Page 8 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
“That’s okay. I make this trip a lot.”
Tierney blinked. She’d made an assumption based on the woman’s accent that she was a visitor. She should know better. “You live here?”
The woman tucked a wisp of blond hair back inside her hood and wrapped her arms tight around herself. “I do. I’m Kasia, the Waterside Hotel manager. I’m assuming you’re Tierney, based on your accent and Peggy’s photos.”
Tierney stared. Kasia wasn’t what she was expecting. Last time she’d visited, her granny had mentioned the hotel manager she was about to take on. But somehow, Tierney had developed a mental picture of a dowdy older woman, not this haughty-looking, but very attractive, woman no more than a few years older than her.
“Uh, yeah, Tierney.” She shoved the damp tissue into her hoodie pocket and surreptitiously wiped her hand on her jeans before thrusting it out. “I’m glad to meet you. My dad sent me.”Why did I say that?
Kasia’s grip was firm, and her skin was cool, unsurprising in the weather conditions. “I just heard your dad inherited the hotel, so excuse me if it takes a while to get the accounts ready for you to look at.” She withdrew her hand quickly and shoved it deep in her pocket.
“You only just heard? That’s odd. The family here must’ve known for a couple weeks.”
Kasia opened her mouth, closed it again, and shook her head. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve just been informed by Aoife.“
“I’m sorry about that. There’s no rush.” Tierney didn’t want to hang around for long, but she had other things to do, like talk to Joey. And she had zero enthusiasm for looking at spreadsheets.
“You must be eager to get back to the island. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Did Tierney hear a slight vein of censure in the otherwise neutral tone? Or was it her own guilt? “It’s been too long, but it’ll be different now.”
Kasia must be all too aware of the difference since her granny had died. She’d been there, after all.
Tierney exhaled, half sigh, half sob. “I really need to get some sleep.” She pinched the bridge of her nose to get her emotions under control.
“As I wasn’t aware you were coming, I’ll need to go up the cottage and prepare it first.” Kasia’s tone was polite but not friendly. She pulled her cell phone from an inside pocket. “Add your number, and I’ll text as soon as it’s done.”
“Thank you.” Tierney quickly keyed in her number. Should she offer to help? It was something Granny had always arranged before her visits. She hadn’t needed to know the details.
“You’re welcome.” Kasia turned away and sat back down on her bench.
The ferry was inside the harbor now and maneuvering toward the quay. The white, glass-fronted bulk of Walsh’s Waterside Hotel stood as familiar as ever at the far end of the harbor, overlooking the water and the row of dilapidated old cottages in the grounds.
“Catch you later then?” For some reason, Tierney felt the need to say something.
Kasia nodded, but her eyes didn’t move from the view ahead of her. “I’ll text.”
Tierney hoped Kasia would defrost a little. Otherwise, her already tiresome chore would be even more unpleasant. She slung her bag onto her shoulder and moved back down the steps, wondering how to kill time before she could finally get some sleep. She needed a meal. Last time she’d visited, there had been a few eating options, but that had been at the start of a long, hot summer when the island bustled with its dispersed population returning home, as well as with tourists from near and far. Her only choice now might be to pick up some pasta from the converted shipping container that housed the island’s onlypermanent shop. She’d survive. She dragged her heavy backpack from where Jacky the crewman had stowed it in the luggage area and hoisted it onto her shoulders.
Above her, the door of the wheelhouse swung open, and she recognized the copper curls of her cousin, Aoife.
“Tierney! Jacky didn’t tell me you were on board.”
Jacky looked up from his job securing the ferry. “You didn’t ask,” he hollered back, giving Tierney a wink before going back to his task.
“Will you wait for me to finish up here?”
Tierney waved and nodded, and Aoife disappeared back inside. She dropped her backpack onto a bench and went to help Jacky secure the boat, a job she had loved in happier times.
Half an hour later, it had finally stopped raining, and the boat was cleaned and ready for the evening’s return journey. The sound of Aoife’s heavy boots on the deck drew Tierney from her task of coiling spare ropes.
Aoife smiled as she approached. “Do you remember that summer you worked on the ferry, and you wouldn’t go home?”
The memory brought a wave of nostalgia, and she smiled as she stood. “The summer I turned eighteen. Dad kept calling the hotel to ask when I was returning to prepare for college, and Granny just came up with a stream of reasons to keep me longer.” Her smile faded. “I wanted that summer to last forever.”
“Christy and I were fifteen, and Joey took us all out on their boat to watch the sunset. And we’d sit down on the east side beach and cook fish in a fire pit.” Aoife pulled her wool hat from her head, and her red curls spilled to her shoulders. “I’ve spent every summer of my life on this island, and that year is still my favorite.”
It was the last summer Tierney had felt completely free. Ever since, there’d been obligations to her dad and the business, even if she never fulfilled them with much success or enthusiasm.If wildlife photography paid a little more, she wouldn’t be so dependent on him. She just needed that one lucky shot, to be in the right place at the right time.
