A Rocky Path (4 page)

“Well, here it is. This is what I do!”

Emily looked at him incredulously. “You…you
are Sam Kelley?”

“The one and the same!”

Jamie was grinning at her astonished
expression. “You would never have believed it, would you? I guess
the gift just runs in the family.”

“You can’t tell anyone,” he said. “I write
under a pen name and I don’t want anyone to know who I really am.
Promise you won’t tell?”

“Of course I won’t tell. Now there are two
famous writers in the house! What in the world is going to happen
to shock me next?”

***

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. She
started getting restless about 4:00. She kept thinking about the
possibility of seeing Patrick again. Rebecca finally got tired of
her fidgeting and told her to take off an hour early.

“I’m so sorry,” said Emily. “I don’t know
what’s wrong with me. I’m just antsy for some reason.”

She had no idea why she hadn’t told anyone
about meeting Patrick. She guessed it was partly because there was
a small thrill from having a little secret that no one knew about.
And for some reason, she didn’t want to share him with anyone
yet.

When it was time for dinner, Emily kept on
her jeans and t-shirt and put on her hiking boots. She planned on
going down to the rocks tonight, hoping that Patrick would be
there. She was beginning to think she was acting like a crazy
person, but she couldn’t help it.

“Well, you sure dressed differently for
dinner tonight,” remarked Rebecca.

Emily smiled. “I’m just moody like that. You
just never know what I’ll feel like wearing.”

After dinner, Emily told everyone that she
would like to wander around by herself for awhile.

“Do you want to go do something later on
tonight?” Jamie asked. “Sam could go with us, too.”

“No, I don’t think so. I really just want a
little solitude this evening, ok?”

“Sure,” Jamie said. “I’ll see you either
later on tonight or in the morning. Sam, let’s go shoot some
pool.”

After the two men had left, Rebecca went up
to her sitting room and Emily went down the path and down the
little rocky cliff. She was disappointed to find that Patrick was
not there. She wandered down the coast a little bit, looking
around, hoping to see him somewhere. The disappointment she felt
was much deeper than it should have been.

‘What’s wrong with me? Am I just a school
girl with a crush? I just met this guy!’ she thought.

Suddenly a teasing voice came from behind
her. “Are you looking for me by any chance?”

She whirled around to find Patrick standing
there, his shoulder length dark hair blowing in the wind, a slight
smile on his face. He was wearing jeans that rode low on his hips
and a t-shirt that was a little tight, showing off his lean body.
He didn’t have the bulkier muscles like Jamie did, but was thinner,
with muscles that were hard, but not huge.

“How in the world did you get back there? I
was looking all over….” She stopped, blushing when she realized
that she was admitting more than she wanted to.

He reached out and lightly touched her face
for just an instant. Just that tiny touch sent shivers through her
body and turned her legs to water.

“I just walked up behind you. You were just
not looking in the right direction.”

“But you couldn’t have…..never mind. I must
have been daydreaming and just didn’t see you.”

“So, Emily, what have you been doing today?
Working, playing, daydreaming?” he teased.

Emily blushed again. “I’ve been working quite
hard today, thank you. But I have been a bit antsy. I guess I just
needed some fresh air.”

“This is the perfect place to get it. I was
hoping you would come down here again this evening. I was thinking
that maybe you could stay later this time and we could watch the
sunset. It is really beautiful.”

Her heart started beating a little faster. He
actually wanted to spend time with her! She had thought that
perhaps she had been a nuisance to him yesterday and was just being
nice.

“Y-yes, of course I’ll stay. I’m flattered
that you want to watch the sunset with me. I didn’t want to be a
pain, and I was afraid I had invaded your privacy yesterday.”

“Nonsense. I enjoyed your company. I’m mostly
a loner, but I do enjoy being around certain people. So far, you
are the only one whose company I have enjoyed since I moved
here.”

They talked about a lot of different things,
but it seemed like he still was unwilling to reveal very much
information about himself.

