by Cathy Marie Hake, Lynn A. Coleman, Mary Davis, Susan Page Davis
“Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine, thank you.”
“So we can continue on?”
“Yes.”
At that slower pace, she had no trouble kicking her foot toward the driftwood. Jacob stopped her.
“There’s a piece of wood in front of us. Come this way, and we’ll go around it.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“We need to head up to the cottage.”
“Let’s keep going.” Hollan wanted to see it all. Everything she’d missed seeing for the past three years.
“No. You need to get back and rest. And I need to check the lighthouse.”
When she started to protest, he put a finger against her lips.
“You suffered a huge blow to the head. I don’t want you to overtax yourself. We’ll walk the other way in the morning.” They continued in the direction of the dunes. “If you want us to save our post, we need to be ready and have things perfect at any given time.”
“Good point.” She sighed. “I’ll come up with you.” She couldn’t wait to see the view from atop the lighthouse!
“You’ll return to the cottage and sleep.”
She made a disgruntled sound, and Jacob laughed. “You’ll be up to par soon enough, wife. You need to have patience.”
Wife. She grinned. “I’m up to par now. My tyrant of a husband just won’t let me prove it.”
Silence met her hasty retort, and she wondered if she had inadvertently offended him. Instead her eyes widened as Jacob leaned in for another gentle kiss. “I’m sure you have a lot to prove, wife, and I anticipate and look forward to each and every revelation.”
He accentuated the word revelation. Was he insinuating something? Her guilt had her constantly returning to her deception. She stubbornly stood her ground. She liked things as they were. She didn’t want to mess things up.
He captured her gaze with his own, and she swooned. She stepped backward. Jacob caught her by the arm. “Dizzy?”
“A—a bit maybe.” She put a hand to her forehead and feigned exhaustion. No way would she admit that it was his kiss that threw her off balance. “I think you’re right about my lying down.”
“I’ll get you settled then.”
She ignored the laughter in his voice. She hadn’t fooled him in the least.
Chapter 8
Hollan rose at dawn, determined to get an early start on her day. She figured the best way to effectively avoid Jacob would be to ease out the door well before their usual meeting time. He wouldn’t be happy with her, but she needed some time alone. She wanted to be able to explore without hiding the fact that she could see. Today she’d tell him about the return of her vision—just as soon as she took this walk along the shore.
She had a feeling their relationship would take a turn for the better after she cleared the air. She looked forward to sharing her news. She hadn’t liked sleeping alone in the cottage after having Jacob there the three nights before. She wanted their marriage to be real.
If Jacob felt she didn’t need him anymore and he decided to move on, she’d work through the situation day by day, just as she’d dealt with every other challenge in her life. But she hoped and prayed he wouldn’t decide that because she really did need him. She knew now that her love for him had never diminished; it had merely been buried somewhere deep inside.
Hollan stood before the mirror and smiled at her reflection. Today she could brush and style her auburn hair, and she would know what the end result actually looked like. She’d picked her favorite dress to wear and loved how the deep blue color she’d never seen before so perfectly matched the hue of the sea. Her brown eyes sparkled with excitement in the mirror’s reflection. Soon she’d be walking along the beach, scouring the soft sand for shells. Seagulls called to her through the open cottage door. The waves pounded the shoreline in the distance, promising interesting treasure.
Mindful of the time, she hurried to prepare a batch of blueberry muffins. She arranged them on a plate and set a flowered bowl of butter and a matching one of jam beside them. Guilt had her scurrying to the garden for a pretty arrangement of flowers. Jacob likely wouldn’t notice, but if he did, maybe he’d realize she’d taken the extra step to make her absence less harsh. Then again, he’d probably not even miss her and would be thrilled to have a morning meal without the awkwardness of their usual forced routine, though she had to admit their camaraderie felt more natural compared to before her accident. She now felt a certain comfort in the presence of her husband.
