Free Luanne Rice by Summer's Child

illness is just a part of her life. She wants Rose to
have all the fun and opportunities of any other nine-year-old.”
    “And she
should.”
    “I worry
about her, Liam. What would happen if … well, if something happened to Rose. I always remember your mother, after Connor …
    “It’s not
the same,” Liam said sharply.
    “No, it’s
not. At least she still had your father, and you. Lily has no one.”
    Liam just
stood there, listening to the band play. His arm began to tingle— not his right arm, his good limb, but his left, the one that wasn’t
there anymore . He felt the skin prickling—pins and needles, as if he had
just lain on it for too long, as if the feeling were just starting to come
back. The band slid into a sweet waltz, and people at the tables got up to
dance.
    “Lily,”
Anne began, but Liam interrupted. He turned to face his cousin-in-law, ice in
his eyes.
    “Lily won’t
have to face what my mother went through,” he said. “I let Connor die, but I
won’t let Rose.”
    “Liam! It’s
not the same! You couldn’t have saved Connor—no one could have. That shark
really was a monster—and you were
just a boy, hardly older than your brother.”
    “Sharks
aren’t monsters,” Liam said. “They’re just fish. My brother shouldn’t have been
in that water. None of us should … . Look—I have to go
now. Have a good cruise tomorrow. Watch out for Rose, will you?”
    “We all
will,” Anne said, her blue eyes troubled.
    Liam turned
to walk out. As he strode through the lobby—filled with weekenders in town to
enjoy the scenery, the peace, the band—he sensed people giving him a wide
berth. He was tall and dark, and he felt the scowl radiating out. People always
noticed his prosthesis. He was different, other.
    “Hook,” some
kids had called him in high school. “Scar,” others had whispered, those who’d
seen him with his shirt off in gym class, who’d seen the jagged tears.
Reconstructive surgery wasn’t what it was now, and the fourteen-inch bite
radius—the shark had been a juvenile great white, just like the one he’d read
about earlier that evening, attacking the surfer east of Halifax—looked like a
crater in his flesh. The bite had been so deep, the
serrated teeth had nicked three of his ribs.
    The funny
thing was, as he exited the lobby of the Cape Hawk Hotel, he realized that
although he still felt different, it wasn’t for the same old reason. It wasn’t
so much his arm or his scars anymore. They were part of him. No, he felt
different because he was so alone. With all this family around him, all he
could see were couples, families, here in Cape Hawk for the weekend. Spending
time together …
    When Anne
had said Lily had no one, Liam had felt a stab in his heart. He felt that way
himself.
    And it was
worse than anything.

Chapter 6
     
    T he day was brilliant, clear and fine, perfect
for the cruise. Rose woke up with the sun. She lay in her bed, watching orange
rays come through the pines. They roused every bird in the forest, and suddenly
the air was alive with song. She lay still, listening, wondering whether Nanny
could hear the birds and know they were singing “Happy Birthday” to Rose. Would
Nanny show up for her party? Almost nothing mattered to Rose more. Except for
wishing that Dr. Neill would be allowed to join them …
    As Rose
began to sit up, she felt a tug in her chest. It took her breath away. She lay
back down for a few minutes, on her side with knees drawn up, closing her eyes
tight. Outside, the birds grew louder, as if more were arriving by the minute.
They were migrating north after the long winter. Rose imagined how tired they
must be, how fast their tiny hearts were beating.
    Once Dr.
Neill told her that pine siskins migrated all the way down to South
America—birds no bigger than a pinecone! And he said that whales and dolphins
migrated down to the Caribbean Sea. If they could do it—fly and swim all that
way—then Rose could do it too. All