First Time in Forever Page 31

“I do own the place.”

  Ryan stared at her. “It only came on the market recently. You only just saw it.”

  “Murph called me the instant it happened, and he drove me over to take a look.”

  Ryan digested that. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “You had a lot on your mind.” She patted him on the arm. “Now, take me home and help me pack up some boxes.”

  *

  IT WAS THEIR first trip to the harbor since they’d come back from the hospital, and they could barely take a step without being accosted by well-wishers.

  Emily kept a close eye on Lizzy and tried not to fuss. “What would you most like to do?”

  “Can we have waffles and chocolate milk?”

  She’d been steeling herself for that inevitable request. Waffles and chocolate milk would mean visiting the Ocean Club and possibly bumping into Ryan. She’d discovered that asking him to keep his distance hadn’t stopped her from thinking about him, nor had it stopped Lizzy talking about him. She’d reached the stage where she was ready to scream and cover her ears and had distracted herself by making endless collages with seashells found on the beach outside the door. But that pastime had only held Lizzy’s attention for a short time. She’d discovered that a recovering Lizzy was harder to handle than a sick Lizzy. She wanted to be out on the water, swimming, seeing the puffins, anything other than staying trapped indoors.

  Emily had suggested a trip to Summer Scoop, but it was clear that no activity was going to match the awesome experience of waffles and chocolate milk, so she surrendered to the inevitable. Why not? If they were staying on the island, then they were going to bump into Ryan sooner or later.

  Lizzy insisted on taking both Andrew and her new puffin, and they were met by a smiling Kirsti, who showed them to their usual table.

  Once again a large crowd of students had the table next to them, but this time Emily barely spared them a glance.

  “One extra-chocolatey chocolate milk for an extra special guest.” Kirsti placed the tall glass in front of Lizzy with a flourish and did the same with Emily’s coffee. “Can I get you anything else?”

  Lizzy looked around hopefully. “Is Ryan here?”

  “No.” Kirsti gave her a sympathetic look. “We haven’t seen him this morning. He’s dealing with some business down at the marina. Some guy whose ego is bigger than his yacht, and that’s saying something.” She walked off with a wink and a smile to serve another table of customers, and Lizzy’s shoulders drooped.

  She clutched the puffin in both hands, Andrew lying forgotten on one of the vacant chairs. “Why don’t we see Ryan anymore?”

  “He’s busy, honey.” It horrified her how badly she wanted to see him.

  Was she really going to be able to live in such close proximity, or was she fooling herself?

  Misery was a cold hard lump inside her. It was impossible not to second-guess herself. Maybe she should have let the relationship take its course. But how would that have worked? Eventually he would have moved on, and that would have made the situation even more awkward.

  The best option would have been not to fall in love with him in the first place, but it was too late for that.

  Lizzy put the puffin down carefully and reached for her milk. “He said he loved us.”

  “He does love us in his own way, but he has a job to do and his own life.”

  And that life wasn’t going to include them.

  She couldn’t wallow in self-pity; she had to move on. She had to keep Lizzy busy and introduce new people into her life.

  Lizzy stared miserably across the restaurant, and then the chocolate milk slipped from her hands and spilled across the table, splattering Emily.

  With lightning reflexes, she rescued puffin and Andrew, but before she could speak, Lizzy shrank down in her chair.

  “He’s here.”

  Emily was busy trying to stem the flood with a couple of napkins. “Ryan?”

  “The man with the camera. The one who climbed into the house.”

  It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, and when they did, Emily dropped the napkins and slowly turned her head. The man was standing between her and the door, blocking the only exit. He scanned the restaurant as if searching for someone, and, after a few moments, he approached a couple at the table nearest to him and showed them a photograph. Heart thumping, Emily pushed both toys into Lizzy’s hands. “Get under the table, sweetheart.”

  “But—”

  “Get under the table, and whatever happens, don’t move.” She positioned herself with her back to the restaurant, hoping to block the man’s view.

  She was thinking hard about her options when she heard Ryan’s deep voice behind her.

