The Way Home (29 page)

As she stepped out the kitchen door to take out the trash, a gust of wind pushed at her body, like a giant hand pressing her back to the doorway. She managed to make it down the alley but could barely lift the Dumpster cover up and get it down again.

Safely back inside, she recalled the storm in July and how she and Mike had waited it out in her kitchen. Mike wasn't around to keep her company tonight. Nobody was. She had to get back to the inn, as fast as possible.

She quickly closed the café, doing what she could to secure the building. It had grown too chilly for outside seating, so she didn't have to worry about bringing in tables and chairs. The awning was also closed and secure, and long shutters had been installed around the glass doors soon after the last storm. She walked around the building, checking twice to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

The wind was blowing bits of paper down the street and turning over trash cans on the boardwalk. Dark clouds gathered over the ocean, and the waves were being whipped to a frenzy. Huge whitecaps crashed ominously on the shore.

She put her head down and ran to her SUV, parked in the space between Sunshine Sundries and the café. Mrs. McNulty's store was closed up tight. Avery was sure an earthquake would not disturb it. But as she backed out onto the street, she wondered about the Tuna.

She drove down and took a look. Mike's restaurant was dark and empty. But the storm shutters were not pulled across the windows yet. Why hadn't Mike come and secured the building? Maybe he was busy with his children tonight, or hadn't paid attention to the forecast? Or maybe he had asked someone else to do it and they hadn't gotten here yet.

Avery wondered if she should try to close the place up safely. As a favor to him. Would he think she was being too nosy or interfering? He had always explained his help to her as, “Neighbors look out for neighbors around here.”

As she pondered the question, a trash can flew past her car. It slammed into the Tuna, narrowly missing a window but striking a gutter pipe, which hung down precariously after the basket bounced off.

That did it. She got out and went over to the building. Using all her might, she began to yank down the heavy wooden flaps that went over the entrance and windows. It wasn't easy but she managed to get nearly all the flaps down and latched just as a few raindrops began to fall.

Avery was working on the very last flap, which covered the single kitchen window at the back of the building, when a flash of light within caught her eye.

She had already heard thunder rumbling in the distance and wondered if what she was seeing was lightning reflected in the glass. She had to hold the edge of the window ledge and get up on tiptoe to get a good look. Then she felt herself go cold with horror.

There were flames inside. A thick drift of smoke rose to the ceiling. She couldn't tell where the flames were coming from—maybe one of the cooking burners or an appliance?

Avery dropped down and nearly fell to her knees. She fumbled for her cell phone and quickly dialed nine-one-one.

“I need to report a fire, on Ferry Street, Angel Island,” she told the dispatcher. “It's in the Lazy Tuna restaurant.”

It was hard to say the words aloud. Everything felt so unreal. As if she were having a horrible nightmare. She had to shout the information twice to be heard over the wind and the crackling phone connection caused by the storm.

The dispatcher told her a fire crew was on its way and instructed her to get away from the building.

Avery wished there was something more she could do. Find a hose and start spraying water back here? But she didn't know where to find a convenient hose, and her fire-fighting skills were pretty pathetic.

The wind pushed against her body as she ran to her car and climbed inside. She pulled out her phone again and called Mike, hoping he would pick up. Would the fire department call him? She had forgotten to ask. But she needed to make sure he knew, as hard as it would be to tell him this news.

His phone rang a few times. Finally he answered. He sounded surprised to hear her voice.

“You have to come down to the Tuna right away, Mike. There's a fire. I just saw it through the window. I called nine-one-one. The fire department is on the way.”

“A fire? Are you sure?” he asked quickly.

“It's so dark, I couldn't see much. But there are flames and smoke in the back of the restaurant, in the kitchen,” she told him. “I'm parked on Ferry Street, and I can see a glow in the window now and some smoke . . . Oh, it's terrible, Mike. I'm so sorry . . .”

“I'll be there right away. Just stay away from the building, Avery. Promise me.”

