My Own Island (A Blue Shore Novel)

by Wendy Silk

  I did know that. “We must have an information leak out there. Somebody has put this on their social media, or on reviews somewhere. Can you please find out where that’s happening? That will be our best chance to get in touch with the patients that are reporting illness. Otherwise, we can only contact them through the attorneys.”

  “You don’t mean actually trying to speak with them? Grant, I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea. It’s probably the worst thing you could do, from a legal standpoint.”

  “No, not necessarily. I don’t need to talk to them in person. I just want to do a little bit of detective work myself here. Where else have they been? That’s still only my second priority, though.” I grimaced at what I had to make myself say next. “The first is to see the sample results from that damned hot tub filtration system. We need to find out if we really are at fault here, don’t we?”

  “I know you’re worried about it, Grant, but as long as the pool building is closed, nobody else is at risk right now. The health department said yesterday that in this case, they were only concerned with a situation in which somebody was actually in the pool outbuilding.” Cindy was, as usual, reading my mind. Behind all the worry about whether our hotel would survive was a very real concern that we’d actually made people sick. Old people. Those most vulnerable to rogue bacteria. Had it been my own negligence that had allowed this to happen? Damn it, I was going to find out.

  My next stop was to find Ed in his office. He was supposed to be the point person for the water systems, including the hot tub. I’d been trying not to admit it for a while now, but it was really irritating that I had been spending my own time trying to repair that beast. Just because he was Cindy’s son didn’t mean that I was going to cut him slack when it came to his duties. Who was I kidding? Cut him more slack. He’d been dead weight for a while now in management, and I thought he knew that.

  I found Ed at his desk, going through emails. He glanced up at me without smiling. “Grant, how’s it going?”

  “Not well, Ed, you know that. These Legionella cases are really worrying me. Have you heard anything new?”

  “Yes, that report just came back from the lab. The health department has confirmed it. They emailed us both. The hot tub filtration system is contaminated.”

  I sat heavily in the chair across from my assistant manager. “Ed, you know what this means.”

  His smile twisted as if it might come loose. “Do you mean for the hotel, or for my job?”

  “Yeah, both.”

  I craned my neck around him to read the report. “Can you print that out for me right now? I need to know when they estimate the exposures occurred. We’re talking about three cases, nothing fatal yet, right?”

  Ed passed me the papers that confirmed what I had thought. Three older guests, none of them from the same group of visitors, had filed complaints through their health care providers. Now that the actual water testing showed that we carried the bacteria, this would become public knowledge.

  As I stood to leave, I looked back at Ed. I was sorry for him, but there was no other choice. “Ed, I have to tell you, your job here is over. I wish there was another way. We’ll be facing new regulations and possibly lawsuits. I won’t be able to keep you on. The hotel will close for the short term, as we undergo disinfection protocols. There’s no telling if we’ll ever open again.”

  Ed looked more guilty that I would have expected. “Grant, man, I’m so sorry. I tried to do a good job, but you know, I was never that great at this.”

  I reached out for a firm shake of his hand and let myself out of his office. I’d have to tell Cindy about this, which was my least favorite part of it. No, to hell with that. Ed was an adult, and he had been for a while now. He could tell his mom himself that he’d lost his job through plain lack of effort.

  That reminded me of my own family concerns. Alice was right; I had always thought that I’d have the hotel for Toby to come back to if he went out into the world. I was failing at that, as I had at so many other things. I hadn’t even been the one to help him with his college applications. True, Alice was a qualified professional that I’d hired, but I cringed at the thought that they’d worked on it without me. Soon, I’d be a man without a family, without a business, and without the most important gift life had ever given me: Alice, the woman I knew I couldn’t do without.

