by Conn, Claudy
“How did you do that?” Annie gasped.
Kap sipped his coffee. “We couldn’t end this lovely encounter on a sad note. I’ll figure out a way to keep this little guy alive.” He tipped his cap and walked away with a lively clip.
Annie watched Kap go, baffled by what had happened. Granted, she tried to coax the bird off his branch, too. He even seemed to consider it, but no matter how hard the little guy tried to flap his wings, he would have landed hard. She also knew it would have been challenging to keep him alive. Somehow under Mr. Kaplinger’s care, Annie believed the hungry bird would survive and probably thrive.
While Annie was still trying to comprehend the encounter between Kap and the baby tern, Erika arrived to pack up her display table. Her head dropped into a disappointed sulk. “It’s full? I thought we would have sold at least one.”
“I think you mean you only have one left,” Annie corrected, still staring after the mysterious man.
“Ha, ha, ha, you’re just as funny as Mr. Lee,” Erika shot back. “Then why is my display rack full?”
Annie glanced at the table. Dozens of delicate paper ornaments hung in perfectly straight rows from the thin bars. Erika had never been able to tie the ribbons that precisely. No one could. It was impossible. Annie approached and right before her eyes, the ornaments shifted. Uneven bobbles appeared, and as difficult as it was to believe, the rack was full.
Erika flicked one of the ornaments with her finger and said sadly, “Mr. Lee told me I sold out. I ran down the pier to see. I got all excited for nothing. Maybe I should give up.”
Annie laughed and gave the young entrepreneur a hug. “I think you should take a look in your money bag before you decide on such a drastic course of action.”
Erika unzipped the pouch and saw the wad of cash. “It’s fatter. I don’t understand.”
Annie squeezed her slight shoulders a little tighter. “Welcome to the club.”
• • •
LARRY WRIGHT STARED at his computer screen, unable to focus on the blurry words in front of him. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The ache in his head was growing exponentially and he knew it was about to escalate into a full-blown migraine. Larry checked the time. Only an hour passed since his last dose of aspirin. If he expected to achieve any kind of relief, his only option was to piggyback his analgesic regiment with acetaminophen.
A wave of dizziness washed over him and he grabbed the edge of his desk to stop from toppling over. A piercing pain behind his eyes caused his face to flinch in agony.
Larry was in trouble. Eleanor was out shopping and his cell phone was in the other room.
The pain behind his eyes migrated to the base of his neck. Larry felt his hands begin to shake and the muscles in his arms began to tighten. He dropped to the floor. Fear was his greatest enemy and he struggled to remain calm. If he could somehow manage to maintain consciousness and reach his phone, help was only twenty feet away.
The spasms in his arms were gaining the upper hand, so Larry used his feet to push his body across the smooth hardwood he and Eleanor recently installed. Thinking of her and her loving smile gave him renewed strength, and he pushed himself a little further. He was not going to die before he married her and made her the beneficiary of his estate. He refused to leave the woman who had been by his side for over thirty years, without a dime.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. The words echoed in his head louder than the train wreaking havoc in his cerebellum. The whistle blasted and Larry cried out.
Inch by inch he kept going. A paroxysm curled the convulsed hand he’d been propping himself on. His symptoms were gaining traction and blackness threatened to overcome him. Unable to keep his weight on his hands, he fell to his forearms.
Larry closed his eyes and focused on his goal. Getting to his phone and calling for help was paramount.
• • •
ANNIE PULLED UP in front of the B&B. Kap had some explaining to do, and she wasn’t going to let him feed her another line of bull. Somehow, he was responsible for replenishing Erika’s ornament display and for the baby bird being able to float safely down to his finger. Brittany and Lena had locked onto the dolphin theory, but in their heart of hearts, they probably didn’t truly believe in the story and were simply embracing the magic of the holidays.
Tracking down Mr. Kaplinger turned out to be surprisingly easy. The baby tern was making his distress known to everyone. Annie simply followed her ears to the toolshed. She found Kap using a mortar and pestle bowl to mash up a few worms for his hungry charge.
