Summer on Lovers' Island (24 page)

Right now Charlie was folding clothing into boxes to be donated to a local homeless shelter. Lizzie had given her that job since it was low on the physical exertion scale and because stepping into her mom and dad's closets had brought back too many memories. It was the smells, really. Who knew they could last so long, the personal scents that were made up of years of living and loving and simply being in this house?

Lizzie was packing up the kitchen. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with all the household items, and soon a moving company was coming with a pod so she could store most of the boxes until a later date.

All the hard work had kept her mind off of Josh—well, mostly anyway.

Josh had been more than accommodating when she'd called asking for the time. All she'd had to say was that she'd decided it was time to sell the house and could she have a few days and he'd agreed. He'd even said it was only fair since she'd covered his butt during a family “thing,” so it was no problem. No mention of their night together. No mention of anything at all.

It had almost been too easy. And it occurred to her that lately, when she got the things she wanted, she often wished they hadn't come so easily. Would Josh miss her when she was away? Or was he giving her space to figure out what she wanted? He probably was. She figured he was that smart.

Too smart for her in all likelihood.

But there wasn't time to think about it. Thirty minutes later a van from a charity came to collect some of the furniture. After that the pod arrived and Lizzie, along with a few burly men, set about loading it with the boxes she'd packed. In the middle of the chaos, a van from a local women's shelter showed up to collect the boxes of clothing.

There wasn't time for Lizzie to linger over items or get caught up in a lot of emotion, which was just how she wanted it. More than once she caught herself with a lump in her throat over simple things she hadn't thought of in years. Rather than dwell, she'd forced herself to carry on.

By 7:00 p.m. Lizzie and Charlie were tired and the house was very, very empty.

Lizzie leaned on the island in the kitchen and sighed. “It was so busy I didn't have time to be sentimental.”

“Are you now?” Charlie braced her hands at her back and stretched.

“A little,” Lizzie admitted. “It feels … final.”

“I'm sorry, Lizzie. About your dad, and your mom … about all of it.”

“I know. But it was the right thing to do. It feels good, even if it hurts.”

Charlie nodded. “We should stop and see your mom tomorrow on the way home.”

“I'd like that.” She felt awkward and sad asking Charlie the next question, but of anyone in the world, she trusted Charlie the most. Especially with the truth.

“If we visit, will you do me a favor, Charlie? Will you watch my mom and give me your honest, medical opinion of her condition? I like to think I'm objective, but I know I'm not. And I'm the one who has to make decisions now. I don't have my dad taking point anymore.” The burden weighed heavily. “Hell, the power of attorney all falls to me.”

“Of course I will.”

“Thanks.” Relieved, she boosted herself away from the counter. “Let's get to the hotel. I booked us a nice room for tonight, and we'll order in room service, and watch a movie on pay-per-view. Like the old days, only a little more upscale.”

“What? No microwave popcorn and dollar movie rentals?”

“Not this time. Lobster, steak … you name it, it's yours.”

Lizzie locked the door behind her, leaving the porch light on. She wouldn't think about it anymore. The memories were hers to cherish, along with photographs and mementos. They were not for sale. All that was on the market was concrete and brick and wood and paint and all the other physical trappings of a home.

Not the love. Not the commitment, or the persistence to see it through, for better or for worse.

 

C
HAPTER
16

Charlie woke the next morning with a throbbing headache, so rather than stop to see Rosemary, Lizzie took her straight back to Jewell Cove with strict orders to rest and put her feet up for a few days. Lizzie also made sure Charlie had a bottle of water the whole drive back to Maine, because she suspected Charlie was dehydrated. But the extra fluid meant more bathroom stops, and by the time Lizzie dropped Charlie at home it was two in the afternoon.

Lizzie couldn't help being concerned. Perhaps the weekend had been too strenuous for her. Charlie certainly wasn't her usual talkative self, and her smile was a little less bright as she said she thought she'd go inside for a nap.

“I'm sorry if I worked you too hard,” Lizzie apologized.

