Lowcountry Summer eBoxed Set

by Mary Alice Monroe

  “No. He’s spent a lot of time with a wild dolphin by our house in South Carolina.”

  He turned his head, suddenly interested. “You’re from South Carolina?”

  “I was born there. But I spent most of my life in California.”

  “Whereabouts?”

  “LA.”

  “No, I mean where are you from in South Carolina?”

  “I was born on Sullivan’s Island. But I lived in Charleston as a girl. On East Bay,” she said, dropping the name of the tony street in town. “We spent summers at my grandmother’s house on Sullivan’s. That’s where I’m living now.”

  “Sullivan’s Island is a pretty spot,” he replied, unfolding his arms to stretch one over the top of the bench. It seemed their mutual South Carolina connection had somewhat loosened the tense guard he kept around himself. “We used to go there sometimes, to the beach. My family lives not far from there. In McClellanville.”

  “Oh, sure, I know McClellanville. A real pretty spot right on the water. Where the shrimp boats are, right?”

  “What’s left of them.” He leaned back and crossed his leg over his knee. “My dad was a shrimper. He had to get out of the business, though. Like most of the boats.”

  “Is that where you’re living now?”

  “No, I live hereabouts. But I’m thinking of heading back home. When I’m ready.”

  Carson wondered about that comment but didn’t want to pry. She didn’t get the sense this was a man who gave out personal information readily. “So, we’re neighbors,” Carson said, glad for the icebreaker.

  “Almost,” he added drily.

  “We’re just down here for the week,” she said. “Nate, that’s my nephew, came down for the Pathways program.”

  “He’s working with Joan?”

  Carson tilted her head, curious that he knew Joan.

  “That’s right.”

  Again, he only nodded, not divulging any more information. There followed another long silence during which they watched Nate giving more commands to the dolphins, to the loud cheers of the team. Carson whistled and clapped in support of Team Nate. After a final rousing cheer, the team climbed to their feet and began gathering supplies. The session had ended.

  Carson rose to her feet as well and stooped to gather her camera equipment and pull out a towel from the huge canvas bag. She turned again to the man on the bench.

  “It was nice talking with you. I’m Carson.” She reached out her hand.

  He took it readily and returned a firm shake. “I’m Taylor. Nice to meet you, too. He seems like a good kid,” he added, motioning toward Nate.

  The compliment filled her with pride. “He is.”

  Chapter Ten

  Sullivan’s Island

  The following morning’s wake-up call was sharp raps on the door and the rallying call “Rise and shine!”

  Dora threw her pillow at the door. “Go away, Harper!”

  “Delivery!”

  Despite herself, Dora smiled. Harper had moved into Carson’s room while Carson was away, but despite the fact they weren’t roommates, she was making a concerted effort to get closer this week. Dora was moved, even flattered, by her little sister’s persistence. Feeling a boost of energy, she kicked off her cotton blanket and walked across the room to open the door.

  “What are you . . .”

  Harper wasn’t there. On the floor in front of the door lay a shoe box and a shopping bag. Dora picked up the parcels and carried them back to the bed. She sat on the bed beside the loot, feeling a bit like it was Christmas in July. Inside the shoe box she found a new pair of walking shoes, the fancy brand that Harper wore. Dora ran her fingers across the white shoe with the pink trim to check the size—perfect. Excited now, she dug into the bag and gasped as she pulled out a pair of white stretchy running shorts, a running bra, and a pink-patterned tech running shirt. She checked the tags and her mouth slipped open at the prices. These were from the upscale company from which Harper purchased her athletic clothing. And . . . Harper had selected them in Dora’s favorite pink color.

  Dora held up the shirt, then set it back on the bed. Looking at the clothes, she felt a little embarrassed. Did she look that bad in her old T-shirt and shorts? Lord, Devlin saw her in them. Maybe she didn’t want to look all fashionable when she exercised, she thought mulishly.

  Looking at the clothes, Dora knew that wasn’t true. She’d just never been involved in an exercise program before and didn’t know what to pick out. She’d always been a tad jealous when she saw women jogging by in their athletic gear.

