The Best of Me

by Tina Wainscott

  “This has all been fascinating,” she said, stifling a yawn, “but I’m beat. You can drop me off at the park if you don’t mind.” She didn’t want Crandall to know where she was staying.

  “But I’ve got wine.”

  “I don’t want any more wine. Like I said, I’m beat.”

  “One more stop, and I’ll take you back. You’ll love this place.”

  She let out a soft sigh. “All right, one more stop.”

  A short while later he pulled down a white driveway that disappeared into lush foliage. A beautiful house sat at the end of a driveway lit with large bulbs atop black posts.

  “Crandall, what is this?”

  “My place.”

  “I’m not going inside.” Impatience turned to uneasiness. Wasn’t he just like the men she dated up north, she thought. Trying to impress her with what they had, thinking that would be the aphrodisiac to lull her into bed.

  “No, it’s not like that,” he said, taking her hand and placing it against his lips. He opened the door and got out, then held her door open. “I want to show you the beach. You can’t see it from here, but it’s just behind the house. I own a stretch of private beach here, the most beautiful beach in the world.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to see it during the day?”

  “It’s more beautiful at night.”

  She reluctantly got out of the car, glancing skyward to find it still obliterated in clouds. Once in a while slivers of the moon would peek out, but other than that it was dark. He took her arm and led her down a stone pathway to the beach. She could hear the waves washing in, but the ocean was a vast, dark pit beyond the ornamental lights on the back lawn.

  Despite her earlier statement, he poured a glass of wine and handed it to her, then poured his own and made an indent in the sand with the bottle. While he was doing that, she poured out some of her wine. She hovered near the light, but he took her arm and pulled her down the wide beach that faded to noisy blackness.

  “You think I brought you here to seduce you, Lucy? To charm you into accepting my investors’ offer?”

  “Perhaps,” she said, trying to tactfully free herself from him. “Shall I save you time and tell you now that it won’t work?”

  They had reached the outer limit of the light. He abruptly stopped and turned her to face him.

  “Did it occur to you that you are an attractive woman, and I am an attractive man, and that I want to get to know you better? On a personal level.”

  She would have laughed at his statement if she weren’t so nervous. “Well, I, uh, appreciate that.” She cleared her throat of the lie. “But I’m not looking for that right now.”

  He moved closer. “I wasn’t so sure about that, with the way you kept talking about the guy with the dolphin, all night talk, talk, talk.”

  She shrank away at his harsh tone. “I find him fascinating. The dolphin, I mean.”

  His annoyance evaporated. “Mmm. I find you fascinating.” He pulled her closer. “We could have a good time together while you’re down here, deal or not. Would you like that?”

  She could feel the hardness of him pushing against her stomach, which was lurching crazily. She pushed him away. “No, I wouldn’t. I want to go home now.” She started walking toward the car, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  “Now, Lucy, don’t walk off in a huff.” His fingers stroked down her cheek. “Every woman wants a tropical fling. I can make your fantasies come to life. You could stay here for the rest of your visit instead of that cracker box your father lived in.”

  She stiffened and tried to move away, but he held her fast. “How did you know where I was staying?”

  He smiled, as though he’d paid her some great compliment by snooping into her life. She could see the wine-tinged haze in his eyes. “I did some checking. Stop being so defensive. I’m not some maniac. Most women would consider themselves lucky to have a man like me ready to take them to paradise. Come on, Lucy. Give in to your desires.” His grip tightened on her wrists. “You know you want me.”

  Her whole body was trembling, but it wasn’t with desire. Everything was quiet, deadly quiet. His own personal paradise, he’d said. Her own private hell. Well, she wasn’t going to give him anything without a heck of a fight. She closed her eyes and readied her knee to come up between his legs.

  7

  BEFORE LUCY COULD get her knee up, Crandall twisted her into an embrace that rendered that move impossible. His lips sealed over hers as his hands held hers in a tight grip. This could not be happening. This had to be a misunderstanding or a nightmare. She tried shaking her head to free herself of his kiss.

  And then she heard the whistling.

  He looked shocked that anyone would dare intrude on his private beach, but hot relief washed over her when she looked over and saw the silhouette of a man walking in the outer fringe of darkness, whistling a jaunty tune. Whistling “Margaritaville.” She stumbled away from Crandall, but he snagged her wrist before she could get far.

  “Honey, be careful. You never know what kind of bum is going to come down that beach, even though it is fenced in on either side.”

  She watched the form walk closer, her stomach in knots. A savior or some drunk? She held her breath, waiting. Then her face broke into a huge smile when Chris walked into the light. But how would he even be on this side of the island? It didn’t matter, it was him. Her body went to jelly, but she summoned her courage. No way was that man leaving without her.

  Chris was looking ahead, but glanced their way with a surprised expression on his face. “Oh, excuse me. Didn’t mean to disturb you.” He continued walking forward, but his pace slowed.

  Crandall’s grip tightened on her wrist. “This is a private beach. If you don’t vacate the premises immediately, I’ll call the police.”

