Date Night (Wish Come True Book 1) (16 page)

Jordan

I pulled my sunglasses down over my
eyes and stepped off the ferry onto the dock of Mackinac Island. We’d woken
early in the morning to make the long drive up and catch the ten thirty ferry.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was so happy JT had come along with me. He’d
almost backed out after I announced I wouldn’t be interviewing for the job on
the island after all. But Grannie had convinced him to take the weekend off and
enjoy some special time with me at the Grand Hotel to celebrate my job offer at
Oak Ridge Elementary. With the money Grannie had given him for graduation and
the cash Derek pitched in from the tuition fund, JT could afford to take one
full weekend off from work.

JT’s hands were on my hips as he
trailed along behind me on the crowded dock and then out onto Main Street. The
smell of rich fudge clung to the air and made my belly growl. Shops lined the
crowded street in both directions. Our luggage was already tagged and being
delivered to the hotel. Check in wasn’t until three o’clock in the afternoon so
we had time to explore the island for the afternoon. And there were so many
things I wanted to do.

It had been fifteen years since I
came to the island with my family. I recalled sharing a tandem bike with my
father quite well. Motor vehicles were prohibited on the island so the only way
to get around was by bicycle or horse drawn carriage, which was perfectly fine
by me. I didn’t mind the smell of the occasional road apples left behind by the
horses. It was worth not having the incessant noise of cars and it meant more
space for walking up and down Main Street.

I glanced up over my shoulder and
smiled at JT. “What do you want to do first?”

“It’ll be time for lunch in an hour,”
he said and pulled back at the quick jab of my elbow in his gut. “What?”

“You’re always thinking about food.”

“I’m a big guy. I can’t help it that
I’m hungry all the time.”

“Well I’m half your size.” I crossed
my arms over my chest. “You’re going to make me fat if we eat all the time.”

“Right.” He smiled down at me and
then stepped out of the way before he let his next comment fly. “Don’t want
that round butt of yours getting any rounder. Good thing I’m poor and can’t eat
as much as I’d like.”

“I don’t have a round…” I started and
then chased after him down the street laughing.

I was no match for his long legs and
knew he had let me catch up to him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me
close to him. “Yes, it
is
very
nicely
rounded. A man can’t help
but notice when you wear those skinny jeans of yours all the time. It’s what
drew me to you, you know?”

“Oh really?”

“Mmmm…hmmm,” he confessed. “I watched
it swaying all the way to the door on the night you asked me to be your
temporary fiancé.”

“You did not.”

“Yes, I did.”

“And to think I felt bad about
imagining your lips on mine. Humph. Your thoughts were as deep in the gutter as
mine!”

“You were thinking about my lips on
yours that night?” he asked with a wide grin.

“It was kind of hard not to when they
were just an inch from mine,” I said huskily.

“Is the room ready yet?”

I giggled and headed in the direction
of the Fort. “No. Let’s head up to Fort Mackinac. It’ll be a good workout
climbing that hill. We can eat a big meal afterward—your choice. My mom threw a
few Ben Franklin’s at me when I got the job offer. She told me to enjoy it
because I wouldn’t be seeing any more cash coming my way from her.”

“Welcome to the real world Jordan.”
He laughed and took my hand to lead me up the hill.

We learned about the rich history of
Fort Mackinac, which was built in 1780 by the British and played a strategic
role in the battle for the Great Lakes in the War of 1812, only to be decommissioned
in 1895 by the American government and turned over to the State of Michigan to
be run as a museum. The costumed greeters portraying life in the 1880’s added a
nice touch to the historic site and I enjoyed watching JT’s boyish enthusiasm
for the shooting of the cannon.

We milled about the fourteen
buildings within the Fort, learning about the barracks where the soldiers
slept, the hospital, jail cells and schoolhouse. Finally we found our way to
the open courtyard where the reenactment of a court martial was about to take
place. My legs ached from standing for the last ninety minutes and I gladly
took a seat snuggled up next to JT. His body jerked slightly as he laughed at
the two young boys arguing in the row in front of us.

“Shut up Jacob,” the little boy cried
out. “You’re just trying to scare me.”

“No I’m not,” Jacob said. “I heard
one of those soldiers telling the story to his buddies. That cold spot you
walked through is a spirit. He said you can hear the lady crying sometimes if
you listen real close. This place is haunted!”

The little boy whimpered and bit down
on his lip in an apparent effort not to cry in front of his big brother and
then he scooched up closer to his dad.

“Knock it off Jacob,” his dad scolded
and ruffled the bigger boy’s hair. “You’re ten. He’s only four. It’s not nice
to tease him that way. When Tommy is ten, then you can tell him scary stories.”

Jacob scowled up at his dad and
folded his arms tightly over his chest. I glanced over at JT and caught the grin
playing on his lips as he watched the scene play out in front of him.

“Were you like that with Derek?” I
asked, rubbing his arm. “He’s six years younger than you too.”

“Of course!” JT snorted and gave
Jacob a playful wink when he turned around to eye us suspiciously. “It’s the
big brother’s job to toughen up his little brother. Right?”

A shy smile appeared on Jacob’s face
and he faced the courtyard with his shoulders back and head held high. I could
see the nearly imperceptible shaking of the father’s shoulders at JT’s words.

Boys.

“Thanks for coming with me this
weekend, JT,” I said, leaning my head against him. “I know you wanted to help
get Derek settled into his dorm before football practice starts on Monday.”

He wrapped his arm around me to pull
me closer. “It’s okay. They won’t let him move in until Monday morning anyway.
We’re heading back Sunday evening. I made sure we got his stuff packed already
so there won’t be any last minute fire drills.”

“Can you believe Derek’s going to
college?” I sighed. “He’s not so little anymore is he?”

