Nantucket (15 page)

W
hen Cadie woke up, Liam was gone, but curled up in the spot where he'd been was Moby. Cadie reached over and lightly touched the soft gray fur and Moby pushed his head up into her hand. Cadie scratched under his white chin and he purred. “What did I do to deserve
your
company?” she whispered softly, and he blinked, stretched out to his full length, and kept purring.

A moment later, the back door opened and Cadie heard the clicking of paws on the wooden floor. Then she heard Levi reminding Aidan to be quiet.

“It's okay,” she called. “I'm awake.”

Hearing her voice, Tuck bounded into the room and launched onto the bed, sending Moby scurrying. “You're such a big lug,” Cadie said, laughing as he stood over her, licking her face.

“Hop down, Tuck,” Levi scolded, following him into the room. “Sorry, Mom,” he said, pulling him off the bed.

“It's okay, hon. He's fine. Really.”

Levi shook his head. “No, it's not—his feet are wet and sandy, and now your sheets are wet and sandy too.”

“They'll dry,” she said, reaching for his hand, but he pulled away.

“Hey,” she said with a frown. “What's the matter?”

“Nothing,” he said, then stopped and looked back. “I'm sorry. I just have to fix a snack for Aidan.”

“Come here,” she said. “His snack can wait.”

Levi reluctantly sat down and watched as the big dog cleaned himself next to the bed. “Tuck, stop,” he scolded again, nudging him with his foot.

Cadie looked down at him and he thumped his tail happily. “He's just doing what dogs do,” she said softly. “So . . . what's
really
the matter? Is taking care of Aidan twenty-four/seven getting to you?”

Levi shook his head. “No, it's fine.”

“How come I don't believe you?” she said with a gentle smile.

“He just asks so many questions . . . and he needs to be entertained all the time. I never get a minute to myself . . . to just think or draw . . . or
anything.
”

“That's how kids are—they're busy and curious. You were the same way.”

Levi shook his head. “I could entertain myself—I used to spend hours drawing pictures.”

“Why don't you give him a pad and some pencils? Maybe he has a knack for drawing too.”

“Maybe,” Levi said, sounding unconvinced.

“But that's not everything . . .”

Levi bit his lip and looked away.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Look at me. . . .”

“I can't,” Levi answered, shaking his head, tears stinging his eyes.

“Look at me,” she said again, and as Levi turned, hot tears were spilling down his cheeks. “Oh, hon, it's going to be okay . . .
you're
going to be okay . . . you're going to get through this. I'm so proud of who you are. You've grown up to be a wonderful man . . . and you're an amazing artist—who's already had a one-man show
on Nantucket,
of all places!”

Liam smiled and brushed his cheeks. “I know, but all I want is for you to be here. I'd give up everything if you'd just get better.”

“I want to be here, too, hon, but things don't always work out the way we want. I'll be in here, though,” she said, touching his chest. “At least I hope I'll be.”

“You will be,” he said, fresh tears filling his eyes.

“And you have a lot of other people who are going to fill your life with love—Liam, Aidan, Emma . . . and most importantly, kids of your own someday. By the way, when is Emma coming home?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Are you picking her up?”

“I was going to, but it's too much with Aidan.”

“You should go,” Cadie said. “Aidan can stay here. I'm sure you could use a break from all this anyway.”

“No, I . . .”

“Levi, I'm hungry,” Aidan called from the kitchen, “and I just spilled the juice. . . .”

Levi groaned and shook his head, and Cadie smiled. “You're going and that's that.”

Levi started to get up, but then turned and wrapped his arms around her. “Thanks, Mom,” he said softly. And when he pulled back, he said, “You smell good.”

“It's my new shampoo,” she said with a grin.

“Hey!” Aidan said, peering around the door. “What's a man gotta do to get a little food around here?!” Levi rolled his eyes and headed for the door, but before he got there, he turned. “Emma wants to see you. Is that okay?”

Cadie smiled. “I'd love to see her . . .” She hesitated, searching Levi's eyes. “Don't let her go, Le—she's a lovely girl . . . and she's brave to want to come see me.”

“I know,” Levi said with a half smile. “I won't let her go.”

Tuck pulled himself up and trotted after him and, moments later, she heard Aidan explain, “Don't worry about the spill, Le. Tuck got it.”

