Dune Drive

by Mariah Stewart

  “If he wasn’t my father, then who . . . ?” Chrissie was trying to comprehend the unexpected news. “Who’s my father?”

  “A waterman who sometimes fished with your . . . with Stephen.” Dorothy finally raised her face. “We’d been having some troubles, Stephen and I were. Stupid little things, but I was being a little pissy about it. He started drinking, then I started drinking, and he came home one night with some other woman’s lipstick on his shirt.” She laughed harshly. “Is that the biggest cliché in the world?” She laughed again, then coughed. “You know how things get to be clichés, right? They happen so often they become a common theme in a lot of stories.”

  “So you and this fisherman . . .” Chrissie’s head was spinning.

  Dorothy nodded. “Stephen finally did the math and figured out you couldn’t be his, because we hadn’t been together while I was with this other man and your father was with this other woman, and that was that. Once he’d figured it out, there wasn’t even a good-bye. Just packed up his things and packed up Luke. I can still see him standing in the doorway, looking at me like he wanted to kill me, told me not to come looking for him. And he closed the door and that was that.”

  Chrissie’s head began to pound. “What was his name? The fisherman?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Are you kidding? Of course it matters. He was my father.”

  “Andy O’Connor. He died not long after your father left. They said he fell off his skipjack in a storm and he drowned.”

  “Is that true, or are you telling me that so I don’t look for him?” After all the lies over all the years, how could Chrissie trust her mother to tell the truth now?

  “Go look it up at the library here. There’s a local paper. The St. Dennis Gazette. Ruby’s friend Grace Sinclair owns it. I know they covered the story. I read it.”

  “How did you feel? When you read about it?” Chrissie asked. She couldn’t help but wonder. After all, Dorothy’s husband had left because of this man.

  “Just numb. We’d planned to be together, then bam! Gone. But I’d been numb ever since the day Stephen left and took my little boy.” Dorothy began to cry. “Luke was gone, then Andy . . .”

  “You never heard from Stephen again? You never heard from Luke? How could he not find you? How could he not be in touch with you?”

  “Luke started calling me a few years ago,” she admitted.

  “What? Are you kidding me?” Chrissie nearly exploded. “Where is he? Why didn’t you tell me?” Chrissie slammed a hand down on the table. “How could you keep all this from me?”

  “Because I’d have had to tell you the truth. Stephen had already told Luke, and I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to think I was . . . all the things your father called me. The things he told Luke that I was.” Dorothy’s shoulders began to shake with each sob. “I was between a rock and a hard place. I couldn’t tell you, and the longer I hid the truth, the more impossible it was for me to tell you even when I knew I should. I’m sorry, Chrissie. More than I can say. I cheated on my husband and you were the result of that affair. I was ashamed of myself and I was a coward. It was easier for me to lie to you than it was for me to tell you, and that’s the sad truth.” Dorothy ran a hand through her hair. “How do you tell a child that her father isn’t her father? That he left you behind when he found out that a friend of his—someone he’d worked alongside of—had fathered you? How does a child understand that?”

  “After a while, I wasn’t a child anymore, Mom. There’s been plenty of time to tell me the truth. At least I’d have understood why he left, why I couldn’t see Luke.”

  “Like I said, I was a coward. I was afraid you’d hate me for . . . well, for everything. I couldn’t risk losing you, too.”

  “Did you care about him? Andy O’Connor?”

  Dorothy nodded. “That’s one of the saddest parts of this whole mess. I would have left your father and married him if he hadn’t died. We talked about it, Andy and I. Even talked about sharing custody of Luke with Stephen. But then there was a storm that Andy shouldn’t have been out in—” She left the rest unspoken until she added, “He was the love of my life.”

  “Where’s Luke now? Where’s my brother?”

  “Luke’s in Montana. That’s where he and Stephen settled when they left. Stephen wanted to get as far away from me as he could.”

  “I need to call him. I want to talk to him.”

  “He wants to talk to you, too.” She looked up at Chrissie with swollen eyes. “He got married about eight years ago. Had two children. His wife passed last year. Breast cancer. I guess it got him thinking. I told him about the party this weekend for Ruby, told him he should come, but he wasn’t ready for that. He’s ready to see you, though. Ready to talk to you if you want to. He said I could give you his number if you want . . .”

  “Of course I want it.” Chrissie stared at her mother, then finally asked, “If I hadn’t pushed, would you have told me the truth? Would you have told me about Luke?”

  “I like to think that before I left today, I would have.” Still, Dorothy couldn’t meet Chrissie’s eyes.

  Jared came to the doorway and called to them. “Breakfast is ready, and Owen and Cass just got here. If you want bacon, better get in here before Owen eats it all.” He walked into the room and looked from Chrissie’s face to her mother’s and back again.

  “Chris? You all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she told him. “I know why my father left and didn’t take me with him. And I know where my brother is.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chrissie stretched out on the beach towel, her body warm in the hot Florida sun. When Jared’s shadow crossed over her, she pulled on her sunglasses and looked up.

  “It’s time for your lesson,” he told her.

