by Stacy Eaton
I didn’t bother to answer him. I’d pack and check out, but I wasn’t leaving this island until I knew she was off of it. I dropped her stuff at the door and looked around on all the surfaces, including the pillow and covers, but found no note. I did, however, find a small bag on the floor under the table and my heart clenched as I realized it was probably the glass bottle I’d given her. I picked up the bag and then took a seat on the edge of the bed as I opened the bag.
I reached inside and found something soft, not smooth like glass. I pulled out a small stuffed dolphin wearing sunglasses and a tropical shirt. She’d left the present for her daughter behind—and that bothered me.
I took a shower, packed most of my things, and then made a phone call to my brother.
“About damn time you called me back,” Roan said the minute he answered. “What time is your flight out?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? That island that you are sitting on getting shitfaced is about to get plowed over by a category four hurricane. Get your ass on the next plane.”
“Roan, chill the hell out. I need you to do me a favor.”
“I need you to do me a favor. Mom and Dad are freaking out that you are down there alone and in the path of the storm. You get on that plane and then I’ll do you any favor you want.”
“Roan, shut up! Listen to me, alright? I need you to find out if a passenger took a flight off this island today, Amy Black. I have no idea where she would have flown from here, but she would have been heading back to the Maryland area.”
“Who the hell is Amy Black?”
“Someone I care about,” I growled at my brother.
“Care about? Don’t you care about yourself?”
“Roan, are you going to help me or not? Because I swear I will not get on the fucking plane until I know she is off this island.”
I didn’t hear anything from his end, and I wondered briefly if he’d hung up. “Okay. What did you say her name was?”
“Amy Black. All I know about her is that she’s from Maryland and works for a magazine.”
“You care about this woman, and that’s all you know?”
“She has a daughter, too, okay?”
“Who are you and what happened to my brother?”
“Jesus, Roan, I swear when I get back home, I’m going to kick your ass.” I clenched my eyes. “Will you help me?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see what I can find out. Do you at least know her birthday or city she lives in?”
“No,” I replied curtly.
He sighed and then he said he’d start working on it, “Do me a favor and get on a plane. You barely know this woman. Are you willing to risk your life for someone you don’t know?”
“Roan, if you were me, and it was Finley that you’d just met, and you felt the way you do about her, would you leave her? Would you get on a plane and fly away and not know if she was going to be safe?”
“Fuck—” he groaned. “Okay, I’m on it. I’ll call as soon as I know something, just try to get on a plane, man. I need you back here.”
“I will. Find the info, and I’ll be on the next flight.”
We hung up, and I headed to the reception building and the front desk. The lobby was busy, most of the people bustling along with luggage as they prepared to leave. I stood in line and waited my turn, studying everyone as they came and went.
How could she leave without saying anything? Had I been fooling myself that she felt half of what I did?
“Yes, sir, what can I help you with?”
“I’d like to know where Ms. Amy Black is. She was in the bungalow next to mine, but she checked out early this morning.”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you that information.”
“Look, I’m worried about her. Her passport was lost when she arrived, and she couldn’t leave the island, but now she’s disappeared. I just want to know if she found a way off the island, or if she went to another hotel to wait out the storm.”
“Sir, I just started my shift, and I don’t know where she could be.”
“Can you just look at your computer and see if there are any notes? I’m in the far bungalow, she was in the one next to me.” He frowned but started typing. “Look, she has a young daughter at home that she was worried about, and I am just hoping she got off the island.”
That seemed to thaw his heart a bit, and he concentrated on the screen, clicking every once in a while. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see any notes other than she checked out.” I stared at the beige marble counter for a long moment. “Sir, would you like me to check you out now?”
“No,” I told him and started to step away.
“But sir, you are leaving, right?”
“I’m not going anywhere until I know where she is.” I hustled away from the front desk as he called out to me again and turned toward the concierge office. If anyone knew anything, they would.
After almost two hours of searching out every member of the concierge service and housekeeping around the somewhat frantic resort, I had yet to find anyone who could tell me where Amy was. Most of them had just come on duty, and the night staff was already gone.
I stood by the pool and stared out at the ocean. The waves were increasing, rolling up on the shore a little stronger, but the sky was still clear and blue. I could feel a difference in the air though, or maybe that was me. Maybe my stress was rivaling that low pressure of a hurricane.
I checked my phone for the sixth time in the last hour. If I couldn’t find out if she’d gotten off the island, maybe I could find out where she could have gone and check with them. With a new plan of action, I headed back to the front desk.
The hotel staff was urging me to get packed and ready to go as it was nearing noon already. I kept repeating that if they could help me find out the answer to my question, I’d be happy to leave, but they seemed more concerned with me being on the property than they were about finding a guest that had checked out already.
“Mr. Waterman,” the hotel manager approached me for the second time, “I understand your concern for Ms. Black, but we don’t know anything. We also don’t know anywhere she might have gone, and none of our vehicles have gone to any other resorts today. We track every vehicle that leaves here, and they have all gone to the airport and back.”
