Jordan glared at him. With one quick look at Hutton, between clenched teeth, she said stiffly, “You know perfectly well how it went. And we’ll talk about this later, after I get Hutton down for her nap.”
As if on cue Hutton held out a spoon full of pasta and promptly dropped it on the floor. When Dog ran over to lick up the unwanted food, Hutton found that extremely funny. She began to clap her hands and drop more on the floor.
When she noticed Nick laughing, she giggled even more and started chanting, “Dog. Dog. Dog.” Not one to lose the opportunity of the moment, Nick turned to Jordan and pointed out, “Hutton’s talking to me.”
“Oh, I’m talking to you. I just don’t think you’re gonna like what I have to say.” With that, she turned her attention to cleaning up Hutton.
Later after Jordan got her down for a nap, she walked into one of the guest rooms to see Nick standing on a ladder, installing a ceiling fan with a lighting fixture. Her heart softened a little just seeing him work so hard and knowing what he’d done for the place, for her. But despite that they had to clear the air.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her walk into the room holding the baby monitor in her hand that she carried everywhere she went, night or day, whenever Hutton slept. When he saw her set it down on the dresser, he climbed down off the ladder, prepared to do battle. He watched her cross her arms in a defiant stance. “That’s why you offered to go into town, wasn’t it? So, I wouldn’t find out what you’d done.”
“What I did? Me? I don’t know what version you got from those nut jobs in town but I was minding my own business, having a beer, and some guy I don’t even know throws a punch at me, and then insults you.”
Trying to keep her voice level, she tossed back, “And why did that happen? I don’t need you to defend me, Nick.” She was pacing now, building up a new head of steam. “You’ve made things ten times worse. Usually, they just ignore me. Now, the whole town is laughing at me and talking behind my back.”
“Please.” He rolled his eyes. “Like they weren’t doing that before?”
“Okay. They talked behind my back. But now they’re openly snickering and laughing at me. You should have seen them at Ferguson’s and at Murphy’s. It’s… humiliating.”
“So you’d rather have me just stand there and let them say things about you that aren’t true. That would have been better?”
“They probably thought that two days after you got here. It’s a small town with small-minded people. I can’t control what they think about me, or you for that matter.”
“What’s wrong with the people in this town? Why do they treat you like a leper?”
Jordan blew out a breath, and sat down on the bed they’d just brought in from the garage two days earlier. She hung her head as if she’d just lost all momentum. “Honestly I don’t know, but Scott loved this place, loved the idea of moving back here. I’m not sure why. Because once we got here, they treated us like outsiders, both of us, even though Scott grew up here and knows practically everyone in town. Scott kept telling me they’d warm up to us, to me, eventually.” Her shoulders slumped and she ran a hand through her hair. “But then he left for Iraq, left me out here alone, pregnant, without a friend in town.” It sounded so pathetic, she thought, as she met Nick’s stormy eyes.
“You had Hutton here alone?”
She shook her head and looked down, nervously, playing with the string on her hoodie. “I went to San Francisco for her birth to be with my family. Even though it was Christmastime, I think that upset the doctor in town. I guess he thought I’d snubbed him in some way by going out of town to deliver. Another mark against me. But I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be with my family. I felt so alone here, Nick. I stayed with my parents until Hutton was three weeks old. But then we had to come back here. And God, once I got back, I’ve never felt so… miserable. Every time I went into Pelican Pointe, they were standoffish. The longer it went on the worse it got. Then after I got word that—Scott had died, they were downright hostile.”
“You have no friends here, not one?”
“No. Lilly’s the closest thing I have to a friend. And Murphy, but he’s the mayor, a politician. Sometimes I think the only reason he’s nice to me is because he wants my vote.” He took a step toward her, tucked a hand into hers.
“They just don’t see what a terrific person you are.”
“They haven’t made an effort to get to know me, Nick. And if it hasn’t happened by this time, I doubt it ever will.”
“You’re right. The people in this town are incredibly petty.”
