“You’re right. You don’t deserve it. You’ve got to at least let me contact my mother. Did you see that picture of her? Did you read the article? She’s beside herself.”
Anita Stephens hadn’t looked distraught, only those who knew her well would note the signs of distress. Her mother was chic as always. Nary a hair on her carefully coifed head was out of place. The former beauty queen was still a knockout and she knew it. But Tonya could see what makeup couldn’t hide -- the hollow expression in her eyes. The sunken cheeks that indicated weight loss that her mother couldn’t afford on her petite frame. Seeing her this way was devastating.
Nate shook his head firmly. “She is the very person I don’t want you to contact. I hope to resolve this in a few weeks...”
Through clenched teeth Tonya asked, “A few weeks? Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what this will do to her?”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t hurt either of you if it could be helped,” Nate said.
Tonya sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. She knew he was telling the truth. This was simply too damned crazy to be a lie. “This is a nightmare.”
Nate nodded in sympathy. “I know. Look, why don’t you do this? You’ve been working really hard on your IHOP books—“
“Waffle House. They’re Waffle House books.”
“Right. Right. Anyway you’ve been working hard on them, plus running your company with Callie.”
“It’s mainly Callie and Roshonda now. I’m the silent partner for the most part,” she said.
“Anyway, why don’t you look at this as a vacation? A few weeks on a secluded island. People pay top dollar for this. Goodness knows I did. What more could you ask?” he said.
“For you not to be here and to be able to talk to my family and friends.”
“Okay. Other than that.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Just relax and let’s have some fun. There’s a little cove not far from here. I’ll take you snorkeling.”
Tonya sighed. He did have a point. If she was going to be stuck here anyway she might as well enjoy herself. “Fine, Nate. I’ll go snorkeling, but I’m not going to stop asking questions.”
“Never thought you would, little sister. Never thought you would.”
Chapter Five
The sunlight in the small cove made the water sparkle like someone had robbed Tiffany’s. Tonya adjusted the mask on her face as she followed Nate into the water. His sun-burnished skin glowed in contrast to the sea green board shorts he wore low on his hips. The lack of tan lines indicated that he probably didn’t typically bother with a swimsuit. She was grateful for his consideration and even more thankful that she made a habit of packing a swimsuit when she traveled. She gasped when he turned to face her and she saw the scars that violated the smooth dark skin of his torso. One, obviously a bullet wound, was just shy of his left nipple. She shivered as she imagined what could’ve happened had the bullet hit a few centimeters to the right. Another was further down his torso and it veered off to the right, but the worst was the ropy scar that bisected his midsection. Its jagged lines contrasted sharply with the shorter silvery scar that was perpendicular to it. Without a thought she reached out to touch the scar, conscious only of the pain he must have felt and how close he must have come to death. Almost as quickly she tried to withdraw her hand, but he held it against his sun-warmed flesh.
“Sonofabitch tried to gut me.” He looked down at the surgical incision. “The cutters managed to patch me back up, but he almost sent me to hell. Some say I’m bullet proof, but apparently that doesn’t apply to knives.
“I’m thinking you’re not either. Good God, Nate, what on earth?” she said finally pulling her hand away.”
He shook his head then turned back to the ocean. “You know I’m not going to tell you.”
Tonya took a deep breath. Any of those wounds would have been enough to kill him. As angry as she was at him the thought of him not being alive made her more than a bit sick. No matter what, she wanted to know, needed to know that Nate Randolph was alive out there somewhere, even if he didn’t want her and she didn’t want to want him, he had to be alive.
Shaking her head to clear it, she took a moment to remove the shorts and t-shirt she had on over her bikini. The bright yellow garment was modest by most standards, but she still felt uncomfortable wearing it in front of him. Fortunately, he didn’t react one way or another when he saw her in it. Perversely, that annoyed her too. He could have at least said she looked nice. She gritted her teeth in aggravation at herself. The man had kidnapped her and dragged her off to East Bumfuck Egypt and she wanted him to lust after her? Really? Girl get a grip. Determined to put any further thoughts about Nate behind her, Tonya decided to focus on enjoying the rest of the day.
She loved to swim and did so whenever an opportunity presented itself. Now as she followed Nate into the water, she delighted in the warm silky waves lapping at her skin. It didn’t take long to make her way out to the small coral reef that made up most of the cove’s enclosure. Life abounded here and Tonya lost herself in fascination with all the varieties of fish and other sea life. She was examining a particularly vivid coral formation -- it was so brightly colored it was almost fuchsia. She beckoned Nate over to look at it and they watched the small fish dart in and out of the structure. Then he tapped her shoulder and gestured for her to follow him into a small cave. It wasn’t high tide so they were able to remove their masks once inside. She stared in astonishment -- the walls glistened as though covered in diamonds.
Tonya struggled to close her mouth, which had dropped open in awe. “What in the world...”
Nate grinned. “They’re crystals. I found it by accident on one of my first trips here. There are so many islands and so many caves it’s possible no one has ever seen this but us. Isn’t it great?” he said, his enthusiasm reminding her of a small boy with his first bike.
