Kitjumped back.Priddy whipped round, almost losing his balance.Alean, dark-haired figure, casually beautiful in charcoalfisherman’s jersey and jeans, was resting his shoulder against theother side of the lighthouse door.“Oh.Merou!”
Priddy’sinstinct was to jump into his arms.But here was poor Kit with hiscrumbling dreams, and Merou on two boot-clad feet looked verydifferent to the creature who’d ravished him the night before.Weary, human, more than a bit insecure.“Morning, Priddy,” he said.“Just thought I’d call in and see how you were.”
“I’m fine.This is Kit, my mate from Rosewarne, home fromuniversity for a few days.Kit, meet Merou, a—a friend ofmine.”
The twoshook hands.Kit’s jaw was just barely managing not to dropfloorwards.“Very good to meet you,” he said civilly, then brokeout into one of his huge sunshine grins and looked like himselfagain.“Bloody hell.Priddy’s taken, is he?”
“If he wants to be.I’m just not altogether certain whoby.”
“What?”Kit glanced back and forth between them, at Priddy’sdressing gown and the trace on the air of the loving embrace Merouhad found them in.“Oh!Not by me.Not by me.”He grabbed Priddyand shoved him like a parcel in Merou’s direction.“Whoa!I don’tmean to make personal remarks, but you did all right, didn’t you,Prid?”
“I wonder if it’s possible to physically die of embarrassment,”Priddy managed, clutching the hand Merou had put out to steady him.“I feel as if I’m about to find out.”
“Yeah.Oops, sorry.He’s gorgeous, that’s all.I’ll leave youto it, then—got to go back and rub the Prof’s feet.”
Hedarted back through the gate.Merou watched him go, eyes wide.“That was the guy you told me about?”
“My friend, yes.”
“The one who almost got you killed.”
“Oh, Merou.He’s so sorry.He’d do anything to make thingsright for me, and you know it wasn’t his fault anyway.”
“Well, maybe.”Merou gave a gauche little shrug.“I just sawthe helicopter lifting off.Is everything all right?”
“You know it is.The crew from theLovely Roseturned up—the boat thatcapsized on Friday night.Don’t say it’s nothing to do with you,because I know you saved them.”
“Who, me?I only dropped by Hagerawl to thank the guy whoseclothes I stole yesterday.He wasn’t home, so I put a circle rounda horse’s name in the racing section of theCornish Heraldand left that for him.I’d once have left a gold nugget, but people seem confused aboutwhat to do with those these days.”
“Merou.”
“What?”
“Thecrew.”
Merousighed.“May I come in, or do you have another handsome childhoodfriend stowed away indoors?”
“For God’s sake.”Priddy caught Merou’s glimmer and grinned.“Ihappen to be barefoot in a dressing gown because Kit and his newboyfriend found me naked on the beach, and I was giving Kit a hugbecause the boyfriend happens to be a dick.Would you have mindedvery much otherwise?”
“I’d mind horribly.I’m quite an ordinary bloke in somerespects, you know.”
“Not very many.”Putting his arm around Merou’s waist felt likea bold move, but Priddy made it.He pushed the door open and drewhim inside.“What did you do to those people from the boat?Fromthe way the dad was talking, I knew it had to be you.”
“If he was raving about being wrapped up in jelly, it wasn’t.That part isn’t my job.I just caught up with them on their waydown, and I breathed for them, the way I did for you.”
“Oh, isthatall?Don’t say it like it wasn’t something incredible, a...amiracle.”
“It isn’t one.Not for us.”Merou took hold of Priddy’sshoulders, pushed him back a little to look into his face.“But Ikind of still need you to think of it like that, because we can’tdo it for everyone, and you’ll be hurt and bewildered if you cometo believe that we can.Some people—their lives and their deathsare fixed points in time, and we can’t change their fate.And somepeople just bloody deserve it.But Michael Henderson’s a nobody,and it wasn’t his kids’ fault that he didn’t know to steer clear ofHell’s Teeth in a storm.They were very far gone when I got tothem, or I’d just have slung them ashore.As things stood, theyneeded a little time with us, to regrow some damagedparts.”
“My God.Yousavedthem.”
“Priddy...”
“All right.”He lifted Merou’s hand from his shoulder;impulsively kissed the palm.“I promise not to go crazy.And Iswear I’ll never tell anyone, even though I think it’s the coolestbloody thing I ever heard of.And...”He shook his head,remembering his former suspicions.“Well.I’m glad you didn’t eatthem after all.”
“What amuses me is that you were willing to have me even whenyou thought I had.”
Priddygave a choked laugh.Somehow it knocked the knees out from underhim, and he dropped into Merou’s embrace.He was so deliciouslytired—none of the scratch and grind of his usual daily weariness,just a whole-body warmth, a sense of being undone from the insideout.“I was.I would have.”
