Read Online Nantucket by Nan Rossiter - Free Book Online

own lunch.”
    â€œWell, it was either that or be crankery.”
    â€œCoop didn’t make your lunch?”
    â€œSometimes he did, but sometimes he wasn’t up yet,” Liam said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
    Cadie slowly unwrapped her sandwich. “How come you live with him?”
    Liam swallowed the bite he’d taken and took a sip of his beer. “Because my parents died in a car accident.”
    â€œOh, no!” Cadie said. “I’m so sorry.” She put her hand on his arm and her touch went right through him.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Liam said, looking over. “It was a long time ago.”
    â€œHow did it happen?”
    â€œThey were coming home from a Christmas party in a snowstorm and a tractor trailer lost control and hit them head-on.”
    Cadie shook her head in horror. “That’s awful.”
    Liam nodded. “A state trooper came to our house, but Jess, my babysitter, and I were the only ones home. I was in bed, but I heard the knock on the door and then I heard Jess crying, so I went to see what was wrong. I saw the trooper standing by the door and I saw Jess on the phone. She pulled me into a hug, and I stood there listening to her as she told her mom what happened . . . and I thought she was talking about someone else. I had no idea she was talking about my parents.
    â€œShe still sends me Christmas cards. She used to send a regular card—you know, with just a Christmas scene, but the last few years, she’s sent one of those photo cards of her family—she has kids of her own now.” He paused. “Sometimes I wish she’d just stop sending cards . . . it always reminds me of that night.”
    â€œHow old were you?”
    â€œSix.”
    â€œThat must’ve been so hard.”
    Liam looked out at the waves. “It was. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’d never see them again—that they were just . . . gone.” He paused. “At their service, I heard people say it was good thing I was so young because I wouldn’t remember them, but I remembered everything—I remembered how my mom’s hair smelled and the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at me; how my dad always said she could give hugs with her eyes . . . and how soft-spoken and patient he was. One time, he was helping me with a Lego model of a plane and he just watched, waiting for me to figure it out. ‘You got this, Li,’ he’d say. ‘You got this.’”
    He turned and smiled at her. “And you said I wasn’t talkative. Look how you’ve gotten me to do all the talking!”
    Cadie smiled. “Well, thank you for telling me about it. I didn’t know you had so much happen.” She paused. “Is Coop your mom’s brother or your dad’s?”
    â€œMy mom’s.”
    â€œDo you have other family?”
    â€œI have a grandfather on my mom’s side—Coop’s father—but he and Coop don’t get along, and my grandparents on my dad’s side live in California. I only met them once—at my parents’ service. At the time, there was a bit of a debate about who was going to get me, but my mom had left a note saying she wanted Coop to be my guardian . . . and that was that.”
    Cadie nodded thoughtfully. “Have you liked living with him?”
    Liam nodded. “For the most part—he’s a veteran and he struggles with his memories of Vietnam, but he’s a good guy.” He took a sip of his beer and looked over at her again. “Enough about me. What about you and your family? Do you have brothers and sisters?”
    Cadie shook her head as she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich. “No, I’m an only child too.”
    â€œAre your parents from New York?”
    She nodded. “My parents are from Montauk. We have a house there too.”
    Liam offered her a chocolate-chip cookie. “Is that in New