Hearts at Home by Lori Copeland Page B

daffy, he was not immodest. After placing a call to his granddaughter to assure her of his safety, he spent the rest of the night muttering under Olympia’s electric blanket.
    Only when the old man had been safely tucked in did Dr. Marc come into the kitchen for coffee and conversation. Upon seeing Annie’s troubled gaze, he had dropped his hand over hers. “I’m sorry.” He squeezed her knotted fist. “I know it must have been a shock, seeing your aunt float away like that.”
    Annie shook her head. Russell had taken the Barbara Jean out just after Odell’s rescue, but Olympia had drifted out to sea with the current, and the encroaching darkness had made a search impossible.
    â€œI’m sorry, Annie,” Russell had said, shifting uneasily on the porch after his return. “But I can’t see anything on a cloudy night like this. We’d best wait until morning, then call the Coast Guard. Or maybe one of the other lobster-men will spot her when they head out in the morning.”
    Annie had returned to the kitchen to give Dr. Marc and Caleb the bad news. “What am I supposed to do now? I can’t just forget about her—what would people think? But how on earth are we supposed to find her? The currents could have carried her anywhere. And if the casket hits the rocks up on the coast, it could sink. Then we’ll never find her.”
    â€œShh, dear, don’t fret yourself.” Dr. Marc had stepped closer, pressing her head to his shoulder, and Annie had closed her eyes, relishing the comfort of a kind touch. Dr. Marc was a godsend; she would have lost her head if not for his clear thinking. He had known how to care for Odell; he had sent the other townspeople home to spare Annie from a barrage of comments, and by asking her to help him care for Odell, he had kept her from brooding about Olympia . . . and A.J.
    But even he hadn’t been able to keep sad reality at bay forever.
    â€œA doctor’s life is busy,” he had said when she lifted her head. “I’m sure Alex had a good reason for not coming.”
    â€œHe always does.” She had forced a smile. “But though he promised to come for the funeral, I don’t know how he’s going to get here. Without Odell’s boat—”
    â€œAlex is resourceful; he always has been. I’m sure he’ll think of something, Annie.”
    She had drifted off to sleep with that promise ringing in her ears, but those words seemed unrealistic in the gray morning light seeping beneath her window shade. Heavenly Daze had been blessed with an unseasonably warm winter, but a cloudbank had moved in to cover the morning sun, and the wind rattling the window held the promise of snow in its breath.
    Quickly dressing in jeans, wool socks, and a sweater, she padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Caleb, Dr. Marc, and Odell were sitting at the table, and Odell had the telephone pressed to his ear. When Caleb caught Annie’s eye, he pointed to the empty place at his right hand, then gestured toward the big bowl of oatmeal steaming in the center of the table.
    â€œI thought you’d be down soon,” Caleb whispered, placing a clean bowl and spoon on her placemat. “Eat up, dear one. You’ll need your strength today.”
    Nodding gratefully, she sank into the chair, then scooped up a dipperful of the hot oatmeal and plopped it into her bowl.
    Lifting a brow, she nodded toward Odell. “Who’s he talking to?”
    Dr. Marc grinned. “His granddaughter. We called her after the accident, of course, and she was relieved to hear he was okay. Now it sounds like her relief has passed into anger.”
    Annie shook her head.
    Across the table, Odell averted his eyes and held the phone an inch from his ear. Every once in a while he’d open his mouth as if to argue a point, then his mouth would close as his granddaughter squawked from the receiver. Annie looked down at