Michael’s face went white. “What do you mean we don’t own it? We have to!”
Kathleen fought a sudden urge to laugh at his inability to let that go. “Our ancestors took precautions generations ago. I’m pretty sure your lawyer will tell you that the trust is unbreakable.”
He shoved to his feet. She let him stomp around the kitchen as she calmly sipped her coffee.
“I’ll still break this island,” he spat.
“The oil company?”
He stopped to stare at her.
“It won’t work. We’ve found another oil supplier for what little we need now. And we’re in the middle of converting the entire island to wind and solar. Soon we’ll have hydroelectric, too. Either tidal or wave energy. We’ll be self-sustaining. In a way, you did us a favor by forcing us to look at other options.”
For one awful moment, as he stood there, trembling in his fury, she thought he might actually hit her. Blossom growled from the dining room. Michael’s gaze flicked in his direction.
She felt a stirring of something completely unexpected—pity. “Dad, none of this—not the lawsuit, not the oil company—nothing will bring Bryan back to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t ever enough for you and Mom, but that’s something you’re going to have to figure out how to live with. Isn’t twenty-five years long enough to punish the world?”
“ARE YOU GOING TO actually weave that up, or just sit and stare at it until it weaves itself?”
Molly jumped a little and grinned sheepishly at the reeds in her hands, half-plaited in a St. Brighid’s cross. She started weaving again, fully aware of her mother’s penetrating gaze.
“I can feel you staring.”
Jenny chuckled. “And I can hear the wheels turning in your head.”
She laid a hand on Molly’s arm. “Do you want to go back to the cottage and check on her?”
Molly shook her head. “It’ll look like I don’t think she can handle her father.”
Jenny tied a white ribbon around a small nosegay of one white sweetheart rose surrounded by baby’s breath and added it to the basket in front of her. “You think she can? Michael can be pretty forceful.”
Under the table, Minnow lay on her back, playing with a length of frayed ribbon Molly had tied to the table leg and left to dangle.
Molly bit her lip as she plaited the reeds into a square pattern. “I think,” she said carefully, “she needs to do this.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Molly didn’t answer as she completed the knots tying off her cross, adding it to the stack she’d been making.
“Then I’ll have my answer,” she said at last.
“About bonding?”
Molly nodded. “Rebecca thought something was holding her back.”
“Yes.” Jenny sighed when Molly glanced at her. “We’ve talked. I shared what Kathleen’s mother said to her. It makes my heart ache to think what that poor girl has been dealing with on her own all these years.”
“She’s not on her own anymore.”
Jenny smiled. “No. But she still has to figure out how to come to terms with her parents, and that’s something no one else can do for her.”
The telephone rang. Jenny got up to answer.
“Oh, hello, Wilma.”
Molly paused her weaving.
“Really? Okay. I’ll tell her.”
Jenny hung up and came back to the table.
“Well?” Molly prompted when her mother didn’t say anything.
“Michael just came back to the hotel and told Wilma they’d be checking out tomorrow.”
“Ferry’s coming for sure?”
“It better. Storm’ll blow through tonight, and we’ve got to get to Big Sister.”
Molly jumped up and ran to the door before she remembered. “Shoot.” She ran back to the table to kiss her mother on the cheek. “I’ll be back to finish the crosses. I know the wedding’s tomorrow.”
“Go,” Jenny said, laughing. “And give Kathleen a hug for me.”
KATHLEEN DID A QUICK calculation. The ferry usually arrived by noon, and was scheduled to depart at four. That meant her parents would be off the island by the time they got back from Big Sister.
But they’re still here now.
“You ready?” came Molly’s voice from downstairs.
“Just about.”
Kathleen carefully draped a garment bag with her wedding clothes over her arm and picked up another bag holding shoes and hairbrushes and other essentials. Practical considerations.
“You don’t want to be in a boat, in wind and salt spray, wearing your good things,” Molly had warned her.
“What about you?”
“I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt.”