  To clear my head, I walked down the narrow staff hallway and stepped outside. The upper trails wound away from the hotel into the hills. To my left was a drop to the water that grew steeper the further one got from our buildings. Here, next to the hotel, it was a gentle downward slope that allowed for the long staircases that guests used daily to get to our pebble beach. Further up, however, it became almost a cliff, with a series of ledges along it. My family owned all the land I could see in that direction, but we had few guests who wanted that much hiking. Nevertheless, I had posted signs in every possible location, warning walkers about the steep edge.

  I began to stroll easily along the wide path as it left the hotel garden. I hadn’t grabbed a coat before going outside, but that was no problem. I had lived on this island all my life, and walked this property for most of it. A bit of an early December chill in the air wasn’t going to stop me from clearing my head with a walk.

  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who’d had that idea. As I entered the narrower trail that cut through a wooded area where the slope began to climb, I met Alice. I knew I owed her an apology. What’s more, I was tempted to ask her what she’d meant by her reference to me missing my wife. I hadn’t thought that she was still under that misapprehension. I resolved to let her know how I felt, even if it was too late for us. She was the only one for me; I might as well tell her that.

  “Alice!” I called out to her as I approached. She was standing still, stretching out her legs. She wore workout clothes that were so close-fitting that I had to try hard not to stare. Her black lycra pants hugged every curve as she bent over each extended leg in turn. “Have you been running these trails?” I asked her. “Most people find them too hilly to even walk, let alone jog.”

  “Oh, I love them,” Alice replied. “You’re right, there are a lot of ups and downs, and some tricky roots to get over, but it’s a good workout.” Her cheeks were flushed pink from her exercise. A fine sheen of sweat decorated her face, despite the cool air. She must really have been going all out.

  “I need to tell you something,” I blurted out. All I could do was to say it. “Alice, I feel like we haven’t been communicating well. Not since I left you at the resort. Yes, I know: I ditched you. I did that, and I’m sorry. I admit it. I got scared that I wouldn’t be able to handle wanting such different things in my life. I fell for you, there’s no doubt about that. I was desperate to do something crazy like travel the world with you. But that’s just not me. If I did that, I’d be denying everything that my life means to me. I have responsibilities, just like you told me.”

  She stared at me in surprise. “You mean you really meant it when you said we should travel? I thought that was just a line. Well, I didn’t think it at first, but when you didn’t show up, I felt so stupid.”

  “No, I wanted it more than I can say. And there’s more. I think there’s been a misunderstanding about my past. Earlier, you said something about my work here being in memory of my wife. I don’t think I’ve properly explained that.”

  “Grant, I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn. I know that’s none of my business.”

  “Hear me out.” I reached out and caught one of her hands. She flinched at first, but she didn’t take it away. “I have to tell you this. I don’t miss Margaret, my wife. It wasn’t like that. She was never the love of my life. Nor was I hers. We had a marriage of convenience. By which I mean that she was using me the whole time. She lied to me to get me to marry her. She cheated on me. There was nothing good about it.”

  Alice’s mouth had turned downwards in pity. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” She blinked at me. “But Cindy said that Mar
garet was the only person who could have given you a reason to stay here. Oh.” It dawned on her that nothing had meant what she thought it had. “Cindy meant that Margaret made you stay here when you didn’t want to.”

  “But I’m glad I did,” I answered. “This place is more precious to me than anywhere in the world. I wish I hadn’t ever met Margaret--if I hadn’t, my parents might still be here.” She pressed my hand, but I continued. “It’s all right. I’ve had years to think about that, and there’s no changing any of it. All I mean is that she was my wife, but she was never a true love to me.” I paused and gathered my courage. “But you are.”

  Alice opened her mouth to speak, then remained still, as if she couldn’t find the words. I knew she was about to tell me that she was going back to David, just as he’d predicted. Instead, she closed the distance between our bodies with one quick movement. With no advance warning, she was pressed against me, hugging her arms around my neck.

  “Grant, I feel the same way. I was sure you felt it, but there was so much I got wrong.”

