Harbor Lights

by Sherryl Woods

  Henry stirred, rolled over and caught sight of her. A gap-toothed grin split his face. That smile was coming more frequently as the days went by and he felt increasingly secure.

  “If you get dressed, we have just enough time to go to the town pier fishing before I have to go to work,” Shanna told him. “What do you think?”

  His answer was to scramble out of bed and tug on shorts and a shirt, then throw his arms around her. “I love you. I love fishing.”

  “I’m glad I come first,” she teased. “Come on, there’s cereal waiting in the kitchen.”

  Twenty minutes later they were at the pier. The sun filtered through the remnants of early-morning fog. There was already a hint of fall in the air, though it was still the early days of September. Henry scrambled up onto a bench, waited for Shanna to cast his line, then took the rod from her and clasped it tightly. She sat beside him, smiling at the little frown of concentration that knit his brow. She reached over and brushed his soft-as-silk hair back from his forehead, then looked up and straight into Kevin’s wary gaze.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he said.

  “We come here most Saturday mornings,” she said. “Henry loves to fish.”

  He looked as if he didn’t know what to say next and she didn’t help him out. As time had passed and she’d realized that he had to know the truth, she’d come to accept that he simply didn’t care about her enough to want to make things right. She’d recognized that her explanations would fall on deaf ears. He had no intention of forgiving her for keeping Henry’s existence from him.

  Now his gaze shifted to the boy beside her and the hardness in his expression softened slightly. It was back again, though, when he turned to her.

  “Your stepson, I gather?” he said, proving he had heard at least some of the story by now.

  She nodded. “I hope to be his legal guardian soon.”

  Confusion darkened his eyes. “What does that mean? What about his father?”

  Henry looked up just then. “My daddy’s sick. If the court says so, I’ll get to stay here forever and ever.”

  Kevin looked from her to Henry and back again. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Something tells me it’s one I need to hear,” he said with obvious reluctance.

  “I have a hunch Bree and Abby have been saying that for weeks now,” she said.

  He nodded. “I hate when they’re right.”

  She chuckled. “I’m sure you do.”

  “Will you fill me in?”

  “Another time,” she said, pointedly looking toward Henry.

  “Of course.” He hesitated, then met her gaze. “I’m sorry I apparently jumped to the wrong conclusion in the store that day, then compounded it by digging in my heels and refusing to listen when you tried to explain.”

  “You were just being an O’Brien,” she said wryly. “Though I have to say it’s one of the least attractive of the family traits.”

  “My sisters have mentioned that a time or two.” He gave her a hopeful look. “I’ll listen now, if it’s not already too late.”

  “Henry’s going to spend tomorrow with his grandparents and his dad,” she said at last. “Jenny’s going to watch the shop for me. Would you like to have lunch?”

  “Lunch would be good. I’ll pick you up at noon.”

  She nodded. “See you then.” She turned to Henry. “Come on, sweetie. I have to go to work.”

  Disappointment spread across Henry’s face, but he dutifully reeled in his line and climbed down off the bench.

  “I have an idea,” Kevin said. “I was going to take Davy fishing off the dock at the house in a little while. Maybe Henry would like to come along.”

  Shanna looked to Henry, but he was inching closer to her, obvious fear in his eyes. It was one thing for him to talk to Kevin while she was nearby, quite another to trust a man on his own. Living with his father’s unpredictability had cost him his innocence. Quite possibly that was the worst of what Greg had done to his son.

  “Another time,” she said. “We can talk about that when I see you tomorrow.”

  “Sure,” Kevin said. He smiled at Henry. “Maybe Shanna will come with you on my boat one day.”

  At that, Henry’s eyes lit up. “You have a boat?”

  “I do. It was a fishing boat, but now it’s a research boat. It’s being used to study the bay.”

  “Study how?”

  “We test the water for pollution. We check on the oysters and the crabs and the fish. We want to be sure all of this is in good shape when you grow up and want to bring your kids here to fish.”

  “Awesome!” Henry said and turned eagerly to Shanna. “Can we?”

  “Of course,” she said, ruffling his hair. She glanced at her watch. “We have to run.”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  She had the sense that his eyes were still on them, his gaze speculative, even after they’d left the pier and headed for Main Street.

  “Is he your friend?” Henry asked Shanna as they walked back to the bookstore.

  She nodded. “He’s a good friend, yes.”

  Henry studied her. “Like you and daddy used to be?”

  Shanna was at a loss. “In a way.”

  “Oh,” he said, a faint tremor in his voice.

  Shanna stopped walking and hunkered down in front of him. “Does that bother you? Didn’t you like him?”

  Henry seemed to be struggling to form his thoughts into words, but there was no mistaking his troubled, unhappy expression. Shanna waited.

  “He was okay, I guess,” he said eventually. “And it’s cool that he has a boat.”

  “Then what’s bothering you?”

  “You and Daddy got married,” he said, looking down at the ground. “And then you went away. What if he goes away, too? Will it be my fault?”

