“Meghan has recovered,” she said. “Both her body and her mind.”
“Oh, my God!” Lucy shouted. “And now Kevin’s with . . .”
Earl put a finger to his lips and said, “Lucy, darling. Shush.”
She shushed.
“There’s more,” Annie went on. She closed her eyes, breathed, then opened them again. “Meghan is here on the Vineyard,” she said. “In fact, she’s staying at the Inn under the name Mary Beth Mullen.” The silence that followed only lasted a few heartbeats.
“The turtle lady?” Lucy was the first to speak.
“The one and only.”
“With the beautiful eyes,” Earl said.
“Oh, my,” Claire said, as she raised a hand and grasped the silver chain around her neck, the one Earl had given her when she’d been recuperating from a stroke.
Earl shuffled his feet, no doubt needing to pace. “Well, isn’t this somethin’.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Annie said.
“And Kevin has no idea?” Claire asked.
Annie shook her head. “No. It’s how she wanted it. The only trouble is, she found out he’s in Hawaii with Taylor. She doesn’t want to intrude on his life, so she’s going to leave for her father’s place in Boston.”
“She’s not gone yet?” Earl asked.
“No. Maybe tomorrow.”
Lucy jumped up. “She can’t leave! Not now!”
A wave of sorrow washed over Annie. “It’s not up to us, Lucy. Especially now, with so much . . . uncertainty.” In spite of her will to remain stoic, small tears began to form.
Claire got up, went to Annie, and hugged her. “Oh, dear. You’ve had so much to deal with lately.”
Which told Annie that Claire and Earl—and maybe Lucy, too—knew about John’s decision to take a break from her.
“Kevin is all that matters now,” Annie replied.
Then the big glass doors into the Emergency Room squished open, and Annie, Claire, Earl, and Lucy all turned at once, as Francine walked in with Meghan.
Chapter 25
“Itold them,” Annie said.
Meghan looked at her a moment, then lowered her eyes. “Thank you.”
Annie chewed on her lower lip, fresh tears forming.
Then Earl went to Meghan and gave her a hug. “Welcome to the family,” he said, and the ladies started to cry.
Claire hoisted herself from the chair and swatted him with the thin scarf she was wearing. “Stop that, you old coot. You’ve got us all blubbering when we need to be thinking about our poor Kevin. And how long it will be before we find out anything.” Then she smiled at Meghan. “It is, however, nice to meet you, dear. We’ve heard so much about you.”
Which gave Annie a brilliant idea. “Meghan, come with me.”
Without hesitation, Meghan followed Annie to the registration desk.
“Hi, Cynthia,” Annie said. She’d recognized the woman at the computer not only from previous trips to the ER but also from the warming shelters at Vineyard churches where they both volunteered in the winter. “You know that Kevin MacNeish is my brother?”
