Chapter Nine

Peyton

It seemed that I had come full circle this weekend—in more ways than one.

Last night—and again this morning—I'd once more made a promise to Nash Sampson—or at least, I'd agreed to give the idea of us a try. And this time, I planned to keep that vow. Saying goodbye to him before he'd left the Cove to drive north hadn't been easy, but at least I knew we were both returning to homes that weren't very far from each other. We had a chance, and that was more than I'd ever expected to have.

And now, I was once again sitting on the family side of the Rip Tide's parking lot . . . stalling.

I'd managed to avoid Jude this weekend. More accurately, I'd avoided being seen by her, and I definitely hadn't wanted to talk with my cousin. But I knew that leaving without saying goodbye would be petty and wrong. Jude had stood by me all these years, even when I had been too stubborn to come home. She didn't deserve my cold shoulder.

When I finally forced myself to walk into the Tide, it was quiet, which didn't surprise me; Sunday afternoons were slow, particularly when it wasn't football season and right after a huge event like the reunion.

There were a couple of older guys at the bar, watching baseball on the ancient TV. They spared me just a passing glance as I stepped inside. I didn't see anyone else at first; I assumed that Jude, if she was here, must be back in the kitchen. Or maybe her son was in charge today, and Jude was at home with her handsome husband, relaxing.

But then I saw her across the restaurant, sitting at a table with another woman. They had their heads together, obviously deep in conversation.

I almost turned to leave, unwilling to interrupt them. But then one of the men at the bar called out.

"Jude, you got a customer."

My cousin looked up, her eyes meeting mine. For a long moment, she didn't move, and then, with an easy smile, she rose to her feet.

"This is no customer, boys. This is my cousin, Peyton." She began walking toward me. "Ron, you remember Peyton. You used to fish with her dad back in the day."

"Oh, yeah." Ron wagged his head. "Didn't she run off, though?"

Jude rolled her eyes. "Peyton, come over and sit down. I want you to meet a friend of mine."

Since I didn't seem to have a choice, I followed my cousin to the table, where she dragged over a chair for me. Her friend was younger than me, I guessed, but not by much. She smiled, shifting in her seat, and I saw to my surprise an unmistakable baby bump.

"Peyton, this is Naomi Portman. Naomi, Peyton is my very favorite cousin. She lives in Savannah, but she's been visiting this weekend for her high school reunion."

"Oh." Naomi grinned. "Class of Eighty-Nine, huh? Y'all kind of invaded the Cove. I couldn't walk down the street without seeing a bunch of your classmates."

"Yeah." I wrinkled my nose. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't be. "She waved her hand. "It's good for business. Or so I hear."

"Well, I guess there's that." I paused, not sure where to take the conversation, which was probably why I blurted out, "So when are you due?"

Naomi patted her middle to my relief. If she'd said she wasn't actually pregnant, I would have been mortified.

"End of the year, or early January. The doctor swears the dates say it'll be around January tenth, but I'd be surprised if I held out past Christmas."

"Ah." I sat down, resting my purse on my lap. "Is it your first?"

"Lord, no." Naomi shook her head. "I have two kids in college. Which is actually why I'm pregnant now."

My face must've reflected my confusion, because Naomi laughed. "Sorry. The baby isn't mine. I'm a surrogate."

"Ohhhhh." I nodded. "I've heard of that, but I don't think I've ever met someone who did it. That's very cool, that you're helping out a couple who can't otherwise have kids."

"It's not a good fit for everyone, but I like it. I'm good at being pregnant, and my births are quick and easy."

"Naomi's carrying Alex and Cal's baby," Jude put in. "Do you remember me telling you about them, Peyton? The couple who run our bed and breakfast?"

"Sure." I recalled them vaguely. "How lovely."

"Yeah, I was a surrogate for their little girl," Naomi sighed. "Such a sweetheart! So when they decided to go for number two, I came out of retirement for this one time only. Once this one lands earth side, I'm officially out of the baby business."

"I hope everything goes well." I really didn't know what else to say, so I turned to my cousin. "Jude, I'm sorry to interrupt. I really just stopped to say goodbye on my way out of town."

"Don't be silly. Naomi and I . . ." Jude slid her a glance. "I think we're done for now. Right?" She skewered the other woman with her sharp gaze.

"Yeah, I think we, um, solved my issue." With a soft groan, Naomi stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Peyton. And Jude, I'll see you around. Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime." Jude stayed silent until Naomi had left the Tide, and then she shook her head. "Man trouble. There's a guy, and he is so in love with her, but she's being so stubborn. So I had to talk a little bit of sense into her. Hope it took."

"Seems like a lot of that going around," I observed. "The need for talking sense into people, I mean." I hesitated and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Jude, for the way I acted on Thursday when I first came into town. I was shook up and nervous and so scared to be back."

"I know." Jude smiled. "I didn't take offense, Peyton. You were skittish. I knew once you realized that no one was going to stare and point at you, you'd settle down and have a good time."

"I guess I did," I admitted. "It was more fun than I thought."

"Glad to hear it." Jude reached over and gave me a quick hug. "I miss you around here! Now that you've come back, don't be such a stranger."

"Yeah, I don't know." I grimaced. "It was fine for this weekend, but I don't expect to make a habit of coming here."

"Well, you should." Jude crossed her arms over her chest. "Matter of fact, I'm going to risk getting on your bad side again and say you shouldn't leave today until you've driven over to Elson to see your mom."

"Oh, Jude—" I began, but she quelled me with a look.

"Peyton, you don't know how much time you have with her. If you don't at least try to talk with your mother, you'll regret it. I promise you."

"Maybe the next time—" I stared to say, but again, Jude interrupted.

"No, there might not be a next time." She stood up. "C'mon, cousin. I'll go with you. I'll drive you over to the assisted living facility, and I'll stay while you talk."

I rose to my feet, too, although considerably slower. "You mean, you'll stay until she kicks me out?"

"She's not going to do that, Peyton. She's . . . she's softened. She has regrets, too."

I blinked rapidly, my head clouded as I tried to decide what to do.

"Just go see her. Five minutes," coaxed Jude. "Then you can go, and I won't bother you about it again."

"All right," I relented. "Five minutes. But I'm driving myself—I'll follow you over there. I want to leave right from there."

"Fine." Jude hugged me. "You're doing the right thing, Peyton. I'm proud of you."

I tried to muster a smile as I followed her out the door, but I couldn't make it happen.

And as for doing the right thing? Yeah, I wasn't so sure about that, either.