  “We’re busy today. I’m going to have to ask if you mind sharing your table.”

  Melting with relief, Emily turned her head to warn him, but he put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

  “I’ve got this. Just crowd around and pull up a few extra chairs.” He smiled at the students at the table next door, and they swiftly decamped to Emily’s table, laughing, chatting and crowding around as he’d instructed. “Anna, give Emily your hat. She’s in full sun there.”

  The girl next to her slid her hat from her head and passed it to Emily.

  She glanced down and saw the words Marine Center embroidered on the front.

  “Put it on,” Ryan said softly. “Keep your back to the room and leave the rest to me.”

  “Here—” Anna pushed a copy of Marine Biology into her hand. “Get stuck into that. Don’t look so panicked. Ryan has got this. We’ve all got this.”

  Two bulky guys with windswept hair sat either side of her, and one of them put his backpack carefully on the floor in front of Lizzy. With so many legs and backpacks, it would be next to impossible for anyone to see her.

  Even so, Emily’s heart was thudding as he approached the table.

  “Hi.” His smile was warm and friendly. “You guys live on the island?”

  Anna smiled back. “During the summer. You?”

  “Sadly, mine is a short visit. I wondered if you’d seen this little girl around.” He handed a photo of Lizzy to Anna, who studied it carefully, shook her head and then passed it across the table to another girl.

  Their eyes locked, their fingers brushed, and the photo fell into a sticky pool of chocolate milk.

  Anna tutted. “Rita, you are so clumsy.” She made a fuss of wiping it and tore the edge. “Oh, no! Now I’m the clumsy one.”

  The man gritted his teeth as he took it back. “I thought you might have seen her? She’s traveling with her mother, a woman called Emily.”

  “Your wife and child?”

  “My sister and her little girl. There are marital problems. I promised I’d help her.”

  “Your niece?” Anna took another look at the photo. “She doesn’t look anything like you. But, no, I don’t remember seeing her.”

  “The address is Castaway Cottage, but it’s not listed anywhere, and no one I ask seems to know where it is.”

  “Castaway Cottage?” Anna looked vague. “Never heard of it, and this is my third summer on the island. You could try asking Pete—he drives the island cab.”

  “I did. He said there is no Castaway Cottage.” The man looked frustrated. “But I know that’s the address.”

  “Not on this island. Let me see that photo.” Ryan took it from the man. “She looks like Summer. Her mother owns Summer Scoop just along Main Street. Or maybe not. It’s not a great picture.”

  “If you wanted to rent somewhere out of the way on this island where no one would look for you, where would you stay?”

  Ryan didn’t hesitate. “White Pine House. But there’s no way she’d stay there.”

  “Why?”

  “Because getting there is a nightmare. It’s in the middle of the island at the top of a trail that is impassable in bad weather. I wouldn’t even try it if I were you.”

  “Can you give me direct
ions?”

  Ryan shrugged. “They’re your tires. Do you have a map? I can show you.” He was polite and friendly as he took the map of the island from the man’s hand. “You want to take a right at the forest trail. It’s a pretty rough road, but it’s the only way up to Heron Pond. Be careful as you take Pond Bridge. There was some structural damage over the winter, and repairs haven’t been finished yet. You might want to park and walk.”

  The guy stepped away with a nod of thanks.

  “What a douche,” Anna muttered as he walked away. “Please tell me he’s going to blow out his tires on the way to the pond.”

  “He will.” Ryan was calm. “And if by chance he makes it as far as the bridge, he’ll probably take a swim.”

  “He’s going to be calling for help,” Anna said happily, and Ryan smiled back.

  “He’ll try. There is no cell phone coverage by the pond. He’s going to have a long, tiring walk back down to the road.”

  Emily wasn’t so easily reassured. “He knows about Castaway Cottage. He must have gotten the details from the hospital.” She was sickened by it. “What if someone tells him where it is?”

  “How can they, when none of us has ever heard of Castaway Cottage?” Ryan winked at her and then called Kirsti over. “Is it done?”