  “Later. Right now I’m relaxing.” She closed her eyes behind her dark shades.

  “No, right now you’re going to get onto that boat and you’re going to dive with me.” He bent down and pulled her up to a sitting position.

  “I did it yesterday. And the day before.” She knew she shouldn’t tease him, but she just couldn’t help herself.

  This was their third day in the Florida Keys, her third day snorkeling with him on the reefs, and she still hadn’t admitted how much she was loving it. Oh, it hadn’t been easy, that first time she’d strapped on gear and lowered herself over the side of the boat. The water had been warm and crystal clear, so she could see all the way to the bottom, but that meant she could see things swimming there. Even the smallest fish looked like man-eaters to her. But it had meant so much to Jared, she had to buck up and go for it. And she, like Delia, had found a whole new world beneath the surface of the water. Once she realized the fish had no interest in her—other than at best a mild curiosity—she’d been fascinated by their colors and shapes, by the beauty of the silence and the way the sunlight had shimmered below the surface, just as Jared had promised. She was looking forward to a lifetime of sharing that beauty with him.

  “All right. If you insist. Where are we off to today?”

  “Today it’s Islamorada. Middle Keys. Great snorkeling.”

  “If you say so.”

  “You’ll thank me later.”

  She picked up her towel and her bag and followed him across the sand. They were staying in a house Gordon had bought years ago and occasionally rented to people he knew. Jared had gotten the keys from his father before they left Maryland.

  She’d called Luke the day after Ruby’s party, almost immediately after Dorothy’d given her his number, and after a long, tear-filled conversation, asked if he could meet them in Florida, a place that had no memories for either of them. The earliest Luke could take off from work was a week in late August before school started—not ideal vacation time in sunny Florida, but Chrissie would have agreed to the hottest, most humid day of the year just to meet him. She’d had to wait another six weeks, but he sounded as if he needed the time, so she’d gladly
agreed. He and his two children could stay in the house with Chrissie and Jared, get to know each other as adults, and find out if they liked each other.

  As it turned out, they did.

  “Besides, we want to be back before Luke and the kids get back from Grassy Key. He was taking them to the Dolphin Research Center this morning. I promised them I’d take them to the Shipwreck Museum in Key West later this afternoon. We can have dinner there in this great restaurant I used to go to with my dad and Rachel when we were kids.”

  “Okay. Lead on.”

  Gordon’s boat was tied at the end of the newly rebuilt dock. Damaged in the last hurricane, it had taken Gordon’s favorite flat-bottom boat with it. He’d replaced it over the winter with a new one that he hadn’t taken out yet, so he was happy to have Jared test it. Chrissie followed Jared to the end of the pier and she tossed her things into the boat, then got in. Her mask, fins, goggles, and snorkel were waiting for her.

  “Gear up, girl. We’re going sightseeing.”

  He drove the boat to the reef they’d found the day before yesterday and anchored. Once they were both fully geared, they dropped over the side of the boat into water that was barely six feet deep.

  Then came the part Chrissie was learning to love. The reef was home to dozens of colorful fish that darted around her, for the most part ignoring her as she swam weightless through the crystal-clear water. She’d never dreamed it would be like this. She’d heard Jared and Owen talk about diving in the cold, deep waters where sunken ships lay lost at the bottom of the sea, but this was a colorful paradise. She pointed to Jared when a blue fish swam close to her face, and he shook his head, rightly thinking she was going to laugh.

  “Don’t take the regulator out of your mouth when you’re underwater,” he’d told her the first day out.

  But she’d gotten so excited at her first glimpse of the underwater world she forgot where she was and started to call out to him, earning her a mouthful of water and a quick trip back to the surface.

  “I’m sorry.” Water had sputtered from her mouth and her nose. “I just got so excited . . .”

  “Try to contain yourself when you’re down there. Save your excitement for the surface.”

  Today their swim was short because he knew she wanted time with Luke, so after an hour in the water, he’d waved to her and they made their way back to the boat.

  “So I can see you still hate me for forcing you to go down into that hell pit,” he said as he climbed onboard.

  “I do. It’s torture. Never make me do this again.” She hoisted herself over the side and took off her mask. “I never knew how beautiful it was. It’s magical. It’s everything you promised it would be and more.”

  “I am so tempted to say ‘told you so.’ ”

  “Go on, say it. You’re entitled. When you’re right, you’re right.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you for sharing this with me. I love it—and I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” His lips lingered on hers for a moment. “Maybe before we leave next weekend, we can have you outfitted with a wet suit.” He grinned. “In some circles, it’s the preferred wedding gift from a man to his bride.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You better not be playing with me. You do not tease a girl with bride-talk and wedding gifts. Especially when the gift has such deep sentimental meaning.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it.” Jared touched his forehead to hers. “Give me one good reason why we shouldn’t get married.”

  She sat silently, her mind racing. Was he really proposing to her? Was this really happening?

  “Ha! See? Can’t think of one.” He kissed the side of her face. “So will you?”

  “Will I think of one?” She smiled, knowing what he was really asking.

