Nantucket, page 15
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?”
Chapter 35
The 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.
Chapter 36
Cadie woke up to the sound of voices outside her window. She looked out, her eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight; then she realized Aidan and Liam were working on something in the backyard. As her eyes adjusted she realized Aidan was looking at her window—as if he was making sure she wasn’t watching. “I think she’s awake,” she heard him whisper.
Liam turned around. “There’s no peeking,” he scolded.
“I’m not peeking,” she called back, and Tuck, hearing her voice, trotted over and pressed his wet nose against her screen. “Hey there, honey pot,” she said softly. “Do you know what they’re up to?” but the ever-faithful golden retriever—keeper of all secrets—just wagged his tail.
Cadie sat up higher, holding her abdomen. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Nothin’,” Aidan called back, trying to stand so she couldn’t see, but he wasn’t tall enough to completely hide the wooden post they’d just put in the ground.
Cadie watched as Liam pointed to an empty gallon jug lying on the grass; then she saw Aidan pick it up and hurry toward the house.
While he waited for Aidan to come back, Liam turned to the window. “Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m just going to use the bathroom,” she called back. “Then maybe I’ll make some breakfast.”
Liam looked at his watch. “You missed breakfast. It’s time for lunch.”
“Oh,” Cadie said as she looked at the bedside clock and realized it was eleven-thirty! “Damn pain pills!” she muttered. “Is there any of Sally’s soup left?”
“There’s plenty. I’ll be in to fix it in a minute.”
“You don’t have to come in. I can do it.” She stood up, still holding her abdomen, and made her way slowly to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, when she finally made it back to bed, Aidan was standing outside her window. “Look!” he said proudly.
Cadie looked across the yard and saw a post with a brand-new birdfeeder hanging from it, and on either side of the post, nestled between two new hydrangea plants, was a birdbath filled with fresh water. “Oh, my!” Cadie said. “That looks great!”
“Mm-hmm,” Aidan nodded. “And we’re going to hang a hummingbird feeder right here, outside your window,” he added, pointing to the overhang above his head. “So you can watch the hummingbirds.”
“That’s wonderful, Aidan,” Cadie said. “Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome,” he said, beaming.
“Aid,” Liam called from the porch. “Ready for lunch?”
“Yes,” Aidan called back. “I’ll be right there!” He looked back at Cadie. “Are you having lunch?”
Cadie nodded. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
She wrapped her robe around her thin body, made her way to the kitchen, and eased into the chair across from Aidan as Liam set a steaming bowl of kale soup in front of her. “Aidan, do you want some soup?” he asked.
“What kind?”
“Kale and roasted vegetable.”
Aidan squinched his nose. “No, thanks. I’ll just have grilled cheese.”
Liam spread butter across a slice of bread and dropped it, butter-side down, into a frying pan. “How ’bout you, Cadie-did? Can I tempt you with one of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches?”
“Cadie-did?” Aidan giggled, looking at his mom.
“No, thank you . . . just soup.”
“You should try Liam’s grilled cheese, Mom. It’s wicked good.”
“Wicked, huh?” she said, raising her eyebrows.
“Mm-hmm,” he nodded.
“May I change my order?” she asked, looking at Liam.
Liam smiled as he measured sugar. “You may,” he replied.
“May I have half a grilled cheese with my soup?”
Liam nodded as he poured the sugar into a pot and proceeded to fill the measuring cup with water.
“You’re quite the multitasker,” she teased. “What are you making?”
“Hummingbird juice,” he said, putting the pot on the stovetop and turning on the burner. “I never used to be a multitasker,” he said, spreading more butter on bread and then flipping Aidan’s sandwich. “But I’m learning.”
Cadie smiled as she blew on her soup. “You’d be a good dad.”
Liam looked up in surprise and searched her eyes. “Do you really think so?”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, sipping the soup from her spoon.
“It’s funny you should say that,” he said as he cut Aidan’s sandwich in quarters and set it down in front of him. “Milk?” he asked.
“And pickles,” Aidan said.
