Box Set: The ArringtonTrilogy (45 page)

Heath didn’t know what to say. Instead, he
stepped aside and allowed me to peer through the scope. The stars
appeared so close and clear.

“Over there. Can you see Ophiuchus?” Heath
asked as he stood behind me, his mouth close to my ear. “It’s the
one with thirteen points. The constellation represents Aesculapius,
who was the patron of medicine and the son of Apollo.”

I lifted my head and turned to look at him.
Heath stepped back and uncomfortably cleared his throat, then said,
“That’s my favorite constellation.”

I smiled, though I was certain he was unable
to see. I knew I was making a difference. Heath was slowly going to
notice that I was a young lady. It was going to take time—years, in
fact, but one day, Heath would see me as a woman.

I was thrilled when the very next evening,
Heath waited for me to walk out to the bluff with him and gaze up
at the midnight sky. We walked quietly across the island as the
late-night breezes became chilly. I had forgotten my shawl, and as
we were about to start our observations, Heath noticed me
shivering.

“Here, have my coat,” he said. “You’re
cold.”Tenderly, he placed it over my shoulders.

“Thank you.”

Just then, Ayden came running up. “Can I see,
too?”

Heath looked to me, and I just shrugged my
shoulders.

“Sure, kid. Look through it. Can you see
Scorpius? Remember where I showed you it was?”

Ayden was unsure for a moment then he drew
back and said, “I see it.” He pointed up to the exact location.
Heath and I were impressed.

“How about Ophiuchus?”

“That’s his favorite,” I chimed in.

“I know,” Ayden snapped.

Heath nudged his arm. “I mean, I was aware of
that, Lillian.”

“Now it’s Lillian’s turn,” Heath said.

“What should I look for tonight, Heath?”

He thought for a moment then said, “Find me a
planet.”

I didn’t want for one moment to let him see
my uncertainty. I wasn’t exactly sure of myself, but I took a
chance and pointed one out. “That’s Venus.”

“Perfect!” Heath said, patting me on the
back. “She’s smart, Ayden.”

I waited for Ayden to scowl at me, but to my
surprise, he didn’t. Instead, he nodded in agreement. I stayed out
on the bluff with the boys. Once we grew tired of the telescope, we
lay down on the ground, the three of us, side-by-side, and gazed up
at the galaxy. We were quiet, deep in our own thoughts. I thought
about how wonderful my new life was, how lucky we were to have been
sent to Jasper Island. I had friends now—best friends. Even though
Ayden didn’t like me, there was something about him that made me
want to be his friend. I wasn’t sure if it were his big blue eyes
that drew me in, but there was something special about Ayden. I
hoped one day he would come to like me and want to be my friend as
much as I wanted to be his. Then there was Heath. He was my
protector, my teacher, and the boy who made my heart long for him,
the way Momma’s did for Daddy.

By late morning, Momma still wasn’t out of
bed, another day that she was too tired to rise. It was
clothes-washing day. Without her assistance, I gathered the clothes
and brought them outside to the washboard. The day was warm, warmer
than I had ever remembered in late July. On Rock Ledge Island, it
was always cold, even in the middle of summer. Opal was working in
the vegetable garden, and Ayden was feeding the chickens. Daddy and
Edward were on ladders outside the watch tower, cleaning the
windows. I hadn’t yet seen Heath. I presumed he had his nose in a
book up in his room.

After I did the washing, which took much of
the morning, I set out to hang the clothes on the line. The basket
by my feet, I stretched as far as I could to hang the heavy, wet
clothes, but I was just too short. I was looking around for
something to stand on when Heath came around the side of the house
and hurried to assist me.

“Here, let me do that, kid,” he said, taking
the dress from my hands. I stepped back and watched as he hung the
dress on the line for me. He reached down to do the rest. Ayden
came over and began to laugh.

“Heath is doing woman’s work,” he
giggled.

“Be quiet, Ayden. She was having
trouble.”

“Maybe Mother can sew you a dress,
Heath.”

Heath ignored his brother. One by one, he
pulled the wet clothes out until he was finished, then he winked at
me and strolled off.

Ayden called out, teasing Heath, “You’re a
sissy, Heath. You’re a girl.”

