She sent a pointed look at Keera who still dragged her feet while setting the table.
Keera giggled and her entire countenance changed. Soon she and Johnny were working together to get the chore done.
“You seem to have come through the storm pretty well, Regan. One good bump to the back of the head, but otherwise you’re fine. You had a small gash back there that I cleaned, so you’ll want to take it easy for a day or two. I got you out of your wet clothes after Ian brought your things up from the boat. You were able to help a bit when I assisted you into the pink dress. Your valise came through pretty unscathed. A bit wet on the bottom, but I laid it and your boots out in the sun to dry. Do you remember anything about this morning?”
“No, ma’am. I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything after the lifeboat left the ship and crashed into the sea.”
“I can’t imagine. What a horrifying experience!” Granny sympathized. “I’m so glad you made it safely to shore.”
“Me too.” Regan shuddered as repercussions of what could have been flashed through her mind.
Ian walked through the door, and Regan heard seagulls call in the distance. Nearby waves crashed against the shore. Regan could feel a different type of wave, one curling with nostalgia and homesickness, crash over her at the familiar sounds. She pushed back unexpected tears. She’d come too far to break down now.
“Dinner smells wonderful, Gran.” Ian glanced over at Regan. “Do you think you can eat?”
Thankful for the diversion, she nodded. “Aye. I hope so. The aromas are settin’ my mouth to waterin’.”
“Stay put.” Gran hurried to her feet. “Let me fetch you a bowl, and you can eat it right where you are.”
“No please.” Regan sat up again, this time taking it slow so she could get her bearings. “I’d rather eat at the table with you if you don’t mind. I’ve had enough of lazing around.”
“You’ve hardly lazed around.” Ian laughed. “You’ve been unconscious the better part of the day and who knows how long through the night.”
Regan ignored him and lowered her feet to the floor.
“But if you’re going to ignore me and my brilliant words of advice, at least let me assist you to the table.”
“I’d be obliged.” Regan smiled up at him and let him take her arm. She eased to her feet and, while a bit wobbly, her head didn’t swoon from the effort.
Ian held her right arm firmly with his while wrapping his left around her back to support her other arm. His strong grip and muscular chest made her feel safe in a way she hadn’t since her husband had passed away. While she should have felt uncomfortable while being held so closely in a stranger’s arms, instead she felt secure and protected.
Regan stumbled once on her journey across the room, but Ian held tight, not seeming to mind that she leaned fully against him.
Keera giggled and slipped into a chair opposite the fire.
Johnny stood at her side. “Papa, Keera’s taken my spot.”
Ian stopped at the table. “Here we go, Regan. If you’ll take this closest chair, I’ll pull another one up for Johnny.”
Granny kept busy with placing a variety of food on the table. A platter of hot, flaky rolls and a saucer with creamy butter joined a large pot of hearty beef stew. “I thought the rainy day made a good excuse for a hearty meal, but wouldn’t you know the sun decided to come out and warm the day up.”
“We don’t mind, do we?” Ian pulled up a chair for Johnny and then sat opposite Regan at the far end of the table. Johnny took the seat between Ian and Keera, and Granny had a side to herself with her back to the fire.
Ian, Granny, and Johnny reached to join hands. Regan motioned for Keera to join in. It was with great relief that she nestled her daughter’s hand into hers. Granny squeezed Regan’s other hand and gave her a warm smile.
Ian cleared his throat. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this meal we’re about to eat. Thank You for bringing Keera and Regan safely through the storm and for bringing them to us. Amen.”
Gran gave a final squeeze before letting go and reaching for the rolls.
Ian began serving up bowls of stew. “What brings you to America, Regan?”
“Keera and I are—” No matter how she said it, she’d sound pathetic. A grown woman going to live with her uncle and aunt. What would Ian and Granny think if they knew her own father hadn’t wanted her? These people, whom she’d only just met, made her feel more loved than her own father had when he’d decided to send them away. “—heading for my uncle and aunt’s home in Pensacola for a visit.”
