Chapter 14
Faith

The sunset cast a pink glow across the dusty abandoned plantation home. Faith made her way through the rooms and scrawled down notes. Since she didn’t know much about construction or architecture, she thought her notes would be few. But it didn’t take long until she started to notice the magnitude of problems.

Mold, maybe even black mold, had settled into bathroom corners. The exposed wiring for the chandelier and sconce lighting looked dangerous even to her untrained eye. She sighed and perched on the windowsill. It was wooden and ornate, but she felt it give slightly. What kind of mess am I signing up for?

For the past few days, she’d trotted around the property with Craig and Alex. Craig was solicitous and likable. Even Alex had grunted his approval. However, not even the best contractor in the world was going to be able to turn this neglected home around for anything less than a small fortune.

Outside, she watched Craig and Alex finish up another round of the property. It wasn’t just the house that needed salvation. It operated off an old well system, and the pipes seemed to be pierced by tree roots. Craig had promised to bring out a “water guy,” who he promised was honest, but honesty wasn’t going to pay that bill.

Faith dusted off the back of her denim shorts and went outside. “Okay guys, what new problems do you have for me?”

Craig smiled up at her. He was middle-aged and had started to go silver, but he still had a boyish smile that always lightened up bad news. “Not so bad today, ma’am” he said. “Although I’d recommend getting an arborist out here to look at some of the trees close to the back porch. One of ʼem looks diseased if not dead, and you don’t want it fallin’ on the new roof.”

“And how much is that going to cost?”

“Hard to say, ma’am,” Craig said. “Fallin’ trees aren’t my business. Couple thousand, maybe? With stump removal?”

She cringed. The figures just kept climbing higher.

“All right, ma’am, that’s all we got for today,” Craig said. He tipped the baseball cap emblazoned with his company logo. “Y’all have a good night.”

Faith bounded up the front steps to look for Alex. She thought she heard something in the abandoned laundry room. She turned into the small room off the mud room and was smacked with a flashback.

There was no Alex, and suddenly the room sparkled bright and white. She could smell bleach in the air, and the addictive scent of fresh cotton. But everything seemed taller, bigger. The ancient washer rumbled, and at her feet was a basket of clothespins.

“Daddy?” her own child voice was instantly recognizable. Still, she couldn’t make out her father’s face.

She saw his hands pull up the jeans that were at his knees, his rough fingers as they struggled with the belt. “Faith! Get on outta here,” he said.

“Fate! Fate!” her cousin’s voice, with that tiny lisp, bellowed from just a few feet behind her.

She still didn’t look up. But she saw Lydia’s short, clean nails pull down her housedress and smooth the skirt. One sensible heel had fallen off, and the other clung to her nyloned toe. “Little ladies should knock before they come into a closed room.” Aunt Lydia’s voice was also, in an instant, recognizable.

Faith’s breath stuck in her throat. Her father and her aunt? His sister? A sickening hook sunk into her stomach.

That’s why I didn’t remember. That’s why we never came back. Why the family cut us off.

“Ready?” Alex asked her. She jumped at his voice. “You okay? Look like you seen a ghost.”

“Uh, yeah,” she said. Her voice wobbled. “Fine. Just, um, remembered something.”

“Anything important?” he asked. The concern consumed his face.

Can I trust him? “I don’t . . . I don’t know,” she said. “I, Jesus, this sounds messed up. I think I walked in here when I was a kid. And, uh, caught my dad. With Lydia.”

“Your Aunt Lydia?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said quietly.

He let out a breath and put an arm around her as he guided her out of the house. It was firm and solid, strong enough to steady her.

Thank God he is here. She’d figured that by now he wouldn’t stick around for these walk-throughs and consultations. It had been a few days since their near kiss, and the tension between them was intense. But day after day he kept hanging around while she took care of items related to the property. Craig had even mistaken him for her boyfriend.

On the walk back to the plane, she tried to push the memory out of her head and focus on the house. What is the point in dwelling on it? She didn’t question its validity. She knew what she’d seen and was confident in her assumptions of why they’d never returned—and why she’d never had contact with her dad’s family.

Instead, she tried to focus on the project at hand, secure with Alex’s arm around her shoulder. The reality of the renovation work began to really sink in. Craig told her it would take at least eight weeks to complete, and that was assuming no bumps. “But there’re always bumps,” he’d cautioned with a laugh.

“I can’t believe I’ve been here two weeks already,” she told Alex. The change of topic was awkward, but he went along with it.

“Time flies,” he said.

