Adirondack Audacity (24 page)

“Let’s just say it didn’t hurt your looks.” I murmur,
caressing the hollows of his cheekbones.
“Thank you.” He gives a wry smile. “The only good
thing to come out of the whole mess was my mother
stopped drinking. She roused out of her alcoholic stupor
to nurse me back to life. The nurses weren’t allowed to
care for me unless it was something she wasn’t capable of
doing. After my recovery, she divorced my father and
never drank again.”
“Do you still see her?”
“Yes, actually we’re fairly close. My father died five
years ago of a heart attack. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him
in over twenty years so it was no great loss.”
“What did you do, when you got better?” I ask softly,
hugging his arm close to my body, his heat warming my
skin.
“Drifted mostly, I had to get away. I signed on a
freighter ship as a crew hand and basically traveled the
world. The time in jail had hardened me. I was now one
tough kid with an attitude, and the wandering lifestyle
suited my mood. Ike and I met on an oil freighter bound
out of Saudi Arabia.” He shakes his head musing, “Ike
and I have been together…a long time.” He chuckles.
“We were freighter tramps, young and dumb, moving
from one ship to another. Whatever ship paid the most
money. Both running away from the life we left behind.
We’ve been watching each other’s back ever since. Ike is
my best friend and aside from my mother, my family. He
stayed on to be my back up man once the movie business
started; always hire a friend as a bodyguard. Can’t trust
anyone else.”
“How in the world did you get into acting? Seems a
far cry from being a freighter tramp?” I’m overwhelmed
with questions.
“South America.”
“South America?”
“Yeah, we were in Chili on a leave from the boat. A
production company was filming a movie. As a joke we
signed on as extras. The joke was on me because the
camera liked my face. That and the fact I speak fluent
Spanish and English led to larger parts and a few years
later, I was in Hollywood, and now, in a film possibly
nominated for an Academy Award. It’s just nuts how it
all happened.”
“I’m sorry for going crazy on you, Vic.” I slip out of
his lap to stand in front of him. I let my eyes roam up and
down the length of his body. I still can’t wrap my mind
around the fact he is here……
Vic,
leaning into him I
enfold myself into his arms. “I guess you didn’t run out
on me. I’ve lived with the thought of you dead for so
long, it was a shock seeing you standing there, this huge
movie star, I jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
“
Dios mio
,” He shakes his head, his eyes soften with
understanding. “I can see how you thought that.”
His frown deepens as I continue, “It hasn’t been easy
for either of us, has it?” He takes my hand and kisses my
knuckles tenderly; the touch of his lips on my skin
resonates through me. I shrug my shoulders and the joy
in finding him seeps through the pain of the past. “And
yet for some strange magical reason, we’re standing on a
beach in California holding each other.”
“I think it’s called kismet.” He says with a chuckle
pulling me to him.
“Do you know what I want to do now?” I ask,
tipping my head back looking into his eyes.
“No, but I think you’re going to tell me.”
“Look, what a beautiful night,” I gesture toward the
water and sky. “The ocean is calm, the moon and stars
are out. A perfect night to take a romantic stroll down the
beach with someone you once loved.”
“Always the nature girl?” He smiles down at me.
“Yep,” My lips twitch with laughter.
“Good, I’ve missed her.”
Slipping off the wall, I hold out my hand to him. “Do
you think we could just walk, hand and hand, no more
talking of the past or the future……..for a while.” My
mind is reeling from the enormity of this evening. “For
now….I want to kick off my shoes, hold your hand and
walk through the surf. No thinking, no talking…….just
you and me…..….I want this moment to last……because
I found you…...”
Vic stands up, purses his lips, unable to hide his
amusement and offers his arm. “My lady, shall we walk?”

Waves gently toss grains of sand back and forth, back
and forth, the rhythm of the ocean lapping the shore. The
moon overhead reflected in the surf. Constellations wink
down from the sky above, calling out their names, Swan,
Lion, Sirius and Leo. Tensions ease and familiarity sets in
as we stroll down the beach. The slow easy motion of
walking allows the events of the evening to fall in place,
the pain and confusion of the past fade, and the magic
that was ours reclaimed.

The beach deserted, no one in sight, the lights from
the parking lot fade away replaced by the sporadic
lighting of private residences. A blue lifeguard tower
stands as a lonely sentinel to the sea.

“Think we can climb up there?” I ask
, cocking my
head, fluttering my eyelashes in a flirtatious manner. “I
need to sit for a bit, and I’ve never been in a lifeguard’s
stand. Maybe you can give me a tour?”

