Falling Star

by Laura DeLuca

  Things moved along swiftly in the real estate department, but for Drew everything came to a standstill on Friday when a migraine hit him full force. The episode carried through the weekend when the pain was so intense, bright light and even the slightest movement left him reeling with nausea. He swallowed a few prescription painkillers, which he had saved for only the direst situations. While they dulled the incessant thump, taking the medication on an empty stomach increased the queasiness. He managed to struggle through the few phone conversations Lainey snuck between meetings, but he was glad she wasn’t around to see him in such a miserable state. It wasn’t until Monday that the headache sizzled out, but Drew was so exhausted, he slept through half the day. He didn’t move until a dull rapping pulled him from the vestiges of sleep.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Drew groaned and willed his heavy eyelids open. He rubbed the crust away, and squinted at the alarm clock. He made out the number two, but it was so dark in his room, he couldn’t be sure if it was a.m. or p.m. At first he thought maybe it was a tree branch brushing against the window that woke him, but when the knocking continued with more determination, followed by the chime of the doorbell, Drew finally tossed off the blankets and hefted himself up out of bed. Maybe the bible thumpers who’d shown up on his doorstep a few days ago were back for a second attempt at saving his soul. He couldn’t think of anyone else who’d show up in the middle of the day.

  “Coming, coming.”

  Drew continued to mumble under his breath even though his unexpected guest couldn’t hear him. Through a loud yawn, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants, but left his chest bare as he trudged toward the living room. He yanked the door open just as Lainey lifted her hand to knock for the third time. Drew’s whole demeanor brightened at the surprise visit, but before he had a chance to greet her with a kiss, Lainey had already rushed across the threshold.

  “There you are!” She breathed a sigh of what sounded like relief. “I was beginning to think you’d already left town.”

  Drew, still foggy from sleep, studied her frantic expression with a combination of concern and bewilderment. “Nope, I’m still here. You didn’t think I’d leave without saying goodbye, did you? And you know I’ve been counting the minutes until you got back, but shouldn’t you be at work?”

  Lainey ignored the question and surveyed the living room as though she were searching for something. “Where are your bags?”

  Drew scratched his head, confused. “Probably under my eyes.”

  “I mean your luggage.” Lainey enunciated. Drew could see she was losing patience quickly, but he was completely in the dark.

  “Are we going on a trip?”

  Lainey tugged on the ends of her hair, a habit he’d learned signaled she was nervous or frustrated. “Drew, didn’t you get any of my messages? We need to get out of Wildwood before they shut the bridges down.”

  That got Drew’s attention, but he was still dumbfounded. He had no idea what she was talking about, but she was obviously troubled. Drew almost smacked himself in the forehead when he realized he went to bed without charging his phone. He was about to apologize, but Lainey studied him with concern. She squinted behind her wireframe glasses. He’d never seen her wear them before, but they made her look like a sexy librarian. One he would happily undress...

  “Drew, are you all right?” Lainey asked, still serious. “You seem ... I don’t know ... a little off.”

  Drew shook his dirty thoughts away. Even in the middle of a crisis, he still couldn’t help but think like a guy. And Lainey was hard to resist.

  “I did just wake up and I’m coming off some painkillers, so I’m kind of groggy,” Drew explained, pressing his fingers against his temples. “But bear with me. I’m sure I’ll catch on eventually?”

  “Painkillers?” For a moment, Lainey forgot whatever she’d come there for to fuss over him. She examined him inch by inch as though she expected to find an open wound. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?”

  Drew shook his head. “I’m fine. I had a migraine last night, but I’m good, especially since you’re here. Now...” Drew gently steered her hand away from his chest. Touching him like that was a little too distracting. “Tell me what’s going on. Something obviously has you upset.”

  Lainey took a deep breath. “There’s a hurricane headed our way,” she explained. “Wildwood is being evacuated and if we don’t hurry, we’ll be receiving a personal escort to the shelter at the fire station.”

