Free What I Wore to Save the World by Maryrose Wood Page A

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    seahorse cottage was halfway down the path between the boardwalk and the beach. It was so tiny I thought Colin would have to duck his head getting through the front door.
    It looked sort of like a gingerbread house from a fairy tale, but instead of gumdrops and lollipops, the Seahorse was adorned with the kind of ocean-themed tchotchkes you’d expect to find in a tacky seafood restaurant. Giant crabs clung to the roof. Smiling starfish lined the window-sills. The shutters were latticed like coral, and the curtains had a loose, seaweedy weave. There was even a classic jockey-with-a-lantern statue lighting the path to the front door, but this jockey was mounted on a seahorse.
    â€œLet me go in first, in case Grandpap’s taking a nap in his Skivvies.” Colin rapped softly on the door, then pushed it open. “Grandpap? Put yer trousers on,” he called. “We have company, of the female persuasion.”
    I followed him through the door, feeling shy and strange. The cottage seemed much bigger on the inside than it looked from the front. From an unseen back room there came an answer.
    â€œ ‘ Trousers on,’ he says! D’ye think I’ve become a nudist in me dotage, lad?” Grandpap strode into the living room, yawning and still buckling his belt.
    â€œLook at ye, ye codger! Ye were nappin’ like a baby, weren’t ye? Ye couldn’t even stay upright till lunchtime.” Colin beamed and gave his grandfather a bear hug, which the old man returned with vigor.
    â€œDon’t listen to a word he says, young lady,” Grandpap said as Colin released him. “He’ll have ye convinced I’m one of the forgetful elderly, instead of the distinguished gentleman in his prime ye see before ye. I’m only eighty-two, after all.” He peered at me. “And who are ye, dear?”
    â€œPaps, this is Morgan. My friend in the States that I’ve told ye so much about,” Colin said. “I didn’t know she was comin’, but I’m glad she’s here.”
    â€œYou must be Colin’s grandpap.” I couldn’t help grinning. As grandfathers go he was just about the cutest thing I’d ever seen—not quite as tall as Colin, or as buff, but very fit-looking for his age, with a head of thick silvery hair. And he had the same twinkly blue eyes as Colin. In Grandpap’s case his eyes were half-hidden behind a pair of dorky black-rimmed glasses, but they were still full of that familiar brand of mischief I loved so well.
    â€œColin’s grandpap is what I am, and I’m a better man for it too. Well, this is a surprise! So ye’re the famous Morgan.” He held out his arms to me. “Colin talks about ye so much I feel like I know ye.”
    I wasn’t usually a fan of hugging old men whom I’d just met, but on this occasion it seemed perfectly appropriate. Grandpap smelled like licorice and pipe tobacco, a pleasant combination.
    There was a knock on the door.
    â€œMore company? It’s like Heuston Station in here today.” Grandpap let me go and padded to the front door. “I bet it’s old Devyn, come to beat me at another hand of Forty-fives.”
    â€œI hope ye’re not playin’ cards for money,” Colin scolded. “Ye’re not a man of boundless wealth, ye know.”
    Grandpap chuckled as he reached for the seashell-shaped knob. “Shut yer gob, lad, if I want to squander me pension I will—good mornin’, Devyn! We’ll have to have our card game later. Colin’s lady friend from the States has arrived, and she’ll be needin’ lunch and some decent conversation.”
    â€œNo need to babysit, Pap,” Colin said, giving me a roll of the eyes.
    â€œSays you!” Grandpap scoffed. “If I let you children out of me sight, ye’ll be gettin’ into all kinds of scrapes and shenanigans.”
    â€œAnd what’s