“How wonderful,” Granny gushed. “Did your husband stay behind?”
“I lost my husband two years ago.”
Sympathy filled Granny’s eyes. “Ian lost his wife around the same time.”
“He isn’t really lost,” Keera interjected. “He died when I was but a wee tot.”
“I see,” Ian said. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We’ve done all right for ourselves,” Regan hurried to say. She hated the sympathy that often came with the announcement. But at least she’d avoided the uncomfortable fact that her own father had sent them away. “We’ve done just fine on our own.”
“Aye, we have.” Keera nodded and spoke around a mouthful of food. “We moved in with Pappy, but he married Mama’s best friend and said we needed to come live with our uncle and aunt. Mama said on the boat that she was glad because livin’ with them was—what did you call it, Mama? The most awkward thing ever?”
“Until now,” Regan mumbled.
Ian choked on his food but had the decency to try to hide his smile behind his napkin. He failed miserably. His dark eyes flashed with mirth.
Regan stared him down. “You might as well give up the fight. Your eyes gave you away.”
“Sorry.” His full grin as he scooped his spoon into his bowl and looked up at her was anything but sorry, but it was also contagious and she found herself smiling back.
Regan’s heart skipped a beat. He had a boyish charm about him that warmed her spirit.
“So I suppose we need to send a letter to your family so they don’t worry.”
“Aye. Please do. Though to be honest, I’m not even sure they know we’re coming. My father sent a note, but I doubt it had time to arrive ahead of us. He barely penned it before we started across the ocean. Oh— and I’d like to send a note to the ship’s captain. I’m sure they’re horribly worried as to what happened to us. One of the crew members took a grandfatherly interest in us, and I’m sure he’s mighty worried. He’s the one that came up with the idea for settlin’ us into the lifeboat. I’m sure he’s sick that we’re missing.”
“We’ll write them after dinner. The supply ship will be by in a few days and we can send the notes upriver with them.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and settled back in his chair. Broad shoulders tapered to a slim waist, and he folded his hands over a flat stomach. He looked very handsome in the firelight.
“Thank you.” Regan corralled her eyes, trying not to stare. “If they have room, do you think they’d give Keera and I passage into town or to Pensacola?”
Granny looked over at Ian. “I don’t know, dear. I think it’s best if you stay here until you’ve fully recovered.”
“I’m feeling much better already.”
“And you look better, too. You have some color back in your cheeks. But still, the journey to Pensacola won’t be an easy one. You might have to book passage on another ship to get there. We’ll have to check into it, but for now, you’re welcome to stay here as long as necessary.”
Regan dropped her eyes and studied the table. She hadn’t thought anything would be as bad as being dependent on an aunt and uncle she’d never met, but now she was dependent on total strangers.
Lord, I don’t understand. Why did You bring us here? You know I’ve been struggling with being a burden on family. Now I’m a burden on strangers. Please help me find a way to stand on my own two feet.
She glance
d up, and found Ian studying her with concern. “Are you feeling ill? I can help you back to the settee if you’d like. You shouldn’t overdo.”
“I haven’t. Actually, I’d like to go outside and see the lighthouse after the table is cleared. Of course, I’ll help with the dishes before we go out.”
She started to stand and swooned. “Or maybe I’ll just sit here in my chair a wee bit longer.”
“Ian, help Regan out to the porch and settle her in a chair. The fresh air will do her a world of good. She’ll enjoy the view out there as the sun sets. Stay with her in case she needs help back inside.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ian winked at Regan, and her heart fluttered.
The head injury was muddling her mind.
“Johnny, Keera, why don’t you bring me the dishes, and if you’re very careful, I’ll let you help me wash them.”
“Can I, Mama? Please?”
“Aye, but of course. But you be very careful and you listen to what Granny says, okay?”
“Yes, Mama.”
Keera bubbled with anticipation.
