Heroes Are My Weakness

Naomi seemed genuinely pleased. “You’ll have to get up early. And don’t wear your good clothes.”

  They’d just made arrangements for Annie to meet Naomi at the boathouse dock on Monday morning when the outside door swung open bringing a fresh blast of cold air. Theo walked in.

  The noise level in the room dropped as people grew aware of his presence. Theo nodded, and the chatter picked up again, but most of the crowd continued to watch him surreptitiously. Jaycie paused in her conversation with Lisa to gaze at him. A group of men with weather-beaten faces gestured him over to join them.

  Annie felt something tug on her skirt and looked down to see Livia trying to get her attention. The child had grown bored with the company of adults, and her attention was fixed on a group of children in the corner, three boys and two girls, the youngest of whom Annie recognized from her library visit as Lisa’s daughter. Annie had no trouble interpreting the entreaty in Livia’s expression. She wanted to play with the children but was too shy to approach them by herself.

  Annie took her hand, and they approached the group together. The girls were putting stickers in a book while the boys argued over a handheld video game. She smiled at the girls, their round cheeks and red hair clearly identifying them as sisters. “I’m Annie. And you know Livia.”

  The older one looked up. “We didn’t see you for a long time. I’m Kaitlin and this is my sister, Alyssa.”

  Alyssa gazed at Livia. “How old are you now?”

  Livia held up four fingers.

  “I’m five. What’s your middle name? Mine is Rosalind.”

  Livia dipped her head.

  When it became obvious Livia wasn’t going to respond, Alyssa looked at Annie. “What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she talk?”

  “Shut up, Alyssa,” her sister admonished. “You know you’re not supposed to ask about that.”

  Annie had grown used to thinking of Jaycie and Livia as being somehow separate from the community, but they weren’t. They were as deeply entrenched as anyone here.

  The video game tussle between the three boys was getting out of hand. “It’s my turn!” one of them shouted.

  “Is not! It’s my game.” The largest boy landed a hard punch on the one who’d complained, and then all three of them were on their feet ready to swing at one another.

  “Avast, ye ragged curs!”

  The boys froze, then gazed around, trying to find the source of the Captain Jack Sparrow voice. Livia was way ahead of the game, and she smiled.

  “Stop yer caterwaulin’ or I’ll throw ye all in the bilge.”

  The boys slowly turned their attention to Annie, who’d formed a puppet from her right hand. She eased down and settled her weight back on her calves, moving her thumb to make the puppet talk. “A good thing I left me cutlass on the poop deck, ye sorry excuses for sea dogs.”

  Boys were the same everywhere. One mention of “poop,” and she had them in the palm of her hand.

  She directed her makeshift puppet toward the smallest boy, a cherubic little towhead with a black eye. “What about it, bucko? Ye look strong enough ta sail on the Jolly Roger. Searchin’ fer the treasure of the Lost City of Atlantis, I am. And ’oo wants to go wi’ me?”

  Livia was the first to raise her hand, and Annie nearly abandoned Cap’n Jack to give her a hug. “Are ye sure, me beauty? There be fierce sea serpents. It’ll take a brave lass. Are ye a brave lass?”

  Livia gleefully nodded her head.

  “Me, too!” said Kaitlin. “I’m a brave lass.”

  “You’re not as brave as me, stupid!” Cherub face said.

  Cap’n Jack growled. “Keep a civil tongue in yer head, lad, or I be keelhaulin’ you.” And then, out of habit, “There be no bullyin’ on the Jolly Roger. When yer fightin’ sea dragons, it’s all fer one and one fer all. Anybody on my ship who’s actin’ like a bully gets tossed overboard ta feed the sharks.”

  They looked suitably impressed.

  She had nothing but an unadorned hand for a puppet—not even a set of eyes drawn in with a marker—but the kids were enthralled. The largest boy, however, was no fool. “You don’t look like a pirate. You look like a hand.”

  “Aye. And ye’re a smart one to notice. Me enemies cast a spell o’er me, and the only way I can unlock it is ter find the lost treasure. What say ye, mateys? Are ye brave enough?”

  “I’ll sail with you, Captain.”

