she took another call on the shipboard radio and headed to the other side of the pond to make a pickup. About halfway there, an air horn sounded, leading her to another pickup.
By the time they returned to McCarthy’s thirty minutes later, Kara had a full boat and people waiting for her on the dock. She loved spending her days on the water and meeting new people, but mostly she loved being anywhere other than Bar Harbor.
Absorbed in collecting money, greeting new customers and helping others off the boat, she almost forgot about Dan.
Almost.
Preparing to leave on another run, she ventured a glance at him. “Are you getting off?”
“I understand each trip is three fifty, so if my math is correct, I’ve paid for three round trips.”
“You’ve paid for two. Three would cost twenty- one dollars.”
Very deliberately, he reached for his wallet, pulled out a one-dollar bill and asked the other passengers to hand it to her.
Kara took the dollar bill from the man sitting closest to her, realizing everyone on the boat was intrigued by the exchange. Great. That only made her dislike him more than she already did.
She made the mistake of looking at him, which was how she caught the smirk he directed her way. Biting back a growl of frustration, she released the lines and backed the launch out of the slip.
Grace had just gotten home from the pharmacy when someone knocked on the door. Since she’d seen her parents off on the first ferry that morning, she knew it wasn’t them. She swung open the door to find Seamus O’Grady on her deck.
Grace pushed open the screen door to let him in. “Hi, Seamus. This is a nice surprise.”
“Hello, Gracie, my love.” His thick Irish brogue always gave Grace a shiver of delight, not that she’d ever admit that to Evan, who was terribly jealous of the attention Seamus paid her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“What brings you by?” she asked as she led him into the loft.
“I need a friend,” Seamus said with a deep sigh that had Grace spinning around to study his handsome face. The Seamus she knew was never down or dour. He was perpetually cheerful and unfailingly charming. His auburn hair was unusually mussed and his jaw scruffy with whiskers. On closer inspection, she noticed his green eyes were rimmed with red, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well.
“What is it?” She took his hand and led him to sit with her on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve done an awful thing.”
Grace eyed him warily. “What awful thing have you done?”
“I’ve fallen in love, Gracie.”
She stared at him, astounded. “You’ve… With whom ?”
“Someone who doesn’t want me.”
“Wait a minute… Are you trying to tell me that you’ve met a woman—a living, breathing, woman—who doesn’t want you? What the heck is wrong with her?”
That brought a faint smile to his lips. “Ahhh, Gracie. You’re good for what ails me, love.” He squeezed her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with her. That’s the problem. Everything about her is right. She’s all I think about. Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to expire from the agony of wanting something I can’t have.”
The despair she heard in his voice touched her deeply. How would it feel, she wondered, to want Evan with every fiber of her being but not be able to have him? It didn’t bear thinking about. “Why can’t you have her, Seamus?”
“She’s older than me and can’t get past that obstacle. Among other things.”
“What other things?”
“I work for her son, for one thing.”
Grace’s eyes bugged out of her head. “ Joe’s mother? ”
“Shhh, don’t say it out loud. No one knows. No one.”
“Start at the beginning. Don’t leave anything out. I want every detail.”
“I probably shouldn’t…”
“You’ll feel better when you tell someone. Tell me. Maybe I can help.”
“You can’t tell anyone, Grace. I mean it. Not even Evan.”
“I won’t
By the time they returned to McCarthy’s thirty minutes later, Kara had a full boat and people waiting for her on the dock. She loved spending her days on the water and meeting new people, but mostly she loved being anywhere other than Bar Harbor.
Absorbed in collecting money, greeting new customers and helping others off the boat, she almost forgot about Dan.
Almost.
Preparing to leave on another run, she ventured a glance at him. “Are you getting off?”
“I understand each trip is three fifty, so if my math is correct, I’ve paid for three round trips.”
“You’ve paid for two. Three would cost twenty- one dollars.”
Very deliberately, he reached for his wallet, pulled out a one-dollar bill and asked the other passengers to hand it to her.
Kara took the dollar bill from the man sitting closest to her, realizing everyone on the boat was intrigued by the exchange. Great. That only made her dislike him more than she already did.
She made the mistake of looking at him, which was how she caught the smirk he directed her way. Biting back a growl of frustration, she released the lines and backed the launch out of the slip.
Grace had just gotten home from the pharmacy when someone knocked on the door. Since she’d seen her parents off on the first ferry that morning, she knew it wasn’t them. She swung open the door to find Seamus O’Grady on her deck.
Grace pushed open the screen door to let him in. “Hi, Seamus. This is a nice surprise.”
“Hello, Gracie, my love.” His thick Irish brogue always gave Grace a shiver of delight, not that she’d ever admit that to Evan, who was terribly jealous of the attention Seamus paid her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“What brings you by?” she asked as she led him into the loft.
“I need a friend,” Seamus said with a deep sigh that had Grace spinning around to study his handsome face. The Seamus she knew was never down or dour. He was perpetually cheerful and unfailingly charming. His auburn hair was unusually mussed and his jaw scruffy with whiskers. On closer inspection, she noticed his green eyes were rimmed with red, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well.
“What is it?” She took his hand and led him to sit with her on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve done an awful thing.”
Grace eyed him warily. “What awful thing have you done?”
“I’ve fallen in love, Gracie.”
She stared at him, astounded. “You’ve… With whom ?”
“Someone who doesn’t want me.”
“Wait a minute… Are you trying to tell me that you’ve met a woman—a living, breathing, woman—who doesn’t want you? What the heck is wrong with her?”
That brought a faint smile to his lips. “Ahhh, Gracie. You’re good for what ails me, love.” He squeezed her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with her. That’s the problem. Everything about her is right. She’s all I think about. Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to expire from the agony of wanting something I can’t have.”
The despair she heard in his voice touched her deeply. How would it feel, she wondered, to want Evan with every fiber of her being but not be able to have him? It didn’t bear thinking about. “Why can’t you have her, Seamus?”
“She’s older than me and can’t get past that obstacle. Among other things.”
“What other things?”
“I work for her son, for one thing.”
Grace’s eyes bugged out of her head. “ Joe’s mother? ”
“Shhh, don’t say it out loud. No one knows. No one.”
“Start at the beginning. Don’t leave anything out. I want every detail.”
“I probably shouldn’t…”
“You’ll feel better when you tell someone. Tell me. Maybe I can help.”
“You can’t tell anyone, Grace. I mean it. Not even Evan.”
“I won’t
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