Baldwin, Barbara - Indigo Bay.txt

by Indigo Bay (lit)

  She’d no sooner pulled on shorts and a top then the doorbell

  rang for the second time. But as before, it wasn’t the one person

  Mica needed to see.

  “Katie, what on earth are you doing here?” Mica wedged

  herself between Katie and the door. Momentarily forgetting he

  couldn’t be seen, she frantically waved at Logan, hoping he

  would take the hint and step into her bedroom.

  “Is that any way to greet a friend who left her children and

  husband quietly sleeping and sneaked away like a thief in the

  night?” Katie tilted her head to the side, and Mica knew she

  had to think fast.

  “Of course not. I’m sorry. It’s just that things have not

  gone according to plan this morning.” Mica glanced back into

  the apartment to see Logan move toward her bedroom. For the

  first time since his ghostly arrival at Sea Crest, a mischievous

  smile darted across his face.

  He stepped out of sight but his voice clearly reached her.

  “It has come to my attention that I can neither be seen nor

  heard. Do you recall my telling you I try to make the best of

  any situation?” He popped his head past the door and graced

  Mica with a wicked grin.

  “This situation could prove very interesting.”

  Ten

  Mica’s gaze jumped from Logan back to Katie. She should

  be glad to see her friend, but it would only complicate things if

  Katie stayed too long. While Logan might pretend to be amused

  by harassing her in front of her friends, she knew it was just a

  cover-up for his not having control of the situation.

  She sighed. Deciding for the moment to do as Logan

  suggested and adapt, she pasted a smile on her face. She

  wondered what Katie would say about Logan and felt a twinge

  of regret. Her best friend would never meet the best thing to

  ever happen to her.

  Inspiration struck as she opened the door wider for Katie

  to enter. Perhaps, as her closest friend and confidant, Katie

  might be able to see Logan. Perhaps Richard couldn’t because

  of his animosity towards her.

  As Katie plopped on the couch, Mica signaled for Logan

  to come out of the bedroom. “Katie, I want you to meet someone

  special.”

  “I’m glad you’ve finally met someone. It’s time you forget

  Richard and get on with your life.” Katie looked up as she

  spoke. Mica saw no surprise register, even though Logan now

  stood at her side. Her friend continued, “Now tell me about

  this new guy. Is he that handsome hunk you mentioned last

  week?”

  Logan laughed.

  Mica groaned.

  “His name is Thomas Logan Rutledge.”

  “Nice name. What does he look like?” Katie asked, tucking

  her legs under her on the couch.

  “Katie, can’t you see?” Mica asked in exasperation.

  “See what?”

  “Logan.”

  “Michaela Marie, I thought a vacation would do you good,

  but you’re sure acting strange. How could I have seen him

  when I haven’t met him?”

  Logan laughed as he said, “I thought this would be

  interesting. I just didn’t realize how much. Please tell Miss

  Katie that though she can’t see me, I am flattered to make her

  acquaintance.”

  Disheartened, Mica spoke to Logan without thinking to

  lower her voice. “It doesn’t matter now. I guess you can leave.”

  “Leave? I just got here.” Katie straightened from the couch,

  her brow furrowed.

  “I didn’t mean you. I...” Mica frowned as she looked from

  Katie to Logan. “Excuse me a minute. I’ll get us some coffee.”

  As she walked towards the kitchenette, she whispered to

  Logan, “Come here!”

  Once she had the safety of a wall between her and the

  living room, she turned, only to find Logan so close she yelped

  in fright. “I wish you’d quit sneaking up on me. You might as

  well stay in here or lie down in the bedroom. She can’t see

  you, anyway.”

  Logan had the audacity to grin. “I think I’ll stay. What else

  did you say about me besides being a handsome hunk? And

  I’m assuming that hunk, whatever it means, is a compliment.”

  Mica moaned. “I should have added conceited and

  arrogant.” She picked up two mugs of coffee and turned toward

  the door. “If you insist on staying in the same room, please

  don’t talk to me. It’s confusing holding two conversations at

  once.”

  “What did you say?” Katie shouted from the living room.

  “I can’t hear you in here.”

  Mica gave Logan a see-what-I-mean look. Pressing her

  mouth in a firm line, she struggled for the determination to

  ignore him.

  Mica really did try to concentrate on Katie’s chattering as

  they sipped their coffee. From the corner of her eye, she noticed

  Logan wander past the windows, then pause at the desk and

  study the telephone. At least he was respecting her wishes and

  being silent.

  Katie had just finished regaling Mica about last weekend’s

  country club dance when a flash of white sailed across Mica’s

  vision to land at her feet. Startled, she turned to where she had

  last seen Logan, only to find he had moved directly across the

  room from where she sat. Her eyes widened. His naked chest,

  though pale in his ghostlike state, radiated heat even from this

  distance! She jerked her gaze to the floor to find his translucent

  shirt in a puddle.

