Bougainvillea by Heather Graham

had to smile. “Oh.”
    He shook his head, somehow lost in memory himself. “She was too impetuous, I’ll tell you that.” A deepsigh trembled through him. “Confident and reckless. The night she died…she was angry with everyone, I think, and so she walked out to the lagoon, and plunged into the water.”
    â€œYou don’t think that she—that she tried to kill herself?” Kit said.
    Seamus shook his head emphatically. “Marina Delaney? Never! She could swim like a fish, and she was prone to popping out into the water at any hour of the day or night.” He arched a brow. “You still swim, don’t you? When your father left here, he was heartsick, hated the ocean, the water, even the sun and the moon, I think.”
    â€œMy Dad was the most incredible man on earth,” Kit said, her pride and affection mingling with the pain of loss. “He taught me everything he thought important. I was on my high school swim team. I never saw him in the water, but he never stopped me.”
    â€œGood, good. The water is part of life down here. Of our lives, anyway. We build boats, you know. Some of the best in the country. Sea Life racers enter almost every important event across the country.”
    â€œSo I understand. And Michael, your son, designs them?”
    â€œSome. I still design myself. And Josh…Josh is showing a real talent. Michael doesn’t want to do anything but live out his dream—taking off on one of the sailing vessels and cruising the Caribbean endlessly. Your husband is the one with the real nose for business, you know. There were times when, I admit, in the last years, we might have lost the whole shebang. Your fellow kept us afloat. But there must be somethingabout the place—maybe in the water!” he said with a wink. “David has his camera out all the time. He has a real artistry with it. And you—I’ve seen your strips, of course. I’ve followed them since you started.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you ever…why did I go all these years without hearing from anyone here? I know that the pain of my mother’s loss sent my father away, but…”
    â€œWhen Mark left here, he was running, yes. And he didn’t want to be reminded of Marina or anyone or anything here. I understood that. And later, when I thought he might relent, I wrote to him. He said that he could never bear to come back here, and that life was good in Chicago.”
    Kit nodded. She was startled to feel a bit of resentment. She understood her father’s pain. After all, she had been a child suddenly bereft of a mother. But still, her heritage was here…and he had kept her from it.
    â€œYou’re here now!” Seamus said, still eyeing her as if the most incredible treasure had been set before him. It was a pleasant feeling.
    â€œCome, I’ll show you something.”
    Seamus rose suddenly. She followed.
    They went back into the hallway. He pointed to the door to Kaitlin’s office. She had a little bungalow down by the lagoon, but there was a futon, full bath, and even a little kitchenette in her office, just for those nights when business became too hectic. “Sometimes, we’re up all night because we deal with customers all over the world,” Seamus said.
    Then he opened a door to the left.
    There was a scent of jasmine on the air. Subtle, below the surface, but there. A silvery white negligeewas lying over the bed. Along with the scent of jasmine, there was something a little musty. Windows opened to the rear of the house, and the curtains drifted inward on the breeze, which carried with it the faint sound of conversation and music below.
    â€œThis was your folks’ room. I never changed it. I never allowed anyone in it. I’ve spent all these years thinking that one day Mark would come back, and I’d have everything just as it was. Then he could go through your mother’s belongings, and