Island Heat: Love Is Forever: The Templetons

by Rebecca Day

Wyatt threw down the towel he had been holding. With a very determined look on his face, he started towards the door.

  Janie jumped up from her chair. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to kill that Cody kid, of course.”

  Sam stopped dead in shock.

  Janie grabbed Wyatt by the shoulders. It was like trying to hold a bull still. “Just a minute. Just a minute. Sam, tell your dad where Cody kissed you.”

  “In the driveway,” she choked, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Wyatt grunted.

  “No, sweetie. Tell your dad where he kissed you, on you. Show him where he kissed you.”

  Sam pointed slowly to her left cheek. “I’m never going to wash it again.”

  “And how many times did he kiss you, Sam?”

  “Once.”

  Janie looked up at Wyatt. “Once. He kissed her once. Kissed her goodnight on the cheek. Once.”

  Wyatt visibly relaxed. The relief was quickly replaced with regret. “Oh. I’m sorry, Sam. I overreacted.”

  “Geez, Dad.” Sam recovered quickly. “It was just a kiss. Besides, you could never have killed him. He’s really strong.”

  Before Wyatt had a chance to respond, Sam skipped away. She hesitated at the stairs. “Janie? Can we talk later?”

  Sam glowed with excitement. Janie understood that Sam was dying to share the details of the night with her. Janie realized that she was delighted and honored to be included. “Of course,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be up in a minute. I just want to wrap up the leftovers.”

  Janie washed her hands and started on the leftovers. Wyatt was quiet for a long while. Janie knew that he was feeling ashamed about his outburst on Sam’s night, but she couldn’t help but feel a little good about it. After what Wyatt put Janie through, it was fitting that he feel at least a little miserable.

  After finding room in the fridge for the leftovers, Janie grabbed her sandals to go upstairs.

  “I’m sorry,” Wyatt said before she could leave.

  “I know and more important, Sam knows. It was an understandable reaction from a father.”

  “No, I mean about last night. I’m sorry that I lost control like that. It was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”

  Janie felt her heart in her throat. She willed herself not to cry. For Wyatt, it was merely a loss of control, but for Janie it had meant so much more. “Yes, you’re right,” she said softly. “It was a mistake. Good night.”

  Chapter 10

  Wyatt felt almost centered again. It had taken about an hour with his cup of coffee at his meditation spot on the beach before the sun came up to clear his head. It was good to get back to his routine.

  Wyatt washed out his cup in the kitchen sink before going out to the lagoon. As he put the cup into the dish drainer, Janie ran into the house, panic stricken.

  “Wyatt, come quick!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Come Quick! It’s Cindy!”

  Janie grabbed his hand, and they ran out to the lagoon together. Wyatt whistled, and the pod came to him. All except Cindy.

  “Normally, she greets me first in the morning,” Janie explained without being asked. “But she was nowhere to be found.” She paused, controlling her breathing. “Then, I found her.”

  Wyatt dove into the lagoon. He swam until he saw her. Cindy had backed herself into the corner next to the netting, which separated the protected lagoon from the ocean. One quick look at her made it clear to Wyatt that she was not merely sleeping. Neither was she exhibiting normal mating behavior. Something was horribly wrong with Cindy, his favorite dolphin and a member of the pod.

  It was essential that Wyatt act quickly. Dolphins could go from that kind of sluggish behavior to death in a single day. He wouldn’t let that happen.

  “Get me the phone, please.”

  Janie ran to do as he asked.

  Wyatt ran to the outside locker to check his supplies. Luckily, he had everything he needed.

  When Janie came back with the phone, Wyatt dialed the veterinarian. “Yasuo. I have a dolphin that needs attention. Yes. Sluggish. More than anti-social, the others are shunning her. Great. I’ll be over there with a sample in less than hour.”

  Wyatt went into action. He grabbed the blood kit from the locker. He turned brusquely and plowed into Janie. He had almost forgotten that she was there. He noticed vaguely that she looked pale and worried. He didn’t have time to comfort her, but he was glad she was there because he would need all the help he could get.

