by Sandra Field
If he visited Shaine now, he’d probably see Daniel.
Was he afraid of his own son?
The fog had retreated during the day. The yellow house with its studio facing the cliffs looked very welcoming, lights on in nearly all the rooms. Jake parked his car and knocked on the back door. Shaine yanked it open, her face white as the surf. “I thought you might be Padric,” she gasped.
“Padric? Why?”
“Haven’t you heard? I thought that’s why you were here.”
He stepped in the doorway, putting an arm around her because she looked like she might fall down. “Heard what, Shaine? For God’s sake, what’s the matter?”
“Padric went hunting early this morning. Said he’d be back midafternoon. He didn’t come home, so they’re out looking for him.”
“It’s only been dark a couple of hours…maybe he got a deer and stayed behind to gut it.”
“You don’t understand,” she said frantically. “He was going into Corner Brook with a bunch of his friends to play in a pool championship this evening—the deer isn’t born that’d make him late for that.”
“Where are they looking?” Jake demanded. “Can you loan me a flashlight?”
“Back of the Mulligans’. There’s a trail that goes into Black’s Lake, that’s where he usually goes.”
“Where’s Daniel?”
“He hasn’t—oh, here he is now.”
A van had drawn up on the street. Daniel got out, lugging his gear and stick. When he saw Jake in the doorway, he hesitated in the path. Then he picked up his pace. “You gonna let me in?” he said.
Shaine moved aside. Kissing her son quickly on the cheek, she said, “Padric’s lost in the woods. Everyone’s out looking for him.”
“No way!”
She looked around the porch as though she was the one who was lost. “Flashlight,” she muttered, “where is it, Daniel?”
The boy pushed aside a couple of jackets and passed it to her. “I put a new battery in last week. Where’s Uncle Dev?”
“Out with one of the search parties.”
“I’ll go help him look.”
“No!” she exclaimed. “You’re too young and you’ve got school tomorrow.”
“Mum, that’s not—”
“Why doesn’t he come with me?” Jake said. “It’s one more pair of eyes.”
She glared at him. “You’re interfering with—”
“I want to go, Mum!”
Shaine’s shoulders sagged. “Okay, okay. Jake, will you promise not to let Daniel out of your sight? I said I’d stay here until they find Padric, they’ll let me know as soon as they hear anything.”
“Yep. You hear that, kid? You’ve got to swear you won’t take off on me.”
Daniel scowled at him. “I’ll change into my boots,” he said, “and grab a sweater.”
“Daniel,” Jake said quietly, “you’re not going anywhere until you answer me.”
Daniel’s blue eyes, full of defiance, clashed with Jake’s. Jake had no intention of backing down; if he did, he’d lose any chance of gaining the boy’s respect. Grudgingly, Daniel said, “Okay. I’ll stick with you.”
“Good. My boots are in the car, I’ll wait for you there.” Jake gave Shaine a quick, hard hug. “Padric’ll be back in his own bed by midnight—try not to worry.”
Shortly afterward he and Daniel were driving away from the yellow house. At Mulligans’, a long row of cars and trucks had parked in the field. A ranger with a two-way radio was standing beside his van. “What’s up?” Jake asked.
“Nothing yet. They’ve combed the lakeshore and Corkum’s Hills, that’s the best deer country ’round here. So now one batch is heading west of there, and one north. You know these woods?”
“I grew up here,” Jake said absently, “I know them like the back of my hand. There’s a place I used to go where I always saw deer, it’s east of the lake.” He bent over the map spread on the hood of the truck. “Here. Daniel and I’ll head that way. It’ll take us a couple of hours to check the whole area.”
“The fire station’ll blow the alarm when he’s found. You’ll hear that even way off in the woods.”
“Okay, Daniel?” Jake asked. “This could be a total waste of time, you understand that?”
As the boy nodded, Jake set off across the field, moving at a smooth clip he could keep up for hours. He said little, occasionally pointing out a landmark on the way, and making sure they stopped to drink water every so often. In the years he’d been away, the trees had grown and the undergrowth had sprouted high; but he still knew every rise and fall of the ground, every granite outcrop and swamp. “There was a cave,” he said to his son. “I used to sneak out there and smoke when I was your age…I had no more sense than a beached whale. I never showed the place to anyone else, so it’s a long shot that Padric would have found it.”