JT laughed out loud. “No, he’s not.
It’s funny how little brothers grow up one day to become huge football players who
can beat your butt if you’re not nice to them.”

Tommy’s head perked up and he smiled
up at his dad, “When I get older, I’m going to play football, Dad.”

***

J.T.

The sun was setting over the edge of
the Grand Hotel garden as we sat on the patio rocking chairs holding hands and
sipping lemonade. It was hard to believe our first day was already coming to an
end. I yawned and smiled contentedly at the feel of my full belly. Dinner at
the Yankee Rebel Tavern had hit the spot; nothing like a good ‘ole pot roast to
satisfy a mean hunger after a long day of touring the island.

“We’re not going to have anything to
do tomorrow,” I said, laying my head back into the rocking chair and smiling
over at Jordan. “I think we did it all today.”

“We’ve only cracked the surface,
babe. Our bike ride took us around the perimeter of the island. We still need
to hike through the center of the island, and check out the historical
buildings in downtown. Don’t you want to see the saw mill at Mill Creek and the
blacksmith?”

I raised my brows and smiled at
Jordan. “Will you let me have more fudge and taffy if I go with you?”

“If you go for another bike ride
around the island with me again I will.” She laughed and shook her head. “It is
eight miles around. Not a bad way to get exercise in during a vacation. And the
best part is that it doesn’t feel like exercise when there is so much to see
along the way.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s pretty cool
here. This hotel is sick. Don’t even tell me what it costs.”

“It’s one of my graduation gifts from
Grannie,” Jordan said. “So let’s relax and enjoy and not think about how much
it costs. Hey, did I tell you Grannie did some research and discovered there’s
a night life on the Island?”

“That’s too bad,” I said, gazing into
her eyes. “It’s such a family friendly place. I didn’t realize there’d be
anything for us to do other than spend time in our bedroom in the evenings.”

It was getting darker but I was
certain I detected a slight flush on Jordan’s cheeks. She was so easy to tease
it was shameful.

“Well there is a Pub Crawl Grannie
found that I want to try while we’re here. Thirteen in all so we better pace
ourselves.”

“I’m game,” I said, “but not tonight.
We were up at the crack of dawn and have been going non-stop all day long. Is
it okay if we rest tonight? Are you ready to go up?”

“Sure,” she nodded and stood, holding
out her hand to help pull me out of my seat.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” I said as we
made our way to the elevators, “we wanted to reserve a horse drawn carriage
ride for tomorrow. Would you mind going to make the reservation? I could use a
few minutes alone in our room.”

“Do you need me to pull your finger?”

“Ha, ha,” I sniggered, “very funny.”

“I don’t mind,” Jordan laughed and
continued down the hallway towards the concierge desk. “I’ll see you up there
in a few minutes. And don’t forget to use the air freshener.”

I turned off the tap and stepped back
scratching my head to take it all in, hoping it was romantic enough. The hotel
staff had done a tremendous job providing all the supplies I needed while we
were out to dinner. The steam from the hot bath permeated the air and mixed
with the seductive rose scented bubbles brimming over the edge of the large
circular tub. The bucket with Champagne was resting in the corner with two
glasses already poured. Candles flickered from every corner of the bathroom and
red rose petals created an enticing trail from the doorway to the steps up into
the bathtub.

My teeth were brushed and I wore my
new cologne. It must work both ways, right? I lifted my arm and sniffed
cautiously. It smelled good. All I needed now was for the lucky lady to show
up. Where was she anyway? How long could it take to arrange for a carriage ride
the next morning? At the sound of the door clicking shut in the next room, I
felt a twirling in my gut that picked up speed like a level five hurricane.
This was it.

“Where are you JT?”

“In the bathroom,” I called out.
“Come join me Jordan. I have a surprise for you.”

“Did you use the air freshener?” she
asked, pushing back the door. I sighed in relief at the wondrous look that
spread across her face at the scene before her.

“What’s going on?” She glanced about the
bathroom, taking it all in.

“I thought you might like a relaxing
bath after our long day of activities. Aren’t your muscles sore from riding the
bike and walking up the hill to the fort?”

“Definitely,” she said with her eyes
twinkling, “but why Champagne?”

I offered her a glass. “In
celebration of you landing the teaching job. I’m so proud of you Jordan…and
relieved that you found a job near home.”

I chuckled nervously as we tapped the
edge of our glasses together, and slowly lifted the glass to my lips, but then
gasped in horror when Jordan tipped her head back to throw the drink down in
one gulp.

“Jordan, no!” I yelled just in time
to stop her and tear the glass out of her hands.

“What’s your problem?” she asked me,
reaching for her glass.

“You almost drank your engagement
ring,” I cried before I could stop the words from flying out of my mouth.

It was better than a candid camera
moment. I burst out laughing and hugged her to me while her body shook with the
force of her laughter. We stood holding each other laughing uncontrollably.

“Will you marry me, Jordan?” I asked
as I took the ring out of the bottom of the glass and slipped it on her finger.
The diamond sparkled up at us in the soft candlelight. It was exquisite on her
long finger. Even I could appreciate the beauty of it.

“Yes,” she whispered so softly I
almost wondered if she had answered at all. Then in one swift movement she
threw her arms around my neck and bellowed, “JT, thank you, thank you, thank
you. Now Grannie can be at our wedding.”

“I hope so too,” I said, pulling back
to gaze down at her euphoric eyes. It nearly broke my heart to know that in a
moment she would crash down from her current high. I felt her body stiffen at
my simple words. She stepped out of my arms and stared back with furrowed
brows.

“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Grannie is responding well to the chemo right now. Clearly she will be there.
It’s only two weeks away. We can resume planning for the wedding. It’ll be
tight, but we can do it.”