  Despite the rush, he decided to take the time to update her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Cindy, but it’s not good. I have to act fast, or she could die. The first thing I have to do is draw blood and get it over to the vet’s lab as quickly as possible. Then, we can go from there.”

  Janie blanched. Wyatt realized that she had never seen him draw blood from the dolphins, which was a normal part of their routine at least four times a year.

  “Don’t worry. They’re used to having their blood drawn. They were trained long ago for it. They do fluke presentation on command, where they float upside down so we can get at their main blood vessel under their tail fin. They don’t seem to mind it at all. Do you understand?”

  Janie nodded.

  “The only problem is that in Cindy’s condition, I don’t know how receptive she’ll be to doing fluke presentation, so, I will need your help in there. Can I count on you?”

  Janie brightened. “Yes of course,” she said, eagerly. “I’ll do anything to help. Just tell me what to do.”

  Wyatt touched her arm in thanks. They worked in tandem, managing to rouse Cindy enough to draw blood. Wyatt was surprised that she could be revived as much as she was. Cindy nuzzled Janie and gave Wyatt the impression that Cindy knew she was ill and was asking for help. Additionally, he noted Cindy’s obvious attachment to Janie. It was rare for a dolphin to get so attached to a human in such a short period of time, but it added to Wyatt’s belief that Janie could be a valuable asset during the day.

  Cindy’s energy level didn’t last long, but it was enough to encourage Wyatt that perhaps they got to her in time and perhaps her condition was not as serious as he first thought.

  As encouraged as he might be, he would not take any chances with her health. It was imperative that he get the blood to the lab as soon as possible.

  “I’m going to ask a lot of you,” he said, preparing Janie. “Normally I wouldn’t ask you, but this is an emergency, and you have proven yourself more than competent, and besides, Cindy is obviously drawn to you.”

  “Wyatt, I told you I’ll do anything. I want to be here. I want to help.”

  Wyatt looked into Janie’s eyes and knew she was sincere. She really did care about Cindy, and he wondered fleetingly if perhaps she would eventually voice her support to the government.

  “I’m going to run the blood sample over to the lab. I shouldn’t be more than an hour. I need you to stay with Cindy. You can engage her a little but don’t tire her out. Your presence will help keep her morale up until we can make her feel better.”

  “So, I should stay in the water?”

  “Yes, and play it by ear. I trust your judgment.”

  Janie gripped Wyatt’s hand.

  “Will she be okay?”

  “I don’t know, yet. But I will do everything in my power.”

  Wyatt didn’t bother putting on a shirt before he hopped in his car and drove off to the lab. He noticed that he was going way beyond the speed limit, and he tried to calm himself down. He reminded himself that this wasn’t the first time he had a sick dolphin on his hands, and so far, he had never lost one.

  However, Cindy had tugged at his heart since the first moment he saw her. She was a runt, much smaller than the rest of the pod. Initially, she was shy and kept to herself. Wyatt assumed that she had been picked on because of her size in the past. After a while, she grew to trust Wyatt and began to socialize with him. Gradually, Wyatt persuaded her to socialize with the others, a
nd in recent months that she became a full-fledged member of the pod.

  It had been heartbreaking for Wyatt to see Cindy shunned by the pod this morning. They couldn’t accept her sick as she was. They were in essence leaving her to die.

  Wyatt parked at the animal hospital and went around back to the lab entrance. Georgia, the lab tech rose when he entered. “I heard, Wyatt. I’m sorry.”

  Georgia and Wyatt had gone out a few times, years before. They mutually agreed that even though they liked each other’s company, there was no spark between them, and they ended it amicably.

  “Hi, Georgia. Can you rush this right away?” Wyatt handed her the vial of Cindy’s blood.

  “Of course. We’ll have the results in a couple of hours, and we’ll phone it over to Dr. Miyashi at your place.” Georgia put her hands on his. “If anyone can help her, Yasuo can.”

  He was grateful for her support. Knowing there was a team of great people who were there for him and his Project made it all much easier.

  Wyatt found Dr. Yasuo Miyashi in his office, packing his emergency bag. He was obviously preparing for any eventuality. He had his medicine cabinet open, and he was pulling out vials and boxes and stuffing them in his bag.

