Dune Drive

by Mariah Stewart

  The strings began to play “At Last,” and Delia made her entrance on the arm of her son. She was dazzling in a long dress of blush-colored silk with elbow-length sleeves and a low back. Everyone in the room smiled as she passed by, but her eyes were on her groom.

  Had there been a dry eye in the house when they repeated their vows? Jared was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one to blink back a tear or two when his father said, “I promise to swim with you every morning, and rest with you every night.” His previous misgivings aside, Jared was happy that his father had found someone he clearly loved so deeply to spend the rest of his days with. Considering both the bride and the groom were in their midseventies, there was no way of predicting how many days there would be, but they’d face them together and with love, of that Jared was positive. As soon as Sharon pronounced them husband and wife, they embraced and kissed so long that Zoey finally called out, “Stop! Enough! There are young children here!” and everyone laughed and grabbed another glass of champagne, and the toasts began.

  “That was the most beautiful ceremony.” Chrissie sighed. “Imagine finding that kind of love later in life. Not that they’re ancient, but they’re not exactly young folk, either.”

  “Imagine finding that kind of love at any age.” Jared watched his father and Delia, who were both positively beaming. “I’m happy for him. I know he never had that with my mother. I know she didn’t love him the way Delia does.”

  “I wonder if they ever wished they’d found each other first,” Chrissie said. “Before . . . well, before whoever came first that didn’t work out.”

  “Dad would probably say he wouldn’t change things because that would mean he wouldn’t have had Rachel and me. He’s always made it clear that no matter what, he’d always choose us. Delia, I don’t know her well enough to know if she feels enough resentment toward her first husband to wish she hadn’t married him. She did have three children with him. But then again, he left them all and just walked out of their lives.”

  “Oh my God. I had no idea.”

  “Yeah. He found out about something Delia hadn’t told him . . . well, everyone in the family knows, so it’s no secret. Delia had a child when she was just out of high school. Her boyfriend was killed in Vietnam, and he never even knew about the baby. Her parents were apparently the holier-than-thou type—her dad was a minister—and they couldn’t face the shame of their unwed daughter having a child, so they made her give the baby away. Delia had neglected to tell her husband about that until after Georgia was born—she’s the youngest—and he just up and left. That’s the short version.”

  “Oh.” Chrissie looked stunned. “What an awful man. What happened to the baby she gave away? Did she ever find her?”

  Jared tilted his glass in the direction of the tall, dark-haired pretty woman standing between India and Georgia. “Laura,” he said. “Sometime you can ask her how they found each other.”

  “I can so relate, having had my dad leave my mom and me and just disappear like that.” Chrissie stared at her glass. “I can totally relate.”

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have . . .”

  Chrissie shook her head. “It’s not your fault and you shouldn’t need to feel you have to sanitize things for me. It happens. Obviously it’s happened to others. I’m not the only one, and my mother’s not the only woman who got dumped by her husband. At least Delia’s kids know why he left. Not that that’s much consolation.”

  “I don’t know that they feel better knowing what a selfish ass their father is.”

  “I think that’s still better than not knowing at all,” Chrissie whispered. “ ’Cause you always think somehow it was your fault that he left and doesn’t want to come back. It makes you wonder what’s wrong with you . . .”

  Jared put an arm around her and drew her close. “If I had a daughter who grew up to be the woman you are, I’d be so proud. I hope someday I do.”

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She looked as if she was about to cry, so he tried to lighten her mood.

  “Hey, you cook, you sing, you even dance. What’s not to be proud of?”

  “Thanks.”

  She smiled the sweetest smile he’d ever seen, and he wanted to kiss her, right there in front of his entire family, old and new. But he was afraid she’d be embarrassed, so instead he promised himself that before the night was over, he’d taste that smile, and see where that would lead.