Ian helped Regan to her feet. With Ian’s assistance, she headed for the door with as much enthusiasm as her daughter had for the dishes.
Once outside she took in her surroundings. A long porch ran the length of the house. Ian led Regan to a rocking chair on the end closest to the beach, but Regan couldn’t make herself sit down.
Her eyes were drawn to the beautiful landscape spread out before her. Emerald green water lapped at the powder white shore. Hues of mint and aqua and turquoise water melted into the horizon. Seagulls dipped toward the water in search of a late-evening snack. And as the sun dipped down to join the water at the horizon, layers of pink, peach, and lavender lined the sky.
“Oh, Ian.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
Ian’s heart sank. Though he barely knew her, for some reason he’d hoped that Regan would love the place as much as he did. Her opinion of their seaside home really mattered to him. But he shouldn’t have expected her to like the desolate landscape any more than his deceased wife had.
He looked down at her as tears filled her eyes. “It’s all right, Regan. We can go back inside if you’d rather.”
“No! I—I love it out here! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life. It almost takes one’s breath away.”
Relief coursed through him. His chest warmed with pride. “It certainly does.”
He watched as Regan stepped up to the rail. The tears overflowed as she looked up toward the lighthouse. “It’s just like home.”
“Pardon?” Ian didn’t follow.
“My father is a lightkeeper in Ireland. Who’d have thought we’d shipwreck and come ashore in a place all the way across the world, yet one so much like home? That can only be of God.”
Ian smiled. “He does ordain beautiful things to come from hard situations.”
She stood silent as the sun dipped farther into the Gulf of Mexico.
Ian respected her need for quiet.
A few minutes later, though she stared toward the sun that turned the sky a deep fiery orange and pink, she spoke again. “I’m sorry we’ve invaded your life this way.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”
He heard a small intake of breath as she turned slightly to look up at him. “But we’ve turned everything upside down. I’m sure you have better things to do than sit out here with me.”
“Not really. I sit out here every evening. Granny shoos me out the door the minute dinner is over. It gets lonely at times. Trust me, I welcome your company.”
“Oh.” She appeared to flush but the pink hues from the sunset made it hard to be sure. She looked back over at the lighthouse. “Can we go up?”
“Not tonight. It wouldn’t be safe for you. But we’ll see what the morning brings. If you feel up to it, I’ll take you to the top.”
“Thank you.” Her green eyes crinkled with her smile.
Ian studied her. Her reddish-brown hair blew freely in the breeze. Her delicate, porcelain-like complexion glowed in the dusky reflection. Yet even with her daintiness, Ian knew she had a hearty constitution to have made it through so many tough situations.
She sighed. “The sunset would be even more spectacular from atop the lighthouse, but the view is breathtaking enough from here.”
“It certainly is.” He didn’t take his eyes off her when he stated the words, but her eyes were focused on the horizon, and fortunately for him, she didn’t notice the view to which he referred.
Chapter 4
Regan woke from a deep sleep to find the bed moving beneath her. For a moment she thought they were back at sea, but when she opened her eyes, Keera lay nose to nose with her, wiggling with anticipation, wanting to get an early start on their day. The dim light filtering through their window attested to the early hour and proved that the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Granny still slept in the bed across the room.
“Child,” she whispered, “what are you doing awake? We have at least another hour of sleep time left to us, if not more.”
“Mr. Ian said we could go up in the lighthouse first thing in the morning,” Keera whispered back. “I want to go say hello to Pappy.”
Regan drew in a breath. “Oh, don’t you know, darlin’—we’re far from Pappy’s lighthouse.”
Keera’s face crumpled.
Regan knew that Keera was prepping for a fullblown gale—one that would equal the power of the storm they’d arrived in—if she didn’t divert her fast.
“Come, Keera.” Regan clambered out of bed and dressed as quickly as she could, then hurried to dress Keera in the pre-dawn light. “We’ll go outside and explore, and we’ll talk about Pappy there.”
