Rose Read online

  Rose

  Alison Chaffin Higson

  DEDICATION

  In memory of my father-in-law, who had three great loves:

  His wife, his family and fishing.

  He probably never so much as picked up a romance novel, but would be chuffed to bits to have one dedicated to him.

  Ronald James Higson

  6 August 1937 To 9 May 2009

  Fisherman’s Prayer

  God grant that I may live to fish

  For another shining day

  But when my final cast is made

  I then most humbly pray

  When nestled in your landing net

  As I lay peacefully asleep

  You’ll smile at me and judge

  That I’m good enough to keep

  Author, Unknown

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Blog Tour Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Giveaway

  Chapter 1

  “Auntie Mack, are we there yet?”

  Mack glanced back to her six-year-old nephew, Lucas, through the mirror. “No, we’re not there yet. Asking me every two seconds isn’t going to get us there any quicker.”

  Lucas had asked this question every ten minutes or so, since they’d left Boston. The first time had been as soon as she’d turned the corner from her apartment building.

  Last night, Lucas’ parents had dropped him off at Mack’s place, so they could get an early start in the morning, but Lucas had other ideas! They had both fallen asleep on Mack’s bed watching a movie with a bowl of popcorn between them. When they’d woken up Mack had been thankful he didn’t have an upset stomach.

  She’d been driving for just over an hour, traveling up the coast to Rose Cottage. The cottage in Maine she’d rented for the summer so she could get a breather from the craziness she called work, and her matchmaking parents. Despite loving them, she couldn’t stand the endless dates they threw at her. She wouldn’t mind, but they were all the same age as her parents, and lived in the same retirement village.

  It wasn’t as though she never dated, because she did. For some reason, she either ended up going out on a date with someone who didn’t know how to have fun, or with someone, like her last date, who spent the whole time eyeing up anyone wearing a skirt! How the hell she managed to pick these kinds of guys, she’d never know. Her mother had then decided to take matters into her own hands, and started to arrange blind dates for her – much to Mack’s dismay.

  She used to have a great time going out with her sister, Melinda. They used to meet some gorgeous guys, but unfortunately, they were only interested in one thing, and Mack didn’t do one-night stands. That, of course, all stopped when Melinda married Daniel, and that’s when a girl’s night out started to get few and far between. Especially after Lucas came along.

  Mack loved Lucas dearly, and spent as much time as possible with him. He could be very mischievous, if he wasn’t watched all the time. His parents were flying to Europe later in the day, and Lucas had apparently wanted to spend the time with his Auntie Mack, who could never say no. She always told herself to stop spoiling him, but so far, her little pep talks hadn’t worked.

  As she drove to Cape Elizabeth, she had a car full of clothes, toys, and books, not to mention food. It was with relief to discover Lucas could do without his pet snake, Archie. Mack didn’t do snakes, spiders, or frogs; they just frightened the life out of her.

  She wasn’t quite sure how she would have handled him wanting to bring Archie, because there was no way a snake was going on vacation with them. In fact, Melinda had given Lucas the option of no snake and Auntie Mack, or snake and grandparents.

  “Are you sure we’re not nearly there yet?” Lucas asked again, fidgeting in the backseat.

  She sighed. “Lucas, we’ll be there soon. Why don’t you read one of your books?”

  “Auntie Mack, my books are boring. Can I read one of yours?” He asked all excitedly.

  “My books are for adults, and they have no pictures in them.” She was thankful that her books were packed in the trunk so Lucas couldn’t go rooting around for them.

  “But Daddy told Mommy that she would learn a lot if she read the type of books you read, instead of her boring magazines. I like to learn,” Lucas replied with his ‘cute’ face, knowing his Auntie Mack had never been able to withhold anything from him when he gave her ‘that’ look. He obviously hoped she would give in and let him have a look through her books.

  She started to laugh, as well as blush, and wondered just what type of books Daniel thought she read. “They’re still adult-only books, Lucas. If you’re bored with yours, why don’t I buy you some new ones when we get there?”

  “As soon as we get there, do you promise?” Lucas tossed his current books onto the floor.

  “We’ll check the shops out in a day or two.” With a quick glance through the mirror, she saw Lucas’ face start to fall. “But if you’re good until then, I’ll buy you one extra book, maybe an atlas, then you can keep track of where your parents are staying in Europe.”

  Lucas had a ‘thinking face’ this time. “That would be cool.”

  “Okay… now that’s the end of that. Why don’t you have a nap? I’ll wake you when we get there. That way, the time will pass very quickly for you.”

  <><><>

  Eventually, Mack pulled up outside Rose Cottage and turned the engine off. The quiet and stillness must have woken Lucas, because one minute he was asleep, and the next, he shot up in his seat and banged the side of his head against the window. “You all right, Lucas?”

  He rubbed his head. “I think so. Are we there yet?”

  “Yes, we are, thank goodness! Let’s stretch our legs. In fact, I think I can see Mr. Degan over there, on his way to the cottage.” Mack pointed to the left.

