“Youhave?” He sounded appalled. “I know it’s not really my business, but why would you be open to surrendering your inheritance so easily?”
She waited to respond until they were standing side by side on the sand. “Because I might not want the stress or expense of trying to hold on to something if I’m probably going to lose it anyway. And because I’ve fulfilled my aunt’s dream by converting the loft. To me, that’s what was most important.”
“Wow. I’m—I’m floored,” he muttered. “I never saw this coming.”
“Neither did I. But I probably should have read the signs—my aunt’s nephews were pretty ticked off when they found out I’dinherited the cottage. I should’ve known they were going to try to claim it for themselves.”
“I didn’t mean I’m floored bythem, and whatthey’redoing,” Shane emphatically clarified. “I meant I’m surprised byyou, and what you’renotgoing to do.”
What difference does it make to him how I resolve this family dispute?Although she felt stung by his comment, Caitlin guessed that Shane’s feelings were hurt because he’d put so much work into the remodel.
Touching his arm, she gently told him, “Even if I choose to forfeit the estate to my aunt’s nephews, it won’t change how much I appreciate all you did to transform the windmill. As I’ve said, it’s even more wonderful than what my aunt and I had envisioned, especially the loft, and I can’t thank you enough for all the talent and effort you poured into it.”
“It isn’t necessary to thank me again—I was well compensated for my work.” His words may have been polite, but his tone was so flinty that Caitlin dropped her hand and stepped back. Why was he acting like this?
She reasoned aloud, saying, “You knew all along I was going to sell the cottage, and it was always going to end up being owned by someone else. If my aunt’s nephews win their case, they’ll probably sell the cottage, too. So I don’t understand why you sound so… so disgusted or something.”
Before he could answer, she was distracted by movement in her peripheral vision; Sammy was kicking the heel of his work boot against the ice in a chopping motion.That doesn’t seem like a good idea, she thought, and then turned her attention back to Shane. Was he red-faced from emotion or from the bitterly cold air?
“I’m not disgusted. I’msurprised,” he claimed. “Although I guess I shouldn’t be. Like you said about your aunt’s nephews,the signs were all there from the beginning. Giving up the cottage is consistent with your character.”
Losing patience, Caitlin retorted, “What’sthatsupposed to mean?”
“Well, when your apartment was flooded, or your boyfriend cheated on you, or your coworker took your job, you rolled over and played dead,” Shane answered, almost accusingly. “So why should this time be any different?”
For a moment, she was speechless.I can’t believe I confided in him about all those private, humiliating situations, and he acted so sympathetic, but the whole time he was judging me for how I responded! Who does he think he is? It’s not as if he handled the Halloween prank perfectly, either!
“Well, excuse me if I don’t get up in arms at every offense or every time something doesn’t go my way, likesomepeople do,” she said curtly.
“Maybesomepeoplethink things like their property and careers and relationships are worth fighting for,” he shot back. “Maybe they try to protect the things they care about. The things that matter.”
Caitlin would’ve responded but at that moment, Sammy began jumping up and down, clearly trying to break through the ice. “Stop it!” she shouted. When he didn’t, she remarked to Shane, “What’s wrong with him? That water’s frigid. If he falls in, he’ll get hypothermia—or drown!”
Without waiting for his reply, she jogged beyond the sand and started climbing over the bay’s jagged, frozen crust, waving her arms and yelling at Sammy. But either he didn’t hear or he was ignoring her, because he continued jumping in place, his heavy boots making a dull thumping sound.
Caitlin raised her voice and shouted louder, just as Sammy broke through. The lower half of his body disappeared beneath the ice, but she could still see his shoulders and head.
“Sammy! Hold on, I’m coming!” she screamed and rushed across the pointy, uneven surface. He must have been in shock because he slowly turned his head and stared at her, as if she were speaking a language he couldn’t understand.
“Caitlin, wait! What are you doing?” called Shane from behind her. Hadn’t he seen what had happened?
“Sammy fell through!” she shouted over her shoulder. Still moving forward, she tripped on a chunk of ice and landed hard on her right hip and knee, her cheek and ear striking the cold, uneven surface. The sensation was like an electric shock, followed by a rush of warmth.
“Caitlin!” Shane was suddenly crouched beside her, touching her left shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Sammy’s going to drown!” Ignoring her pain, she scrambled to her knees, unwound her scarf from her neck, and pressed it into his hand. “Use this to pull him out but don’t get too close to?—”
“He’s fine,” interrupted Shane. “Look.” He pointed to Sammy, who gave them a friendly wave from the hole in the ice and then he adjusted his cap over his ears.
“But-but-but he’s…” stuttered Caitlin, her teeth chattering. She couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
“He’s standing on dry sand,” explained Shane. “It’s low tide, so there’s no water beneath the ice. See, it kind of makes a shelf that’s suspended about four feet above the seabed. The space will fill in with water again at high tide. But right now, it’s just air.”
It took Caitlin’s brain another moment to readjust to what she was seeing, and when she realized Sammy wasn’t in danger, she turned toward Shane and cried out, “That was a mean joke to play on me! It was really, really cruel.”
“It wasn’t a joke. I don’t think he meant to scare you, Caitlin,” he said softly, concern filling his eyes as he caught sight of herright cheek. He quickly rolled her scarf into a thick pad and lifted it toward her. “You cut your face and it’s bleeding—alot. Here, let me apply pressure to it.”
She snatched the scarf from his hand, pressed it against her cheek, and stood up. “I can take care of it myself.”
