that good looking had to know the effect he had on women. He couldn’t be that oblivious to the disappointed pouts and sulky frowns he left in his wake.
He would be trouble; she could just tell. Probably best to steer well clear of him.
‘ORDER UP.’
There was a hearty boom of a voice punctuated by the dainty tinkle of a small bell.
Kelley headed back her way, stopping to pick up her order which was in a brown paper bag.
‘Can you throw a couple of beers in there?’ Ava asked.
‘Sure,’ he folded a couple of napkins and tucked them into the bag before retrieving a couple of cold bottles from the small refrigerator behind him.
‘So,’ he smiled easily, ‘where are you staying while you’re on the island?’
‘Why?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘How else am I going to call you up and ask you to dinner, you still need to try the lobster remember?’ he winked, ‘the locals won’t accept you until you do.’
‘I don’t think….’
There was a loud and sudden crash from the kitchen followed by profuse stream of profanities.
‘Hold that thought,’ Kelley turned toward the kitchen, ‘seriously, don’t move I’ll be right back.’
He disappeared through the doors into the back and Ava sighed. He was too appealing for his own good, or maybe her own good. She shook her head, she wasn’t looking to start anything up, even anything casual, she had too much on her mind. Shoving her hand into her pocket she pulled out a handful of bills and dropped them on the bar as she picked up the bag of food and her two beers.
Shame, she glanced once more in the direction Kelley had disappeared before she deliberately turned and walked out the door.
Climbing back into her truck, Bailey immediately stuck her nose into the bag.
‘NO!’ Ava snapped firmly, ‘you have to wait. If not, you can sit in the back.’
Bailey obediently sat down, her tail thumping against the seat, a small plaintive whine at the back of her throat.
‘That’s what I thought,’ Ava nodded as she tucked the food down in front of the seat and backed out onto the road.
They headed back through the town, up the narrow winding road, following the route they’d taken earlier in the day. It was almost full dark now, with only her headlamps to guide the way through the tree lined road.
Finally, it opened up and Ava pulled up, parking a short distance from the house on the patchy grass.
‘Come on then girl,’ she climbed out with Bailey hopping down enthusiastically next to her. ‘Would you look at that?’ she breathed.
The full moon reflected off the ocean making it glitter and shimmer restlessly, and in that one instant, with the cool night air tugging at her hair and the salty scent of the ocean in her nostrils combined with the soothing sound of the waves crashing against the base of the cliff, she fell hopelessly in love. Whereas her mom had needed the heat and the desert, Ava realized, she needed the ocean.
Smiling to herself she climbed up into the flatbed of her truck and settled back down beside Bailey as she unwrapped their food.
After they’d eaten, Ava had enjoyed a cool beer as she lay back staring at the pinpricks of light in the vast indigo sky above her, and for the first time in her life, she felt peaceful. She watched for the longest time, snuggled back against her bags, with a full belly, the comforting weight of her dog pressing across her legs and the lullaby of the ocean crooning softly to her. Her eyes began to get heavy, drifting closed, and as the moon watched over her, high in the sky, Ava didn’t notice the tiny flickering of a solitary candle in the topmost room of the darkened house.
3
The Lynch House, Midnight Island.
Jan 1907.
She reached out with gentle hands and as she peeled the dressing back, he whimpered in pain as the stained cotton took a layer of oozing skin with it.
‘Shush,’ she whispered.
‘It hurts.’
‘I know it does,’ her eyes widened nervously as she glanced at the closed door, ‘but if you make a noise, she’ll hear you.’
The small boy clamped his lips closed so tightly they turned white, his eyes filled with pain and fear. She resumed her task, working quickly to avoid causing him any more pain. The skin of his stomach was angry and red, peeling in patches, his groin and his upper thighs weren’t much better. There was still no improvement. All she could