Dune Drive

by Mariah Stewart

  “No.”

  “He was the majority leader of the US House of Representatives. In 1972, the plane he was on disappeared between Anchorage and Juneau. There was a massive search, as you’d expect for one of our highest-elected officials. Civilian planes as well as military—close to one hundred planes—and an untold number of people searched on land over an area that covered thirty-two thousand miles.”

  “And . . . ?” She gestured for him to continue.

  “And nothing. They never found the plane nor any trace of it.”

  “I thought we were talking about things you’d seen that you couldn’t explain.”

  He nodded.

  “A couple of years ago, the brother of one of my regular crew flew his plane up there, just wanted to look around, see what the wilderness was all about. Long story short, the plane took off one morning from Juneau and disappeared. Our entire crew went up to join the search team but nothing was ever found. No plane, no distress signal, no trace.”

  “I thought all planes had black boxes.”

  “It was an old private plane, but it should have had a locator transmitter on board, yes. There’s no explanation as to why there was no signal. We searched for ten days, and I can tell you those were the roughest ten days of my life. I’d never want to do that again.”

  “None of the other planes were ever recovered, either?”

  “Not that I ever heard about.”

  “Huh.” She thought it over. “What do you think happened?”

  Jared shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Some have suggested some type of magnetic field, others have said there are holes in the glaciers that can swallow up a plane and disappear after an avalanche. I have no theory. Like I said before, there are many things we can’t explain. Even some things we’ve observed ourselves.”

  “There has to be a logical explanation.”

  “When you figure it out, make sure to tell me, okay? I’ll pass on the information to my crewman. Maybe you can help him find his brother.”

  “I used to have Alaska on my bucket list of places to visit. I think I’ll take that one off.”

  “Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. It’s beautiful, wild, and in the warm season—which maybe is July—it’s worth exploring. But it can be a dangerous place, no question about it.”

  “Like I said. Off the bucket list.”

  “So anything else you want to see while we’re out here?” he asked.

  “I’d say your tour was pretty comprehensive. The wreck in the river? Check. Cannonball Island? The inn? Charming historic bayside town? Check, check, and check.” She finished the last bit of water in the bottle. “Oh, and all the fancy houses on River Road. Check those, too.”

  “Then I guess we can give Owen’s boat back.” Jared stepped under the canopy and started the engine. Within minutes they were skimming the coast of the island, then St. Dennis, until they reached the small dock where Alec kept boats he was working on. Jared lifted the cooler and set it on the dock, then showed Chrissie how to tie the boat securely and helped her from the boat onto the dock.

  She was prepared to walk back to the inn, so she was surprised when Jared took his car keys from his pocket.

  “I drove down here to get the boat this morning,” he explained as he grabbed the cooler. “I’ll drive you back to the island.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Positive.”

  He’d left his rented sedan under a tree, where the shade had kept the leather seats from frying in the full sun. He unlocked the car and Chrissie got into the passenger seat while Jared placed the cooler in the trunk and got into the driver’s seat.

  “So what do you have planned this week?” he asked as he started the car and pulled out of the parking place.

  “Work, mostly.” She thought about it for a moment. “Actually, that’s pretty much it. How ’bout you?”

  “I think I’ll drive over to Annapolis, spend a few days with an old friend while I have the time, and hope we get the all clear soon so we can go back to work. At least Owen has his house to work on.”

  “Well, if you get bored, I’m sure Cass would be happy to give you a tour of her houses. It’s a development, sort of, just not all the houses together on the same street or in the same area. There are a few on Dune Drive, but they’re scattered here and there among the dunes.”

  Jared was already driving over the bridge onto the island. He pulled into the store’s lot and put the car into park but didn’t turn off the engine.

  “Chrissie, I want to ask you something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I told you my dad’s getting married in two weeks. The Saturday after next.”

  “To Delia Enright, yes, you did. It’s exciting.”