“Hush up, Ayden,” I flared when I had heard
enough.

“Why? Is Heath your boyfriend?” he asked.
Ayden’s eyes narrowed as he inched closer and closer to where I
stood. I immediately shook my head.

“I think you like him. Do you two kiss?”

Tears began to well in my eyes. “Stop it!” I
shouted, then turned and ran to get away from him.

Heath saw me running and called out to me.
“Lillian, what’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer. My throat choked up with
wretchedness, I found a private place to sit. On a rock, I sat with
my knees up against my stomach and buried my head in them. What
Ayden said had frightened me. I didn’t know how to handle the
overwhelming personal secrets I had concerning Heath. I was afraid
of all the new feelings, feelings I had never had before. As much
as I fantasized about Heath marrying me, I was afraid of his
kiss.

From where I sat on the cold rock, I noticed
a pod of whales out in the ocean. There must have been nine of
them. As far as I could tell, I believed them to be humpback
whales. I used to regularly see them near our old station. I never
realized my feelings could ever be hurt; it was the first time I
had been teased or treated badly. Daddy had often told me that
people could be mean, that there were evil men in the world, and
girls like me needed to watch out for them and stay far, far away.
He warned me never, ever to be alone with any man other than
himself. When he said this, he had such intensity in his eyes that
it scared me to think of what he was trying to tell me. Why were
men other than Daddy bad? Were they all like the sailors that
knocked Momma to the ground? Mr. Dalton wasn’t like that. He was as
kind as Daddy. I was sure Heath would grow up to be a good man. But
would Ayden be the kind of man Daddy told me to stay far away from,
the kind that smelled like rum and always looked bedraggled and
dirty?

The vision alarmed me, and I quickly put it
out of my mind. Inside, Ayden was a good boy. He would grow to like
me; he would eventually stop teasing me, and someday, I prayed,
would become one of my best friends.

_______________

When I returned to the house, Heath and Ayden
were waiting for me by the front door. Heath stood behind Ayden,
and as soon as I approached, Heath pushed Ayden forward and
whispered, “Go on.”

Ayden’s head hung low. He kicked up the dirt
and refused to look at me. Heath grabbed Ayden by the back of his
collar after the long hesitation and made him face me. With an
expression smothered in defeat he said, “I’m sorry, Lillian.”

“What are you sorry for, Ayden?” Heath
demanded. Heath was angry, angrier than I had ever seen him. His
clear blue eyes didn’t sparkle as they always had, but were dark
and disturbed by how Ayden had made me feel. Heath tightened his
grip on Ayden, which forced him to speak.

“I am sorry for teasing you. I didn’t mean
it. I will never do it again.” Heath let go, and Ayden ran away,
completely humiliated.

“If he ever speaks to you that way again, you
come and tell me, okay?” Heaths eyes softened, and he reached to
touch my cheek then said, “Ayden needs to learn not to pick on
little girls.”

I would have cringed at his words if he
hadn’t touched my cheek with his strong hand, which made me tingle
all over. Heath then pulled a book from his pocket.

“This is my book about fossils.”

Heath was always so kind and generous, I
thought. “Thank you, Heath, for everything.”

“That’s what friends are for. Don’t forget
that, Lillian.”

I would never forget that we were
friends.

“I have to go gather up the wood. I’ll see
you at supper.”

With my new book in hand, I went inside.
Momma was awake and baking loaves of bread. The house was hot and
stuffy—even worse in my bedroom. I placed the book in my box then
headed back outside. I decided to go down to the shore and put my
feet in the cool water. The ache in my heart had subsided, and I
felt much better about the day. The clothes on the line were not
yet dry and needed another day. Lady followed me down to the water
and sat beside me while I pulled my shoes and stockings off.

The cool water was a great relief to my
swollen feet. I lifted the hem of my dress and waded into the water
as far as I could without getting it wet. Lady loved the water and
jumped right in then paddled around. I grabbed a piece of wood
floating in the surf and threw it out to her. She retrieved it with
her teeth and paddled back to me so I could take it from her mouth
and throw it back out again.

