“Davis…we can’t continue to sit under this tree. Maybe we should figure out what secrets this island is holding. The sooner we know what we’re dealing with the better off we’ll be.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. We should probably grab a few things to take with us because I have no idea how long it might take. We might even have to set up camp on our way around it.”
After they gathered the things they thought they might need for the excursion they set off and spent the better part of the day exploring the island. Nicole was really surprised at how much Davis knew about the wild. He had pointed out what plants were poisonous and what plants had medicinal properties. He’d told her that twice a year he went on survival retreats. Nicole couldn’t understand why anyone would ever want to ‘live one with nature’ but she was glad he did because it might help keep them alive.
The island wasn’t very large and aside from a few small animals it seemed pretty deserted. The more they walked the more reality began to set in. They were stranded on this island and help may not be on the way. It didn’t take long to get from one end to the other. It was dusk when they finally made it back to camp.
His hair was ruffled from running his hands through it. Davis needed to be honest and upfront with Nicole. Better to be blunt than beat around the bush. “It looks like we’re the only people on this island.”
Before exploring the island Nicole could pretend she was taking an extended vacation but hearing Davis say it out loud made their situation real.
Nicole sighed “I think you might be right.”
He was surprised at how well she took that bit of information. “We could be here for a few days or…longer. We can’t continue to stay under this tree.” His headache was getting worse. Davis pinched the bridge of his nose.
Although he seemed to be a hard man she connected to him. Maybe it was the pain and longing in his eyes that he tried so hard to hide. She wanted to help him. “You’re in pain. Your headache is back. Maybe I can help you with that.”
Most women were so self-absorbed they typically didn’t notice anything that wasn’t directly tied to them. That was why he was a little surprised she did. “I seem to be getting them more and more lately.”
‘’Well, if a situation ever warranted getting a headache I’d say it was this one.”
Davis smiled.
She wasn’t sure if Davis even knew how to smile and that was the first real one she’d actually seen. Of course it would be breathtaking.
“You should do that more often.”
“Do what?”
“Smile.”
Nicole moved over towards him then sat up on her knees behind him. She said softly into his ear “Okay, now close your eyes.” Davis gave her a hard look. As she moved to touch him, he was caught off guard and ducked away from her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just going to help you get rid of your headache. I promise it won’t hurt.” Nicole gave him an innocent smile “My ex used to get headaches all the time in college.”
She laughed thinking back on it “We were so broke back then we couldn’t even afford aspirin. So, I found this little trick that seemed to help him. Come on, let me try it on you.”
Davis wasn’t used to allowing people into his personal space not unless he was about to let things get ‘personal’.
“Come on, I can see you’re in pain. Just relax, close your eyes, and I promise I won’t hurt you.” Davis was uncomfortable with her being so close especially after having an image of her body etched into his brain from earlier. However, he did as he was told and tried his best not to get aroused.
“Are you ready?”
Davis nodded. Nicole set to work trying to make him feel better. She used one of her hands to put pressure at the base of his neck massaging it deeply before slowly moving upwards and continuing to massage him doing the same thing in reverse. After just a couple of minutes of repeating those movements, she used her other hand to gently massage each of his temples.
“You know this might not work if you don’t breathe.”
Davis hadn’t even realized that he was holding his breath. He slowly exhaled. The pain was starting to subside and her hands felt...wonderful.
“How do you know Dana?”
“Shhh…you’re supposed to be relaxing. Davis, let your mind go blank.”
“Impossible. I have all these thoughts running through my head. It might help me relax if you told me something about yourself. Then, maybe I can let my mind go blank.”
“I’ll answer one question but then you’ve got to let go. Stop being such a control freak. Anyway, I met her through one of the partners at the law firm I used to work for.”
“You’re a lawyer?”
She stopped massaging him “Davis…quiet. I said one question not two. And, no. I was a paralegal. Your mind can’t go blank if you keep talking.”
“My mind is always on. Dana’s a therapist and you’re a paralegal. That’s an odd pairing.”
“Shhh…RELAX.”
Nicole didn’t want to discuss that one of the Sr. Partners introduced her to Dana for professional help. It was kind of embarrassing especially with him.
She’d been really messed up after her breakup with Todd when Ms. McFarland called her into her office. Thank goodness she’d seen her falling apart and reached out to help. Nicole would be forever grateful because of it.
The meeting started off professional enough but quickly turned personal. Ms. McFarland was a no nonsense woman. Nicole figured a woman in a male dominated industry probably had something to do with it and she attacked this situation the same way. Nicole remembered the meeting like it was yesterday.