  Not a child’s voice. But one that was exceedingly familiar.

  She turned. A group of adults had gathered behind her to watch the show. Theo stood with them, his arms crossed over his chest, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Cap’n Jack gave him the once-over. “I’m only takin’ on strappin’ lads. Yer a bit too long in the tooth.”

  “Pity,” Theo said, looking every bit the Regency buck. “And I was so looking forward to those sea serpents.”

  The dinner bell rang, and a voice called out, “Food’s ready. Line up!”

  “Avast, me hearties. Time fer ye ta eat yer hardtack and fer me to get back to me ship.” She splayed her fingers dramatically, giving Cap’n Jack a royal send-off.

  Applause rang out from both the kids and the adults. Livia snuggled up at her side. The older kids began pestering her with questions and comments.

  “How d’you talk without moving your lips?”

  “Can you do it again?”

  “I go out on my dad’s lobster boat.”

  “I want to talk like that.”

  “I was a pirate for Halloween.”

  The adults began claiming their offspring and steering them into the food line that had formed to the serving counter in the next room.

  Theo came up to her. “So much is now clear to me that was heretofore murky.”

  “Heretofore?”

  “It slipped out. But there’s one thing I still don’t understand. How did you manage the clock?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He gave her a look announcing that her denial was demeaning and that, if she had any character at all, she’d come clean.

  The jig was clearly up. She smiled, sidled closer to him, then emitted one of her best moans, so quietly eerie only he could hear.

  “Cute,” he said.

  “Call it ‘Revenge of the Dumbwaiter.’ ”

  She expected him to ignore her. Instead, he looked genuinely remorseful. “I really am sorry about that.”

  It occurred to her that neither one of her two long-term boyfriends had ever said “I’m sorry” about anything.

  Livia ran off to join her mother. Jaycie was still with Lisa, but her attention was on Theo. As Annie went over to join them, she overheard Lisa. “You need to take her back to the doctor. She should be talking by now.”

  Annie couldn’t hear Jaycie’s response.

  They all lined up to fill their plates. Marie and Tildy from the Bunco group pulled Theo in with them and began peppering him with questions about his writing, but after he’d filled his plate, he left them to join Annie at the table where she was sitting with Jaycie and Livia. He took the chair next to Annie and across from Lisa and her husband, Darren, who was both a lobsterman and the island’s electrician. Livia eyed Theo warily, and Jaycie lost track of the conversation she was having with Lisa.

  Theo and Darren knew each other from past summers and began talking about fishing. Annie noticed how easily Theo conversed with everyone, which she found interesting, considering how fiercely he guarded his privacy.

  She was sick of thinking about Theo’s contradictions, and she turned her attention to her meal. In addition to a well-seasoned beef brisket, the boiled dinner included potatoes, cabbage wedges, onions, and a variety of root vegetables. With the exception of the rutabagas, which both she and Livia avoided like the plague, the rest was delicious.

  For all Jaycie’s infatuation with Theo, she did nothing to catch his attention beyond bestowing occasional longing gazes. Eventually Theo turned to Annie. “You slipped in the turret w
hile I was asleep and changed the clock battery. I should have figured that out a long time ago.”

  “It’s not your fault that you’re slow. I’m sure it’s hard to recover from being hit on the head with a silver spoon.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  Livia poked Annie, lifted her arm, and made a miniature hand puppet, awkwardly moving her small fingers to indicate she wanted another puppet show. “Later, sweetheart,” Annie said, depositing a kiss on her head just behind the cat ears.

  “You seem to have a friend there,” Theo said.

  “It’s more Scamp. She and Liv are best friends. Isn’t that right, bucko?”

  Livia nodded and took a delicate sip of milk.

  The islanders had begun lining up at the dessert table, and Jaycie rose. “I’ll get you some of my chocolate pecan cake, Theo.”

  Theo was undoubtedly looking for an escape from Jaycie’s cooking, but he nodded.

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” Annie said. “You’re not exactly Mr. Social.”

  “Somebody has to keep an eye on you.”

  “I was with Jaycie in the car, and I’m in the middle of a crowd here.”

  “Still . . .”