  In typical Jared fashion, he laughed.

  “Of course I will.” She held his face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes. “I cannot think of one thing that would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He held her for a moment. “We’ll look for a ring and we’ll pick a date and we’ll do it.”

  “Just like that.” She could have laughed, knowing there had to be more to getting married than merely buying a ring and picking a date. She had a feeling she’d be calling on Lucy—the acknowledged best wedding planner on the Eastern Shore—sometime very soon.

  “Yes,” he said. “Just like that.” He started the engine and headed toward shore.

  Moments later, he looked over his shoulder and said, “To be continued. We have company.”

  Luke’s children, four-year-old Maddie and six-year-old Finn, were waiting on the end of the dock, jumping up and down as the boat drew closer.

  “Can we go for a ride, too?” Finn asked. “Just a little one?”

  “Just a little ride?” Maddie repeated.

  “If it’s all right with your father, it’s okay with me,” Jared told them.

  “Life jackets, kids.”

  Chrissie went into the screened porch and picked up the orange vests they’d worn the day before. Gordon had bought them for Rachel’s boys when they were roughly the same age as Luke’s children. Chrissie took them out and strapped them on, first Maddie, then Finn. Jared lifted them into the boat and sat them down.

  “You remember you have to stay in your seat, right?” Jared asked.

  They both nodded, Maddie’s sweet little face wide with excitement, Finn with his brown hair and dark green eyes so serious and concerned.

  “Okay. We won’t be long. We want to go see the shipwreck museum, right, guys?”

  Both kids nodded vigorously.

  Chrissie looped her arm through her brother’s and looked up into his handsome face. She hadn’t remembered what he looked like because she was so young when he left, yet he was familiar to her somehow. He was tall and had the same blond hair and green eyes she did, but where she was petite, he was tall and broad shouldered. They watched the boat slowly glide away from the dock, and while she turned back toward the house, his eyes were fixed on the boat that carried his children.

  “They’ll be fine. He won’t go far or keep them long, and he’ll take good care of them,” she said.

  Luke nodded, his eyes shielded by dark glasses. “I know.” He exhaled. “They’re all I have.”

  “I understand. But he’d die before he’d let anything happen to either of them.”

  He nodded again.

  “Come on inside. I’ll make us lunch, and you can tell me all about what it was like growing up in Montana on a cattle ranch.” She took his arm and they walked toward the house. “I always wanted to go there.”

  “Maybe you and Jared could come out and visit sometime,” Luke said. “Though I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be there. I’m not sure it’s where we belong.”

  “You should talk to Ruby about that,” Chrissie told him. “She knows about such things. As a matter of fact, you should just talk to Ruby, period. You should know her. You and Maddie and Finn.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the sea, where the man she loved and trusted with her whole heart was driving the boat around in huge, slow circles in the water, Maddie’s and Finn’s laughter floating to the shore. Someday it would be their children, hers and Jared’s, in that boat along with her brother’s children and Rachel’s.

  Chrissie followed her brother into the house. There was still so much to talk about, so much to discover about each other and their lives growing up, their lives now. She was grateful for this time with him, grateful that Jared had understood and had been content to share her time with Luke.

  She smiled as she closed the door behind her, her past and her present—and her future—coming together at last.

  Diary~

  Oh my, what a time we’ve had here in our little corner of the world lately! I’m so overwhelmed I hardly know where to begin. But good newswoman that I am—I did, after all, run a newspaper for more years than I care to think ab
out—I did get the story.

  First, lest I forget in all the excitement to follow, I have it on good authority that Cass Parker’s little reclaimed historic homes are going like hotcakes. Ruby tells me people are coming from all over since that article appeared in the Times about Cass’s nondevelopment development (that’s how she referred to it, and who am I to argue?). I understand there are only two lots left. How amazing to see Cannonball Island reinvigorated and reinvented in such a way. There are some who fear the island’s culture will be lost with all the new people coming in, but I look to St. Dennis as an example of how to grow while maintaining one’s identity. If we here in town can do it, surely the island can as well. Especially with Ruby here to keep an eye on things; and yes, she’ll be watching over the island and her family for a very long time to come, from one side of the veil or another. It’s not mine to say when, but I can say she’ll be with us for a while yet. There are babies waiting in the wings to meet her, and knowing Ruby, she won’t go anywhere until she’s satisfied that all is well with those who are dearest to her.

  Speaking of Ruby’s dearest—Owen and Cass are almost ready to move into their new home. Who’d ever have thought that old, run-down place that once belonged to Ruby’s Harold’s father could be restored, but Cass is the idea girl and she got her contractors on board. Suffice it to say, I can’t wait until the open house. Ruby says it’s lovely.

  The work on the sunken merchant ship is moving right along. I understand the divers have brought up some interesting items: crocks that were sealed over two hundred years ago were found with tea still inside, barrels still holding fine china, and crates of silver items—candelabras and things of that sort. Once they’ve finished cataloging everything, they’ll remove what they can of the ship. I heard Owen say he wished they could salvage enough to rebuild it on land, but he didn’t think that was going to be possible.