Page 58 of Harbor Lights

Gracie looked up from scrolling the phone she had concealed under the table. “Yeah, sure.” She jumped up and gathered plates more enthusiastically than any of the other volunteers, then led the way to the kitchen. Shiv caught Aoife’s astonished stare and winked.

In the kitchen, Joey started a system of clearing the plates and stacking the dishwasher. Shiv and her new assistant went back outside for the last of the dishes. Her granddad and Anthony were passing around bottles of brandy and everyone was talking happily. Shiv felt as though she’d played her part, but now she needed some peace.

She stopped when she reached Aoife. “Hey, when we’re done in the kitchen, why don’t I take the kids back, and you and Seán can have some time to chill out here.”

Aoife turned. “You’d do that? That would be amazing. Ruane’s already complaining he hasn’t got to play with his new toys.”

“Of course. And take your time. I’ve got nowhere better to be.”

“Ah, grand. Thank you, Shiv.” Aoife got up and hugged her. “And you’re staying in the guest room tonight, no argument.”

Shiv nodded then continued her collection duties. She patted herself on the back at her genius plan to meet her promise to Gracie, and to get herself some quiet time, even if it was surrounded by kids.

Half an hour later, the kitchen was spotless, and Joey dismissed their crew. They pulled Shiv into a long hug. “Good luck with the kids and thank you for being here today.”

Shiv savored the contact, remembering it wasn’t long ago she’d tried to avoid Joey’s hugs. “I’ve enjoyed it.”

“But you need some peace now, right? I know the feeling. We won’t be long behind you.”

Shiv collected her troupe of followers. Denny had added himself to their number. “Wanna see Wuane’s new pirate ship.”

“Do you mind?” Marianne asked. “We’ll be passing in half an hour or so.”

“Hey, the more the merrier. Let’s go, crew.”

When all the kids had coats on, she strapped her head torch onto Denny and hoisted him onto her shoulders. “You’re leading the way, kiddo.”

She led them out into the dark evening. Gracie took Ruane’s hand and Saoirse followed behind, bouncing her ball on the road.

The kids chattered about their best Christmas gifts, and they were soon at the turn for the Carroll family house.

“Will we watch the Doctor Who Christmas special?” Saoirse turned in the hallway.

Shiv didn’t know what she was talking about, but she nodded. “Watch what you want.”

She followed the two boys to Ruane’s room and left them settled into a game of pirates. When she returned to the lounge, the sisters had curled up under blankets.

She set the fire and got it roaring, then sat down to see what they were watching. It made no sense to her, but she joined Gracie on the couch and watched along.

She wondered what Con was up to and if she’d enjoyed her day. Shiv had enjoyed her best Christmas Day in years, but she hadn’t been able to shake off the feeling someone important was missing. How strange it was that of all the people she’d met on this island, Con was the one she couldn’t bear to imagine leaving behind.

NINETEEN

The vibrationof the coffee grinder reverberated through Con’s elbows as she gripped the cold concrete worktop. Everything in sight was fucking concrete. She was fairly sure this was the third kitchen refit since Majella and Audrey had bought the house eight or nine years ago.What a waste.

Then she thought back to her wreck of a kitchen and how Shiv had gently coaxed her to make some changes. Was that worse than wasting money changing things around for the sake of it?

God, she missed Shiv. What was she doing here wasting her vacation playing happy families when they could’ve had time together? Shiv had made it clear she’d wanted to.

But Con had drifted back into her rut. She’d promised herself the previous visit would be the last, yet here she was once more.

She jumped when Audrey placed a mug in front of her.

“You okay there? You were miles away.”

Con stared out into the bare winter garden. “I was just admiring your… trees.”

Audrey nodded. “They’ll look better in a year or two. We took out all the old apple trees. They were past it. These will look pretty all year round.”

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