Daniel grunted. Jake gave an inner sigh. He’d hoped that walking through the forest at night might loosen his son’s tongue. “Another half a mile,” he said, and concentrated on picking his way over the roots of spruce and fir. These were his roots, he thought. Literally. He shouldn’t have stayed away so long, cutting himself off from such a vital part of his own history.
If he’d come back sooner, he’d have found out about Daniel sooner.
Remorse slammed through him, with its sense of irretrievable loss. He could have known Daniel at five, or seven, or nine, and maybe been accepted wholeheartedly. But he’d been too goddamned stubborn to come home.
The boughs brushing his sleeve, the overhead arch of maples and beech shutting out the stars felt claustrophobic. Shining the flashlight ahead, he picked out the stream bed that was the last climb before they came to the cave. “Not long now,” he said over his shoulder. “You’re in good shape for someone who played hockey this afternoon as if the devil was on his tail.”
Daniel heaved himself up the slope and said nothing. Jake stopped at the top of the hill and shouted as loudly as he could, “Padric!”
A startled bird flailed through the trees. Jake yelled again, cupping his hands to magnify his voice. Very faintly, he heard someone groan. “Daniel, did you hear that?”
“Right ahead of us.”
“That’s where the cave is. Let’s go.”
New energy racing through his body, Jake led the way. Witherod and high-bush cranberry had overgrown the mouth of the cave; but the beam of his flashlight picked out a couple of broken branches. “Padric,” he shouted again.
“Near the cave,” Padric wavered.
Jake reached a helping hand behind him and hauled Daniel up the steep rocks. Then he saw the plaid of Padric’s shirt and the pale gleam of his face. Padric was awkwardly sprawled among the rocks, one leg bent beneath him. Jake dropped to his knees. “What happened?”
“Fell on the rocks,” Padric gasped; his face was haggard and he was obviously in pain. “Damn fool thing to do. Bust my shinbone.”
“Give him some water, Daniel,” Jake said, thinking fast. “I know I promised your mum I wasn’t going to let you out of my sight—but will you stay with Padric while I go for help?”
“Sure,” Daniel said. “Mum put some cookies and fruit in my pack. Want some, Uncle Padric?”
“She didn’t put a beer in, did she?” Padric grinned.
“I’m under age, not allowed near it,” Daniel said with a matching grin.
Wishing with all his heart that Daniel would just once turn that smile on him, Jake said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Probably be a couple of hours, though, by the time we get a stretcher and medical help.”
“How did you know where to look?” Padric asked.
“I always saw deer out here when I was a kid. Kept it secret, though. But it seemed like the kind of place you’d find.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Padric said quietly. “Not my idea of a good time to spend the night out here.”
“My pleasure,” Jake said sincerely. “See you later.”
It was just und
er two hours when he and a couple of paramedics labored up the slope to the cave. Jake was leading the way again, and in a quick glance saw that Daniel had fallen asleep, his head resting on Padric’s chest. Jake stopped in his tracks, his heart turning over with love for the boy. Padric said weakly, his gray eyes trained on Jake’s face, “I figured you’d fly south like the geese before you’d turn into a real father, Jake. But I reckon I was wrong.”
“Thanks, Padric,” Jake said huskily.
“Remember you said I should ask Shaine why you left all those years ago? She told me flat-out to back off.”
Jake laughed. “That’s Shaine for you.”
“Anyone who could sit through that dinner isn’t going to give up easy,” Padric muttered. “The kid’s worth waiting for. He’s a good kid.”
“I know that,” Jake said, and as the team clambered up the rocks, watched Daniel wake up, stretching and rubbing his eyes.
The next hour was arduous, and despite painkillers must have been agonizing for Padric. Daniel walked beside the stretcher as much as he could, his uncle’s hand locked in his. When they reached the field, Jake saw that Shaine was waiting beside the warden’s truck; she was dressed in jeans, a wool shirt and a down vest.
