far.”

Mama tsked and put down her mug. “Doesn’t surprise me.”

Before Faith could ask her why, Lee and Caleb came into the kitchen. “ʼBout time,” Mama said to them. Lee looked at her with surprise. “Oh not you,” she said.

“Morning, Mama,” Caleb said. His voice was scratchy from the hangover.

“Y’all know what George Stephanos did to Faith?” Mama asked.

Faith looked at her with big eyes. So this is how gossip spreads so fast in the South.

“What’s that?” Lee asked. He sat down beside Mama and leaned in for the gossip.

“Went off on her somethin’ ugly. All on account of her choosing another contractor.” Mama took another sip of her coffee.

“Figured,” Caleb said. “ʼCause of Alex?” he asked as he brewed his own mug of coffee.

Faith pinched her brows together. “I just don’t want to work with anyone who has no integrity,” she said, eager to get off the subject of Alex.

“Integrity’s important,” Lee agreed.

“You bet it is,” Mama said. “Why else do you think I took you in when you were just a kid? I mean, besides you and Alex always bein’ two peas in a pod. Back then at least. But it was ʼcause you had real integrity, even after what happened to your poor parents.”

Lee opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut as Alex walked into the kitchen. Lee looked at Alex but didn’t say a word.

Faith was reminded of that first day she’d arrived at Greystone, back when she’d thought Lee was just a hired hand. Caleb and Alex had really been going at one another that day, and Alex had been flippant toward Lee. There is a lot more going on under the surface than I know.

She’d pieced together how Lee factored into the equation, but not why he and Alex had killed their friendship. Why Mama had kept Lee on though, she could see. Lee couldn’t have broken any real trusts, or Mama would have kicked him out. So what is it?

There were tensions between all the men, and she couldn’t even begin to unravel them. Clearly, there were still a lot of disagreements happening behind the scenes. She felt Mama’s hands on hers. Across the table, the older woman’s warm blue eyes were filled with concern. “Poor thing,” Mama said. “That’s a nasty hangover, isn’t it?”

Faith just nodded, embarrassed now that Alex was in the room.

“One of y’all should take her to explore the ocean today,” Mama said. Faith’s stomach lurched at the thought of trying to handle sea legs. “Don’t you worry,” Mama said. “The saltwater is known for its healing powers.”

“Lee and I are busy today,” Caleb said. He finished his mug of coffee and rinsed it in the farmhouse sink. “Boat work on the fishing rig. But maybe Alex is free.” It was more of a statement than a question, and Caleb didn’t even bother checking Alex’s expression.

Faith looked up and saw Alex’s glare toward Caleb’s back. She blushed and looked away. What is Caleb trying to pull? Just the other day, he would have jumped at a chance to flirt with me on a boat for an afternoon.

“What’s going on?” Mama asked. “Y’all better speak up real soon.”

Faith racked her brain for an excuse, but fortunately Alex spoke up—somewhat. “I’ll take her,” he mumbled, barely audible.

“Now that’s more like it,” Mama said. “I swear, sometimes it’s like you boys were raised with no manners at all. And what do y’all s’pose that says about me?”

Faith smiled. “I’ll go get my suit on, then,” she said.

“Make sure you wear a shirt,” Alex called after her. “And shorts, too. And covered shoes!” She ignored him as she raced up the stairs. I swear, sometimes it’s like dealing with a stepfather!

In the bedroom, she pulled out the collection of swimwear she’d eagerly packed back in San Francisco. At the time, she’d envisioned a lazy, leisurely summer of sunbathing and had gone overboard with the bikinis and monokinis. Natalie had gone shopping with her, encouraging her to get both a yellow string bikini and a tropical-print mesh monokini. “You can never have too many sexy swimsuits!” Natalie had said. Faith opted for a skimpy white bikini.

In the mirror, Faith noticed that she’d somehow already turned a golden bronze from the Georgia sun. It was just the right amount of glow to warrant the bright-white bikini that barely covered her. She wiggled into the stonewashed short shorts with pockets that peeked out and kissed her thighs.

At the bottom of the duffel bag, she found the white crop top with the peach graphic across the chest she’d purchased before her trip. It hung off one shoulder, and she could easily make out the bikini underneath. “You have to get this!” Natalie had crowed. “It’s so Georgia!”

Alex had told her to wear shorts and a shirt. He hadn’t specified how modest they had to be. As she pulled on the beat-up black Converse that she’d had since law school, her heart began to race. One more look in the mirror, and Faith had to admit she was a vision. A sliver of taut golden stomach could be seen between the shorts and crop top. She pulled her long hair into a messy topknot and slid the vintage Ray-Bans on.

She couldn’t tell she was hungover at all. If this doesn’t pique Alex’s interest, nothing will.