  A piercing whistle cut through the room, bringing the crowd to silence. A barrel-chested man in a parka stood by the front door, lowering his fingers from his mouth. “Listen up, everybody. The Coast Guard got a distress call about twenty minutes ago from a trawler a couple miles off Jackspar Point. They’re heading out, but we can get there faster.”

  He nodded toward a burly, flannel-shirted lobsterman at the next table and to Lisa’s husband, Darren. Both men rose. To Annie’s surprise, Theo got up, too. He clasped the back of her chair and leaned down. “Don’t go back to the cottage tonight,” he said. “Spend the night at Harp House with Jaycie. Promise me.”

  He didn’t wait for her answer but joined the three men at the door. He said something to them. One gave him a quick slap on the back, and all four headed outside.

  Annie was startled. Jaycie looked like she wanted to cry. “I don’t understand. Why is Theo going with them?”

  Annie didn’t understand either. Theo was a recreational sailor. Why would he be going out on a rescue mission?

  Lisa bit her bottom lip. “I hate this,” she said. “It has to be gusting forty knots out there.”

  Naomi overheard and sat next to her. “Darren’s going to be fine, Lisa. Ed’s one of the best seamen on the island, and his boat’s as sound as they come.”

  “But what about Theo?” Jaycie said. “He’s not used to these conditions.”

  “I’ll find out.” Naomi got back up.

  Barbara came over to comfort her daughter. Lisa grabbed her hand. “Darren’s just getting over the stomach flu. It’s bad out there tonight. If the Val Jane ices up . . .”

  “It’s a solid boat,” Barbara said, although she looked as worried as her daughter.

  Naomi came back and addressed Jaycie. “Theo’s an EMT. That’s why he’s going with them.”

  An EMT? Annie couldn’t believe it. Theo’s work involved the decapitation of bodies, not patching them together. “Did you know about this?” she asked Jaycie, who shook her head.

  “We haven’t had anybody on the island trained in medical care for almost two years,” Naomi said. “Not since Jenny Schaeffer left with her kids. This is the best news we’ve had here all winter.”

  Jaycie grew more agitated. “Theo doesn’t have any experience going out in this kind of weather. He should have stayed here.”

  Annie couldn’t have agreed more.

  The islanders’ concern for their first responders and the missing boat took the pleasure out of the gathering, and everyone began packing up. Annie helped the women collect trash while Jaycie sat with Livia and Lisa’s girls. Annie was just about to enter the kitchen with a load of dirty plates when she overheard a fragment of conversation that stopped her in her tracks.

  “. . . shouldn’t be surprised that Livia still isn’t talking,” one of the women inside said. “Not after what she saw.”

  “She might never talk,” another commented. “And it’ll break Jaycie’s heart.”

  The first woman spoke up again. “Jaycie has to be prepared for that. It isn’t every day a little girl sees her mother murder her father.”

  Water splashed in the kitchen sink, and Annie could hear no more.

  Chapter Fourteen

  THEO STEADIED HIMSELF AS A monster wave crashed over the bow of the Val Jane. He’d grown up on sailboats and been out on more than a few lobster boats. He’d experienced summer squalls, but never anything like this. The big fiberglass hull pitched into another trough, and an exhilarating rush of adrenaline surged through him. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt totally alive.

  The lobster boat reared up on the swell, hung there for a moment, then plunged again. Even in the boat’s heavy orange Grundens foul weather gear, he was bone-deep cold. Salt water trickled down his neck, and every exposed patch of his skin was wet and numb, but the shelter of the pilothouse didn’t tempt him. He wanted to live this. Gulp it in. Sop it up. He needed this pump of his pulses, this rip of his senses.

  Another mass of water towered before them. The Coast Guard had radioed that the missing fishing trawler, the Shamrock, had lost power after its engine flooded, and that there were two men aboard. Neither would last long if they were in the water, not with these frigid ocean temperatures. Even survival suits wouldn’t protect them. Theo mentally reviewed everything he knew about treating hypothermia.

  He’d backed into EMT training while he was researching The Sanitarium. The idea of being able to work in crisis situations stimulated his writer’s imagination and eased his growing sense of suffocation. He’d begun his training over Kenley’s objections.

