“We are. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about first.”
Her stomach plunged at his somber expression. “Walker?”
He rose from his seat at the controls. “No, Dad’s fine. He’s taken the news that I’m selling the cranberry farm better than I expected. I think he’s weary of the battle, too, and he knows I can’t keep up with the farm and my duties in the Coast Guard too. He’s got other things on his mind now.” A ghost of a smile lifted his lips. “Like dancing attendance on Dixie.”
Claire had to chuckle. Seeing Walker start to date again after all those years as a widower had been a hoot. He was like a teenager. “You scared me there for a minute. So, what’s wrong? You look so serious.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a box. “This is a momentous moment.”
A ring box.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart rate pumped into overdrive as he dropped to one knee. It was happening now. Right now. Her lungs compressed, and she stared into his handsome face and the eyes she loved so much.
He opened the little velvet box, and a beautiful marquis ring set with diamonds and tourmaline sparkled in the bright Maine sunshine. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Claire. Will you marry me? I love you more than I can say.”
A lump formed in her throat and her vision blurred. They’d been through so much together. Things that should have shoved them apart, not brought them together. “I . . . I love you too. And of course I’ll marry you. Today, tomorrow, anytime you say.”
He rose and slipped the ring on her finger. She threw her arms around his neck, and his lips came down on hers. It was the sweetest kiss they’d ever shared, warm and passionate with promise and commitment. She closed her eyes and clung to him. If she didn’t open her eyes, maybe she could make this moment last forever, like a secret treasure only the two of them found.
When Luke broke the kiss, she murmured a protest and tried to pull his head back down. His grunt of surprise made her lids spring open. “What’s wrong?”
He was frowning as he looked toward the pier at the breakwater below the point. “That’s Edmund’s boat, and it seems to be drifting aimlessly. And the game warden is just about to it. I think something’s wrong. I should go see if there’s anything I can do to help Kevin.” His radio squawked with a request for aid from the Coast Guard. “That’s Kevin’s voice.”
The boat bobbed in the waves about a mile off Mermaid Point. And she saw no sign of Edmund. “Let’s help.”
TWO
Edmund’s boat floated aimlessly in the choppy waves toward the rocky shore off the island of Folly Shoals. Kevin consulted the GPS on his boat console and throttled back the engine. His boat slewed sideways and came to a stop beside the blue-and-white mail boat. Mallory’s call had set all Kevin’s alarms ringing, and the sharp kee-arr of a tern overhead added to his unease.
He tossed an anchor overboard, then tied up his boat to the mail boat and stepped aboard. “Edmund?” He moved toward the bridge, past the bay where Edmund had stacked the freight for delivery to Folly Shoals. The atmosphere aboard ship had a stillness, as if the boat held its breath along with him. Sheer imagination, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that curdled his lunch of lobster bisque in his belly.
He raised his voice above the wind whistling outside the windows. “Edmund, it’s Warden Kevin O’Connor.”
It felt odd to identify himself as a game warden instead of his first name. He’d looked up to Mallory’s father for as long as he could remember. The whole area knew Edmund well. A lobster-man from a family that had fished these waters since the 1800s, Edmund was one of those men who had forgotten more about the sea than most men ever knew. He’d given up lobstering after his wife died and had gone to mail boat delivery instead.
A sharp coppery scent mingled with the smell of sea and kelp, and under all of it, a slight aroma of something sweet and perfumy. Kevin’s steps faltered as he recognized the stench of blood. He curled his fingers into his palms and ducked to enter the bridge doorway.
He saw Edmund’s boot first. Then his outstretched hand, and lastly, his head with a spreading pool of blood under it. He stepped over the chart map lying on the floor, then knelt and touched the older man’s neck, searching for a pulse. No sign of life. Edmund’s flesh was cold.
Kevin swallowed hard and retraced the steps to his boat to call the Coast Guard. Edmund had a radio on the Mermaid, but Kevin didn’t want to contaminate any evidence. The bleeding head wound could have come from a bad fall, but until the investigation was completed, he didn’t want to be accused of messing up a crime scene. After reporting his discovery, he used his cell phone to call the sheriff and the state police.