  “It was done twenty seconds after you gave me the nod. Check your phone. And for those who don’t text, we’ve been calling around leaving messages.”

  Ryan pulled his phone out of his pocket, smiled and handed it to Emily. There on the screen was a text warning the islanders about the journalist, complete with a photograph.

  “How did you take that without him noticing?”

  Kirsti smiled. “I’m sneaky.”

  Emily couldn’t relax that easily. “What if he comes back?”

  “I guarantee you by the time he leaves the island, he won’t want to come back in a hurry.” Ryan dropped to his haunches and grinned at Lizzy. “Hi there, tiger. Time to come out.”

  “Ryan!” Lizzy wriggled through legs and backpacks and launched herself into his arms. “It was him.”

  “I know, honey, but he’ll be leaving again soon. In the meantime, how do you feel about spending the day at Harbor House with Agnes? She really needs your help with Cocoa while she packs boxes.” He stroked her back gently, and Lizzy wrapped her arms and legs around him like a monkey.

  “Will you be there, too?”

  Across the top of Lizzy’s head, Ryan’s gaze met Emily’s. She saw something flicker in the depths of his eyes, and then he set the child down, peeling her arms from around his neck.

  “Later.” His voice was husky. “First, I’m going to make sure Mr. Photographer never bothers you again.” He turned to Emily. “Don’t leave until I text you. John Harris is going to let me know as soon as he’s safely on the ferry.”

  She nodded. Without his quick thinking, Lizzy’s presence would have been exposed, and she wanted to express her gratitude. She wanted to pull back all the things she’d said, but then she saw Lizzy slide her arms around his legs and cling, and knew she had to stand firm.

  “Thank you.” She told herself it was the overwhelming gesture of warmth from the community that made her feel like sitting down and sobbing her heart out. For her whole life she’d felt like a small piece of a jigsaw puzzle that had been dropped on the floor and lost, fitting nowhere. Now she felt as if she’d found her place. A small piece, fitting perfectly into a bigger picture. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she belonged. There were people looking out for her.

  The price she had to pay for that was not being with Ryan. She’d thought that was the simple option.

  Now she was wondering if it might kill her.

  *

  EMILY SPENT THE rest of the day packing boxes with Agnes and picking up texts from various islanders determined to give her a nonstop commentary on what was happening. She was grateful for any activity that stopped her thinking about Ryan.

  “The journalist got the car stuck on Pond Bridge and had to walk back down to the harbor.” She gave Agnes an update. “He called a cab.”

  Agnes looked interested. “And how did that turn out for him?”

  Emily scrolled through her texts. “Not well. Peter told him his cab had been booked all day by a family from Boston, so he tried Larry, but his cab was in the garage having the brakes fixed.”

  “It’s a terrible thing that island transport is so bad.”

  “Before he left, he went into Summer Scoop and showed Lisa the photograph.”

  “Did she bury it deep in vanilla ice cream?”

  “No, she said the little girl in the picture looked like Summer. Then she asked if she could keep the photograph because she objected to people taking pictures of her daughter without permission.”

  Agnes laughed as she wrapped up two candlesticks. “That was smart of her. And there is just enough of a resemblance between Summer and Lizzy that he might believe it.”

  “He asked the Realtor on Main Street if he’d ever heard of Castaway Cottage, and she suggested he try Bar Harbor.”

  “That will be Tilly Hobson. She believes houses choose people, not the other way around.” Agnes sealed the box, and Emily scrambled to her feet.

  “Don’t lift that. I’ll do it. I’ve met Tilly. I spoke to her a few days ago.”

  “You’re looking for property?”

  “Yes. It was kind of Brittany to let us use Castaway Cottage, but we can’t stay there forever. We need somewhere of our own, but houses don’t come up that often on Puffin Island.” She lifted the box and stacked it with the others and then heard her phone beep. “That will be Ryan with another update.”

  But it turned out to be a text from Brittany, and when Emily read it she sat down on the chair with a thump.