Kathleen still wasn’t sure whether Molly was joking. She dubiously checked her own shorts and polo in the mirror and hurried down to where Molly and Blossom were waiting.
“All set?” Molly asked, taking the bags from her.
“I guess. You’re still not telling me what you’re wearing? Some floofy bridesmaid dress?”
Molly only shrugged. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
They hurried to the Toyota and drove into town, splashing through the puddles left by the storm. Molly parked at the marina, where the rest of the Coopers were gathered, along with Rebecca and Louisa, each holding a box of ashes.
Jenny stood with her hands on her hips. “Joseph Ryan Cooper, we are not taking the fishing boat.”
“But it’s the biggest,” Joe said, looking perplexed. “We’ll have to take two boats otherwise.”
“I am not arriving at my son’s wedding smelling like a lobster.”
Joe sighed and gave Joey a nudge. “Let’s fuel up two others.”
“And wipe down all the seats,” Jenny said.
Kathleen glanced toward the hotel. As if she’d read her mind, Molly said, “This is going to take a few minutes. Go.”
Kathleen jogged to the hotel. Peeking into the diner, she saw her parents sitting at a table over their breakfast. Her heart thudded in her chest.
“Morning, Katie,” Wilma sang from behind the counter.
Kathleen smiled in her direction.
Michael stood as she neared.
“Morning,” she said. She gave a wave toward the marina. “I’ve got a wedding to go to today, so…”
Her mother hadn’t looked up from her plate of barely touched food, but Kathleen saw that her hand trembled as it gripped a fork.
She gazed into her dad’s eyes and, for a moment, saw the man she once knew—the one who waved and waved from the ferry as he left her and Bryan here for wonderful summers with their grandmother, the one whose arms she leapt into when he came back to collect them at the end of the summer, the one who couldn’t wait to hear about all their adventures. His eyes reflected a puzzlement, as if he, too, had a distant memory of those days.
She flung her arms around him. “I love you.”
He awkwardly patted her back, as if he no longer remembered how to do this, but he didn’t say anything.
Kathleen leaned down and kissed her mother’s cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
Without looking back, Kathleen hurried out of the diner.
Molly was watching for her. Wordlessly, Kathleen moved into her waiting arms.
“You okay?” Molly asked.
Kathleen nodded. She sniffed and pulled back. “We all set here?”
They got into two smaller boats, Louisa, Kathleen, Rebecca, and Blossom riding with Molly, while Jenny, Joey, and Aidan rode with Joe.
“Aidan got another day off?” Rebecca asked, securing the two boxes on a seat as Molly steered through the harbor.
“He’ll catch a Big Sister ferry when they make the return trip this afternoon,” Molly called over her shoulder.
The sky was overcast to the east, the remnants of the storm that had battered them, but overhead, the clouds were light and wispy, promising a clear day for the wedding.
The two boats docked at the Bi
g Sister marina, and everyone made their way to the island’s church, which was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers.
Kathleen went with Louisa to the women’s restroom to help her get changed while Molly disappeared with Joey and Aidan.
“You look beautiful, Katie,” Louisa said when Kathleen stepped out of the bathroom stall wearing a dark green sleeveless silk blouse and white slacks. “That color goes wonderfully with your hair.”
“I hardly ever wore dresses,” Kathleen said. “And I didn’t keep any when I moved here. You sure this is okay?”
Louisa chuckled and said, “On the island, we don’t set much store by things like clothing. You could have worn a swimsuit for all they would care. Matty and Brandi just want you to share their day.”
Kathleen thought about the ostentatious mansions she’d seen. “Maybe that’s true on Little Sister, but I doubt the people on Big Sister feel that way.”
Louisa let Kathleen brush her fine silver hair before tucking it back up into its bun. She brushed out her own hair, still looking decent from Jenny’s last cut. Standing side by side with Louisa, they inspected their reflections.
“You’re beautiful, Katie.”
Kathleen laughed. “Thanks for being my date.”