“She could have taken a taxi.”
“Mr. Waterman, the taxis are busy helping other people right now, or they themselves are trying to get off the island.” He paused. “I must insist that you obtain your items from your room and head to the airport. Your flight out is in two hours, and the airports are a mess. If you aren’t there early, you might lose your seat.”
“I don’t care about my seat,” I snapped. “I care about whether Amy is going to be home safe with her daughter when this storm hits, or if she is going to be praying for her safety here.”
“I understand that—”
I cut him off when I stepped in closer to him. “You do not understand what it is that I am feeling right now or what is going through my mind. The woman I love is someplace, and I don’t know where. If it was someone you loved, would you leave her behind?”
He pursed his lips. “No, I wouldn’t. Let me go make a few calls, Mr. Waterman, but please, at least bring your things up here and wait in the lobby.”
“Fine,” I muttered and headed back to my bungalow but bypassed it for the beach. For a few minutes, I stared out at the water and remembered my first night here: the sound of her laugh floating over the breeze, the feel of her long hair tickling my chest, the sparkle in her eyes as she smiled in the firelight. I couldn’t believe she left without saying goodbye. It was like getting kicked in the gut. Maybe I was wrong to worry about her after she’d just taken off, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. If only I knew she was safely off the island, I would let it go.
I headed back into the bungalow and slowly packed the rest of my items. I stared at the bags of clothing that I had purchased for her,
and I pulled out a few things, remembering her trying on each piece. I stuffed the items back inside before I could find the white outfit. I’d lose it if I did.
I had just wheeled my luggage up to the front lobby when my cellphone rang with a call from Roan.
“What did you find out?”
“Get on the plane. She got off the island.”
Chapter 14
Amy
Joanne went to the cafeteria with me, and it wasn’t until we were seated that she leaned over the table and said, “Details.”
I laughed curtly. “Now is not the time for details.”
“Why not? You’re trying to relax, unwind from a hectic day. Cammie is upstairs resting peacefully. You can take a few minutes to tell me all about your trip.”
“There really isn’t that much to say,” I told her before I shoved a forkful of pasta into my mouth.
“You were on an island with that model’s twin brother, and you’re telling me there is nothing much to say?” She shook her head and crossed her arms on the table. “You’re either lying or a complete fool.”
I chewed my food and swallowed. “Actually, I think I’m the fool.”
“Are you telling me that you spent a few days with a handsome man like that and you came back a holiday virgin?”
I barked out a laugh and covered my mouth with my napkin. “A holiday virgin? What is that?”
“It’s a woman who goes away alone on a vacation and doesn’t get laid.”
I shook my head and smiled at Joanne. She always did know how to make me feel better. “Well, I’m not a virgin,” she eyed me carefully, “holiday or otherwise.”
“Halleluiah!” she called out and clapped her hands. A few people glanced our way.
I shushed her. “Stop that, or I won’t tell you anything else.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth and rolled her other hand as if to encourage me to talk.
“His name is Rye, and like I said, he’s Roan’s brother. I know he’s from Pennsylvania, but I don’t really know much else except he works in investments, I think.”
She gaped at me. “You spend a few days with that hunky guy, and you don’t know much about him? Did you two just have sex over and over again?”
I laughed and felt my cheeks begin to heat as I remembered the number of times we did make love. Make love—yes, that was what it was. It wasn’t just sex. Andre and I had had sex the last few years of our marriage, but with Rye, that was making love.
“Oh, my god! You did just stay in bed.”
“No, we went shopping and out to dinner and even spent the day on a boat snorkeling and fishing.”
“And having lots of sex.”
I took another bite of my pasta, more to avoid answering than because I wanted to eat the bland food.
“Was it hard saying goodbye to him? Are you going to see him again?”
I stared at my plate and pushed the noodles around on it.
“Wait, you’re not going to see him again? He didn’t want to?”
“No,” I said quickly, “I didn’t want to.” My shoulders rounded forward from the weight of life. “With everything that is going on, I don’t have time to deal with a relationship.”
“No,” she held a finger up, “you mean you didn’t tell him about Cammie.”
“No,” I straightened my back, “I didn’t. There was no reason to.”
“Are you kidding me, Amy? You meet a great guy that you like, and he likes you, and you don’t tell him about the best part of your life?”
“He knows that I have a daughter.”
“But he doesn’t know that she needs a heart transplant, does he?”
“It never came up,” I scooped up some more noodles and put them between my lips.
“You are a piece of work. I’m sure it did come up, but you refused to talk about it because you think every man is going to run for the hills like Andre did.”
“Why would a man want to get involved with a woman who has a seriously ill child?”
“Because he cares about her.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Do you? You spent two days with him. Do you think he is the kind of guy who would run from a sick child? Or from a mother who was scared? Especially if he cared about her?”
