by Orwig, Sara
Gone just as surely was her interest in the cruise. She wanted to cancel, but it would place a financial hardship on Gina and Karen since she’d shared expenses with them. Besides, while nothing could alleviate her suffering, she might as well sit on a beautiful tropical beach as stay in blistering, dry Kansas.
She had continued tutoring Henry, who showed the marked improvement she had predicted to Cole, for as soon as Cole left town she discovered that Henry and Sandy lived in Wichita. They changed their schedule and she tutored Henry in her own home up until three days before the cruise. From Henry she learned that Sandy had an engagement ring and planned to get married the first week in September, and that one of Cole’s men had taken Bonny Charles to Kansas City to the livestock show where he’d won first place.
A few days before she was due to fly to Miami she received an envelope postmarked Tulsa, Oklahoma. She studied the scrawled handwriting for several minutes before opening the envelope. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and two checks fluttered to the floor.
Cole’s message was brief. “Hi, hon. Miss you. Love, Cole.”
Torn with agony, with longing for him, she gazed at the note for a long time. Finally she picked up the two sizable checks, one to be split among herself, Grant, and Ted, and the other for her tutoring. The latter was more than they had agreed upon.
She hugged his note to her heart, wanting any part of him. Then she carefully set it where she could glance at it while she packed for the cruise.
The time to leave finally arrived. Dressed in beige slacks and a matching blouse, Marilee settled in to her window seat beside her two friends, Karen and Gina. As they took off and the plane rose above Wichita, heading east, she glanced down.
Harvested fields of yellow stubble spread below. They flew over a sprawling house with a bright blue swimming pool and she was enveloped in agony, remembering Cole’s deep blue eyes, his hard, tanned body, his teasing companionship.
For the thousandth time she reminded herself that she had known from the start that it wouldn’t last. She felt a jab in her side and turned to face her blond companion.
Karen Franklin stared intently at her. “Marilee, what’s the matter with you? You only hear half our conversations.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You act like you haven’t climbed out of bed. Do you have your itinerary? Mine’s in my suitcase.”
“It’s right here.” She rummaged through her purse and handed the itinerary to Karen.
Gina leaned closer to Karen to read with her.
“Imagine being in Miami in such a short time,” Gina said. “I hope I get such a tan that it won’t fade until next April!”
Marilee smiled at the dark-haired woman. Gina was as dark as Karen was blond.
“I can’t wait to meet some gorgeous hunk on shipboard,” Gina continued. “I hope he’s six feet four, has golden hair, and blue eyes.”
“Good!” Karen said. “That leaves the tall, dark, silent type for me.” She glanced at Marilee. “What’s your type, Marilee?”
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Where are you? What type of man appeals to you? We better know before we get on that cruise ship. Well know what or who to look for.”
“I’ll leave all the men on shipboard to the two of you.”
“Then why’re you going on a cruise?” Gina asked. “I’m looking for the future Mr. Whatever-His-Name-Is.”
Smoothing a wayward tendril back into the bun on top of her head, Marilee smiled. “I’m going to rest, swim, look at green trees and green grass and blue water. Anything besides wheat and dry ground.”
“I find that a little hard to believe,” Gina said, eyeing Marilee curiously.
“You know Marilee means what she says.”
“No woman in her right mind means that! You’ll change when we get on board.”
They landed in Miami and checked into their hotel. Marilee declined an evening of sightseeing, telling her friends truthfully that she had a headache. The next day they left for their ship.
Dressed in a green and white striped cotton dress with a thin green belt and white pumps, Marilee rode quietly in their taxi to the dock. At the sight of the Aphrodite Oceanis, the beautiful white ocean liner riding at anchor, her spirits remained at a low ebb. She climbed the gangplank, listening to her friends’ conversation, while part of her remained lost in memories of various moments spent with Cole, of his deep-throated laugh, his passionate lovemaking. She had been hurting so steadily and relentlessly, she wondered if she would ever get over the wound. As she trailed quietly behind Gina and Karen, she compared herself to her two companions.
Both of them were younger. Gina had just finished her second year as a Latin teacher and Karen had finished her fourth year as a home economics teacher.
While they were all good friends at school, Marilee found it impossible to share in Karen and Gina’s enthusiasm now. The prospect of meeting entertaining men on the cruise was obviously uppermost in their minds. And she knew they didn’t believe her when she said she wasn’t interested.
As they boarded the ship, Karen grabbed Marilee’s arm. “There! look, the perfect man! Let’s all say a short prayer he’s single.”
Marilee smiled, feeling ancient. “You two are hopeless! You can stand here and drool over every handsome male all you want, but I’m going to look at the stateroom.”
She located their cabin and started to unpack, but instead sat down on the bunk and stared into space, her mind far away. What was Cole doing? Was there another woman in his life now?
That hurt too badly to contemplate. She lost track of time until a knock stirred her. Karen and Gina burst in, each taking one of her arms.
“We’re going to sail,” Gina said. “You have to come watch.”
“And guess what?” Karen asked brightly. “Without waiting for Marilee to guess, answered her own question. “The entire Fort Lauderdale water polo team is on board. Isn’t that marvelous?”
