Nine
That afternoon, Liam finished painting and spotted Joey unloading some passengers at the dock.
“What’s the best way to get to San Juan Island?” he asked.
“I’ll give you a ride. That’s what I’m here for.” Joey handed him a headset. “Missing civilization?”
“Something like that,” Liam said. “I need to make amends with Eliza and Mackenzie after being rude last week.”
Joey flipped a switch and the engine kicked on, propeller spinning in front of them. “I didn’t hear about you being rude, but Eliza was afraid she might’ve offended you with their version of an English tearoom.”
“Offended me?” He laughed. “Why?”
Joey shrugged. “She’s never been to the UK, so she thinks they’ve got it all wrong.”
“Reminds me a bit of my gran’s house, actually,” Liam said. “In a good way.”
Joey winced. “Maybe keep that to yourself.”
They took off and, within minutes, Liam found himself back on San Juan Island, staring up at the little tea shop under the blazing sun. Sweat beaded his forehead. He wiped it away and kept walking.
The tea shop looked so different than it had in his memory, standing against a solid blue sky, the sun casting glimmers off the water. Orange and purple wildflowers dotted the grass, blowing in the wind.
Had this all been here before? In his mind’s eye, the tea shop stood tall and dark, like some sort of gothic castle, lit only by lightning. How had he gotten it so wrong?
Shame smoldered in his stomach like a lump of coal. He trudged up the hill.
Liam got to the front door and pushed it open. A bell jingled, and both Eliza and Mackenzie stood behind the front counter.
“Hello,” he said with a nod.
Eliza’s face lit up with a smile. “Liam! It’s nice to see you again. How are you doing over on Stuart Island?”
“Quite well, thank you.” He shifted his weight. “I, uh, wanted to apologize for my less than gentlemanly behavior on the night of my arrival.”
“What!” Eliza shook her head. “You were a perfect gentleman!”
Mackenzie stared at him, narrowing her eyes. “I mean, I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Stop,” Eliza hissed. “It’s part of his culture to apologize profusely.”
A hearty laugh escaped him. “Yes, that’s true.” He cleared his throat. “I was hoping to have a moment of your time, Mackenzie. It’s about the unruly boaters.”
She sighed. “Oh, you heard? They’re accusing me of attacking them.”
“Yes, and it was – well, honestly, pretty outrageous.”
“I don’t care.” She raised her chin high. “I know Russell won’t put any stock into it and it doesn’t matter.”
“What about his PR team?” Liam said with a half-smile.
Mackenzie laughed. “There is no PR team. I’m the PR team.”
“Oh.”
Mackenzie tilted her head. “You seem disappointed.”
“Not disappointed, no.”
She went on. “It’s not going to affect the project, and I’m sure it’ll blow over. Next time I’ll just sink their ships.”
Eliza shot her a look. “Mackenzie. You can’t sink people’s ships.”
“Yes I can.”
“You don’t know how,” Eliza said.
Mackenzie narrowed her eyes. “Then I will learn.”
“I think you should offer a public apology,” Eliza said, nodding.
“Apologize for what? ” Mackenzie shouted. “I didn’t do anything wrong! They blocked a private dock, and the one woman threw her drink at me—”
“That’s not what I heard,” Eliza said, grinning.
Mackenzie stared at her, her mouth open. “If you—”
“I don’t think you need to apologize,” Liam said, cutting her off. He stepped forward. “I may have found a solution. I did something, and…well, I wanted to help.”
Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. “Help who? Me?”
“Why don’t you discuss it over some tea?” Eliza suggested, eyes bright. “The Yorkshire again?”
He nodded. He didn’t have any decent tea on Stuart. “Thank you.”
Eliza darted behind a door, and Mackenzie turned to him. Her eyes were steel. “Do you want to take a seat?”
“Sure.”
She led him into a different room than he’d seen before, one with tatami floor mats, paper screens, and cherry blossoms painted on the walls.
“Is this the Japanese tearoom?” he asked as they sat on cushions on the floor.
“It is. Granny designed the whole place back in the day.”
“It’s very charming.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell her you said that.” She flashed a quick smile. “So, what’s this idea you had?”
If she were willing to talk to him about it, she must not be as unconcerned as she was trying to portray.
“First off, did Russell tell you anything about me creating a documentary about Lottie’s return?”
She sighed. “No. Why would he?”
“It wasn’t set in stone,” he rushed to add. “It was an idea he’d had, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make something, so I didn’t commit to it.” He leaned in. “After seeing what you did – jumping off that plane and all – I realized I might have judged the idea prematurely.”
She snorted a laugh. “I’m glad I could get you to change your mind, I guess?”
The next part was more delicate. He cleared his throat. “I’m telling you this for two reasons. One, so you might agree to let me spend some time following you and your operations around here.”
She frowned. “Okay…”
“And two, to explain why I have this.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked the screen, and slid it across the table.
Mackenzie picked it up, her eyebrows knitting together. “Is this a video? Of me?”
“Yes. It was for the documentary, but it ended up being quite handy for ending a debate on ChatterSnap.”
A smile spread across her face. “That is quite handy.” Her eyes stayed focused, watching the video.
When it was done, she handed his phone back. “I have to say it’s a relief to see that. People were piling on so much about how crazy I was that I’d started to believe that maybe I had been too forceful.”
“And that maybe you had thrown that drink?”
She laughed. “Yeah. Sort of. It’s strange. I questioned myself.” Mackenzie sat back, sitting up straight. “I should never question myself.”
He smiled. “Anyway, I posted this video on the app. Everyone who sided against you…? Now they can see the truth.”
She whipped her phone out of her pocket and tapped, tapped, tapped. A hand went to her mouth. “Whoa. That’s awesome.”
“What was it Churchill said? A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on?”
Mackenzie laughed, her shoulders rising and falling. “Am I the one caught with their pants down in this situation?”
“In a purely metaphorical sense, yes.”
“Okay, Liam. I’ll hand it to you. This was helpful. Thank you.” She let out a breath. “It feels like a weight came off my shoulders.”
“Wonderful. So you won’t mind me tagging along and filming your business with the sea pen, then?”
Her gaze settled on him, her hard eyes searching, scanning.
Plates clanged, muffled by the walls. Liam held his breath. He didn’t need to do the documentary, but he needed to see more of her in action.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll allow it, but only to protect my good name.”
Liam smiled and bowed his head. “Of course.”
“Next week, I’m going down to the aquarium to check on Lottie. You can come if you want.”
“That would be brilliant.”
Eliza swooped in with a tray of tea. It smelled heavenly.
“This tea is fantastic, thank you,” Liam said.
He lifted a cup of tea to his lips. Mackenzie wasn’t the only one with a weight off their shoulders.
Liam wouldn't muck it up again.