“All right . . . come quickly.”

Avery squeezed her eyes closed, unable to watch the Tuna on fire. This just wasn't right. It was going to break Mike's heart. It was his heritage, his family history, so many childhood memories. She imagined the beautiful, zany, undersea mural being ruined and she couldn't help but cry.

The rain had started to fall, which she hoped would help keep the fire under control. But the wind was strong, too. She knew that wasn't good.

When she saw Mike's truck pull up a few minutes later, she ran out of her car. The fire trucks arrived at about the same time, and firefighters dressed in heavy gear and big hats jumped off and ran to the building.

Avery met Mike in the middle of the street. The lights from the fire trucks cast a strange glow on the scene.

He glanced at her, then back at his beloved restaurant. Smoke flowed out of the back windows, which had exploded, and licks of flame slipped up the back wall almost reaching the roof.

“I can't believe it,” he said quietly. “How did you even see it start?”

“The storm was starting. I drove down and saw that no one had pulled down the flaps on the windows here. So I got out to do that and when I reached the kitchen, I saw a light inside that just didn't look right . . .”

He turned to her and held both her shoulders. “As long as you're all right . . . You are, aren't you?”

Avery nodded, moved by his concern. He was losing his beloved restaurant and he was worried about her.

A firefighter walked over and asked them to step back. “This is going to take awhile, folks. I know you're concerned, but it's safer if you don't stand here and watch. Is there someplace around here you can wait?”

Mike turned to her. “You go back to the inn, Avery. You don't have to stay here with me.”

Avery didn't know what to say. Was he telling her he didn't want her company? She wasn't sure but decided all she could do was be honest.

“I don't want to leave you here alone, Mike. I'm not going anywhere,” she insisted.

He looked surprised at her reaction and ready to argue, then something inside him seemed to give way. He nodded quickly and wiped the rain from her cheek with his hand. “All right. If you want to.”

She reached out her hand and took hold of his. He squeezed back in answer. She didn't have to say anything more, she realized. The truth was, she couldn't.

* * *

T
HEY
sat in his truck, parked an acceptable distance away, and watched the battle between the firefighters and the fire. The storm had reached its height and the wind roared, pushing the water from the hoses back at the trucks.

“I hate to watch, but it's hard not to,” Mike said quietly. “I feel as if I owe it to the Tuna. I can't just leave it here alone, battling for its life.”

Avery understood perfectly.

A short time later, a firefighter came to Mike's side of the truck. He wore a special medallion on his hat, and Avery realized he was the chief. Mike quickly rolled down the window to speak to him.

“We have the fire under control, Mr. Rossi. We pretty much contained it in the kitchen. We had to break a hole in the roof to get more water inside. You'll have damage throughout. But I don't think you'll lose the whole building.”

“Thanks. Thanks a lot,” Mike said.

He turned to Avery as he rolled the window up again. “A ton of damage, but it's not totally destroyed. Thank goodness you saw it early. We could be looking at a pile of ashes by now.”

She shrugged. “That was just luck.”

“Not really. If you hadn't come over to pull down the shutters, you wouldn't have seen it at all,” he pointed out. “Why did you come down here anyway?”

She shrugged. “I wanted to help you.” She paused. “I think about you . . . a lot.”

“I think about you. All the time . . . I miss you.” He shook his head. “And I can't figure out what it is between us, everything always stop and go. I kept feeling that there was really something good going on with you and me, and then it would all just . . . seem to disappear.” He looked at her, puzzled. “Why is that?”

“I don't know,” Avery admitted. “Maybe because we never took time to talk? We were always too busy working. We never even went out on that sailing date,” she reminded him.

“I would have asked you again . . . I didn't think you wanted to. And what about that Paul guy? He broke your heart. But when he was here, it looked like you wanted to go back with him.”

“I knew you got the wrong idea about that. I wanted to explain, but you were acting so weird toward me . . . like, you didn't want to even talk to me anymore.”

“I was just . . . scared,” he admitted.