“I’m so glad, Karen,” Marilee said absently. She wondered if Cole was still in Oklahoma. Her thoughts drifted from the conversation around her.
“Wait ‘til you see a blond giant named Willie.”
“I’d rather stay here.” She tried to pay attention to Gina.
“You’ve been teaching too long. It did something to your brain this winter.”
“Are you well, Marilee?”
“I’m fine. I’m just not interested in man-hunting, ladies.”
“You’re not interested in anything!” Karen exclaimed. “What’s happened to you? You don’t eat, you don’t sleep, you can’t keep your mind on anything!”
Marilee shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t want to put a damper on your fun.”
“You won’t,” Gina said. “But you have to watch us sail. Come on.”
Reluctantly, she went with them. Standing at the rail on deck, she gazed at Miami, then up at a blue, blue sky. But it only reminded her of Cole’s blue eyes. “Marilee, here they come!” Gina hissed, then said, “Hi. Here’s our friend.”
Gina introduced Marilee to one tanned, fit handsome member of the water polo team after another, yet they might as well have been posts for all the interest they stirred in Marilee. The men crowded to the rail around the three women and talked to Gina and Karen. Marilee only noticed the vibrations that the ship’s engines sent through the deck as they sailed slowly away from the dock. The wind caught wispy tendrils of her hair, blowing them against her cheeks. Ignoring the farewell shouts, the conversations swirling around her, the sunshine beating down, Marilee clung to the rail and stared into the murky water below.
Cole. Could she ever forget him?
Nothing held importance any longer. Not one single thing.
Miami dwindled to almost nothing as the gap of water widened. A large ship passed them, heading into the dock, its whistle drowning out all conversation momentarily.
Suddenly Gina pointed toward the shor
e and said, “Hey, look! They’re headed for our ship.”
Marilee turned to see a small launch approaching, cutting through the blue water and sending a spray of white behind it as it sped toward them.
“Someone who missed the boat,” one of the polo team said and everyone laughed.
The launch raced toward them, its bright flags fluttering. Two men stood in the bow and another sat at the stern. High above its brown deck a gull circled, spreading its wings and rising on air currents.
In a few seconds the launch cut its motor and slowed its approach, swinging in a wide circle to come alongside the ocean liner. Marilee glanced idly beyond them to the faintly visible Miami skyline.
Over a megaphone came a loud, clear call. It rang across the narrow expanse of water between the launch and the ship, carrying clearly over the babble of conversation at the rails.
“Marilee O’Neil! Marilee O’Neil!”
Eleven
Shock. Shock froze her, numbed her. She stiffened, her gaze moving to the launch, to the two men standing in the bow.
And then the sun came up in her world. She wanted to shout, to jump up and down, to climb over the rail and fling herself into the ocean in front of the small craft. Cole. His dark hair was blowing in the wind. He was half-turned from her, standing with that familiar, unforgettable air of authority with one hand on his hip. Dark glasses hid his eyes. His white shirt sleeves whipped against his long arms and the ends of a navy tie fluttered slightly. Cole. Everything inside her came to life.
“Marilee, that’s you they’re calling!” Gina said.
“Cole!” Marilee yelled. Everyone around her turned to stare as she waved frantically, but her cry and gesture were lost in the mass of people.
The man with a megaphone standing beside Cole, called her name again.
“What’ve you done, Marilee?” Karen asked. “Who is that?”
Marilee wanted to sing, to laugh with glee. “Cole!”
She turned and grabbed the arm of the man beside her. “You guys, will you please call to him. His name is Cole Chandler.”
The tall blond next to her grinned. “Sure thing.”
In unison, the entire Fort Lauderdale water polo team shouted, “Cole Chandler!”
His dark head turned and Marilee waved wildly. Her heart thudded against her ribs as his hand raised and he waved in return.
“Marilee! Who is that?”
“I’ll tell you later.” She watched as the launch came alongside and Cole started up the rope ladder.
They met amidship in a throng of people, but no one else existed for Marilee. One look at Cole’s irresistible smile, his long, hard body, and she forgot the world. Cole reached for her and she went into his arms, into his heart forever.
Holding her tightly, he tilted her chin up and kissed her. When he released her, she reached up to remove his sunglasses, then stared into his marvelous blue eyes in stunned silence.
“Come on,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’ve only a few minutes to get you off this ship. Get your things while I find the captain.”
She didn’t question him or hesitate. Nothing mattered except Cole. She didn’t care if he wanted to see her for just a few days. She had to go with him.
She rushed to the cabin with Gina and Karen trailing behind. “Marilee, what are you doing?” Karen asked.
“Aren’t you going on the cruise?” Gina said.
“Who’s Cole Chandler?”
“He’s gorgeous! Marilee, I think you’ve held out on us.”
“I’m sorry,” Marilee said hurriedly over her shoulder. “I’ll write and explain. I can’t now. Cole said to meet him.” She snatched up her purse and bag and rushed back to find him waiting with the captain.