Liam looked back at Cadie. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What?” she asked, studying him curiously.
He flipped the second sandwich and glanced over at Aidan. “After lunch.”
“Okay,” Cadie said, frowning.
Liam cut the second sandwich in half, slid half onto the plate next to Cadie’s bowl and half next to his, ladled soup into both, turned off the boiling sugar water, and sat down.
“Thanks for lunch,” Cadie said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “Sally’s soup is amazing.”
“What about my grilled cheese?!” he asked, looking wounded.
“Oh,” she said with a grin. “It’s wicked good!”
Aidan smiled as he popped a pickle in his mouth.
“So, tell me more about Sally,” Cadie said. “She owns a restaurant?”
“Yeah—Cuppa Jo to Go—it’s a breakfast-lunch place. She’s up pretty early every day.”
“How long has she had the restaurant?”
“Oh, a long time . . . I can remember Coop bringing me there when I was Aidan’s age. He and Sally spent a lot of time together.”
“Do you think they were an item?”
Liam smiled and nodded. “I don’t have proof, but as I got older, I noticed the way they looked at each other and I saw how mad Sally got when Coop drank too much . . . but then I found out she was married.”
“How’d you find that out?”
Liam laughed, remembering. “Dimitri.”
“Dimitri?”
“Yeah, he was Coop’s drinking buddy and the father of one of my friends from high school—Tracey.”
“Tracey?”
“Jack’s wife.”
“Hmm . . .” Cadie said with raised eyebrows. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Can I take Tuck outside and see if the birds’ve found the feeder yet?” Aidan interrupted.
“Sure,” Liam said, tousling his hair. “But don’t get too close or you’ll scare them off.”
“Okay,” Aidan said. “C’mon, Tuck,” he called, heading for the door, but then he skidded to a halt and Tuck, who was right behind him, almost knocked him over. “What about the hummingbird feeder?”
“We’ll hang it up after the sugar water cools.”
“Okay.”
Liam smiled. “Anyway, whenever Coop and Dimitri went out, Frannie—Dimitri’s wife—would call and ask me to round them up. One night, I found them in their favorite haunt, but they were three sheets to the wind and I couldn’t get them to leave, so I just ordered a beer and joined them. Dimitri started talking to Coop about a woman, and at first, I wasn’t sure who it was. . . .
“ ‘Why the hell doesn’t she divorce the son of a bitch?’ Dimitri slurred. And Coop groaned, ‘I’ve told ya before, Dimitri . . . because she’s Catholic!’ ‘So?’ Dimitri said, shaking his head. ‘She doesn’t need ’im—she’s got the restaurant, and that place’s worth a fortune.’ ‘Is not about the money,’ Coop said. ‘It’s about ’er faith . . . and she says it’s bad enough she’s with me.’”
Liam grinned. “That’s when I almost fell off my stool!”
Cadie smiled. “Good for him. I’m glad he had someone.”
“Me too,” Liam said, nodding, but then his face grew solemn. “Sally took it pretty hard when he died. . . .”
Liam looked down at Cadie’s half-eaten lunch. “Not hungry?”
She looked down too. “I guess not. It was good, though.”
Then she looked up at him. “So what did you want to talk about?”
Liam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Aidan.”
Chapter 37
“I think you’d be a wonderful dad,” Cadie said as Liam helped her back to bed. “But it’s a huge responsibility. Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Liam said, leaving out the word absolutely.
He sat on the bed next to her and Cadie searched his eyes. “I wish we’d had the chance to spend our lives together.”
“I wish we had too,” he said with a sad smile. “That’s why we have to make the most of the time we have left.” He hesitated, searching her eyes. “Cadie, I hope you know what an inspiration you are to me. I see the pain in your eyes and I know you’re putting up a good front to make it easier for us . . .” He paused. “I don’t think I could do it. I don’t think I could keep smiling.”
Cadie squeezed his hand. “I guess I’ve just come to realize there’s no point in feeling sorry for myself. Everyone has to face death eventually, so I may as well go out with a smile on my face.”