  “Well, for them it is. Not to say I’m not excited and happy for my dad and for Delia, but . . .” Jared paused. “So here’s the thing. Delia told me I have to bring a date for the weekend. The entire weekend, which begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday night, so we might as well say Monday. She said something about wanting an even number at the table. The problem is I’m not dating anyone, and there’s no one I could stand to be around for four days straight. Except you. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t act like most women.” He paused again. “That was a compliment, by the way, in case you’re wondering.”

  “Okay.” Her brain was beginning to fog up. Was he asking her to be his date for his father’s wedding?

  “Would you go with me, Chris? Would you be my date for the weekend? No pressure on you to . . . well, you know, we’ll be together a lot that weekend, but I don’t want you to think I’m going to take advantage of the situation, if you know what I mean. You’re the only woman I know whose company I enjoy enough to even think I could spend that much time with and not wish I hadn’t.”

  He was. He did.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re asking me to be your date for your father’s wedding, no strings, just to have as the obligatory companion for the weekend.”

  “That’s pretty much it, yeah.”

  She needed to think about this. Four days away with Jared as his friend-slash-date?

  “I need to think about it.”

  “What’s to think about? We’re friends, right? I just want a friend for those four days. Someone I feel comfortable with. That I don’t have to feel like I’m on all the time, or that I have to try to impress her. I never feel like I need to be someone else when I’m with you.”

  “Who do you feel like?”

  “I feel like myself. And I always feel like that’s enough for you.”

  “Well, thank you.” Chrissie paused. “But I still have to think about it.” When he looked like he was about to protest again, she said, “For one thing, I have to make sure Sophie is okay with me taking off what for her is half her week. And she’s getting more pregnant all the time. Which means she’s more tired—” Chrissie stopped. “Wait. Your dad’s marrying Delia Enright. Sophie’s probably invited to the wedding. I couldn’t ask for the same time off. If she’s not going to be there, she’s going to depend on me to—”

  Jared held up a hand as if to stop the flow of words.

  “Sophie isn’t related to Delia. Delia was Craig Enright’s first wife, remember? Sophie’s mom was the second or third wife. While they’re a pretty friendly bunch, I’d be real surprised if Sophie and her brother were invited to Delia’s wedding. I think it’s just going to be family and maybe a few very close friends.”

  Still . . . four days with Jared . . .

  “So okay, take a few days to think about it.” He opened the driver’s-side door and got out, then walked around the car to open her door. “You can let me know this week. How’s Wednesday sound?”

  Chapter Eight

  Chrissie arrived at Blossoms early on Tuesday morning hoping to have a few minutes to talk to Sophie before Dana got there.

  She’d been awake the previous two nights, thinking about Jared’s invit
ation and vacillating between accepting and making an excuse as to why she couldn’t go to his father’s wedding. She really wanted to go, even though at first she’d had a hard time admitting why, but in the end it seemed flat-out stupid to lie to herself. She liked him. A lot. And she was attracted to him—who wouldn’t be? She hadn’t wanted to, hadn’t wanted to like or be attracted to anyone—but there it was. He was everything she needed to stay away from, and yet she felt like she was under some kind of a spell.

  If he’d been trying hard to make her like him, if he’d come on really strong, or if he’d tried to seduce her, she’d have felt entirely different. But he’d done none of those things. He’d simply been a nice, friendly guy who said he enjoyed her company. Chrissie couldn’t deny that she liked his. The fact that he was movie-star handsome and had a great sense of humor and a phenomenal build should have been in his favor. But she’d thought the same about Doug when they first met, and those things that had caught her eye in the beginning hadn’t served her well after a while. With Doug, it had all been only skin deep.

  Jared isn’t Doug.

  She’d spent the past two nights telling herself that fact. So while she reminded herself of the similarities, she also reminded herself of their differences. Doug had been a flatterer, a man who always told you what he thought you wanted to hear. At least, in the beginning he had. After a while, he no longer bothered to tell her she looked pretty, maybe because she’d stopped caring how she looked.