“Annie,” he cried happily. “Are you here to check up on our new friend?” He ground the worms a little finer and added a few drops of water to better resemble the meals the baby bird’s parents used to feed him.
The little guy was perched on Kap’s shoulder. He squawked hungrily in his new daddy’s ear. Mr. Kaplinger grimaced and stared down the baby tern. The bird became unsettled under the older man’s scrutiny. His beak clamped shut, and his anxious claws scrambled to the furthest point down Kap’s bony shoulder. His white downy feathers ruffled and the baby bird turned around several times before he felt comfortable enough to look at Kap and voice a tiny chirp.
The sight was too precious for words. All thoughts of an angry interrogation slipped away. Since you attract more flies with sugar than with lemons, Annie began softly, “Kap?” she asked, stepping closer. “How did you get Turnabout to drop out of the tree?”
He sucked his concoction up in an eyedropper and offered it to the bird. “Turnabout! I’ve been trying to name him. That fits him perfectly.”
Mr. Kaplinger had evaded her question. Annie pursed her lips and approached the subject from a different angle. She reached out and touched Turnabout’s velvety feathers. “Do you believe in magic?”
Kap squeezed the rubber bulb and let a small amount of the eyedropper’s contents slide down the bird’s throat. His brow lifted. “Magic? I don’t suppose I do.” He pulled the dropper out of Turnabout’s beak and paused the feeding. “Some people are more in tune with the Earth’s energy forces, but I don’t think you can call it magic.”
In a way, Annie understood what Kap was saying. Larry Wright’s daughter, Annie’s best friend, and Erika’s half-sister, had that superpower. Marissa couldn’t move objects with her mind, but she possessed a sixth sense. A foresight of when something bad was about to happen. A special instinct she couldn’t explain and rarely spoke of.
Annie believed it was the reason she was a better lawyer than her father. Thinking of Marissa filled her with warmth. The friends hadn’t seen each other in months, but they spoke regularly on the phone.
The cell phone in Annie’s pocket vibrated. She held a pausing finger up and swiped it across the face of the phone to unlock it.
Marissa was calling.
Annie smiled and raised it to her ear. “I was just thinking about you.”
Shaky and almost frantic, Marissa’s voice sounded the alarm. “Have you seen my dad today?”
“No. Why?”
“I can’t get ahold of him. Something is wrong. How close are you? Will you please humor me and go check on him? Eleanor is about a half an hour away. She’s headed home, but I think she’ll be too late.”
Annie’s heart began to pound and her jaw fell agape.
Kap set the eyedropper down and placed his hand on her arm. A sense of urgency unlike anything she felt before pulsed through her veins.
He spoke just one word. “Hurry.”
Something inside her knew better than to question Marissa and the man who brought the family luck and love. “I’m on my way, Marissa.”
• • •
ANNIE HELD ERIKA in the Wrights’ front yard as the EMTs worked on Larry inside the home.
Erika discovered Larry a few minutes before Annie’s arrival and called 911. He was alive, but only just barely.
Annie wanted to get in there and see for herself, but there wasn’t anything she could do for him. Th
e phone in her pocket kept vibrating. Marissa was probably going out of her mind, but there wasn’t anything she could do for her either. Erika was her primary concern. Marissa was an adult, and five minutes wasn’t going to make any difference.
“I can’t lose him,” Erika whimpered softly into Annie’s neck.
Annie didn’t know what to say, so she hugged her daughter a little tighter. She didn’t want to make promises she might not be able to keep. The medical techs had been working on Larry for a long time and hadn’t been able to stabilize him enough for transport to the hospital.
She pushed the negative thoughts aside and focused on the fact that the EMTs hadn’t given up. There was still hope.
“I’m proud of you,” Annie whispered. “You didn’t panic. You took control, called for help, and did everything the 911 operator said. You kept him alive until help arrived.” She rubbed Erika’s quivering body. “Trust it was enough. You said Larry was conscious. That’s a good sign.”
