Jordan quickly scooped up the blonde tanned female and carried her inside his beach house. “Get back Myron,” he ordered roughly as he kicked at the small pooch that met them at the door, barking at their new visitor. Jordan gently placed her on the couch then sped down the hall to fetch a blanket from his bed.
As he covered her, he couldn't help but to quickly scan her body again. She was wearing a royal blue one-piece bathing suit covered with a white t-shirt. He quickly covered her, brushed back the wet stringy hair from her face and tried again to awaken her. He gently tapped the sides of her face.
“Miss? Miss?” he whispered out softly, as if not to frighten her.
Still no response. Jordan then took the sides of her arms in his large hands and gently shook her once more. Finally she began to move her head from side to side and blink her baby blue eyes.
Jordan freaked again and ran to the kitchen to wet a rag in the sink, then hurried back to her side. Slowly he began to wipe her forehead and cheeks with the cool wet rag hoping this would help speed her recovery.
“Are you all right? Can you talk?” he muttered out a little unsure, but she only laid motionless, looking scared stiff as she gazed into his beautiful emerald eyes feeling she had awaken in paradise with this handsome prince staring back at her.
“Where am I?” she finally whispered out as she began to slowly scan her cozy surroundings, her eyes not stopping again until they returned and rested upon this handsome creature that was touching her face with such a warm hand. She let out a small curious grin and awaited his reply.
“I'm Jordan Scott. You washed up on my beach, I guess,” he then stated with uncertainty about anything at this moment. He stared at her trying to figure out how old she was but feeling better himself now thinking she must be okay. She looked no more than twenty or twenty-one maybe, he wasn't quite sure.
“Great legs though,” he thought remembering how her body was stretched out on the beach when he had found her.
The young lady looked tired and confused though and only stared back blankly. Finally, Jordan decided to keep questioning her. He didn't think she was sick or harmed enough to go to the hospital, so he decided he would simply find out who she was and where she lived so he could take her home. By the looks of her tanned flesh he was certain she was from somewhere close by.
“Lives just down the beach a ways,” he figured while preparing himself to take her home.
“What were you doing out there anyway? It's awful early to be taking a swim isn't it?”
Now he was trying to decide whether or not she should see a doctor after all. She was beginning to look a little pale as she stared blankly back at him. Not seeming to want to answer his questions.
“I don't...I don't know,” she muttered out as she sat up and looked around the room again. “Where did you say I was?”
“My house...in Daytona. You live around her? I can give you a lift or something if you like,” he then offered not knowing what else to do at this point. “Your family is probably worried about you by now. I'll happily drive you home,” he offered again.
“I'm not sure,” she replied as she turned and put her bare feet on the floor and crossed her arms in confusion, now shaking. Jordan could see she was suddenly scared.
“Hey...look, I just wanna help you,” he then stated, thinking that maybe she didn't trust him to drive her home. After all, he was a total stranger to her.
Then he looked at her confused scared face again and noticed she was beginning to tremble worse. He wasn't sure now if she was scared...or cold.
“Are you sure you're okay? Need a drink or something to warm you up? Scotch...vodka?” he asked motioning to his well stocked bar that lined nearly the entire rear wall of the living room. He figured maybe she just needed a few minutes to calm her nerves and gather her thoughts. Maybe then she would remember what had happened to her and who she was so he could just take her straight home to her family.
“I think I'd like that,” she murmured in her soft feminine voice, watching Jordan's every move as he rose and headed for the bar.
Now Jordan wasn't sure she was even old enough to drink, but he walked toward the bar anyway. She had clearly been through a rough ordeal of some kind. Possibly caught out on the beach during last night's thunderstorm.
She pulled the blanket over her shivering shoulders as she sat and watched this adorable yet strange man reach for a bottle of whiskey and an empty crystal glass.
“What's your desire?” he then asked holding up the glass trying to relax her.
“You'd be a nice start,” she thought for a second then answered him half grinning now. “Surprise me okay?”
She was already beginning to feel a little better as she warmed her body on the couch and cuddled under the blanket.
Jordan grinned as he poured her a stiff vodka then carried it over to her. He wasn't sure this young lady should be drinking, but could see she had clearly been through a treacherous saga of some kind. He sat on the edge of the couch facing her and leaned over her blanket covered legs as he reclined his arm on the back of the couch. She sipped the drink making a slight cringing expression at first and began feeling a little uneasy about his stare.
“Thanks. This really helps,” she shyly told him as she quickly admired his hairy powerful looking legs that now rested just next to her own.
“What's your name?” he then asked bluntly.
“Uhhh...I...uh...my name?”
“Yeah. What's your name? Or is it some big secret that you can't tell me about?” Jordan asked with slight humor.
“Well...I'm not really sure,” she answered, looking as if she were thinking really hard about it. Almost straining as she tried to remember.
“Not really sure? You're not sure if your name's a secret or not?” Jordan thought now she was playing games with him.
“No actually, I'm not sure what my name is.”
“You're not sure what you're name is,” Jordan repeated not believing her. He thought she just didn't want to tell him. “Well then, how old are you?” he then asked becoming a little agitated with the entire situation. Maybe a joke Martin was playing on him again or something. That would be typical of Martin. But he knew she was really unconscious when he found her so he quickly ruled out that possibility.