  Drew’s mouth dropped. “Okay ... okay. Let me take a shower and we’ll get out of here. You can tell me more on the way.”

  Lainey tapped her watch. “Sorry. No time for showering. I wanted to get here sooner, but I got stuck at the office, and I still have to stop home and grab Misty before we head to Sharon’s. She and Elisa are the only people I know who live far enough inland.”

  “Why don’t I meet you there?” Drew offered. “I’ll have to stop for gas but—”

  “Not happening,” Lainey interrupted with a firm shake of her head. “Every gas station on the island sold out hours ago.”

  “Shit.” Drew sat down in the nearby recliner. The full extent of the situation finally scraped away the last of the cobwebs in his mind. “This is really serious, huh?”

  “It’s pretty scary,” Lainey agreed.

  Seeing for the first time how truly distraught she was, Drew stood and, casting concerns about personal hygiene aside, pulled her close in a light hug. She laid her head against his shoulder for barely a second before collecting herself.

  “Come on,” she urged. “We have to get going and you need to put on a shirt before you give Blanche a heart attack.”

  “Blanche?” Drew raised an eyebrow. “Is that another cat I haven’t met yet?”

  “I’ll explain later,” Lainey promised. “Go get dressed.”

  Five minutes later, Drew beat his own record for a hasty getaway, though without a shower he felt like he was on his own personal walk of shame without having the benefit of doing anything shameful. He only took enough time to brush his teeth and roll on some deodorant before flinging an overnight bag over his arm and racing out to meet Lainey. He found her pacing back and forth in the foyer, checking her watch every three seconds.

  “Ready?” she demanded when he emerged in the entranceway.

  “I’m all set.”

  Lainey was out the door before he finished the sentence. As Drew locked up behind them, he examined the sky. It was overcast, but not alarmingly threatening. A few stray gusts of wind sent small batches of leaves floating down the street. He was still studying the weather pattern when he reached down to pull open the passenger side door of Lainey’s car. He was startled to find the spot was already occupied. A bright smile creased by a dozen wrinkles greeted him through the window. Drew blinked a few times and gave Lainey a questioning stare before he remembered her earlier comment.

  “Blanche?” he guessed.

  Lainey offered a half-hearted smile. “Yep. Sorry, but Mrs. M will be riding shotgun today. But don’t worry. Misty will keep you company on the way to Sharon’s house.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Lainey leaned the driver’s seat forward so he could climb in. Drew walked around and hopped obediently into the back, tossing his overnight bag onto the floor. Lainey had left the car running so he barely had his seatbelt fastened before she peeled out onto the deserted streets. He was adjusting the strap over his shoulder so it wouldn’t cut off his circulation when Blanche turned to greet him formally.

  “Why, hello dear. You must be Drew.” The old woman reached over the headrest to extend her hand, proving more agile than Drew would’ve suspected giving how small and frail she seemed. “My name is Blanche McLaughlin. Lainey here takes care of my insurance, and she was nice enough to help me out of a pickle. She’s a lovely girl. I hope you know what a lucky young man you are.”

  Drew’s smile widened as they shook hands across the headrest. “Drew DiPalma. Pleasure to meet
you, Ma’am, and yes I definitely know how lucky I am.”

  His girlfriend’s eyes lit up in the rearview mirror, but Drew’s words were more than an effort to earn brownie points. He really did consider meeting Lainey one of the luckiest accidents of his life. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t an accident at all. Maybe it was the hand of fate that gave Lainey an extra shove when she fell off that swing and into his life.

  “All right, you two,” Lainey announced when they stopped at a red light. “We have one more passenger to pick up and then we’re headed for Bellplain.”