“Amazing. But why would crystals form this way? I’ve been in a lot of caves, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I think it has something to do with atmospheric conditions, especially the high temperature and mineral content. I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s like a sauna in here.” Tonya nodded, it was extremely warm, but it felt good.
“All these islands are volcanic so I’m sure it’s on a thermal fissure of some sort. I haven’t had a chance to do much research, but I don’t come here often because I think it might mess it up. There’s a similar one in Mexico, but they limit visitors to keep the atmosphere as pristine as possible. But this cave is one of the reasons I had to buy my house. If I could’ve bought this cove I would have. I’d love to own the entire island, but that’s well above my pay grade.”
Tonya turned in a circle looking around at the sparkling walls. “I can see why.”
“I travel a lot for work and I wanted a place to come to so I could decompress.”
“I totally get that, but why the South Pacific?”
“This is the part of the world where I spend most of my time. It seemed reasonable to buy in the vicinity and cut down on travel time.”
“I assume you’re not going to tell me why you spend so much time in this area,” she said.
“No, I’m not,” he said laughing. Then he dove down into the swirling water.
She looked around but didn’t see him. Suddenly she felt hands grab her legs, pulling her down as well. She sputtered as water went up her nose and she swam strongly after him. The chase was on! They frolicked in the cave like a pair of frisky otters. Around and around they went, gasping with laughter the whole time. Eventually Tonya surfaced, begging for mercy as she realized the foolishness of what she’d been doing. Playing with Nate was a very bad idea. It was too evocative of the life they’d had together and her heart, not to mention her nether regions, were treacherous bitches where this man was concerned. Pleading tiredness, she swam back to shore. Nate followed. She dried off with the beach towel she’d brought then spread a second towel o
n the pristine sand to sit on. After taking a moment to smooth on sunscreen, she sat down on the towel. Nate did the same, only he didn’t bother with sunscreen. He did pull on a bright blue t-shirt that looked particularly striking with his coloring. She started to offer him some of her sunscreen, but the implied intimacy of the gesture halted her. If he wanted to fry in the tropical sun, let him. That morning had reminded her too much of all the time they’d spent at the lake back in Maple Fork. Tears came to her eyes as she reflected on those halcyon days. She quickly wiped them away on her towel, but she should’ve known he would notice.
“What’s wrong?” he said reaching over to take her hand.
“Nothing.”
“You’re crying.”
“No. My eyes are just a little irritated from the salt water.”
He stared at her for a contemplative moment. She held her breath until he nodded. With that small gesture he conveyed a wealth of information. He knew she was lying and he was choosing to let her get away with it. She heaved a sigh of relief and slipped her sunglasses on her nose before lying back on the towel.
“Are there other people on the island?” she asked desperate for a subject change.
“Yeah. Farther up. They tend to be hermits like me. Very few people live here year round. This cove doesn’t belong to me, but I’ve never seen anyone else use it. If they object they’ve never spoken up.”
“Maybe they share it the way y’all share the jeep.”
“Maybe so. Most of the residents here aren’t particularly possessive. It’s so isolated we have to share. Sometimes storms will take out the electricity and everyone shares food and gasoline for generators.”
“I would imagine that the atmosphere contributes to people’s generosity. Who can be petty when surrounded by such beauty? I’ve never seen anything so wonderful,” she said, inhaling the salt air, which was ripe and pungent with the aroma emanating from the lush vegetation.
“Me either,” Nate said but he wasn’t looking at their surroundings. Before Tonya could remonstrate him for the hackneyed line he continued speaking. “Tonya, I,” he said as he reached out to touch her hand. She stared at the long masculine fingers, transfixed by the contrast in their coloring. Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar jolt of pure lust shot through her loins. “I just want to apologize for all this. I screwed up, but I’m trying to make it right.”
“You call kidnapping me a screw up? Dragging me off to God knows where and ruining my career? Gee thanks. And how pray tell do you plan to fix it?” Tonya deliberately made her words as biting as possible. Anything to take her mind off her body’s response to his touch. She’d dated a lot of men over the years, but none could make her heart race the way Nate did. Her skin tingled, feeling feverish and swollen from even this minimal contact.
Nate sighed. “I can’t dispute any of that. Do you want to go back into the water?”
Tonya shook her head. Nate still hadn’t moved his hand and she shivered under the onslaught of his nearness. She started to snatch her hand away, annoyed that she still reacted so strongly to him after all the changes he’d put her though. Then he did something so characteristically Nate that she just wanted to kick him. He raised her hand from the towel and brought it palm up to his mouth. Now wasn’t that just some Jane Austen shit? And so typical. She’d always been intrigued by the dichotomy between the south Alabama Bubba and the suave Frenchman. In a word it drove her hormones nuts. It kept her off-balance and she hated it -- and loved it. Now she did snatch her hand away. Nate grinned at her. His perfectly straight teeth shone in stark contrast to his dark complexion.
“Well I can’t make up for ruining your career or scaring your mom, but you’re developing a lovely set of freckles across your nose. I can at least get you out of the sun before you accuse me of giving you skin cancer. Besides, I’m starving. How about some Belgian waffles?”
