Hesitating, she agreed with a jerky nod of her head. Luke was guessing Kelly was beginning to sense the urgency of the situation, when she peeked around him nervously at the shore.
“You’ll need to let go of me–so you can lie back in the water.”
She looked ready to panic again, so pulling her more tightly into his arms, Luke rubbed her shoulders with his hand reassuringly.
Kelly spoke uncertainly into his ear. “Like doing the backstroke?”
“That’s right. I’ll be sure to stay underneath you, too, while I’m swimming–so that I’m holding up your head.”
Although she was obviously terrified, she allowed Luke to flatten his hand against her back while she followed his directives. Wrapping an arm around her neck, and holding up her chin, he propped up her body as her feet floated close to the surface of the water. With smooth, rhythmic kicks, Luke swam through the water effortlessly, until they were closer to the beach.
Luke felt Kelly being lifted from his arms. When he slowly stood up, and his feet touched the ground, he found himself staring into the eyes of Kelly’s older brother, Dan. “You should’ve been watching her,” Luke muttered reproachfully, expecting resentment.
But, instead, he saw gratitude. “I know. Thanks, man,” Dan said quietly, before returning his attention to his sister.
Luke was taken aback–he hadn’t expected Dan to agree with him. So he answered Dan with quiet reassurance, “Shit happens.”
“Not to me it doesn’t. Just because Jeff was hanging around with me, I shouldn’t have assumed Kelly was nearby too. I’ve been off my game lately.” Dan began searching the faces in the crowd. “And, besides, where’s that damned lifeguard, who’s supposed to be on duty?”
Luke began to notice the slew of curious onlookers lining up alongside the beach. When Kelly continued to remain quiet, he gazed down anxiously to where she sat in the sand, and realized she was staring hard at the bleeding wounds on his back.
“Oh, Dan,” she finally moaned. “Look how bad he hurt himself, while he was helping me.”
“I’m fine, Princess,” Luke muttered, still scoping out the beach nervously. “I didn’t get hurt pulling you out from the water.”
She continued to plead with her brother, “Dan–please–you need to make him better.”
Luke squirmed, while Dan stared at him grimly.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m gonna start making him better soon,” Dan reassured Kelly.
Luke started. But his legs were getting wobbly, and he found himself sinking to the sand.
“Princess, huh?” Wearing a half-smile, Dan studied Luke keenly before turning back to Kelly. “Are you sure you’re okay, Kel?”
She nodded.
“I think that she just swallowed lots of water,” Luke muttered.
Dan stared at his sister with obvious concern. “Okay, Princess–we’re gonna have to talk this over with Mom and Dad later. Since you don’t appear to be suffering any side effects from nearly being drowned, why don’t you run over to the park with your friends for a little while? One of the moms took Jeff and the rest of the kids over there, when Luke, here, was pulling you out from the water.”
Just in case Kelly hadn’t been breathing. Dan didn’t need to complete the sentence when his eyes met Luke’s.
After glancing over at the park, Kelly hesitated, before stepping towards him, and gazing down to where he sat, hunched over in the sand. “Thank you for saving me,” she said, softly.
At that moment, the sun broke through the clouds. A beam of light shown down brightly on Kelly, leaving her backlit by a smoky-blue haze. But the strange thing about it was, Luke wasn’t seeing her as a pretty little six-year old girl anymore. He was envisioning her as the beautiful woman she’d undoubtedly be someday. Her white-blonde hair was dancing over her shoulders, but her fiery-blue eyes were staring accusingly into his.
Luke blinked, before shaking his head in disbelief. He was exhausted, and most likely delirious. He swallowed uncomfortably. But maybe it had something to do with the magic that he’d sensed here at Dragonfly Pointe?
Suddenly, he became aware of the soft, light brush of Kelly’s lips on his shoulder; like the touch of a butterfly, as she kissed him gently on one of his wounds. Luke felt a strange sense of longing. Her kiss made him feel like he’d been blessed–like its power could heal all of his wounds.