  Agnes paused with a stack of table mats in her hand. “Another update?”

  “No. This time it’s Brittany. She fell on the archaeological dig in Greece. She’s broken her wrist.” She pulled a face and sent a text back. “Poor Brit. You know how active she is—she’ll go crazy with her right hand out of use.”

  “What’s her plan?”

  “To come home while she heals and then make some life decisions. Her postgraduate work at Oxford University has finished. This dig was something she was doing for fun while she decided what to do next.” Emily absorbed the implications of that. “Looks like I might have need of Tilly’s services sooner than expected.”

  “Brittany wouldn’t want you to move out. I wouldn’t rush into anything.” Agnes looked vague. “Something might turn up.”

  Emily, who believed in structuring her life as much as she could, wasn’t reassured. “I’m sure we can stay with Brittany for a while, but I feel, for Lizzy’s sake, it’s time we found somewhere that’s ours. I want her to have security.” She wanted Lizzy to have everything she’d never had herself. “I’ve enrolled her in school for September. She might even have Rachel as her teacher.”

  Agnes’s face softened. “Lucky Lizzy. That girl has the sweetest nature. When Ryan was injured I couldn’t drag Rachel from the hospital. Those two are very close. For weeks, she slept in the chair, and when he started the long rehabilitation process, she was the one bullying him into doing those exercises and pushing a little harder each day.”

  “He’s very protective of her.”

  “Always has been. He took some serious teasing in school for looking out for his little sister. I remember one time the class had to take the thing they loved most into school for show-and-tell. It was meant to be a toy or a book. Rachel insisted on taking Ryan. They had to excuse him from math so he could sit on the mat with her. His friends gave him hell over that one, but he showed up, anyway.” Agnes’s eyes misted. “Oh, that little girl loved her big brother. He was a hero to her, and I’ve never seen anyone so patient as he was with his sister.”

  The lump in Emily’s throat made it difficult to swallow. “He’s been great with Lizzy. That day we went sailing, he was so patien
t with her.” And she had to keep reminding herself that it had been a happy afternoon, that was all. Just because he was good with Lizzy, didn’t mean he wanted to do it more often.

  There was no room in life for dreaming.

  She picked up a painting from the floor and paused, scanning the beautiful beach scene. “Is this one of Skylar’s?”

  “It’s a watercolor she did when she was eighteen. She gave it to Kathleen as a thank-you for having her to stay. I admired it, and Kathleen left it to me. I love the colors. It’s like bringing part of the beach indoors.”

  “Sky would be proud to know you love it enough to hang it on your wall.” Emily wrapped it carefully. “I know it meant a lot that Kathleen believed in her. Whenever we stayed, she made sure Sky had a place to paint. Her own parents didn’t do that for her. They thought her artistic talents detracted from what was important in life.” She slid the painting carefully into the box. “She comes from a family of lawyers, and they wanted her to be a lawyer, too.”

  Agnes handed her a piece of tape. “The job of a parent is to nurture and guide, not kill dreams. What about you? What was your dream?”

  “There wasn’t any room in my life for dreams.”

  “And now?”

  Something in the way Agnes was looking at her made her wonder if she’d guessed.

  “I find it safer to focus on reality.” Emily kept her eyes down, closed the box and secured it with tape. “I’m going to find a house that will be a good home for us. Then think about work. There’s a property vacant on Harbor Road, not far from Summer Scoop. I’m thinking of maybe opening a boutique gift shop with a beach theme.” The idea had come to her in the night, and she’d felt a rush of excitement and anticipation. Instead of helping with other people’s businesses, why not start her own? “I want to sell everything from jewelry to shells and maybe small pieces for the home. I have to run some numbers. Ask a few questions. Do you think it’s a crazy idea?”

  “I think it’s a good idea.” Agnes pushed another empty box toward her, and together they filled it while Emily waited for another text from Ryan telling them it was safe to go home. It never came. Instead, he came himself, taking the steps to Harbor House two at a time as the last ferry of the day sailed out into the bay on its journey across to the mainland.