His cell phone began to play “The River” by Garth Brooks. Mallory. No way did he want to be the bearer of such bad news, but he couldn’t ignore his duty. Or the way his heart still leapt at the sight of her name.
Inhaling, he answered the call. “Warden O’Connor.”
“Kevin?” Mallory’s voice quivered with a thread of terror. “Did you find Dad?”
He turned to stare at the island cliff rising toward the drifting clouds. An eagle’s nest caught his attention, and he counted four small heads as he tried to decide how to phrase his answer. Should he be blunt or try to put her off?
He couldn’t lie to her. “I found him, Mallory. I’m sorry, but there was nothing I could do.”
At the sound of her choked cry, his free hand curled into a fist. He’d give anything to spare her this pain. She’d lost both her parents now, and he still cared about what she faced, even if he hadn’t seen her in fifteen years. Soft weeping vibrated in his ear, and he waited until her sobs tapered off.
“The state boys are on their way and so is the sheriff. The Coast Guard will be here any minute.”
“What happened? H-heart attack?”
“I don’t know for sure yet.” Details could wait until he saw her in person. She didn’t need to know about the blood, not yet. “What’s your ETA?”
“About an hour. You’re still with him?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Where will they take him?”
A couple of orcas swam by the boat, and he watched their trajectory toward Sunset Bay. Even though he didn’t want to, he had to come clean. “Probably to the coroner’s.”
She gasped. “There will be an autopsy? Why would they do that? You don’t think it was a heart attack?”
“He had some kind of head wound. It might have been from a bad fall, but the coroner will have to make that determination.”
“A fall?”
The phone went silent in his ear, and he pulled it away a moment to make sure the connection hadn’t dropped. Cell service was sketchy out here. “Mallory?”
“I’m here, just thinking. Dad said something odd when he called me. He told me to find my mom. I thought he was delusional since Mom is dead. What if he was trying to tell me a woman had hurt him?”
“You’re stretching, Mallory. Why would he mention your mom when it couldn’t possibly be?”
“Maybe he was confused and it came out wrong.”
“Let’s wait and see what the coroner says. I’m sorry though, Mal.” The old nickname slipped out before he could stop it, and he cleared his throat. “I mean, I know this is going to be hard for you and Haylie. Is she with you?”
“Not yet. I left her with my friend. Carol will drive her up in a couple of days.” Her words choked off on a sob. “For th-the funeral, I guess.”
“Is there anyone I can call for you?” As far as he knew, Edmund only had a sister, Blanche, who lived near Bucksport. She and Edmund hadn’t gotten along for as long as he could remember.
“No, thanks though. I’ll give Aunt Blanche a call. C-can you meet me at Dad’s? I don’t think I can go in there by myself.”
“Yeah, of course. Text me or call when you hit Folly Shoals, and I’ll meet you at the ferry dock.” H
e hung up as he heard a boat approaching. Maybe by the time Mallory arrived, he’d have some answers.
Turning, he recognized Luke Rocco with his girlfriend, Claire Dellamare, who also happened to be Kevin’s cousin. Raising his hand, he stepped over to help Luke tie off his boat.
Carol’s Explorer reeked with the pungent odor of the pepperoni pizza in the take-out box on the backseat. She found it hard to keep her mind on Haylie’s chatter from the passenger seat. When Mallory had called with the bad news and to ask her to pick up her daughter, Mallory told her not to tell Haylie. It seemed wrong to keep her grandfather’s death from her. Poor kid loved her grandpa. He was the only male influence in her life, though she didn’t see him as often as Carol thought she should. The old man should have just let go of the past.
“So is it okay?”
Haylie’s words finally penetrated the fog encasing Carol’s brain. “Is what okay?”
Haylie exhaled in a sharp whoosh. “If I have a couple of friends over tonight? It’s Friday.”
