Zoe nodded. “And this has nothing to do with what happened between me and your grandmother?”
Izzie played with her skirt. “Maybe a little. It still bothers me that you lied, but if you had told me right away, I know it would have hurt too much.” She searched Zoe’s face. “I hope that’s why you didn’t.” When Zoe smiled she looked so much like her mother. How could she not want her mom’s sister to be part of her life?
“Have you always been this mature?” Zoe asked.
Izzie grinned. “Pretty much. Not that I always wanted to be. I took care of Grams the last few years. Here, I get to be a teenager and I like that.” Maybe she’d have more freedom with Zoe than she did with the Monroes, but there was a small part of her that was beginning to realize she liked knowing she had parents who worried about her enough to set rules.
“I didn’t intend for things to work out this way, you know,” Zoe told her. “When I came back to see your grandmother, I wanted to set things right. I had such great plans for us.” She smiled sadly. “You and I were going to do all the things your mom and I never got a chance to do. When she moved to New York, I thought the two of us were going to live together till we were in our nineties. Two old biddies fighting over a game of bingo at the local Y.” She laughed for a moment. “I didn’t realize she’d meet Bill and fall so hard. Bill changed everything.”
Something in the catering tent came crashing to the floor and they heard shouting. Zoe leaned forward to see what happened, but Izzie didn’t want her to get distracted. She had a feeling Zoe was finally going to tell her what went down that summer her parents and aunt had been together. “Why did Bill change your relationship so much?”
“I waited forever to have Chloe to myself, and then she came to New York and spent all her time with Bill. Your dad is too much of a gentleman to say it, but I think he suspects I played a part in his breakup, and he’s right.” Her face crumbled. “I just wanted them to take a breather. They got so serious so fast, and she had no time for me!” Zoe looked angry. “So I admit it—I got jealous—and that’s why I started talking about how if Bill got traded they’d never last. Then miraculously, it happened. Chloe panicked. She didn’t want to lose him, but I drilled it into her head how he was a young, hot ballplayer and there was no way he could stay faithful. I told Chloe about other guys on the team who had groupies. I didn’t say Bill did, too, but when she pressed me, I didn’t deny it. I guess I sounded convincing because after the trade, she broke it off. She didn’t even say good-bye to him.”
“Did you ever tell her the truth?” Izzie asked. Zoe’s answer was written all over her face. Her cheeks were flushed in the low evening light.
“I couldn’t. She would’ve been so mad.” Zoe’s voice was shaky. “I knew she was upset, but I thought she’d get over him. Your dad didn’t go easily, though. He wouldn’t stop calling, so finally I changed our number. We didn’t have cells back then, so she didn’t know he was trying to reach her. She thought he was being a jerk, and I was happy to have my sister to myself.” Zoe looked away guiltily. “Neither of us knew she was pregnant. By then, it was too late. She had gone home to your grandmother.”
Izzie’s heart was beating out of her chest in time to the up-tempo tune the band was playing inside. How could Zoe have been so cruel?
“I know I was wrong, okay?” Zoe threw up her hands. “Selfishly, I liked having Chloe to myself for a while. And then, when she left and I didn’t know why, I was mad at her. I felt like I wasn’t enough, you know? I felt like she had abandoned her kid sister.” Zoe looked mournful. “I begged her to come back, but she wouldn’t get on the phone with me half the time. I thought she was just depressed. Once I knew about you…” Izzie tried to block out the sounds of the frantic waitstaff trying to get out more plates.
Zoe grabbed Izzie’s hand. “I never would have tried to split them up if I had known she was pregnant. Nor did I know Bill would move on so quickly. By the time I came to my senses, he had moved, and his number was changed, and a few months later, I read he was engaged. That’s when your mom called me to tell me I was right about him,” she recalled, her voice hoarse. “But instead of agreeing with her, I was vindictive. I was mad at her and feeling bad for myself. Here I was living paycheck to paycheck, alone, and she was back home with Grams. So when she called, before she could get a word in, I blurted out that I was the reason they broke up.”
Izzie’s eyes widened. “And you still didn’t know about me?”