“Not just that but at this point, I’m considered the crazy widow on the fringes of town trying to take a rundown, old house, and make it into a business. For some reason, the town resents me for that. I don’t get it, either. They welcomed Perry Altman to town, gave him loads of support for turning the old fishery into The Pointe but when it comes to opening this place, it’s beneath them. I can’t win with these people.”
“I’m sorry I upset you.”
Jordan smiled, all forgiven. “Etta Mae said you knocked Sal out with one punch.”
He grinned. “Had a weak jaw, went down like a falling rock. But I wish it could’ve been Sissy, she’s the one with the big mouth.”
“You’re telling me. I wouldn’t mind clocking Sissy myself. I’d like to see someone wipe that smirk off her face.” She sighed, feeling better about everything. “I’m sorry I overreacted. In the future, if I need my honor defended, I know where to find my knight in shining armor.”
It was such a nice afternoon after Hutton woke up from her nap, Jordan decided it was time to test ride the new porch swing. That’s where Nick found them enjoying the simple pleasure of a lazy afternoon. They hadn’t yet spotted him. So he leaned on the doorjamb and stood back and watched the show. Hutton prattled on in gibberish only she could understand while Jordan pretended to hang on her every word. In her hand, Hutton clutched one of the yellow flowers they’d managed to salvage, a daffodil maybe, and Jordan made up a story about the flower. It was an easy scene to watch. Relaxed, he felt better than he had in a year. Even with all the physical labor, it seemed like every day he felt less stress, and in better shape than even physical therapy ever provided.
Jordan finally spotted him and motioned for him to take a seat on the other side of Hutton in the swing. “It’s such a pretty day. Almost spring.” After he’d settled in, Jordan eyed Nick carefully. He’d been working like a slave for weeks and without much sleep. The brutal timetable they were under had to be catching up with him. “Do you surf, Nick?”
“Not in years.”
“Take some time for yourself, go surfing this afternoon. You and Ben should have spent more time in the water while he was here.”
“Okay, but only if you and Hutton join me. How does a walk on the beach sound?”
A walk on the beach sounded great. “Fine. Go grab a board. I’ll get Hutton’s sunscreen and a couple of towels and meet you at the top of the trail.”
As he stood on the cliffs watching Jordan’s approach, Nick’s mouth went dry. The woman wore a red two-piece swimsuit, with some kind of wraparound thing at her hips. It didn’t look possible that she’d ever had a baby. She had a body models might envy but with curves in all the right places and not the stick-figure-thin-as-a-rail variety.
Carrying a surfboard, he led the way down the trail while behind him Jordan carried Hutton and Dog plodded down each step at his own pace. But the only thing Nick had on his mind were Jordan’s long legs. Until today, she’d mostly been sort of covered up, wearing jeans, except for that first day when he’d seen her legs in shorts. But now, Jordan uncovered was a sweet thing to behold.
He reached the bottom first and got rid of the surfboard so he could help Jordan maneuver the last step carrying Hutton. He spread out the blanket. But Jordan and Dog had other ideas. Jordan kicked off her sandals and moved along the shallow surf. Barefoot now, carrying the baby on her hip, he watched her move along
the water’s edge until she stopped to dip Hutton’s toes into the cold, ocean water a little at a time. The baby giggled while Dog played tag with the waves. But Nick had trouble taking his eyes off Jordan. He knew he had no right to this woman, but his body’s reaction was another matter entirely. He forced himself to take a step back―mentally.
Before she caught him staring, he turned his attention to the water. For several long minutes, he stood back reading the currents, finding the best point break. When he spotted his chance, he picked up Scott’s favorite board, threw it on top of the water, and paddled out into the surf.