  She climbed out of the car and opened the back door for Lucas. He jumped out and ran around her excitedly in circles, before he ran to meet Mr. Degan.

  As she watched him run towards Mr. Degan, she suddenly thought better of it, as there was no telling what would come out of Lucas’ mouth. She jogged over to them. “Mr. Degan,” Mack said, holding her hand out. “I’m Mackenzie Harper, and this is my nephew, Lucas Cartwright.”

  “You like fishing?” Mr. Degan asked as he released her hand.

  “Err, not really,” she replied, thinking there was no way on earth she was going anywhere near maggots.

  “I wasn’t talking to you, young woman. I was talking to this here imp.” Mr. Degan pointed at Lucas.

  Lucas was jumping up and down like an excited puppy. “I’ve never been fishing, but Daddy says you ha
ve to try everything once.”

  “Mmm, there are some big suckers in the river. I was thinking I could use you as bait?”

  Lucas, looked confused while Mack’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Mr. Degan, I don’t….”

  “Calm yourself. I’m only pulling your leg. Please, call me Thomas. I may be eighty, but hearing you say Mr. Degan still has me looking for my father.”

  Mack smiled and decided it was probably a good idea to change the subject. “Okay. Do you have the keys?”

  “No need,” Thomas replied. “The door’s open.” He walked to the cottage with Lucas, who placed his hand into his. Mack didn’t really know how to take Mr. Thomas Degan.

  Mack caught up to them in the kitchen, which was huge. Not at all like she had imagined when she read the description of the cottage online. But it was a nice, pleasant surprise.

  She looked over at Thomas. “Have you always lived around here?”

  He scratched his chin, appearing deep in thought. “My parents settled in this country around 1924, sailing from Ireland. They went to New York first, but moved here into Rose Cottage in 1927. Of course back then, and as a child growing up, it was known as ‘Degan House’. They gave their place a name, like the houses had back in Ireland.”

  “Wow! Perhaps you could spare some time and tell me more about your parents? Maybe come over for coffee and homemade cake?” Mack hoped the food offering would tempt Thomas, especially since she saw him frown, and guessed he was about to refuse.

  He took his cap off. “Maybe.”

  Thomas seemed like a nice enough old man, especially since he didn’t seem to mind Lucas hovering. In fact, Lucas had made a new friend, by the look of things.

  “Thomas, I have pizza in the cooler, and there’s plenty, if you’d like to join us?”

  As Thomas sat at the kitchen table, Lucas begged him to stay, as he climbed up onto his lap. “Please stay, Mr. Degan.”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Thomas answered, grinning at Mack. “I’ll keep this little jumping bean occupied while you unload, if you like.”

  “That would be great, thanks. We don’t have too much with us, really, so it shouldn’t take that long.”

  Outside, she just stood and looked around her, noticing for the first time, the clear view to the ocean and the cliffs with the lighthouse perched on the edge of the headland. The cottage was bordered by exploding colors of beautiful and fragrant plants, some even climbing the gazebo wall, others covering the ground in various displays of summer. It looked very pretty. She hoped there would be a bench inside, so she could sit sheltered from the sun to keep an eye on Lucas while he played and she read or just relaxed with a cup of coffee.

  There was also a small cottage sitting alongside their own, but it looked empty. If she remembered correctly, it was also available as a summer rental.

  Mack looked up to the crystal blue sky and took a deep breath of fresh salt air. With relief, she didn’t inhale a lungful of car fumes in the process, like she did most days in the city. Not only did everything smell fresh, it was so blissfully quiet. No car horns and no noisy neighbors. It was simply paradise to Mack.

  She began emptying the car, taking Lucas’ toys, their clothes, books and food into the quaint cottage.

  The last trip inside was with the food. It was only after she’d put it away in the cupboards and refrigerator, that it dawned on her how quiet everything was. Lucas was six. He didn’t do quiet.

  Mack listened and heard voices upstairs. With the lid snapped on the cooler ready to throw back into the car, she collected a box of clothes from the bottom of the stairs and headed up. After quickly placing the box in what she presumed to be the master bedroom, Mack opened one of the doors and found them both sitting down on one of the twin beds in the room, while Thomas read, what looked to be a very old comic, to Lucas.

  Thomas caught sight of Mack and waved the comic up in the air. “Lucas found it underneath the closet, along with some spiders.” He chuckled.

  Mack looked nervously around her. “Spiders?” she questioned a laughing Thomas and Lucas.

  “I think I’ll leave you two alone for now. I’ll give you a shout when dinner’s ready.” She was still looking for spiders as she shut the door and could hear Thomas and Lucas laughing.

  God, she was such a wimp!

  <><><>

  “Thomas! Lucas! Dinner is ready. Please wash up,” Mack shouted from downstairs.

  After fiddling about with the aging, but clean oven, she finally produced a nicely warmed pizza.

  Mack sliced the pizza into small, evenly sized triangles, arranging them on a serving plate. She placed the pizza alongside the potato salad and coleslaw on the table, just as Thomas and Lucas appeared.