Jordan noticed her eyes beginning to turn red and swell with tears and she looked back at him with confusion. As if begging him for help now.
“Not that,” he thought nervously. He couldn't stand to see a woman cry. He began to fidget uneasily.
“Don't do that,” he quickly panicked as he grabbed a tissue from the table at the end of the couch and handed it to her.
I'm sorry,” she sniffled, trying not to cry. She could see it was making Jordan terribly uncomfortable.
“I just don't remember anything. It must be the shock or something.”
“Shock from what? Were you caught in last night's storm or something?” Jordan didn't seem too sure she was being totally honest with him.
“Storm?”
“You're joking right?”
“Uhhh...uh-uh...sorry,” she replied gasping to hold back the tears now, but was unsuccessful. Jordan appeared to be angry at her and she didn't know why.
This man didn't believe her and she knew it. Now she felt foolish and wanted to run down the beach and forget she had ever met him. But go where?
“Gee...guess you had a rougher night than I thought,” Jordan answered with a little sympathy in his voice now as he rose and walked toward the bar.
He now realized she must have amnesia and he wasn't sure what to do next. Here he was trapped in his own home with a beautiful blue-eyed blonde wearing nothing but a bathing suit and t-shirt with a fantastic body, and she doesn't even know where she is from or who she is.
“Just my luck,” he thought as he rubbed his hand across the back of his sturdy neck with frustration. “And now she's crying too and I can't stand that mess!”
Jordan paced the bar area
nervously trying not to look in her direction, but found himself glancing over his shoulder wishing she would just quit her sniffling.
“What a hunk,” the girl thought as she watched this manly creature stroll across the room. She wiped the tears dry from her flushed cheeks with the tissue, then panicked when she saw him pick up the telephone receiver. She slung the blanket to the floor and ran toward him, grabbing at his arm.
“You're not gonna call the cops are you?” she asked with fear now and short of breath.
Jordan looked at her with much surprise in his eyes now. “Oh...I get it now. You're in trouble with the law and don't wanna admit it. What did ya do, kill somebody or something?” He slammed down the phone angrily.
He figured it would be just about his luck to find something this luscious and suddenly find out she was some kind of mass murderer on the run. But then, she just didn't look like the type to tote around a huge butcher knife.
“No...really, it's not that,” she tried to explain. “It's just that I don't wanna go to the police station. They scare me.” She really just wanted to stay with Jordan a while longer. She liked his hospitality not to mention his looks. Besides, why go to that dingy place when they probably wouldn't know who she was either?
“How do you know they scare you?” he asked in an accusing tone, still trying to decide if she were telling him the whole truth or not. “Are you playing games with me little lady?” he then asked in a threatening tone as he pointed a rugged finger at her face.
“Because if you are, I'm not the type for this.” Jordan gritted his teeth not too sure if he should believe her now or not.
“No...really, I'm just scared,” she replied as she crossed her arms shivering again and began to fake a sniffle. She saw that it had bothered him before so decided to try it again now.
Jordan slightly softened. “Cover up, will ya? You look like you're freezing to death. I just wanna call my friend Martin. Maybe he can help. Humph, sure he can,” he mumbled out with sarcasm in his voice. He picked up the phone and began to punch the numbers.
The young woman slowly made her way back to the couch and sat with one leg tucked beneath her, the other on the floor as she watched his every move very closely. Jordan only wished her t-shirt would have slipped further up her thigh when she sat down so he could see the rest of her luscious legs.
She listened intently as Jordan seemed to argue on the phone with this so called friend of his. At last he hung up, turned nervously toward her and stared as if he didn't know what to do next. She bent to pick up the blanket from the floor and covered her trembling legs. Jordan caught sight of her cleavage when the neck of her shirt dropped, then turned his head trying to conceal his sneak peek when she again sat up and looked his direction. She covered her legs and sat smugly waiting to see what was to happen to her next.
Jordan strolled at a slow steady pace toward her. He motioned his head toward the kitchen that opened off the end of the living room with a breakfast bar dividing the two rooms. He seemed terribly fidgety.
“Are you hungry...or anything?” he offered generously. “Surely you know whether or not you're hungry don't you?”
She finally smiled now at his humor and uncertainty at all the same time, knowing he was only trying to make the best of an awkward situation for the both of them.
“Uh-uh, thanks anyway,” she replied nearly whispering.
Jordan liked her sweet, innocent sounding voice. It nearly sent chills down his spine just to hear her speak. He felt like a school boy as he inched closer, circled his own sofa admiringly then finally got the nerve to sit next to her again. Their elbows were nearly touching as he again looked her face to face.
“How did I get here?” she finally asked, still wide-eyed, but not afraid of him anymore, just curious to know how she had gotten so fortunate to come upon this extraordinarily handsome man.
“I found you washed up on my beach. From last night's storm I presume,” he answered as he again scanned her smoothly tanned arms, wanting so badly to reach over and rub them, but didn't think she would appreciate that too much. She seemed frightened enough all ready.
