Page 17 of Fire Island
I chuckle, but it’s strained.
A stone grows in my throat when I rustle up the courage, the gratitude, to look at the man who’s been my brother for decades. His grounding dark eyes find me, full of kindness and worry.
“Guess you’re never gonna let me livethisparticular rescue down,” I manage to rasp.
Em simply looks out into the water.
“Iris would’ve had my head on a rusty platter if I came back in without you, Cal.”
Now, the half chuckle, half sob, grinds its way up my throat.
Fuck me.
He nudges my shoulder with his. “The lengths we go to stay on her good side.”
A laugh overcomes my emotion, and we laugh together at the thought of the little boss lady who rules our lives with a manicured iron fist.
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m serious, Cal. There’s no way I was coming home without you, bud.”
It’s all I can do to nod.
“Geez, can you imagine my life if I did? I mean, my balls would go first. Irry is ruthless, man.”
I crack up, hysteria taking over at the thought of those two. When the laughter peters out, Em’s amusement fades, and he continues, “Besides, that old lamp only runs for you, temperamental thing it is. It was acting up two nights ago. Seemed fine last night, but I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”
Now I turn to study his meaning. “What’d you mean, acting up?”
“Blinking in and out, but she settled. Shining through the night shift. Guess it was just a glitch. But I got to tell you something.” Emmett stares out at the water.
“Well?”
“I was there the day before she started acting up. To check on things, you know. And the house... it’s trashed.”
“Who the hell would do that?”
Em gives me what I assume is a meaningful look, but I don’t get the underlying sentiment.
“I didn’t find anyone there. Just the mess. If they were there, they were either long gone or heard me coming and hid. Don’t know why they’d do that.”
I frown, wondering what kind of person crosses the water to a man’s isolated island to mess things up and leave. Probably fucking Errol. Lord knows he holds a grudge as long as the prehistoric era. Guess he thought it was deserved.
Maybe. Maybe not.
“Was Firefly there?” I ask, realizing he would know where she is.
“Nope. Found her adrift a couple days back to the south. One of the passing shipping lane vessels called it in. But?—”
He tugs his cap from his head as he runs a hand through his hair. “She must have run aground at one point. There’s damage and sand lodged into her side. I limped her home, just. She’s in the dry dock. One of the maintenance guys is fixing her up as a favor.”
“Don’t want any favors, Em.”
“For me, not you. Besides, that’s a technicality. You have bigger concerns. The Restoration Society has questioned your capabilities after the accident, and along with them hell-bent on making Fire Island redundant, you and Irry have one hell of a fight on your hands to keep her up and running.”
“Dammit. I knew they were iffy about the whole situation, but I really thought the heritage and safety of folks would win out there.”
Em shifts on his seat, crossing his legs as he runs the brim of his cap through his fingers. “You remember anything from the last year?”