She began running when she saw them, and fell to her knees beside the stretcher. “Padric, are you all right? I was so relieved when they phoned—I was afraid they’d never find you.”
“Slipped on the moss. Broke my shinbone,” Padric said.
“You stupid idiot,” she quavered. “Going off and not telling anyone where you were going. If it wasn’t for Jake, you’d still be out there. Oh, Padric, I’m so glad you’re safe, don’t ever do that to me again.”
Over her shoulder, as she wept into his chest, Padric winked at Jake. Patting his sister on the back, he mumbled, “Get off me, girl, I need a doctor and a good drink of rum.”
Shaine surged to her feet and flung her arms around Jake. “How can I ever thank you?” she sobbed. “I was worried sick, I was nearly out of my mind by the time they called to say you’d found him.”
She filled his embrace beautifully, her body soft and warm and infinitely desirable. But—apart from Daniel, who had studiously turned away—they had a very gratified audience. Jake said in a strangled voice, “Glad I could help.”
She whirled. “Daniel, are you okay?”
“Yeah, Mum, I’m fine.”
“There’s an ambulance waiting,” she said. “Jake, will you stay with Daniel if I go to the hospital with Padric? He’ll have to have X-rays in Corner Brook.”
“I can go to Uncle Dev’s place,” Daniel said.
“They’re not back yet…Jake?”
As Jake nodded, Padric said in a resigned voice, “I bet our team’s been disqualified from the championship.”
“That’s the least of your worries,” Shaine said roundly. “Good, here comes Doc McGillivray.”
Jake glanced up. The man padding into the circle of light had gained a little weight over the years, his hair grizzled but just as flyaway as it had always been, his eyebrows like two hedges. “Hello, Doc,” Jake said.
Doc’s attention had been on the man on the stretcher. His eyes skewed to meet Jake’s. “Jake Reilly,” he said in an unreadable voice. “I didn’t know you were in these parts.”
“Then you must be the only person who didn’t,” Jake said easily. But he was puzzled; he’d have sworn that Doc’s initial reaction on seeing him had been guilt rather than pleasure. Guilt? What for? He added, “I’ll drop by for a visit in the next couple of days.”
“You do that,” Doc said, overheartily. “Now then, Padric, what have you been doing to yourself?”
Without fuss he gave Padric an injection against the pain, then the little cavalcade paced across the field toward the flashing yellow lights of the ambulance. Before she climbed in through the back doors, Shaine looped her arms around Jake’s neck. “Thank you, thank you,” she breathed. “I couldn’t bear to think of him out in the woods all night.”
Wishing everyone else ten miles away, Jake said with manful restraint, “You’re welcome.”
She followed the stretcher into the ambulance, which bumped away toward the road. Gratitude was all very well, Jake thought. But he wanted a lot more than gratitude from Shaine.
What exactly did he want?
Shaine, accompanied by Devlin and Connor, arrived back at the house about three in the morning; Padric had a broken tibia, and was being kept overnight. Daniel, so Jake reported to Shaine, had gone to bed the minute they’d got back to the house. Without saying as much as a word to his father; but Jake kept that to himself.
After receiving gruffly spoken thanks from Padric’s two brothers, Jake left as soon as he could. He slept late the next morning, listened to the weather forecast, perfected his plan in his mind and made several phone calls. Promptly at nine-thirty the following day, he walked into The Fin Whale Craft Shop. Shaine’s assistant, a pretty young woman named Jenny, gave him a conspiratorial smile. “Shaine’s in the back room, packing orders,” she said.
“Thanks,” Jake said, and pushed through the door.
Shaine looked up. For a moment pure pleasure flashed across her face. Then she said repressively, “I’m busy, Jake.”
She looked neither grateful nor lustful. Jake said cheerfully, taking the box from her and putting it on the floor, “Not so busy that you’re not coming with me.”
She frowned at him. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He kicked the door shut behind him with one foot. “You don’t want the whole shop hearing us argue. My car’s outside and I’ve got everything we’ll need.”