And unexpectedly, his eyes began to fill with tears.
When Kelly scrambled away, and began skipping along the beach, she was totally unaware that she was making Luke question his sanity. Reaching the bench where she’d left her beach bag and sandals earlier, Kelly dug through her bag for her hat, first, and plopped it onto her head, before covering her eyes with a pair of stylish sunglasses.
Luke raised a brow, turning to Dan.
Dan rolled his eyes upward and shrugged. “What can I say? Mom calls Kelly a six-year old fashionista.”
Luke found himself laughing along with Dan. They watched as Kelly strutted along the path, first glancing left and then glancing right, pulling down and peeking through her sunglasses like a celebrity on public display.
“I have no I idea where she gets that from,” Dan said dryly. “It must have something to do with those charity fashion shows, she and my other sisters participate in.”
Luke shook his head dazedly. The resilience of kids was kind of amazing. His little sister had behaved exactly the same way, too. “At least she seems okay.”
Dan silently nodded his agreement.
Kelly finally reached the park, and joined the other kids on the swing set, where she and Jeff remained clearly in view.
Dan suddenly turned grim, as he dropped down to the sand beside him. “Alright, Luke Bryant–I’m gonna stick to you like glue. I owe you, and I owe you big. I wanna know who’s responsible for knifing that nasty cut into the side of your face. The first thing you’re gonna do is tell me about yourself. I’ve been hearing some rumors. I wanna know why that scumbag, that you call your father, has been whipping you so hard, you’re probably gonna be disfigured for life...”
CHAPTER ONE
Fourteen years later
It was the magical wedding of Kelly Callahan’s dreams.
Too bad it actually wasn’t her wedding.
If the bride had had her way, the wedding would’ve taken place at sunrise–her most favorite time of the day. So she’d settled for dusk, instead. Luckily, the weather had decided to agree with Kelly’s sister and her sister’s fiancé today–the sun had been bright and the temperature warm.
Kelly stared out at the sunset overlooking the lake–the backdrop for the wedding was absolutely enchanting. As iridescent light spun down from the slowly descending sun, a shimmering purple haze danced across the lake like fire. Glancing down at the rosy-purple gown that she wore, she noticed that the beading sewn into the bodice glistened, as it was struck by the shimmering light from the sun.
Out where Kelly stood with the wedding party on the gazebo, pine tips were displayed in abundance–not only for their beauty and scent–but to disguise what had to be, literally, millions of tiny white lights, that’d been strung up and around the canopy.
And the flowers were stunning. Huge concrete urns held massive arrangements of lilies, roses, and greens, and had been positioned along the perimeter of the gazebo, so as not to obstruct the breathtaking view. Not only were there multitudes of lovely flower arrangements displayed both inside and outside of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn–but pots of annuals, planted with impatiens in brilliant shades of purples and pinks, bordered the bridal pathway for impact. Stargazer lilies, roses and ferns had been used in the bridal bouquets.
This wedding was incredible–like a fantasy–and planned with love to the smallest detail by Kelly’s oldest sister Lucy, who’d coordinated the entire event.
Kelly sighed, glancing over at the bright smiling face of her sister, Kate, as she stood before the priest with her soon-to-be-husband, Murphy. Her sister looked beautiful,
in a shimmering, bridal gown of white, while Murphy looked ruggedly handsome in the traditional black tux that he’d insisted on. And, with its sweetheart neckline and slim fitting style, the gowns that matched Kelly’s looked lovely on the other bridesmaids and the maid of honor, too.
Kelly blinked, when music filled the air. Because just like that, it was done–Kate and Murphy were married, and introduced to the crowd as man and wife.
Turning about face, Kelly grinned, and began following the couple down the aisle, as she glanced around her at the smiling faces of the guests.
And then she saw him.
Kelly stopped in her tracks. Those cool gray eyes met hers as he gave her that old familiar smile. Why hadn’t anyone in her family warned her that Luke Bryant might be here today?
How long she stood and stared at him, she couldn’t say. Until she dimly became aware of being gently shoved forward, as a voice squeaked out from over her shoulder, “Kelly?”
