Island Heat: Love Is Forever: The Templetons

by Rebecca Day

  “It’s well worth it. Thank you for telling it to me.”

  They grew silent, and the silence became awkward. Thankfully, Janie remembered the photo album and began looking at it, again.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Janie looked up at Wyatt.

  “Sorry about the kiss,” he continued.

  “Don’t worry about it. I understand,” Janie cut him off. She was weary of his flip-flops – kind and romantic one minute and brusque and insulting the next. “It was the sunset’s fault. I understand,” she declared, trying to end the conversation.

  “No. You don’t understand,” Wyatt said, firmly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t control myself. That’s why I’m sorry. But it had nothing to do with the sunset. Look, Janie. There isn’t a moment when I see you that I don’t want to kiss you. Kiss you and more. From the moment I first saw you, I’ve wanted you. It’s torture when I’m near you.”

  They locked eyes, and Janie found that she was hypnotized by the deep blue, which was fixed on her so intently. Surely no one else had eyes like that. Dark, yet brilliant, blue, she thought dreamily. She had looked into those eyes several times, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing that particular expression staring back at her. What was he trying to convey?

  He wanted her. Wanted her every time he saw her. That was what he had said.

  Well, if Janie were honest with herself, she felt the same way. Although in her case, her feelings went deeper than animal lust, and she needed Wyatt to want more than that, too.

  “Tortured.” The word came out of her mouth in a gentle exhale, a breath more than a whisper. The tiniest of smiles formed on her face. She stood up.

  He was tortured by her? No, he was torturing her with this back and forth, with an attraction that went nowhere.

  It had taken years for Janie to gain self-respect and a good self-image. Armed with new confidence, she wasn’t going to settle for a man who didn’t love her. Wyatt Templeton – accomplished scientist, activist humanitarian, loving father, family man, and the best-looking man who ever filled out a t-shirt – would have to find someone else to torture and be tortured by.

  She looked down at Wyatt, who remained seated, looking up at her with a shocked expression on his face. She forced a yawn and a stretch.

  “My goodness, what a day. I’m tired. I think I’ll go on up to bed. See you tomorrow bright and early. No rest for the weary, you know. Remember, my evaluation isn’t over, yet. I still have a lot of work to do.”

  Janie saw Wyatt’s face grow hard as she turned and walked out of the room. She supposed he didn’t like a taste of rejection. Enjoy a taste of your own medicine, she thought a little vindictively, leaving Wyatt on the couch.

  Wyatt sat for a long while, allowing the ice in his orange juice to melt and the remaining cookies to crumble uneaten in his clenched fist. After opening up to Janie more than he had ever opened up to any other human being, she rejected him.

  Rejected him with a smile on her face!

  She definitely proved to him that his first impression of her as a wolf in sheep’s clothing was entirely correct. Her behavior made it easy to see how she could be seemingly gentle and sweet and then turn around and cruelly cut off the funding for the Dolphin Freedom Project. She was a hatchet lady all right.

  How could she kiss him like she kissed him tonight and then reject him so completely when he opened up to her? She seemed to take pleasure in telling him that her evaluation wasn’t over. Well, his evaluation of her was over. He wasn’t going to think of her anymore.

  Who was he kidding?

  He couldn’t stop thinking about her. One kiss gave him a taste of what being with her could be like, and he was going mad wanting her.

  Only one point made Wyatt happy…Janie would be gone soon enough, and then he could concentrate on salvaging his work and his life.

  Janie watched Sam scoop the deviled egg mixture into the hardboiled egg white halves. “You got it!” They high-fived in celebration. “You really a really are a natural in the kitchen, Sam.”

  “You think so?”

  “You’ve caught on to everything I’ve shown you faster than anybody. I may be looking at a future chef.”

  Sam beamed. “It was a great idea to do the practice runs with all the party food. Now, it will be a snap to get it done before the party.”

  “And with your help, it’s going to be a really impressive spread. People are going to be talking about this party for ages.”