Zoe shook her head. “Nope. I probably should have figured it out by then. As soon as I told her that I caused her breakup, your mom started yelling at me and crying. She was furious, and she had every right to be. I ruined her life.” Zoe’s lower lip quivered. “I can’t blame her for never speaking to me again after that.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I called dozens of times to apologize, but your grandmother wouldn’t put me through. Eventually I gave up.” She looked at Izzie sadly. “The next time I saw your mom was at her funeral, and that’s when I learned about you. When I realized how old you were, it didn’t take me long to figure out who your father was, but it was way too late to fix things. Not only had I destroyed your mom’s life, but I had ruined yours as well.” She audibly sobbed.
Izzie wanted to be furious with Zoe, but, sadly, what did that change? If her parents had lasted the summer, who knows if they would have survived her dad’s trade. Her mom still could have swallowed her pride and found him to tell him she was expecting, but she didn’t, and Izzie would never really know why. If her mom had told him, would they have gotten married? But then she wouldn’t have had Hayden, Mira, or Connor in her life. There was no use wondering “what if” if the answers changed everything she loved. Zoe was crying and Izzie put her hand on her aunt’s shoulder, thinking how ironic it was that she was the one doing the consoling. “It’s okay. This happened such a long time ago.”
“It’s not okay! I know what I did was awful.” Zoe wiped her eyes. “But at least now I’ve come clean to the person who matters most. I just hope you don’t hate me.”
Izzie actually felt bad for her. “I don’t hate you,” she said honestly. “You’re the only Scott I have left. How could I hate you?”
Zoe reached over to hug her. She didn’t let go right away. “You see what this state does to me? I have to get out of North Carolina before it swallows me whole.” She attempted to laugh, but it sounded hollow. “Thank you for letting me get that off my chest,” she said, stroking Izzie’s hair. “I have something for you. I had a feeling you might say no about California, so I brought your sweet-sixteen present with me tonight.” She pulled away and rummaged around in her bag. “I wanted to have one blown up and framed, but I never got around to doing it. Here.” She handed her a Ziploc bag of photos.
The one on top caught Izzie’s eye. It was a picture of her parents sitting on a blanket in what had to be Central Park. Her dad’s hair was dark brown instead of gray, and (not that she would tell him this) he looked more muscular. She hadn’t watched her mom age, so she looked the same as Izzie remembered her, maybe just a tad younger. But what stuck out the most about the picture was how happy they looked. Zoe had followed through with the one thing that mattered to her most. She had given her a chance to see her parents as a couple. “This is a great gift.” Izzie tried not to get emotional. “Thanks.”
Zoe hugged her again. “You’re welcome. Well, as much as I hate to leave you after our cathartic conversation, I have a plane to catch. Now that you aren’t coming, maybe I’ll change my ticket and fly straight to Mexico to start my birthday celebration a few weeks early.” She stood up and touched Izzie’s cheek. “And when I get there, I’ll say a toast for my niece. I know this year will be a great one for you.”
Izzie watched Zoe walk away. Then she looked at the photos. In one, her dad was holding her mom. In another, her mom was sitting on her dad’s shoulders. As she flipped back and forth between them, she had an overwhelming urge to see Grams. She wondered what Grams would
have said about these pictures and what her take would have been on their short relationship.
Suddenly she wanted to see what was in Grams’s safe-deposit box, and she wanted to see it now. She slipped the photos back inside the Ziploc bag and headed inside to find Brayden. The dance floor was more crowded than it had been when she left, but she spotted Savannah dancing with Millie, Lea, and Lauren. Savannah’s royal-blue dress blew everyone else’s out of the water. She noticed Izzie staring and gave a small wave. Maybe that sweet-sixteen invitation meant more to Savannah than she’d let on.
“Hey.” Brayden found her first. He looked worried. “Mira told me what happened. Are you okay? Where is Zoe?”
Izzie couldn’t help but smile. Few guys could pull off a black bowler hat, but Brayden was one of them. “She just left for Mexico.” Brayden looked at her quizzically. “It’s okay. That’s where she should be and I belong here. I’ll explain, but first there is something I have to do, and unfortunately that means I can’t stay for the ball.”