  Lainey’s condo was just a few blocks away, and there was no traffic to delay them, so it didn’t take long to reach their destination. As she turned down Pacific Avenue, they passed a lone cop car, the only sign of life they came across the whole ride. The wind howled as Lainey pulled into the underground parking area, the sound overshadowed only by the light thump of her tires bouncing along the speed bumps in the empty lot. There were maybe two other vehicles parked in the normally crowded lot, but the overpowering odor of gasoline implied many more had driven through fairly recently. Lainey guided her Fiat into the spot closest to the elevator doors, even though it was reserved for one of the larger units, most likely assuming whoever owned them had already vacated the area.

  “Blanche, you’re welcome to come in and sit down for a moment while I get my things together,” Lainey offered as she turned off the ignition. “I can’t leave the keys this time since I need them to get into the house.”

  Blanche waved her off. “I’ll be fine here, dear, but do bring your young man with you to help carry your bags.”

  “I could use a hand with Misty,” Lainey admitted. “She can get feisty when I try to load her into the cat carrier.”

  Drew wasn’t about to turn down even a few minutes of alone time with Lainey, especially when they’d be trapped with a crowd of people for who knew how long. He followed his girlfriend up the steps and into the elevator that grudgingly creaked to life when Lainey pressed the up button. Again Drew was taken aback by how eerily deserted things were, even more so than the average day in the off-season. He didn’t see one other person on their trek to the fourth floor, but he did notice Lainey’s hand trembling as she maneuvered her key into the lock. Once they stepped inside her unit, the now familiar scent of lingering incense wrapped them in a calming embrace and they both settled down.

  “How bad is this, really?” Drew asked, toying with the fuzz on his chin. It had obviously been a few days since he’d shaved. “I know I haven’t been watching the news much lately, but how could this come up so quickly.”

  “I heard them mention it last week, but at that point they claimed it would fizzle out before it reached us. Instead it’s picked up momentum while it was out at sea.” Lainey’s gaze roamed along every crevice of her small abode as she spoke, drinking in each detail as though she feared it might be her last chance. “If it’s as bad as the predictions, it could be catastrophic.”

  Hating to see her so distraught, Drew reached for her hand. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he promised. “No matter what happens, we’ll get through this.”

  Lainey shook her head. “I appreciate the sentiment, Drew, but you can’t possibly know that. There are so many people here that I love ... and they have so much they could lose—homes, businesses, livelihoods. Everything I’ve ever known, ever cared about could be destroyed.”

  Drew knew her words were true, and he longed to tell her even if the worst happened, he’d do all he could to fix it. If her home was demolished, he’d pay to have it restored exactly the way she remembered. Or even better, gift to her the dream house in Cape May Point she’d always wanted, assuming it survived the storm. Drew longed to sweep her off her feet and tell her she’d never want for anything. But he knew her better than that. It wasn’t the material possessions that mattered to his nymph. It was the memories of her childhood, her grandmother’s spirit that still lived within the walls of her home, and the life she’d built that she really feared would be washed away. Those things weren’t so easily replaced, even with almost unlimited funds.

  “Come on.” Lainey guided him toward her tiny balcony. “You can help me bring in my herbs.”

  Drew followed her onto a tiny concrete slab barely large enough for a single chair and about six potted plants struggling to survive in the salty sea air. He recognized a few, like basil and rosemary. The others were a mystery, but it was clear they were important to Lainey by the way she cooed soothing words as she carried them to the kitchen. Placing them down gently, she gave them each a little water before finally sealing up the sliding glass doors.

  “I always figured you’d have a green thumb,” Drew approved.

  “Oh, this is nothing,” Lainey insisted, as she washed the excess soil from her hands. “I’m a total novice. Wait until you see Sharon’s place. It’s like stepping into a magical forest. She has a million different plants and a big greenhouse. There are all sorts of things growing—even cotton.”