  “You really think so?” Sam smiled from ear to ear and continued to scoop. Janie couldn’t help feeling a little maternal pride as she watched Sam accomplish something so important to her.

  Janie and Sam had grown very close all week, while they prepared for the party. They had discussed every detail of the party and had spent countless hours shopping and preparing. Since there was no party store in Kunolei, they had made frequent trips to Honolulu to find the perfect streamers, balloons, and other party decorations.

  They designated the hall closet as the decoration storage area, and it was already bursting. Janie realized that all the preparations were a little over-the-top for a kids’ party, but she felt it was important that it was completely perfect for Sam. During their time together, Janie had grown to know her as a sweet, responsible girl. Outwardly, she seemed more mature than her 10 years, but inwardly, she was still a little girl, desperate for motherly love. True, she was not lonely like Janie was at her age. Unlike Janie, Sam had a large, extended family that showered her with affection daily.

  Her uncles were ever-present, and Keiko, her family, and the whole town had adopted Sam as one of their own. Even gruff Wyatt was a doting father, constantly doing activities with Sam and always sure to sit down to meals with her, which few families did these days.

  Despite all this attention, it was Janie’s company that Sam sought the most these days. Sam seemed to relish the girls-only conversations they would have. They also had fun manicure/pedicure sessions, and a hair and makeup tutorial that made Wyatt furious.

  He was fit to be tied when he saw his little girl with mascara on. “It’s temporary. It will wash off. It’s just for fun,” Janie assured Wyatt, but he wasn’t happy until Sam had washed off her face and promised to never wear makeup again.

  Janie laughed to herself. It tickled her when Wyatt was over-protective towards Sam, which came to think of it, was nearly always. He was obviously head-over-heels in love with his little girl, and it pained him to watch her grown up; although, he was also very proud of her as he watched her make great strides. He couldn’t stop talking about her excellence in school and in surfing.

  The feeling was mutual, of course. Sam was definitely daddy’s little girl and looked at Wyatt as a knight in shining armor, and for all intents and purposes, he was. He raised her in a warm and comforting home after her mother died. In fact, he had been the only parent she had ever known. He was over-protective, sure, but he also let her stretch her wings in whatever direction she wanted. Janie couldn’t help but think of Wyatt as a knight in shining armor as well. That is, until he opened his mouth, she thought half-joking.

  She realized that Sam would have loved for Wyatt and Janie to have become serious, romantically. If they were a couple, it would be the family that Sam longed for. Janie sighed. She would have loved to make Sam’s wish come true, but one thing was for sure: Wyatt and Sam would never be a couple.

  Since their kiss, they had been clumsily keeping their distance from each other, even though they spent almost every waking hour together. At meal times, they spoke around each other, either to Sam when they ate at home (which they were doing more often, now that Janie was cooking and teaching Sam how to make the dishes they would serve at the party) and to Keiko, Miles, and the other Templeton men when they ate at Keiko’s. At work, Wyatt barked curt orders, and Janie complied. She liked it better that way, actually, since she didn’t want to engage in any uncomfortable conversation.

  Otherwise, she found herself with Sam, preparin
g for the party and doing fun, girl stuff. In the evenings, Janie cowardly stuck to her room to work on her report, which was nearly finished. Cowardly yet productive, she thought sensibly.

  Her attempts at avoiding and ignoring didn’t seem to work all that well, however, in her attraction for Wyatt. At work, she would find herself stealing glances at him while he worked. She recalled one embarrassing moment at the lagoon where she became entranced by the movement of muscles in his back as he fed the dolphins. She must have been staring at his torso for quite some time because he became aware of her ogling, and she had to quickly avert her eyes and pretend that she was looking elsewhere.

  She had become increasingly aware of his presence whenever he was near. She could swear that she felt him when he was around, as if he was speaking to her through his pores. It was as if Wyatt was becoming more handsome as the days passed. More than once, she had to fight a strong desire to run her fingers through his thick, unruly hair, and she wondered frequently what it would feel like to kiss him when he was unshaven.