  • • •

  CHRISSIE HAD FELT the energy changing over the past few days, but she was pretty sure she knew when both she and Jared felt the pretext of just being friends slip away. It had been subtle, and while not totally unexpected, she just hadn’t thought it would come when it did. In that moment when she’d met his gaze across the room at the rehearsal, the air had all but crackled around her, and it had frightened her. Not that she was afraid of Jared in the way she’d come to fear Doug. She’d bet her life Jared would never, ever raise a hand to a woman. Of course, she hadn’t expected Doug to, either, but then, she hadn’t gotten to know him in the way she’d come to know Jared. They hadn’t set out to impress each other, hadn’t meant for anything to happen between them except for a few walks and a few meet-ups for ice cream. What could have been more casual than that? She couldn’t put a finger on exactly when she’d known that things would change; she just knew they would, though she couldn’t say how she knew.

  Is this how Gigi knew things? she wondered. Had Gigi’s magic rubbed off on her while they lived together? Was it contagious somehow? Because she obviously didn’t know things before she moved to the island. Otherwise, would she have hooked up with Doug as quickly as she had? Wouldn’t she have seen what he was?

  Or had she seen something in him that she’d chosen to ignore?

  She stood in front of the mirror in the guest bathroom, where she’d gone to freshen her makeup and take a breath from the party that was going on outside. Sophie had been right: the Enrights knew how to party. The band had played everything from the classics to hip-hop, with everyone requesting their own personal favorites. India—Jersey girl through and through—had requested both Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Ben had wanted U2 and Zoey preferred Lady Gaga. Georgia liked romantic ballads and her husband, Matt, preferred the Stones. Jared had requested a few of his favorite country tunes, and Rachel liked Ed Sheeran. That one band had been able to make everyone happy was a miracle.

  Chrissie dropped her lipstick back into the small clutch she carried and opened the door. Apparently it had been India’s turn to request: the house reverberated with “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

  “What a party,” Rachel said when Chrissie went back onto the patio.

  “Best party ever.” Chrissie nodded. “Everything is amazing. The flowers are gorgeous, the music is fabulous, the food was incredible . . .”

  “Were you taking notes?” Jared asked. “Trying to figure out what was in the soup? How was the lobster prepared? What was that herb in the sauce for the filet? Was that a raspberry cream in between the cake layers, or as some suggested, was it flavored with pomegranate?”

  Chrissie laughed as he mimicked her. “I know what was in the soup, the lobster was slow roasted, there was tarragon in the sauce the filet was served with, and it was neither raspberry nor pomegranate in the filling for the cake.”

  “What was it, then?”

  “Elderberry.”

  “You’re guessing,” he teased. “Or you’re making it up.”

  “Ask Delia.” Chrissie grinned, knowing she was right. “Go ahead. Ask her.”

  Jared looked at Rachel. “I give up.”

  “Don’t try to outguess a cook when it comes to cooking,” Rachel told him. “I think I’m going to have one dance with my six-year-old, then I’m going to send him to bed so I can dance the rest of the night with his daddy. So thoughtful of Delia to hire a crew of nannies for the night.”

  “I can’t think of anything Delia may have forgotten,” Chrissie told Jared. “Everything
is perfect. It’s a beautiful night and a perfect party and more importantly, everyone seems so happy.”

  “No reason not to be happy. It’s a good night for everyone.” Jared sat on the stone wall and tugged on Chrissie’s hand until she was seated next to him. “Rachel’s boys got a new grandmother who will happily spoil them, and Delia’s grandkids got a new grandfather who will teach them all sorts of fun things and take them on adventures.” He chuckled. “It’s like Auntie Mame married Peter Pan.”

  “I can see that flamboyant streak in her, and you say he took you on plenty of adventures when you were a boy. So yeah, Mame and Peter. That fits,” she agreed.

  Someone announced, “The groom’s special request for his bride,” and everyone stepped out of the designated dance area to give Delia and Gordon the floor as the band began to play.