  Things had become so strained that shortly before she left, she’d asked him why he stayed with her if he was as bored by her as he’d professed to be.

  He’d grabbed her ponytail and pulled her head back as far as it would go, exposing her neck. For one terrifying second, she’d envisioned a knife in his hand, saw her own blood spatter across the room.

  “Because you belong to me,” he’d told her. Long moments passed before he’d set her free.

  That was when she knew the time for her to leave was closer than it had ever been. The day she’d planned for would come sooner rather than later. Within a week, she was gone, but the memory of that mind-numbing fear had never gone away.

  But Jared was nothing like Doug. And the chance to attend such a fun, happy event with Jared, even as a friend, was almost too tempting to pass up.

  She decided she’d leave it up to the fates. If she asked for that weekend off and Sophie said no, then that would be her answer to Jared as well.

  “He invited you to his father’s wedding to Delia?” Sophie had looked more than a little surprised, though she did try to cover it. “That’s fabulous! You’re going to have such a good time. Those Enrights know how to party, believe me. Have you met Delia before?”

  Chrissie shook her head, surprised by Sophie’s easy acquiescence. On the one hand, she was relieved of making a decision. On the other, now she had to go.

  “. . . and he’s just darling,” Sophie was saying.

  “Wait . . . who?”

  “Nick Enright. Delia’s son. He’s a marine biologist, works along the Delaware Bay. His wife, India, is an attorney; she’s from Devlin’s Light. They have a son who must be twelve or so, a daughter who’s maybe eight, and they adopted a young girl named Corri, who’s in her teens.” Sophie went into an explanation about Corri’s roots—she was the adopted daughter of India’s deceased brother—even as the thought swirled around in Chrissie’s head that she was actually going to do this.

  “Chrissie, you look shocked. You didn’t really think I’d say no, did you?”

  “I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe since I’ve only been working here a few weeks, you’re not obligated to give me time off.”

  “I’d never want to be responsible for anyone missing out on a weekend like that,” Sophie assured her.

  “A weekend like what?” Dana came into the kitchen.

  Before Chrissie could respond, Sophie said, “Jared Chandler asked Chrissie to be his date for his father’s wedding to Delia Enright.”

  Dana frowned. “I thought you said you were just friends.”

  “We are just friends. He didn’t want to take a date date, but he had to bring someone to keep the tables balanced or something.” Chrissie felt compelled to repeat, “We really are just friends. He’s in a pinch and asked me to bail him out. That’s all.”

  “I’m his friend and he didn’t ask me,” Dana pouted.

  “Take it up with him, because honestly, I don’t know why he asked me except—” Chrissie began, then stopped. Dana had a point. He could have asked her or anyone else, but he’d chosen Chrissie. “Except that we really are good friends. I think he didn’t want pressure from anyone who’d expect anything of him. End of story.”

  “End my butt. It won’t be the end until after the wedding and we hear all about who wore what. That’s a pretty fancy crew, you know.” Sophie slipped her apron over her head and studied the blackboard where the night before she’d posted today’s specials. “Delia’s daughter Zoey is a host on one of the shopping channels and she’s married to a guy who used to race Formula One. Her other daughter was a professional ballerina and she’s married to a vet. These people dress up. I mean designer duds.”

  “Then I probably should tell Jared no. I have absolutely nothing to wear to something like that.” Chrissie’s heart sank. She’d just accepted the fact that she was going, gave herself permission to get excited at the prospect, and then, bam. Back to earth.

  “Go see our friend Vanessa at Bling. Tell her what you’re going to be doing, and I promise she will fix you up. Maybe not with Versace and Dior, but she sources things for her shop from little-known designers who’ve yet to make their name.”

  “I don’t know . . .” Chrissie had no idea what such a venture would cost.