  The giant leap he’d taken was a shock. “Henry, first of all, Kevin and I are not going to get married. We’ve never even talked about that. Second, you had absolutely nothing to do with why your dad and I got a divorce, and you certainly won’t come between Kevin and me. You’re a terrific boy. Your dad and I are both very lucky to have you in our lives. You do know that, don’t you?”

  He shrugged. “I guess.”

  She hesitated, then said, “You know, Kevin has a little boy, too. You heard him mention Davy. Well, he’s almost three. And just like you, his mommy died. You know what that’s like. You could be his friend and help him out. You have a lot in common. You both love to read. I know he’d love it if you’d read to him sometimes.”

  “It would almost be like being a big brother,” he said, excitement slowly threading through his voice. “I mean, if you change your mind and get married.”

  “Hey, slow down,” she said with a laugh. “You’re getting way ahead of things. Let’s just focus on all of us trying to be friends, okay?”

  For now, having Kevin back in her life as a friend was all that mattered. After the way Kevin had shut her out of his life, she wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive him now. Tomorrow’s lunch would tell if that was possible. After that, well, they’d both have to see what came next.

  23

  When Kevin got back to the house on Saturday morning, he found Davy already on the pier fishing with Mick. He walked out and joined them.

  “I see the two of you got a head start on me,” he said, ruffling his son’s sun-streaked hair.

  “Fish don’t wait around all day,” his father said.

  “Caught anything so far?”

  “Look in the bucket,” Mick suggested, a gleam in his eyes.

  Kevin glanced in and found a tiny fish swimming in circles in the salty seawater in the pail. “Nice one,” he said wryly.

  “Davy’s first catch of the day,” Mick informed him.

  Kevin grinned at his son. “Good job, kiddo, but I’m thinking he ought to be back swimming with his family and friends.”

&
nbsp; “Dinner,” Davy insisted, his jaw set stubbornly.

  “Believe me, I tried to convince him,” Mick said. “He wants Ma to see. Apparently he promised her he’d bring back lots of fish for dinner.”

  Kevin barely held back a grin. “She’ll be impressed, no doubt about it.”

  “So, where’d you run off to so early?” Mick asked as Kevin baited a hook and tossed his own line into the water, then settled down on the other side of his son. The warmth of the sun seeped into his shoulders and relaxed him after the early-morning jog that had taken him to the town pier.

  “I went for a run,” he said.

  “See anyone interesting?” Mick asked with exaggerated innocence.

  As Kevin studied his father’s expression, his gaze narrowed. “You already know I ran into Shanna, don’t you? How the heck did you find out so fast?”

  Mick chuckled. “Cell phones, pal. I not only got a call, I saw a picture of the two of you on the town pier. Bree could hardly wait to share the news that the two of you are speaking again.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I really am thinking more and more about moving into a monastery.”

  Mick howled. “Yeah, Thomas mentioned something about that. I have a tremendous admiration for the priesthood, but I’m thinking you’d be better off working things out with Shanna. That’s where you belong.”

  Kevin regarded him curiously. “You sound so sure about that. Why?”

  “Love’s a precious commodity,” Mick said. “I can see it in your eyes when you’re around her. She’s brought you back to life after a real sad time. That’s not something to be taken lightly. It’s certainly not something you throw away because you’ve had a disagreement.”

  “We never had a disagreement,” Kevin said.

  Mick rolled his eyes. “Because you never gave her a chance to even tell you what’s been going on in her life,” he said. “Hard to disagree when one of you’s sitting around in the dark.”

  “Save the lecture. I’ve heard it before.”

  “But apparently it didn’t sink in,” Mick said unrepentantly.

  “We’re having lunch tomorrow,” Kevin said. “I’m surprised Bree didn’t tell you that, as well.”

  “Sadly, she wasn’t close enough to hear what the two of you were saying.”

  Kevin laughed at the obvious frustration in his voice. “That must have driven her wild. You, too.”

  Mick nodded. “It did. But lunch tomorrow is good news. I’ll be sure to tell your sister.”

  Kevin was about to make a rude remark, but just then Davy’s line began to jerk. He reached over and helped his son hang on, then reeled in the fish. This one was a legitimate catch, big enough for more than a mouthful.

  “Good job!” he praised.

  “In bucket,” Davy ordered.

  Kevin added the fish to the pail, then watched as Davy squatted down to watch them, his expression filled with delight.

  “See, Daddy, friends,” he announced, pointing.

  “Uh-oh,” Mick murmured. “Those fish are going home with us for sure now.”

  Kevin sighed. “Afraid so, but at least they’re not likely to wind up on the dinner table. Something tells me we’re going to have to do some fast talking or these two will become pets.”

  Mick shook his head. “Not to worry. I’m a clumsy guy. I might just trip over that bucket, send it flying right into the water.”

  Kevin stared at him. “Is that how my fish always ended up back in the bay?”

  “Are you kidding me? You tossed ’em back the second we got ’em off the line. If I wanted fish for dinner, I had to catch ’em when you weren’t around and get your mother to cook ’em when you weren’t looking.”

  “Come to think of it, that’s exactly what Mother said when she suggested I work with Thomas.”

  Mick regarded him with a disgruntled expression. “I suppose she was right about that,” he admitted grudgingly. “You’re happy with this new job, aren’t you?”