“No, no! That's not it. I think I just tire out a little easier now. Besides, we did stay up late.” Charlie sent a lopsided smile. “I've missed our midnight chats, Lizzie. It was good, so don't worry. I'll have a nap and be right as rain.”

“I hope so. When's your next checkup?”

“Wednesday. Don't worry, okay?”

“Okay.” Lizzie leaned over and gave Charlie a quick hug. “Call me if you need me for anything.”

“I will. And I'm sorry we didn't get to see your mom.”

“I'll go up on my next day off. Don't worry.”

Charlie took her overnight bag and went inside and Lizzie started up the car again. She was edgy. The work of the previous days had tired her out, but today she was at loose ends, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Maybe she should have taken longer to go through the house. She wasn't certain the house was the cause of her restlessness, though. There were other things that were unresolved. Like the situation with Josh.

So where to now? She didn't want to go back to her cottage. All that waited for her there were loneliness and isolation. If anything, Lizzie wanted to feel alive and vital and active. In the past she'd make plans to go on a trip or zip lining or parasailing or on some other cockamamie scheme to give her an adrenaline rush. No such luck today.

But the sun was bright and the August heat soaked into her skin as she drove into town with the top down. She cruised down Main Street, searching for something, anything, to keep her occupied for another few hours. She wasn't really hungry, and none of the shops held much appeal, either. She could grab a suit and head for Fiddler's Beach, she supposed, but on a hot day like today it was bound to be crammed with tourists. What she'd really like was the breeze in her hair as she skimmed over the waves, leaving all her troubles behind.

When she saw a familiar blond head in the crowd on the docks, she braked and took a closer look.

The throng of people shifted and she saw him clearer now. Cutoff denim shorts, ratty T-shirt in army green, and his flip-flops. Her mouth watered just looking at him, and she smiled to herself as she pulled into the parking lot just above the docks, scanning for an open space. Last spring Charlie's description of Josh had been “a widowed army veteran.” And he was. But oh, he was a lot more. She suspected Charlie had known exactly what she was doing when she asked Lizzie to cover her mat leave.

She got lucky and waited as a car pulled out of a space, and she pulled in. She could still see Josh, making his way to Sally's Dairy Shack, where the line was probably a dozen people deep. Anticipation curled down low in Lizzie's belly as she got out of the car and locked it, then adjusted the strap of her hobo bag on her shoulder.

He turned around just before she reached him, and a smile lit his face even though she couldn't really see his eyes because of his sunglasses.

“You're back,” he said.

“Just. I dropped Charlie off at home and went looking for some trouble. And now I've found some.”

His cheeks flushed and she was glad of it. “Trouble?”

She shrugged. “I just didn't feel like going back to the cottage yet. I need to … assimilate.”

He nodded and they took a step forward as the line moved. “Rough few days, huh?”

“I've had better. Though it wasn't as bad as I expected. Probably because I put off going through a lot of the personal things and put them in a pod instead.”

“Rome wasn't built in a day. Putting the house up for sale was a huge step. Good for you, Lizzie.”

Another step forward, closer to the order window.

“You've been there. You'd know.”

“Yep.” He nodded at her. “So. Trouble. What did you have in mind?”

About twenty things that she wouldn't dare say in public. He looked delectable today, like some tanned, blond surfer god built for fun. “Well, it looks like first thing on my agenda is ice cream.”

“Wow. Living dangerously.”

“I know. I might go really crazy and have a swirl cone today. Soft-serve is my favorite.”

“And then what?”

She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. “A trip in the boat might be fun. Unless you don't have her out today.”

“I just came back, actually. I took Matt and Suze out tubing in a nice little bay just north of here. Sarah picked them up at the wharf and I decided to grab an ice cream before heading home.”

“Oh. Well, never mind.”

They were nearly at the order window now. “We can still go out. I filled her with gas and there's lots of afternoon left.”

“You don't mind?”

They'd reached the window and had to pause to give their order. “One regular swirl cone please,” Lizzie said, and then Josh stepped up.