“Sure, you might to want to leave those fancy shoes
on the sand and hike up that dress for the climb.” He
leads me to the steps of the lifeguard tower. “But first,”
he reaches out, his hands warm and strong, hard on my
wrists and pulls me into his embrace. I recognize the
look. The sudden darkening of gold in those deep eyes
before his clever hands run up my body and his mouth
covers mine. I feel a shiver starting along my spine where
he lays his hands. I’m weightless, floating above the sand,
yet I feel every plane and line as his body presses against
mine. It has been a long time since I’ve been held like
this, and tonight I feel as though I’d ridden to the top of
a crest and weakness floods me. “I’ve missed you so
much, Elle.” He breathes. Oh, I still affect him.

The dark of night has intensified; stars appear
brighter in the sky, the wind died, and the sound of the
sea a steady heartbeat in the distance. The moon sails
overhead and around us the night shimmers with the
echo of magic. And that is enough.

Weathered by the elements the lifeguard tower stands
in need of paint, splinters stick out of the ragged wood
planking. We climb up and sit on the small deck
overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Vic says, pulling me into the warmth of his chest.
“Really, I bet the girls loved you.”
“It was the most boring job I’ve ever had, hot, lonely

and just dull.”
“Did you ever save anyone?”
“I swam out a few times with the surfboard because

