Adrift

by Robin Wainwright

anything except the feel of Daniel sitting so close to her.

  “Heather you’re once again the top thing on the Scuttlebutt…”

  “What?! Sarah, I didn’t do anything today. In fact, we were swamped!”

  “Defensive,” Sarah said smiling. “If you’d let me finish…”

  “Sorry.”

  “I was going to say, actually it was more about Java Junction, but you were involved.” Sarah saw Heather relax. “Apparently Jennifer’s new drink is a big favorite and your contest has the Scuttlebutt humming.”

  “We were amazed at the response.”

  “I guess I’ll have to swing by and get a sample.”

  “I’d recommend it,” Daniel said. “It was really good.”

  “Hmmm, spending time at the Java Junction?” Sarah teased but Daniel didn’t accept the bait.

  Instead, he turned to Heather and said, “It’s true. You see they have this beautiful manager and her beauty has mesmerized me. I just can’t stay away.”

  Catching Heather’s eye Jennifer mouthed ‘Oh my god!’ and then quickly ducted her head and took a sip of coffee before Daniel could see what she was doing.

  “Tenacious.” Heather said and Sarah just about spit coffee all over the tablecloth.

  Daniel smiled at Sarah but looked confused. “Care to explain that reaction?”

  “No!” Heather said quickly, but Sarah was just as fast, “Yes.”

  While Heather was shaking her head, Sarah explained. “Well, you see I know the beautiful manager that you were talking about and we were talking about you yesterday.”

  “I see,” Daniel, said grinning at Heather as she covered her face with her hands. “And what exactly did she say?”

  “She filled me in on the details on your torrid affair.”

  “I did not say that!” Heather replied.

  “True, I misspoke. She filled me in on all the details that I hadn’t already heard on the Scuttlebutt.”

  “That doesn’t exactly explain your reaction,” Daniel pointed out.

  “True. You see she told me that you were being tenacious and so I named you Mr. T.” Heather groaned and put her head on the table.

  “Mr. T,” Daniel grinned. “I kind of like that.” Then he turned to Heather and in a very bad imitation of the real Mr. T said, “Well little lady, are you going to give in to my masculine charms or are you going to make me live up to my name?”

  Heather’s shoulders shook with laughter and she looked up at Sarah. “I’m going to kill you.”

  Maggie walked back to the table and sat down next to Sarah.

  “Save me Maggie! Heather has sworn to kill me!” Sarah said while clutching Maggie’s arm.

  This led to a laugh filled explanation and further embarrassment for Heather. When the laughter settled down Sarah called the meeting to order.

  “The hour is late and I’m really excited to hear what you have to say Daniel.”

  “Then let’s do this.” Daniel reached in the little satchel he carried, pulled out four bound reports and passed them out.

  “First let me thank you for contacting me with this project. Your lighthouse and cottage are beautiful. I toured both and the damage is about what you would expect to find in buildings that have been abandoned as long as these have. In addition, there are the typical challenges with buildings of this age: lead paint, asbestos, no handicapped access, things like that.

  “The worse damage is that the lighthouse lens is broken.” Maggie and Sarah looked shocked.

  “That can’t be good,” Sarah said.

  “No, it’s not. Lighthouse lenses come in different sizes called orders. The largest lens is a number one and the smallest is a six.”

  Maggie looked at Daniel, “Let me guess, ours is a one.”

  “It was,” Daniel responded. “Normally a lens like this will run you a comfortable six figures.”

  Sarah threw herself back in the booth and slumped in disgust. “Our project is dead before it even started.”

  “Now, Sarah I said normally.”

  Sarah looked up at Daniel with hope in her eyes. “Go on.”

  “It just so happens that I have a lead on a first order lens. It’s from a lighthouse that I couldn’t save because the land was deemed more valuable than a renovated building.” Daniel looked disgusted. “But I made an offer for the lens and they’ve accepted it. As an added incentive for the town council to choose my company for the renovation I will include the lens at the price I bought it for.”

  “Okay,” Maggie said tentatively. “And what would that price be?”

  “$50,000.”

  Sarah slumped back down into the booth with her eyes looking watery, “Daniel even with your generosity we can’t possibly afford that plus the cost of the other renovations.”

