Island

by Mary Davis

  “I can see why you left him.” Shane picked up a twig from the ground and twisted it in his fingers. “Did you ever reveal yourself?”

  “You bet. I couldn’t resist. I wasn’t about to let him lie his way out of it or try to explain it away.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Not much. I spun around in the chair, not that either of them noticed. They were a bit occupied with each other. I cleared my throat, and they jumped apart. Then I asked, as if it were no more important than a shopping list, ‘Is this the other woman?’ ”

  “Busted.” Shane chuckled. “I would have loved to have seen that.”

  “I introduced myself as the ex-fiancée, gave her my ring, and walked out.”

  “You should have kept the ring.” He tossed the stick across the street.

  “I didn’t want anything from him.”

  “Did your dad fire him?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

  “You just left?”

  She nodded. “I packed a suitcase, told my sister to tell the rest of the family the wedding was off, and walked out the front door.”

  “You were still living with your parents?”

  She waited for a horse-drawn taxi to pass so she wouldn’t have to compete with the traces jingling and the clomping of the hooves before continuing. “Off and on. Mom and Grandma talked me into moving back into the house before the wedding. It would make planning easier. If I’d still had my apartment, I probably wouldn’t have come here.”

  “So he was left to explain everything to your family.”

  She shook her head. “If I know Kennith, he probably played the innocent victim. I can hear him telling my parents, ‘I had no idea she was unhappy. She never told me the wedding was off. Probably cold feet. I’ll give her all the time she needs.’ He would always put a spin on things to make himself look good.”

  She knew someone else who could make things spin his way. She didn’t want to think about Brent. The pain went too deep.

  She shouldn’t put it off any longer. She wanted to know about this girl Brent was accusing Shane of getting pregnant. But how could she bring it up without revealing she already knew about the girl? And then that would lead to Brent, and she didn’t want to discuss him now. But then again, she could tell Shane that Brent was looking for him and see what he wanted to do.

  Shane was so grounded. How could he have ended up in this kind of mess? The girl, changing his name, running away. She wasn’t so naive to think a Christian never got into that kind of situation, but Shane would have owned up to his responsibility. He wouldn’t have run away. He wasn’t like her. She looked at Shane, then back at the ground.

  Shane raised his eyebrows. “Was there something else?”

  “No.” She couldn’t ask. It was none of her business. She sat in silence wondering what Shane was thinking. Did he think about the girl? Did he even know?

  “I left someone behind, too.” Shane picked up a small rock and hurled it sideways across the street. “I guess you could say I was running away.”

  Did he want to talk about his situation, too? So it was all true. He’d run away from his responsibility.

  “There was a girl—her name’s Kristeen.” He smiled when he said her name. “I was in love with her. Still am.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She hadn’t wanted to believe he got a girl pregnant, then left her, but here he was telling her about it.

  “She became involved with a twenty-five-year-old man. She was only sixteen. The creep was married, too. He got her pregnant.” He picked up another twig and tossed it into the street.

  Shane wasn’t the father. She gave a mental sigh of relief. So why did Brent think he was? “What happened?”

  “She was afraid he would get in trouble and told her dad I was the father of her baby.”

  “Why would you go along with that?”

  “It’s what Kristeen wanted.” He found another rock and rolled it around in his hand. “He could have gone to jail because she was a minor. Kristeen begged me to go along with it. Her dad told me never to see her again. So I left town and came here. I would have done anything for her. I still would.”

  “What about you and Kristeen?”

  “She never saw me as anything but her best friend.” He hurled the rock harder than the last one.

  “Doesn’t it bother you that she’s using you?”

  “It’s what I wanted to do. Besides, if I hadn’t helped her, I wouldn’t have come here. If I stay until the end of the season in mid-October and get the bonus, I might be able to start college after Christmas instead of next fall.”

  “Finding the good in a bad situation?”

  “I guess. God uses both the good and the bad in His plans.”

  Was there any good in the situation with Brent? She couldn’t think of any. She took a deep breath and asked again, “So it really doesn’t bother you that she’s using you?”

  He shrugged. “If you want to use the term used. I prefer to think of it as helping a friend.”

  She shook her head. “I hate being used—by anyone.”

  “It depends on how you look at it.”

  “Used is used. Anyway you look at it, it’s wrong.”

  “But God uses us all the time.”

  “Now see—that is the one area I have a hard time with. I know God knows what He is doing, but I hate being a puppet.”

  “I consider it an honor to be used by God. You were using me. You needed to talk, and I was here to listen. We use each other as friends so we’re not alone. Using people doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The Lord says to fellowship together with believers, so we use each other to fulfill that command.”

  “That’s not the same. It’s not using if it’s mutually beneficial. When someone uses you, even God, you have no control.”

  “Of course you have control. You can choose to let God use you for His good.”

  “What about people using you?”

  “Try not to look at them as a burden but as an opportunity for God to use you to touch their lives.”

