He leaned over the rail, as if he could hear the music over the ferry engine's roar as the vessel pulled away from the Cape Hawk wharf. He could still see the look in Marisa's eyes the moment she'd caught sight of her sister. Nothing had ever made him feel better than bringing Sam north. As he stared at the shop, he imagined telling Marisa how it had all come to pass.

On the other hand, maybe he should just head back to Connecticut. He'd find out what he could for Liam, then drive home. After what he and Sandra had gone through in the divorce, trusting wasn't easy. Maeve had called him on it, telling him to take this chance with Marisa. He stared toward the shop, and his heart raced just knowing that she was inside.

“Sorry it took me so long,” the voice sounded behind him. “But I had to make sure my copilot was up from below.”

“No problem,” Patrick said, turning toward T. J. McGuinn, coming out of the Redtail wheelhouse.

“So, you're a friend of the Mahon sisters?” T.J. asked.

“Yes,” Patrick said.

“I've noticed Marisa around town, and my buddy Liam Neill sees her friend Lily,” T.J. said. “She keeps to herself. I'd never guess she and Sam are related.”

“No?” Patrick asked. “Why not?”

T.J. laughed. “That Sam's a hot ticket. Yesterday, first time on the ferry, she walked straight up to the wheelhouse and asked to come inside. It's sort of against regulations . . .”

“Yeah, the Coast Guard tends to frown on flirting while operating a hundred-ton vessel,” Patrick said, chuckling.

“Don't report me,” T.J. said. “But anyway, I let her in. How do you say no to green eyes like that?”

“What did she want?”

“She asked me to show her the sights as we approached the town—she wanted an overview. I guess she spotted that—” He pointed at a sticker affixed to the wheelhouse window. Patrick peered more closely, saw that it was from the Peace Corps. “She told me she knew a kindred spirit when she saw one.”

“Good line,” Patrick said.

“Turns out it's more than a line. We've worked in some of the same places. I learned how to drive a ferry in South America, building a school for a village on the other side of a river from where she just helped set up a hospital. Anyway, I pointed out the main landmarks of town—the inn, the grandstand for the ceili, the docks, the whale boats. When people come to Cape Hawk, it's fairly predictable what they hope to see.”

“Not much going on up here?”

“Nope. Just the way I like it,” T.J. said. “The world's too crazy a place. I like the peace and quiet of Cape Hawk.”