“Please tell me more about you,” Emily
pleaded. “All we do is talk about me or about trivial things. I
still know next to nothing about you!”

“There is so little to tell. I’m an artist
from Connecticut and I have a lot of money. I’m just a very boring
person.”

“What about your love life. Do you have a
girlfriend anywhere? Did you have one before you came here? Have
you ever been married?”

A sad look came over his face. “I was engaged
once.”

“What happened?” she asked, knowing she
should mind her own business.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just be
quiet for a little while. The sun is about to set. Look over there,
isn’t it beautiful?”

They watched the sunset together, not
talking, just enjoying the view and each other’s company. Emily was
finding it hard to breathe every time she looked over at Patrick.
He was so beautiful. It was hard to describe him as handsome, and
certainly not cute. Beautiful was the word that seemed to fit. He
wouldn’t look at her, and she felt like she had overstepped some
boundary when she asked him about his engagement. Maybe when they
got to know each other better, he would open up to her a little
more. Right now, she just had to be content to be with him.

When it started getting dark, he turned to
her and said, “Do you want to go back to the house, or do you want
to stay with me a little longer?”

“Do you want me to stay?” she asked
shakily.

“Yes, I would like that. Let’s not talk,
though. Let’s just be here.”

He took her hand and leaned back on the rock.
She leaned back beside him, thrilled just to be touching him. They
stayed like that for about an hour. Soon her back was hurting and
she had to sit up straight.

“I’m sorry, but I was getting very
uncomfortable sitting against the rock.”

He let go of her hand then. “No, it is I who
am sorry. I should have realized that you would be
uncomfortable.”

“Aren’t you a little stiff and sore from
sitting here?”

He smiled a little. “No, I don’t feel pain
the same way that others feel it.”

“What does that mean?” she asked,
puzzled.

“It’s a long story. Maybe I will tell you
someday. Now it’s time for you to go back up to the house and for
me to go home.”

“I enjoyed spending time with you today,”
Emily said shyly.

“I enjoyed it as well. Thank you for a
pleasant evening. I look forward to seeing you again.”

He took her hand and gently kissed it,
smiling at her as his lips touched her skin. Then he let go of her
hand, turned around and walked away. She admired the way he looked,
walking confidently down the beach.

Emily walked back up the rocks to the path
leading to the house. She felt like she was walking on air. Her
stomach was all tied up in knots from being with him and holding
his hand. And she could still feel his lips on her hand where he
had kissed her. What was she, sixteen years old? She didn’t care if
she was acting like a teenager. It felt good and this was the first
time she had felt anything like this for a long time. She intended
to enjoy it, even if it came to nothing. She decided that living
for the moment was the way to go.

Chapter Six

The next day, Emily and Rebecca were very
busy. One of Rebecca’s novels was ready to send to the publisher,
so Emily typed the letter to go with it and got it ready to be
mailed, making sure to add insurance. It was like shipping a
precious commodity. Books were like that.

“Now we’ll have a party,” Rebecca said.

“A party? Do you always have a party when
your novels are ready for publishing?”

Rebecca grinned. “Yep! As long as I’ve been
writing books, I still get nervous about them. I like to celebrate
when one is finished.”

“So, who do you invite to these parties?”

“I usually choose about 100 people from Port
Crest. I try to get a very diverse group each time. Now, we’re
going to have a lot of work to do to prepare for this party. After
I make the guest list, you’ll have to get invitations. And you’ll
have to help Sarah and me plan the menu. It will only be finger
food and drinks. We will pretty much open up the entire first floor
so there will be plenty of room for everyone.

“Drinks? I thought…..” she stopped, not
knowing whether or not Sam would want Rebecca to know he had told
her about Jamie’s drinking problem.

“What, that we wouldn’t have alcohol because
of Jamie? We usually don’t. But this is the one occasion that we
do. Jamie is ok for just the parties. But we do keep an eye on him
just in case. I would hate to be the cause of him slipping.”

