by Lena North
“Dupree?” Nicholas murmured when the stunned silence had gone on for a while.
“She’s lying.”
“She doesn’t even know about you, or that we’re here sharing the news. We suspected she has Island blood, asked a few simple questions and investigated.”
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Domenico was here earlier, looked at her and he’s very sure, so yeah. We’re sure.”
“Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”
Dupree had gone from baffled disbelief to rage in a heartbeat, and he burst out of his chair with such force it toppled over and was about to fall off the dock when Joao saved it.
“She has no clue about you, Dupree.”
“Not the girl,” Dupree snarled. “Her mother.”
“Who was she?”
“I don’t fucking know.” His face was a hard mask, but behind his anger, there was sadness and confusion. “You know I don’t do long-term relationships. Could have been anyone.”
“Think back, Dupree. She’s twenty-four, so where were you twenty-five years ago, wintertime?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
“Calm down man, we’re trying to help you here.”
Dupree sat down again with a sigh and Nicholas leaned forward.
“Pauline and I talked, looked at some old photos, tried to remember. You worked a few seasons on the mainland, didn’t you? You did some work in Prosper when things were slow here. Could that have been as far back as twenty-five years ago?”
“Probably,” Dupree conceded after a while, and added, “Yeah. That fits. Where was she born?”
“On the plains, in the middle of nowhere, right between Prosper and Twin City. Her grandmother was... religious.”
Dupree reared back and stared at them.
“What?”
Joao had let his uncle do the talking until then, but when neither of the men said a word, he pushed again with a gentle, “Dupree?”
“Hope,” Dupree said hoarsely. “Small, pale, young. Short hair and too much makeup which she didn’t know how to apply very well. Spent a few weekends with her. Three maybe. She said she came to Prosper with friends, but I never saw any, and we mostly just... you know.” He made a rueful face and added, “Then one weekend when we were supposed to meet at this small place by the beach, she didn’t show up. Pissed me off but I moved on. It wasn’t like we were serious or anything, so I mostly shrugged it off. Only religious girl I’ve ever done. She prayed before going to bed, which was kind of off-putting and if she hadn’t been so pretty, I wouldn’t have spent time with her at all.”
“Young?” Joao asked, latching on to the one thing that bothered him.
He’d already known Charlie’s mother’s name but had wanted to see if Dupree would remember her. He also knew how old she had been, and he didn’t like Dupree describing the girl so callously.
“Legal,” Dupree snapped. “Legal, plus a few years actually.”
Huh. Either Dupree was lying to them, or he’d been lied to all those years ago, and based on the anger in the older man’s eyes, Joao would bet quite a hefty sum on the latter
They were silent for a while, and then Dupree muttered, “Shit.”
“How do you feel about this?” Nicholas asked quietly.
“Don’t know. Stunned. What...” Dupree swallowed a couple of times. “What does she look like?”
“Pretty,” Joao heard himself saying.
“Yeah?”
“Your eyes. Your hair. Tall, a little too skinny. But Dupree... there’s something else you should know.”
“What?”
“She has some problems,” Nicholas said carefully, swallowed and turned to Joao.
Joao made himself share the information calmly, keeping everything bland and unemotional, hoping this would make the news easier to absorb.
“She has an ex-boyfriend who has harassed her and stalked her for some time. By a stroke of luck, she works will Carrie. Confided in her and Carrie already suspected Charlie had a connection to the Islands, so she offered to help. When things got out of hand, Charlie called Carrie who called Benito, and he brought her over on his plane. She’s been here almost ten days by now, healing at Uncle Nico and Aunt Pauline’s place.”
Dupree’s carefree and happy face was suddenly hard in a way Joao couldn’t ever remember having seen before.
“Out of hand?” he asked and went on before either of the men had a chance to respond. “Healing?”
“Messed up her face pretty badly, bruised her ribs. She jumped off a balcony and walked for more than an hour on a foot which had a small crack in it,” Joao said calmly, understanding the other man’s fury because he’d felt it himself when he saw her the first time.
“Jesus,” Dupree hissed.
“She’s a tough girl, Dupree,” Nicholas said soothingly. “She will be fine.”
“I’ll kill that motherfucker.”
Joao almost smiled. Dupree might claim he was stunned by the news, but he already felt the bond and his instincts kicked in immediately.
“We’ll deal with him in due time,” he said.
“Damned right we will.”
And they would. Before that, they had other things to worry about.
“You can’t tell anyone about her. Not yet. First, we’ll have to figure out how to tell everyone in a way that won’t put her in harm’s way.”
“I have to tell Lippy and Ban.”
The three men had been inseparable all their lives, and this kind of news was not something Dupree would hold back.
“Of course. Make sure they keep quiet about it, though.”
Dupree nodded once, mumbled a curse and turned to stare out over the water.
“Why haven’t the dolphins said anything?” he whispered after a while. “The ones down by the mainland, surely they would have felt her in the water? They could have gotten word to –”
“She’s never been in the water,” Nicholas interrupted. “Grew up isolated on the plains in something which really seems to have been a cult of some sort. She was told water was a dangerous temptation from the devil. Told Pauline that when she moved to Prosper, it took her several months to even get in the shower. They wiped themselves off with washcloths. Drank specific quantities each day, and not one drop more.”