  It wasn’t just that he was an attractive man. She loved how he moved – his ramrod posture was that of a man who was completely sure of himself. He was pure masculinity of a sort that bookish Janie was not used to.

  Janie was woken from her thoughts by the sounds of loud bickering from outside. “I have a mind to give you a ticket.”

  “I have no idea what you’re going on about, Virgil. I’m simply dropping off the sound system for the DJ for Sam’s party.”

  Janie stepped outside to see what the fuss was about. A large truck from the resort was parked in the driveway. Morgan had one hand on the driver’s door and was attempting to get down, but Virgil, who had pulled up in his unmarked police car was blocking him. To make him seem even more imposing, Virgil was holding up a ticket book, waving it around in threat.

  Virgil - who stood around six-foot-five, weighed about 240lbs of pure muscle, and was the biggest and tallest of all the Templeton men - was the most imposing man Janie had ever seen. He seemed like he was made of granite, and he obviously had the habit of using his authority. However, Morgan seemed totally unfazed by his older brother. In fact, in typical Morgan fashion, he didn’t break a sweat, blink an eye, or crease his gorgeous designer clothes.

  His cool demeanor, which would have sent Wyatt into a tizzy of frustration, didn’t affect Virgil, however, who opened up the book and took out a pen. “You do not have a license to operate this vehicle, Morgan.”

  “Oh, my license. Why didn’t you say so? It’s right here.”

  “This is not a commercial license, Morgan. You need one of those to drive this truck.”

  Morgan looked at Virgil, who kept his pen hovering an inch above the ticket book. “So, if I were driving my BMW, I wouldn’t have a problem?” he asked quietly.

  “BMW? No, I think there’s a problem with the BMW.”

  Morgan nodded in understanding. Janie, however, had no idea where this was going.

  “What if I were driving my Jag?”

  “Still a problem.”

  Morgan stiffened visibly as he understood something unpleasant. “No. No way.” Morgan steeled his expression and slammed the door of the truck.

  “That’s too bad,” Virgil murmured and moved the pen ever-so-slightly nearer the book.

  “Okay! okay!” Morgan waved his hands and yelled at Virgil to stop. It was the first time that Janie ever saw this charming man lose his cool. “The Maserati. The Maserati,” he muttered.

  Virgil beamed as if he had won some contest, but Janie didn’t know which one. He flipped the ticket book closed and slipped it in his back pocket of his jeans. He loudly clicked the pen closed in a flourish. “I need it for the whole weekend,” he smirked.

  Morgan’s face was total defeat; although, he never let his smile falter. “You can have it,” he said, resigned. “You probably won’t fit in it, anyway.”

  Virgil grinned. “I don’t mind being a little cramped. You want some help getting the stuff out of the back?”

  Morgan jumped down, and Virgil slapped him on the back. Typical Templeton brothers, Janie thought fondly. They were constantly teasing each other. They were best friends, favorite playmates.

  And Wyatt, their oldest brother, got the worst ribbing. But with all the teasing and playing, they also seemed to revere Wyatt. Despite all of their strong personalities, Wyatt had the last word in all important matters. Janie had witnessed that on several occasions.

  It was no accident that they all met at Wyatt’s hangout – Keiko’s Café – even though it was big commute for some during the day. He was the center of their world.

  “So, you’re borrowing Morgan’s Maserati?” Janie stood next to Virgil and Morgan.

  “Hey there, lovely lady,” Virgil greeted her. “Yes, but just for the weekend.”

  “Got something special planned?” Janie pried.

  “Not as lovely as you, but special? Yes.”

  “Good for you!”

  As they walked to the back of the truck to unload it, Virgil draped his arm over Janie’s shoulder.

  “Aren’t Maserati’s expensive?” she asked him in a whisper.

  “I think they are.”

  “How much does a general manager of a resort make, anyway?” Janie felt comfortable enough with Virgil to pry even further, and she thought that Virgil might just know how much Morgan was actually making.

  Before Virgil could answer, Morgan – who obviously was listening to their conversation – answered for him.