“Very glamorous.”
I say, snuggling closer as the cool
air blows in from the ocean.
“Here, you’re shivering.” He takes off his tuxedo
jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. The bad girl in
me thinks;; I won’t mind him shedding a few more of
those clothes. God, is he gorgeous and in my
defense…… it’s been …ummm….a while.
“Warm?” He asks, leaning over to kiss my forehead.
“Mmmm, very cozy.” Our eyes lock, as silence settles
around us, time enough for a warm flush to ignite my
blood. I see my reaction reflected in his eyes.
“So are you ready to talk?” He kisses the back of my
neck. I moan softly
“Nooo, not just yet.” I catch my breath as he nibbles
a sensitive spot below my ear. “I rather you continued
with what you’re doing. And I’m getting some very
suggestive ideas.” I giggle.
“That’s fine with me.” He murmurs. “Maybe you
should tell me some of those suggestive thoughts.” His
hand wanders up and down the length of my body.
“Oh no, once we start……as you remember restraint
was not our strong point.” I sigh. “I’m not sure this
flimsy lifeguard station is strong enough.”
“I bet we wouldn’t be the first ones to give it a try.”
His hand moves up to the swell of my breast. “It would
be my happiest memory of lifeguarding.”
“Mmmmm, maybe,” I purr under the attention of his
hands, his fingers caressing my nipple though the fabric
of my dress. “First,” I whisper, reason overcoming desire.
“I have a few questions.”
“Sure, fire away.” He breathes into my ear as his hand
slips under the fabric of my dress, moving in slow lazy
circles.
I swallow and close my eyes, trying to keep my head
above the tide of yearning snaking through my body.
“Vic, are you married, engaged, in a serious relationship?”
I manage to choke out as waves of heated desire shoot
through me. “I need a few answers before this goes any
farther.”
“Whoa! Okay, serious stuff,” he sits back, rubbing his
chin with long fingers as he contemplates his answer. “I
was
married, about fifteen years ago. I met Sophia
DeLong on a movie set in Mexico, she was the leading
lady. I had a small role in the movie. What can I say but
she was Spanish, beautiful and passionate. The sparks
between us ignited into an explosive relationship. But that
was it, once the initial desire waned; we fought like cats
and dogs. It only lasted for about five years, and that was
because of Hanna.”
“Who is Hanna?”
“Sophia and I have a daughter named Hanna, who is
thirteen going on thirty, much to her mother’s and my
dismay. She is a great kid, but still a teenage girl with way
too many adult ideas.”
“Teenage girls can be a handful.” My finger toys with
the button stud on his shirt. “I’m glad you have a child. I
can’t imagine life without my children.”
“Hanna is the light of my life, which she knows and
uses shamelessly against me to get her way. But Sophia
and I have a pact that all major decisions have to go
through both of us. Usually one of us is strong enough to
be the disciplinarian.” He nibbles on my ear. “How many
children do you have?”
“Two, You met Lani, and my son, Trey, who is
eighteen and will be starting college in two weeks.”
“Your husband?”
“Jack died almost two years ago of a heart attack.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I miss him. But you know, maybe its destiny, we
found each other. I feel like Jack had a hand in this…it
would be so like him up there playing the good angel,
meddling around in people’s lives.”
“Who knows, I stopped trying to figure it out a long
time ago.”
“So you have no serious commitment to anyone?”
“No, honestly, there is no one special in my life at the
moment.” He grasps my hand squeezing it tightly.
“And truth be told, Elle, I never stopped loving you.”
Good God!
My mind spins with the enormity of what
he just said. I squeak out, “Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t know, they say you never forget your
first love, maybe it was the tragic way we were separated.”
He shrugs;; a wry smile crosses his face. “Who knows?”
“Vic, maybe after all these years, we’ve changed, and
life has gone on. Was losing our baby and being separated
a trial of some kind? Maybe it’s too late.”
“I hope not, I have no intention of letting you go.”
He tightens his hold on me. “You need to tell me the
whole story, Elle. What happened?”
I sigh, and lean into him, gazing at the halo of the
moon, conjuring up the past. “They took me to a home
for wayward girls. It was run by the nastiest bunch of
nuns that ever walked the face of the earth.” I burrow my
head into his chest, seeking comfort from the past. “I
haven’t stepped foot in a Catholic Church since I left that
place. It was a walled fortress, made of brick and stone.
We were made to work all day to atone for our sins and
locked away in our single rooms at night. I would wake
up with nightmares, crying for you to come, but they
ignored my tears saying I should pray and find solace in
the Lord.”
“Jesus, I didn’t think places like that existed, even
thirty years ago.”
“Oh, Helen did her homework; she found a home for
unwed mothers that served as a prison in disguise.”
His voice catches, “I’m so sorry, Elle.”
I continue on, wanting to purge the pain, and put the
past behind us. After the baby was born, they signed the
adoption papers because I was under age. I never even
held our son.”
Vic shakes his head in disbelief. “Damn it...”
“After they took me home, I waited for you. And one
day the phone rang, it was your aunt telling me you died
in a motorcycle accident.”
“My aunt? None of my aunts speak English,” he
shakes his head in disbelief. “That son of a bitch, he must
have put Mariposa up to it, his mistress. She would do
anything for him. Of course, he paid her well.” Vic
curses, “That deceitful old bastard, the lengths he’d go to
get his way.”
“Well, it worked. I got off the phone, went upstairs to
my bedroom, wouldn’t eat, drink or speak to anybody. I
died inside.”
“Oh, Elle,” Vic murmurs, his body rocks me slowly
back and forth, aching to dissipate the pain.
“After about two weeks, my father and Helen tried to
place me in a mental institution because I was so
depressed.” I peek up at his face and smile. “Actually, this
is my favorite part of the awful story. Just picture this,
Gran and Burt storm the house with Gran banishing her
cane. She holds my father and Helen at bay, calling them
every curse word in the English language while Burt
abducts me from my bedroom. He carried me down the
stairs and out the door, while Gran threatened if anyone
tried to stop them, there would be hell to pay.”
Vic chuckles “I can just see the two of them. Burt
isn’t very big, but he is strong and wiry.”
“Burt passed away about two years ago.”
“Oh, no! God, I would love to see him again.”
“He had a massive heart attack. He was finishing up a
nature program with a school group. It was a beautiful
day; he had his dog by his side and one of his best friends
with him. It was how he would have wanted to go.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“I miss him terribly; Gran passed away six years ago
and then Jack. Those are gaps in my heart that will never
be filled.”
Vic nods sympathetically.
“Anyway, Burt carried me to the upstairs bedroom of
Gran’s house. They opened the windows to fresh air and
sunshine, filled the room with wildflowers, read my
favorite books, cooked foods to entice my appetite and
repeated over and over how much they loved me. They
wouldn’t let me go, basically, forcing me back to life.”
“Thank God,” he says with a grateful half smile on
his face.
“I was helpless to fight off the power of their love.
They showed me life was worth living. Burt even brought
a collie puppy home, knowing I needed something to
love. Eventually, I went away to college, got a teaching
degree, married Jack and had two children. I owe them
my life.”
“They were special people.”
“Gran was opinionated, and cursed like a truck
driver,” I remember fondly. “And Burt was a creature of
the forest; but their hearts were filled with pure
goodness.”
“And so here we are,” Vic muses, “By the grace of
God and the love of a few special people.”
Overcome by the emotional turbulence of the
evening, we doze in each other arms, content, wrapped in
the presence of love reclaimed, until I’m rudely
awakened.....