Louisa took her by the hand and led her out to where Blossom was waiting for her, now bedecked by flowers woven around his collar. Two baskets sat at the back of the chapel, one containing the tiny white nosegays and the other, dozens of woven St. Brighid crosses. Kathleen took a cross while Louisa plucked a nosegay.
Joey and Aidan, both wearing dark suits and ties, walked them to an empty pew near the front.
“You both look so handsome,” Louisa said, patting Joey on the cheek.
“Miss Olivia and Mr. Woodhouse are in that pew with you,” Aidan said.
Kathleen smiled at the thought of how normal that seemed now. He gave her a wink and went to escort more people to seats.
They sat, listening to the hushed voices around them. Kathleen inspected the intricate knots of the reeds, knots made by Molly’s hands.
“You take that cross home and hang it on your wall,” Louisa whispered. “It’s a blessing on the house.”
The church filled quickly. Kathleen craned her neck, hoping for a glimpse of Molly. She’d been very mysterious about this whole wedding thing.
Rebecca, Jenny, and Joe all came to sit in the pew in front of them. Kathleen was just about to ask about Molly when the music started.
Everyone stood as the first bridesmaids appeared from the church vestibule. Kathleen nearly laughed out loud, trying to picture Molly in one of the pretty, but very feminine, gowns. But the bridesmaids were all blonde, clearly related to Brandi, most likely her sisters.
While everyone else sighed when Brandi stepped into view, accompanied by her father and looking very pretty, Kathleen turned toward the altar to see Matty standing with a stupid grin on his face at the sight of her. Next to him were Aidan and Joey… and Molly. All wearing suits and ties.
Molly caught her eye while Kathleen caught her breath. The bride might have been everyone else’s focus but, to Kathleen, no one in the entire church was as beautiful as Molly Cooper.
Chapter 22
SWEAT POURED FROM KATHLEEN’S nose in a steady drip as she dug her pitchfork into the ground and uprooted the brown lumps below. Inspired, Blossom dug until he unearthed his own potato. He carried it into the grass and plopped down to chew on it. Kathleen took it from him and substituted a carrot instead.
“Aren’t they lovely?”
Louisa, protected from the sun by her floppy straw hat, came along next to her, plucking the potatoes from the dirt, giving them a light rub to loosen clumps of soil, and then placing them in an old bushel basket. She raised one to her face and inhaled.
“I just love that smell.”
Kathleen paused to lean on her pitchfork. “It does smell good. I never would have guessed that things fresh from a garden could smell and taste so different from what I always bought from a store.”
Louisa chuckled. “I remember you saying that when you were little, and you picked your first strawberries from Maisie’s garden. She declared you should have turned pink, you ate so many.”
Kathleen lifted her T-shirt hem to blot the sweat getting into her eyes.
“I so appreciate you helping me with this, Katie.”
Kathleen gazed fondly down at her. “You know it’s no problem, especially since Miss Olivia is being so lazy, just soaking up the sun.”
Louisa cackled, glancing at the two wooden boxes sitting in the grass beside the garden. “Ollie hated digging potatoes. She’s probably laughing at us.”
“Well, this is payment for you teaching me how to can.”
“Oh, you’ll love having things from your own garden all winter long.”
Kathleen resumed digging down the row. “I can’t believe we’re preparing for winter. Where did the time go?”
“It only goes faster, the older you get,” Louisa said. “The children will leave to go back to school in a few weeks, the tourists will all go home, and we’ll have Little Sister to ourselves again. Almost a year from when you came to us.”
Kathleen paused again. “Almost a year. That seems impossible.”
“Life is a wonder.”
They reached the end of the row, and Kathleen carried the basket of potatoes to the cellar. She gently dumped them into the old, wooden potato bin and climbed the steps to find Louisa sitting in the grass between the two wooden boxes.
Kathleen hurried over. “Miss Louisa, are you all right?”
She dropped to her knees beside her.
The hat flopped as Louisa nodded. “I’m fine.” She wiped her tears dry. “Just being a sentimental old woman.”