Marilee said good-bye to Karen and Gina, listened to Cole talk to the captain, and climbed into the launch without a glimmer of what she was doing.
As they stepped down into the rocking launch, the crowd on deck shouted, “Good-bye, Marilee! Good-bye, Cole!”
Cole grinned and waved with her while the launch started and turned to speed back to Miami. They couldn’t talk above the roar of the launch’s motor, but Cole held her close until they reached the dock.
Within minutes they stepped ashore on the dock at Miami. Cole tipped the men who had brought them ashore, shook hands, and thanked them. The sun was bright and warm. People were milling about them and somewhere nearby a ship’s whistle blew.
As the two men left them, Cole set her suitcase down on the dock and turned to her.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Marilee saw a few heads turn their way. She didn’t care.
“What happened to your damned self-sufficiency?” she said. More heads turned and Cole’s white teeth flashed.
“It left with a gorgeous redhead.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “And that song and dance you gave Sandy about marriage being ‘trouble and misery’?”
Cole’s expression grew somber. “Please understand, Marilee. My parents’ marriage was awful and I’ve seen Sandy go through two heart wrenching divorces. Is it any wonder I was a little skeptical about marriage?”
“And now?”
He took a deep breath. “And now I’ve found a woman I can’t live without, a woman I want beside me all the time, a woman I need, I—”
“Oh, Cole!” She had waited as long as possible. As she rushed into his arms, she cried, “Yes! Oh, yes, I’ll marry you.”
He leaned down to kiss her and she knew she could never get enough of him, not even in a lifetime. When he finally released her, he glanced around. “Let’s get out of here. We can talk where it’s private.”
He hailed a taxi and as they sped toward the airport, he pulled her to him.
“Will you tell me what we’re doing?” she asked as she nestled against him.
“He grinned, making her heart pound faster and her whole body long to be wrapped around him.
“Honey, when I blew a fifty thousand dollar deal because I couldn’t keep my mind on simple little details, I knew I needed you desperately.”
She met his blue eyes, then glanced at the cab driver. “Cole, I wish you wouldn’t say things like that to me in public.”
He pulled her closer. “Who cares? I love you. I need you. Marilee, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t eat. …”
Every sentence filled her with joy. She ran her finger down his cheek, noticing for the first time that he did look thinner. “I know,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you just call and ask me to skip the cruise?”
“I told you, I’m old enough to be set in my ways.
It didn’t get through my thick skull what I was suffering from until after you’d gone. I’ve been to Kansas. I’ve chased all over the country for you.”
His blue eyes enveloped her in their depths. She forced her attention back to the matter at hand. “Would you mind telling me our schedule? My family might like to know.”
“Oh, here.” He started to reach into his pocket, then stopped. “Never mind. We’ll be catching a plane for Kansas so you can see your family, get your things, and get married. I have to be in Alaska a week from today. Think you’ll like Alaska for a few weeks?”
“I think I will. Cole, what’s in your pocket?”
He grinned. “We’ll wait for a romantic setting.”
“I don’t think I want to wait. You’re here, that’s enough.”
His blue eyes darkened and he reached into his pocket. “This isn’t what I planned”—his blue eyes twinkled—”but then with you, nothing ever is!”
“Oh, really?” She watched as he withdrew a small box and placed it in her hand.
“I love you, Marilee.”
He was solemn, his eyes filled with an unmistakable need. His voice deepened with a vulnerable note she hadn’t heard before. “I need you, desperately. You gave me something, Marilee, that I have
n’t found before. I can let down completely with you, trust you with everything. I’ve missed you, your laughter, your kisses. …What we found was so special. I only feel that way with you.”
She felt as if she would burst with joy. Never had she dreamed Cole would return her own feelings so strongly.
He caressed her cheek with his warm hand. “That day you crashed into my pool, you came down past all the barriers. The ones on my farm and the ones in my heart. I’ve had to be independent for so long, Marilee, so damned long. When you left, I finally realized that I needed you, your laughter, your love—”
“Oh, Cole! You’re not the only one. I haven’t been the same either.” He crushed her to him for another hungry kiss until she shifted to ask, “You’ll never know what a shock it was to hear my name called like that!”
He chuckled. “I couldn’t just saunter up and tap you on the shoulder. I wanted your full attention.”
“You have it, now and always.”
“Sure enough, luv.” He grinned at her and Marilee grinned back. She felt like laughing deliriously, like crying for joy. She trailed her fingers down his throat.
“We won’t be alone until when?”
“Too damn long. Hours from now. We’ll just have to make the best of a hardship.” He pulled her to him and kissed her fiercely. When he released her she opened the box and gazed tearfully at the glittering diamond inside.
Twelve
“Cole, look!” Marilee stepped out of the truck and flung herself into a snowbank, relishing the cold. She stood and shook the snow off her skirt, feeling it fall over her stockinged legs and pumps.
Cole climbed down from the truck, the wind whipping the fur parka around his face while he carried their suitcases to the door of the small cottage.
“They promised to have this ready for us,” he said. “They better have kept their word or heads’ll roll.” He disappeared inside.