“Oops, sorry, Jules,” Kelly whispered, to the maid-of-honor. Giving her escort a smile of apology, she resumed her stroll beside him down the aisle.
Once they reached the end of the walkway, the bride and groom were both laughing as they were swept away through the crowd.
Shaking her head in resignation, Kate turned to the groom’s youngest brother. He’d been coming on strong with her since the moment they’d met. As Kelly nudged Ethan along, so that they could stand beside the remaining members of the wedding party, she peeked over her shoulder nervously. What’d happened to Luke?
But when Julie began asking her a question, Kelly focused her attention on the maid-of-honor.
“What was it that they told us, Kelly? An hour–before they want us back at the reception for pictures?”
Julie’s boyfriend, Dylan, who’d also been a groomsman, glanced down at as his watch, as he stood silently beside Julie.
“Yep,” Kelly answered. “The photographer wanted thirty to forty-five minutes alone with Kate and Murphy, first.”
“Well – I know what we can do to waste away the time.” Dylan winked at Kelly, as he began to drag an, obviously, discomfited Julie away. “See ya’all in about an hour.”
Kelly grinned. After about a year of dragging their feet, apparently, Julie and Dylan had finally admitted their feelings for each other. And it was great to see Julie so happy.
Kelly glanced over at Ethan and sighed. He was a really nice guy. But his attention was getting to be a little bit stifling.
With white-blonde hair and deep-blue eyes, Kelly was tall and thin with a shapely figure. She’d always considered herself fortunate in the looks department.
Fortunate because of the numerous modeling jobs, that were helping her pay for her college education.
But unfortunate because of the number of men that seemed to be drawn to her only because of her looks. And her looks were deceiving. After graduating with honors as the valedictorian of her high school graduating class at Crystal Rock High, Kelly had enrolled at Wisconsin with a scholarship, and was focusing her studies on business.
As the remainder of the wedding party began to go their separate ways, Ethan stood waiting, wearing an inquisitive smile.
She hesitated. “I’ve got a couple of things I need to do first, Ethan. How about I meet back up with you once I’m finished?”
She could see that he was disappointed.
“Okay, Kelly.” He sighed. “You are gonna hang around with me later tonight–aren’t ya? Except for a couple of my brother’s friends, I don’t really recognize too many people here.
“Sure–I’d like that. I’d be glad to introduce you to a few of my sister’s single friends, too.” Despite their age difference, Kelly knew that there was interest on his side. It was always better to let guys down easily, she’d discovered, and she was getting to be very good at it. “You’re the only one in the wedding party to get stuck with someone who’s a whole, lot younger than you.” Ethan was in his late-twenties, and was an eighth grade science teacher.
Ethan snorted. “Ouch–talk about letting someone down easily.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Don’t worry–I’ve got the message. It’s just that I can’t help being interested in you, Kelly – and not just because you’re so hot.”
Startled, Kelly blinked, as she stared at Ethan.
“You’re one of the most mature college students that I’ve ever met. Although, how you can put aside, what could be, a very lucrative career in modeling, is beyond me.”
“Well, I’ve set a lot of goals for myself.” Kelly shrugged. “The money I’ve been making is great–and it’s allowed me to do a lot of traveling–I’ve seen a lot of places I wouldn’t have otherwise. But…” She grimaced.
Ethan grinned. “Your knack with numbers is pretty unusual, too–you know?”
Kelly smiled. “Yeah. I think Mom and Dad are still in shock about the fact that I’m considering becoming an accountant. But they also understand. It took me less than six months to get Callahan Construction back on track, when they let me take over the books a few years ago.”
“Yep–like I said–you’re pretty damned amazing.” Ethan sighed, lifting a brow. “’Speaking of parents–I haven’t seen mine for a while. Maybe I’ll go check up on them during our break.” He didn’t appear to be very anxious to leave her side. “Are we meeting back up at the reception for pictures, then?”