  “It’s a very nice resort, Janie.”

  The three laughed out loud, sharing the joke. Suddenly, Morgan and Virgil stopped, leaving Janie to giggle alone for a moment before she looked to see what had grabbed their attention.

  Wyatt had walked up and was looking at them with an expression she had never seen on him before. Specifically, he was looking at Virgil and Janie with a murderous expression on his face. Quickly, Virgil – the big imposing police officer who appeared to fear no one – dropped his arm from Janie’s shoulder, as if it was on fire. Wyatt looked at him sharply in the eye, and something passed between them, unspoken.

  “Hey, Wyatt,” Morgan called out, good-humoredly, breaking the tense moment. “We were just getting the sound system out of the trunk. You want to help?”

  Everyone seemed to hold their breath while they waited for Wyatt’s reply. “Fine,” he said softly.

  While the three men started to unload the truck, Janie slipped away to go back into the house. As she was leaving, she heard Virgil’s soft plea to Wyatt. “Sorry, man.”

  Janie opened the screen door to the house and heard Wyatt grunt in response.

  Chapter 8

  Wyatt was cracking up. Falling apart. Losing control.

  It had been a hell of a week. He felt like he was walking on egg shells.

  He wanted to confront Janie after their catastrophic conversation, but when the time came, he found himself cowardly avoiding her like the plague. She had grown so cold to him that he was sure that any attraction she had for him was gone. In fact, she was avoiding him more than he was avoiding her, and he took that as an excuse to leave well enough alone.

  More than that, Sam had become so attached to Janie during the week - the two of them in constant preparations for the party - that Wyatt was unwilling to burst the bubble and disappoint Sam in any way. For her sake, he wanted everything to at least seem friendly and conflict-free.

  All week, Janie and Sam cooked party food and made him try it in an effort to create the perfect menu for Sam’s party. He had to admit that it was all pretty good, but he would have rather gone to Keiko’s and sit on the other side of the restaurant from Janie than stay at home and eat salmon puffs at a cozy dinner for three. It was damned hard work to avoid her while engaging in dinner conversation.

  One evening over a dinner of Cheesy Empanadas, Chili Pastry Bowls, and To Die For Brownies, (another tasting session) he forced an hour-long conversation about Sam’s hair and whether
it looked better with bangs. All to avoid speaking with Janie!

  And he wanted so much to speak with Janie, but he knew he would put his foot in his mouth. Besides, what possible good could come from another disaster conversation? One or the other would get hurt, and it would become obvious again that he had to keep his distance or suffer the consequences.

  What made matters worse was the fact that with each passing day, Janie seemed to be getting more beautiful. He didn’t know if it was the fresh air or some time-of-life situation happening, but he was certain that she was ten times more beautiful than when she first arrived on the island.

  It was so painfully distracting to him that one night, in a brief moment of insanity, he plotted to sneak into her room while she was away with Sam at the party store. He planned to search through her belongings for any special makeup or vitamins she had that were causing the changes in her appearance. He was determined to find them and throw them away, but he never got the chance to look. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Doc and Virgil stopped by, and they all went out for a beer.

  They drove off in Doc’s SUV down the road to Jimmy’s Tavern, a local hangout owned by one of Keiko’s nephews. The place was loud and dirty with sticky floors and dim lighting. Two pool tables covered half of the bar, and a corner was devoted to a few dart boards. Wyatt didn’t come in often because he had Sam to take care of, but when he did, he felt immediately calmer and more relaxed.

  Jimmy greeted the three Templeton brothers at a small table in the corner. He was short and squat with bow legs and a permanent scowl on his face. He couldn’t be over 40 years old, but he looked at least 10 years older than that. His premature aging was probably a mixture of too much sun, cigarettes, and nightly tasting of his own brew. “Hey, Wyatt! Long time no see. What brings you in tonight?”

  “We dragged him in here, Jimmy,” said Virgil.

  “Yeah, we’re bad influences,” Doc chimed in.

  “You, Doc? You’re the best kind of influence,” argued Jimmy.