Read Online The Guest Book by Marybeth Whalen - Free Book Online Page B

thought of her mother’s words about how Emma was Chase’s access point to her heart. Her mom was right. She hadn’t planned to talk to Chase for the next two weeks.
    She closed her eyes and uttered a hello.
    “She sure sounds happy,” he said, his voice finding the raw part of Macy’s heart and settling there.
    “Yes,” Macy managed. She didn’t say that she, too, had sounded happy just moments ago when she’d been laughing with her mom about the prunes.
    “I was just making sure you made it down there safely,” Chase said. Max walked into the den and leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, studying her.
    “She’s talking to Daddy,” Emma volunteered before racing to the kitchen.
    Who said teaching children to talk was a good idea?
Macy vaguely wondered.
Especially this one, who talks like a miniature adult.
    “Okay, well, we did,” she replied out loud. She looked at Max and Emma, who were both staring at her. “Can you hold on a minute?” she asked, looking pointedly at Max before fleeing the room and the unwelcome staring.
    She headed to the bedroom she’d claimed as her own every year they stayed at Time in a Bottle, thinking that if someone would’ve told her a few years ago that she’d turn Chase down when he offered to join them at the beach, she would’ve never believed it. A few years ago she would’ve liked nothing better than for him to come to play on the beach with her and Emma, to take walks and eat seafood and find shells.
    She sat down on the bed, the springs creaking in protest. She was willing to bet it was the same mattress she used to sleep on all those years ago.
    “Look, Chase, I appreciate you checking up on us, but I just need time, like I said. To think … about all that’s happened.”
    She thought about the way Chase used to corner her whenthey were dating, pushing his body against hers and staring into her eyes for so long she had to look away first.
    She thought about Max teasing her when they were kids. “You flinched,” he would say before jabbing her with his knuckle.
    She never wanted to be the one who flinched. Those who flinched got hurt.
    She inhaled deeply. It was so quiet on the other end she wondered if they had lost the connection. “Are you there?”
    “Yeah, I’m here. I just don’t know what to say. I feel like I’m losing you, and you’re just not telling me. I thought maybe if I called I’d … feel better or something.”
    A slow burn of anger rose up in Macy. Chase always found a way to make everything about him. He always depended on her to make him feel better. “Look, I’ve got to finish unpacking. How about we just say good-bye for now. And use this time as a chance to think things through.”
    “I’ve already thought things through, Mace. That’s why I came back.”
    “Well, you had five years to come to that decision. I guess you can give me two weeks.” She ended the call and smiled at the thought of not flinching, of taking back the power she’d handed Chase so willingly in the past. She had to find her strength.
    As she looked around the familiar room, she was comforted by the sight of it in all its retro glory. She was glad the owners hadn’t changed a thing. She needed the comfort of the past. She would find the good memories that lurked here and draw strength from them. And somehow, she’d stop flinching.
    Macy tipped her head back as she stood against the roof-deck rail, trying not to think of how high up they were and how close to the edge Emma was standing. Max claimed to be a wild and crazy uncle, but Macy noticed how he stood protectively behind Emma. In spite of his wild ways, Max was a good uncle. When he was with Emma, it gave Macy a glimpse of the potential that lurked inside him, just under his party-boy exterior. Emma seemed to bring out the best in him and gave Macy hope about the man her brother could become.
    Calmed by his watchful presence, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the beach —