I put my napkin over my face to hide my shame. No, Rye wouldn’t have run, he probably would have tried to find a way to help. “I’m such a fool, Joanne.”
“Why, because you didn’t tell him about your daughter? So what, call him and explain.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know where he lives or how to contact him, and besides, I told him that, after we left, it was over.”
“What did he say when you left this morning? Did he ask you again to stay in touch? Did he beg you to come with him?”
“No, I left before he was awake.”
“You did what?” she exclaimed loudly, and more heads turned our way. “Tell me you didn’t do that.”
“I did, and I’m not proud of it, but all I could think of was getting home to Cammie. I barely made my flight as it was.”
Her sighs were becoming a habit as she let loose another long one. “You really don’t know how to contact him?”
I stopped in mid-chew and looked down at my laptop bag. Inside was the bottle he’d given me inside of which was his phone number. He had told me that anytime I ever needed him to call—but could I do that?
“No, I don’t know how to contact him, and he doesn’t know how to contact me.”
“Oh, Amy, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Look, I’ll tell you more about it later. Right now, tell me everything about Cammie while I eat so I can go find her doctors and see what happens next.”
When we returned upstairs, Cammie was awake, and I hustled to her side and hugged her as hard as I dared. “Hey, baby, how are you?”
“Mommy, you’re back!” she squealed as she held onto me with the little strength she had.
“I’m back, and I brought you something.” I dug around in my laptop bag but couldn’t find the small dolphin that I’d bought for her. “Oh, Cammie, I must have lost it in the hurry to get home to you.”
“That’s okay, Mom. What did you get me?”
“I’m so sorry.” I brushed some of her light-brown hair off her warm brow. “It was a stuffed dolphin wearing sunglasses and a flowery shirt.”
She grinned, and I wished that her eyes would sparkle like they used to when she was happy, but they were a flat green. My heart clenched in my chest as I forced myself to remain calm and keep a smile on my face.
“Maybe I can go the next time, and you can get me another one,” Cammie offered.
“I like that idea, baby. I like that idea a lot.”
“Did you have fun? Was the chef nice?”
“I didn’t get to talk to the chef. He had a family emergency and left the island, and when he was supposed to be coming back, a hurricane was coming, and I had to leave the island.”
“So you’re going to go back? Can you wait until I’m better so I can go with you?”
“We’ll see,” I told her and kissed her forehead. It was warm, but not hot, and I hoped that the infection was under control now.
“Mrs. Clandestino, you made it,” a male voice called from behind, and I turned to see my daughter’s cardiologist.
“Doctor August, I did. I got here about thirty minutes ago, but Cammie was resting, and I was starving from traveling all day.”
He acknowledged me with a nod and then directed his attention to Cammie, asking her how she was feeling. As usual, she was upbeat about her condition and didn’t whine or complain about not feeling well, even though I could tell she wasn’t good at all. He listened to her heart and her lungs and then told her to get some rest as he squeezed her shoulder gently.
“Mrs. Clandestino, can you walk with me for a moment? I’ll fill you in on what’s going on.”
I told
Cammie I’d be right back and followed him out into the hallway. We walked a few feet from the door, and he turned. “You know that her condition is deteriorating rapidly.”
I swallowed and blinked through the sudden fear. “I know. How bad is it?”
“She’s been moved up on the transplant list, she’s near the top now, but we have to make sure this infection is gone, so she can have surgery if a heart becomes available.”
“How long until her infection is under control?”
“Probably tomorrow.”
“Will she make it until then?”
He paused and that was not a good sign. “I think she will, but she’s not going to make it much longer than that. She’s strong, but this infection taxed her heart too much.”
I put my chin to my chest and took deep, calming breaths. “Okay. Is there anything I can do?”
“Pray that we get a donor for your daughter.” He squeezed my shoulder and then walked away.
I went to my daughter’s room and stood at the door. She was watching television, but her eyes were barely able to stay open.
“Why don’t you close your eyes, sweetheart, and get some rest?”
“I was waiting for you to come back. What did the doctor say?”
“He said you’re doing good. The infection is almost gone.”
She frowned at me. “Mom, I’m ten, not two. I know I’m not doing well. I can tell my heart is giving out. What did he say about that?”
Sometimes my daughter was too mature for her age. “He said to pray for a donor.”
“Then let’s pray, Momma. I’ll get a heart, I know I will.”
The two of us held hands and prayed for a moment.
I kissed her forehead. “Now get some rest.”
She closed her eyes, and I let down the wall that was holding my emotions. Tears immediately rushed forward, and I turned away in case she opened her eyes.
Joanne wrapped her arms around me. “Why don’t you go home and take a nap. I can stay with her and call you if anything changes.”
“No, I’m not leaving her.”
“She’s going to sleep for a while, the nurses just gave her more medicine. I have some work I can do on my computer while she sleeps.”