by Marie Landry
I jolted, kicking up sand and showering my legs with the coarse grains.
Ezra laughed lightly, plunking down in the sand beside me and brushing off my legs. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” He was sitting so close the entire right side of his body was pressed against mine from shoulder to ankle. My skin tingled at the contact. I wondered if he was the type of guy who normally sat so close to girls he barely knew, or if it was just me.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m just…kind of jumpy lately.”
“How come?”
It seemed like a simple question, but there was no simple answer. When I didn’t respond, he said, “Never mind,” and I got the feeling, as I had yesterday, that he understood without me having to say a word.
The two of us sat in silence staring out at the water. After a few minutes, he said, “So why are you sitting over here all alone? I thought I told you last night to go make friends.” His tone was light, teasing.
“I didn’t realize it was an assignment, Mr. Rhodes,” I said.
“Oh, but it was.” Ezra shook his head in mock disappointment. “And I’m afraid you failed.”
“You’d be wrong there,” I told him, nudging him with my elbow. “I actually made a couple of friends…maybe.”
“A couple of maybe friends?” Ezra asked, looking dubious.
“Yes, exactly. I don’t know yet. They seem nice, but…we’ll see.”
Ezra bobbed his head thoughtfully. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his legs and glancing back at me over his shoulder. “Good for you.” The light, teasing tone was gone now. “Good for you.” He looked back out over the water and let out a long breath.
“Tired?”
“Yeah. Exhausted.”
The way he said it made me think he didn’t just mean physically tired. With him leaning forward, I had an urge to reach out and rub his back.
What would he do? Probably jump up and ask what the hell you’re doing since you’ve only known each other two days, I thought. I tucked my hands under my legs so I wouldn’t be tempted further.
Down the beach, a group of fully clothed kids ran into the water. They splashed around, yelling and laughing as they tried to dunk each other under.
Ezra shook his head, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. “Want to go in?” he asked. “We could stay down here so we don’t get drenched.”
“I’m good,” I said quickly, shrinking back into the sand and praying he wouldn’t pursue it.
He glanced over his shoulder at me again, and rested his chin on his arm, watching me. “Don’t like the water?”
“I-It’s not that,” I stammered. Liar. “I just…”
He held up a hand, stopping me. “It’s okay. Some other time.”
“Yeah. Definitely. Some other time.” How does never work for you? I added silently.
He smiled and leaned back beside me. “So where were you this morning?”
“Sleeping.” I was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see my cheeks turn red. “I, uh, kinda have a really screwy sleep schedule. It started when my mom was sick, and now…”
He nodded again. “I’m the same way. Screwy sleep, I mean. I guess that either makes us two peas in a pod, or it makes our friendship doomed because we’ll keep missing each other.”
“I prefer the two peas thing, personally.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a sexy, crooked grin. “Me too.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but his phone beeped. He pulled it from his pocket, frowning as he read a text. “Unfortunately, I guess we’re not meant to share that pod tonight.” He tucked his phone back in his pocket and smiled apologetically. “I have to go. I’m really sorry.”
He stood, brushing sand from his shorts. I waited for an explanation, but none came. That seemed to be a recurring theme with Ezra. He looked down the beach, then squatted so we were eye-to-eye. “Your assignment for tonight, should you choose to accept it…” He paused, his eyes glittering with humour, and I couldn’t help but smile. “I want you to keep talking to people. There are some good kids around here. Don’t sit here by yourself all night; go make friends. Or go find your ‘maybe friends’ from last night.”
I stared at him for a long moment. I wanted to ask why he cared. I wanted to ask where he could be going after ten o’clock at night, when he was obviously tired and should just go home and get some sleep. But it was none of my business. Yet.
“I accept your assignment,” I told him. He held out his hand and we shook. His hand stayed wrapped around mine past the regular length for a handshake, and his eyes remained steady on mine, searching—but for what? Did he feel that strange little tingle starting where our palms connected and zipping up his arm, or was that just me?
He finally pulled his hand slowly from mine, as if he hated to break the contact. Straightening, he lifted his hand in a wave and turned.
“Ezra?” I called when he was a few feet away. He paused and looked over his shoulder. I took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn’t make me sound crazy and desperate, but I had to know. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
A slow smile spread across his face, and I knew asking him had been the right decision. “Yeah, you will, Charlotte. G’night.”
He took off across the beach and cut through the path between our houses. A few seconds later, I heard his car door slam and the engine rev.
I got to my feet and brushed sand from my capris. I spotted Kennedy and Miranda on the far side of the bonfire and headed in that direction. I had an assignment to complete.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When I woke up at eleven the next morning, I felt surprisingly well rested, even though I’d only slept for five hours. I’d stayed down on the beach with Kennedy and Miranda until after midnight. When I started to get sleepy, I ignored it and stayed, knowing from experience that the drowsiness would pass the minute I got into bed. When I returned to my room, I surfed the Angel Island library website, then managed to fall asleep—in my bed—around sunrise.
Progress? I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but it felt like a baby step.
