Chapter 14 #2
Naki reached over to cover her hands with one of his. His fingers were warm, strong, grounding her in a way she hadn’t expected. In a way she needed more than she’d realized, in a way that encouraged her to keep going.
“Mother said he divorced us both.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “That he just wasn’t cut out to be a family man and we were better off without him.”
Naki turned toward her. “Your mother had one perspective. Your father might have had another. A family is like a big house. Each person peers into it from a different window and sees a different view.” His voice was calm, but the words had weight, as if he was offering her a view into a world she hadn’t considered.
She shrugged, but it was a shrug that felt hollow. All those years, her dad knew where she was. “Why were you coming to get me?”
“Ranger Rivers has the envelope.”
“So let’s go get it. See if Chase missed any clues.” She glanced up at the sky. “There’s still plenty of daylight left.”
“There’s no longer a need to hurry.” He gave a slight shake of his head. “Chase got the envelope first and went straight to the newspaper. He’s running the story tomorrow morning.”
Scout looked out at the water. She wasn’t entirely surprised. She took a deep breath and reached into her ranger hat, pulling out the two small brass boxes tucked neatly inside, handing them to him. “Well, at least two clues can be checked off the list.”
Naki turned them over in his hands. “How did you locate them?”
“I tried to think the way you thought. To look for the nuance.” She grinned, and he grinned back, and good night!
The stern look left, replaced by tenderness.
She had to make herself look away, just to keep her thoughts on track.
“The one at Cadillac Mountain was a little tricky. Chase was sure the clue meant the summit area, but I did what you suggested and went below the summit and waited for the sunrays to hit the boulders. One boulder sort of jumped out at me.”
“Well done.” He had an approving look in his eyes.
“And I found the other one there near the tide pools.” She pointed, but they were no longer visible. The tide had swept in and hidden them.
“What was the clue?”
She pulled a piece of paper out of her shirt pocket and read the clue: “‘Where the earth bows to the sea, and the sands stretch pale beneath the crag’s shadow, seek where the waters gather to cradle the light of the sun and moon.’ Chase was focused on the crag’s shadow—so we were climbing in the direction of an eagle crag. ”
“Extremely dangerous.”
Sure was, especially in a lightning storm.
“Then, after Chase left, I was on the trail and, well, I got kinda stuck at a spot.” She skipped the part about shouting at the Almighty.
“I looked down at the ocean, and the clue suddenly seemed as clear as day. The waters gathering, the sands stretch pale. I came down the trail and went straight to Sand Beach. It was hidden in a clever spot—tide pools below, but in a crevice facin’ the beach, which would have protected it from waves and weather. ”
“And in a place where a woman’s hand could have hidden it.”
She held up her hand. “Exactly right. Small but not too small.”
“Thanks to my partner’s research efforts, we think we know why she did it.” He shifted on the sand to face her. “Scout, I’d like you to come to Penobscot Indian Island.”
Oh, she would love that! “When?”
“Now.”
“Now?” Why not? Since there wasn’t pressure to find the rest of the gold, she did have time to spare. By tomorrow, she’d probably be back to leading Baker Island tours, and she wouldn’t see much of Naki again—if at all.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pink ribbon, gathering her hair to tie it back. As she looped the fabric into place, she became aware of his gaze—not just watching, but lingering. “I lost my ribbon up on the trail,” she said lightly. “But I remembered to carry a spare.”
Still, he watched her.
There was something different in his expression now, something softer.
The usual intensity in his eyes hadn’t faded, but a warmth had crept in alongside it, as if he were seeing her in a way she hadn’t expected.
She would have given anything to know what he was thinking.
She fit her ranger hat on, and Naki looked away. The moment was over.
“I’d like to take the gold to Ranger Rivers first. And I need to ask him if it would be okay to use the jeep for non-park business.”
“This errand is park business.” Naki rose to his feet and reached down to give her a hand. “First stop: Ranger Rivers’s office. Then to Penobscot Indian Island. There’s someone special to me whom I’d like you to meet.”
Someone special to him? Someone like . . . Naki’s partner. That thought sank like a stone in her heart.
Maisie pressed her phone to her ear, walking slowly on the Village Green as she waited for a bus to arrive. “It’s just a big mess here, Mom. Pops is in a mood.” She scuffed her sneaker against a crack in the sidewalk. “Frankie looks at every girl but me.”