  Chris stopped and turned toward them, making a shelf over his eyes with his hand. “Morton, is that you?” He walked toward them, and then seemed surprised to see her. “Lucy! Fancy meeting you here.” He held out a hand to Crandall, which necessitated his letting go of her hand to shake it. She stumbled away.

  “I, uh, what are you doing here?” Crandall said, now clenching his hands at his sides.

  Chris nodded toward the beach behind him. “Just taking a walk. Did you know this is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in the world?” He looked at her, and she saw a gleam in his eyes. So, he’d been listening to them all along. She found herself wanting to run to his arms, but held herself back.

  Crandall stiffened. “Yes, and it’s a private beach. If you don’t mind, Lucy and I were getting to know each other.”

  Just before Crandall’s arm slid around her shoulders, Chris took a step forward and pulled her close to his side.

  “But, Lucy, you promised me a beer later at Barney’s, remember?”

  “I, uh, yes!” She tapped her forehead with the heel of her shaking hand. “How could I forget?” She looked at Crandall, hoping the strain in her voice wasn’t obvious. “I owe him a beer.” Chris’s lean, hard body was pressed up against hers. She pressed even closer.

  Crandall gave Lucy a stern look. “You said you didn’t have any plans tonight.”

  “I forgot about the beer.”

  “For saving her life earlier,” Chris said with a nod. “She fell into the stingray pit, and I pulled her out in the nick of time.”

  “I thought you fell into the dolphin’s pool,” Crandall said.

  She nodded vigorously, giving him an overly bright smile. “That, too. Guess I’m pretty clumsy.”

  Chris winked. “Got to keep a close eye on this one. Are you ready for that beer now, or do you want me to come back and get you later?”

  “Might as well go now.” She turned to Crandall, feeling anger now replace her fear. “Thank you for dinner. The food was great. And the company,” she gave him her sweetest smile, “I could feed to the sharks without remorse.”

  Chris shrugged, turning her toward the house. “Women. They’re
moodier than the weather.” She was still tucked in the crook of his arm as they made their way to the driveway where his moped was parked in the shadows.

  Crandall followed them, watching with a suspicious expression. Chris straddled the bike and she slid up behind him, putting her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his back. He started the bike, waved at Crandall and sped away.

  She let out a long, guttural scream as they sped through the night. “Oh gawd, I can’t believe him! He was disgusting. His lips touched mine!” She rubbed her lips back and forth against his shirt, wanting to rub off at least two layers of skin. Her body starting trembling as she realized what might have happened.

  “You all right?” he called out over the wind.

  She shook her head, rocking her cheek back and forth against him when he stopped at an intersection. “You saved my life!”

  “Nah. Maybe your virtue.”

  “Careful…your chivalry is showing.”

  He glanced back at her with a grin. “Oh, how embarrassing.”

  A few minutes later they pulled into Barney’s crowded parking lot. Before he turned the engine off, he twisted around. “Are you ready for that beer?”

  She looked at the lights and the people inside, happy music filling the air. “I’m not really in the mood to be around a bunch of people.”

  “Want me to take you to your father’s apartment?”

  She shook her head. “He knows where I’m staying.”

  He nodded, and then headed north again. She closed her eyes and tried to push away images of Crandall. It was all she could do to hold on, to fight the trembling and weakness that filled her. The could-have-beens pounded through her the way the wind rushed past her ears.

  Then the wind lessened, and the road turned into crunching white gravel. She opened her eyes to find they’d turned onto a driveway not unlike Crandall’s. But this time a wood sign announced The Caribe Plantation. The drive wound past a mansion that looked stately and pristine, columns towering along the front porch. Huge pots of ferns were spaced evenly between the columns. Surrounding the mansion, and flanking it from both the road and the beach was a beautiful garden.

  He parked the bike and helped her off, then led her down a wooden boardwalk that stretched over the water to a structure of some sort. A boat was parked beneath a covered dock on one side, but they walked around to the other side where a deck and two lounge chairs awaited them. He walked inside a door and turned on a light that washed the deck with its warmth. She dropped to the edge of one of the chairs and wrapped her arms around herself, staring out into the dark ocean. Shivers washed over her in synch with the sound of the ocean washing onto the shore nearby.

  He emerged and handed her an icy bottle of Ting, then sat down across from her. “Unless you’d like something stronger?”

  “No, this is fine, thank you.” She noticed he’d taken a soda for himself, too. Their knees nearly touched, and she could feel the hairs on his legs tickling her skin. She pulled her gaze to his.

  “Thank you for what you did,” she said softly.

  “No problem, mon.”

  “Don’t make light of it. You really could have saved my life, you know.”

  “You could have handled it, Miz Lucy. But I think he was anticipating the knee thing, and I wasn’t sure you could get him from that angle.”

  “You were so…subtle about it all.” She found herself smiling. “And that whistling.”

  He took a sip of his soda and set it down on the floor. “I wasn’t sure if you were just playing coy with him, so I figured I’d show up and give you an out. When I saw the look on your face, I knew you weren’t comfortable.”

