Cold, Hard Facts
Flynn pulled away, breaking the bond that lent Gail such deep comfort when a black void of pain and loss threatened to swallow her whole. The insistent buzzing that had been nagging at her thoughts grew louder as he dug into his pocket and brought out his phone. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Gail wiped her eyes as she waited for him to come back to her.
Surely he's going to turn it off.
He checked the caller and his gaze shot up to her in a desperate plea. "I have to take this."
Gail's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding? Right now?"
"Yes." Flynn stood, and the bed bounced back up, knocking Gail over. She felt like a gum wrapper thrown in the trash.
"I'm sorry. I'll come right back when I'm finished." He shot out of her room, leaving her in an emotional tangle. Gail blinked through the pain, trying to make sense of his abandonment.
Here she was, fatherless, raw from grief and desperately vulnerable, and he had the audacity to walk out and take a call? A current of fury rose inside her. Was the caller his hon?
This had gone too far.
Gail stood, and a few wadded tissues rained around her feet. She kicked them away and entered the hallway. Empty. Aside from Tom's snores and Blarney's singing, she heard a muffled conversation coming from Flynn's room.
Gail walked over and mushed her ear up to the door. Normally she'd control such impulses, but her mother's news had brought her back to reality and she couldn't live in denial any longer.
Flynn spoke in a hushed tone. "Don't worry. I'll see you soon, hon."
Gail's nails dug into his door. How could he go back and forth between them so easily?
"I love you, too." Flynn's voice was melancholy.
That was it. She wrapped her hands around the doorknob and twisted. The door gave way, and she forced her way in.
Flynn stood by the window, cradling his phone against his ear. He whirled around and stared at Gail as if she was a cleaning woman who'd clearly picked the wrong time to enter his room.
"Don't you give me that look." Gail pointed a finger at his chest. "Who is she?"
Flynn shook his head, which infuriated her even more.
"When are you planning on telling her about your feelings for me?"
Flynn collapsed on his bed and dug his hand into his hair. "Soon. It's just so complicated, and now's not the right time."
"The right time?" Steam must have come from her ears, because she couldn't contain the anger that swelled up inside her. Mostly she was angry at herself for having feelings for a man as fickle as Flynn.
Somehow, he was missing her biggest point. "How can you let this carry on with the two of us?"
Flynn sighed like the world weighed on his shoulders. "Tabitha is my younger sister, Gail."
His words froze her anger and sunk in her stomach. Confusion, followed by embarrassment, trickled through her. "Your sister?"
Flynn nodded. "Ten years younger than me."
Gail processed the full ramifications of the truth. Flynn doesn't belong to someone else. He isn't a scoundrel, he's a saint to spend so much time comforting a teenager on the phone. "For Pete's sake. Why haven't you mentioned her before?"
"It's hard for me to talk about her." Flynn glanced at his phone as though his sister was still there. His finger caressed the screen. "She's sick, Gail. Really sick."
Gail's heart seized like he'd grabbed it in his fist. Here she was reaming him out, and he'd been on the phone with his sick sister. "What's wrong?"
"She has an inoperable tumor in her brain. When the doctors first discovered the growth, they thought it was benign. But over the last year, the tumor has been growing, pressing on her optic nerves. She gets awful headaches and passes out. They say she'll lose her eyesight first, then most likely die of seizures within six months."
"That's awful." Talk about cold, hard facts. "Is there nothing that can be done?"
"We've seen so many specialists. They all say the same thing. If they take the tumor out, they take out a major part of her brain along with it. She'd be alive, but she'd be a vegetable or at most, only a shadow of who she is today. We've tried several rounds of chemo, and now she's on some experimental drug treatment therapy, but the doctors have pretty much told us not to keep our fingers crossed."
It was so horrible. Gail couldn't wrap her mind around it. "I'm so sorry."
"That's why I need to find Nessie soon." Desperation showed in Flynn's eyes. "You see, she's spent her life looking for Nessie along with me. I want to give her something to look forward to, some sort of hope that dreams can come true before…" He swallowed. "Before it's too late."
Gail sat beside him on his bed and draped her arm around his shoulders. He took her hand and squeezed. Flynn's vulnerability and his cause for his sister made him the most heartfelt man she'd ever met. She'd never felt so strongly for someone.
"Can I stay here with you tonight? Just to sleep and be together, not…."
Flynn turned his face to her and smiled for the first time since he'd taken the call. "Absolutely."
They lay down and held each other. Flynn's proximity soothed Gail's pain. She rested her head on his shoulder and curled up to him as he lay on his back. His fingers played with her hair and stroked her back as his breathing slowed to a deep sleep.
For the first time, Gail hoped she was wrong about Nessie. For Tabitha's sake, she wanted Flynn to be right.
****
"By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes." Clink.
Gail peered through misty morning light, then closed her eyes and curled her arm around Flynn's.
"Where the sun shines bricht on Loch Lomon'." Clank.
What the? She buried her head under her side of the pillow.
"Where me and me true love were ever wont to gae." Clunky clunk.
A vague memory of an old, furry man rose up, and she pushed it away. Her dream mingled with Flynn's spicy scent was much more sweet.