  “I am,” he said. “A lot happier than I would have been running fishing charters.”

  “You and Thomas get along okay?”

  “Sure. He’s a reasonable man.”

  “And I’m not?” Mick said, instantly taking offense.

  Kevin stared at him. “I did not say that. Look, I know you were hoping that either Connor or I would take an interest in your company, but you know neither of us has the skill.”

  “You learn skills. You’re not born with them,” Mick grumbled. “Do you think I came out of the womb with a hammer in my hand?”

  “No, but the work suited you, just as this research suits me.”

  “I suppose.” Mick studied him. “Does it make you happier than being an EMT?”

  Kevin nodded. “For now, absolutely. Maybe one of these days, I’ll be ready to do that again. The local squad can always use trained volunteers,” he said. “I know I have skills that are needed, but given everything that’s happened, this new career makes sense for me. It’s not something I ever shared with Georgia. It’s a fresh start.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Mick said. “I’m a big fan of fresh starts myself these days.”

  “You and Mom?”

  Mick nodded. “We’re making real progress. I hope you’re going to be okay with that.”

  “I’ve gotten used to the idea,” Kevin admitted. “Having her around again has been better than I expected. If the two of you can work things out, that’s all that really matters. I shouldn’t have been judging you.”

  “Or her,” Mick reminded him.

  “Okay, true.”

  Mick stood up. “Seems to me we already have the only two fish out here that are biting this morning. What say, we go inside and get something cold to drink? Davy, you ready for some juice?”

  Davy nodded, stood up and went straight to the bucket and tried to get a grip on the handle, but it was too heavy for him.

  “I’ll take it,” Mick said, then awkwardly juggled it and let it drop. It landed on its side and rolled off the dock.

  Davy ran to the edge, but Kevin caught him before he could fall in after it. His son looked up at him with a sad expression.

  “Fishes gone,” Davy announced sorrowfully.

  Kevin nodded. “Fishes gone, but you know what? It’s a good thing. They’re home where they belong. We’ll catch some more another day.”

  Davy immediately brightened. “’kay.”

  Mick shook his head as he watched his grandson. “That ability to let go and move on is a wonderful thing to see.”

  Kevin nodded. He hoped he’d be able to do the same after he saw Shanna tomorrow.

  After sending Henry off with Mrs. Hamilton on Sunday morning, Shanna checked to make sure Jenny had things under control at the shop, then went upstairs to get dressed for her lunch date with Kevin. A half hour later, Laurie appeared at her door, Drew at her side. They both looked as if they were bursting with excitement. They couldn’t seem to take their eyes—or their hands—off each other.

  “Well, you’re the last two people I expected to see this morning,” Shanna said, stepping aside to let them in.

  Laurie beamed at her. “We’re getting married,” she blurted as soon as she was inside. “Today, if you can spare the time to be my maid of honor.”

  Shanna blinked at the announcement. “I thought the wedding had been postponed indefinitely. What happened?”

  Drew gave her a chagrined look. “I woke up and realized I was being a fool. I came home last night and told Laurie I wanted to go through with the wedding, if she’d still have me.”

  “And I said yes,” Laurie added, “but only if we didn’t wait. So, here we are. We have the license and I’ve found a notary who is willing to perform the ceremony. All we need is you.” She looked over Shanna’s dressy outfit. “And here you are, all dressed up. It’s perfect. I consider that a good omen.”

  Shanna debated telling her that she had plans with Kevin and her own reconciliation, but why ruin Laurie’s bi
g moment? “I’ll need to make a quick phone call,” she told her. “Then I’m all yours.”

  As self-absorbed as Laurie could be at times, in this instance, she immediately read between the lines. “You were going out, weren’t you?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes, but it’s no big deal. Kevin and I can reschedule.”

  “Bring him along,” Laurie said, glancing at Drew for approval.

  “Absolutely,” Drew said. “I can use a best man. Maybe he wouldn’t mind filling in.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Come on, Shanna. Maybe it will give him ideas,” Laurie said. Given her objections to Shanna’s relationship with Kevin, the remark just proved she was in a love-induced haze. “We’re going to go to the inn for lunch after the ceremony,” she continued excitedly, “so it will almost be the wedding we originally planned, just smaller and less expensive. I want both of you there to celebrate with us.”

  Before Shanna could agree, there was another knock on the door. She opened it to find Kevin standing there.

  “Am I too early?” he asked.

  “That depends. It seems Laurie and her fiancé have decided they’re getting married today, and they want us to stand up for them. You can run for your life or come inside.”

  “Of course he’s coming inside,” Laurie said, joining them. “Come on, Kevin, you can’t let us down.”

  Laurie introduced Kevin and Drew, then linked her arm through Drew’s. “Okay, everyone, let’s get out of here and seal this deal before Drew makes another run for it.”

  Kevin cast a helpless look in Shanna’s direction, but she merely shrugged. Once Laurie set her mind to something, comparisons to a steamroller came readily to mind.

  “Here’s the address of the notary,” Laurie said to Kevin. “Do you know where this is?”

  “I do,” he said. “Why don’t I drive?”