His bear was shockingly relaxed. Eren hadn't felt this settled, thishimself, in a very long time.
They rode like that through a brilliant sunset, and as the first stars began to emerge, they came around the point of land with Bernie and Tor's lighthouse, and entered Westerly Cove's harbor.
"Is this it?" Lucy asked as Eren throttled back.
"This is it."
She looked on curiously as he motored into the harbor. The rising land was a large dark mass studded with the lights of the town. Eren wished that her first view of Westerly Cove could have been by daylight. It was a beautiful little town, with the bright-colored houses characteristic of the island, the ocean jewel-toned blue-green and the hills wild and green above.
Eren had spent a lot of his early life wanting to leave, but now he couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Every time he rounded the point and saw the town again, it was like seeing it for the first time. Every part of him knew that he had come home.
Now he found himself desperately wanting Lucy to like it.
He motored up beside the dock. Following his instructions, Lucy climbed over the bow railing and then caught the rope he tossed her. Eren climbed after her and made the boat fast.
"I'll show you how to tie sailor's knots, but not in the dark," he told her.
It wasn't completely dark on the dock, but it was dim. Harbor lights illuminated their way to the Nilsson house. It was a large, low, rambling blue house, built over two side-by-side docks with a space between them. The ocean came right up under the house, lapping against the shadowed beach.
From a trap door in the living room floor, it was possible for the polar-bear-shifting Nilssons to dive into the water, or climb out of it, without being seen by the neighbors.
Lucy peered down at this curiously while Eren reached to open the blue-and-white door.
It opened before he had a chance, and a huge hand, the sort of massive hand usually dignified by the term "paw," pulled him inside.
"Son!" bellowed Stieg Nilsson.
"Dad—" Eren began.
He didn't have a chance to get a word in. He was half-steered and half-dragged toward the kitchen.
"Son, it's great to see you. I talked to Inga today—"
"Dad," Eren said, struggling to free himself. Over his dad's shoulder he saw Lucy, dragging the weight of the huge coat, poke her head curiously inside.
Stieg gripped Eren with a meaty fist on the back of his neck and gave him an affectionate shake. "Eren, boy, that firecracker sister of yours got up in my face and let me have it for how I've been riding you lately—"
"Dad—"
"—and you know, son, she's right. She's absolutely right, by gum! Ihavebeen hard on you, boy, and that's a problem I have to solve on my own time, not shovel onto you. When your mother passed, I promised all you kids that I'd do my best, but sometimes a father gets a little too—what's the word—overprotective—"
"Dad, I appreciate the thought, but—"
He found himself plunked down on a stool at the kitchen island.
"Fresh start, son," Stieg declared, a big hand descending on his shoulder with what felt like the weight of a house behind it. "You're a man, and I swear to give you a man's respect from now on. No more questions when you take the boat out. No more—well, hi there, little lady! Are you lost?"
Lucy had tiptoed far enough inside to have come to his dad's attention. Now she froze in mid-step, eyes wide.
"Lucy, it's okay," Eren said quickly. With his dad distracted, he finally managed to physically untangle himself. "Dad, this is Lucy. I picked her up on the boat. She needs a place to stay for the night. I was thinking she could use Tor's room."
"Well, of course!" Stieg boomed. Lucy looked mildly panic-stricken as Stieg swept down on her and ushered her into the house, slamming the door behind her. Eren tried to edge himself into the way so she wasn't taking the full force of his dad's considerable personality. "The more the merrier, I always say! Of course you can stay. Where you down from, ma'am?"
Lucy opened and closed her mouth, clearly unsure how to respond.
"She's a tourist, out from the mainland," Eren said. "Her luggage was, er—"
"Lost," Lucy put in quickly. "It was lost."