Kelly nodded, as she pointed out the solarium of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. “Your parents will probably be hanging out in there, along with mine.”
Reaching out, Ethan gave Kelly’s hand a squeeze. “Alright. I’ll see you back inside–in about an hour, then.”
Kelly kept her eyes on Ethan as he strolled along the cobblestone pathway. After reaching the entrance, he glanced back at her with a smile and a wave of his hand before stepping inside.
Turning her eyes out toward the lake, Kelly drew in a deep steadying breath. She felt a little guilty about brushing Ethan off. But it’d already been a really long day, and it promised to be an even longer night. What she really wanted right now was some time alone.
Frowning down at her heels, Kelly began strolling along the cobblestone pathway leading away from the inn. She sighed, easing down onto a bench. Slipping off her heels, Kelly peeked behind her—no one seemed to be hanging around nearby. “What the heck,” she muttered. After standing up, she lifted the hem of her gown and began slipping down her hose. She folded the hose and stuffed them discreetly into one of her shoes, before sliding the shoes underneath the bench.
She needed to take a walk–and to have a little get away time from the noise and confusion of the wedding.
“Ah, free at last,” she mumbled under her breath. She began to hurry, nearly skipping along the path that turned into a nature walk, as it led away from the inn.
Despite the darkness settling in, small beams of light lit up the path. Bird feeders hung from the lower branches of several of the trees, while squirrel feeders were mounted into the trunks of a few of the old solid oaks. Although the landscape along the trail was occasionally broken up by the placement of a bench, surrounded by plantings of coleus, impatiens and hostas, ferns and natural foliage lined the edges of the scenic walkway, that ran alongside the shoreline of Crystal Rock Lake.
It was crazy to think about how many times she’d actually followed this trail that led to the beach. As a kid, Kelly and her twin brother Jeff had tagged along with her father when he’d driven back and forth to Dragonfly Pointe. Mike Callahan had been the contractor in charge of renovating the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, and was still coordinating the additional construction projects taking place periodically along the point.
She knew it was silly, but even though the technics of the lighting had been explained to her a bunch of years before, Kelly still liked to think of it as magic. And that aura of enchantment was beginning to kick in for her, as she followed the old familiar path. She’d invented some pretty ridiculous stories here at Dragonfly Pointe when she’d been a kid. The festive
atmosphere of the wedding today had reminded her of her favorite–about finding her prince, and living happily-ever-after.
Kelly snorted. Yeah, well–she’d had a pretty vivid imagination. And almost every little girl in the world had, most likely, had that same–kind of stupid, identical fantasy.
Her nickname of ‘Princess’ had been well-deserved, though. Nearly as far back as she could remember, Kelly had been interested in fashion–beginning first with her fascination in dressing-up, and then continuing on with the stylish details, she’d insisted on, in her every day look as she grew older.
She’d nearly driven her mom crazy.
But it was funny how, once her mom had become proficient with using a computer, that that pair of shoes that Kelly had asked for, or that lovely jean jacket had appeared under the tree at Christmas, or in a shiny gift bag on Kelly’s birthday. Kelly had a feeling that she was spoiled, compared to her older siblings. But it’d been different when her older sisters and brother had been growing up–their family hadn’t attained financial security until after the Dragonfly Pointe Inn had been renovated by her father’s company, Callahan Construction.
It’d been Kelly’s interest in fashion that’d drawn the attention of Danielle Loughlin, Jake Loughlin’s wife. The Loughlins were owners of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. After Kelly had modeled in one of the inn’s yearly charity events, Danielle had referred Kelly to her former agency.
And the rest was history.
Or, as in her case, Kelly would’ve really liked for it to become history. Even now, she was still getting calls about additional work. But, occasionally, she still accepted a job because she couldn’t resist the exorbitant amount of money that the agency offered her.
Reaching the final curve of the pathway leading down to the beach, Kelly glanced over at the park and froze.
His eyes met hers as he drew on his lit cigarette, one last time. Letting the butt drop unconsciously to the ground, he stamped it out with his boot.
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