  Once the plants were secure and hydrated, Lainey grabbed her cat carrier from the closet. She wasn’t exaggerating when she suggested Misty would put up a fight. They eventually got the cat into the cage by shoving her in back paws first, but it wasn’t an easy victory, and they both had the battle wounds to prove it. Once Misty was settled in the cage, she still hissed a warning his way while Drew sucked on his bleeding finger. Lainey felt so bad she ran to her bathroom to get the first aid kit before Drew could tell her it was no big deal.

  “She sure has a wild side,” Drew acknowledged when Lainey returned with a bandage and a bottle of lavender oil, insisting it worked as well as any antiseptic ointment at preventing infections. “Of course her mommy has left behind a few scratches of her own when she got a little too ... enthusiastic.”

  Lainey grinned as she examined his injury, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “She’ll settle down once she gets to Sharon’s house. I hope...”

  Lainey lifted his hand, dabbing away the blood before wrapping it up in the dressing. She was serious and intent on her work, but her very nearness incited an arousal in Drew, which he was unable to control. He lifted one hand to stroke her soft hair before adjusting the glasses that slid down her nose.

  “I can’t figure out if you remind me more of a sexy nurse or a hot schoolmarm, but either way, you aren’t making it easy for me to restrain myself.”

  Drew guided her closer, breathing in the fresh, clean scent of vanilla and lavender that wafted from her hair. He was certain she could feel how much he wanted her, and he felt no shame about it. Four days without her naked body beside him was far too long. Lainey shivered with need as well, pressing harder against his bulge for a few seductive seconds before finally taking a step back.

  “I want to,” she whispered huskily. “I want you more than I can say, but there’s a hurricane coming and there’s an old lady waiting in my car.”

  “Yeah, about that...” Drew cocked an eyebrow. “Are you in the habit of taking all your clients home? Because that’s something I should know before we take any big steps in our relationship.”

  Lainey shrugged. “She had nowhere else to go. So I asked Sharon if she could tag along.”

  Regardless of his teasing, Drew felt a different warmth flood through him which had nothing to do with his sexual drive. Lainey never ceased to amaze him with her generous spirit. “You and your friends—you’re good people,” Drew told her. “I admire you for that. There aren’t many good Samaritans left in the world.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Lainey argued. “I like to believe people have more goodness in their hearts than we realize. I see it all the time in our community. Everyone pulls together if a family loses their house in a fire or a mother is diagnosed with a serious disease. We just need to learn to branch out further than our own back yards and give that kind of love freely to everyone in need.”

  Drew sighed. “You’re making me want to take your clothes off again.�
�

  She patted his back. “Sorry, but I still need to pack.”

  Lainey gave Drew one last peck on the cheek before finally pulling free from his embrace. He waited in the hallway with one leg propped up against the wall as she tossed some garments into a bag. Almost as an afterthought, she added a few crystals and a small goddess figurine sitting on her nightstand. Once that was accomplished, she opened the door to a spare room Drew always assumed was a closet. Following her, he peeked inside, unable to contain his curiosity. The walls were lined with shelves of books, making the collection in the living room seem a pittance in comparison. Topics ranged from Ancient Egypt to Celtic myths and legends and even a few on voodoo. Only one small area of the room had any other furnishings and they included an old-fashioned roll top desk with a computer, a vintage wooden hope chest, and a small table arranged with candles, a few fetish statues, and a half-burned sage stick. Drew had learned enough about the pagan belief system to recognize it as an altar. His guess was confirmed when Lainey took a moment to kneel beside it and murmur a small prayer before grabbing a large stack of binders from the desk. Again Drew’s interest was piqued. There had to be at least six hundred sheets in each one.

  “What’s that?” Drew pointed at the papers as she shoved them in a backpack. “I thought Blanche was the only work you took home with you this evening.”

  “These are my manuscripts,” Lainey confided with a blush rising to her cheeks. “I have them saved on a USB too, of course, but I like to work on them outside whenever possible. Nature is much more inspiring than brick walls. So I always print out a hard copy. I know it’s silly, but I can’t leave them behind after pouring my heart and soul into them.”