  “Go talk to Ness. Trust me. She’ll move heaven and earth to help you. She has the biggest heart in the world and she’s sharp as a tack. She’ll know what to do.”

  • • •

  VANESSA HAD KNOWN exactly what to do.

  “Find out what you’re going to be doing every day,” Vanessa had told Chrissie after she’d explained her situation. “Then you bring that list back in here and we’ll find you just what you need. You tell Jared you want to know what, where, and what time of day.”

  “I don’t know if he even knows.”

  “Then tell him to find out.”

  Chrissie must have been staring at her blankly because Vanessa explained, “There’s bound to be a rehearsal dinner and it’ll probably be the night before the wedding, right? Ask where it’s going to be and how dressy. If it’s going to be a barbecue in the backyard, you wouldn’t pack a cocktail dress. But if it’s a fancy restaurant . . .”

  “I got it.” The fog that had been in Chrissie’s head began to clear. It was simply a matter of logic. Jared would give her the info, she’d pass it on to Vanessa, and then she’d shop.

  She was actually looking forward to it. She’d looked around Vanessa’s store and been dazzled by the beautiful clothes and accessories, the shoes and the jewelry. The thought of buying some of those beautiful things, of wearing them while she was with Jared and his family, was at once intimidating and exhilarating. New Chrissie could hardly wait to shop.

  When she met up with Jared on Wednesday outside Scoop, before he could even ask her what she’d decided, she suggested they go inside, order, then sit at one of the tables instead of walking or opting for a bench outside.

  “I need to go over a few things with you,” she told him.

  “Okay.” He looked puzzled but agreed.

  There was a line when they got inside, which gave them plenty of time to read the specials for the day, and for Chrissie to run through exactly what she was going to say. She didn’t want him to think she was as excited as she was—so not cool, she’d decided. But on the other hand, she didn’t want to come off as if she thought she was doing him a favor by going, even if she was.

  “If it’s Chrissie, it must be Wednesday.” Steffie stood behin
d the counter with an ice cream scoop in her raised hand.

  “It is on both counts. One scoop of strawberry rhubarb cheesecake in a dish, please.” Chrissie stepped aside so Jared could place his order.

  “Mexican hot chocolate for me.”

  “The usual three in a dish?” Steffie asked.

  Jared nodded. “Perfect.”

  “So I hear congratulations are in order, Jared.” Steffie handed Chrissie’s order over the top of the counter. “Your dad is marrying a famous lady.” She piled his ice cream into a dish. “We love Delia here. She brought in a couple of her grandkids last time she was in St. Dennis. Cute kids.” She passed Jared his order, then took a few steps toward the cash register.

  “Yup. Another week and a half and I’ll have a stepmother,” he said. “Wait, scratch that. I’m not allowed to use that word. Delia’s made it clear there will be no ‘steps’ in the family.”

  “Aw, that’s nice.” Steffie glanced at the door as the bell rang for the fourth time in as many minutes. “Must be getting warmer outside. The place is filling up. I’d love to hear about the wedding, but I’m afraid the crowd would get rowdy.”

  Jared paid for the ice cream, and when Chrissie protested, he told her she could buy next time. Since it appeared there most likely would be a next time, she nodded and staked a claim to a table.

  “So.” Jared sat with his back to the wall and an uncertain expression on his face. “You’re either going to break my heart or make my day. What’s it going to be?”

  “I asked Sophie if I could have the time off and she agreed. So yes, I’ll go to your dad’s wedding with you.”

  “Yes!” His smile went all the way to his eyes. “Thank you. You’re going to make a lot of people very happy, not the least of whom would be me and my dad and my step—ah, Delia.”

  Chrissie was surprised by how happy he looked. Genuinely happy that she was going with him. If she said it wasn’t an ego boost, she’d be lying.

  “Thanks, Chris. I really appreciate you doing this. If you ever need a favor . . .”