  Stapled to the bag was a handwritten note: Meet me out front at 7 sharp!

  Dora glanced at her alarm clock. It was ten before seven. Feeling a surge of adrenaline, Dora peeled away her pajamas and slipped into the new running clothes. She sighed with relief when everything fit. Before she left she quickly checked her reflection in the mirror. The woman in the reflection didn’t look the least bit dowdy in old gym shorts and her husband’s baggy T-shirt. Dora felt buoyed by the sporty look and hurried out of the room with a spring in her step.

  Harper was waiting for her with a bottle of water.

  “Look at you!” she exclaimed as Dora trotted near.

  Dora ran straight to Harper and delivered a big hug. “Thank you, thank you! I love them. But it’s too much. My Lord, I could buy an evening gown for what these cost.”

  “You’re exaggerating. It’s nothing,” Harper said, waving away the comment. “I have a back debt of birthday presents, so consider this an installment. I enjoyed picking them out.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything. Save your energy. We’re losing daylight. I’m going to teach you a few stretching exercises that you need to do every morning before you head out. You don’t want to get any injuries. Okay, ready?”

  As much as she enjoyed the stretching, Dora enjoyed doing them with Harper more. Harper took Dora through the routine. Then, with a wave and a wish of luck, Harper took off. Dora watched her trot away, her ponytail bouncing perkily from left to right, and sighed, guessing Harper would probably run some five miles.

  Undaunted, Dora took off on her own path.

  Florida

  Carson was surprised to see Taylor standing by the front lagoon again this morning. He turned his head and half smiled as she strolled up.

  “You stalking me or something?” he said with a grin.

  “Oh, yeah, that’s what I’m doing.” Carson settled the gear she carried for Nate on the bench under the thatched roof and took a seat. She looked out over the lagoon. A young woman in a bright blue rash guard and swimsuit sat on the dock in front of two young dolphins. Beside her was a blue cooler filled with fish that the dolphins kept their eyes on. Taylor and Carson watched the trainer put a pair of dolphins through their paces. The morning was punctuated with short blasts from her whistle and her high voice of praise for the dolphins. An older couple and two young children, probably grandchildren, lined up along the lagoon to watch. The little girl was enthralled, clapping her hands whenever the dolphin performed its task.

  “Where’s Nate?” Taylor asked.

  Carson was impressed that he’d remembered her nephew’s name. “He’s with Joan in the classroom. I’m supposed to butt out for a while so they can work in private. I worried that Nate would have a meltdown when she asked me to leave, but nope. Not a whimper. I’ve been relegated to pack mule.”

  “Joan’s like that. Everyone falls under her spell. You mentioned he’s in the Pathways program—Nate has special needs?”

  Carson widened her eyes a bit. Clearly someone was feeling chattier today. “Nate has Asperger’s, which is a high-functioning autism. He’s very smart,” she hurried to add, “but he’s become withdrawn lately and we’re hoping this program will help him open up more.”

  “It will,” Taylor replied.

  She shot him a quick glance, wondering about his certainty. “I hope so. But my biggest worry now is jus
t getting Nate into a routine. He’s not very flexible. We narrowly avoided a serious meltdown when we arrived, but I slaved over making a new routine for him.” She laughed lightly. “I feel like Suzy Homemaker. I’ve got pictures posted all over our room and I put a schedule on the fridge—complete with shiny stickers for effort. It’s written in stone what time we get up, when we eat, our toiletry habits, and what time we go to bed.”

  “Sounds good to a Marine.”

  She skipped a beat. “You’re a Marine?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She’d been right that he had the fitness and short haircut of a military man. “I thought you might be a soldier.”

  “Not a soldier,” he corrected. “A Marine. A soldier is army.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Carson hadn’t known the distinction.

  “Just different,” he explained. “But most military men live on a strict schedule.”

