“You make a wish when you go over a railroad track.”
“That is completelybesidethe point!”
Frankie smirked. “Is it, though?”
Jake cleared his throat. “Uh, I’ll—uh, see you around, Maisie.” He gave a little wave before heading off, leaving Maisie and Frankie standing in silence.
As soon as Jake was out of hearing distance, she spun toward Frankie. “Why? Why do you have to ruin everything for me?”
“Keep your cool on! He’s too old for you.”
“He’s your age! Except way more mature.”
Frankie scoffed. He watched Jake’s receding back. “There’s nothing cool about him.”
“To you? You think you’re the king of cool? Because you’re not. You’re incredibly uncool. All this time, despite whateveryone said, I thought there was something really good and wonderful inside you, deep, deep down. I was the only one on thisentireearth who defended you and stood up for you.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “But I was wrong. Youarehopeless.”
To Maisie’s surprise, Frankie looked hurt. And she didn’t care.
Scout walked down toward the pier, hands shoved in her pockets, the morning breeze cool against her face. She was glad Frankie wasn’t with her today. She didn’t want to hear his running commentary on everything from boat engine sounds to tourists’ choice of footwear to badgering her about his share of the gold. She needed space—to think, to sort through the knot of thoughts Naki had left tangled in her mind.
She’d known from the start that goodbye was inevitable. But she hadn’t expected it to be so ... indifferent. No promise to check in, no hint that he might show up again. Just a nod, a glance, and that was it. The hunt for gold was over. They were both heading back to their regular lives. She shouldn’t care. But as the dock planks creaked beneath her feet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she did. Quite a bit.
She lifted her head and spotted her father standing at the pier, leaning against the railing like he had all the time in the world.Well, doesn’t that just ice the cake for the day?Yet another man in her life who stirred up all kinds of complicated feelings.
Last evening, she’d returned to her cabin with Naki and his stitched-up hand to find her dad reading on the couch. Mother had gone to bed. Scout didn’t ask how their conversation had gone but assumed the worst. At least they hadn’t murdered each other. Dad left with Naki to return to Penobscot Indian Island. In the morning, Scout rose early and left for Ranger Rivers’s office. She had wanted to avoid her mother, with whom she wasso angry, so frustrated, so disappointed. She didn’t want to say something she’d regret, and she knew she would.
“Scout,” Dad said, tipping his head in that easygoing way. “Got a minute?”
Her footsteps faltered, but she didn’t stop. “I don’t. I’m due on the tourist boat.”
“This won’t take long.”
She paused. “I don’t have time to discuss Mother.”
“Understood.”
She let out an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips. “Go. You have one minute.”
“Scout, you were right. I could’ve tried harder to connect with you. I shouldn’t have let your mother keep us apart. She shouldn’t have done it—”
“No. She certainly shouldn’t have.”
“—but I could’ve fought harder. Instead, I used it as an excuse to stop trying.” He took off his hat and scratched his head. “I’m not proud of this, but I’ve just never been able to prioritize family over my love for my work that keeps me on the road.”
“Or on the seven seas,” she said, crossing her arms.
He winced. “I deserve that.”
Scout didn’t let him off the hook, though part of her wanted to. “You’re not exactly breakin’ a headline here, Dad. Even when you and Mother were still together, you were gone more than you were home. But when you left for good, you let me down. You’re the reason I became so self-reliant. I don’t want to feel that kind of ... broken heart ... ever again.”
His eyes grew shiny. “Honey, I regret leaving more than you’ll ever know.”
Her throat tightened at the rawness in his tone. She glanced down, tugging at the brim of her hat. “So what now?”
“I’d like to have a place in your life, if you’ll let me. I’ve missed you, honey.”
Scout’s chest ached, but she swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to meet his. Loving him and hating him—somehow, she’d managed to do both at the same time. But in the end, loving him always won. He was her dad, after all. “I missed you too,” she said softly. “I even wrote to you. Emails. I archived them. Eleven years’ worth of, well, highlights in my life. Things I wanted to tell you.”