I showered and dressed before heading downstairs. I could hear Dad working in the kitchen, his fingers flying over the keyboard of his laptop. It was quiet out front, and when I peeked through the window I didn’t see Ezra, but figured he was around somewhere since his tools were out there.
I went into the kitchen and planted a kiss on top of Dad’s head.
He smiled absently. “Morning, honey.” He checked his watch, then, satisfied that it was indeed still morning, went back to his work.
He hadn’t seemed to notice my odd sleeping patterns, or if he did, it had just become another of those things we didn’t talk about. One more thing he didn’t want to have to deal with, like his feelings or the fact that Ella stayed out half the night, or that our roles got reversed somewhere along the way and I had somehow ended up the parent in this bizarre scenario that was now our life.
“I made you a smoothie,” Dad informed me, pointing over his shoulder toward the fridge.
That was new. An unexpected but pleasant surprise, like the fish and chips last night. Maybe I just wasn’t giving him enough credit. He was trying in his own small way. “Thanks, Dad.” I grabbed the smoothie from the fridge and took a sip. Strawberry-banana—my favourite. Yes, he was definitely trying.
I patted his shoulder, thanking him again before crossing the living room and stepping outside. It was a beautiful day—the sun glistened on the lake, the sky was a vivid blue without a cloud in sight, and a gentle breeze blew off the water, sending my hair dancing around my shoulders. I didn’t miss the sweltering temperatures or humidity of the city, where heat often shimmered from the pavement like ghostly vapours.
In fact, I didn’t miss the city at all. That kind of surprised me, since I’d only ever lived in the city and would have thought I’d feel confined and claustrophobic on a small island. But then there was really nothing for me back home—I was finished with school, I had no re
al friends, no commitments there. Nothing but my memories, which were too raw and painful to face right now anyway.
Voices drew my attention in the direction of Ezra’s house. A woman my parents’ age stepped out the back door and onto the porch, followed by Ezra. She said something and smiled affectionately, touching his cheek. His mother? She would be about the right age, but I wasn’t getting a mom vibe from her.
A horrific thought occurred to me, and my stomach turned sour. What if that was where Ezra disappeared to every night? What if he was, like, some cougar’s dream come true and he…no. I shuddered, unable to finish the thought.
The woman laughed at something Ezra said, then hugged him long and tight before turning toward the porch stairs. Halfway down, she glanced up, and when our eyes locked she froze.
“My god,” she said breathlessly, gripping the railing. “It’s like seeing a ghost.”
I felt like a bug trapped under glass. The woman’s eyes had widened to the size of saucers as she took in my face.
My gaze moved past her to Ezra, who was watching silently, still standing near the back door. I don’t know whether my expression—which I imagined looked a lot like it was conveying ‘save me!’—was comical or what, but he started to laugh. Not the reaction I’d been expecting, but it seemed to snap the woman out of her daze.
“Aunt Lilah, I think you’re scaring her,” Ezra said, still chuckling lightly.
The woman covered her mouth, her cheeks flushing red. “I’m so sorry,” she said in a rush, coming down the final few steps and standing at the base of my porch. “It’s just…you look so much like your mother. I’m sure you hear that all the time, and I’m sure it doesn’t…help.” Her eyes filled with tears, and her embarrassment seemed to kick into high gear. “Ezra, help me out here,” she called over her shoulder.
Ezra came down the stairs and joined her in the sand. “Charlotte, this is Lilah. She’s the one I was telling you about. She owns your house, and she and our moms used to be best friends.”
“This isn’t how I hoped our first meeting would go,” Lilah chimed in, dashing her tears away and composing herself. She gave me a watery smile, her gaze still intent on my face. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”
Behind her, Ezra cocked his head as if to say ‘come here’, so I crossed the porch on stiff legs and made my way down the stairs.
“I’m sorry for my…unconventional greeting,” Lilah said, a self-deprecating smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “I just didn’t expect you to look so much like her. I feel like I’ve gone back in time thirty years and Annie is standing here in front of me.”
I never knew what to say when people told me I looked like my mom. It pleased me, but made me feel uncomfortable at the same time, especially now. I always prayed nobody would say it in front of Ella and give her another reason to resent me.
“She really loved you,” I said quietly, unsure where the words had come from. Lilah’s brows arched in surprise. Apparently she wasn’t the only one whose mouth wasn’t currently connected to her brain. “She always talked about her summers here,” I explained. “How much fun she used to have with you and Izzy.”
Lilah’s smile turned wistful. “Those summers were the best of my life. The three of us had some amazing times.”
“I…I’d like to hear about them sometime,” I ventured. I’d take any connection I could get to my mom.
“I’d love to tell you,” Lilah replied. “I’ll even dig out old pictures if you’d like. I might have a few short videos stashed away, too.”
“That would be great.”
“It’s settled then.” She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and checked her watch. “I have to get going, but we’ll set something up soon. Maybe you could come out for lunch someday and we could have a visit.”
We agreed we’d be in touch soon, and Lilah left.
I sat down on the bottom porch step and looked up at Ezra, shielding my eyes with my hand. “Aunt Lilah?”
“Yeah.” He sat down beside me, his knee resting against mine. “She’s been in my life since I was a baby, and I’ve always called her Aunt. She’s been really good to my mom and me.”
