Page 51 of Harbor Lights
Shiv stood. “Ruane only likes me cause I can fit on the kids’ slide, and I’ve barely spoken to Gracie.”
“Well, she told me you were cool, and from someone who barely acknowledges the existence of adults, that’s fine praise indeed.” She waved her hand. “Ruane’s at the end of the hallway, Gracie’s in the attic. Do not return until your mission is accomplished.”
Shiv turned for the door, strangely pleased with her assignment. She knocked on Ruane’s door and found him playing with Playmobil figures on the floor.
“Hi, Shiv, wanna play with me?”
“Maybe later. Your dad has called you for dinner.”
He jumped up. “Okay.” He ran past her into the hallway and disappeared into the lounge.
That was easy.She took the stairs and knocked a lot more cautiously at the door marked “No Adults.”
When there was no answer, she called through the door. “Gracie, are you coming for dinner?”
The door opened quickly, and Gracie stood there, shoulders hunched. “Can I sit next to you? The grown-ups are all being mean about my hair.”
This wasn’t the time to point out she was one of the grown-ups, so she ruffled the top of her hair. “I think it looks great.”
Gracie straightened a little and her eyes lit up. “Will you help me shave the sides?” She led the way down the steep stairwell.
“I will not. I’m an adult, Gracie. That’s why I get to make questionable decisions about hairstyles.”
Gracie huffed off toward the dining room, muttering something about Shiv being the same as the others. Shiv was sad she’d disappointed the girl, but she didn’t intend to become some kind of role model for disgruntled preteens.
She followed Gracie into the room to find everyone sitting around the table. Gracie tipped her sister out of the adjacent chair. “Shiv’s sitting here.”
Saoirse rolled her eyes and moved to the seat next to her brother, who sent up a wail.
“I wanna sit next to Shiv!”
“Ruane. Stop that. You can talk to Shiv after dinner.” Aoife’s tone didn’t allow any room for argument and Ruane subsided into a sniffle.
“Sorry.” Shiv smiled sheepishly at Aoife as she sat, wondering if her unexpected popularity was causing more conflict than was usual at a family dinner.
“Oh, don’t worry. These two could start a fight in an empty room. If it’s not one, it’s the other.”
Gracie muttered something unintelligible.
“And you should know better, young lady. If you want to be treated as a grown-up, you need to start acting like one.”
Gracie sniffed and looked at her plate. Seán entered the room, laden down with dishes, and the conversation moved to food, much to Shiv’s relief.
The company was pleasant, and she enjoyed the warmth of family, pleased when Christy made an appearance after the last ferry.
But despite the number of people in the room, she couldn’t shake off the thought that the one person she wanted to see wasn’t here. She pictured Con sitting looking out at the boat lights twinkling on the harbor and wished she could be there alongside her.
But to what end? Con deserved someone reliable and respectable by her side, not a scruffy jack-of-all-trades with a criminal past. Their worlds were too far apart; she would just tarnish Con’s reputation with her tawdry lifestyle. She couldn’t do that to Con, she was too good.
SEVENTEEN
“It needs some work,I’m not denying that.” Shiv lifted the old door propped in the doorway. She wasn’t kidding. Con had passed this shed a thousand times and had never imagined it as a venue for anything.
But Shiv’s enthusiasm and vision for its transformation was a little catching. She moved through the main room to the small kitchen and ran water into the sink. It started with a groan and a rusty stream, but it soon cleared.
“Power, too.” Shiv leaned past her to flick on a switch, and she breathed in her proximity. She’d had almost a week to dwell on the truth: she’d been lying to herself as well as Shiv. She wanted more than friendship. She wanted what she fantasized about every night before going to sleep. Damn, how had she gotten here? She’d sworn she’d protect her heart after Majella tore it in two. But Shiv had dug her way in, unintentionally it would seem.
“Con?”