  “That’s a nice way to look at it, but I don’t think I can do that.” She was tired of people using and manipulating her. Maybe if more time had passed since Kennith’s betrayal, she wouldn’t still feel so wounded. Brent had come along at the wrong time. Was that God’s plan, so she wouldn’t fall for another Mr. Wrong?

  Shane tapped the knee of her jeans. “It’s about closing time. I’ll walk you to the tea shop. If I don’t, Veronique will scold me in French.”

  She looked at her watch. “Have we been out here that long?” She stood and stretched the stiffness out of her legs.

  Shane nodded and walked her to the shop where Veronique worked. “You want me to hang around?”

  “No, go back to your room. I might be late.”

  “Give me a call when you’re ready to go. I’ll come over and walk you to your dorm.” He started to leave, then turned back. “Haley, I hope things work out with Brent. If you want me to talk to him for you, I will.”

  “No,” she said too quickly, then tried to recover. “I have to work things out on my own, but thanks for offering.”

  He nodded and walked away.

  Veronique locked up, and Haley followed her upstairs to her room above the shop. Haley sat at the foot of the bed and pulled her feet up under her.

  Veronique sat at the head of the bed and stretched out her legs. “Tell me what happened today.”

  “It’s been a horrible day.” She told Veronique about encountering Brent at the police station, what happened with Jason, and learning of Shane’s innocence.

  “So zat is why you didn’t have lunch. What did Shane say about zis?”

  “I haven’t told him, and you can’t tell him either, not about Brent or what happened with Jason.” Shane was innocent and didn’t need to be bothered by any of this.

  Veronique frowned in disapproval. “Shane is your friend. He would want to know. Should h
e not know zat a private investigator is looking for him? He could tell him he is not zee father, and zat would be zat.”

  “If Shane’s not the father, why bother telling him at all? He doesn’t need to be upset by this.”

  “Why bother telling him? It is his problem. No? He should have zee opportunity to deal with it or not. Shane is an adult, is he not?”

  “I wish I wasn’t involved.”

  “Maybe zee Lord put you between Shane and Brent so you could help Shane.”

  That sounded a lot like God using her again. “What if I don’t want to be in the middle?”

  “I think you are too late for zat.” Veronique folded her hands in her lap.

  “What if I refuse to let God use me?”

  “Zen Shane will be all by himself. And won’t Brent eventually find him?”

  She let out a heavy sigh. “Probably. You are making this hard for me. It was easy when I was angry at Brent and protecting Shane. I don’t want to do this.”

  “Why do you not want God to use you?”

  “I don’t want to feel like someone else’s puppet.”

  “Zen don’t be.”

  Finally someone was on her side.

  “Choose to do what zee Lord wishes you to do. Zen you have no strings.”

  Would she be happy as a puppet without strings? And would she be happy obeying the Lord’s prompting?

  “Zee sooner Brent and Shane meet, zee sooner Brent will leave and you can get over him.”

  Was that possible? The ache for Brent was stronger than she had felt for Kennith. “I wish I could make the hurting stop.”

  “He was in your heart. You cannot make him leave. Zee hurting will stop when he leaves your heart on his own or someone else comes and pushes him out.” She moved her hands forward as if she were pushing an invisible person.

  “I’m not looking for someone else for a very long time.”

  Veronique pulled her knees up to her chest. “You were looking for Brent?”

  “No.”

  “Zen it could happen when you are not looking, like with Brent. Or maybe you will make up with him.”

  “I don’t know that I could trust him again. What kind of relationship would that be?”

  “Not good. But maybe you could trust him again.”

  Trust was hard to rebuild once broken. The pieces never fit back the same. There were always gaps and ridges.

  It was one in the morning when Haley left Veronique’s. She felt a damp chill in the air. She didn’t live that far away and didn’t want to bother Shane. More than that, she didn’t know what to say to him yet. She should tell him about Brent but didn’t know how. Once she reached her room, she picked up the phone and dialed Shane.

  “Haley?” His voice sounded as if she had awakened him.

  “Yes. Sorry to wake you.”

  “I was waiting for your call. I’ll be right over.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m already back in my room.”

  “You didn’t wait for me?”

  “I got home safe. That’s all that counts.”

  “I guess so. Thanks for calling.” He yawned. “See ya.”

  “Bye.”

  If Veronique was right about her heart, she hoped she could control it. First Kennith and now Brent. She couldn’t trust herself to make a good decision where men were concerned. Shane was a good kid, but had she misjudged him, as well? Was he guilty of what Brent said he was and simply didn’t want to admit it? Maybe if she told Brent that Shane was not the father, he would be satisfied with that and she wouldn’t have to bring Shane into this.

  Twelve

  Brent flipped up the collar of his navy fleece jacket to keep the mist off his neck and stepped up to the ticket window. Would Haley even let him board her carriage? “One, please.”

  The girl behind the window took his money and, as she was passing the ticket across the counter to him, smiled. “You’re back. I think that will make Haley happy.”

  He wished he could be so sure of it. He nodded and took his ticket. “Thank you.”