  “Quit that,” she said loudly without thinking.

  “You don’t have to yell at me. I know I shouldn’t bite my

  nails,” Katie said, hands fluttering to rest in her lap, “but you

  know me. Old habits are hard to break.”

  Mica tore her gaze away from Logan. “What?” she

  squawked as she heard a thunk. Logan’s belt landed on top his

  shirt. She squeezed her eyes shut.

  “My nails. Mica, you don’t look well. Are you feeling

  okay?” Katie reached over to pat her hand.

  “I’m...fine.” Mica could barely swallow as two consecutive

  thuds sounded from Logan’s vicinity. She didn’t think she could

  bear to look, but she couldn’t bear not knowing.

  Logan stood across the room, clad in only his snug black

  trousers. His bare chest glistened in the early morning light.

  He wiggled his bare feet.

  Mica had never considered a man’s feet sensuous, but as

  part of the whole sexy package parading before her, they almost

  caused her to hyperventilate. She dragged her gaze up his form,

  her insides churning and her blood pounding. He looked pretty

  real at that moment, not like a phantom at all. She held her

  breath and counted to five before slowly exhaling. It didn’t

  help.

  He had respected her wishes and hadn’t spoken, but the

  taunting smile on his kissable lips was hot enough to turn

  everything around them to cinder. She squeezed her knees

  together, the ache inside reaching fever pitch, and still she

  couldn’t tear her gaze from him.

  In slow motion, he slid hi
s hands from his hips to the very

  center of his belly and then down. His gaze locked on her face,

  and her gaze locked on his hands as they leisurely unbuttoned

  his pants. One button—two—

  Mica groaned out loud, her head falling back against the

  couch as heat flashed through her. She just knew she had been

  struck by lightning.

  “You are sick, Mica! Your face is flushed, and you’re

  trembling.” Katie jumped up and immediately swung Mica’s

  legs onto the couch. She propped a pillow behind her head.

  Hurrying toward the kitchen, she said over her shoulder,

  “I’m going to fix you some herbal tea and then let you rest. I

  swear, I don’t know of anyone but you who could exhaust

  themselves on vacation.” Katie’s voice trailed off as she rattled

  around in the next room.

  Mica fully expected Logan to complete the striptease he

  had started. His expression told her he was aware of her

  anticipation, but the minute Katie disappeared, he quit

  undressing and moved towards her. He knelt beside the couch.

  “Are you ill? You look quite flushed.” His voice expressed

  concern, but his eyes twinkled, and the corners of his mouth

  twitched.

  “You know perfectly well exactly what’s wrong with me.

  Just wait until I get you back to where you’re solid enough to

  smack. Of all the low-down, rotten—”

  “I want you – desperately.” His whispered entreaty made

  the ache at her core worse.

  “You’re shameless.”

  “You’re beautiful when you’re all hot and flushed. I think

  I should like to keep you that way for an extremely long time.”

  Though she couldn’t feel his hand when he touched her cheek,

  the exotic sensations she always experienced in his presence

  suffused her with color once again.

  “First, we have to get you back home,” she said just as

  Katie entered from the kitchen.

  “I know I need to get home. I have no doubt Matthew will

  be upset, even though I left him a note saying I came up here.”

  Katie set a steaming cup of tea on the table by Mica’s head and

  bent to touch her forehead with the back of her hand. “You

  don’t feel hot, though your face is still flushed. I suggest you

  rest and not do anything strenuous. I’ll call tomorrow.”

  Mica started to rise, not nearly as overheated now that

  Logan had started putting his clothes back on.

  “Now don’t get up. I can see myself out,” Katie said as she

  headed for the door.

  “I’m not sick, really.” Mica said, though her legs wobbled

  slightly when she stood.

  “Mica...Now who can that be?” Katie asked as a knock

  sounded at the door. “I’ll get rid of them on my way out.”

  “No,” Mica and Logan shouted at once, though Mica’s

  voice was the only one echoing through the small apartment.

  She rushed forward as Katie opened the door.

  “Mr. Whitney, have you managed to fix the lock?” Mica

  asked as soon as she saw the man standing in the hall.

  “I’ve done what I can, but without a key, I don’t know if it

  will work.” The gray-haired locksmith stood to one side as

  Katie exited the apartment.

  “Mica, don’t be worrying about some door.” Katie gave

  her a final hug.

  “I’m fine, Katie. Give Matthew and the kids a kiss for

  me.”

  “There’s just over a week until the big Labor Day

  celebration. You’ll be back in Charleston by then, won’t you?”

  Katie kept talking even as she walked down the hall toward

  the outside entrance.

  Labor Day! Mica didn’t even want to think about that.