  “Hey, that’s one of the songs you played in the car the other day.” Jared stood and pulled her up with him.

  “No, this is ‘As Time Goes By.’ Same era, though.”

  They stood on the side of the dance floor, watching the newly married couple sway to the music.

  “Dad must have taken dancing lessons,” Jared whispered in Chrissie’s ear. “He never showed us moves like that at home.”

  Jared stood behind her, his arms around her lightly. “I wish I knew the lyrics to this,” he said.

  “And the rest of us are so glad you don’t.” Rachel rolled her eyes.

  “What? You think I can’t sing?” Jared tried to act as if he were offended, but he was clearly amused.

  “Jared, you’ve never been able to carry a tune. It was torture growing up, you trying to sing along with the radio or one of your CDs.” Rachel looked at Chrissie and added, “My room was right across the hall from his. When he started singing, Aunt Bess’s cat ran from the sound.”

  “I wasn’t that bad,” Jared said defensively.

  “Yeah, you were. But we loved you anyway.” Rachel patted him on the back.

  Jared turned to Chrissie and asked, “Did I sound that bad in the car?”

  Chrissie hesitated. “Depends. Are we in the truth zone?”

  He nodded.

  “Well—I was pretty sure you hadn’t taken lessons.”

  “Damn. I thought I was being so cool. Singing along with Blake, I thought I sounded just like him.”

  “Ahhh, no. Sorry.”

  “I guess I need to work on my singing.” He turned her around to face him. “But I have mad dancing skills, and this is a very romantic song they’re playing.”

  He took her in his arms and danced where they stood. “And I am feeling very romantic right now.”

  Chrissie knew she was at a crossroad. To back away, or to let it take its course?

  She slid her hand across his shoulder and let it rest against the back of his neck.

  “You know this song? ‘Moonlight Becomes You’?” he asked. “Johnny Mathis? Neither country nor 1940s, but a great song all the same.”

  “I do. I never heard it on the radio or anything, but my boss at Luna, Rob? He used to sing it all the time to his partner. I always thought it was so sweet, but I never heard anyone sing it but him.”

  He sang the first line and she giggled. “Jared, think you could just hum?”

  “Really? I thought I was setting a mood here.” His lips close to her ear, he sang softly, “ ‘Moonlight becomes you, it goes with your hair . . .’ ”

  “Jared?” she whispered.

  “Hmmm?”

  “Maybe you should let the song speak for itself.”

  “That bad, eh?”

  “I’m tempted to ask you what you did with the money.”

  He leaned back and looked into her face.

  “Oh, come on. It’s an old joke,” she told him. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

  “What did I do with what money?”

  She rolled her eyes. “The money your father gave you for singing lessons.”

  Without missing a beat, he said, “Bought my first wet suit.”

  He pulled her close again and resumed singing in her ear, “ ‘And I could get so romantic tonight . . .’ ”

  Chrissie laughed softly. “I suppose I should admire your persistence. That thick shell of yours. Or might it be a thick skull?”

  “Probably all of that.” The song ended but he kept his arms around her. “And it’s skin, not shell.”

  “Whatever.” She shrugged but smiled all the same.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” he whispered.

  She poked one foot out from under the hem of her dress. “In these? I don’t know how far I’d get.”

  “Then I’ll carry you. Come on.” He slowly slid his hands the length of her arms from shoulder to wrist, then laced the fingers of one hand through hers.

  They went in through the house, then out the front door.

  “The drive is paved, so we’ll stick to that and try to avoid the uneven ground. Those heels would sink a good four inches into the grass,” he said. “How ’bout out toward the garden?”

  “A garden in the moonlight? You are pushing the romantic theme tonight.”

  “It’s a romantic night, and I’m with a beautiful woman who makes me smile every time I think of her. What could be better?”

  Chrissie stopped walking.

  “Do you? Smile when you think of me?”

