They were out on the sidewalk when Stacey asked, “Founder’s Day Weekend. What’s that?”
“It’s so much fun,” Lizzy said, hopping with anticipation. “I like the pony rides.”
Cody rubbed the top of his younger daughter’s head and chuckled. “You like anything that has to do with a pony.” He regarded Stacey. “We celebrate the settling of the island. The story goes that after a long and very hard winter a few early settlers traveled from the mainland over to the island, seeking food. They found the maple trees and tapped them. The maple syrup helped restore the strength of the people. No one really knows whether it is true or not, but we remember those early settlers and focus on maple syrup by having a Founder’s Day Weekend. With all the trimmings—food, entertainment and fireworks. Everyone turns out for the event.”
“I’ve never been to a Founder’s Day anywhere,” Stacey said.
“You’ll come see us dance?” Lizzy stopped twisting to and fro long enough to ask.
“Of course I will.” Stacey assured her. “If I am still here.”
Jean and Lizzy grinned from ear to ear.
“Well, we’d better be going. Thanks again for sharing your table with us.” He was uneasy on some level with what was happening between Stacey and his girls, as well as his reaction to her. The whole meal had seemed far too family-like for his comfort.
“No problem. I’ll see you in the morning. Bye, Jean and Lizzy.” Stacey glanced back at him as she turned. “Thanks again for the pizza.”
He nodded. She lifted a hand and strolled away, looking in shop windows as she went. Why did he feel some of the pleasure in the evening was walking away from them?
* * *
Two days later, Stacey fixed a cup of hot chocolate in the employees’ kitchen and pulled on her sweater. She loved the ocean and didn’t always get an assignment near one, so she planned to take her afternoon break on the sundeck.
She eased into a chair. Being early April, the days were still cool. Raising her face to the sun, she closed her eyes. She’d been at the clinic for almost a week already. To her surprise she’d relished every minute of it. After living in little more than huts most of her professional life, she enjoyed staying in the tiny cottage called Paradise, facing the harbor. It was a slice of heaven. The village was pretty and she was slowly working her way through all the eating places. People were friendly and she was at ease here. She would miss it when she left.
Inhaling the damp salt air deeply, she released it slowly. The seagulls squawked nearby as the waves rolled in. Oh, yes, this was a great place to recharge her batteries. She needed this downtime in her life. This would be her first weekend on the island and she planned to do more of this.
A hand touched her arm. Her eyes jerked open. Cody’s dark coffee gaze looked down at her. Determination, along with a touch of something else, etched his features.
“I’ve been searching everywhere for you. I need you to come with me.”
She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts she’d not heard either him approaching or apparently her phone ringing.
“Where’re we going?” She thought through the fog of surprise and tried not to react to his touch, which had left her forearm tingling, tiny hairs raised by goose-bumps. Her reaction to him had to stop. She was too old for a crush.
“Boston. We have an emergency. I need you at the helipad in ten.” He was already walking away.
Stacey rushed into the clinic behind him. She spoke to his back when she asked, “Do I need to prepare a bag, take anything?”
“They’ll have everything we need there. I’ll see you at the pad. I have to check on the girls.”
She was waiting at the helicopter pad when Cody arrived. His lips were moving rapidly as he spoke into his phone. A furrow creased his forehead. The blades of the machine were already humming as they climbed aboard. She was a nervous flier. She gulped and climbed aboard. A high level of trepidation zipped through her.
She fumbled with her seatbelt. Cody reached over and clipped it into place. She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.”
He cupped his ear, shook his head and mouthed, “Use headphones,” then pointed to them hanging above her.
Stacey placed them on her head.
“This the first time you’ve ever been in a helicopter?” He spoke through the headpiece.
She looked at him and nodded. Over the years she’d ridden in jeeps and in the back of trucks over rutted, washed-out roads, and once in a small plane, which she hadn’t liked any better than the helicopter. Apparently, her fear was showing.
“There’s a button on your headphones just above your right ear. Push it when you talk and release it so you can hear me.”