Free Aquamarine by Catherine Mulvany Page B

a smile. “Nothing,” she said, proving that she could lie as well as he.
    “Has Cynthia talked to you yet about moving back home?”
    She nodded. “She brought it up, but …” She shrugged. “Daddy, I’ve been Shea McKenzie for so long. Yes, the memories of my old life are coming back, but I’m still more Shea than Kirsten. I need time to adjust, Daddy. Time and space.”
    “But if you were here, back in your old room—” Mikey burst into the room. “Daddy, Beelzebub’s missing!”
    No wonder
, thought Shea. He was probably holed up somewhere recovering from this morning’s trauma.
    “When did you see him last?” Jack asked.
    “Not since last night.” Mikey’s face puckered up.
    Shea cleared her throat. “He was around earlier this morning. I saw him.” She didn’t go into detail. No need to get Glory in trouble.
    “Kevin did too.” Mikey nodded. “But when I whistled for Bub a few minutes ago, he didn’t come. And he
always
comes.”
    “He probably just didn’t hear you,” Shea said.
    Mikey shot her a withering look. “He
always
comes,” she repeated. She turned back to her father. “What if he tangled with another porcupine? Remember last time, Daddy? He had quills in his mouth and both front feet.”
    “Not a discriminating pugilist,” Jack agreed with a faint smile.
    The young girl frowned. “I’m worried. I tried to get Kevin to help me look for him, but he would rather play stupid old tennis with his stupid old friends than help me find my dog. And Mom won’t let me search alone. She says it’s not safe.” Mikey’s expression explained very clearly what she thought of such excessive adult concern. Shea suspected Jack and Cynthia tended to be a little overprotective since Kirsten’s kidnapping.
    “Maybe Hal and Glory could help,” Jack suggested.
    Mikey’s sour expression spoke volumes. “They’re both busy doing God’s work. That’s what Ruth says. Only it looks like licking envelopes to me.”
    “Then I guess you’ll have to wait until Kevin gets back,” her father said.
    Mikey’s chin quivered. “He’s staying in Liberty late to go to some dumb party at the club. By the time he gets back, Beelzebub could be dead.”
    “I don’t know what else to suggest.” Jack’s bony fingers clenched at the top edge of the sheet.
    “I’ll help you look for your dog,” Shea offered, more affected by the helplessness on Jack Rainey’s face than she cared to admit.
    Mikey shot her a startled glance, apparently having forgotten until then that Shea was there. “All right,” she said grudgingly, as if she were the one doing Shea a favor.
    Teague had assumed Shea was on the island, but his heart still gave a lurch when he spotted her and Mikey walking across the clearing toward the gazebo.
    “You sure you want me to cut down this tree, boss?” His foreman tapped the base of a big pine. “It falls wrong, and it’s gonna take out half the gazebo.”
    Teague grinned. “Then you damned well better see it falls right.”
    The sound of the chain saw drowned out Nick’s grumbling.
    Teague walked over to meet Shea and Mikey. “What brings you ladies up here?”
    “We’re looking for Beelzebub,” Mikey said. “Have you seen him?”
    Teague knelt on one knee so that he could look the little girl in the eye. “He hasn’t been around. What’s going on? He playing hide-and-seek?”
    “Something like that,” Shea said. “We’ve been all over the island searching for him, but we can’t find him anywhere. We were hoping maybe he’d heard your crew making noise and come up here to investigate.”
    “Sorry. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him.” Hestood. “You ladies look hot and tired, though. Why don’t you take a break? We’ve got drinks in the cooler back behind the gazebo if you’re thirsty.”
    “Thanks,” Shea said. “I think we’ve covered this island from one end to the other, anyway. We’ve just about run out of places to search.”
    Mikey looked