  “Hi, take a seat. What would you like to drink, Thomas?”

  “Water’s fine,” he replied while helping himself to pizza and potato salad.

  After she’d poured everyone a glass of water, Mack finally sat down, joining the two obviously hungry men.

  “So, you folks always lived in Boston?” Thomas asked with a mouth full of pizza.

  “Yes. Born and bred there, Roslindale specifically.”

  Lucas turned and grinned at his Auntie Mack before he turned back to Thomas. “She’s a school teacher and frightens all the kids in the class,” he blurted out.

  “Lucas, don’t talk with your mouth full, please.”

  “You and Mr. Degan just did,” Lucas replied indignantly.

  “Well, Mr. Degan and I are very naughty then, so you behave.”

  “Is she always this bossy?” Thomas asked, grinning back at Mack.

  Lucas shoveled more food into his mouth. “You really have no idea. You should be thankful she isn’t your auntie.”

  “Hey, I can always take you back, and you can stay with your grandparents,” Mack replied sternly, while trying not to laugh.

  “No way. They are old and no fun. All they want to do all day is play cards.” When he noticed the look on his Auntie Mack’s face, he added, “and strip poker.”

  Mack choked on her drink. “They do no such thing, young man. Well, maybe cards.” She glanced across to Thomas, who was trying to eat without laughing.

  Lucas was so funny sometimes with the things he came out with. She could see why Daniel always watched what he said around Lucas. Melinda probably wasn’t as careful, and their mother obviously wasn’t careful at all. Good grief, strip poker!

  The rest of the meal was eaten in comfortable silence, and before she knew it, Thomas had cleared the table and started to fill the sink with water and dishwashing liquid.

  “Thomas, you don’t need to do that.” Mack stood up to help him.

  “I know I don’t need to do this, but I want to. Why don’t you get some coffee going?” He winked at her.

  With a laugh, she turned to do his bidding. While Mack waited for the coffee to brew, she followed Lucas into the sitting room and switched the Wii on for him. He was allowed thirty minutes, each evening before bed.

  With the dishes all washed and dried, she joined Thomas at the kitchen table to drink coffee. She hoped he would tell her about his past. She really enjoyed hearing about people’s lives in the early 1900’s and before that. It was why she’d chosen to teach history.

  “Thomas, would you mind telling me something about your parents? What were they like? What they did?” She grinned at Thomas, who looked as though he’d never been asked before. “Sorry, I find family history rather interesting.”

  He frowned, gazing into his mug of coffee. “Okay, my parents, hmm. Well, my mother was named Josephine, and my father was named Thomas. They were both born in Delgany in County Wicklow in 1899, and sailed for America in the early 1920’s on the RMS Mauretania from Southampton to New York.”

  “I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, but it would mean a rather long flight, and I don’t like to fly. Have you ever been, Thomas? You must still have family over there?”

  “I think there is family over
there, but I wouldn’t know them, having never had any contact with them. I don’t think my father or mother stayed in touch with family when they moved here.”

  “What did your parents do for work?” Mack inquired.

  “When they arrived, my father was offered a good position with a law firm in Portland. The firm paid well, and in 1927, they moved here. They rented this cottage first, and then bought it a few years later. My mother never worked, even during the Depression, and just enjoyed visiting friends and drinking tea. My father worked all the time. He had one hell of a temper. He used to scare the crap out of me.”

  They took a sip of their drinks. “Were you their only child?” Mack asked, fascinated.

  Thomas appeared lost in thought. “No. I had a brother named Charlie. He died towards the end of the Second World War, and a sister…. she died a few years later. My mother died of a heart condition in 1951, and my father in 1964. I hadn’t spoken to my father for years when he died. He left everything to me. That’s when I changed the name of the cottage.” He sighed and Mack could tell that he’d had enough for one night.

  “Thank you for telling me about your family. You have a very good memory for dates.”

  “I've always been good with figures,” he replied.

  Not long after, Mack announced that it was time for Lucas to have a bath before bed. Lucas moaned and groaned all the way up the stairs. Mack promised him that Thomas would be there in the morning for breakfast, so Lucas flew into the bathroom at hearing that.

  Chapter 2

  “Auntie Mack, Auntie Mack, it’s time to get up!” Lucas shouted as he ran into Mack’s bedroom and dived onto the bed. “Come on, Auntie, you have to wake up. The birds told me it’s time for breakfast.” He paused for breath. “They want pancakes and ketchup!”

  Mack slowly opened her eyes and moved the duvet away from her face, took one look at her very excited nephew and slowly registered hearing pancakes and ketchup in the same sentence.

  “Lucas, you don’t eat pancakes and ketchup together. That’s just yuk.” She glanced towards the clock on the side table and rubbed her eyes. She really needed glasses, because she was sure the clock read not much past five. She rubbed her eyes again. “Oh my God, Lucas, it’s only ten past five in the morning… nobody gets up at this time.” She popped her head back down onto the pillow, took hold of Lucas and helped get him under the covers with her. “Now go back to sleep… please?”