“I told Mae—er, Mama—that it would just be a couple of weeks. But with what Craig said about the project, I don’t know. I think I’ll need to talk to her about staying a month.”

“A month?” he asked. He stopped so fast she nearly ran into him.

“At least,” she said. “I don’t know. With how things are sounding, it might be a whole summer here.”

Alex didn’t reply but did continue to walk. She couldn’t tell if he was upset about it, happy, or something else. But he certainly didn’t return his arm to her shoulder.

“So yeah. I’m hoping to go into town tomorrow and start looking at flooring. Maybe check out the door and window shop Craig was talking about.”

Alex didn’t say anything, and she gave up. There was only so long she could force a one-sided conversation. They climbed into the plane and spent the short flight back in silence. By now, Faith could recognize a lot of the landmarks with new adult eyes.

Faith stole glances at him out of the corner of her eye. Even with his quietness today, it seemed like he’d warmed up to her in the past couple of days. Or maybe she’d imagined it all. Or maybe he just felt sorry for me when I realized my dad was screwing his sister.

Faith focused on the confidence he showcased while he expertly maneuvered the plane. She’d toyed with the idea of getting a pilot’s license but hadn’t gone beyond an orientation course. It had been on a whim, an effort to get rid of a lingering fear of flying.

Her heart no longer banged away in her chest when he landed the plane. When did I get used to this? Taking little planes to tiny islands off other islands? It had only been a few days, but she’d surprised herself by how easily she’d settled in. Natalie couldn’t understand how Faith wasn’t bored out of her mind, and she couldn’t explain it, either. Every time she got an email from the firm, she dreaded it. How easily she could just leave her life in California behind amazed her.

“What’s for dinner tonight?” Alex asked her as she helped him pull the canvas cover over the plane.

“Gwen didn’t say this morning,” Faith said. “And I’m not sure if I’ll even make it down. I’m exhausted.”

“Renovating a plantation is tough work,” Alex said. He tightened up the cables.

“I bet. And I’m not even the one actually doing it.”

“What kind of flooring you got in mind?” he asked as they began the walk to the inn. Is he actually taking an interest in the project? Or just trying to keep my mind off what I’d remembered?

“I don’t know. Wood, definitely, but I’m torn between a nice, rich dark or a lighter, walnut-colored one. Wide planks, either way. What do you think?”

He shrugged. “Wood’s wood, if you’re just talking about the stain. But given the temperature and humidity here, I’d go with an oak.”

“Oak?” she asked.

“Or something else native. Something that’s meant to be here. And doesn’t have to adjust. Of course, any good contractor would let the planks sit a few days anyway.”

She nodded as if she’d thought of all that herself. “And as for the doors and windows, I don’t know. Obviously it would be best to go with the most energy efficient possible in the long run, but that’ll really add up. And this whole project is already costing way more than I expected.”

“Houses always do,” he said. She tripped over a root that shot up out of the sandy trail, and he caught her arm.

“Careful,” he said. She blushed and let go of his hand.

“Maybe I should start watching some of those HGTV shows,” she said.

“What now?”

“You know. The home and garden channel.”

“That magazine has a whole channel now?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. One of my roommates back in law school was totally addicted to it. I didn’t get it at the time, but I do now. I just wish all of that secondhand television forced onto me had actually sunk in.”

He shook his head. “You start watching all that, and you’ll be more confused than you are now. If I were you, I’d trust Craig to make most of the selections. He knows what does well here, what looks good, and what’s high quality.”

“You don’t think it would be fun?” she asked as she looked up at him. “Picking everything out, making all the choices—”

“Nah,” he said. “It’s like planning a wedding. It might sound fun at first, but as soon as you get into it . . .”

He trailed off, and she didn’t want to push. Every time he mentioned Rebecca, she felt like she saw the pain fresh all over again. “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Besides, I didn’t come all the way here to spend my time streaming television.”

“Streaming?”

She shook her head. “Never mind.”

Alex took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his thick hair. Faith could watch his hands all day. They were perfect, though she’d never fancied herself a “hand girl” before. But Alex’s were big with thick fingers that looked just as adept at manual labor as a roll in the sheets. She blushed at the thought but couldn’t help herself. She imagined, if she could ever explore them, that they would have just a few calluses. Enough for a touch of roughness without it being too much.

“Yeah?” Alex asked. She realized he’d caught her staring at him.

“Nothing,” she said and looked away. “It’s just you keep your nails really clean. For, you know, a guy who works on planes.”