“Hold on. Frankie? Frankie Franklin from Grand Teton? He’s in Acadia? The same Frankie Franklin you never stop talking about? Maisie, you never told me he was going to be there.”
Maisie winced. Yeah, she had left that part out when she campaigned to visit Pops.
“What does Frankie have to say about his dad?”
“I dunno. Not much.” Her mom and Frankie’s dad had met in Grand Teton and shared a .
. . what do you call it when old people flirt?
Like . . . a spark? They kept in touch for a little bit, but it fizzled out.
Frankie’s dad was a big shot in the NPS and super busy.
And Maisie’s mom could be a little . . .
needy. “He’s busy a lot. That’s always been the thing between Frankie and his dad. He’s too busy for his son.”
“Did he happen to say if his father is involved with anyone?”
“Mom!” Maisie yanked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes, listening carefully,” Mom said. “You wish you hadn’t gone to Acadia and your grandfather is preoccupied. No big surprise there, honey. But I have some news that’ll turn your day around.”
“You got a job?”
“Not yet. Soon, though. Remember Rebecca Woodbine?”
Maisie frowned. “Yeah. We lived in her basement for a while after you lost that art teaching job.” One of the many jobs Mom had lost.
“Well, she called the other day to check in. She always asks about you. When I told her that you were in Acadia for the month of July, she said she’s always wanted to visit Maine. So, she said, why don’t we go together?”
Maisie blinked. “The two of you? Coming here?”
“Yes! Rebecca has some frequent flier miles that are about to expire. Use ’em or lose ’em, she said. I told her we could stay with your grandfather.”
Maisie wasn’t so sure about that. Pops’s place was small. Super rustic. Like, mice-running-around rustic. “When do you think you’ll come?”
“Rebecca is working on the flights now. If she can get them, we’ll be coming over the Fourth of July weekend. I’ll let you know.”
“That’s just a few days away! I can’t wait to see you, Mom!” After Maisie hung up, a grin crept onto her face. It would be fun to show Mom and Rebecca around Acadia.
Pops might let her throw a Fourth of July party at his place.
Maybe Frankie would come, and Mom would whip up her famous trash can nachos.
And maybe Maisie would wear a slightly sexy new top she’d been saving for a special occasion, one that made her look a lot older than fifteen.
Frankie would see her, do a double take, and realize she wasn’t just Ranger Rivers’s awkward granddaughter anymore.
The bus rumbled up, brakes hissing, and she stepped to the end of the line. Then she saw them hop off the bus.
Frankie.
Sophie.
Holding hands like they’d been superglued together.
Ranger Rivers wasn’t in his office and didn’t answer his phone, so Scout and Naki kept the gold with them and headed off Mount Desert Island toward Penobscot Indian Island.
It was the first time in over two months that Scout had left Acadia, and she welcomed the chance to see more of Maine.
The Penobscot River stretched out on either side, glinting under the late afternoon sun.
But as they approached the narrow bridge leading to the island, Scout was full of questions. “So . . . do you live on the island now?”
Naki sat calmly in the passenger seat, his hands resting lightly on his knees. “No. I do have an office there, but most of my work is in Bangor. I visit often. Penobscot Indian Island will always be home.”
Scout chewed on that for a moment as they rolled onto the bridge. “Your partner . . . where is she?”
“She?” Naki frowned slightly, confused.
“You’ve mentioned that you have a partner.”
“Ah. Yes. So I did. She’s a he.”
“Oh.” Her eyes went wide. “Oh!”
He coughed a laugh. “My work partner, Scout. We consult together on shipwrecks off the coast of Maine.”
“Oh.” Scout felt an unexplainable lift in her spirits. “Then you’re not . . . uh . . . married?”
“Not married.”
Oh, really? Her heart skipped a beat. She was in this pretty deep, why not go all the way? “But you said you had many children.”
Naki turned to her, eyes crinkling at the edges, his voice rich with warmth. “Native Americans all share responsibility for the next generation.”
“I love that. Imagine if everyone thought that way about the next generation.” There was such wisdom in that thinking. Scout’s interest in the lives of Native Americans kept growing. The Penobscot people, in particular. One, especially. “So what was it like growing up here?”
He gave a small, thoughtful smile, his dark eyes softening.
“Like growing up in a family with no walls. The kind of childhood where everybody knows everybody—and I mean everybody. You couldn’t go to the store without running into at least five people who’d tell your parents exactly what you were up to. ”
Scout grinned. “Sounds charming.”