Children of the Sea 03 - Sea Lord

a two-week jaunt across the ocean. I’m sure they’re all fine. It’s just . . .” Her voice trailed away.
    Conn clasped his hands behind his back. What had she said to him last night? “ You can’t always put off what you want because you feel responsible for everything and everybody else. ” Yet she was willing to sacrifice her desire for his sake.
    “Would it ease your mind to see them?” he asked.
    She blinked. “You said that wasn’t possible.”
    “Not possible to visit,” he conceded. “That does not mean you cannot observe them.”
    “Can you do that?” Lucy asked.
    “I saw you,” he reminded her simply.
    Taking her hands, he led her to sit on the edge of the fountain, bubbling with magic, sparkling with memories.
    “Picture your family,” he instructed quietly. “Imagine them all together. Can you see them? Caleb and Margred; Dylan and Regina; your father, Bart . . .”
    Their names merged with the murmur of the fountain.
    “All your family. All together. Now.”
    A wind swept over the surface of the water, shimmering with ghosts and reflections.
    Lucy shivered.
    A wind swept over the threshold of Antonia’s restaurant, carrying the scent of wood smoke and fallen Page 104

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    leaves.
    Maggie shivered.
    Caleb put an arm around her as the door jangled shut behind them. “You okay?”
    She looked up at him with big dark eyes. “Did you feel that?”
    “Yeah. Damn cold out tonight.”
    The snap in the air had brought the locals out to dinner. Caleb exchanged nods with the former mayor, Peter Quincy, greetings with lobsterman Manny Trujillo. Glassware clinked. Plates clattered. The smell of Antonia’s red sauce and Regina’s mussels in white wine and garlic hung over the dining room.
    Nick Barone, Regina’s eight-year-old son, hopped into the aisle between the tables. “Hey, Chief. Can I show Danny your handcuffs?”
    “Sure, Houdini.” As Caleb unhooked the cuffs from his belt, Regina pushed through the swinging door, her thin face flushed beneath a red bandana.
    She gave him a grin and Maggie a kiss. “Special tonight is bluefish with capers, soup’s minestrone.
    Booths are full, but I can get you a table. Unless you want to share with your dad and Lucy?”
    Caleb narrowed his eyes. Bart Hunter went out in search of alcohol, not food or company. Most nights he favored the bar at the inn. “Dad’s here?”
    Regina nodded. “In the corner.”
    Caleb glanced over the dining room. Dylan had strolled out of the kitchen and picked up two plates from the pass-through. Caleb smothered a grin at the sight of his elegant older brother, the selkie son, the warden of the sea, bussing tables. He carried the plates to a corner booth, where Caleb could see a flannel sleeve and his sister’s blond hair.
    “They’ve been in almost every night this week,” Regina continued.
    A muscle ticked in Caleb’s jaw. Not too long ago, he’d hauled his father out for breaking bottles behind this very counter. “He give you any problems?” he asked evenly.
    “None.” Her gaze met his. “He’s changed, Cal.”
    Caleb grunted, watching the family tableau. “He going back to the AA meetings at church?”
    “I wouldn’t know.”
    Caleb rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’ll talk to him.”
    “Dylan says he’s been taking real good care of Lucy,” Regina offered.
    “That would be a first.” Caleb shifted until he could see his sister sitting opposite their father in the high-backed booth. Something about the color of her skin, the expression in her eyes, nagged at him.
    “She looks a little off.”
    Regina shrugged. “She’s been sick.”
    “We will sit with them,” Maggie said.
    Caleb frowned in concern. “I don’t want you catching anything.”
    “Oh, please,” Regina said. “Lucy’s fine now. Nick said her class spent most of yesterday outside.”
    Maggie touched Caleb’s arm. “I want to sit with them. They should hear our news, too.”
    “What news?” Regina’s gaze darted between them.
    Maggie’s dark eyes shone. Her lips curved.
    “Oh my God.” Regina’s mouth dropped open. “You’re ...”
    Maggie nodded, her smile widening. “Having a baby.”
    The joy on her face, the pride in her voice, stung Lucy’s eyes.
    “Oh, that’s wonderful. Isn’t that wonderful? They’re having a baby.” She grinned at Conn through her tears. “I’m going to be a two-time aunt!”
    “A