Brayden didn’t flinch. Instead, he took her hand. “Let’s go, then.”
Izzie laughed. “Don’t you want to know where I’m going?”
His mouth curled into a smile. “Nope. If you’ve got somewhere to go, then I’m going with you, no questions asked. We can do the ball next year.” He touched the brim of his bowler. “I might hold on to this hat. It suits me, don’t ya think?”
“That it does. Remind me to text Mira that we’re going. If I don’t, she’ll think I’m on a plane with Zoe.” Suddenly Izzie stopped. She could see Kylie standing with Hayden, and she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Kylie looked in a peach gown with her hair swept up into a bun. When Kylie looked over, she smiled tentatively, and Izzie basically threw herself at her.
“I suck,” she blurted out, grabbing Kylie fiercely.
“A little bit,” Kylie agreed and Izzie laughed.
Izzie pulled away and looked at her while the boys stared on. “You were right, you know. I let Emerald Cove start to change me and I hate that. I can’t believe I let this place make me question our friendship.”
Kylie grunted, but she was still smiling.
And that’s how Izzie knew Kylie was going to let her off the hook. They both seemed to just want their stupid fight over with, but that didn’t mean Izzie still didn’t want to apologize. “You’re the best friend I ever had and I am not going to let anyone come between us again, but you’ve got to dial some things back,” Izzie said. “Go easy on these girls. They’re not as used to your mouth or your attitude as I am.”
“You’re right.” Kylie surprised her by agreeing. “Violet was just all up in my business and I hated it. I figured if you had her, you didn’t need me. I got mad and took it out on her.” She seemed contrite. “That’s why I started coming around at first and that’s how the whole thing started with Hayden. But I really like him, Iz.”
“I’m happy for you.” Izzie squeezed her hand. “Just promise me that no one—Hayden included—will ever come between us again. If you two start hating each other, you still have to be a part of my life.” She thought of her mother and Zoe.
“Okay, don’t get sappy,” Kylie sniffed. “It took my mom an hour to do my makeup.”
“She did great.” Izzie hugged her again. “Have fun, okay? I want all the details tomorrow.” Kylie gave her a look. “I can’t stay. There is something I’ve got to do.”
Kylie grabbed her purse off the table. “Then I’m coming, too. H!” He was standing with Brayden. “We’re leaving! Or at least I am. Iz-Whiz needs me.”
Hayden and Izzie looked at each other searchingly. “I know I owe you an apology, too. I’m sorry if I got between you guys.”
Hayden smiled. “Next time you two duke it out on your own. I’ll just be the ref.”
“Deal.” Izzie looked at her watch. It was past six. If there was any chance TD Bank would still be open, she had to go now. “We should go, then. We just need a car. Too bad everyone arrives at this thing in horse and carriage.”
“Not me and Kylie.” Hayden winked. “We bucked tradition.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Where do you need a lift to?”
Izzie grinned. “Where do I go whenever I need something? Harborside, of course.”
Hayden got there quickly, even after swinging by the house to pick up Izzie’s key, but it didn’t matter. When they pulled up to the bank, the lights were dimmed and the sign clearly said the branch closed at six.
“We could come back tomorrow,” Brayden suggested.
Monday seemed so far away. Kylie sensed that. The girls looked at each other. “Did you see that one light on in the lobby?” Izzie asked Kylie.
Kylie nodded. “Around the side there is a light on, too. Think it’s Carl?”
“Maybe,” Izzie said. “He had the job last summer. It’s either him or Boyd.”
“You guys aren’t thinking of breaking and entering a bank, are you?” Hayden said, worried. “Because if anyone in Dad’s campaign gets wind of this…”
“It’s not breaking and entering if someone lets you in. Follow me,” Kylie said. The four of them hopped out and walked down the side alley of the bank. Kylie banged hard on a steel door. “Carl? Boyd? Either of you in there?”
A guy with long, dark hair popped up in the window of the door. Carl looked at them like they were crazy. “Is this an old-fashioned heist?” he asked, but didn’t look concerned.
“No, you fool! Iz needs to get into her grandma’s safe-deposit box!” Kylie yelled.