  Already she was thinking about asking her father for an

  extension. “We’ll see. Bye, Katie.”

  In the next breath she turned to Mr. Whitney, who had stood

  patiently waiting. “Thank you for responding so quickly to my

  call. If you’ll just send me a bill, I’ll see that it’s paid promptly.”

  “Don’t you want to see if the lock works first?” He frowned,

  and Mica knew he didn’t understand why she had made the

  job sound so urgent if she wasn’t going to check out the door.

  “I’m sure you’ve done your best, and I’ll pay you regardless

  of whether or not the door works.” Mica prayed the man would

  leave. She only hoped no one else came calling before she could

  disappear upstairs with Logan. She glanced at her watch—

  less than an hour before Sunday brunch. Hopefully all the guests

  would still be sleeping or already out of their rooms. She

  certainly didn’t need Mrs. Barker interfering right at this

  moment.

  “I guess that does it then. I’ll send you a bill.” Mr. Whitney

  left, and Mica breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as the door

  closed behind him, she hurried to her bedroom to retrieve the

  key.

  Logan waited by her apartment door. She thought it strange

  that he had not tried walking through doors or walls. She

  supposed that even though he was transparent to her, he still

  felt himself whole and unable to perform such feats.

  “Ready?” she whispered, though no one was in sight.

  “I’ve been ready to return since this nightmare started. I

  don’t understand how you can enjoy this world where

  everything moves so fast. People fly into and out of your life

  with rapid irregularity, and there’s such an incredible amount

  of noise.”

  Mica moved swiftly up the stairs as she mulled over what

  Logan had said. He was right. Modern life did have its

  drawbacks, but if she had gotten stuck back in his time without

  the key, she would miss—what would she miss? Except for

  Katie and her parents, Mica couldn’t think of a thing she

  couldn’t live without if she had to.

  She held her breath as she inserted the key in the lock and

  turned it. A soft click brought her breath whooshing out. “It

  works.” She experienced the familiar tingle as she turned the

  knob and swung the door open.

  Logan stepped quickly over the threshold. She hadn’t

  consciously thought about returning with him and she

  tentatively reached out to touch his arm. He grabbed her wrist

  and jerked her through the doorway, his grip unbearably tight.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” Her question and rising anger

  at his proprietary attitude melted away when his lips crushed

  hers. His arms circled her in a bruising hug, and yet Mica

  understood exactly what he needed. She had felt incomplete

  during his stay at Sea Crest—moving about the same rooms,

  talking, yet unable to touch. It had been torture for her, too.

  “God, you are real.” Logan clasped her to his chest, his

  breath harsh in her ear as he moaned her name again and again.

  He couldn’t seem to quit touching her, his hands roaming the

  contours of her back. He kissed along her hairline, down her

  cheek and across the bridge of her nose, punctuating each word

  with yet another kiss.

  “I thought I was losing my mind. I’ve never felt so

  helples
s.” He clutched her shoulders and pushed her away

  enough to search her face, frowning.

  “What an incredible nightmare. Thank God I’m awake now,

  and you didn’t really fall through that door.”

  “But Logan, it wasn’t a dream.” Mica had wondered how

  long it would take before his initial reaction of wonder wore

  off.

  “I don’t want to discuss it. Just stay here by my side and

  let me touch you—let me know you really exist and that the

  past weeks haven’t been an hallucination.” Logan swung her

  up into his arms, his grip possessively tight but no longer

  crushing.

  Mica pulled away from his embrace as much as she could,

  dread creeping up her spine at his expression. He stared past

  her to the door, the look of disbelief still clearly written on his

  features. She could tell he really didn’t believe they had visited

  the other side. “Logan, you can’t just wish away what

  happened.”

  His gaze returned to her face, the haunted look fading. He

  spun on his heel and carried her toward her bedroom. “I have

  only one wish,” he stated as he kicked the door closed. “That

  is to make love to you until we’re both too breathless and

  exhausted to think of anything else.”

  ***

  Logan watched Michaela sleep, curled against his side,

  her warmth radiating against his own bare skin. He idly turned

  the brass key over and over in his hands.

  It was far too late to save his heart—they’d gone beyond

  the point of no return. And yet he didn’t know how to convince

  Michaela she belonged to him, not to some far-fetched time as

  she would lead him to believe.

  He fingered the key. He had known there was something

  unique and special about her. She had come to him in the night,

  with no clothes and no reason, and he hadn’t questioned her.

  He snorted. He had definitely known better than to question

  her. He hadn’t wanted the dream to burst—hadn’t wanted to

  admit he’d fallen in love with an illusion. But as he gazed on

  her now, warm and soft against him, he realized she was no

  phantom in his time.

  Different from any other woman in both manner and dress,

  she stood up to him and spoke her mind. She willingly

  participated in the concerns of the plantation. Other women