Kathleen helped her to her feet. “Let’s take a break.”
They carried the ash boxes inside, leaving their dirt-encrusted shoes on the back porch. Louisa poured them both tall glasses of lemonade and brought them to the table.
Kathleen watched her anxiously.
Louisa smiled and patted her hand. “I’m fine, Katie. Just suddenly missing everyone. Silly of me.”
“I don’t think it’s silly at all.” Kathleen flipped her hand over to squeeze Louisa’s. “I miss Nanna like crazy. I still blame myself for staying away so long.”
“Don’t. She knew why. And she always knew you’d come back.”
Kathleen swallowed hard. “Then she knew more than I did.” She stared down at her young fingers intertwined with Louisa’s gnarled ones, imagining what it would be like to hold Nanna’s hand one more time. “I always thought she’d remember.”
“Remember?”
Kathleen closed her eyes, knowing it sounded childish, but she couldn’t help it. “My birthday.”
“But she did.”
Kathleen opened her eyes.
“She wrote to you and sent you a birthday card every year. And Christmas presents. She wondered why she never heard back from you.”
As Kathleen absorbed this news, a missing piece clunked into place. “My mother.”
“Your mother kept them from you?”
“No.” Kathleen was certain. “She destroyed them. That’s why Nanna’s letters stopped.”
“Oh, Katie. I’m so sorry Christine would do that.”
But Kathleen beamed. “It doesn’t matter.”
Louisa looked bewildered. “It doesn’t?”
“No. My mother is trapped in her own misery, and she won’t rise above it. But this means everything to me. Just knowing that Nanna didn’t forget me.”
“You thought that? All these years?” Louisa squeezed Kathleen’s hand between both of hers. “No, no, no. She never did. She never gave up hope that you would find your way back here.”
Kathleen took a deep drink of her lemonade. “I did. It took me twenty-five years, but I did.”
MOLLY TUGGED ON THE oars, lost in a world shrouded in mist. She was soaking wet, covered in tiny droplets of fog th
at had condensed on her arms and her tank top, dripping from her hair onto her bare shoulders as she leaned into her strokes.
Behind her, the sun was only a diffuse light through the swirling haze but, as it rose higher, it began to burn off the fog. She kept pulling—long, even strokes in sync with her breathing, reveling in the burn in her arms and back and thighs. In the past, she used to imagine herself just continuing on this trajectory, straight on till she hit the southern tip of Nova Scotia. Or beyond. Away from Little Sister. Away from her life here. That was mostly when she’d first come back here after college, that first year when she still wasn’t sure this was where she wanted to be. Back in those lonely days, the days she and Siobhan comforted each other. Over the years, she’d settled more serenely into the notion that she would spend her life here on this island, alone, but content.
The sun’s warmth sank into her back like a tonic. On either side, the water droplets that sprayed from her oars sparkled like miniature diamonds as the scull glided over the ocean.
Like something from a fantasy book, Little Sister slowly appeared, seeming to rise out of the water as the fog lifted. From this distance, the tips of the wind turbines were visible, still now. Soon, the winds would pick up, and the blades would churn.
It had been a long time since she’d felt this stir of restlessness. She paused her rowing. The scull slowed, bobbing on the sea. It was more than restless, if she was honest.
Ever since the wedding, ever since Matty and Brandi had started their life together, this feeling had been growing, bubbling and festering. All sense of contentment seemed to have evaporated.
Kathleen loves me. We’re living together. It should be enough.
She kept telling herself that. It shouldn’t matter that they weren’t bonded. It was just a ceremony, like a wedding was just a piece of paper. Except it was more than that.
She dropped the oars and propped her elbows on her knees, resting her head on her hands.
She wanted that ceremony, that tie to their ancestors. She wanted her family to acknowledge—formally—her bond with Kathleen. She resented that Matty had that recognition.
That’s not true. It’s not him.
She resented Rebecca for refusing them. She knew her aunt meant well, but…
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