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jumping up again for the ball.  “But Dad won’t give it back because he says I’m not responsible.”
    “You’re not responsible,” Cailtin agreed, ruffling Kelsey’s hair.  “Because you’re spoiled rotten.”
    “Am not!”
    “Are too,” Dominic laughed, bouncing the ball off the wall.
    Kelsey grabbed for it, but she was too slow.
    Dominic spun around, almost dropping the ball when he spotted Tara by the stove.  “Christ, I didn’t see you there.”  He paused when he saw that she was staring at him and Kelsey, a strange, almost wistful, expression on her face.  She’d pulled her dark hair back and tucked it into a faded bandana.  But it only made her eyes seem wider and greener.  Her pale skin was flushed from the heat of the stove and her lips were full and soft.  He wondered suddenly what they would taste like. Scooping the ball back into his hands, he tore his eyes from her mouth.  “Shouldn’t you be on break by now?”
    Tara gazed at Dominic’s jeans, rolled up and soaking wet.  His sleeves were pushed back over the strong muscles in his forearms and his black hair was curling from the water splashed on his face.  He’d gone out to find her soccer ball.  He’d gone into the ocean in April to find his daughter’s ball .  “I’m fine,” Tara said, wondering why the words felt lodged in her throat.  “I have a lot of catching up to do.”
    “I’ll say,” he agreed, his gaze dropping to the charred loaf on the counter.  “I thought you said you were a fast learner?”
    “It’s her first morning,” Caitlin cut in.
    “Still,” Dominic said.  “Another morning like this, and our neighbors will start dusting off their own fry pans.”
    “I need a little more time,” Tara said, swallowing the lump in her throat.  “But I will get better at this.  I won’t rest until I do.”
    Dominic took in flash of determination, the slight lift of her chin.  “I can’t pay you overtime.”
    “I know.  I want to get this right.”
    Dominic let his gaze linger on her face for a moment longer before lifting a shoulder.  “Suit yourself.”  He nudged Kelsey back toward the door.
    “Dom,” Caitlin turned, trailing after him.  “Maeve came in earlier.  She’s got another leak in her faucet.  Could you have a look at it?”
    He tucked the ball in the crook of his arm, holding Kelsey back with one arm as she grabbed for it, trying to knock it loose.
    “And Brennan’s got a fence down in the high field.  He’ll need your help in mending it.  His arthritis is making his knees weaker by the day.”
    Dominic’s brows knitted together in concern.  “It’s getting worse?”
    Caitlin nodded.
    “He needs to see a doctor.”
    “You know he won’t.  He doesn’t trust them.”
    Dominic dragged a hand through his wet hair. “Alright.  I’ll head up there now.  See if I can talk him into it.”
    Caitlin sent him a look.  “Just fix the fence, Dom.”
    “If I fix the fence, it’ll just be something else next week.  He needs help.  There’s medicine that can make the pain go away.  He’s too young to be suffering.”
    Tara set down the rag she was using to clean.  “Don’t you have a traveling doctor who makes rounds out to the island?  Someone who could prescribe something?”
    “We do,” Dominic answered.  “But the visits are sporadic at best.”
    “And doctor’s cost money,” Caitlin added.  “Plus they usually find more things that are wrong with you when they’re looking over the first.  Most islanders think it’s easier not to know.”
    “But that’s crazy,” Tara exclaimed.  “The faster you catch something, the easier it is to treat.”
    “You and I know that,” Dominic ceded.  “But try convincing a farmer who’s lived on this island his entire life.”
    Tara stared at the three islanders across the room.  She hadn’t considered the need for modern medicine on these islands.  Even after treating Caitlin’s hand last night, it