“Telling people what to do might work in the boardroom—but this isn’t New York.”
“You’re so right. Are you coming willingly, or do I have to pick you up and carry you?”
“Stop making fun of me!”
In a single swift movement Jake lifted her into his arms and pried the door open again. Two customers had come into the store; luckily neither one was Maggie. Shaine said in a furious undertone, “Put me down.”
“It’s an unfair world—I’m bigger and stronger than you,” he said, walking across the room. “Hi, there, Mrs. Mulligan, nice to see you. Fair bit of excitement a couple of nights ago, wasn’t it? ’Bye, Jenny. Thanks.”
The bell rang sweetly as he walked outside. His car was parked at the curb. “I can’t leave Jenny all day,” Shaine protested.
“Yes, you can—I checked with her yesterday. She’s packed a lunch for herself and she’ll lock up at six. And Daniel’s gone to St. Anthony to play hockey.”
Dumping Shaine unceremoniously on the road, but keeping a tight arm around her waist, Jake opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”
“What are you doing, kidnapping me?”
“You bet.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I am not going to bed with you.”
“We’re not going anywhere near a bed,” he said truthfully. “Believe me, when the time comes for you and me to make love, I won’t have to kidnap you.”
Her eyes flashed green. “I must be the stupidest woman this side of Cape Spear. You’re behaving like a Neanderthal and my hormones are on a rampage.”
“You’re so good for my ego,” Jake said. “Sit, Shaine.”
She plunked herself down on the seat. “I am not your pet poodle! You do realize this little escapade will be all over the village by lunchtime?”
“We won’t be here to hear it,” he said, and slid behind the wheel. He drove straight to the wharf, where he parked by the side of the road. “I have clothes in the back for you, and a picnic lunch. Let’s go.”
She bit her lip; amusement, he was pleased to see, was now lurking in her eyes. “It’s a very beautiful day,” she said.
“Ordered specially for you.”
“You’re rude and overbearing.”
“Sexy, though. According to you.”
He had that right. “I have to be home at three,” s
he said triumphantly, “to stay with Padric.”
“No, you don’t. Devlin’s going to.”
“So is the whole village in on this little conspiracy?”
“Would I do that to you?” Jake said piously. “Want to grab that bag?”
Tom Banks, one of Jake’s father’s fishing partners, was striding up the wharf toward them. He tipped his cap to Shaine. “Boat’s all set to go, boy,” he said to Jake. “Don’t need to tell you how to run ’er, do I?”
“Some things you don’t forget, Tom.”
Sun was sparkling on the water, and waves slapped at the wooden wharf. Jake inhaled with huge delight. “Diesel fuel, rotting bait and salt water—is there anything better?”
The wind flirting with her skirt, Shaine said, “I haven’t been out in a boat for two or three years.”
“Then we’ll fix that right away,” Jake said. After helping her down the ladder, he passed her the bags and picnic hamper. Then he jumped down, and as Tom untied the hawsers and tossed them to the deck, he turned the key, listening to the engine catch and settle into a smooth purr. “You always did know how to baby an engine, Tom,” he yelled. “Thanks, we’ll be back by four.”
In a smooth curve, Gertrude pulled away from the wharf. Shaine disappeared into the cabin, appearing a few minutes later in green shorts and a flowered shirt, her pretty sandals replaced by rubber-soled shoes. She gave Jake a smile of uncomplicated pleasure and sat on the thwart, trailing her fingers in the bow wave. Jake smiled back. His legs had adjusted automatically to the sway of the waves, and the helm fit his palm perfectly. That Shaine was with him added the final touch to his happiness.
When had he last felt so carefree?
CHAPTER SEVEN
GHOST ISLAND was half an hour offshore. As the village diminished behind the boat, herring gulls wheeled overhead, impossibly white against the deep blue of the sky. Jake wasn’t sure how Shaine would react when she realized the island was their destination; he’d soon find out. As he steered toward the jetty, then nudged Gertrude against the rough wooden boards, Shaine neatly looped a hawser over a protruding pylon. She scrambled onto the jetty, holding the rope taut.