He gave a short laugh. It was so rare that it sounded delightfully foreign. “You’re judging my fingernails?”

“Don’t worry. You passed,” she teased. “Women look at these things, you know.”

“Good to know.”

Mama was sitting with Lee on the front porch as they approached, a pitcher of sweet tea between them. “Y’all have a productive day?” Mama asked.

“As productive as it can be when you’re basically building a home from scratch,” Alex said. She shot him a thankful look, being glad that she wouldn’t have to make house-related pleasantries with Mama.

“That place has good bones,” Lee said. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. A hand that was nothing like Alex’s.

“And how would you know?” Alex asked. Lee just shrugged.

“Boys,” Mama said. “I swear, they can be like a couple o’ cats in a duffel bag.”

Faith smiled at Mama, impeccably dressed as always. She wore cream linen wide-legged trousers, a perfectly pressed turquoise silk blouse, and matching jeweled sandals. “Got any more sweet tea?” Faith asked. It was strange how she’d come to crave it every evening. But something about that sugar rush was irresistible.

“I’ll go grab you a glass,” Mama said and started to get up.

“No!” Faith said with a laugh. “I’ll get it, I know where they are.”

She listened to the three of them talk as she pulled one of Mama’s tea glasses with the lemons etched into it out of the cupboard. Gwen was nowhere in sight, but she could smell her signature pork and beans as they simmered on the stovetop. This is how life could be. It’s how it is for some people, she thought.

On the porch, she downed a glass of the sweet tea and felt a new wave of exhaustion wash over her. “You tired, baby?” Mama asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said. “I don’t know. The worrying about finishing the house, being out there in the heat all day. It feels like I ran a marathon.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know how that feels,” Mama said. “A lady shouldn’t run, let alone run twenty-something miles. But I know how tiring it can be to manage a house being renovated. Why don’t you go on and take a rest? Gwen can bring you up something.”

“Actually, I think I might just make something light and hit the hay early tonight.” Hit the hay? When did I start talking like that?

“You sure, baby?” Mama asked. “Gwen picked up some great pork cuts this afternoon. There’s some extra in the fridge if you want.”

“Thanks,” Faith said with a tired smile. “Well, good night, y’all.”

“Night,” Lee said softly over his shoulder. He still looked at her from time to time as though he had a schoolboy crush on her, but it was lessening. And now that she knew about what had happened with Alex, Lee, and Rebecca, when Lee looked at her like that it made her nervous. Mama offered up her signature megawatt smile. But Alex barely glanced at her. He gave a slight nod in her direction but continued to stare into the horizon.

Faith slathered some mustard onto the home-baked bread Gwen and Mama prepared nearly every morning. It was crusty yet soft on the inside—the kind of bread she paid six dollars a loaf for at the upscale market on the way home from the firm.

She shook her head and laughed at the insanity of it. Who paid six dollars for bread? And it had nothing on what she’d become accustomed to on Saint Rose. Mama hadn’t been wrong about the pork. It was thick, juicy, and smelled heavenly. Faith layered it with the local cheese Mama picked up regularly from the dairy farm in Savannah and stuffed lettuce leaves from Greystone’s little vegetable garden into it. Now this was living.

Upstairs, Faith slipped into her satin pajama shorts and tank top before she washed her face. She looked dog-tired in the mirror and barely had enough energy to plait her hair. After she spread moisturizer on her face, she perched on the edge of her bed and tore into the sandwich while her laptop booted up.

There was an email from the firm, but she could tell by the subject line it was just a checking-in email. Thank God, she thought as she archived it. A bunch of spam, a cursory summer letter from her aunt, probably with updates on all her cousins’ accomplishments, and an automated message from the dating site Natalie had made her sign up for six months ago.

“We miss you!” the subject line read. She groaned and almost deleted it. At the last minute, she clicked it open, scrolled down and unsubscribed. The last thing I need is a reminder of just how single I am.

Although she didn’t have any emails from any genealogy forums, she logged into the forums just in case. Nobody had responded directly to her. Of course.

She’d polished off the sandwich in record time. Faith closed the laptop and returned to the bathroom. Flossing can wait till tomorrow, she thought as she performed a cursory tooth brushing. As she watched herself in the mirror, she scrunched up her nose and turned from side to side. What is it with Alex? she wondered. She was cute, right? Why was he so freaking standoffish?

“Stop thinking about him, Faith,” she told herself as she climbed into bed. She didn’t even have the energy to set an alarm before sleep claimed her.