  The plastic sides of the carriage that had been rolled up to the roof the other days were hanging down to protect the passengers from the moist air. He took a seat at the back of her carriage. Haley didn’t refuse to let him board, but her look told him she was none too happy with his presence. Her hair hung in two thick braids, one on each side of her head. She looked cute like that.

  At Surrey Hills, he disembarked with the other passengers and started the line to board again. Haley stared at him but didn’t move her carriage forward. He could wait her out, and he sensed she knew that, because she clicked the horses into motion. She stopped by him but kept her gaze forward.

  He climbed into the front seat behind her. “So what are the names of these horses? Are they Thor and Thunder?”

  Her shoulders rose as she took a deep breath. “Let’s not even pretend small talk is appropriate.”

  Maybe small talk wasn’t appropriate. But if he could get her to talk to him, he knew he could fix this. “Have lunch with me, please.”

  “I don’t date fudgies.”

  The flatness to her voice squeezed his heart. “I want to explain.”

  She held up her hand. “Don’t bother. I know who it is you are looking for.”

  That news should make him happy, but it didn’t. “Haley, you don’t have to do this. I’ll find him on my own.” So he had been right that she knew him.

  “You don’t need to bother. He’s not the father of that girl’s baby.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He told me.” Her back was stiff and straight like a soldier under inspection.

  “And you believe an eighteen-year-old kid?”

  “Definitely. He’s a good kid.” She was trying to protect him.

  He scrubbed his face with his hand, allowing his whiskers to dig into his palm. “Let’s say you’re right. I’ll still need to talk to him. So it doesn’t change anything.”

  She spun around in her seat and looked at him for the first time. “Why would you need to do that? Don’t you believe me?”

  Proceed with caution, Brent. You’ve never been on such thin ice before. “Of course I believe you. But how would it look if I went back to the girl’s father and told him someone who knows the boy told me he’s not the father? But if I talk to Justin myself and hear his side of the story, then I can tell Mr. Jackson I’m sure Justin is not the father.” Of course he wasn’t sure at this point, but he hoped that was the conclusion he would reach after talking to the boy. He desperately wanted Haley to be right, but he knew an eighteen-year-old was more than capable of lying to keep himself out of hot water.

  “I won’t turn in my friend.”

  “I thought you didn’t know any Justins.” He saw moisture gather in her eyes.

  She faced forward in her seat. “I didn’t know that was his name.”

  He was itching to ask her who he was and what name he was going by, but he was determined not to do or say anything to make her think he could be using her. “When I find him, I’ll tell him you didn’t give him up.” A family of five boarded the carriage. He was going to let the conversation die for now, but Haley continued.

  “Let me talk to him first.”

  Why? Did she want to warn Justin? Or was she saying she was willing to help him? “You don’t have to do that.” He didn’t want her help if it put him in deeper trouble with her.

  “I think it would be better for him to hear it from me that you are looking for him than for you to show up at his work site or dorm room.”

  Did she realize she’d narrowed the field for him? “If that’s the way you want it. When?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Why not today?”

  “I probably won’t see him until dinner.”

  He wanted to get this over with, so he could focus on fixing things with Haley. “So then, why couldn’t I see him after dinner?”

  “Tomorrow,” she said more firmly.
r />   What was she up to? Probably nothing. “Fine. Tomorrow it is.”

  ❧

  After Brent stepped down, Haley wanted to cry. Had she made a deal with the enemy on behalf of her friend? She let herself be distracted by the passengers boarding for her next tour. She had work to do and would focus on that. After work, she would decide how to proceed.

  When her shift was over, she pulled up the hood of her rain slicker and pedaled to the Little Stone Church and sat in a pew. She liked this quaint old building. It wasn’t large, but the solid structure of stone on stone gave her a sense of stability and strength.

  She didn’t pray. She knew in her heart what God would tell her to do.

  An older couple came in and looked around. They took pictures of the large stained-glass windows that showed some of Mackinac Island’s history.

  Haley studied the windows, as well, from her seat. The detail in the pictures was incredible; the history came to life. The fudgies left, and she was alone again.

  As she gazed at Father Marquette, a missionary to the local Indians, a verse from Jeremiah came to mind. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Certainly Father Marquette had been known and set apart for God’s work. Her gaze shifted to the Indians, and they, too, were set apart.

  She closed her eyes. And I was set apart. “Before birth, Lord?” She knew the answer. Yes, even before she was born. How the Lord could know her and know she would ask Him into her heart, she couldn’t quite grasp, but she knew He could. “Have You set me apart for this? For Shane?” She had the impression the Lord was waiting for her to choose whether or not to do this task set before her. “I consider it an honor to be used by God.”

  Shane. He would want her to let God use her to help resolve this situation.

  “Choose to do what zee Lord wishes you to do. Zen you have no strings.”

  No strings. Her choice. She swallowed and was a bit afraid to speak the words but did. “Use me, Lord.” A peace washed over her.

  ❧

  Haley sat against the wall outside the door of Shane’s dorm room. It was better for her to explain things gently to Shane than to have Brent jump out of the bushes at him.