“Now what?” she asked trying to break the ice in the room, as they only stared back at each other. Both with puzzled looks on their faces.
“I don't know the answer to that either,” Jordan replied with a chuckle. “It's not everyday that I find a woman washed up on my beach. Any suggestions?” Now he seemed to be enjoying the situation a little more for the first time, seeing that she was calming down somewhat as well.
“You could always just throw me back, I guess,” she suggested as she returned his grin.
“Don't think it hasn't already crossed my mind,” he joked back teasingly, then turned his head toward the door after hearing a car door slam outside the house. He rose and walked to the patio door to look out.
“It's Martin,” he informed her as he slid the patio door open. “Maybe by some wild chance he will know what to do about all this.”
Martin wasn't sure he believed Jordan's crazy tale either but came over as quickly as he could. “Why can't I find a woman lying around outside my front door?” he mumbled to himself as he stomped his way up the stairway and slid through the already opened patio doors, just brushing passed Jordan. He immediately began searching the room for this gorgeous blonde his friend had told him about over the phone.
“Get out of the way Myron!” Martin scolded again as he kicked at the little mutt that also greeted him playfully. The dog squealed and retreated back under the couch. Jordan gave Martin an evil leer but didn't respond verbally. He had more severe matters to tend too.
Martin stood non-believing for a moment as his eyes landed on the young, cute thing with the great legs that was half covered with a blanket on the couch. Then he turned to Jordan with the look of disbelief on his face.
“What's the punch line dude?” he asked sardonically.
“No joke Martin,” Jordan insisted, almost with anger in his voice. “She was lying unconscious on the beach this morning. What should I do?”
“Have you called the authorities?”
“She won't let me.”
Martin shook his head then walked over to the young woman. “You sure you don't remember anything?” He still acted as if he didn't believe either of them. She only shook her head not liking this guy at all. He was cute with his reddish hair and auburn eyes, but the young woman didn't like his attitude from the first moment he spoke.
“Look Martin...this is no joke!” Jordan scolded.
“Bull shit! No one finds something like that lying around by chance! And then doesn't even call the authorities?”
Martin was still grinning as he motioned to her, still thinking Jordan was playing a joke on him to pay him back for the many he had pulled on him over the years.
Jordan and Martin argued amongst themselves for a few minutes. The young lady watched and listened as they grew angry at each other. They acted as if she didn't even exist and she began to feel as if she were causing trouble between old friends. She couldn't stand it anymore. Her head grew light and her vision blurred when she tried to stand and protest their constant bickering. Now she could barely make out the two men's bodies as she tried to step toward them and now only heard muzzled voices. She stood with the intent of running out the door but her dizziness stopped her immediately.
Jordan and Martin both grew suddenly silent and turned to look after they heard a sudden thump from behind them.
“Miss? Miss? You okay?” Jordan asked repeatedly as he again ran to her and knelt beside her limp body. She had suddenly fainted and fell flat to the floor.
“Maybe you weren't joking,” Martin finally assessed as he too came to kneel next to her on the floor. “We'd better get her to a doctor...don't you think?” he finally advised now with slight concern.
“I told you I wasn't playing around!” Jordan yelled in anger at his still chuckling friend.
Jordan carefully picked her up and rushed her
down the stairs to his truck. Gently he placed her next to himself and laid her head against his solid shoulder.
“Pretty little thing isn't she?” Martin boasted as he climbed in the passenger side of the truck and thoroughly inspected her entire body.
Jordan grew even angrier at his friend as they took off. His patience was nearing an end. “This is no time to be thinking of sex Martin!” he warned.
He knew Martin all too well. Sex was about all his brown-eyed friend ever thought about. Jordan only wanted to get rid of this problem. To let the authorities take over even though he felt a little responsible as well as sorry for her. She seemed so innocent...yet so scared when he even mentioned calling the police.
“See if you can bring her too would you?” he then ordered to Martin as they drove toward the hospital. “It's not good for her to be unconscious like this, I'm sure.”
“My pleasure,” Martin beamed as he pulled her frail, limp body over to his side of the seat.
“And don't jack with her either,” Jordan then warned with a protective tone. He was furious at Martin's constant amusement at the strange and unusual predicament they were in.
“I'm not that senile,” he replied still laughing. “Besides...I only like'em conscious.” Martin talked to her as he shook her gently but she never flinched or moved.
“She's out cold,” he finally admitted to Jordan, giving up and smiling as he propped her head against his own shoulder and stared at her helpless little body. Then again he laughed out loud. “Why don't you just stop by my place? I bet I can wake her up there.”
“Martin!” Jordan yelled out as he slammed on the brakes and came to a sudden screeching halt on the side of the road. “I'm fixing to get out and bash your damn head in!”
“I'm sorry,” Martin answered still giggling out loud enjoying every moment of Jordan's rage and torment as they drove on now. He couldn't help but laugh. Never before had he seen Jordan Scott in a situation he couldn't handle. All the years he had known him, Jordan was always in control of everything. The leader of the gang. Now just because of some cute chick with amnesia he seemed to be losing his cool.
Shadow of Doubt Page 2