  “It’s all I seem to be doing lately,” he admitted. “It didn’t start out that way, but something happened somewhere between that first walk to the art center and the night we had dinner at the store. I’d explain it better if I understood it myself, but that’s the truth. Since that night, I haven’t been able to think about much else. Okay, maybe the delay on the dive, but that’s understandable.”

  “Totally understandable. That’s your job.” She nodded and tried to respond to the rest of it.

  “That’s all you have to say?” Jared frowned. “I think I just pretty much poured my heart out to you. Put myself on the line. How ’bout the part where I said—”

  She grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips before he could finish the sentence. Words weren’t coming easily to her right then, but she wanted him to know she felt the same way, and at that moment, couldn’t think of any other way to get her point across. As first kisses went, it was a winner. To her sheer joy, he kissed her back, and she could taste the remnants of the shot of Glen Livet he, Sam, Ben, Nick, and Matt had shared to toast Gordon a while ago.

  Finally, she pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes.

  “Do we understand each other now?” she asked.

  “I believe we’re on the same page, yes.” He was grinning like an idiot. “I’ve been wanting to do that but was afraid of scaring you away.”

  “You don’t scare me, Jared Chandler. And as long as you don’t sing or try to convince me that diving would change my life . . .”

  “Oh, but in the right water, it would change your life.”

  She put her hands over her ears. “Stop. No more. I’m not doing it.”

  “Sorry. When you love something, you want to share it with the people you care about.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I care about you, so I want to share the good things in my life with you.”

  “That’s very sweet.” She touched the side of his face with her fingers. “But the answer’s still no.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  The squawking of geese drew their attention to somewhere behind the barn.

  “What do you suppose that’s all about?” Chrissie frowned.

  “There’s a pond down there. I’m sure the geese still have babies. Maybe a fox or an owl has come around trying to snatch one.”

  “Poor thing.”

  “Have you ever seen geese go after a predator? The fox doesn’t always win, especially if there’s more than one goose chasing it.”

  Clouds began to drift across the face of the moon, dimming its light, and a breeze had picked up, bringing with
it scents from the garden. Chrissie shivered from the unexpected chill, and Jared took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders without speaking.

  “Thank you,” she said. It was a small gesture on his part, one he’d barely seemed to consider, but to a woman who’d never felt like a priority to the man she was with, it spoke volumes.

  The party inside was winding down, and several guests were beginning to leave. Chrissie saw Barbara Noonan walking toward the parking area not far from where she and Jared stood.

  “We should probably say good night to Grace,” Chrissie said. “She’s over by the walk, waiting, I guess, for Barbara to get the car and pick her up.”

  Jared took her by the hand and they made their way back to the house. Grace stood at the end of the walk.

  “She looks so tiny, standing there,” Chrissie whispered to Jared. “And see how the porch lights behind her are giving her a halo?”

  They drew closer and Jared called Grace’s attention to the effects of the lights.

  “Chrissie thinks you have a halo, Grace. I thought only angels had halos.”

  “Oh my. I’ve been called many things, but never an angel,” she said with a laugh.

  Barbara’s car pulled up just then and Jared opened the passenger door for her, but before she got in, Grace reached out and took one of Chrissie’s hands.

  “You did right by coming home when you did. Ruby needs you, and the island needs you.” Grace leaned closer so only Chrissie could hear. “And whether he’s ready to admit it or not, Jared needs you. Let fate play its hand, dear, but do be aware. Trust yourself, and all will be well.”

  “Be aware of what?” Chrissie whispered.

  As if she hadn’t heard, Grace turned to Jared. “Lovely wedding. Simply wonderful. I couldn’t be happier for Delia—and, of course, for your father. Now, I’ll see you back at the inn. Enjoy the rest of the night.”

  She got into the car and waved as Barbara drove toward the open gates.

  “Did she say something to you just then?” Jared asked.

  Chrissie nodded, trying to decipher Grace’s words, which sounded strangely like something cryptic Ruby might say.