  “I’ve never been much of one for schedules. I’m not lazy,” she quickly added, seeing his expression grow dubious. “I’m very disciplined. I surf and I’m out on the ocean at dawn most mornings. But living by a clock? Not so much. I have more of the free-spirit mentality. Making a schedule was a new experience, let me tell you.”

  “You don’t have kids?”

  “God, no. Far from it. I’m not even married. What about you?”

  “Nope. Not married. No kids. Just a dog.”

  “Girlfriend?”

  He tried to hide his grin. “Nope.”

  She noticed he didn’t ask whether she had a boyfriend. His diffidence was intriguing.

  “What brings you back here today?” she asked, getting to the question in the forefront of her mind. “Yesterday I figured you were a tourist. But today you’re back and you know Joan.”

  He looked out at the lagoon. “I’m back most days.”

  Curious, she thought. Getting the man to talk was like pulling teeth, but she could be stubborn, too, so she waited him out. She didn’t want to press him. His reticence led her to believe he wouldn’t appreciate it.

  “I’m doing a program with Joan myself,” Taylor volunteered at length.

  Surprised that he’d answered her question, Carson turned her head to look at him. He was still watching the group in the water.

  As if sensing her curiosity, Taylor stretched and started gathering his things.

  “Got to go. My session starts soon.”

  “Where is your session?”

  “The other side of the park, where the boys hang out. They call it the bachelor pods.”

  “Cute.” Carson smirked.

  Taylor rose and slung his USMC backpack across his shoulder. “See you.”

  They said a brief good-bye and she watched him walk off along the path to a different section of the park. She wondered if she’d see him again. She hoped she would. In his long cargo shorts, gray T-shirt, and sandals, he looked like any other tourist clustering the lagoon. There wasn’t any limp or physical signal of an injury. And there was no mistaking the power in his muscles as he made his way along the path. Now more aware of his background, she readily picked up how he turned his head from right to left, scoping out the crowd.

  Sullivan’s Island

  Dora got into her running clothes and tiptoed through the quiet, dimly lit house, careful not to wake anyone. She was delighted that she’d awakened before Harper for her morning walk. She moved swiftly down the streets, while above in the trees birds chirped out their dawn song. Soon her feet hit the soft sand of the beach path and then, at last, the great expanse of the beach and sea. She stood on the precipice of the dune, smelled the sea air, felt its breath on her face and her chest expand at the sight of a new day’s sun rising. The sky was a glory of pastels that shimmered in reflection on the calm sea.

  This early in the morning, the sand was untrammeled. Bits of mica glistened in the lavender light. Dora stopped to take off her new walking shoes, preferring to go barefoot during this stretch. The hard-packed sand was moist under her feet as she walked briskly near the shoreline. It was breakfast time for the shorebirds. Peeps ran on straight legs, playing tag with the waves, gulls cruised low, and higher in the sky, pelicans flew in formation.

  Early mornings were an introspective time on the beach. A young couple jogged past her. In the distance, a man played with his chocolate Lab, throwing a ball into the water and watching the big dog jubilantly leap after it into the sea. Dora wasn’t jogging yet, but in only a few days, her pace had quickened and there was a snap and precision to her walk. She wasn’t as winded, either. As she walked, she kept pace by thinking of new words to describe herself: alive, empowered, strong. Just thinking the words made her feel better.

  And reminded her that, like Harper, she felt a stirring of rebirth. Maybe even a resurgence of the bold young girl she once was, who she believed was still hiding within her.

  She saw in her mind’s eye the photographs of Nate that Carson had e-mailed the day before. To see her little boy laughing and playing again was more than she’d hoped for. She wished Cal could see this more outgoing, playful side of his son. Maybe he’d appreciate Nate’s uniqueness more. Mamaw and Lucille had huddled over the photos, arguing over whose idea it had been to suggest the trip.

  Dora knew it had been a group effort—Harper and Carson’s brainstorm, and Mamaw’s generous funding—but in Dora’s mind, it was Carson who deserved the credit, for going solo with Nate like the fearless trouper she was, despite her complete lack of experience with children. She and Carson had talked several times in the past few days. At first they discussed Nate’s progress, but later their conversation shifted to whatever came into their minds. Not since they were young girls had they spent nights just chatting like this.