“Jesus. Hope... She didn’t want to meet me by the water, but I pushed. Maybe that’s why she bailed out.”
“Maybe.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Dupree said and got to his feet.
“Where?” Joao asked, but he knew the answer and braced.
“To see her.”
“Not yet. She doesn’t know, and Dupree? She might not want to see you.”
“Of cou –”
“No. There’s no of course here. You got the courtesy of being told alone and given the time to process the news. She deserves the same courtesy, so we’re not going to spring you on her like this. We’ll tell her, and she will have a choice.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, she’s my daughter.”
“Sit down.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, boy.”
“Not a boy anymore, and I take any tone I like when I’m right,” Joao stated, hoping he wouldn’t have to force the older man to do what he told him. He could, but he didn’t want to, so he pushed in a gentle voice. “Sit. Think. I know it’s hard, but you need to be careful about how you approach her.”
They stared at each other for several long seconds, and then Dupree sat down.
“You’re right, which in no way makes me happy,” he muttered.
“We’ll take her down to the ocean tomorrow, Dupree,” Joao murmured. “We’ll be at Silver beach just after daybreak, and we’ll come in via the main road. She’s not going to notice if someone sits on the boulders on the east side.”
Joao’s chest tightened when he saw the l
ook on the older man’s face, but he kept his own expression bland and waited for Dupree to process this. If it had been him, he would have been a lot less agreeable about not being there for his child the first time she felt water wash over her feet.
“You’ll be there?” Dupree asked.
Joao nodded.
“We’ll be there too, both of us,” Nicholas shared, but Dupree’s gaze didn’t let go of Joao.
“Promise me one thing, Joao. Hold her hand.”
“What?”
“She’s going to be scared, and someone needs to steady her. I should be the one doing it, but you’re right. I can’t. I’m deputizing you.”
Nicholas suddenly snorted out a short chuckle.
“You’re asking Joao to stand in as her father?”
“I’m asking him to keep my girl safe.”
“I will,” Joao heard himself promise.
He hadn’t exactly planned to hold Charlie’s hand, and she might not want him to, but he couldn’t say no.
“Okay.” Dupree nodded slowly. “You have tomorrow to tell her. After that, I’ll come to the house.”
“Fair enough,” Nicholas said.
They left Dupree sitting on the dock, staring out over the water. All in all, he’d handled it a lot better than expected, Joao thought.
When he’d dropped Nicholas off at his peach-colored house in the hills behind Prosper, he drove to his own home by the beach, three houses apart from his cousin Nicky’s. He lived in one side of the duplex and his younger brother in the other, and they often had a beer on the shared back deck or jumped off it and to the beach to go swimming. It was a pretty common arrangement for the younger members of their families to live in the small, colorful houses close to the water and the city center, while the families with children mostly stayed in the bigger homes up on the hill, away from the hustle and bustle of a tourist town.
His brother walked over as he got out of the car, and two of his cousins were already sitting on his front porch.
Shit.
“Something’s going on,” Roark said the second his front door had closed behind them.
“Can’t tell you anything yet,” Joao said.
“Why?”
“Because they’re not my secrets.”
“Don’t you trust us?” his younger brother snapped.
“Don’t be an idiot. Still can’t tell you.”
Before it all could escalate from an argument into a fight, his phone rang, and Roark was annoyed, but he was also used to pausing whatever was going on because of Joao’s phone, so he merely raised his hands and took a step back. To Joao’s surprise, it was Dupree.
“Yeah?” he asked, holding his brother’s eyes while he waited for Dupree to speak.
“Your brother and a few of the boys there?”
“Yeah,” Joao repeated.
“I know you, so I know you’ll get into a fight with them rather than tell them what’s going on. Should have told you before you left but this whole thing… well, it shook me up some. Tell them.”
“You sure?”
“Very sure. She needs protection, and I want her to have it. Tell Roark and whoever else you think might need to know. A few of them should watch Nico and Paulie’s house, and there should be protection by the beach tomo –”
“Dupree,” Joao cut in. “Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?”
He got a soft chuckle over the phone which made him smile too. Dupree had calmed down, probably talked everything through with Lippy and Ban, and was doing the right things. Now they only had to explain to Charlie. She’d been quiet the few times he’d met her and seemed almost shy, so she’d surely be calm and rational about the whole thing too.
“Smartass,” Dupree muttered and closed the call.
Joao turned to his brother and sighed. He’d looked forward to a good fight, but maybe he could pick one for another reason once everyone had left.
“Let’s start making some calls, we need to gather everyone,” he said, and added with a grin. “I have a surprise for you all.”