  She shook her head. “That’s an understatement. But you were listening to us the whole time, weren’t you?” She smiled again, imitating him. “‘Did you know this is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in the world?”’ This time her laughter chased away the trembling. “That was great! And the stingray thing. Where did you come up with that stuff?”

  “Ah, I was making it up as I went along.”

  Her smile faded. “But how did you know? You didn’t just happen to be on that beach, did you?”

  He glanced away, obviously uncomfortable with being heroic. Something inside her warmed at that thought.

  “Bailey was concerned about you going to dinner with the guy. He didn’t think Crandall was dangerous, just pushy. I told him you could take care of yourself, and I believed that. But I found myself going toward the Blue Conch.”

  Her eyes widened “You followed us from there?”

  “All over this piece of paradise.”

  She chewed her bottom lip, trying not to let out the smile that would probably scare him away. “Thank you.”

  “You already thanked me.”

  “I can’t thank you enough.” She looked down at the already sweating bottle clasped in her hands. “I was scared, Chris. I was trying not to be, but I was.”

  He reached over and tilted up her chin. “You’re welcome.”

  When she met his gaze, her stomach dropped right out of her. She sucked in a quick breath and looked away.

  “I’m only glad you weren’t falling for that guy’s charm,” he said, standing and leaning against the railing.

  “And what charm was that?” She stood too, leaning her back against the railing. “He’s not my type.”

  “Now, Miz Lucy, I thought that was exactly the kind of guy you’d go for.”

  The way he said her name shimmered right down her back. She glanced sideways and found him turned toward her, a teasing grin on his face.

  “Okay, I’ll admit that’s the type of guy I usually go for. But not him specifically, and not that ‘give in to your desires’ stuff. He had to show me everything he’d sold, tell me everything he’s done. It was pitiful.”

  “When there’s nothing inside, people have to compensate by having a lot of stuff on the outside.”

  She tilted her head. “So you think because I have a Beemer and a diamond watch that I don’t have anything on the inside?”

  He leaned closer. “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about people who flaunt it.”

  “Oh.”

  He stayed there for a moment, close enough that if she leaned forward just a bit they’d be kissing. In that suspended moment, she felt alive.

  “Lucy?” he said softly.

  “Mmm?”

  “Don’t keep looking at me like that, or I’ll have to kiss you again, and neither one of us really wants that, do we?”

  She blinked, breaking out of the spell she’d been held in. Her heart was thudding like crazy. “No, of course not.”

  “No.” He straightened, taking another swig of Ting as though it was a beer. “You’re welcome to stay here tonight if you want. It’s not much, a bunkhouse—”

  “That would be great. Seriously,” she added at his questioning look.

  “I was going to say that there’s only one room in there.”

  “Fine.”

  “And an outdoor shower.”

  “I don’t care.” When he continued to look at her as though he couldn’t believe what she was saying, she added, “Listen, I’ve had a rough night. I could have you take me to some hotel, but I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.” Her voice softened. “And I don’t want to be alone tonight.” She cleared her throat. “But I do need to wash up.”

  He nodded, but his gaze held hers for a moment. “Shower’s around the corner.” She followed him to the side of the building that faced the dark ocean and found the showerhead he was pointing at.

  “Boy, you weren’t kidding about the outdoor shower.”

  “Nope, I’d never kid about anything like that with a woman like you.” He ignored her questioning look. “I’ve never seen anyone out there. If you don’t mind washing up in near darkness, you should feel pretty private back here. Want to go first?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll get you a shirt, but I
don’t think you’re going to fit into my shorts.”

  “I’ll wear these, but the shirt’ll be great.” She glanced down and then back up at him. “Thanks, Chris.”

  “No problem. Shampoo and soap are right there, and I’ll bring you a washcloth and towel.”

  He returned with the items he promised and left her to shower in the absolute open. Over the sound of the water, Jimmy Buffett sang, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” Lord, would she ever have thought she’d be doing this?

  “Okay, let’s get this over with,” she muttered, stripping out of her clothes and stepping beneath the cool water. She reached for the heat adjustment and found none. Standing naked in front of miles of open ocean made her feel even more naked, if that was possible. But it also made her feel sensual, adventurous. As the washcloth slid over her body, she couldn’t help but wonder how Chris’s hands would feel doing the same thing. Or better yet, how his mouth…

  Stop!

  She quickly finished, then slipped into a well-worn but clean cotton shirt that hung halfway to her knees.

  When she rounded the corner, he gave her a sheepish smile. “I forgot to tell you there wasn’t warm water, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, but I figured it out very quickly.”

  “And you still didn’t change your mind about the hotel?”

  “Maybe I’m tougher than you think I am,” she said as they passed each other on the deck. Or maybe she was just lonelier, she added.

  She felt cool and refreshed, looking out over the vast blackness of the ocean, listening to the water splashing over his body and the waves splashing against the pilings below. This was his life, she thought, closing her eyes and trying to imagine what it was like. Living like this, in boathouses with no warm water or private shower, no turndown service. No having a regular job to get up and get ready for every morning. They were two different people brought together by a dolphin.

  “You look very relaxed for a woman whose virtue was threatened less than an hour ago,” he said from behind her a few minutes later.