  I looked down into her face, tilting her chin upwards with my hand. “Alice, you mean everything to me. I need you. Please stay. No matter what happens with the hotel, I want to go through it with you by my side.”

  She responded by kissing me. Her long brown hair was soft in my hands as I held her against me. She was standing on her toes, reaching up to me like a flower turning up to the sun on a summer day. As her lips parted against mine, I felt the tip of her soft tongue with my own. Like a fire had been lit inside us, we were both energized with our desire for each other. I ran my lips down her neck, sucking on a sweet spot that seemed to beg for my mouth to linger on it.

  “Alice, I want you so much. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” As I kissed her, my hands were reaching along the bottom of her nylon running shirt. I held her against me with my left hand, but let my right wander up to her breast. She gasped with pleasure as I rolled her nipple between my fingers. Without thinking of the cold, I pulled her shirt up so I could take one of those sweet, dark nipples into my mouth. I sucked her soft skin, nibbling just hard enough to make her groan. Her head was thrown back as she pushed against me with her breasts.

  “Keep doing that...don’t stop,” she murmured. How could this be the same person as the strong, sassy woman who was always telling me what I was doing wrong, and who was right every time? I kept teasing her breasts, while at the same time moving my left hand down to caress her ass. She reached her leg up to grind her hips against mine. “It’s been too long,” she whispered. “I’ve been thinking of this ever since I came here.”

  Alice’s hand came to my crotch, feeling the erection that waited there for her. I remembered the day she saw how hard I was for her at the pool house. The heat that I’d felt for her then had never faded. To be honest with myself, I’d have to admit that it had not left me since the moment I saw her when she first tripped in front of me on vacation. I’d been burning with wanting her every day that she’d been here, working for me, staying in my home.

  Her fingers fumbled with the button to my pants and before I knew it, her hand was in my shorts, holding my cock. I could hardly breathe with wanting to fuck her. Her fingers were wrapped around me, moving with a rhythm that was making me crazy. I had my eyes closed, but I knew I’d need to open them in a moment, to find a place where I could lay her back onto the leaves and fuck her. That need to be inside her warmth, to move my hips against her again, as we had done in the sand once before. That need was all I could think about right now. From the way she was pressing against me, I knew she was feeling the same way. I had sworn to myself that if it ever happened again between us, it would be in a soft bed, where I could take care of her. But there was no stopping this moment. I knew I would have to penetrate this woman that I loved, and that I would have to do it right now, to make us one.

  In a decisive movement, she pulled back from me. “What’s that noise?” She straightened her shirt and patted her wild hair down. “Grant, your pants. I know there’s somebody there, and you can’t be seen like this. I know, I know…”

  She was right. Like a couple of busted teenagers, we straightened our bodies away from each other. I zipped my pants up a mere moment before the noisiest hiker in the world appeared in front of us. I’d heard the footsteps too, but I didn’t think I’d ever heard somebody make so much noise out of what was really the simplest walk.

  When I saw who it was, I understood. Nobody on earth could have been more disruptive, in every way possible. It was David. He was back on my island, at my hotel, and here to try to take the woman I loved.

  Chapter 17: Alice

  I sighed. “David, what the hell? Why are you back here?” My breath came ragged after the passionate clinch that I’d just been in with Grant. Would David be able to spot that? Probably, but I didn’t care. I was willing to be that we both looked like we’d been rolling around in the leaves together, even though we hadn’t gotten that far yet. I had been sure we were about to, though. Without meaning to, I touched my hand to my lips. They felt tender after Grant’s urgent kisses.

  David looked at me as I did that, smirking. He didn’t care if I was involved with Grant. Why would he? He’d been having sex with Vicky for months on the side before our wedding date, and that hadn’t triggered any warnings with him about morals. I saw something else in his eyes, though, beyond his enjoyment at breaking up somebody else’s private moment. He had a steely, serious glint in his eyes. I’d seen that laser focus before, when he was going after a promotion at work. When he decided he wanted something, he went for it.

