30. Home
Chapter thirty
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Ihave Annie Lockhart in my arms in front of the whole town, and she’s kissing me back with every ounce of fire I’ve watched her use as armor since the day she glared at me through berry juice at the farmers market.
I don’t ever want it to end.
Not when her hands are twisted in my shirt. Not when the whole room is cheering around us. All those voices and all those people, and all I can focus on is the woman in my arms.
I can feel her shaking. I kiss her harder.
Something pokes my thigh. I keep kissing Annie for one more second. Maybe two.
Now someone clears their throat. I ignore it.
The poke comes again. “Dad.”
Annie breaks away first. Her mouth looks thoroughly kissed, and I have a sudden, terrible desire to start all over again just to make sure everyone in the room understands exactly where I stand.
“You’re both medical professionals. Oxygen should mean something to you.”
I look down.
Ellie is in front of the stage with her crutch tucked under her arm. Erin is beside her, eyes huge. Rhea is behind them with one hand over her mouth, failing to stifle a laugh.
Ellie looks from me to Annie, then back to me.
“You two need air at some point. Medical fact.”
Annie turns red.
The room laughs.
Annie ducks her head for one second, then looks right at Ellie. “You’re very bossy for someone on crutches.”
“I had a near-death experience. It changed me.”
“You fell behind a waterfall,” Erin says.
“And almost gave everyone a heart attack,” I say.
Ellie points at me. “Do not start with the dad voice. I am trying to save everyone from watching you embarrass yourself.”
“Too late,” Rhea says.
That gets another laugh.
I climb down before my daughter decides to use the crutch as a weapon. Annie takes my hand and steps down after me.
Alvarez is near the side wall, speaking with one of his deputies. The video screen is dark. People are still talking in clusters around the room, but the energy has changed.
Relief.
Anger too, sure. Coupeville is going to be angry for a while. That part is a given.
Mrs. Avery crosses the aisle and takes both of Annie’s hands. “You did right by us.”
“I did what I had to do.”
Mrs. Avery squeezes her hands. “Don’t argue with a woman of my advanced years.”
Annie hugs her.
Mr. Jensen from the bait shop tells her. “Hell of a presentation, Annie.”
Annie’s laugh is shaky. “Thanks.”
Then the mayor approaches with his face still slightly pale. “Annie.”
Her shoulders shift a little before she turns.
He looks at her for a long moment, then says, “I’m sorry.” The words are simple. Public.
Annie nods once. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
“I should’ve asked harder questions sooner.”
“We’ve all learned very valuable lessons from this,” she says.
He takes that. “That, we have.”
“I think we all could use some dinner,” Rhea says. “Oystercatcher?”
“I can’t invade,” Annie says.
Rhea gives her a look. “You’re not invading anything. We’re celebrating.”
Ellie looks at Annie. “C’mon Annie. We’re celebrating you.”
She glances at me, then at Ellie. “All right.”
We start moving with the crowd, then I stop near the door and pull out my phone.
Annie watches me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I need to tell Admiral.”
Her face changes. Softens in a way that makes me want to kiss her again and risk Ellie’s commentary.
I type fast.
ME: Annie did it. Ian’s in custody. Town voted no to the proposal. Ellie sends her love. Can’t thank you enough, brother.
I show Annie before I send it. Her eyes move across the screen. “Send it.”
The reply comes before we reach the door.
ADMIRAL: Good. Easiest crisis one of you boys has handed me in years. Teach the others how to keep it simple. I’m not getting any younger.
I laugh.
Annie leans in. “What?”
I show her.
She reads it twice. Her eyes shine the second time. “Cleanest crisis. He’s ridiculous.”
“Oh, you have no idea what this crew has been up against over the years.”
“Well, to me this was as big as I ever want to see. I want to thank him.”
“That’ll make him uncomfortable.”
“He helped save my town.”
“He knows.”
We step out into the evening together.
***
The Oystercatcher is busy, but someone shifts tables before we can ask. We end up in the back corner with a window facing the street. Rhea and Erin take one side. Ellie claims the chair at the end so she can stretch her leg out.
Annie sits right beside me.
The waitress appears with menus and wet eyes she tries to hide by talking too fast about the specials. Annie listens, nods, and orders tea first.
Annie laughs, and it spreads around the table. I take her hand and hold it under the table. Ellie sees. Her eyebrows rise.
“Subtle,” she says.
Annie looks at her. “You’re going to be a menace about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“At least she’s honest about it,” I sigh.
Ellie groans. “This is going to be terrible if you two team up.”
Annie glances at me. “If?”
Rhea hides a smile behind her water glass.
Dinner turns into exactly what we need. The girls talk too fast, argue over fries, and compare town hall details as if it were a school play that went off-script. Rhea keeps the conversation light, but she watches Annie with open care.