Tonya couldn’t resist. “I’ve been known to forgive nearly anything for waffles.”
* * * * *
They returned to the house, and after a quick shower Tonya pulled on a loose-fitting sundress. The fabric was an abstract design in vivid blues and greens. She hadn’t packed anything like it, but Nate had gone into the small village and picked up some things for her. Apparently he hadn’t forgotten her love for bright colors, as the dress was definitely one she would’ve bought for herself. She especially appreciated its ankle-grazing length. When she joined Nate in the kitchen, he was wearing the same shorts he’d snorkeled in. And thankfully for the sake of her libido, he was still wearing a shirt.
He was standing in the center of the tiny kitchen whisking something in a bowl. She leaned against the counter and watched as he poured the batter into a waffle iron. The kitchen was in the center of the house, which didn’t have a hallway. Instead it was built on something of a spoke design so all the rooms branched off. She’d cooked in the kitchen a couple of times and found it surprisingly well appointed, though she suspected that with its teak cabinets and upscale appliances, it wasn’t designed for actual use. Nate checked the waffle iron every few minutes and before long he produced four delectable looking waffles. He waved her over to the kitchen table as he plated them. He’d already placed butter and warmed maple syrup on the table and she applied both liberally, but declined the heavy cream he offered.
They sat at the table and dug in immediately.
The warm gooey waffles defined deliciousness. Her mouth practically danced in delight. “Obviously you remember all the cooking skills you picked up at Carlyle’s.” He had spent one summer in Maple Fork attending classes with her at a local community college and working at the legendary fish joint.
“Oh, that’s real cute. You know they never let me cook. I was a glorified dishwasher. I still have a scar on my hip from taking down that damned fry station,” he said.
“Poor Nate. Manual labor and all that. Your lost summer spent living in our basement and slaving away in a seafood restaurant. And you were such a good boy, too. You didn’t even try to come up the stairs and sneak in my room.”
“I assumed your mom had it booby-trapped,” he said. “I like all my body parts where they are, thank you very much.”
Tonya chuckled. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“So no nookie, but it was worth it.”
Tonya inhaled a sharp breath. “Was it really?” Had he spent as much time thinking about that idyllic summer as she had?
“Hell, yeah. You know Carlyle made the best fish sandwiches anywhere. Damn I miss them. To this day I can’t smell hot grease without getting nostalgic for a sandwich all the way with extra hot sauce.”
Tonya had to laugh. She’d walked right into that one.
“Tell me about your next book. Covered was my favorite. Though I like Scattered too.”
“You’ve read my books?” She couldn’t keep the delight out of her voice. Of course, she was always surprised to find that anyone had read her books.
“Of course. I told you I’ve kept an eye on you over the years. I bought the first one out of curiosity, but now I’m hooked.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? Because you’re a damned good writer. I knew that when we were still at the UA and you were writing my papers for me,” he said.
“No. Why did you keep track over the years?”
“You know why. You’d be better off if I hadn’t.”
“You’re not trying to tell me that you still care about me -- if you ever did. You walked out and left me with nothing but lies.” This time the pain came raging through with hurricane force. She gritted her teeth, shaking with the effort to maintain a semblance of composure.
His voice dropped, becoming husky, almost raspy. “Baby, I had my reasons. It couldn’t be helped.”
“Are you stuck in an infinite loop or something? You need to find a new line, that one is played,” she snapped, desperate to keep from responding to the raw emotion in his voice and the beseeching look in his eyes.
He paused for a second, opening his mouth as though to respond. Instead he stood up to clear the table. When he spoke again it was on a totally different and not particularly welcome subject. “You know we ate at that little Waffle House on McFarland almost daily when we were together.”
Tonya pursed her lips, briefly perturbed by the swift subject change. She had hoped he’d forgotten, but it was like him to throw that out to catch her off-balance. Bastard. “That had nothing to do with my stories. I’d forgotten all about it. I live in Alabama; the damned places are ubiquitous back home.” Pride forced her to tell the bald-faced lie and what was worse she knew he knew she lied.
“No. Of course not,” Nate said softly. “I just remember that I always got my hash browns scattered, covered, topped and chunked. I also noticed that the murders are getting increasingly gruesome. I shudder to think what Chunked will look like. The BDSM theme of Covered caught me off guard, though. You have a diabolical mind.”
Tonya couldn’t help but smile. He had read her books. “Well that’s hardly news. Despite the obvious implications from the title nobody ends up in pieces in Chunked.
“So it’s not like Scattered, hmmm?”
“Not in that regard, no,” she said.
“So how are they alike?” he said.
“What?”
“You said it wasn’t like Scattered in regard to people ending up in pieces. How is it like it then?”
“Well, they’re both murder mysteries that are solved by a Waffle House waitress,” she said struggling to maintain a bland expression.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“Of course not. You’ll have to buy it like everybody else.”
“Well hell, what’s the point of kidnapping the author of your favorite series if you can’t get the inside scoop?” he said sounding more than a bit put out.
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