Page 74 of In the Arms of a Hero

Belinda heard Ivy’s hesitancy in her voice and rushed to assure her, “Yes. In fact, that’s what he was talking about the morning this picture was taken. That’s when he let his walls down and let me in.”

Ivy let out a sigh of relief, and her body relaxed. “I’m really glad, Belinda. Believe me when I say that all the Bergstrom men had to deal with their mom leaving. I knew Andy in high school, and he was a pain in the ass. He had seen me and my mom together since she was a teacher and hated that his mom wasn’t there. We had a lot we had to get past, even as adults, to get to where he acknowledged and accepted how much the sense of abandonment had affected him. Even though Arthur is so sweet, supportive, and a good dad, he couldn’t erase the fact that their mom just left.”

Normally, Belinda would never have talked about Aaron’s mother with anyone else, but she knew Ivy already had heard the stories and understood. “While Andy felt a sense of abandonment since he was seven, Aaron felt she disappeared because of him needing so much help as a child with his conditions.”

Shaking her head, Ivy let out a small growl. “I can’t imagine how anyone could do that!” She gave Belinda a side gaze, then asked, “Did he happen to mention that she tried to contact them about the time they were in high school?”

Belinda nodded. “Aaron said that he was curious, but it was obvious that Andy didn’t want anything to do with her. Aaron took his cues from his big brother. And he doesn’t regret that.As far as he’s concerned, Andy, Arthur, and Sally hang the sun, moon, and stars.”

Ivy laughed. “It’s nice to see them so close, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely. I missed my parents when they moved to Florida to care for my grandparents. Being with all of you and Bess makes me feel like I have a larger family here on the shore again.”

With the heavy conversation left behind, Ivy looked over her shoulder as they continued to scroll back through the photos. “Isn’t it weird that I expect to see somebody peeking through the shrubs?”

Belinda laughed, but it sounded more like a chortle. “I know. Me too.”

“Oh, I love the concrete ships for the breaker! Did you ever take a field trip to Kiptopeke in high school and learn about them?”

“Yes, yes! Mr. Wing’s biology class in tenth grade.”

Ivy nodded emphatically. “Yes, every year, he would take students to the park, and we’d spend the day. He’d lecture on the birds, the trees, the animals, the flora and fauna, and then we’d end up on the beach where he would lecture about the nautical ecology underwater where the ships formed the breaker.”

“Isn’t it funny that I can remember back that far with such clarity, and I’m sitting here looking at these pictures that were just taken about five days ago, and I have trouble remembering what I was looking at! This, to me, is why I love to be a photographer. Otherwise, there are so many memories we forget.”

“It’s cool how kayaks and canoes can go right up to the concrete ships. I’ve never done that, but now that I’m looking at these pictures, I think I’ll ask Andy to take me out sometime.”

“Aaron took me out on the bay last year, but I’d love to go again.” She continued to gaze at the photos. “Now that I’mlooking at these, I can see a small boat just on the far side of the concrete boat on the right. I was snapping so many pictures, trying to get the right light as the dawn was just peaking from behind me. I probably took over a hundred!”

“Oh, that’s funny.” Ivy laughed, pointing as Belinda quickly scrolled through the pictures, creating a film of flipping photos.

“It’s like a kinetoscope,” Belinda said.

“Damn, girl. I knew what it looked like but would never have come up with the name.”

“It’s like you can see the boat moving,” Ivy noted. “They must be fishing.”

Belinda stared as the front half of the small boat became visible. It was in the shadows of pre-dawn, but she could tell two men were inside. “I guess so, but they don’t have poles. Maybe they’re dropping crab pots.” A strange niggling began crawling through the back of her mind. She fiddled with the laptop and enlarged the photos. The sun barely brought them out of the shadows, but it was evident that they had something large that rocked the small boat as they hefted it over the side.

“It doesn’t look like any crab pot I’ve ever seen,” Ivy murmured.

“No.” Belinda barely eked out the one word as she concentrated on the screen. As the sun came from behind her, she could now see one of the men a little more clearly since she was facing west. Her camera had been focused on the concrete ships, so she’d never noticed the small boat to the side while taking the pictures. But now, staring at the photos, she sucked in a hasty breath as one of the men stared straight at her.

“It looks like he’s… he’s looking at you,” Ivy said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Belinda only nodded. She didn’t recognize him, but there was no missing the way his gaze never left her, even as he spoke tothe man with his back to her. She had no idea how she knew, but she felt menace radiating from him.

She jumped as the door opened, and Aaron walked through with Andy on his heels. Ivy stood quickly and moved straight to Andy while Aaron made a beeline for Belinda, who was sitting on the sofa.

He kissed her lightly, then leaned back. “Hey, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Um… good,” she stammered.

His brow lowered as his intense gaze stared straight into her soul. “What’s wrong?”

By now, Ivy and Andy had moved closer. She looked up to see the same concerned expression on Ivy’s face as Belinda was certain was on hers.

“Belinda,” Aaron called and her gaze moved back to him. “What’s going on?”

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