Page 41 of Here & There

Tragedy struck last night in Redbeard Cove at what was supposed to be a momentous evening celebrating the MacGregors’ twentieth wedding anniversary…

As I read the story, my hand rises up over my mouth.

The celebration was on a dinner cruise, and a speedboat with a drunk driver crashed into the side of the ship. Six people were knocked into the water, including the entire MacGregor family, who’d been posing by the railing for pictures.

Angus hit his head and nearly drowned; Mac, who was seventeen at the time, pulled him and nearly everyone else out of the water.

Everyone except his mom.

My eyes blur as I try to read the rest.

Tragically lost…nine-year-old Annie in a coma…

“We still don’t know how he did it,” Chris says, startling me. She’s got the sandwiches I forgot all about in her hand. “He dislocated his shoulder when he fell out of the boat. Had to be in horrific pain.”

I wipe the tears from my eyes with the heels of my palms. I have the ridiculous thought that I shouldn’t be crying. I didn’t even know these people.

She gives me a sad smile. “He hates talking about it. We all do. It was the worst night of our lives. Annie never really recovered.” At my shocked expression, she says, “Oh no. I mean, physically, she recovered. But she was never the same. I don’t think I’ll ever forget all that shouting in the dark.”

Chris was there. “Oh God, Chris. Please, you don’t have to talk about it.”

She shakes her head. “It’s town lore.”

“Were you hurt?” I ask, despite myself.

“I wasn’t one of the ones who fell into the water. I just watched it all happen.” Her expression is soft as she takes in my face. I’ve never known how to hide my emotions very well.

“Come on,” she says. “It’s nice out today. Let’s take these to go.”

We walk outside into the bright spring day. Chris takes us around the block to a pretty town square. It’s beautiful here, reminiscent of a European plaza with a fountain in the middle. Several benches and tables are scattered around the open space, dotted with blue- and white-collar workers eating lunch, a few of whom Chris exchanges waves with.

She tells me a little about each of them as we settle onto a bench under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

I know I should move on from the story of Mac’s family, but I can’t stop thinking about this blurry moment from when I came out of the water.

“Hey, you okay?” Chris asks.

“Sorry,” I say. “It’s just…Mac was panicked. When they found me at the beach. He thought I came from a boat.” My heart cracks along with my voice. I retraumatized him by coming out of the water like that.

Chris must see the guilt on my face, because she shakes her head. “He’s just always alert now. But he was the best person to find you.” She takes a bite of her sandwich and swallows. She hesitates a moment before speaking again. “Since you’re going to be working with him, you should know that there were other things that happened. After the crash itself.”

I set my sandwich down.

“The story made national news,” Chris says. “Then, somehow, it got picked up by a teen magazine, of all things. Probably because someone somewhere saw Mac’s picture, and he’s, well, you’ve seen him. It all went downhill from there. He got this weird, twisted fan following, started getting stuff in the mail from girls all over the world. Photos, marriage proposals, you name it.”

I gape. “But he lost his mom!”

“Exactly. That’s why he hated being called a hero. He got so bitter.” She meets my eyes. “When I tell you they had to drag him out of the water that night—” Her voice catches in her throat, and I lay a hand on her back.

“Chris, it’s okay?—”

She shakes her head. “Women come into the Dinghy even today, saying they remember the story. It’s like they’ve made meeting Mac a bucket list item. It’s the reason he’s so guarded now. I think it’s the reason he’s never really had a relationship with anyone. Except Nate’s mom, but that’s…” Chris sighs. “Anyway.”

I desperately want to know more, but it’s not my place.

God, that poor boy.

“Listen, it’ll be good to have you at the bar. If any of them come in when you’re there, you can help us keep them away from him. We usually tell Mac to stay in the back if we see them.”

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