  “You need to spend your time with me!”

  After he was certified, he’d volunteered to work in Philly’s Center City, where he’d dealt with everything from tourists’ broken bones and joggers’ heart attacks to inline skating injuries and dog bites. He’d driven to New York during the hurricane that had hit the city so hard to help evacuate Manhattan’s VA hospital and a Queens nursing home. One thing he’d never done, though, was treat men who’d been fished out of the North Atlantic in the dead of winter. He hoped that it wasn’t already too late.

  The Val Jane came upon the Shamrock suddenly. The trawler was barely afloat, listing heavily toward starboard and pitching on the ocean like an empty plastic water bottle. One man clung to the gunwale. Theo couldn’t see the other.

  He heard the grind of the diesel engine as Ed worked the Val Jane closer, even as the powerful waves tried to drive the boats apart. Darren and Jim Garcia, the other crew member Ed had chosen for tonight’s mission, struggled on the icy deck in their efforts to secure the sinking fishing trawler to the Val Jane. Like Theo, they both wore life jackets over their foul weather gear.

  Theo caught sight of the panicked face of the man barely holding on to the gunwale, then glimpsed a second crewmember, who was motionless and tangled in the lines. Darren was beginning to tie a safety line around his own waist so he could board the sinking boat. Theo scrambled toward him and pulled the line away.

  “What are you doing?” Darren shouted above the noise of the engine.

  “I need the exercise!” Theo yelled back, and he began wrapping the rope around his own waist.

  “Are you out of your—”

  But Theo was already tying the knot, and instead of wasting time arguing, Darren lashed the free end around a deck cleat. Reluctantly, he handed over his knife to Theo. “Don’t make us rescue you, too,” he growled.

  “Not a chance,” Theo said, cocky as hell, an emotion he was far from feeling. The truth was, who’d be hurt if he didn’t make it out of this? His old man. A few friends. They’d all get over it. And Annie?

  Annie would celebrate with a bottle of champagne.

  Except she wouldn’t. That was the problem with her
. She wasn’t smart about people. He hoped like hell she’d gone to Harp House like he’d told her to. If she was carrying his baby—

  He couldn’t afford this kind of distraction. The Shamrock was sinking. Any minute now, they’d have to cast off or they’d endanger the Val Jane. As he gazed across the gap between the two boats, he hoped like hell he was back on board before that happened.

  He studied the waves, waited for his opportunity, and took a leap of faith. Somehow he managed to bridge the roiling gap between the two vessels and scramble onto the Shamrock’s slick, half-submerged hull. The fisherman clinging to the gunwale had just enough strength to reach out one arm. “My son . . .” he gasped.

  Theo gazed down into the cockpit. The kid trapped there was maybe sixteen and unconscious. Theo focused on the older man first. Signaling to Darren, he helped lift the man high enough so Darren and Jim could grab him and pull him aboard the Val Jane. The fisherman’s lips were blue, and he needed tending right away, but Theo had to free the kid first.

  He eased into the cockpit, his rubber boots sloshing in seawater. The boy’s eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. With the boat sinking, Theo didn’t waste time trying to find a pulse. There was one basic rule in dealing with extreme hypothermia. Nobody is dead until they’re warm and dead.

  Bracing himself, he cut through the tangled lines binding the kid’s legs while he gripped the boy’s survival jacket. He’d be damned if he freed him only to have his body wash overboard.

  Jim and Darren wrestled with the boat hooks, doing their best to keep the two vessels close. Theo hoisted the boy’s deadweight up onto the hull. A wave crashed over his head, blinding him. He held on to the boy with all his strength and blinked his vision clear only to be hit again. Finally, Darren and Jim could reach out far enough to pull the boy aboard the Val Jane.

  Moments later, Theo collapsed on the Val Jane’s deck himself, but every tick of the clock brought these men closer to death, and he immediately struggled back to his feet. While Jim and Ed dealt with the sinking trawler, Darren helped him get the men into the cabin.

  Unlike the kid, who was barely old enough to shave, the older man had a full beard and the weathered skin of someone who had spent much of his life outdoors. He’d begun to shiver, a good sign. “My son . . .”