“Nicole, please tell me to mind my own business if I’m overstepping my bounds. But, you didn’t deserve what happened with Todd. Between you and me, he’s been a great attorney for us, but you deserved so much more. Men who cheat with co-workers are lower than snakes. I don’t put anything past them. Can I be frank?”
Nicole didn’t think she could be any more frank than she had already been. “Of course. Please do.”
“I understand what you are going through because I’ve been there myself. I was in a relationship where I gave one hundred percent at great personal sacrifice. I know that you put your education on hold and worked hard to help put Todd through law school. And, you were a great influence in our hiring him after he passed the bar. I saw you taking the backseat in the relationship and I was hopeful that you didn’t suffer the same outcome that I did. So, hear me when I say…I understand.”
Nicole couldn’t hold back her tears. “Ms. McFarland, how did you survive it? Todd wasn’t just my fiancé, he was everything to me. I grew up in foster care and I don’t have any family. Todd’s been the only person in my life who’s ever loved me. I didn’t even realize he was the center of my world until he’d broken our engagement. I…I honestly don’t know what to do? I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, and I’m just barely getting through the day.”
“Honestly, the secret to getting over Todd is finding yourself. Find yourself and fall in love with her. You are stronger than you think and Todd is not as smart as I thought.” Ms. McFarland went into her drawer and pulled out a card.
“You’ve been self-less for a long time maybe now it’s time to be a little more selfish. It might help to call this woman on the card. Her name is Dana Lasso. She can help you navigate through all the emotions you must be feeling. She helped me and I can tell you I’m a better person, a better lawyer, and a better woman since I found myself. Don’t think your happiness is tied to Todd. It’s not and the sooner you realize that the whole world will open up for you. Tell her I sent you and she’ll take good care of you.”
Nicole called Dana and set up an appointment the same afternoon. Over the next several months they’d talked and talked and talked about why Nicole was so dependent on Todd in the first place. Sometimes they talked in Dana’s office, sometimes they talked at Nicole’s gym,
and sometimes if the weather was nice they would go for walks…and talk. Nicole had a lot to work through. Being in the foster care until she aged out of the system was a major issue and probably the catalyst to why she depended so much on Todd.
The more time Nicole and Dana spent together the more they realized they had a lot in common. It really was the beginning of a close friendship. So much so, that when Dana decided leave her practice to open a school of technology in Fiji, she’d asked Nicole if she would come and work for her. At first Nicole couldn’t imagine leaving the country. But, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it would be a really great way to start over.
Going to a therapist was a sign of courage and strength but not everyone saw it that way. Nicole didn’t know for sure what Davis might think, but she didn’t want him thinking she was weak.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed when he rolled his head backward into her breast until she felt the weight of his body on hers. For just a moment, her hands stilled and she felt a zing of electricity go through her. He made her breathless so easily.
Her voice was so thick that she almost didn’t recognize it. “So, how does this feel?” There was no response from him.
“Davis?” There was still no answer.
Nicole gently positioned his head so that she could see his face. He’d fallen asleep. Hopefully, his mind was off for at least a little while. He looked so peaceful which was so different from when he was awake. Davis was incredibly handsome but when awake there was a hardness about him, almost like a storm was raging within that he fought to contain. Even before the plane crashed he seemed so unsettled. Nicole caressed the space between his eyes. The crease that appeared earlier was gone and an unruly piece of hair had fallen onto his forehead. As Nicole continued to study his face, her eyes were drawn to his lips. They looked like they could do some magical things to a woman. In some small way, she almost felt guilty for devouring him with her eyes while he slept.
Even though he could make her body tingle all over, especially in that special place, it seemed he could barely tolerate her. Their truce was most likely due to their circumstances. Nicole sighed as she allowed his body to gently slide down hers onto the ground. Her hands involuntarily glided over his arms and chest before he came to rest on the tarp. Nicole closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of him. He felt so good. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. Nicole wasn’t some creepy chick. She needed to get a grip. Thank goodness he was sleeping heavily which was understandable since he didn’t get much sleep last night. She knew Davis was exhausted.
Nicole looked up at the sky. There were things that needed to be done and not much time before it got dark. As much as she would love to continue to admire him it was time she set about proving her worth and getting some things done.
Chapter 8
A couple of hours later Davis woke up. His headache was completely gone. It was the first time in a long time that he’d woken up without one. He’d paid ungodly sums of money to massage therapists and acupuncturists who unsuccessfully tried to rid him of his headaches. He’d even been to the doctor for them. Test after test revealed nothing was wrong and the prescription was always the same. Try to work less and get some rest which was next to impossible. He needed to find Nicole and thank her.