When she couldn’t think of anything else to do, she hurried out the door. Samson tried to follow, but she knew his barking would draw Jacob’s attention. She blocked him with her leg and forced the door shut behind her. The dog would get even by leading Jacob straight to her side but hopefully not before she’d had plenty of time to savor the beauty of her surroundings. And when they arrived, she’d happily share her news with Jacob, and she’d ask him to move into the cottage so they could properly live like the married couple they were.
Hollan wasted no time moving past the lighthouse and let out a sigh of relief after she’d cleared the stone walls. Once on the beach, she breathed even easier. No voice called out to stop her. No footsteps pounded down the hard-packed sand walkway in her wake.
Her bare feet sank deep into the coolness of the powdery soft sand at the water’s edge, and she laughed out loud, wiggling her toes in order to bury them deeper. She wanted to do so many different things. She wanted to swim, to explore, and to merely sit and savor. But first she had to make haste and get far away from here. She followed the shore in the direction they’d been heading the previous day. A tide pool usually formed just around the curve of the farthest dune, and she hoped to find it alive with crawling creatures. While she didn’t care for most of the land-type creatures, she loved each and every one of the aquatic types.
And suddenly there it was—the tide pool—spread out before her, sparkling in the morning sun. From a distance the tide pool looked placid, just a thin layer of water filling up the slight depression in the sand. But Hollan knew it would contain a whole underwater world full of sea creatures. Smiling, she dropped to her knees on the dry sand and studied the undersea world before her. She’d often wished in the past, as a little girl, that she could shrink down and be able to swim with the inhabitants. Now she was content just to be able to watch the miniature world. Everything she could see was a blessing and a privilege. She’d never take her vision for granted again.
Tiny coquina clams waved their siphons around, waiting for algae or plankton, not knowing they were a target themselves for the scavenging seagulls that flew overhead. Hermit crabs, their shells shiny and multicolored, glistened as they scurried across the bottom of the pool. A small blue crab lurked behind a rounded rock. A group of tiny fish swam together, twisting and turning with perfect precision. The scent of sea blew in on the breeze.
Hollan moved her fingers through the surface of the water, smiling as the clams pulled their siphons under the sand. The blue crab disappeared from sight when her hand’s shadow moved too close. The hermit crabs pulled back into their shells. The fish darted away to the far side of the pool.
Something brushed against her foot, and she looked over to see a curious ghost crab hurrying away. It blended in with the color of the beach and disappeared down a tunnel dug into the sand nearby. She felt as if her favorite friends had all gathered to welcome her back. All these aquatic creatures she’d missed for so long. She sat and savored the sights.
Hollan settled onto her hip and curved her legs beneath her. She dug her fingers into the sand and let it sift through them as she breathed a heartfelt prayer of thanks for the return of her vision. She knew God had a purpose in returning her sight, but this moment defined why she personally valued the ability to see. Her entire world here at the beach revolved around the land and the creatures she loved so much.
She glanced up. Fluffy white clouds moved across the brilliant blu
e sky. The water wasn’t quite as brown as it had been the day before. The sediment churned up by the storm was settling, allowing the water to return to its natural blue-green color.
Hollan wished she could throw caution to the wind and run out into the waves. But she wouldn’t. Jacob would probably be along soon, looking for his errant wife.
Instead she stood slowly to her feet and began to move farther down the beach. She stayed close to the waterline, not wanting to miss a treasure. Though most shells lay in pieces, tossed and broken by the surf, a few choice shells made it through the treacherous waters. One particularly delicate-looking shell washed up at her feet. The wave flipped it upside down to show a perfect outer shell, the color bleached white by the sun.
Hollan picked it up, feeling a strange kinship with the item. She’d add it to her collection. She tucked the shell into her pocket. Several starfish and sea horses had washed in, too. She carefully lifted them and settled them back in the water. Most floated atop the water and drifted out to sea. But a few gave halfhearted efforts to swim before seeming to realize they were once again free to swim away to safety.
