By the Salt, Salt Sea
Page 6
"Was Elena hurt very badly?" Shari asked, trying to see the woman as a fellow victim, rather than another abuser.
"She's going to be in the hospital for a bit, but she'll live. Report is she's got a gentleman friend to take care of her. That's part of what set her son off, I understand. She told him about her friend, he figured she was betraying his father or something. Course, it didn't help that she wouldn't empty her bank account for him either."
"His father's been dead for over ten years," Shari said. Somehow, it fit that Charles would expect a widow to stay faithful to her dead spouse.
"Well, if there's any justice, his old man's giving him a whipping right about now," Corrigan said, and then there was a knock at the door. The county coroner had arrived. "I don't think either of you will be in any trouble over this, it's obvious it was self-defense, so we'll get things taken care of just as quick as we can. Ah, it would be best if you don't mention Gil. A lot of us know about him, but it isn't anything we talk about in the open, if you get my meaning."
"Oh, we definitely understand," Gareth said. "I intend to thank him, of course, but I can handle that very quietly."
"Paw to fin? Sounds good." The chief stood up, and almost laughed at how far their jaws had dropped. "What? You think I didn't know? Man, I'm the law around here. People expect me to know stuff—and usually I do. You've been here long enough, after all. Oh, don't worry yourselves; it isn't like you're breaking the law by swimming in the ocean. Everybody's entitled to their privacy, after all. Just be cautious, okay? Lord, I nearly had a nervous breakdown last year when that tourist photographer saw Abby Cameron trotting down the beach. You must have heard about that. I thought we'd have the tabloids here for certain." He went out to meet the coroner.
"Gil turns into a dog?" Gareth whispered. "He turns into a dog!" Given his own abilities, he had to accept the existence of other shapeshifters, but the friendly old storekeeper? The guy he played chess with at least once a week?
"And Corrigan knows about you." Shari gasped. "He knows about both of you! He hasn't locked either of you up! And what he said about Abby Cameron ... do you really think she's a Pooka?"
"Or something like," Gareth took her hand. "I'm not sure I believe it, but ... oh, that doesn't matter right now. Darling, it's over! We're all safe." His lips brushed her forehead.
"Thank you, Shari. You risked your life coming in here like that, when you could have gotten away." She looked at him in weary surprise. "You're the life-saver here, and not just because of tonight." She picked up his hand, laid it against her face, and closed her eyes. The nightmares of the past were over. Now there were just dreams of a surprising future.
* * * *
The invisible boundary around the town of Presteign still exists, serving as a kind of protection for the peaceful community. Tourists still stop to visit the small shops along Main Street, make some small purchases, and then continue on in their quest for more exciting attractions. The old motel on the highway remains open, attracting mostly overnight visitors with few choices, delayed by weather or car trouble; providing just enough business for the motel to stay open, but certainly not enough to inspire expansion or competition. The bus still stops for a few minutes at the general store, although it usually just drops off packages, not passengers. Gil and Bess have retired, turning the store over to Gil's nephew, whose own son, just past his thirteenth birthday, enjoys patrolling the aisles, occasionally stumbling over the huge paws the young Scottish Deerhound has yet to grow into.
Over the years, though, there have been a lot of changes in the lighthouse. Gareth now has his office and library in the tower, along with Shari's studio, and the old office is his mother's room. Anne Maclachlan retired, and moved in with her son and his wife shortly before their daughter, Rohannah was born. Rohannah, now nine, has Shari's old room, and the old spare room is the private property of her brother, Gaheris, age seven.
Late every afternoon, both children accompany their father out to the coast, guarded by a healthy young Clumber spaniel named Taliesin, after another of the old Welsh poets. Aneurin, although he gets around quite well on three legs, is old, and he stays on the porch with Shari and her mother-in-law. Shari either plays guitar or draws, working on some of the art she sells through a city gallery, while the older woman reads, and occasionally Gil and Bess join them. Without the responsibility of running the store, the elderly pair travel a bit more than they used to, but Presteign is still their home, where their secrets are safe.
On those days when their friends aren't with them, if Shari and Anne start to feel lonely waiting for the rest of their family, they take each other's hands and close their eyes. Together, they reach out together for the shore and beyond. Soon, they can taste the salt spray and feel the ageless rhythm of the waves, and along with Gareth and the children, they celebrate and sing the songs of the ocean.
THE END