Summer in Eclipse Bay Read Online Free

and I are friends. And I want my friends to know who I am.”
    â€œI know who you are.” He thumped the cane once on the gravel walk. “You’re Octavia Brightwell.”
    â€œYes, but there’s more to the story.” She looked at him very steadily and braced herself to deliver the shocker.
    â€œClaudia Banner was my great-aunt.”
    To her astonishment he merely shrugged. “You think we didn’t figure that out a while back?”
    She stilled. “We?”
    â€œSullivan and me. He and I have slowed down some over the years, but we haven’t come to a complete stop. Not yet, at any rate.”
    She didn’t know what to say. “You know ?”
    â€œSullivan spotted the likeness the night you hosted that show for Lillian’s paintings down at your little gallery. Soon as he pointed it out, I finally realized why there had always been something sort of familiar about you.” He smiled faintly. “You look a lot like Claudia did when she was your age. Same red hair. Something about your profile, too, I think. The way you hold yourself.”
    â€œBut how did you—”
    â€œSullivan made some phone calls. Did some checking. Wasn’t hard to find the connection.”
    â€œI see.” She was feeling a little stunned, she realized. Maybe a little deflated, too. So much for her big bombshell.
    â€œNot like you tried to hide it,” Mitchell said.
    â€œNo, but I certainly didn’t want to make a big deal about it here in Eclipse Bay, given what happened in the past and all.”
    Mitchell reached down and plucked a lush orange-gold bloom. “Funny thing about the past. The older you get, the less it matters.”
    She fell silent for a long moment, shifting gears as she adjusted to the turn of events. “If Sullivan made some calls, you probably know about Aunt Claudia.” She took a deep breath. “That she’s gone, I mean.”
    â€œYeah.” Mitchell looked up from the rose. His gaze was steady and a little sad. “Heard she passed on a year and a half ago. Heart problems, Sullivan said.”
    She felt the familiar tightening inside. Eighteen months but she still had to fight back the tears. “She never managed to give up the cigarettes. In the end, the doctor said it was amazing she made it as long as she did.”
    â€œI remember Claudia and her cigarettes. She was always reaching for the next one. Had herself a fancy little gold lighter. I can still see her taking it out of her purse to light another smoke.”
    â€œMitchell, let me get something straight here. Are you telling me that you and Sullivan don’t care that I’m related to Claudia Banner?”
    â€œOf course we care. But it’s not exactly what you’d call a problem for us.”
    â€œOh.” She was not sure how to respond to that.
    â€œCan’t say we weren’t a bit curious at first, though,” he added dryly.
    â€œI can imagine. Why didn’t you say something? Ask questions? Demand an explanation? I’ve stopped by here almost every morning or afternoon when I’m in town to say hello. I must have talked to you dozens of times since Lillian’s show. But you never said a word. I’ve seen Sullivan on several occasions, too. He never gave any indication that he knew who I was.”
    â€œIt was your personal business. Sullivan and I talked about it some. Figured we’d let you tell us in your own time.”
    â€œI see.” She thought about that for a while. “Did you, uh, mention your little insight to anyone else?”
    â€œNope. Didn’t figure it was anyone else’s affair.”
    â€œBelieve me, I understand.” She wrinkled her nose. “If word got out that Claudia Banner’s great-niece was in town and that she had become friends with the Madisons and the Hartes, there would be no end to the wild rumors and speculation. That’s exactly why I kept a