Chapter Four
Welcome home
Charlie
Through the window of the church on the plains where I grew up, I’d often heard my grandmother shout that we were creatures of the land and would burn in the fires of purgatory if we immersed ourselves in water. The crowd had responded with promises they wouldn’t, and as the sermon went on, they worked themselves into a frenzy, shouting and wailing until my grandmother was finally satisfied. I didn’t believe her then, and when I moved away, I saw even more proof that she’d not been the leader appointed by God she’d claimed to be, so I knew she’d been wrong. It was still hard to shake her doomsday words off, and they echoed in my head as I stood on the beach and looked out over the vast ocean in front of me, feeling scared and edgy and strangely exhilarated at the same time.
There was a group of people with me, and it made me a lot more nervous. What if I didn’t dare to even dip my feet? Would they laugh at me? I had shared some of my past with Pauline and assumed she’d explained to the ones joining us why I was acting so weirdly, but what if she hadn’t?
I was also worried that with so many knowing I was there, it would be harder to hide from Sebastian. Joao had introduced a few of them as police officers, and they all seemed to think I’d find this reassuring when in reality, it only made me want to run for the nearest exit.
The nurse I’d met the first day was the one who unknowingly calmed me down. Except for my hostess, she was the only female in the group, and she’d handed me a swimsuit. Then she calmly told me to go put it on and shout for her if my butt or boobs didn’t fit into it, in which case she would figure something out. The grin on her face was friendly, and her matter of fact voice made everything seem natural and easy, so I smiled back at her. The bathing suit fit perfectly, and I wondered who she’d borrowed it from. It couldn’t be hers because she was a lot bigger than me. She wasn’t fat, or even a little overweight, but she was muscular in a way that made her look like she could bench-press a Buick. He hair was brown and would probably have the same curls as everyone else seemed to have, but she kept it cut so short it was hard to tell.
There were also five men in their twenties. Joao introduced them with names I promptly forgot, and muttered something about them being cousins, except one who he pointed at and said, “Brother.” They were all grinning, and I wondered if everyone on the Islands were perpetually happy or if I just brought it out in them.
“Ready?” Nickolas murmured next to me, and I jolted.
No, I wasn’t ready. I would never be ready. I’d embarrass myself in front of everyone and start crying, and then I would run, and I would not stop until I was back in the small room in Nicholas and Pauline’s house and had closed the door firmly. And locked it.
Suddenly I felt a strong, warm hand grab mine.
“I’ll go with you,” Joao said.
I glanced up at him, and he was watching me calmly. The sun was in his eyes, so he was squinting, but I could still see the strength and kindness in his gaze, and it soothed me.
“I’m scared,” I whispered so quietly only he would hear.
“I know.”
If he’d tried to reassure me, or said words of sympathy, I would have balked. His calm acceptance of my fear steadied me, and the gentle squeeze of my hand made me take a deep breath and nod.
“Okay. Yes. I’m ready,” I said.
It felt like a jolt of electricity passed through me when the first small wave washed over my feet, and I whimpered, although the fear shifted slowly into something that resembled anticipation. The water was colder than I’d expected, but it still sent a rush of warmth through me. Joao tightened his grip and kept walking until we were knee deep.
Then we stood there in silence and watched as the soft waves rolled in. A couple of birds were floating on the water, and further out, something stirred the surface every now and then. Slowly I
leaned down and dipped my other hand in the water, holding on to Joao so hard it must have hurt him. I watched my wet hand, and without thinking, I brushed it softly over my face.
A soft sound echoed suddenly, and something inside me came loose. As I stood there with a few drops of water on my face and my feet in the ocean, it felt as if everything inside me shifted and rearranged itself in a way that felt good. It felt right.
My legs gave out under me, but I didn’t fight it. I let go of Joao’s hand, went down on my knees, and started crying quietly.
“Charlie,” Joao murmured.
I shook my head and didn’t reply, mostly because I didn’t know what to say. Then I filled my hands with water and let it wash my tears away. A wave splashed some more water over my chest, and shaky laughter bubbled up my throat.
“Who is this?” someone asked curiously.
I wiped my cheeks but didn’t turn around to see who had joined the others on the beach.
“This is Charlie,” Joao said.
There was a long silence, and then I heard a multitude of voices murmur, “Welcome home, Charlie. Welcome home.”
Home. I’d never had a home, not really, and I hadn’t expected to be greeted like that, but it felt nice. It felt right too.
“Thank you,” I said and felt Joao twitch next to me.
I washed my face again and stood up, realizing that I hadn’t removed the flowery-patterned, wide dress Pauline had given me to wear over my swimsuit, so it was clinging to my legs, and my hair was a little wet at the front.
I squinted up at Joao, and breathed, “Wow.” He grinned suddenly, and I felt my lips widen in a smile too. “Someone has got to teach me how to swim,” I added.
He held my hand as we walked back to the others who were waiting on the beach, and since my legs were wobbly, I was glad he did. When we reached the shore, he let go, and I looked up to let him know I was grateful for his help. He was watching a man who sat all alone on the huge boulders to the side, looking out over the ocean. His head was turned away, and he moved his hand over his face a couple of times, but then he got up and walked away. Before I could ask who he was, Pauline put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug.
“Are you okay?” she murmured.