She was fully absorbed in her observations of the sea life at her feet. Hollan didn’t notice the arrival of a large ship until the sound of men’s voices carried to her from across the water. She stood watching the activity aboard ship, deciding it was likely a renegade privateer ship from the war. She knew from her father that a select few still sailed up and down the coast. Fascinated, she raised her hand to her forehead, shading her eyes so she could study the magnificent vessel.
“What have we here, gentlemen?”
Hollan jumped and swung around as a voice spoke close behind her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck.
A rough-looking man stood just to her right, and a bit farther back three others stood and leered at her. None of them looked like gentlemen as far as she was concerned.
She slowly backed away. She hadn’t heard the arrival of the small boat that was now pulled up behind her down the shore. A shiver passed through her. For the first time that day, she prayed for Jacob to hurry and find her.
“I think we have a damsel in distress,” one of the men muttered. “We need to rescue her.”
They erupted into a semblance of laughter, the sound rusty, as if they hadn’t laughed in a very long time. The grating sounds sent another round of shivers down her spine.
“Thank you, but I’m not in need of rescue.” She turned and hurried in the opposite direction, on a path that would lead her directly back to Jacob. She wanted to run headlong into his strong embrace and never leave the warmth of his protective arms again. She wanted to tell him about the return of her vision. She wanted to say that she loved him. She suddenly realized that if a person waited too long, things could happen that would prevent those moments from ever happening. She prayed this wasn’t one of them. She’d just regained her vision. She didn’t want to lose her life.
A rough hand grasped her shoulder and spun her around. “It’s rude to walk away from someone when they’re talking.”
“It’s rude to place your hand upon a woman you’ve never met. Please release me at once,” Hollan gritted out through her teeth.
“Ah, we’ve caught ourselves a spunky one, men.”
They all laughed.
“You haven’t caught me at all. I’m not a fish.” Hollan fought off a wave of fear and held her ground.
“Ah, that’s good! She’s not a fish.” The closest man mocked her.
Hollan tried to jerk from his grasp. “My husband will be along at any moment, and he won’t be any too pleased to find you taking liberties with me.”
If only it was true. She had no idea when Jacob would come looking for her, or even if he’d look at all.
“Then we’d best get back to the ship at once.”
Her momentary relief turned into full-fledged panic when the closest man grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her toward their small wooden craft. She fought with everything she had, but that wasn’t much. She might as well have been a feather for all the good it did.
She managed one more glance over her shoulder before they forced her into the boat, but the beach behind her remained empty.
Jacob finished his morning chores and headed down for breakfast. He stopped by his tiny room, which was in dire need of cleaning, and hurried to freshen it up. He didn’t think Hollan would mind if he took a few minutes to tidy things. And if he didn’t take the time to clean it now, he knew she’d eventually make her way out and clean it for him. He made the small bed—the only item pushed against the north wall of the room—and gathered a few pieces of clothes into a pile. He went outside to dump the pitcher of water that had sat forgotten upon his small table on the opposite side of the room before returning to put everything else back in place. Hooks on the remaining wall—the one opposite the door—held the only other clothes he owned.
When he decided the room was clean enough, he bundled up the clothes to be washed and headed over to greet his wife. He needed to talk to her about several things. He laid his laundry down near the washtub. Hollan would insist on doing his laundry, but he’d insist just as hard on doing it himself. Until they lived in the same house as husband and wife, he wouldn’t expect her to do his clothes. And that very topic was one he intended to bring up. He’d been lonely last night and wanted things to change.
His feelings for Hollan hadn’t ever wavered. Though their marriage hadn’t come about quite the way they’d planned, they were still married. It was silly to live apart as they were. He just hoped she returned his feelings.
If she didn’t, he’d be patient and wait. In time she’d surely grow to love him the same way he loved her.
