“In church today?” He seemed surprised at the question. “On unity.”
“Go on.”
“On breaking barriers.” He shifted in the sand, one ankle over the other. “On the truth that the ultimate unity is the body of Christ. If we could only see people through God’s eyes, we would be the model of what the world is desperately longing for.” His gaze moved to the sea in front of them. “I wish my people could understand that God made them the way they are for a purpose.”
“I suppose most everyone needs to grasp that concept.”
He turned to her. “I suppose you’re right.”
A comfortable silence settled between them, the kind that didn’t need filling. Scout let her gaze drift over the beach, soaking it all in. Light, puffy clouds hung in the sky, lazy and unbothered. The waves rolled in through Newport Cove with a steady rhythm, rushing up the sand before slipping away, like they had all the time in the world. The air smelled of salt and seaweed, crisp and clean, with just a hint of something wild. She ran her fingers through the sand, letting the cool grains sift through them. Yeah, she could sit here forever.
“When I was a boy,” he said, “my father would bring my brother and me to Sand Beach at dusk to go stargazing. Extraordinary views of the Milky Way.”
“Why here?”
“The cove. It protects against light pollution.”
She turned to him. “Naki, this must have been such a wonderful place to grow up.”
“It was. In many ways.”
“Acadia was the last trip I ever had with my dad.” She paused, watching the waves hit the beach. “My dad traveled a lot ... and I mean alot. Gone much more than he was home. It was a constant source of friction between my parents. My mother had inherited a furniture-making business, and she wanted him to stay home and help her manage it. But Dad had different ideas for himself.”
She cast a side-glance at Naki. He wasn’t looking at her, just staring at the horizon, as though he was absorbing every word without judgment.
“For a few weeks each summer,” she said, “Dad would take us campin’ in a national park. My mother never liked it, but she came along. Dad and I would hike, and Mother would stay behind, readin’ or shoppin’. Acadia was our very last trip as a family.” Her lips quirked into a small smile. “On one of the first trips, Dad bestowed the name Scout on me. I liked it much better than my birth name, so I insisted that everyone call me Scout. Teachers, friends, the mailman. Everybody. It greatly annoys my mother. She still calls me Magnolia Pearl.”
Naki’s head jerked. “Magnolia Pearl?”
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Atrocious. I always feel like my slip is showin’ when someone finds out.” Wonders never cease, that got a laugh out of him! A real, honest-to-goodness laugh. The kind that rumbled deep in his chest, shaking the quiet air between them. It was a sound that felt like something rare and precious, like sunlight breaking through a clouded sky. She could get used to that sound. It wrapped around her, making her feel warm and alive, like she was part of something she couldn’t quite name.
“So you’re a ranger because of your father?”
She nodded. “I adored him. Our summers in the national parks were the happiest times of my life. I suppose, in a way, being a ranger makes me feel close to him.” She’d never told that to anyone before. “So what sparked your interest in shipwrecks?”
He glanced out over the waves, his eyes distant for a moment before he spoke. “In college, I attended a lecture by a marine archaeologist. I was absolutely hooked. I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life.”
“But I thought you were a lawyer. For public policy.”
His somberness returned, and a touch of something she couldn’t quite read was in his gaze. “I had an obligation to my people that came first.”
The words hit her like a wave, unexpected and powerful. She’d never known anyone who’d put something—someone—above their own dreams, their own ambition. Certainly not her mother, who had never budged from the business of family. Not even for Scout.
Naki grinned again, this time with a little mischief. “But I’ve never lost my love of shipwrecks. And the coast of Maine is like a graveyard full of them. I can’t resist.”
“They can be hard to resist. I know that firsthand. My father goes all over the world huntin’ for shipwrecks.” She chuckled softly, the sound bitter on her tongue. “I suppose that’s why findin’ the gold has seemed so important. He would love this story.”
His eyes softened, watching her as if he could see through the cracks she’d tried to hide. “So tell him.”
A tight, painful knot formed in her chest. “I haven’t heard from him since my parents split up. Not a single word.”
“Maybe you could reach out to him.” His voice was low, gentle, as though he could see the way her heart was holding on by threads she didn’t know how to let go of.
She let her gaze drift to the sea, not really seeing it. “Wouldn’t make any difference,” she said, almost to herself.
Naki reached over to cover her hands with one of his. His fingers were warm, strong, grounding her in a way she hadn’t expected. In a way she needed more than she’d realized, in a way that encouraged her to keep going.
“Mother said he divorced us both.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “That he just wasn’t cut out to be a family man and we were better off without him.”