“Everyone needs someone like that in their life,” I commented.
He nodded. “You have someone like that?” He leaned back and to the side, resting his shoulder against the railing so he could look at me.
“Not really. Mom was pretty much the heart of my family. She was always there, always doing stuff for us. She was like…Supermom.” I smiled to myself as I thought of the apron I’d bought her for Christmas several years ago that had a huge Supermom logo in red and blue, like a superhero. Sometimes she’d flip it over her shoulders and wear it like a cape, then pretend to fly around the kitchen just to make me laugh. I shook the thought away. “Anyway, no. Both my parents were only children, so no aunts and uncles or cousins, and nobody we considered family the way you do with Lilah.”
He seemed to think that over, his eyes serious. “I’d be happy to share.”
A laugh bubbled up in my throat and burst out. “That…is the best offer I’ve heard in a long time,” I told him. “Thank you.”
He bobbed his head, a small smile playing around the edges of his lips. “If it makes you smile and laugh, it’s my pleasure.”
Heat crept into my face, and I ducked my head. I took a sip of my smoothie, buying time while I thought of something to say.
“By the way…” he said slowly. He waited until I glanced at him, and my heart tripped in my chest when I saw the wicked smile on his face. “I saw your expression when Lilah and I came out of the house. You totally thought something was going on between us, didn’t you?”
“No!” I cried, my face getting even hotter. “Of course not. That’s just…”
“Wrong?” he supplied. He was laughing hard now, and the deep, throaty sound of it made my lips twitch as I tried to suppress a smile. “You should have seen your face. It was pretty great.”
“Shut up.” I nudged his leg with mine, and in his precarious sideways angle, he almost toppled down the stairs. His face registered surprise as he caught himself, and then we were both laughing. He pulled himself up beside me and we leaned against each other for support as the laughter rolled through us. Every time one of us would wind down, the other would start laughing harder, and we’d set each other off, until we had tears streaming down our faces.
When the laughter finally subsided, I wiped my cheeks and covered my face with my hands. “Oh my god.” My voice was hoarse. I felt exhausted and energized at the same time. I hadn’t laughed like that in…I thought about it—really thought about it—and I couldn’t remember the last time. “I needed that.”
“So did I.” He was still grinning as if the least little thing would set him off again. I didn’t imagine he was usually the type to lapse into fits of giggles. That thought made me smile. “Don’t start.” He pointed a finger at me, then pried my smoothie from my hand, bypassing the straw and taking a sip from the glass. “Mmm, good.”
“I can make you one if you want,” I told him. “Or I could make you something for lunch.”
Ezra screwed up his face and thought about it. “Or we could go with option three: you could let me keep this one, and I’ll take you into town for lunch in an hour.”
I stared at him, unsure if he was serious.
He leaned toward me, his eyes never leaving mine. I could see little flecks of blue and green in the ever-changing depths of his irises, and I swallowed hard. “I’m not hitting on you,” he said quietly, his eyes dancing.
My answering laugh was shaky, and I shoved him back.
“You know, unless you want me to,” he added, and again, I wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. When I didn’t respond, he looked down at the smoothie but I could still see the hint of a smile on his face. “Let me get back to work, and in an hour we’ll go down to the diner and get something to eat.” He didn’t phrase it as a question, apparently deciding n
ot to wait for me to make up my mind.
“Okay.”
He stood and held out a hand to pull me to my feet. Like the other day when we’d met, he held onto my hand longer than necessary, and I felt those same tingles racing up my arm and spreading through me.
“See you in an hour,” he said, letting my hand slip from his. He walked backward toward the path between our houses, his eyes never leaving mine. “Hey Charlotte? I might have been hitting on you. You know, just a little.” He flashed me a quick grin and turned, heading for the front of the house.
I wondered if it was possible for a person’s heart to actually jump out of their mouth. I laid my hand over my chest, feeling my heart banging like a jackhammer inside. Would I ever be able to figure out Ezra Rhodes?
*****
I met Ezra outside and we walked together to his car. Until now, I hadn’t gotten a good look at the car, I’d just seen it from the back of the house or caught a glimpse of it in the garage.
“Is this a Chevy Impala?” I asked, standing at the passenger door and looking over the top of the car at Ezra, who cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
“Yeah. You a car girl or something?”
I blushed. “No, I just…recognized it.”
“From…” Ezra prompted, and I had a feeling from the glint in his eyes that he already knew the answer.
“From Supernatural, okay? I loved that car from the very first episode, but I’ve never actually seen one in real life.”
Ezra grinned. “Well today’s your lucky day. Hop in.” I slid into the passenger seat and Ezra turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life then purred quietly like an overgrown kitten. “It was my old man’s,” Ezra explained. “I always loved this car, but he never let me drive it. Now it’s mine.”
I studied his profile, waiting for more. I always seemed to be waiting for more with Ezra. I didn’t think he was being purposely cryptic. He was probably just used to everyone on the island already knowing his history, and he forgot I wasn’t from here, so I couldn’t know. And as much as I wanted to know, I figured he’d tell me if and when he was ready.