Cadie looked out the window and watched the waves chasing each other to shore, one after another . . . continuously . . . endlessly—just as they would after she was gone. All of a sudden, the keenness of knowing that life
would
go on—that the world would keep turning—without her—was almost too much to bear. She pictured all the lovely things she would miss: Levi painting in his studio; showing his artwork in prestigious galleries; marrying his sweet Emma, cradling babies in his arms and bringing them to visit their silver haired grandfather. She could picture Liam sweeping their grandchildren up into his strong arms; taking them sailing and swimming, and teaching them how to make s'mores as they sat around a fire and looked at the stars.

And then she tried to picture Aidan. What would
his
life be like? How hard would it be for him when he was taken from Levi? Would her parents send him to some faraway prep school? Would he ever be able to have a dog? Would he lose his sweet innocence and curiosity? Would he ever again . . .
be happy?

“Oh, God,” she whispered. “Please take care of Aidan. . . .”

A moment later, a small voice startled her thoughts. “Here, Mommy, Levi made toast and peanut butter for you.”

“Thanks, hon,” she said, looking up. “Are you having some too?”

“I already had it,” Aidan said as Tuck rested his chin on her bed and gazed at her.

Liam walked over to a small gray building behind the boathouse and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. Although the structure wasn't nearly as old as the boathouse, a couple of seasons in the salty air had quickly weathered its cedar shake siding and made it look like it had been there forever. Liam flipped through the key ring, came to a small silver key, slipped it into the lock, and turned it. The lock clicked open easily and he slid the heavy wooden doors to the sides, revealing a neatly swept bay. Originally, the barn had been built to store supplies: planking, frames, old masts, booms, and sails, but after Coop died, Liam had cleaned it out and used it to store only one thing. He stepped inside and lifted the corner of a heavy canvas cover, and the warm glow of mahogany and chrome sparkled in the sunlight.

Liam pulled the compressor over to fill the tires of the trailer with air, backed his truck up to the hitch, clamped it, and slowly pulled the old runabout out of the barn. Just as he did, a familiar black sedan pulled into the parking lot.

“Hey, John,” he said, walking over. “I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you—things've been a little crazy.”

John Alden nodded. “Don't apologize. I stopped by a couple of times, but you weren't here, so I asked Sally if something happened and she said you had a family emergency, and I know you said it wouldn't be done this season, but I was stopping by to see if you'd come up with a figure . . . and if you needed any money up front.”

“I appreciate that,” Liam said.

John motioned to the Chris-Craft. “Whose is this?”

“Mine,” Liam said.

John looked at Liam as if he were seeing him for the first time. “Yours?!”

Liam nodded, wishing John didn't look so surprised.

“She's a beauty! When'd you get her?”

“I've had her since high school,” Liam said, wiping dust from the deck with a chamois. “Coop and I restored her.”

“Wow!” John gushed. “How come I've never seen her before?”

“She's been in storage. I've had her out to refinish—but it's always been during the off-season.”

John nodded. “Are you taking her out now?”

“No, not today . . . but soon, I hope.”

“Well, I don't know how you could own such a gorgeous boat and not take her out once in a while—it's a sin . . . and it's not fair to
her
either.”

Liam chuckled. “You're right. I never thought about it that way before.”

“Well, anyway,” John said, reaching into his shirt pocket. “We're heading back to Boston on Saturday and I wanted you to be able to reach me.” He handed Liam a business card.

Liam glanced down at it and started to put it in his pocket, but then stopped. “You're an attorney?!”

John nodded. “Thirty years.”

“What kind?”

“I'm a partner in a firm. We have lawyers that specialize in just about every field—divorce, bankruptcy, personal injury, immigration, estate planning, elder law. . . .”

Liam swallowed. “What's your specialty?”

“I've been at it so long I've become a bit of a jack of all trades, but lately, my focus has been on estate planning and, sometimes, depending on the client, custody.”

Liam nodded slowly. “Do you have a minute?”

T
he next morning Levi was up early, but when he shuffled into the kitchen, he found Liam already up, making scrambled eggs.

“Coffee?” Liam asked, nodding toward the pot.

“Mmm,” he murmured, pouring coffee into a mug and looking out the window. “I can't believe it's still dark out at six o'clock,” he muttered. “A month ago, the sun was up before five.”

“I know,” Liam said. “And it's getting dark earlier too. A month ago, it was still light out at nine, but now it's getting dark by seven.”

“It's depressing. . . .” Levi mused gloomily.

“It sure is,” Liam agreed. He scraped the eggs onto two plates and then spread butter on the toast that had just popped up. “Jam?” he asked.