  David ignored me, though, and turned to Grant. “Grant, right? I was supposed to tell you that your brother is looking for you. The woman at the front desk asked me to pass that on when I told her I was coming up here to meet you two. Apparently, it’s some kind of emergency.”

  Grant’s annoyance at my ex-fiancé’s appearance turned to a barely concealed panic. “Damn it,” he muttered, checking his pocket. “I left my phone in the charger when I went to talk to Ed.” He looked at me with eyes that searched mine, asking for permission to dash off. “Alice, I need to run. Something must be wrong.”

  “It’s fine. Go and see what’s up. Tell him I’ll be along in a minute, too, if it’s something I can help with,” I tried to touch his elbow in reassurance as he was leaving, but he moved too quickly to register the contact.

  That left me alone with David. There I was, at a disadvantage, as always. I was covered in sweat from my run and off balance from having so desperately wanted to be with Grant and yet not having those feelings fulfilled. David was, as ever, perfectly groomed, and ready to bulldoze anybody who stood in the way of what he wanted.

  He smiled ominously at me. “Shall we walk back together? I knew I’d find you here. When the receptionist said you were somewhere on the grounds, I could pick out exactly where you’d go to try to clear your head. I’ve known you too long not to be able to guess that you’d be running along some dirty trail somewhere with these loud-ass birds circling everywhere. And I knew that I’d find your boss there with you, trying to find a way to get into your pants.”

  I rolled my eyes at his crudeness. “Shut up. Why are you here?”

  He smiled at me, unworried by my rudeness. “Alice, I told you when I left the last time that I’d be back. You can’t just tell me you aren’t interested in me. Now that I’ve sent Vicky packing, I’ve come back to you. Let’s finish what we started. We’ll set a new wedding date.”

  For a moment, I was speechless. Then my words came rushing out at once. “Are you crazy? You didn’t break up with Vicky. She dumped you! She left you, just as I should have done years ago. I always thought she was kind of stupid and boring, but she was way ahead of me. She was always much smarter than me, as it turned out. She managed to manipulate you, instead of the other way around.”

  David kept walking, placing his arm around my shoulders. I shrugged it off, but he merely smiled and put his hand
in his pocket instead. “Alice, Alice. Here’s the thing. I’m back. Not just back here because I like this lame, isolated island. I’m back for you.”

  “Get lost, asshole.”

  Instead of being deterred by my rejection, he stopped still on the trail. As he planted his feet in the leaves, he grabbed my wrist so hard that I almost fell. When I tried to hit him, he trapped the other wrist. He held my hands in front of me so tightly that I knew I’d have blue marks tomorrow. What was going on? He’d never been rough with me before. He was cruel in many ways, but not that particular one.

  David looked down at me, speaking seriously and slowly. “Alice. I’m not good at being alone. It’s hard for me, and it’s affecting my abilities at work. I won’t allow that. I’ve come to get you back. There’s no possibility of your refusing. I won’t hear of it.”

  “Let go of me. I am refusing. What are you thinking? You can’t drag me down the hill in front of everybody.”

  “No, I can’t. But I can tell you what I will do. I will see this hotel closed permanently if it will get you to leave this job and come back with me. I will have the health department all over this place. I will get them to dismantle it board by board until there is nothing left. Do you see now?”

  I stopped struggling. When I did, he let go of my wrists, leaving me rubbing them and wincing from the damage he’d done. “What are you saying? Do you know about the trouble we’re in here?” I didn’t notice until the words were out of my mouth, but I thought of the Bedloes as “we” now, not “they.” David heard that nuance that right away, I could tell.

  “Do I know about the trouble?” he taunted. “You mean the infectious bacteria that is in the very air here? This place is riddled with germs. All old buildings are, but this one has to be the worst. And here you are working for a man who wants to subject elderly people to a dangerous type of pneumonia, just because he can’t keep the place clean?”