He looked around and didn’t see her in the immediate area. Davis called out to her. When she didn’t answer he got a little worried. “Nicole!” Then, he saw her exiting the clearing that led to the lagoon dragging something and carrying a plastic container from the raft.
She walked towards him with a smile on her face “You’re awake.”
Stone faced Davis took the plastic container from her as they continued to walk back towards the fire.
“How’s your headache?”
The crease was coming back. “Thanks to you it’s gone.” Davis couldn’t contain the agitation in his voice. “What were you doing in the jungle alone? And, it’s almost dark. I thought we agreed not to go anywhere without one another? Anything could have happened to you.”
Nicole teased “Were you worried about me?” The crease was deepening. Nicole exhaled loudly “Okay Davis our truce was only a few hours ago. Please don’t ruin it. The lagoon was not that far from the beach and I took the gun with me just in case. I wasn’t gone that long. I went to get some more fruit and wood. I also brought back some fresh water in that plastic container you’re carrying.”
Why was it that women had to be so exasperating? Davis ran his hand across his face. His five o’clock shadow was getting really heavy after just one day. “Why can’t you ever just do as you’re told? It would make life a whole lot easier for everybody.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Davis, I just worked my ass off for the past couple of hours trying to pull my weight in this disaster! I brought more wood, I brought more fruit, and I brought fresh water. Are you just going to stand there and yell at me? Can’t you just appreciate what I’m trying to do? Maybe if you didn’t find reasons to be angry all the time you wouldn’t have so many headaches.”
Davis was barely controlling himself “I was showing concern, Nicole. Anything could have happened.”
“True, but nothing did. It’s only a few minutes from here to the lagoon. I kept coming back to check on you in-between trips. You were exhausted, it’s getting dark, and we needed more things. So, I handled what needed to be handled. That is typically what ‘women’ do. We handle situations.” Nicole turned her back to him and started stacking up the wood pieces she’d brought back next to the fire.
Davis realized he was overreacting. It was just so much easier to be angry with her than to not be angry. He walked over towards her and touched her shoulder. She turned but didn’t look at him. Her face must have shown her shock when he mumbled “Thanks.”
Nicole couldn’t help but look him in the eyes to make sure he wasn’t kidding. He seemed serious so she gave him a half smile “You’re welcome.”
Nicole sat down in front of the fire and he sat down next to her. The butterflies showed up again. She needed to do something with her hands to keep them from shaking. He made her so nervous. Without saying another word, she handed him a piece of fruit.
Neither one of them trusted their voices not to give them away so they stared into the fire and ate in silence.
Chapter 9
After being on the island for about a week, hope of a rescue diminished with each passing day. So, Davis tried to teach Nicole some survival skills. He showed her how to weave with leaves from certain trees among other things. Davis built a couple of traps for fish and smaller animals. He’d also shown Nicole how they worked. Today was the first day they set them out. She hoped they caught something because after a week she was tired of fruit.
They’d been lucky that it hadn’t rained since they’d been on the island but they needed to build a sturdier dwelling. Davis had been working on that. It was hard with the small knife he had and it was taking longer than it needed to because of it. At some point, he would need to make another cutting tool. It would be crude but in the meantime he had to work with what he had.
After a long day, Davis and Nicole finally sat down for dinner. They were silent for a while which wasn’t unusual. Davis kept his thoughts locked up pretty tight. That’s why after a week, she still didn’t know much more about him than she did before the plane crashed. Nicole finally admitted to herself that she was attracted to Davis. It was silly but the butterflies were even more intense once she did. Tonight, Nicole was going to try to get to know him a little better.
“We’ve been in each other’s company for well over a week and other than you being pretty easily irritated, I still don’t know much about you. I mean other than what I read in the papers.”
Davis finished up his fruit and tossed the rinds into the fire. “The papers are always so reliable.”
“Are you being sarcastic so that you don’t have to share anything about yourself?”
“There’s not
much to tell.”
Nicole took a chance and peeked up at him not believing that for a second. “Everybody has a story to tell Davis. It’s cool if you don’t want to share yours with me. I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other seeing as you’re the only other person on this island to talk to.”
Davis stretched his legs out before him. “I’m 37, divorced, no kids, and as you know I built Chatham Industries from the ground up. Not much more than that to tell.”
Pieces of Me Page 4