Samson barked from inside the cottage, and Jacob grinned. The dog had heard his arrival. Surprisingly, he didn’t hear Hollan hush him as usual with her melodic lilting voice. He’d come to rely on the familiar sound at the start of his day.
The early morning sun beat down on his head. Though the autumn nights were cooling down, the days were staying warm. Judging by the way the sun heated his back, today would be a hot one. The cool interior of the cottage beckoned him.
Jacob knocked and pushed open the door. “Good morning.”
Samson almost knocked him down in his hurry to get past and out into the yard, but Hollan didn’t answer Jacob’s greeting or bother to call Samson back.
With a whine, Samson wound himself around Jacob’s legs.
“Hollan?” Jacob had a warning sensation that something wasn’t right. He reached down and rubbed Samson on the head. “Where is she, boy?”
Samson glanced up at him with worried eyes.
Jacob moved into the empty room and let his eyes adjust to the dim interior. The table was set for one. The bed lay empty and neat. She’d taken time to pull the quilt up. She hadn’t left in a hurry. The fire burned low, but she’d finished breakfast preparations before departing.
Maybe Fletcher had arrived early with the supply boat. Knowing Hollan, she’d have walked along with him to bring back supplies. Jacob glanced around. The few times he’d seen Fletcher, he hadn’t wasted time. If he’d arrived at Hollan’s door, he’d have carried something along. No sign of packages or supplies sat anywhere nearby.
He sighed. More than likely Hollan had left early in order to be alone. He tended to be a tad overbearing when it came to her. He knew she didn’t like to be coddled, but he couldn’t help himself. He hadn’t protected her three years earlier when he’d needed to, and he didn’t ever want to mess up again.
“Ah, I see.” Jacob put his hands on his hips and looked at Samson. “She snuck out and left us both behind, is that it?” He walked to the table and surveyed the arrangement. “Well, we might as well show our appreciation as long as she went to the trouble of setting it all out.”
The aroma of fresh-baked muffins permeated the room.
Samson wagged his tail. Jacob slipped into a chair and held a muffin high over his head. Samson
stood on his hind legs, begged for a moment, then tired of the game and jumped to snatch the delicacy from Jacob’s hand. He hurried away to eat his prize at his favorite place near the fire.
Jacob frowned and spread some butter on his own muffin. It was lonely here without Hollan. Without her presence, he’d have preferred to eat outside. But the flowers on the table showed the care she’d put into making the table pretty for him, and he wouldn’t chance moving out front only to have her return and jump to the wrong conclusion.
As he ate, he mulled over his thoughts. He was sure Hollan was hiding something from him, and he was pretty sure he knew what her secret was. Ever since she’d recovered from her storm injuries, she’d been skittish. Something in her eyes had changed. She’d looked right into his eyes a few times before catching herself and turning away. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, either, but he was pretty sure she’d regained her vision, at least partially.
Why she wouldn’t tell him, he didn’t know. He’d tried to figure it out, but he’d stopped trying to understand her years ago. Whatever her reason, he’d find out soon enough.
He wanted to go after her but decided to give her a little more time. She’d been through some hard times. He wanted her to feel free and comfortable enough to confide in him whenever she decided the time was right. He wanted to move forward and have a life and a future with her. But a part of him worried that she might be having second thoughts. Maybe the return of her sight had her thinking she didn’t need Jacob at all. If so, they needed to talk things out. She needed him, and he’d be the first to explain that fact to her.
Jacob wasn’t one to tiptoe around a delicate circumstance—he preferred to plunge headfirst into every situation that crossed his path. He wouldn’t do anything different with this one.
While he waited for her to return, he decided to tend the garden. A little hard work would clear his mind and help him think. The growing season was almost over, and only a few vegetables remained on the vines. He picked the tomatoes that were ready and put them in a nearby bucket. He pulled the last few weeds. Next year he’d like to expand the garden’s size. If there would be a next year.