“No. Oh, wait. Before she came to meet you she asked me if I knew if the boats still came into Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven. I think I said something stupid like, ‘How would I know? I’ve never been there.’ Anyway, for a second I thought it was kind of weird that she knew the names of the towns where the ferry docked. A couple of times she’d gone to Nantucket on business, but I don’t think she ever mentioned the Vineyard. Not to me, anyway.” He crossed his legs. “Why?”

“She told Claire that after she graduated from high school she was a waitress one summer at a clam place in Vineyard Haven. It was news to me.”

Kevin shrugged. “I suppose it was no big deal or she would have mentioned it sooner, don’t you think?”

“Unless it was a big deal, Kevin.”

“I don’t follow.”

Annie fell silent.

Then Kevin said, “Holy crap. Are you thinking . . . ?”

“That she met my birth father here and got pregnant with me? Yes, that’s what I’m thinking.”

“Wow. And she’s never given you a clue about who he was?”

“No. Other than to say he was ‘just a boy.’ ”

Kevin let out a whistle.

“Did you ever see any pictures of her when she was young?”

He pondered. “Nope. Real young, maybe. Like when she was a little kid. But no others I can think of. If she had any, maybe she threw them out.”

“Well, she was on the island that one summer. That’s all I know. And it might not be connected. But now I’m wondering if Lucy has a point. That I have a right to know who my birth father is.”

* * *

The next morning, Annie woke up feeling better than she’d felt in a while. Less stressed. Clearheaded. Almost happy. Which made no sense with her future looking more tenuous, with more questions than answers. Not to mention that her relationship had begun to feel like a long-distance one, as if Chappy and Edgartown were a few time zones away. She wondered if it was nature’s way of slowing down the fire so she’d be better able to handle big changes ahead.

Yes, she thought, it was ridiculous that she was in such a good mood.

Maybe her spirits had improved because she’d come out of emotional hiding: she’d talked to Larry Hendricks; she’d told him what she needed. Surprisingly, it hadn’t brought on a panic attack. And she’d decided to talk to Donna about her birth father. Which wouldn’t kill her. As she jumped into the beautiful, new, marble walk-in shower, she supposed that facing her demons was a good reason to be clearheaded.