Persuaded Read Free Page B

her to the
kitchen.
    Sophie
looked hurt for just an instant. “I don’t get the chance to baby you that
often, Derick. So suck it up. I’m sure it will pass soon enough.”
    Derick
nodded in humility as Sophie began pulling meat, cheese, and bread from the
fridge. “Benny flies in tomorrow,” she informed him as she built his sandwich.
    “I
haven’t seen him in ages. How’s he doing?” As Adam’s brother, Benny was sort of
Derick’s brother-in-law once removed.
    “Pretty
well, I think—considering.”
    “Poor
guy,” was all Derick could manage.
    Sophie’s
look told Derick that she didn’t completely agree with him, and he raised his
eyebrows at her.
    “Don’t
get me wrong,” Sophie defended, holding up a mustard-coated butter knife. “It
was horrible. But Phoebe’s been gone over a year, and they were only together a
couple months. I think Benny is wallowing in the poetry a bit too much.”
    Derick
couldn’t argue with his sister, but he couldn’t imagine caring that much for
someone and having them taken away in such an agonizing manner, either.
“Hopefully the change of scenery will be good for him.”
    “That’s
what we’re thinking,” Sophie answered, setting a plate in front of Derick.
“Just promise me that if you catch him gazing morosely at the ocean, you’ll
intervene.”
    “Whatever
you say,” Derick grinned.
    “Good
boy,” Sophie answered, winking at her brother and filling him with a sensation
he had all but forgotten—belonging.
     
     
    FOUR
    OLD
LYME
     
    “So, you are
come at last! I began to think I should never see you.”
    —Mary Musgrove, Persuasion
     
    Hanna
stepped off the airport shuttle, grateful to the driver for unloading her
suitcases. After handing him a few dollar bills and thanking him, she moved up
onto the curb and took her phone from the messenger bag at her hip. The address
Mary had texted confused her, as it didn’t have a number or even a street name.
It simply read, Uppercross House, Old Lyme Beach. A worn-looking street sign
directed Hanna half a mile farther down to the beach. Hoping that she wouldn’t
have to trek through the sand with her luggage, Hanna began ambling down the
cracked sidewalk. She took care not to trip on any of the large chunks of
concrete that were lying in wait to snag careless walkers.
    The
street was dotted with weekend bargain hunters, lined with shops that had a
definite old-town feel to them. Hanna smiled to herself, already half in love
with the town of Old Lyme. Something about it made her want to stroll. She
would have loved to pop into a couple of the boutiques, but she had already
notified Mary of her landing which meant that in Mary’s eyes, Hanna was already
late.
    Past
the shops, a row of lush green trees stood guard next to tall, wrought-iron
gate with a small guard station. A sign posted on the front read:
     
    Old
Lyme Beach
    a
private community
     
    Hanna
approached, told the guard who she was, and waited while he rang the house for
approval, then let her through. Behind the trees, small vacation homes were
squashed together, divided by immaculately trimmed hedges on either side. Each
home bore a plaque over the front door with its name. After passing several
dwellings, Hanna arrived at Uppercross House. It was a nondescript structure
with white siding, a dark wooden door, and blue shutters framing the windows.
Butterflies with wings full of anticipation tumbled around in Hanna’s stomach
as she let herself in through the gate and stepped onto the sidewalk. She had
rung the bell only once when the door was thrown wide open by her blond,
brown-eyed nephew CJ (Charles Jr.), who was six-going-on-sixteen. It had been a
year since Hanna spent any time with her sister’s family—Walter, the baby, had
only just turned one when she’d last seen them.
    “Banana!”
CJ shouted as he barreled out the door and crashed into his aunt. Hanna patted him
on the back, unable to really embrace him since he was squeezing