Hope faded from Erika’s eyes. “I haven’t heard him say anything for a while now. He could be gone for all we know.” She heard the phone in Annie’s pocket buzz. The young girl pushed out of Annie’s embrace, and yelled, “Answer that damn phone. Marissa is going to kill you for ignoring her. I can’t lose anyone else today.”
Annie grabbed Erika’s face and forced her to look into her eyes. “You haven’t lost anyone. Larry is not a quitter. He’s not going to give up this fight easily, and neither should you.”
Terence’s truck screeched to a halt across the street.
Erika broke away and ran.
The moment Terence had her in his arms, the teenager broke down.
Annie felt tears well in her eyes. Her husband’s gaze shifted her way, and the tears spilled out. Their rock had arrived. She and Erika no longer had to be strong.
His arm reached out for her, but Annie shook her head. Holding up her phone, she explained, “It’s Marissa. I have to talk to her.”
Terence understood and let her go. He shuffled Erika over to the bench on Larry’s porch and pulled her into his lap. Erika clung to him. It was exactly the place Annie wanted to be, but there were still things she needed to take care of. Her turn would come soon enough. Eleanor would be arriving, and Annie needed to have the dreaded conversation with Marissa handled before then.
The vibrating phone in her pocket became motionless and gave Annie a slight reprieve. She took a deep breath and tried to contain the growing fear that Larry might not make it. The phone buzzed again, and Annie lifted it to her ear. “It’s bad.”
Marissa already seemed to have that knowledge. “I’m on the next flight out,” her voice quivered, but she found the strength to continue. “Can someone pick me up at the airport around ten tonight?”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
“Take good care of him until I arrive,” Marissa demanded.
Annie ran her fingers through her thick auburn hair. She had no control over the outcome of Larry’s medical emergency, but Marissa needed to hear a few comforting words of support. “We’ll do our best.”
9
MAX WOULD NOT stop crying and Brittany wasn’t sure how much more she could take. His face was red, his tears were wet, and his diaper reeked. Every time she tried to change him, he fought her. His little legs kicked violently in the air and his screams shot a few decibels higher.
Max wanted his mom, and no one else would do.
The monster who invaded her sweet little nephew’s body was inconsolable. Each wail reverberated deep within her skull. She heard stories about how Max wasn’t the most congenial child, but Brittany hadn’t experienced this level of bad Max until this very moment.
She placed the toddler gently inside his playpen and let him throw his temper tantrum while she searched the house for her phone. She needed help and the only person who wasn’t at the hospital was Grady.
• • •
GRADY HEARD HIS phone chime and grinned. Brittany hung in there longer than he anticipated. He could well imagine how frazzled she must feel to breakdown and call him. She prided herself on being able to handle any situation. Max had been giving her, and the rest of their usually quiet neighborhood, hell for the past two hours. Not a record by any stretch, but a relatively decent showing. By the tone of Max’s cries, Grady could tell he was about to wind down, but Britt didn’t know that.
He grabbed his phone and headed out the door. After he crossed the street, he answered. “Stop abusing my little buddy,” he joked, knowing his smart remark would go over like a lead balloon.
“Not funny,” Brittany snapped. “Since you’re almost at the front door, don’t bother knocking. Just get your ass in here.”
She disconnected and the line went dead.
Grady chuckled and vowed to tone down his unappreciated funny man until Brittany recovered from her babysitting experience with Maxzilla. He bypassed the two small steps and leaped onto the porch.
The moment he opened the Javiers’ door, Brittany dragged him into the kitchen. She pointed her finger at the distressed baby and barked, “Change him.”
Grady dutifully picked Max up and cooed, “What’s the matter, big guy. Are you missing your mom?” He patted Max’s bum. The diaper felt full and gushy. The poor kid really needed a change. He gently tapped the kid’s red nose. “Dude,” he scolded lightly, “you are your own worst enemy. You should’ve let your auntie get this stinky thing off you.”
