Read Kraken for Free Online Page B

has one pair of sheets. You can’t have an argument with him or he walks away. I learned that early on: if you disagree, Will would rather kick you to the curb than work on it.”
     
    “So she was the insurance plan, right Parker? If I ‘kicked you to the curb’ you had her ready to fall back on.”
     
    “Will, no.” Parker grabbed Sina’s hand. “Baby . . . I love you.” He turned to face Will. “Will, what are you even doing here? Why the weekend visit?”
     
    Will’s shame stilled his tongue. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been, coming here with hopes folded neatly in his rollaway luggage.
     
    “Are you staying with this guy now?” asked Parker.
     
    “No, he just . . . Put me up for the night. I didn’t have anywhere to go. Obviously.”
     
    “Will’s had less time than you to deal with this, Parker. He doesn’t need to explain himself to you,” said Sina. “Will, I’ll drop your bag off to you later today, okay? It’s best for everyone you leave the island.”
     
    Will nodded his head, his eyes fixed on the tablecloth.
     
    Sina reached across the table and laid a hand on his forearm. “I’m truly sorry, Will.
     
    Will felt Sina and Parker leave, but he didn’t look up. Cyrus was holding the knapsack on his lap, his knuckles white, coffee untouched. When he spoke, Cyrus’s voice was very calm. “Wait here while I grab the groceries.” He stood before waiting for Will’s reply.
     
    Fuck, he was so stupid, stupid. To think Parker would miss him. Bile rose into Will’s throat. Suddenly he couldn’t bear to sit any longer. He jerked to his feet, not bothering to pick up the white plastic chair as it clattered to the floor. Not out of interest, but only for an excuse to keep his hot cheeks facing away from the room, Will examined the framed black and white photographs liberally covering the nearest wall. Men with shovels flanked a long rectangular hole, men loaded sacks on a barge, men with axes propped their feet on gigantic felled trees. Glossy elevation plans came next, a large architectural model on a table beneath them: shiny white condos stacked like tilted shoeboxes on the grass-green foam.
     
    “Ah, I see you found the new jewel in our crown.” It was the elderly man.
     
    “Jewel?”
     
    “Sandpiper Point. It’s going in between here and Cyrus’s, as a matter of fact. One of the old-timers was persuaded to sell her sections. She wasn’t using them, of course, just holding on because her father had bought land here back in the 1920s, when they thought there might be a proper town.
     
    “It looks . . . nice?”
     
    “Won’t it just be? This gorgeous island, it’s not right it’s kept for only a few people. Not too many full time residents at the moment, but there’s room for thousands. Tens of thousands. It would have been a different life, if we hadn’t been so isolated. But now we can open up this whole place. Not everyone’s in favor, of course. Some like the old ways.”
     
    “The old ways have a lot going for them,” said Cy, walking up to them. “I thought you were going to stay put, Will. Don’t run off like that.”
     
    “We haven’t actually been properly introduced,” said the old man. “How do you do? I’m Mr. Falconer. This is my store.”
     
    Will grasped Mr. Falconer’s hand. His grip was warm, comforting.
     
    “And may I say, it really is a pleasure to have you back, Mr. MacKenzie. Your grandparents missed you terribly after you left here, you know. I wasn’t surprised when they joined you in the city. I mean, I can understand it, a lad wants to be with his mother, after all, but I was surprised you never felt the need to return. Better late than never, of course. ”
     
    Will gaped, astonished. “No, I’m sorry, that’s not me.”
     
    The storekeeper looked at him over the top of his glasses.
     
    “I haven’t . . . I haven’t been here before. I’ve barely left the city, only for the occasional overpriced resort