“The bank’s closed,” Carl said. “Didn’t you see the sign?”
“That’s why we’re here bothering you,” Kylie said. “Can you let us in?”
“No!” Carl laughed. “You’re crazy for even asking.”
It wasn’t a matter of life or death, but now that Izzie was finally ready to see what Grams wanted her to have, she didn’t want to wait. “What if you brought the box to us?” she suggested. “I have the key. The number of the box is on it.” Izzie held it up.
“Still stealing,” Carl said. “You have to fill out a form. Just come back tomorrow!”
“Carl, what do you think Izzie’s grandmother has in that thing?” Kylie lamented. “That woman didn’t have two nickels to rub together. You’ve known Izzie her whole life. Do you really think she’s here to steal something? She just wants what her grandmother left her. We won’t tell anyone you helped us. Can’t you break the rules this once?”
Carl disappeared, and Izzie thought maybe he had called the cops, which would be a problem, since Grayson Reynolds would know what she’d done. But Izzie didn’t care. Let him try to find fault with her for opening a safe-deposit box that belonged to her. Before she could even start to worry, Carl was opening the door. “Give me the key fast before I regret this.” Izzie smiled and handed it over.
He was gone for what felt like hours, but it was probably only ten minutes. When he returned, he handed her a small envelope. It was barely big enough for a card. Her name was written on the front in Grams’s handwriting.
“You rock, Carl!” Kylie cheered.
“Just get out of here before someone sees you,” he growled.
“Thanks!” Izzie gripped the envelope tightly as they raced back to the car.
“Think the key to your castle is in there?” Kylie joked when they were back in the car and Hayden was discussing with Brayden where they should go to get something to eat. They had missed the dinner course at the ball.
“Let’s find out.” Izzie ripped the seal and pulled out a letter. Something was jingling inside. She flipped the envelope over and a ring fell out. Brayden turned on the car light so they could get a closer look. The ring had two small stones. One looked like a diamond, but the blue stone was clearly her mother’s birthstone, a sapphire.
“Is that Grams’s wedding ring?” Kylie asked, staring at its unique shape in awe.
“No. She hocked that years ago to pay the heating bill one winter.” Izzie looked at t
he ring from all sides. “I don’t know what this is.”
“Maybe the letter explains it,” Kylie suggested.
Izzie unfolded the yellow paper. The letter was written in her grandmother’s chicken-scratch script. It felt weird to see her handwriting now that she was gone. It was almost a gift in itself. Izzie started to read.
Darling Iz,
I’m not one for too many words, but I can feel your granddaddy yelling from the grave—tell her the important stuff before it’s too late! We all know I’m not going to be around forever. You heard that diagnosis just like I did. I’m losing it. If not today, or tomorrow, then it will be the next day and my ghost will be angry that I never said what I needed to. So here it goes.
I’ve found your daddy.
When you read this you’ll already know that, but I want you to know the hows and whys of this happening. When I got sick, I worried about what would happen to you. I knew you had to have family out there somewhere, and your mama’s journal, which I found in the basement, confirmed it.
You’re going to be upset that I didn’t tell you straightaway, but things have to be wrapped up quickly. All I’ll say is that if Bill Monroe is anything like he presents himself to be, I can see why your mama liked him. I’m proud of you, toots, and he will be, too, when he sees how much you’re like our Chloe. When the time comes, and I’m gone or don’t know my own name anymore, don’t you dare cry for me. Just go with him. Leaving me is what you’re supposed to do. You’re a fighter, just like your mama was, and you’ll make your new life shine.
While I’m dishing, one more thing: When I’m gone, you may find out that I was keeping a secret or two. I’m talking about the fact that you also have an aunt—Zoe Lauren Scott, your mama’s baby sister. I didn’t tell you about her, because I knew you would obsess about where she’s been and why she didn’t want to know you. What you need to know, honey, is that it’s never been about you. I hope she finds her way to you one day, though. She’ll tell you the story, I’m sure, and it will hurt hearing it—how I asked her to be your guardian when your mama died and she said no. I would like to think she turned me down because she knew you and I needed each other. Raising you has been the highlight of my life.