  He looked up when he saw Wyatt. He flashed him his customary wide smile, which stretched from ear to ear. No matter where Wyatt’s mood was, Yasuo was always looking on the bright side and finding the silver lining. They had been good friends and colleagues for years. They co-authored two academic papers and traveled together to several conferences, including one pretty harrowing one that involved way too much alcohol, which Yasuo loved to recount at parties.

  “Hey! I’ll be right there. Just making sure I’m covered.”

  “Do you need a ride?”

  “No, thanks. My truck is here, and it’s got a full tank.” Yasuo was known to make house calls on his bike on occasion. He said it kept him young.

  “Thanks for this, man. I hope you didn’t have to drop anything important.”

  “Oh, please. Let’s go.”

  Wyatt arrived back home a good 15 minutes before Yasuo. Janie was in the water with Cindy. After a few seconds, she popped her head up. Before she could dive back down, Wyatt called after her.

  “No change,” she said, reading Wyatt’s mind. “I haven’t been able to perk her up again.”

  “okay. Come on out. Don’t exhaust yourself. It’s probably going to be a long day.”

  Wyatt gave Janie a hand up, and she slumped on the deck, obviously worn out.

  “Maybe you should grab a snack, Janie.” He was touched by her devotion, but he was worried that she had done too much. She breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling, pulling on the fabric of her light blue bathing suit. She had started to go pink. Wyatt grabbed a hat and handed it to her. She took it and looked up at him with big, round eyes. “I don’t want you getting sunstroke,” he said in explanation.

  Janie looked up at Wyatt. She wanted to say so much to him, but she didn’t know how. The morning’s events brought her emotions right up to the surface, and she didn’t know if she could hold herself together. Wyatt looked down at her, and she could swear that he was feeling the same things she was: She felt sad about Cindy, and she felt happy to be with him.

  “I’m here. Point me in the right direction.” A man appeared behind Wyatt. He wore a short-sleeved wet suit and a large bag, slung over his shoulder. Janie guessed he was the veterinarian. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Janie and turned to Wyatt as if he was waiting for introductions.

  “Janie, this is Dr. Yasuo Miyashi, one of the foremost veterinarians, specializing in marine mammals. Yasuo, this is Dr. Janie Simmons. She works for the government and is checking up on the Project.”

  Janie thought that Dr. Miyashi fared a lot better in Wyatt’s introductions than she did. She stood up and offered her hand.

  “Please call me Janie.”

  “And please call me Yasuo. Some mainlanders call me Yaz if Yasuo is too difficult. Government oversight, huh? Very interesting. Usually, Wyatt isn’t too friendly with the government folks. There’s some bad blood, you see.”

  Janie raised her eyebrows. “Really? He’s been all sweetness and light to me.”

  Wyatt choked.

  “We’ll have to have a talk some time,” Yasuo continued. “I’m sure you have a good story.”

  Yasuo and Wyatt jumped into the water and did a full physical on Cindy. Janie contented herself to stay on the dock so as to not get in the way. Soon after they were finished, Yasuo’s cell phone rang, and he got the blood test results.

  It was good news. Cindy had a simple bacterial infection, which could be treated easily with antibiotics. “However, she has become dehydrated,” Yasuo explained. “She’s pretty bad, and so we’re going to have to force some hydration on her.”

  Wyatt groaned and ran his hand through his hair.

  Janie didn’t know that dolphins could get dehydrated, and she didn’t know how they could “force hydration” on her. “Is it dangerous?” she asked.

  “Sometimes,” Yasuo replied. “But we have no choice.”

  The day seemed to drag on endlessly. People came and went, and Wyatt shooed them away. At some point, Morgan came and took Sam away to the resort. Miles said something about going to a friend’s house. Word spread pretty quickly, and friends and family knew instinctively that they shouldn’t come around. Those that could help were already there, and anyone else would just simply get in the way.

  After the injection of antibiotics, the three had to drag Cindy to a shallow area of the lagoon where they could immobilize her. That’s when they forced a large tube down her throat and forcibly poured water into her. She struggled, her last bit of strength used for the fight. After a moment, she merely cried and then was silent.