“Oh, honey, I don’t think that’s a good idea with your mom gone. We have to pack and join her in Folly Shoals.”
“But I’ll miss Alisha’s birthday party tomorrow! She actually invited me, and I can’t miss it.”
Fourteen going on eighteen. Carol’s glance took in Haylie’s determined expression. When did kids start growing up so fast? Mallory had her hands full most of the time. Even just two years ago Haylie had only cared about what her mother thought. Then she started middle school, and suddenly the only ones with anything important to say were a group of five friends on the swim team who had more money than sense. If it weren’t for Haylie’s grandpa, she wouldn’t be taking those expensive swim lessons. Did the girl know how close her poor mom skated to the edge financially?
Carol pulled the car into the drive of Mallory’s modest cottage in a cul-de-sac. “You’ll have to talk to your mother.”
“Can I borrow your cell phone?”
Carol handed it over and grabbed the pizza box from the backseat. “Don’t be too long. The pizza will get cold.”
Haylie’s head was already down as her fingers tapped their way across the phone’s screen. “I’ll be right in.”
Shaking her head, Carol got out and dropped her keys into her pocket as she approached the front door. When she unlocked it and stepped inside, she heard a sliding noise like a tennis shoe slipping across the tile. Was someone in here or was she imagining it? She stopped and tried to hear over the pounding of the blood in her ears. There. It came again, then she heard a snick.
“Hello?” Her voice quavered.
She shouldn’t stay here. The pizza box fell from her nerveless fingers, and she whirled toward the door. She caught a flurry of movement, and a man with a ski mask over his face rushed at her from the kitchen.
She gasped and reached for the doorknob, but he grabbed her arm and whipped her around to face him. “You’re not the Davis woman. Where is she?”
Think! She slipped her hand into her coat pocket. “She’s not here.”
“No joke, Sherlock.” His fingers tightened on her arm. “Where is she?”
Before she could talk herself out of it, Carol jammed the key into his hand with all her might. The moment his grip loosened, she tore loose and threw open the front door. She exited the door screaming at the top of her lungs.
The next-door neighbor was driving by in his pickup. It screeched to a halt. He came running up the walk toward her. “Carol, what’s wrong?”
She pointed. “An intruder. He grabbed me.” Her insides matched the shake in her voice.
“Get in your car and lock it. Call the police.” He jerked out a hunting knife from a sheath in his boot, threw open the door, and charged through the front door.
Carol rushed to her car and practically fell inside. She locked all the doors, then grabbed her cell phone out of Haylie’s hands.
“Hey!” Haylie tried to grab it back.
Turning her back on the sulking girl, Carol called 911 and reported the break-in. “Yes, I’ll stay on the line until officers arrive.” Haylie’s eyes were huge when Carol glanced back at her.
The neighbor exited the house and shook his head. “The back door is standing open and there’s no one inside.”
A police car screamed down the street toward them and parked out front. Two officers approached Carol’s car. Still shaking, she got out. She told them everything she’d seen, but she had no description other than he was about six-two with broad shoulders. They checked out the house, too, but found nothing.
The younger officer with kind blue eyes rejoined them. “I don’t think you should stay here, miss. The lock on the back door is broken. We’ll hang around until you gather some things together.”
The shock wore off enough for Carol to mull over the intruder’s words. He was looking for Mallory. This was no casual break-in. She told the officer what the man said. “I’d better take Haylie to Folly Shoals to join her mother. I’ll grab her things.”
She felt safer with the officer beside her, and she quickly stuffed Haylie’s clothes into a bag. There was no time to waste. Mallory needed to know what was going on here.
THREE
Mallory stood on the bow of the ferry from Summer Harbor and studied the buildings dotting the hillside of Folly Shoals. It had changed little in the fifteen years she’d been gone, but it was like she was seeing it for the first time. Colorful buoys hung on porches and outside the homes like strange lawn ornaments, and the soft hues of the houses blended together with barn-red buildings in a pretty mosaic enhanced by the fading light of later afternoon. From the sea, it was hard to make out the peeling paint and leaky windows she knew existed in the old structures.