  She was passing the black-and-white Sullivan’s Island lighthouse when she spied a small group of women clustered together atop a dune by the bright orange sea turtle nest sign. Curious, she veered on an angle across the softer sand to the dune. Three of the five women wore matching blue Turtle Team T-shirts. The other two stood by, eagerly watching one of the women kneel beside the sea turtle nest.

  Dora walked up to the woman carrying a clipboard, a good sign she was in charge. This woman was tall, like Dora, slender, with glossy, dark brown hair under her cap.

  “What’s going on?” Dora asked, drawing closer.

  “We’re doing an inventory of the nest,” she replied, bending to her backpack. She pulled out plastic gloves and, straightening, handed the gloves to one of the team volunteers. Then she turned to Dora. “Three days after a nest hatches, we open it up to count the hatched and unhatched eggs. The Department of Natural Resources monitors the success rate of the nests along our coast. Sometimes we find a few hatchlings stuck in there and we release them.” She smiled. “That’s the fun part.”

  Something about her was familiar and Dora tried to place it. The woman wore sunglasses, so it was hard to be sure.

  “Do I know you?” Dora asked. She hated to ask that question, since most of the time the answer was no.

  The woman took off her sunglasses, revealing a striking face with dark brown eyes under arched brows. She was friendly but had the manner of someone accustomed to being in charge. She squinted and slowly shook her head. “Maybe. You look familiar to me, too.”

  “I’m Dora Tupper. I used to be Dora Muir,” she added, using her local family name. “Marietta Muir’s granddaughter?”

  The dark eyes widened with the woman’s smile. “Little Dorrit? Oh my word, of course I know you! I see it now. It’s me, Cara! I used to babysit you, a long, long time ago.”

  Dora’s mind shot back in time to the early summers she’d spent with Mamaw, back when she was seven and Carson was four. She hadn’t been called Little Dorrit since she was a little girl.

  “Cara Rutledge! Is it really you? I can’t believe it.” She stuck out her arm toward the nest. “But of course it’s you. You’re a Rutledge. You’re taking care of turtles.”

  Cara rolled her eyes. “Yes,
my mother roped me in, kicking and screaming all the way. Only it’s Cara Beauchamps now.”

  “How is your mother? I’m surprised she’s not here with the turtles, holding court. Even after all these years I never see one of those orange nest signs without thinking of Miss Lovie.”

  “Mama passed.”

  “Oh, Cara, I’m so sorry. I hadn’t heard. Your mother was an amazing woman. The pied piper of these islands. We all loved her; do you remember how we used to follow her around the island as she tended turtles?” Dora laughed gently at the memory. “I remember a couple of times you took us to your beach house on Isle of Palms. Miss Lovie used to give us sugar cookies and sweet tea.”

  Cara added, “I was trying to get my mother to help babysit.”

  “Do you still have your beach house on Isle of Palms?”

  “Of course. I’ll never sell it. My mother adored that house. A part of her spirit lives on there. How’s your sister? She was such a cutie.” Cara shook her head. “I can’t remember her name. It’s been so long.”

  “Carson.”

  “That’s right. You two were such a pair. You with your white-blond hair and she with her dark hair. Wasn’t there a third sister as well?”

  “That’s Harper, but I don’t think you babysat her much. By the time she started staying for the summers I was old enough to babysit. Mamaw’s not above going after free labor.”

  Cara laughed at that. “I haven’t seen your grandmother in ages. Is she well?”

  “Alive and kicking. She’s going to live forever, I pray.”

  A squeal of excitement interrupted the two women’s reminiscing. Cara swung around and Dora, following her gaze, saw the volunteer who had been digging holding a small loggerhead hatchling in her hand. More people had gathered while she was talking to Cara and now they were crowding closer to the nest for a better look.

  “I’ll catch up with you later,” Cara told her. “I have to get to work.”