The sun was sinking below the line of trees on the horizon and the sky was turning a pale shade of pink. The harder front of night pushed at the colors and turned the water an unforgiving dark. In the harbor, the waves lapped softly against the boats and against the docks. A small ferry motored into the harbor and its wake made the boats bob in their moorings. Water dripped from the bows and slipped back into the bay in little splashes. A bell on a buoy clanged and, farther away, where the division between night and the setting sun was less clear, another buoy’s light blinked rhythmically.

The only motel that they could find, the only one that was close enough and still had vacancies, was in Hyannis, still miles and miles away from the town where they would catch the ferry to the island, but close enough to allow them to stop for the night. Although the adults were tired, Mattie had spied a sign for an evening cruise in the harbor. She had badgered them during dinner. She had batted her eyelashes and pouted over ice cream and pled and begged while they walked until they agreed to go.

Mac pulled the cuffs of her sweater over her palms and anchored them with her fingers. The breeze, colder by the water and colder than she had expected, made her hair flutter over her cheeks and catch in her eyelashes. She pushed at it with her sleeves, unwilling to expose her hands. Beside her, Mattie bounced on her toes, trying to see if the crew had started to let passengers on to the boat. Harm stood behind them, his hands shoved into his jeans’ pockets to ward off the cold.

When Mattie’s head bobbed up again, Mac gave him a half-smile and blew on her exposed fingers to warm them up. “So, is this the way you pictured it?” she asked under her breath.

“Somehow,” he muttered, “I thought it would be warmer.”

“Just wait until we get on the water.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around her torso. She nodded to Mattie and asked in a louder voice, “Why do you think she isn’t cold?”

“Youth,” he said. He rolled his eyes and smiled. “Either that or its sheer stubbornness.”

“Hey,” Mattie cried, “I heard that.”

“You were meant to,” he told her. “This was your idea.”

Mac shivered slightly and tightened her arms around her ribs. He noticed the small shudder and pulled his hands out of his pockets. Wrapping his arms around her, he asked, “Better?” The word was soft and settled lightly on the crown of her head.

“Mm,” she murmured and leaned back against him.

“Gross,” Mattie grumbled. The line started to shuffle forward and she jumped, clapping her hands. “We’re moving.” She grabbed Harm’s sleeve and pulled him with her. “Let’s get seats on the top deck.”

“Does she know how cold that’ll be?” Mac asked his back as she followed them.

“Apparently not,” he said over his shoulder, but he let her pull him on to the boat and up the stairs.

The boat was small, fewer than fifty passengers crowded on to it. They stood at the rail and watched the coast line slip past the boat. Mattie and Mac pointed out houses that they liked and would buy if they ever won the lottery. By the time they pulled away from the coast, they had quite a few potential houses between them. Nearby, a band played oldies and a few newer songs; the music was mostly lost in the engine’s humming and the sounds of the passengers.

As time passed and the sky grew too dark to see the scenery, they drifted downstairs and warmed up in the cabin. The wind was growing colder and the sea spray made it too hard to stay outside for long periods. Mac and Harm sat on one of the low benches, slumped against each other while Mattie divided her time between the cabin and the lower deck.

“I’m glad I decided to come,” she told him softly. Through the cabin door, she could see Mattie leaning over the railing. Her hair fell in soft curls over her face and made it hard to tell what she was looking at. Mac watched her for a few minutes, before turning her attention back to him.

“So far so good?” he asked.

She looped her arm through his and pulled her body closer to him. “So far, so good.” She nodded against his arm.

His fingers slipped around hers and squeezed. He let his head fall back against the wall, wincing slightly at the noise it made on the metal walls. His eyes drifted shut. “God, I’m tired,” he breathed.

“Me, too,” she agreed. “It’s pretty up here,” she changed the subject. “I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it.”

He cracked an eye open and glanced down at her. “Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never pictured this. Maybe I thought there’d be less trees or something.”

He snorted softly and closed his eye again. “But you’re not disappointed.”

“Oh.” She sat up straight and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “No, just surprised. But I like it.” She leaned against him again. “I mean, I’ve definitely liked what I’ve seen so far.” She yawned in the middle of her sentence and let her eyes slide shut. “I want my bed.”

He nodded. “Me, too.”

“I never asked,” she said sleepily, “where are we staying exactly? I mean on the island?”

“The house is outside of Oaks Bluff. We’re within walking distance, I was told.”

“Sounds nice,” she said.

The boat began to slow down, he could feel the speed shifting and hear the engine grinding with the new change. The buoy that marked the no wake zone drifted past the windows.

Mattie came in quickly and rushed over to them. “You must,” she stressed the word, “see this.” She caught their hands in hers and tugged until they were on their feet. “Come with me,” she beckoned.

“What’s up, Mattie?” He followed her onto the deck and to the railing.

“Look.” She pointed to water. “Just watch, you’ll see.”

They leaned on the railing and watched the water ripple around the boat. Moonlight caught on the crests and slipped away on the backs of the waves. “There.” Mattie pointed again. “And there.”

Skimming below the surface of the water, circles of blue lights appeared in the boat’s wake. They welled and sank in the water, a flickering paler shade of blue than the water. They lit the waves and glowed in the water and, for a moment, it looked like the sea had swallowed the stars in the sky.

Mac raised herself on to her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said quietly into his shoulder, “for bringing me.”

“Thank you,” he said just as quietly, “for coming.”