Boats of every size bobbed in Sunset Cove as it curved in toward the town. Beyond the cove, the town spread out through the trees and rocky uplift of sea cliffs. A weathered gray dock poked into the blue water, and a red fish house flanked it to the right. The Hotel Tourmaline was grand, and its gray stone walls and mullioned windows surveyed the cove like the masthead of a great ship.
They would be docking soon. She zipped back to her car and prepared to drive off the ferry. Kevin would be here shortly in his boat to transport her to the house. She could drive, but the twisty gravel road out to Breakwater Cottage would take forever to navigate.
After the ferry docked, she parked in the lot, then got out to stroll the sidewalk along the water where a lobster shack and sandwich joint catered to diners. When she had time she wanted to check out the hotel, but she didn’t want to run the risk of missing Kevin. Most of the shops were closed because it was after five, but she paused to peer in a few windows. The jewelry shop might be interested in her work, so she made a mental note to check back.
“Mallory,” a male voice called behind her.
Luke Rocco strode toward her with a beautiful woman on his arm. He’d gone to school with Kevin and her, and he’d been a staunch ally during her darkest period.
“Luke!” She stepped to meet him, and he grabbed her in a bear hug.
“So sorry about your dad.” He smelled of sea and wind with the pleasant tang of his cologne under it all.
She returned his hug and lifted her cheek to accept the kiss he planted there. “You heard already?”
“I was there. Claire and I were just offshore when Kevin arrived. I’m with the Coast Guard, you know, so I went to see if I could help.”
Her eyes filled at the sympathy in his voice. “Thank you. I still can’t quite assimilate it.” She stepped back from his embrace to make sure his girlfriend didn’t take offense. “Kevin is supposed to meet me here. Have you seen him?”
Luke shook his head and pulled the pretty blonde forward. She reminded Mallory of someone. Kate, she reminded her of Kate Mason.
“This is Claire Dellamare, my fiancée. As of this afternoon.” His white teeth flashed in his tan face. “I was proposing when we saw Kevin.”
“Congratulations. You’ve got a great
guy here in Luke.” Mallory liked the other woman at first sight. Maybe it was those big blue eyes and the adoring way she looked at Luke.
“I think so. I’ve heard a lot about you from Luke. Like the daredevil way you used to swing out over the rocks on ropes and the late-night smelt fishing.” The smile in her eyes faded. “But I’m sure sorry about your dad. Is there anything we can do?” She held up a bag in her hand. “I heard you’d headed here without packing so I grabbed a few toiletries for you.”
“How incredibly sweet of you.” Mallory’s fingers closed around the plastic bag. “I came without so much as a toothbrush.”
“I got a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. As well as a few other girlie things. I hope it’s what you like.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”
Her insides froze when she saw Kevin walking toward her. He hadn’t changed, not a bit. That same shoulders-back, head-up stride that ate up the feet between them quickly. His warm brown eyes were the color of chocolate swirled with caramel, and his thick brown hair glimmered with red highlights in the sunshine. At six-four he towered over most men.
His eyes never left her, and he lifted a hand in greeting before stopping in front of her and stuffing his hands in his pockets awkwardly. “Mallory, it’s good to see you.”
The formal words were like a fishhook in her heart, and she well remembered the last traumatic day she’d seen him. They hadn’t spoken again until she called him for help, and she suspected he still hadn’t forgiven her.
Mallory leaned into the salt-laden wind in the bow of Kevin’s boat and stared at the approaching cottage that had been the Blanchard home for five generations. Had it really been fifteen years since she’d last seen the two-story structure and the cove where she’d learned to swim? She was cold clear through, and it was more than the brisk spring wind that chilled her.
She and Aunt Blanche were all that was left now. Her aunt never had children, so there wasn’t even a cousin to share in her grief. Her gaze went back to the home where she’d grown up.