  Daniel nodded, “Sarah I know that you’ve looked into the cost of renovation before you contacted me.”

  “I did, but I didn’t realize that the lens was broken.”

  “Did you also look into alternate forms of funding?”

  “What?”

  “Other ways to pay for the renovation?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then let me give you some good news. There are multiple organizations that have funding available for the renovation of historic buildings. Plus, depending on what you want to use your renovated lighthouse for, we may have additional options.”

  Sarah sat back up and looked hopeful. “I never really thought about what to do with the lighthouse once it was finished. I just hated to see it falling apart. What do other villages do with their lighthouses?”

  “Well some lighthouses offer educational programs, summer camps, overnight accommodations, and seasonal promotions like haunted houses. Each of these options will affect the direction of the renovation and what additional funding you can apply for.”

  Sarah just stared at Daniel dumbfounded, trying to ease her distress Daniel continued.

  “Sarah if the village hires my company to do the renovation we will take care of the majority of the work, both the construction work and the paperwork. But first, I need you to give me a little direction so that I can fine tune my proposal.”

  Sarah looked at Maggie, “Wow, I guess we need to figure out our end game.”

  “Our end game?” Maggie replied in disbelief. “Sarah this is really your baby. You’ve been attached to that lighthouse since you were born. Me? I have this business to run. You know I wouldn’t even be on this committee if I’d been able to sit in on the city council meeting.”

  Sarah started to speak, but Maggie cut her off. “Sarah, I’ll be available to act as your sounding board but you know my schedule. If the Foghorn is open, you know where you’ll find me.”

  “Maggie, I know you’re busy but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed here.”

  “Sarah,” Daniel said to get her attention, “it’s getting late, why don’t you sleep on it and you and I can discuss some options over breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Daniel, I’d really appreciate that. I’ll even make you Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.”

  “Then it’s a date.”

  “Wait a minute.” Maggie said. “Shouldn’t Heather be making your breakfast?” Heather shot Maggie a nasty look and Maggie stuck out her tongue.

  Daniel laughed, “I wouldn’t mind that, but unless she begins running the B&B Sarah is my ongoing breakfast date.” Under the table, Daniel grasped Heather’s hand and began stroking his thumb across her palm.

  “Okay, if that’s all decided I need to go check on the bar and finish closing down for the night. You can go ahead and finish your coffees.”

  “I’m ready to go now,” Sarah said as she stood up. “I’ve got a hot date for breakfast and I don’t want to look too tired.” They all laughed and wished each other goodnight. Sarah followed Maggie out of the room, leaving Heather and Daniel sitting alone in the booth.

  Heather had never before realized that her palm was directly connected to more s
ensitive areas on her body, but the feel of Daniel’s thumb rubbing across her palm was making her tingle all over.

  She looked up into his eyes and he lowered his head for a kiss. At first, his lips gently brushed over hers but then his tongue was seeking entrance to her mouth. She opened to him and let his tongue dance with hers. His other arm came around her and tangled in her hair. Daniel groaned and the sound made her body tremble. Lifting his lips so that they were barely touching hers he said, “Please.”

  “Please?” she whispered back.

  “Please let me make love to you. My nights are filled with dreams of you and my days are filled with my longing to touch you. Please.”

  What could Heather say but “Yes.”

  Daniel’s breath hitched and he whispered, “Yes,” as he lowered his lips for another kiss.

  Daniel pulled Heather to her feet and guided her toward the front door. They walked quickly back to Heather’s apartment with their arms around each other.

  Once inside Heather’s apartment Daniel stopped and looked deeply into Heather’s eyes.

  “I want this more than you can imagine. I want to touch you and feel you responding to me. I want to hear you pant and feel your body tremble under mine. But I need to make sure that this is what you want as well.”

  Heather smiled into Daniel’s face, reached up and pulled him down for another kiss. This time she was the one in charge; her tongue sought his and controlled the rhythm of the dance.

  “Please make love to me.” She said as she led him to her bedroom.

  That night Daniel proved that being tenacious was a good thing. He kissed and stroked Heather until she screamed with release and began to beg him to stop, and only then did he find his release.

  Heather lay limp