The rest of the day was spent in preparation
for the party, which would be held in two weeks. By the time they
were done, Emily was exhausted. Sally was tired from all the meal
planning and arguing about what they were going to have.

Rebecca looked at Sally and Emily and said,
“You know what? We are all tired and I know that no one feels like
cooking. And none of us really feels like sitting around a table
and making conversation. Let’s order pizza and eat it in the
theater room while we are watching a movie. What do you think?”

Emily and Sarah readily agreed, so Rebecca
went to find the guys and tell them.

That night they just hung out, ate pizza and
watched a movie. Then everyone agreed that it was time to go to
bed. Emily went upstairs and waited until everyone was settled in
their rooms. Then she tiptoed back down the stairs. She heard the
clock strike 11:00 as she went out the door. She was afraid that
Patrick would have gone already.

She traveled her usual path and was surprised
and delighted to find him sitting there on the rocks. She sat down
beside him.

“Hey, I was afraid I had missed you tonight,”
she said.

“I was just getting ready to leave. I
wondered where you might be, but I figured you had more of a life
than just coming down here to talk to me.”

“We ordered pizza and then watched a movie.
It was fun, really, but I was a little restless.”

“Well, I’m glad you were able to make
it.”

Emily smiled at him. “Guess what? We are
going to have a party celebrating Rebecca’s new novel. She just
finished it and I sent it off to the publisher.”

“That sounds like fun. When are you having
it?”

“In two weeks. It’s going to be a big fancy
thing. I’ve never been to a party like that. I was sort of hoping
you would come with me since I don’t have a date for it.”

He hesitated. “Emily, I’m not much of a
people person. I don’t really like crowds. I told you, I’m a
loner.”

“I’m not crazy about crowds either, but I
would really like for you to come. It would be more fun with you
there. I won’t know all those other people except for the people
who live here. Please?”

“I’m sorry, Emily. I really can’t. You can
tell me all about it when it’s over. In fact, you can sneak down
here really late that night and we can talk about it. I will wait
for you.”

She pouted a little, and wouldn’t look at
him.

“Emily, you have only seen me three times.
You know nothing about me. Why would you care whether or not I come
to that party?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Patrick. I just…well, I like
being around you.”

She was blushing now and looked down, not
wanting to meet his eyes. He put a finger under her chin and lifted
it up so that she was looking at him.

“Emily, I enjoy being with you, too. So let’s
just continue to meet here and let it be our little secret. You
haven’t told anyone about meeting me, have you?”

“No, I haven’t said anything to anybody.”

“I wonder why that is. Why you haven’t
mentioned me. It would seem the natural thing to do to say
something to Rebecca or someone else in the house. Why have you
kept me a secret?”

Emily bit her lip. “I don’t really know. I
guess it’s kind of exciting to have my own little world outside of
the normal routine. Everything is just great. I’m happy, everyone
has been wonderful to me, I have everything I need and most of what
I want. But it gets a little boring sometimes. With you, everything
seems different. You are kind of a mystery. A mystery that I would
love to solve.”

That sad look that she had seen before
crossed his face for just a second and then it was gone. She was
wondering if she had imagined it.

“Be careful about solving mysteries,” he
warned. “Some things are better left alone. Now, unfortunately, I
have to go.”

He got up and pulled her up with him. His
hand lingered in hers for just a moment, then he let go.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, maybe. We will see. Now you
should go back up to the house. It’s getting a little chilly out
here.”

She reached out for him, but he shook his
head and stepped back. This man was so frustrating! So she turned
her back on him and walked away. After a few steps, she looked
back. She couldn’t help herself. He was gone.

* * * * *

Instead of going back to bed, she went
downstairs to the room where the old things were stored. She knew
she wouldn’t be able to sleep, so she thought she would go through
the things that she hadn’t gotten to the last time she was here and
had found the ring.