I was near the boathouse. The wooden
structure had been destroyed by years of battering rains and winds
and was about to crumble. From what I could see, it used to house
at least two boats. Most of the wood floating in the surf was from
the boathouse.

It didn’t take long before I was cooled off.
I sat and stared out into the calm sea waters. There were all kinds
of vessels afloat. The closest one was a whaler. Daddy had once
rescued the entire crew of a whaler. As Momma and I stood in
horror, watching the giant ship plunge into the sea, Daddy rowed
through the treacherous, icy waters to save the men.

My thoughts drifted back in time, and it took
a moment to realize there was someone watching me, someone behind
the boat house. Lady sensed my fear and stared at the dark
shadow.

“Who’s there?” I called, hoping the fear in
my voice would not be easily recognized. Lady gave a warning bark,
then another. Suddenly, a mysterious old man hurried to a small row
boat he had pulled up behind the structure and began rowing. Lady
went after him, but couldn’t catch him, and he rowed further and
further away. I recognized him from the night I fell asleep under
the stars. It was Victor!

I couldn’t wait to get back and tell Ayden.
He would be interested; he would want to see where the old man was
hiding. He would be glad to learn there was no ghost, only a
strange old man. I went to find him, but he was nowhere around.
Opal was plucking the chicken for supper, and I asked where I could
find Ayden.

“He went to the mainland with Heath,” she
said, not looking up.

I wondered why they hadn’t told me earlier
that they were planning on rowing over. I was just going to have to
wait to tell him what I had discovered about who was lurking on
Jasper Island.

Heath and Ayden hadn’t returned by nightfall,
and Opal began to worry. The storm clouds covered the almost-full
moon, and the winds began to pick up in intensity. The waters grew
into large swells and churned against the shore. Daddy was up in
the tower, and Edward set out to look for his sons. Soon the rain
began to fall, and thunder boomed up above. An occasional streak of
lightning crossed the enormous sky, sending chills of terror
through me. Momma and I climbed the circular iron stairway, up to
the top of the tower, to join Daddy.

“Do you see them out there, Garrett?” Momma
asked, her face consumed with worry.

“The visibility is down to about a
quarter-mile. The rain is blinding. But they have the light,
Amelia; they will always have the light to bring them safely
home.”

Momma clung to Daddy, and I stared out into
the bleak, stormy night.

“We will man the light. Go with Edward,”
Momma said. Daddy agreed and hurried to help with the possible
rescue.

“Are the wicks ready to be trimmed?” Momma
asked. They weren’t. I did that while Momma adjusted the vents.
“This is just terrible.”

“Isn’t there anything else we can do, Momma?”
I asked.

“No, Lillian. We are helping right here. They
will get back safe; I promise.”

She hugged me close as we both stood, looking
for any sign of them. It was a long time before we saw anything;
then in the midst of the terrible storm, we spotted a boat.

“Over there; it’s them,” Momma cried.

As fast as I could, I ran down the endless
flight of winding steps. Outside, through the wind-battered rain, I
hurried to where Edward and Daddy had pulled the boat up onto the
shore. To my shock, there was the old man I had seen earlier. He
had rowed the boys back to the island. I looked from him to the
boat. Ayden’s body dangled in Heath’s arms; Heath’s eyes were
filled with fright.

“He went overboard,” Heath cried.

Daddy took Ayden from Heath’s tired arms and
carried him to shore. I began to shake in fear as Daddy checked
Ayden for signs of life. Opal had brought a blanket and as fast as
she could, wrapped it around him. Edward collapsed to the ground
next to Ayden and began stroking his hair.

“Come on, boy; don’t leave us,” he said, his
voice firm, insisting that Ayden obey his father.

Opal sobbed over him while Daddy did
everything he could to clear Ayden’s airway. Heath stood frozen in
the rain. And just as we were about to give up hope, just as Daddy
sat up and looked to the sky above, Ayden began to breathe.
Violently, he sat up, and Daddy turned him over so he could heave
up the salty ocean water. Opal fell to her knees and thanked the
Lord. Daddy and Edward breathed a sigh of relief. Heath began to
tremble and sat down on the cold, wet sand, and the ghost blended
into the darkness of the night and disappeared. Edward gathered up
Ayden, and he and Opal hurried back up to the house.