Max’s face scrunched up, but instead of another outburst, he wiped his wet face with his sleeve.
Brittany took the lid off an aspirin container. “My arms are probably full of bruises.”
“Been there, done that,” Grady singsonged without breaking eye contact with Max. Hoping he wasn’t about to set the kid off again, he slowly made his way to the diaper changing station and asked, “Any word on Larry?”
“Like I’d be able to hear my phone over the ruckus he was making.” Brittany closed her eyes and declared, “I’m not having kids anytime soon. Instead of expanding Jamoka Jack, you should rent Max out to parents of sexually active teens. A day with him would make those horny demons think twice.” When the offending diaper was pulled off, Brittany pinched her nose against the onslaught. “Or patent that smell and put it into a spray bottle. Hook it up to a sensor. When hormone levels reach a certain point, have an alarm go off, the air gets a spritz of baby poo, and a recorded message blasts, Actions have Consequences.”
The lady had a point. You had to love a baby to overlook their many intensive needs. “When did Max last eat?”
Brittany’s eyes grew wide with guilt. “Shit. I was so focused on getting him down for his missed nap, I forgot to feed him.”
Grady rolled up the diaper and taped it up into a ball. The urge to poke fun of her while she was in distress was great. Instead, he tossed her the dirty diaper. “Take that outside. No Diaper Genie in the world could contain that odor.”
“I’m starving a helpless baby and that’s all you have to say to me?”
Grady picked Max up and held him in front of his face. “What sounds better, a bottle or some gross baby food?”
Max reached both hands out and grabbed Grady’s cheeks. The monster child disappeared and his face filled with a grateful smile.
The small gesture made Grady feel like a hero. “I’m going to put you on the floor and get your dinner ready.” His voice went firm, “No crying, okay?”
When Max was on the ground and waddling around happily, Grady tuned to Britt and suggested more firmly than he intended, “Leave the door open on your way out. We need some fresh air in here.” A second later, the wadded up diaper came hurtling toward his face. Brittany had an arm on her. His years of Little League training kicked into gear. He put his hands up and hoped he secured the diaper up tight. The white breathable plastic smashed into the center of his palm and was quickly wrapped up with the other. Grady knew the lucky dolphins were being vigilant when the tabs stayed closed and poop didn’t explode all ove
r him.
Brittany stuck her hands under the faucet. “I’ll fix his dinner. And since I failed to feed him, he gets both his bottle and icky baby food.”
Grady held up the diaper. “You realize the Velcro on these fancy, good for the earth, disposable diapers the Javiers buy, don’t always stay closed, don’t you?”
Brittany looked up with a devilish gleam in her eye. “I’ve been here a few days, Grady. I’m well aware.”
• • •
AFTER THE JAVIERS returned home, Grady and Brittany headed down to the beach for a much needed break.
Try as they might, the thin clouds were unable to obstruct the glow of the full moon which illuminated across the ocean.
Brittany laced her fingers between Grady’s and tugged him closer to the water. “Look how beautiful.” She reached her arm out across the vastness and stepped onto the wet sand. “We have a full moon, a beautiful sky, stars, spooky thin clouds, and an ocean straight out of Jaws.”
Grady was thinking the same thing. The moment they cleared the trees, and the view opened up, the theme song from the same movie drifted through his head. Ever since their adventure with the dolphins, the pull of the ocean had grown stronger. He wanted to get back in and feel the waves lap against his skin. The urge was so powerful, even the Peter Benchley thriller couldn’t stop him. A buoy clanging in the distance might have given him pause, but all they heard this evening was the sound of crashing waves.
Grady decided to turn the tables on Brittany and lunged ahead. He dragged her out knee deep before she protested.
“Are you sure about this, Grady?”
“I’m not scared.”
Brittany stroked his arm. “Really? You have nervous goosebumps all over your skin.”
He pulled her close and her head rested against his chest. Grady’s heart began to race and he combed his fingers through her thick tresses. “They aren’t from fear. It’s from the anticipation of having you in my arms again.”