"On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'." Dishes clattered as if someone had turned the cupboards upside down and emptied them on the floor.
Fully awake, Gail rose from Flynn's arms. "Oh no. We've left Blarney alone for too long."
Flynn pulled her back down and snuggled against her. "Let him be. Let's just sleep for a little while longer."
An explosion of silverware bouncing on the floor reverberated throughout the cabin.
Both Gail and Flynn shot up. Flynn rubbed his eyes. "On second thought, let's get down there."
Gail smoothed her wrinkled shirt, trying to look somewhat presentable. Would Tom notice she'd worn the same outfit yesterday? He wasn't the most observant man, especially for a videographer. Probably not.
Twisting her hair into a bun, she followed Flynn down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Wearing a woman's tattered pink apron, Blarney stood at the stove. A gigantic pot of steaming liquid gurgled on the burner. Cutting boards green with herbs, knives, and forks were strewn all over the countertop. Tom sat at the table with a napkin stuffed down the front of his shirt.
"Looks like someone had a good night." Tom gave Flynn a wicked grin, and Gail thought she'd shrivel up with embarrassment. He had noticed the shirt. That, or she'd left her bedroom door open.
Flynn walked over to Blarney. "What are you making?"
"Rabbit stew." Blarney brought the spoon from the simmering water and tasted. "Went a'hunting this morn. Caught a whitetail in ane of me traps."
Gail covered her mouth with her hand. She wasn't a vegetarian or anything but still, the thought of Blarney slaughtering a bunny rabbit for their breakfast made her stomach churn.
"Smells good." Flynn gave Gail a steady look. "We should all try some."
Gail bit her lip and sat down in the farthest seat from Tom. Blarney had set the table, and the dishes and silverware shone like new. At least the old man knows how to clean them. Maybe he isn't all that crazy, after all. Flynn was right; the stew did smell tasty, even if the broth was made with an animal that had been prancing outside their cabin a few hours ago.
Blarney served steaming bowls of broth with chunks of rabbit meat and floating herbs to everyone at the table.
Flynn took a seat next to her and picked up his spoon. "So, Gail, are you going to show Blarney your findings about the fish populations today?"
If it had been the night before, she would have rolled her eyes. But after hearing of his sister's condition and Flynn's quest to bring her one magical moment before she died, a sense of urgency overcame her. "Of course. Right after breakfast."
"Good." Flynn brought his spoon to his lips and sipped. "This is delicious, Blarney."
"A man daesna live in the woods for years and nae learn naething." Blarney grinned.
Tom had finished his bowl before Gail had even tried hers. "Flynn, let's go out and get some more footage while Gail and Blarney confer. I'm itching to get some shots of Urquhart Castle and the water surrounding it."
Flynn gave Gail a questioning look.
Gail tried a spoonful of Blarney's stew. Rich tastes danced on her tongue. Not only had the woodsman cleaned all the dishes from last night, but he'd gotten up early and made them all breakfast. The crazy old man had won her over, and she didn't mind spending the morning tracking Nessie's movements with him.
She gave Flynn a nod. "That's fine. We have a lot of work to do."
"All right." Flynn shrugged uneasily.
Gail touched his hand and whispered, "I'll be fine." They couldn't do everything together twenty-four seven. Although after the night before, there were things she wanted to explore with him. We'll have our time. Right now we have to find Nessie.
Tom gagged and coughed across the table. "Keep it in your room, guys. Unless I can join in?"
Blarney pointed a finger at Tom. "Give them a brak, lad. The sweethearts are in luve."
"I've had enough of this." Tom wiped his mouth and stood. He pointed to Flynn. "Meet you at the dock. I've got to set up my equipment."
"Sure thing." Flynn saluted Tom as he left.
Blarney watched Tom leave with a skeptical twinkle in his eyes. "I'm tellin' ya, that man's got a black hert."
Gail stared at Blarney. It was the only time she'd ever heard him say anything bad about anyone. "Why do you say that?" Was it because Tom hadn't complimented him on the stew?
Blarney pursed his lips. "I can see it in his eyes."
"Wait a second here." Flynn put both hands up. "We all know Tom's got some manners to work on, but a black heart? Really? L-PIB hired Tom thinking he was the best man for the job. We should honor their decision."
Gail tilted her bowl to collect the last spoonful of stew. "How long has Tom been a videographer?"
Flynn raised his eyebrows. "I don't know, but he's been taking some great footage of the lake. Have you seen any of his footage yet?"
Gail shook her head. She'd been too wrapped up in her own studies to take a look. "No, but I'll take your word for it."
Flynn brought his bowl to the sink. "Great meal, Blarney. I'll get the dishes when I get back."
"No need, lad." Blarney clapped him on the back. "You go oot thare and find me somethin' good, eh?"
Flynn smiled. "I will."
As he left, he bent down and kissed Gail on the cheek.
Excitement rose up inside her. The entire side of her face burned with heat. She couldn't remember the last time someone had kissed her good-bye.
Flynn whispered in her ear, "See you later, Nessiegator."
It was the most ridiculous pet name anyone had ever called her, but it made her melt into her chair. Gail had fallen hard, not only for Flynn but also for his purpose, and there was no chance she was getting back up anytime soon.