“Me, too.” She sighed. “Just to clear this up: I have no interest at all in Paul. Seeing him again made me realize how lucky I've been to meet you.”

“Really?” Mike asked.

Avery nodded, unable to find more words.

They heard a loud crash then, and Mike turned toward the window and winced. “I think that was the back wall.”

“I feel so bad about the Tuna,” Avery said. “How are you going to tell Emily and Noah? I can tell they love this place.”

“They do,” Mike said. “It's been their home away from home. It's going to be hard to tell them and my mother.” He stared out at the smoking, charred building. “But no one was hurt. I know what a real loss is. The Tuna is just a building.”

He turned to her, and Avery reached out and took his hand. It was ice cold. And his dark eyes were filled with sorrow. She wished she could just take him in her arms and make all this unhappiness go away.

He gave a small, humorous shrug. “Well, if I had to watch the Tuna burn down with anyone, I'm glad it was you.”

She was touched by his strange compliment. It gave her hope.

“I'm glad I was here with you. I just wish I'd seen it sooner.”

“Nothing could have changed it. Some things are meant to be. Like you and me,” he added quietly. “Maybe something good can come out of this disaster, Avery. Maybe I can finally be honest with you about my feelings.”

She watched him carefully and saw the sorrow give way to determination and something else that she didn't dare put a name to, afraid it couldn't possibly be real.

“I think I've loved you since the day we met.” He smiled, remembering. “When that closet fell on you. Right then, I felt it. After I lost my wife, I never thought anyone would get to me that way again, get to my heart. But you surprised me. You weren't at all what I expected. And yeah, I did get scared and maybe even used an excuse to back away from you . . . But I hope you can forgive me for that. I know now, I love you. With all my heart. And always will.”

Avery was shocked by his confession. Shocked and speechless. Almost speechless, she realized.

“You aren't like anyone I've ever known,” she told him. “You . . . woke me up, made me question the way I thought about things. You taught me to have more faith in myself, to keep trying, even when it seemed impossible. And to laugh at myself,” she added. “And appreciate the surprises in life, which can be a million times better than anything I ever wished for. Like falling in love with you.”

Mike pulled her close and kissed her. Avery felt all their misunderstandings and missed chances go up in a puff of smoke. Holding Mike in her arms was a dream come true. Whatever else happened to her—even if the Peregrine burned downed tomorrow, too—she knew she would be all right. On this little island, she had found more than the perfect place to start a new business. She'd found a new life . . . and true love.

As the firefighters finally packed up, Mike put his arm around her shoulders and held her close. The worst of the storm was over, and the fire smoldered. “I kept saying I needed a new kitchen in there. I guess this is God's way of making me renovate,” he joked. “We can probably rebuild it by the summer . . . Maybe change the name to the Grilled Tuna? Or something clever like that?”

Avery laughed at him. “We'll figure it out. A wise man once told me, ‘Fall down seven times, get up eight.'”

He laughed and hugged her even closer. “Good line. I think I know that guy.”

Avery just laughed, too, thinking how lucky she was to finally end up with the very wise Tuna Guy.

* * *

T
HE
first big storm of autumn had come and gone, but it would not be the last, Claire guessed. It swept in on the final night of summer, as if fall were eager to flex its muscles, to make sure its arrival drew the proper respect and attention.

Claire had meant to sleep in her own cottage that night, but the rain had started early, and she stayed one more evening with Liza. She had fallen asleep to the sound of raindrops beating on the roof and the windows, and the wind off the ocean whistling through the trees.

It was still raining when Claire woke up. Avery was out, and Liza had left early for a day in the city with Daniel. It continued to drizzle all through the morning and early afternoon, and Claire busied herself cleaning and making a pot of chicken soup.

Finally, the spongy gray skies cleared a bit. She pulled on rubber boots and a slicker and went outside to survey the storm's handiwork, even though it was late afternoon. Branches were down and clumps of colorful leaves clung to the wet grass.