“What kind?”

“Beach plum.”

Levi frowned.

“Sally made it.”

“Oh,” he said with a smile. “Then, yes.”

Liam chuckled as he spread the jam on both pieces of toast.

“It was really nice of her to bring over that big pot of soup last night,” Levi said, sitting down. “I never thought I'd like kale.”

Liam smiled. “I was skeptical too. It must've been the roasted vegetables that made it so good.”

“Mmm,” Levi agreed with his mouth full. “She's a sweet lady,” he added. “I know Mom loved meeting her, and Tuck was so funny when he jumped in her car when she was leaving.”

“He
is
funny,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Whenever he stays with her, I have trouble getting him to leave. I think he might be happier if he just lived with her.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Levi said skeptically, looking down at the big dog asleep at his feet. “He follows you everywhere too.”

Liam looked at the sleeping dog and smiled. “When do you think you'll be back?”

“Tonight, I hope. Are you sure you don't mind having Emma here too?”

“I don't mind,” Liam assured him. “I'm looking forward to meeting her.”

“All right, but I really feel like we've turned your world upside down.”

“Maybe that's a good thing,” Liam said with a smile. “And if you do get back tonight, and your mom feels up to it tomorrow, maybe we could take her for that boat ride.”

Levi nodded. “That would be great.”

Liam paused. “There's something else . . .”

Levi looked up in surprise. “What?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, I have a customer who is a lawyer, and yesterday, we had the chance to talk about your mom and Aidan . . . and I know this is crazy, but he said that even if your mom was financially able to fight your grandparents for custody, it's highly unlikely a court would give him to you.”

“Why?” Levi said. “I'm capable of taking care of him. I have my own place, my own income, and I love him more than they ever will.”

Liam shook his head. “I know, but he said a court won't see it that way. They'll look for his father first, and if he doesn't want him, they'll probably give him to his grandparents.”

“That's not right!” Levi said in an angry whisper. “His father is long gone—he gave up all his parental rights in the divorce settlement, so he has no claim to Aidan . . . and his grandparents will probably ship him off to some boarding school.”

Liam bit his lip and nodded. “I know. It's not right. I couldn't agree more. This attorney said there's another possible solution; it's kind of far-fetched and we might run out of time, but he said if I was willing to pursue it, he'd represent us.”

Levi shook his head. “We can't afford a lawyer and you shouldn't pay for one either. You've done enough.”

“I wouldn't be paying him—his sailboat is the one that's in for repair and we agreed to an exchange of services.”

Levi frowned and shook his head. “I'm confused. How does this help? You just said a court wouldn't give me custody . . . so who would get Aidan?”

Liam took a deep breath. “I would.”

Levi stared at him. “You'd be willing to do that?”

Liam nodded. “I would. I've been giving it a lot of thought and I've realized that I wouldn't
just
be doing it for Aidan . . . I'd also be doing it for me. It definitely would change my life, but I honestly think that it would be in a good way. Plus, I keep coming back to something your mom said: She said having you was like having a part of me with her . . . and if I adopted Aidan, I'd have a part of her with me.” He paused. “How would you feel about that?”

“I think it would be great!” Levi said with a grin. “And, boy, would it ever piss off my grandfather!”

Liam chuckled. “I hadn't thought of that, but I bet it would.”

 

After Levi left for the airport, Liam looked in on Cadie. She moaned softly and he left the door open so he could hear her if she called out; then he walked down the hall to check on Aidan. When he peered around the doorway, Tuck's tail thumped, but he didn't move—he was much too comfortable stretched out on the bed with Aidan's arm draped around his big neck. “It would definitely be wrong to separate you two,” he said softly.

He walked back to the kitchen, refreshed his coffee cup, and stepped out into the cool morning air. The sun was just starting to come up, and as he sank into one of the chairs, he wondered if he
really
was prepared to take on the responsibility of another human being. Is anyone ever really ready? Had Cadie been ready to take care of Levi? Had Cooper been ready to take care of him? Just then, it dawned on him that he'd been Aidan's age when he'd come to live with Coop, and as he watched the sun peak over the horizon, he wondered if his uncle was playing a role in this turn of events. He could almost hear him whispering in God's ear, “Don't let that boy off easy—he needs a little excitement in his life.”

He chuckled and looked up at the morning stars. “Thanks a lot, Coop,” he said, and immediately, one of the stars blinked.