  Wyatt and Janie held her still while Yasuo checked her heart rate. Without him saying anything, Janie knew that it was touch and go, but after the sun was long down past the horizon, Cindy finally perked up.

  Letting her go, she swam tentatively around the lagoon. Soon, Jethro drew near her. A silent communication passed between them, and she was welcomed back to the pod.

  “She should be all right now,” Yasuo said, shaking Wyatt’s hand. “I’ll check back on her tomorrow afternoon. I better get home to Betty and the kids. It’s breakfast-for-dinner night. I’m a sucker for pancakes.”

  Wyatt patted Yasuo’s arm. “Thank you, man. I owe you one.”

  Yasuo smiled, gathering up his belongings. “You owe me more than one. Wait to you get the bill. It’s going to be a big one. I hope it doesn’t get you in trouble with the oversight lady!”

  Janie laughed at the teasing. “I think I can convince the government to pay your bill.”

  “Great. I’ll add some zeroes. My son needs braces.”

  Wyatt and Janie dragged their feet back to the house. In the kitchen on the table, a large pizza box had mysteriously materialized. Wyatt touched it. “It’s still relatively warm,” he said.

  “Hallelujah,” Janie exclaimed. She realized that she had not eaten a single bite all day, and she was sure that Wyatt hadn’t either. They ate voraciously without saying a word to each other. The food did a lot to renew Janie’s strength, but her exhaustion was still overwhelming.

  The pizza box now empty, Wyatt turned off the kitchen light and they walked to the stairs to go to bed.

  “Thank you for today,” Wyatt said softly, walking behind Janie.

  “I’m so glad it worked out,” said Janie, and then the day’s emotions caught up with her. She tried to hold back the tears, but there was no stopping them. Janie found herself shaking with the effort of her sobbing.

  Wyatt pulled her to him and let her cry on his chest. He caressed her head, smoothing out her hair. It felt wonderful to be held by him and to be allowed to let out what had been pushed down inside her all day.

  Her sobs calmed after a few minutes, and she grew aware of Wyatt’s strong arms and rock-hard chest. She r
ealized that she had been longing to be in his arms. Janie pulled away from him, not wanting to take advantage of the moment, but Wyatt pulled her back, quickly.

  “Janie,” Wyatt breathed. “You must know. You must.” He held her tight, caressing her back and arms. “I can’t stop wanting you. I can’t stop caring about you. You are in my thoughts all the time. Janie, it’s only you.”

  Wyatt lifted her chin towards him. She searched out his eyes in the dim light. His focus was entirely on her, and he waited for her, waited for her to direct him.

  “Wyatt,” she whispered, her heart in her voice, betraying everything she felt for him.

  Wyatt bent his head towards her and gently grazed his lips against hers, caressing her tenderly. The touch of his lips on her was soft and gentle, and sent waves of shivers up and down her body. Her lips parted, and her tongue searched for his mouth. Wyatt pulled back, and Janie moaned in frustration. But Wyatt seemed determined to take it slow.

  After a second, his lips found hers again, and brushed them with a feather light touch. Again, her tongue searched his, and this time, he grabbed onto it with his mouth and sucked eagerly. Their kiss grew deep, and Wyatt pulled her even closer to him, pressing her breasts firmly against his hard chest, her belly against his groin. Janie moaned, and Wyatt deepened the kiss even further.

  She combed her fingers up through his hair. “I’m on fire,” she murmured, spurring Wyatt to groan, loudly. He broke off the kiss, and in a swift movement, gathered her up in his arms and walked her upstairs. Janie hugged his body hard, and let him take her where he wanted.

  In his room, Wyatt lay her gently on his bed. “I don’t think you understand what you do to me,” he said, staring at her hungrily.

  “I think I understand,” she said, moving her hand over the evidence of his erection through his bathing suit.

  Wyatt lowered himself onto her. She reveled in the feeling of his hard body on hers. Her hands roamed his body, stopping to enjoy the ripples of muscle on his abdomen, and the bulging muscles on his arms and shoulders. Wyatt watched her progress, seeming to enjoy her appreciation of him. As she reached her hands lower, he kissed the pulse at her neck. She felt herself grow warmer, her breath come faster.