Mr. Bellamy passes our table on his way out with Richard beside him. He pauses long enough to look at Annie.
“Art would’ve been proud,” he says.
Annie’s face changes.
Mrs. Bellamy touches her shoulder. “We are too, dear.”
They leave before Annie has to answer. The table gets quiet for a moment.
Ellie reaches across and puts one fry on Annie’s plate. “Emergency fry.”
Annie laughs through wet eyes. “Thank you.”
“Use it wisely.”
By the time we leave, town hall has shifted from wound to story. It will be lore by the end of the year. Not harmless. But something everyone survived.
***
Two days later, Mayor Ford comes into the clinic after lunch with a folder under one arm and nerves all over his face.
Annie is at reception. I’m signing a prescription refill when I hear him say, “Do you two have a minute?”
I step out. Annie sets her pen down.
The mayor notices her expression and lifts one hand. “Nothing bad. Well, at least I don’t think so.”
“That’s not comforting,” she says.
“There’s been a new offer on the cannery.”
Every good bit of air leaves the room. I move closer to Annie.
The mayor continues. “Full cash price. All the paperwork was already filled in and notarized when it got to us. And there’s something pretty unusual.”
Annie crosses her arms. “Unusual how?”
“The buyer says the sale only proceeds if the property becomes the Lockhart-Bie Medical Center.”
Annie stares at him.
The mayor checks his notes, then looks back up. “Built to specifications set by both of you. Medical care. Physical therapy. Mental health space. Visiting specialist rooms. Community health programming. That sort of thing.”
Annie doesn’t blink.
He looks from Annie to me. “There’s one more condition.”
“What?” she asks.
“The same buyer is also purchasing the land across the street. The condition is that it must be developed into an animal hospital.”
Annie grips the edge of the counter. “He wouldn’t.”
The mayor looks from her to me. “Do you know anything about it?”
“He couldn’t.” Annie turns to me slowly. “Right?”
I think of Admiral, professional menace, and the most quietly generous bastard I know.
“He has the means,” I say. “For sure.”
Annie’s eyes widen. “Doc.”
The mayor closes the folder. “Should I be worried?”
“No,” I say. “But we need ten minutes to confirm a few things.”
He points to the door. “I’ll wait outside.”
The second he leaves, Annie pulls out her phone, then shoves it toward me. “You call him.”
Admiral answers on the second ring. “Doc.”
“You buying a cannery?”
Silence. Annie presses both hands to her mouth.
“That depends on who’s asking,” Admiral says. “My partner or my tenant?”
“Partner?”
“It's four hundred thousand to be partners. I’m hoping you’ll say yes.” He sighs. “I’m making an investment in a sure thing.”
I put the call on speaker. “Annie’s here.”
“I assumed.”
She leans toward the phone. “You bought the cannery and the land across the street?”
“I made an offer. Nothing has closed.”
“For an animal hospital?” She wipes under one eye. “Why?”
“Animals need doctors too,” he quips. “And, it’s a good investment.”
“Admiral.”
“Look, I know a solid opportunity when I see one. The building needs purpose. The town needs care that doesn’t require half its residents to rearrange their lives around ferries and mainland appointments. You already knew what belonged there.”
She wipes her cheek again. “And the animal hospital?”
“Evidently, you like strays.”
I laugh before I can stop myself.
Annie shakes her head, tears freely flowing now. “I want to hug you.”
“You threaten me again like that and I’ll pull the offer.”
“You’re unbelievable,” I say.
“I’ve been told. Put the mayor back on track before he talks himself into another developer without the sunny disposition I have.”
Annie laughs, but Admiral cuts in before she can speak.
“Annie.”
“Yes?”
“Build it right. Do good things.”
“We will. I promise.”
“All right then. You two kids have a lot of planning to do. Later.”
Annie stands there with the phone in her hand. When the mayor comes back in, she looks at me first.
“We absolutely know the buyer, Mayor.” Then I smile as we start explaining the situation to him.
***
That afternoon I tell Annie I have an errand I need to run.
And I do. Well, it’s more of a conversation that cannot wait any longer.
I drive to the waterfall.
The trail is drier than the night I found Ellie, but I still watch my step. When I reach the falls, I stop and look up toward the cave behind the water.
I climb.
Carefully.
When I get to the cave, I sit there quietly for a long time. Finally, I talk. “Hey, Honey.”
For a while, that’s all I’m able to get out, until the rest comes.
“Babe, Ellie said you were here with her that night. I don’t know what happened. Dream. Head injury. Something more. I’m done trying to explain it. I just so badly want you to talk to me too. Selfish, you betcha. But I miss you, Beth and I have so much I want to talk to you about.”