The Sea Owes Me a Fortune

Chapter 007

That evening, Kate did something almost unheard of: she bought two pounds of pork.

She hadn't sold the shellfish she'd gathered that day either. Instead, she'd cooked everything, filling the table with dishes.

For families on the coast, pork was a rare treat. Most wouldn't spend money on it unless there was a holiday to celebrate.

Drawn by the smell, Jasper came hurrying out of his room, his face still swollen and bruised.

“Pork, Mom? Now I've seen everything. You actually opened your wallet!”

Kate swatted the back of his head. “Cheeky brat. Is that any way to talk to your mother?”

Then her expression softened. “Are you still hurting?”

Jasper grinned. “I'm in agony. I'll need two helpings tonight. And I'm taking a few days off. Nathan can go out with Dad.”

His joking finally put her mind at ease. “Sounds like you'll live.”

“Mom, Jasper was incredible!” Anne said proudly. “You should've seen him. He took on all three of them by himself. Even Nathan got scared!”

“Of course he did. Who do you think raised him?” Kate was looking rather pleased herself. “And Adeline didn't get off lightly either. I pulled out half her hair. Let her come looking for trouble again. I'll take the rest!”

As mother and daughter grew more delighted with themselves, Kyle shook his head.

“Can we eat? Since when was fighting something to be proud of?”

He turned to Jasper. “Sydney came by again this afternoon. She was beside herself when she saw the state you were in. What are you planning to do about her?”

“If you really can't let her go, I'll swallow my pride and speak to her father again. We could buy some decent furniture for the house too. Once they see we're doing better, they might come around.”

Rebecca immediately kicked Nathan hard under the table.

“What did you kick me for?” he asked, baffled.

Everyone fell silent.

Rebecca put down her fork, her face tight.

“When I married Nathan two years ago, you said you couldn't afford anything, Kyle. We didn't get a single piece of new furniture. Now it's Jasper's turn, and suddenly you're offering to buy it?”

Her expression grew uglier as she spoke. “So Sydney deserves the royal treatment, and I'm worth nothing? Just someone this whole family can walk all over?”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the table.

Kate frowned. “Rebecca, that's no way to speak to us.”

Anne couldn't keep quiet. “Jasper made a hundred fifty-two dollars from this morning's catch alone. So what if he spends a little more? He earned it.”

Rebecca's eyes reddened. “A hundred and fifty dollars. So what? Does that make him special? We're still one household. That money belongs in the family pot, doesn't it?”

“And just because he made that much today doesn't mean he'll do it again tomorrow. What are you all so smug about?”

“Come on, that's enough…” Nathan took her arm, trying to calm her, but she slapped his hand away before he could finish.

“Are you ever going to stand up for yourself?” she shouted. “Every time you go fishing, every last cent goes into the household. Why should Jasper get to keep what he earns?”

Nathan said nothing.

Kate slammed her palm onto the table, making everyone jump.

Before she could speak, Jasper cut in.

“Rebecca, do you want to set up on your own?”

In his first life, she'd already hinted at wanting a separate household before he'd moved in with the Hunnams. Once he was gone, though, there'd been little left to divide. She'd stayed and complained to anyone who would listen about having to support his parents. She'd also called Jasper spineless and accused him of disgracing the family.

This time, he'd intended to wait until he'd earned enough for a boat of his own before suggesting they separate their households.

Apparently, there was no point waiting.

“What are you talking about?” Kyle's face darkened. “We're not breaking up this household. You're not even married yet.”

Rebecca would have liked nothing better than a place for just the two of them. No living with her in-laws, and whatever they earned would be theirs to keep.

But she didn't dare say so outright. People would talk. Instead, she sat stiffly and kept nudging Nathan with her foot.

He'd never been difficult to sway. Since marrying Rebecca, he'd become especially good at doing as she wished.

At her prompting, he finally ventured, “Mom, Dad, maybe we should…”

“Let them have their own place,” Jasper finished for him. “Rebecca's brought it up now. It's going to keep bothering her. We'd be better off living separately.”

He gave his parents a quick, meaningful look, then turned back to Rebecca.

“What did you have in mind? How would you like to divide things?”

“I…”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

If it were up to her, she and Nathan would take the boat, and Jasper could take care of his parents. But saying that aloud would turn everyone against her.

Anne curled her lip. “Nathan's the oldest. Isn't he supposed to help look after Mom and Dad? And I'm still living with them. So what happens to Jasper? You just throw him out?”

“Not while I'm alive, she isn't!” Kyle snapped, showing a temper they rarely saw.

Rebecca flinched. She didn't dare say another word.

She'd lost her appetite too. Pushing her plate away, she got up and walked out.

“Rebecca! Where are you going?” Nathan called.

“To my parents' house. Is that all right with you?”

“What are you going there for at this time of night? Wait!”

He hurried after her.

The room fell quiet. The food covering the table had gone cold.

Jasper looked from one parent to the other and sighed.

“Maybe we really should let them move out. She's been picking fights ever since they got married, and you two have never got along that well, Mom. After tonight, I can't see things getting any easier.”

Kate glared at him. “You make it sound so simple. And what about what your sister said? Are we supposed to throw you out?”

“Why would you? You'd be staying with me.”

To Jasper, it was obvious. “She's the one who wants her own household. Let her and Nathan move out. I'll take care of you, Dad, and Anne.”

Anne looked startled. Then her eyes lit up.

“You make it sound like you can handle anything, Jasper. You're amazing.”

“Oh, stop it.” He laughed and put a piece of pork on her plate before turning back to his parents.

“Nathan never could make up his own mind. If Rebecca keeps working on him, we'll all end up hating one another. Better to do this now, while we still get along.”

Kate still wasn't convinced, but Kyle was considering it.

“You've got a point,” he said. “But even counting everything, we've got less than nine hundred dollars. That's not enough to build a house or buy another boat. How are we supposed to manage two households?”

“The old house is still livable, isn't it?” Jasper asked calmly. “Since Rebecca wants a place of her own, she and Nathan can move in there. We'll split the savings equally. As for the boat, we'll keep doing what we've been doing.”

“Nathan and I take turns going out with you. On his days, you split the money from the catch between the two households. That should work.”

Plenty of families in the village had only one boat. This was how they managed when the grown children set up homes of their own.

Kyle thought it over, then nodded.

“All right. Better to live apart than end up at each other's throats.” He turned to Kate. “Go over to Rebecca's parents tomorrow and bring them back. We'll get it all settled.”

For all her temper, Kate had always believed her husband should have the final say. Once Kyle had decided, she let the matter rest.

The meal was supposed to have been a celebration. Now no one could taste a thing.

With Nathan at his in-laws' house and Jasper injured, Kyle stayed ashore that night.

Jasper was sound asleep when footsteps outside his window woke him.

He came fully alert at once. Had Dick and his brothers come back for more?

Slipping quietly out of bed, he picked up a stout wooden pole and crept to the window.

He threw it open.

“Who's there?”