“Hey, Sally. I'll take a double scoop of your butter pecan.”

Sally, who Lizzie guessed had to be in her sixties, raised an eyebrow at Josh. “Honey, you've been ordering the same flavor for as long as I can remember.”

“Why mess with a good thing?” he asked, and Lizzie watched as he winked at the older woman. “Come on, Sal. You can't improve on perfection.”

Sally laughed and grabbed a cone, went to the soft-serve machine, and looked over her shoulder at Lizzie. “You have to watch out for this one.”

Lizzie grinned. “What, Josh? He's harmless.”

Sally gave the cone a final flourish and handed it over to Lizzie. “He'd like you to think that, but I've known him since before his voice changed. Don't let that angelic look fool you.”

“God, I'm standing right here,” Josh complained, and Sally laughed.

Sally began scooping Josh's cone. “You know I'm right. And it's three fifty for the both of you.”

“I'll get it,” Lizzie said, reaching into her bag.

“Yeah, and then I'll owe you. No thanks.” Josh took his cone from Sally and reached in his pocket.

But Lizzie handed Sally a five. “Thanks, Sally. For the cone and the warning. Well worth the cost.”

Sally was laughing as she took the bill, and then Josh spoke up. “Hey. What is this?”

“Butter pecan on the bottom. New flavor on the top. Dulce de leche. Fancy way of saying ‘caramel,' but I bet you like it.”

He shook his head, but Lizzie grinned. It was clear who ruled the roost at the Dairy Shack and her name was Sally.

Lizzie and Josh wandered toward the docks, licking their cones along the way. “Are you really fooling me with your boy-next-door good looks?” Lizzie asked innocently.

“It's worked so far,” he commented, and then she elbowed him in the arm and he laughed. It was a rich, full, easy sound that made her heart feel big.

“Now I know why you got a double scoop. You need to feed that giant ego of yours.”

He chuckled beside her. “Damn, I missed you the last few days.”

Lizzie stopped walking and stared at him. “Josh. You did?”

He met her gaze. “Yeah, I did. At the office, too. I like discussing cases with you. I like lots of things about you.”

Her ice cream was melting quickly, and she had to either swipe at it with her tongue or have it running all down her fingers. She chose to lick, right around the base where the ice cream met the cone. When she looked up at Josh, his eyes were twinkling at her.

“Shut up,” she said mildly. “I can only imagine what comments are swirling around in that brain of yours. Besides, you need to mind your own drip.”

He didn't take his eyes off her as he licked the edges of his cone. And when he'd gotten the caramelly trickles under control, he winked at her and held out his hand.

“Come on. Let's take the
Constant
out for a spin. You can tell me about your trip and I'll fill you in on what's been going on here.”

Now she understood the restless feeling she'd had when she'd driven into town today. She'd wanted to see him, get caught up on what had happened in her absence, see his smile, and hear his laugh. And feel his touch. Knowing exactly what she wanted, she put her fingers in his and let him tug her along down the ramp to where the
Constant
was tied.

*   *   *

Josh started the engine and eased the boat away from the dock. Lizzie sat in the opposite seat, her handbag tucked in by her feet. She looked tired. Tired but beautiful, with her hair falling around her shoulders and wearing a pair of tight jeans and a yellow top that reminded him of sunshine and lemons.

He was glad to have her back. They'd have to talk sometime about what had happened, but for now it was good just to see her.

“So,” he asked, calling to her over the top of the sound of the motor and the waves, “where to, madam?”

She got up from her seat and stood next to him, the wind blowing her hair off her face as she turned her face up to the sky. Damn, she was something. Soft where a woman needed to be soft but strong, too.

When she lowered her head and looked down into his eyes, he already knew what she was going to say.

“Take me to Lovers' Island.”

The trip seemed to take ten times as long as he would have liked. Once she'd said the words, it didn't matter that they were out on open water traveling fifty miles an hour. Tension tightened between them, taut with anticipation and possibility. He knew what she meant by asking to go there, and smart or not, he was willing to go along.