Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (15 page)

“So,
he never actually set a date?”
Surprise flavored Jeff’s
w
ords.

“I have to admit sound
s
strange,” she managed
, never actually considering this before
.

“Strange?
The
w
hole thing is
w
eird
.
” He
peeked
at her. “
Taylor, I’ll never understand you.”

Feeling defensive, she retorted,
“I’m
loyal!”

“Loyal?
Rod doesn’t know
the meaning of the
w
ord.”
He gritted his teeth.
“Sorry, that
w
as uncalled for.
”

“Yes, it
w
as,
”
she shot back.

A curtain of silence cove
red the boat. N
either spoke.
She stared at the
w
ide deserte
d river,
w
hile,
w
hen chancing
a look in his direction, Jeff
appeared absorbe
d in driving the skiff.

“That’s the spot,” Jeff said
finally
.

Taylor hope
d
this discovery
w
ould
break or at least move the iceberg
that had floated bet
w
een them.

He slo
w
ed the boat to just above idle.

“I don’t see
anything exc
ept a small hammock type island or perhaps a peninsula.
”
She
squint
ed attempting to see the connecting piece
.

“
W
ith th
is tide high,
w
e can get near
the bank.”

A car
w
hizzed by
on the road
t
w
enty
feet a
w
ay
.
T
hey eased the skiff closer to the sandy strip.

“I’d forgot
ten the
road.
And I
thought this an island,
s
trange.
W
hen
w
e
w
ere kids, I guess the only thing
w
e
w
orried
about
w
as not letting you kno
w
about our
secret
place
.” He turned to look at Taylor.
“Forgive me speaking out of turn?”

“Yeah. You’re still my best friend.
” To herself she added,
Y
ou’re right, Rod’s reason and mine for going along don’t sound like a couple de
eply committed.
Yet, the decision seemed right at the time.

“I’
ll
drive the boat up on the sandbar and look around.”

“You and
Rod may have found this spot, but since I’m here, I’m
exploring, too. I haven’t played
Roberta Caruso for a long time.
”

“Roberta?
His name
w
as Robinson,” Jeff challenged.

“Not for a
w
oman.”
As soon as the skiff scraped on the sand, s
he jumped off, landed on the sand, and started inland.

“H
o
w
am I supposed to get off?” Jeff queried her.

“Put the anchor lin
e over your shoulder and jump.
Or if you ask nicely, I can catch the line, hold the b
oat, etc.”
She tried to laugh
.

He
appreciated her attempt at humor and smiled.

After fifteen minutes
of surveying the area
, Taylor said, “I’m not sure
w
hat
w
e should
have found, but
w
e haven’t discovered
anythin
g except a blackened fire-pit.
Evidently, your hideout has been discovered by others.”

Jeff nodded.
“I could have s
w
orn this
w
as an island.
”

“There’s only a small pa
th leading to the street. B
ig enough for someone
to park a car, fish, or go
for a s
w
im.
”

Still in disbelief, he said, “
Ho
w
could I have forgotten a road?”

“Ho
w
many years ago did you discover this spot?”

He paused, trying to remember. “Fifteen, maybe sixteen years.”

“
You and Rod didn’t have your licenses then, so you probably came by boat.
W
e have
almost t
w
ice as many
people in our cou
nty
and more
cars.
The beach is nice. T
he road
’s
accessible if a bit remote
. Since the beautiful,
w
hite, sandy section is on
the far side a
w
ay from the street
, most
w
on’t discover it
.” H
e
w
atched
he
r
scan
the rural high
w
ay
. “The trees hide the site until one comes
on top of it,
d
efinitely h
ard to fine and very secluded;
great hideout
for a couple of teenage boys escaping
from
reality
.
”

“
Or for a
couple
w
anting a little privacy,
”
h
e
said
scuff
ing
the sand
w
ith the toe of his sneaker
. “Nice.
Maybe,
w
e could come here for
a s
w
im.
” Jeff forg
ot
for a moment their
reason for being here.

She
stared in disbelief
.

“Sorry, Taylor. My mind …
” He shrugged as his neck and face gre
w
w
arm.

“
If you’ve seen
w
hat you c
ame for, I suggest
w
e head back.
”

Reluctantly, he agreed.
W
hat had he hope to find here?

W
hen they
w
alked i
n the door, Sara greeted them.
“Some strange
w
oman has been ca
lling every hour.
She left her name, but
no
message.” Sara handed Taylor
the paper.

Ms
.
Ella Mae Lee’s name
jumped of
f
the page at Taylor. “I don’t need this right no
w
.”
She tried t
o hand the paper back to Sara.
“Could you please call her? T
ell her that my mother has died, my fiancé is missing, and I can’t
w
orry about anything else.”

“I told her
. She didn’t
care.
She said you must call her.”

Jeff took the paper from Taylor’s outstretched hand.
“I’ll handle this
.
Is there any other ne
w
s?
”

Sara shook her head.

He nodded. “Taylor,
I’m
headed home.
Call if you need me.”
             

She gave his arm a squeeze. “Thank you for everything.”
Turning to Sara, she said, “Have you seen my dad?”

“I think he’s still in his upstairs office.”

“Thanks.”
Taylor dashed up the steps, hur
ried do
w
n the
w
ide corridor,
then
stopped at the closed door.
Her father
never closed his office door.
Even
w
hen she
w
as a child, the door al
w
ays stood open
,
invitin
g anyone to come in and visit.
She hesitated before knocking. “Dad?”

“Come in, Taylor.
”
The
sadness r
ang through
those fe
w
w
ords.

He sat behind his desk,
w
ith his chair turned half
w
ay round so that he faced the large glass bay
w
indo
w
over
-
looking the pool and the tennis courts.
The room, masculine in appearance,
w
ith its
Southern
pine
paneling of
w
alls, floor and ceiling, al
w
ays
gave off a
w
arm
inviting feeling
. The large knee-hole desk that
had belonged to her grandfather
occupied the center of the room. T
w
o comfortable, blue club chairs
w
ith matching ottomans sat at angles to the
desk. Often,
as a little girl, she’d climbed onto one of the leather
seats
and fallen asleep
w
atching her father
w
ork. Pictures g
raced the
w
all space throughout the room, most
of her at various stages of development.
Today, a chill replace the
w
armth.

“Dad?”
She hurried over to him
,
almost running around the edge of the desk.
She stared at him. He appeared so
old and tired
. Taylor knelt on the floor and thre
w
her arms around him
. T
he t
w
o of the
m cried together.
Ho
w
long they remained clinging to each oth
er, she had no idea. S
he eased back on her haunches and
lovingly
surveyed his face. “
W
e’ll get through this, Daddy. Together,
w
e’ll get through this.”

He managed a nod and
pu
lled out his handkerchief,
w
iping
her f
ace before
w
iping his o
w
n.
Jamming
the damp cloth into the side pocket
of his slacks, he
gazed
deeply into her eyes
and
managed a
slight
smile
,
w
hich
she returned.

“I received t
w
o calls that I must share
w
ith you.”

She bobbed her head.

“The sheriff phone
d
and told me the cause of your mother’s accident.”

A lump in her stomach formed and gre
w
.

“Excessive speed. She misjudged the corner and
,
”
Taylor sa
w
her father s
w
allo
w
then lick
his lips as if searching for moisture.
“slammed into the oak. The coroner’s report stated
that although her heart kept beating,
she
had
died on impact.”