Keera nodded and continued to sniffle but, thankfully, didn’t release the wails that usually followed in such a situation. Regan didn’t want to wake the slumbering family that had been so kind to her and would do most anything to avoid Keera throwing a tantrum.
The night before, Granny had moved Johnny into Ian’s sleeping quarters, one room to the south, in order to make room for Regan and Keera. Ian had showed Regan the cottage’s layout before everyone went to bed.
The lighthouse stood on the most southern end of the building, with the tower room connecting the lighthouse to the keeper’s house. A door from the tower room connected to Ian’s room—a spartan area that held a bed, a chest of drawers, and a small desk. Ian’s room led into Granny’s room, a space she shared with Johnny. Or at least she had shared it with him before Regan and Keera showed up to displace him. Granny had given up her double bed and had insisted her tiny frame would do fine in Johnny’s smaller bed so mother and daughter could share the double.
At the farthest end to the north, Granny’s room opened into the hearth room, where Regan now headed. She hoped she could be quiet enough to prevent waking any of the others. These strangers had reached out to Keera and her beyond what Regan could ever have imagined, to the point of taking them into their home and giving up beds for them. Regan didn’t want to inconvenience them further.
Regan tiptoed to the door, pulled it open ever so slowly, and tugged Keera into the hearth room. As quietly as possible, which wasn’t easy with the swollen doors in the seaside humidity, she closed the door behind them. She hesitated at the stove, wanting to light it for Granny, but the strange contraption didn’t resemble the one she’d had back home in Ireland, and she decided against it. It would be better to err with caution and not burn down the keeper’s house her first morning there.
She tiptoed into the entry formed by the four-foot-thick walls on either side and reached for the door. “Please don’t squeak,” she whispered.
Keera looked at her with confusion. “It’s a door, Mama. It can’t hear you.”
Regan smiled and pulled the latch. The door squeaked slightly, and Regan hurried through.
Keera shook her head. “If it did hear you, it surely didn’t listen very well.”
“I agree,” Regan whis
pered with a smile. “And I commend you for keepin’ your voice low, wee one.”
She put a finger to her lips and they headed down the steps. Freedom from the need to be quiet was mere moments away. As soon as they reached the water’s edge, Keera could talk as loudly as she pleased. And Regan would explain how far they were away from Keera’s beloved Pappy.
“You two are up bright and early this morning.”
Regan shrieked while Keera clambered against Regan’s skirts with a yell of terror. Regan pulled her close as she spun around.
Ian lounged on the far end of the porch. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
With a hand on her pounding heart, Regan searched for her voice. After a few moments, she found it. “I was so focused on getting out the door without waking anyone, I didn’t even think about anyone already being out here.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So I see.” Regan took a few deep breaths, trying to steady her heart. She tugged Keera back up the steps. “And with those shrieks we probably undid all our good intentions of getting out of the house undetected.”
“Granny and Johnny sleep like logs.” Ian smiled. “And with the thick walls, I doubt they even heard you.”
“I’m sorry. We’ve displaced everyone.”
He chuckled. “It seems like the two of you are far more displaced than any of us are.”
“Aye, ’tis true, but that doesn’t mean we have to disrupt your nighttime routines.”
“You haven’t. I always tend to rise early. I like to sit out here in the early morning hours while the water is calm. If we go to the other side of the house, we can watch the sun rise up over the horizon.”
Regan surveyed the serene view. “It is pretty.”
When Regan had exited the house, Ian had been resting in a rocking chair with his feet propped on the rail. Now he contemplated them before standing. “I have an idea, but I guess it’s up to Keera if we follow through.”
Keera bounced at Regan’s side. “What is it?”
“Your mama wanted to go up in the lighthouse and watch the sunset last night, but I didn’t think it was a good idea with her head hurting. If it’s okay with your mama—and if she feels up to it—and if we hurry, we can go up now and get there in time to see the sunrise.”
Lighthouse Brides Collection Page 24