Jordan watched as the man propelled himself through the water on his belly like a pro. It didn’t take long for him to find the perfect tube, and popped up on the board, weaving his way through the water. He glided over the waves with some skill, keeping his balance for the longest time before dropping into the wave. When the ride ended, she turned her attention back to Hutton. To entertain Dog the two began to roll a ball back and forth over the sand. When that grew tiresome, Jordan showed Hutton how to use a small scoop to push the sand around. This seemed to hold her interest. By the time Nick plopped down on the blanket next to them, they’d finished building their fourth sandcastle, a fragile fortress waiting for the next wave to come along and obliterate it into mush. The first time the water charged up and ruined her afternoon’s work, Hutton had cried, but by the third effort, she pretty much took the damage in stride.
“What are you making there, Blondie?” Nick asked, as he tugged on the cute little pink beach hat she wore covering her head. Her big blue eyes, so like Scott’s, locked on his with such trust the look humbled him. In baby-speak, Hutton proceeded to describe her work. Covered in sand from head to toe, she looked like a grubby cherub. But she also looked as though she was having the time of her life. As Hutton turned back to her sand project, something caught his eye out over the glistening water. It looked like a dot of land in the distance, north of where he’d surfed. “What is that?”
Jordan squinted, putting her hand over her eyes to shade out the sun. “Oh. That’s Treasure Island.” When she caught his baffled look, she laughed. “No kidding. That’s what Scott nicknamed it when he was a kid. He used to explore that little dot of land out there. He kept a dinghy inside the sea cave over there so he could make trips back and forth.” She pointed to a dark cavern-like entrance at the base of the trail that he’d missed until now. “The dinghy’s still there.” When she saw Nick’s eyes widen, she added, “Well, not the one he had when he was a boy, of course, but rather a newer version, one with a nice double hull, and a seven-horsepower motor.”
“A real island?” Now that he hadn’t known. Scott had never mentioned Treasure Island to him before. But it sounded like every twelve-year-old boy’s fantasy to be able to explore an island of his very own. “What’s it doing there?”
“One of a chain, I guess. The tip is all that’s left. It’s more rock than anything, but there’s some vegetation on this side. I haven’t been out there since…” Her mind drifted to another day just after they’d bought the place. Scott had shown her around and then made a point of taking her out in the dinghy to explore the island. They’d made love there. It might have been where they’d conceived Hutton. At that moment Hutton squealed at something Dog did and Jordan snapped back to the present. “You should motor out there one day. Take some time to look around. It’s worth the trip. Just north of that little dot of land is where the shipwreck’s located.”
He might just do that, he thought, as he glanced at Jordan. She’d mentioned Scott’s name without looking like she wanted to cry. It was a first. But she’d been lost there for a moment in her own thoughts.
“You looked like you were having fun out there today. Surfing. You’re pretty good.”
“The surf’s great here. You should take a turn.”
“I haven’t surfed in more than two years. Not since we first moved in. I’d probably kill myself now.”
“It’s like riding a bike, you never forget how. Go ahead, have some fun, I’ll watch Hutton.”
“Thanks, maybe another time.”
He frowned. “You need to have some fun, Jordan. When’s the last time you got out?”
“I get out every day.”
“I mean for fun. Once you open this place up for business, you’ll be swamped through the summer. You need to have some fun now before you’re so busy with guests you can’t see straight.”
That night, as she got Hutton ready for bed, Jordan pondered Nick’s words. How long had it been since she’d gone anywhere just for fun? Three months earlier, she’d gone home to San Francisco for Christmas and to celebrate Hutton’s first birthday. But she didn’t think that’s what Nick had been talking about. The last time she’d gone out was the night before Scott had deployed for Iraq. They’d gone to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz for dinner. They hadn’t had much money to splurge, but they’d played games in the arcade, walked along the boardwalk, and then eaten dinner on the wharf. They’d made love that night for the last time. Funny, when they’d been in bed together, she had never once thought it would be for the very last time. How was a person supposed to know something like that would be the last time? She’d been pregnant with Hutton then, just barely. Scott had been ecstatic at the prospect of becoming a father. He’d told her at least a dozen times before his deployment not to worry, that he’d be back in six months. So much for optimism.
