Page 27 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
“We were never in this together. You had all the privilege of being his only heir while I’ve worked my ass off just to try and have some stability in my life, hoping if I pleased him enough, he’d keep me around.” Megan’s voice had lowered to a snarl.
“Hey, Megan, this has been a really hard day.” Al placed his hand on Megan’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should get some rest and you two can talk in the morning before we leave.”
“I don’t have anything to talk about,” Megan said. “Tierney will just turn it into her problem anyway.”
The derision in her voice hurt, and Tierney’s eyes prickled. “Meg, we’ve been through everything side by side. We can do this. It’s a lot, but we need to stick together.”
Megan laughed. “Like sisters? I don’t think so, Tierney. I need some time away from the entire self-serving Walsh family. Why don’t you get on with working out your own life, and leave me to mine.” She turned and threw on her coat. “Come on, Al. I need to wash this day off me.” She marched out of the room.
“Give her some time. She’s feeling really hurt at the moment.” Al gave Tierney a half smile before following Megan.
Alone, Tierney’s tears dripped onto the remaining sandwiches. A tray of wine glasses still stood by the door. She downed a couple while she called a cab to take her to an airport hotel. How had her day turned into this nightmare? All she’d ever done was take her life at face value.Isn’t that what everyone does?She hoped Megan would come around. She was so used to sharing problems with her, and she desperately wanted to talk everything through.
The hollow ache of betrayal hurt her chest. She’d never seen eye-to-eye with her dad, but she’d accepted his version of the truth. All these years, she’d been seeking approval from a man who turned out to be the biggest hypocrite of all. What the hell was she going to do now?
THIRTEEN
It had takenKasia all of twenty-four hours to realize she couldn’t go back to the big hotel life. The conveyor belt business of filling beds with exhausted, disgruntled residents who just wanted a pillow for the night and no small talk wasn’t what she wanted in life.
Christy had waved from the bright warmth of the wheelhouse, but she’d opted to sit up on top, wondering about her decision as they moved toward the lights of Inishderry. Fuzzy warmth filled her as they passed the lighthouse and turned into the harbor, pushing away her insecurities about the future. Even in the dark she was familiar with every feature of the island, and she knew the names of the people sitting snugly inside each brightly lit cottage she passed. This was her home, and she would find a way to stay.
Kasia slid the padlock off the door and wearily thrust the key into the lock. Her newfound optimism washed away in the stream of water that sloshed around her ankles when she swung open the hotel doors.
“No! What’s happening?” She flicked the light switch and illuminated a scene of destruction. “Ja pierdole!” It was as if the hotel was doing its best to ensure its own downfall. She wadedinto the kitchen and dropped to her knees to find the stopcock under the sink. It turned with a clunk, and the gushing sound of water stopped. She dried her hands quickly on her jeans, then ran to the hallway and turned off the electricity to the downstairs, plunging herself into darkness.Better that than the hotel burns down in an electrical fire that I would probably get blamed for.
The chill from the wet denim made her shudder as she pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket and dialed the one person she knew she could rely on.
“It’s not as bad as you thought.” Joey’s powerful flashlight shone off the remaining puddles in the floor. “I checked everywhere earlier when I fed Fergus. It might only have been leaking for a short time. Have you called someone to come and fix it?”
“I guess I need to check with Tierney and her dad first.” Kasia groaned and dropped onto a dry step, still clutching the mop she’d been using for the last hour. “What am I trying to do here, Joey?”
She threw the mop across the kitchen, startling Fergus, who had just made an appearance around the door. “Oh, I’m sorry, Fergus. Come here and give me a cuddle. I need it.”
She held out her hand, and Fergus made his way gingerly around the puddles to her side. He allowed her a brief ear scratch before stepping back. “I wish he was a dog. I could do with the affection and unquestioning loyalty.”
Fergus pushed past her and leapt up the stairs, his tail flicking as if in disapproval.
She pushed herself up off the step. “I need to find myself somewhere to sleep.”
Joey opened the door to her quarters. “It does seem to have got the worst of it in here.”
“That was where the water was gushing from. A burst pipe in my bedroom, I believe.” She ran a hand through her hair.
Joey wrapped their arm around her. “There’s nothing more we can do tonight. How about we both find a room upstairs, and tomorrow we’ll check out the damage and get someone in to fix it. And when you’re warm and dry, you can tell me why you’ve only been away for a day.”
“What would I do without you?” Kasia led the way upstairs wearily, wondering if trying to save the Waterside really was a step too far. Her eyes tracked to the watercolor paintings that lined the stairway. They were Peggy’s best attempts to paint the island. She would keep trying for Peggy’s sake, and her own. She just needed to remember that when she called Tierney in the morning.
“What is wrong with that woman?”Kasia dropped her phone in her lap and leaned her head against the cold window of the van. She stared out at the landscape, blurred by the rain flooding in little rivers down the glass.
“It didn’t sound like a very two-sided conversation. What did she say?” Joey focused on the road in the poor conditions.
“Not much. I’m not even sure she was listening.”
“But she gave the go-ahead to get the repairs, right?”
“Yes, she said to make it safe and make sure I had water and heating. But any other repairs or replacement fixtures I’m to get a quote and send it to Kevin.” She turned to Joey. “She barely expressed any concern about the flood, or asked how I was, or anything. Do you think she holds me responsible for what happened?”
Joey’s laugh surprised her. They glanced at her. “Are you serious? If you knew Tierney at all, you’d understand she’d blame herself entirely for that night and feel too embarrassed to face you.”
