A Spirited Gift

A shaken, breathless voice replied, “My name is Danny Evans. I live in Duck. Get me out of here, huh?”

Danny Evans—the tingling became a buzzing in my ears. My father.

Chapter 13

No one there knew that I was related to Danny Evans—except me. I’d only recently learned who my father was and that he was alive. My mother, even Gramps, had always told me he was dead. It was only by chance that I found out otherwise.

“Bring in the stretcher,” Dwight yelled back to the others.

“We’d better do a sobriety test on him,” Cailey said.

“Hey! Just because I work at a bar doesn’t mean I’m drunk,” Danny protested.

“I guess that explains the whiskey.” Phil laughed.

“It does since someone already broke into the bar and stole a couple cases. My boss expects me to protect his investment until this is over,” Danny explained.

“It’s just for your own good, sir,” Cailey told him. “The drugs they give you at the hospital might work against any alcohol in your system. Best to know ahead.”

“I haven’t been drinking,” Danny said again. “I don’t drink. Not anymore at least. I’ve been sober six years, five months and seven days. I’m just good at being a bartender.”

“We’ll have to test you anyway, sir,” Cailey repeated. “Sorry.”

He was an alcoholic. I knew from the way he’d said exactly how long he’d been sober. My father was an alcoholic.

I’d followed him around a few times since finding out about him and where he worked. I didn’t want him to know about me. I wouldn’t introduce myself, although I ordered a drink from him once at his bar, the Sailor’s Dream.

Gramps told me that Danny hadn’t wanted me, or my mother. He’d never checked to see what I was like as I was growing up. There was never a card or a phone call. I figured he wouldn’t want me now either.

But every new piece of information I learned about him was like a treasure from Missing Pieces. I’d tuck it away to look at later as I tried to understand him. What had my mother seen in him? How was I like him?

I mentally filed this latest discovery that he was an alcoholic. I’d retrieve it when I had time to scrutinize it properly.

Gramps didn’t know I’d looked Danny up and had come in contact with him. Having kept him a secret for more than thirty years, he wouldn’t have been too happy about my interest. I didn’t tell Kevin either, even though he’d offered to help me find Danny. I just wasn’t sure he wouldn’t tell Gramps.

And there was something exciting and satisfying about not sharing the treasure I’d found with anyone else. Maybe it only meant something to me, but my mother must have loved this man. I didn’t know what had happened between them that had made her lie to me about him. I might never know. But I wanted to figure it out.

I watched as Cailey and Dwight helped my father out of the van. They placed him on the stretcher and took him to the ambulance. I knew they wouldn’t make him do a field sobriety test to tell if he was impaired. They’d do a blood test on the way to the hospital. I hoped for his sake that what he’d told them was true.

Next in line was getting the van off the road. While traffic was minimal, no one wanted to get a call later that night about another accident involving the vehicle. Kevin and I waited with Luke for the tow truck while Cailey, Barney and Phil went on to the next emergency caused by the storm. It was going to be a long night for everyone.

We sat around in the emergency vehicle, talking about our experiences during the storm. I had the best story—hands down. No one else was actually involved in a possible homicide.

It wasn’t much to brag about, of course. I didn’t have my usual relish for telling what was bound to be a tale that would go down in Duck history. Despite Luke urging me for more details, I was finished quickly, then listened to Luke and Kevin talk about their experiences working with other emergency crews.

The tow-truck driver—all the way from Sanderling—wasn’t in a mood to talk either. He kind of grunted as Kevin and Luke explained that the van needed to go to the Duck Police impound lot. Our usual Duck tow-truck driver wasn’t able to come because part of his house was on his truck. They finally made the Sanderling driver understand the request, and he hitched the van to the back of the tow truck.

While they were talking, I noticed something on the wet street right outside the van door. The floodlight was gone with Cailey, but this glinted in the bright headlights shining across Duck Road from the tow truck and the emergency vehicle.

I walked over and picked it up. It felt cool in my hand. It was a smooth, flat rock that had been made into a necklace. The gold chain that ran through it wasn’t new. As I held it, a flash of emotion went through me.