When she realized Hutton’s bath water had turned stone cold, she picked her up out of the water, wrapping her in a towel. And saw Nick standing in the doorway. “Anything I can do?”
Unlike last night, he hadn’t felt the need to run into town. And he hadn’t felt like staying cooped up in that studio apartment watching a snowy Lakers game. So he’d wandered over here to the main house to see if they might need him for story duty. A guy could hope. What was it about these two that drew him in?
Glad for the interruption to her thoughts, Jordan gave him a shy smile and said, “She’ll be ready for a story after I get her PJs on, how about that?”
He grinned. “Sure. We were just getting to the good part the other night when you whisked her off to bed.” He watched how expertly Jordan diapered Hutton and had her dressed in lightning-fast precision. The minute the last snap caught, however, Hutton popped up like a jack-in-the-box as if she’d found her second wind.
“She doesn’t look tired,” Nick commented, as he watched the child in whirlwind fashion toddle over to the bookshelf to pick out her favorite story books.
Knowing the bedtime drill, Hutton gathered up as many as she could carry at one time and followed her mother into the living room. Nick trailed after both as did Dog. Taking a seat on the sofa, he got comfortable. It took Hutton all of two seconds to crawl onto his lap the minute he sat down as if she’d already gotten into the routine. She opened up the first book about a lost kitty cat. With Hutton on his lap and Dog curled at his feet, for the next thirty minutes, Nick read half a dozen story books.
After the last one, Jordan announced, “Okay that’s it, time for bed. Let’s go get Mr. Bear. Say night-night, Hutton.” “Night-night,” Hutton repeated as her mother scooped her up and quickly headed into the bedroom.
After they’d left the room, through the baby monitor, Nick sat mesmerized by the tender scene unfolding across the hall. He heard Hutton making little baby noises. He listened as Jordan spoke in a soft tone, putting her daughter down for the night, telling her another story about how Mr. Bear was tired and sleepy.
It hit him then like a punch to the gut. He’d given up his whirlwind, carefree life in L.A. to go to war. In two short years his life had changed dramatically. Even when he’d returned to his job months after being wounded, he’d failed to recapture that single carefree existence. Even though he’d tried. He’d gone to the same parties as before with the same people, tried dating some of the same kinds of women who’d before given him such pleasure. He’d tried to pick up his life from before. But not
hing he’d done since getting back had brought him any kind of peace or joy.
Until now.
When Jordan got back to the living room, she realized she didn’t want him to leave. A bit nervous, she tried to think of something to say. “I’ve got a bottle of wine from the Alexander Valley. Would you like a glass? It might help you sleep.”
“Sounds good.” He trailed after her into the kitchen.
“Let me help.”
“Then pop the cork.” She handed him a corkscrew and pulled the wine out of the cooler. He worked the bottle open, pouring two glasses of chardonnay.
They took their wine back into the living room. As Jordan got comfortable on the sofa, Nick laid a fire. As soon as the logs caught, Nick turned to her and said, “I’ve been thinking, I guess I could have handled things better at McCready’s.”
“Knowing the town like I do, it wasn’t your fault. I admit I made a big deal out of nothing. And just the other day I ran into Sissy at the store. She made me so mad I wanted to spit. She made me feel so…like a failure.”
“Why, because daddy’s handed her everything she ever wanted all her life? You shouldn’t let her get to you or make you feel bad. She’s probably never had to overcome anything in her life.”
Jordan smiled. “Scott said almost exactly the same thing when I complained about her to him. At one time during high school I think she’d convinced herself Scott would marry her.”
Nick’s eyes grew wide. “I couldn’t imagine going through married life listening to that voice of hers.” He mimicked her line from the bar. “'I’ve just been dying to go for a ride on a Harley.’”
Jordan laughed, thinking of Sissy’s squeaky voice. “I thought it was just me. We are so mean.”
“Hardly. Something tells me that woman wrote the book.”
“Murphy said she once got so drunk at the bank Christmas party she started counting on her fingers who was sleeping with whom and naming names.”
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