Finding Promise (The Promise Series, A Small Town Romance) (15 page)

 Equally excited, the three women settled in to discuss
Caroline’s next steps. When they were ready to go to the beach, Caroline had a
business plan, a budget, and an advertising and marketing plan. She even had a
menu put together with the advice from her friends on what their favorites
were. With that settled, they went to look for Faith’s blonde bombshell from
California.

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She made it back from the beach in good time, managing to
quickly shower and change in preparation for the picnic with Luke. There was so
much going on in her life, the house, the plan she’d put together with her
friends to generate some income and now the date with Luke. With her mind that
occupied, she was able to control her nervousness until her friends started
teasing her. Caroline didn’t think that Luke was serious about her, not
understanding how a guy like him could be. Rachel and Faith bombarded her with
so many observations and reprimanded her so vehemently that she started to
believe that maybe, just maybe he might be. But, that step forward into a
relationship of her choosing, reminded her of her naivety and brought back the
anxiety when she thought of Luke and his promise of passion.

Feeling overwhelmed, her palms clammy, she reviewed herself
in the mirror. She had had no idea what to wear and her excessively vocal
friends had offered their help. She must admit that the result wasn’t half bad.
They’d returned earlier than expected from the beach. Faith’s blonde bombshell
had decided that he preferred the warmer shores of California. As are result of
Faith’s foiled plans, they’d helped her pick out the outfit. She was wearing a
three-quarter length denim pants a fitted short-sleeved shirt in pale, baby
blue that covered a white vest. Because he mentioned that they were going to go
for a walk in the forest, she decided against sandals and chose comfortable,
oatmeal colored canvas sneakers instead. She kept her makeup and jewelry light,
wanting to appear casual and not as though she’d spent a lot of time getting
ready. Hearing his truck pull up to the house, she went downstairs to meet him.

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Luke’s home was a mere 10 minutes’ drive from her home. It
was in one of the most hauntingly beautiful settings she’d ever seen. Though it
was referred to as a forest, she realised that forest was a loose term on the
coast. She’d seen miles of trees referred to as a forest and she’d also seen
them referred to as woodlands. She didn’t really care what it was called. In
this case, it really was just semantics. He had negotiated two acres of
property so he was virtually isolated. He also had the right to use the rest of
the property, mostly forest, except within the immediate vicinity of the other
house. He had even cut a separate driveway through to his cabin.

And it was indeed a cabin, right out of a Western movie set.
It was simple but solidly built. The entire building was made of cherry wood,
the warm rich color broken only by the glass of the windows. As they drew up a
huge golden retriever came bounding down the porch, straight to the truck.

“He’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed.

“Thank you. With all the building I’ve been doing, it took
some time to finish her. It’s not luxurious or big but it’s mine and it suits
my needs.”

“Your home is very charming and quaint. It’s lovely and I
can imagine offers a real respite from everything when you just want some time
to yourself. But I wasn’t talking about your home. I was talking about him.”
Caroline pointed towards the dog.

“She. Lucky is a she. Why is it that all women think that
men are dogs?” his beautiful brown eyes, twinkled, showing that he was teasing
her and she returned the smile.

“I’m not falling for that one. Being around Rachel has
taught me when not to take the bait.” She took his hand as he opened the truck
door to help her out. The very next minute, Lucy bounded into them, throwing
them onto the ground. Luke rolled her over so that he would be on top to
protect her against the dog’s enthusiastic licking and pawing.

“Jeez, Lucky, show a bit of dignity, will you?”

Caroline laughed at the spectacle of a grown man trying to
both keep the dog away and return its affections. “What’s her name?” She was
feeling super comfortable under the length of Luke’s muscular body.

“Her name’s Lucky. I found her at the pound and she was so
happy that I took her home, I thought the name was apt.” He patted Lucky’s head
and threw a biscuit he dug out of his pocket into the distance for her to run
after. “It looks like her luck’s rubbing off of me. I find myself in a very
convenient position, Caro.” He bent his head and took her in a hell of a kiss.
He confirmed that he wasn’t hallucinating the last time they kissed. She still
tasted so sweet and responded as enthusiastically as he remembered. Respecting
her request to take things slow, even though it was killing him, he pulled her
up and dusted the grass and twigs off her back. The act didn’t exactly help the
bulge in his pants and he cursed himself for his self-initiated agony.

She was oddly both relieved that they didn’t get further and
disappointed because she wanted more. It had felt so good; right. Taking his
hand, she followed him into the cabin.

The inside of Luke’s home screamed bachelor. There wasn’t anything
battered or broken and his mother had been right in saying that it was neat and
tidy. However, the word that came foremost to mind was functional. There wasn’t
a thing in his house that didn’t belong there.

Luke didn’t want to give her a tour. If he gave her a tour,
he’d have to show her the bedroom and he was afraid that if he got her to the
bedroom, they wouldn’t leave, at least for the next few hours… or days. So, he
took her as far as the lounge cum dining room cum kitchen. “I know it’s not much
of a kitchen, it’s probably your nightmare kitchen but I use it mostly to warm
up meals in the microwave.”

“I think it is very you. It’s very much a guy’s place and
there’s nothing wrong with that. I see that your barbeque on the porch is very
well used.” She looked at the back porch, decked with the same cherry wood as
the rest of the cabin, stacked up plastic garden chairs and an expensive
looking barbeque adorning it.

“Yeah, I have the odd barbeque or two. It’s a great place to
have friends over.”

The view from there was phenomenal though, looking through
the glass, she only saw miles of green and brown, provided by the trees
surrounding the cabin. “That’s some view out there. Do you sit outside often?”

“I do when I get the chance but I have a favorite spot.
We’re having our picnic there so you’ll get to see it.”

“In this setting, I imagine that it’s not just great to have
friends over but it must be great for you too. It must be so quiet and peaceful
here.”

“It is that. Would you like something to drink or would you
like to set out for our walk? We could walk through part of the forest to get
to the cliff and still have time to eat our picnic. There’s a hell of a view.”
He really wanted to get out of the cabin. The longer they were in it, the more
and more he thought of his bedroom down the hall.

She was of a similar mind and readily agreed that they
should set out on their walk.

He knew a lot about the area, she realised. As they walked
he pointed out the various plants and the less shy animals to her. She filed
some more information away in her memory, considering some of the plants for
her own garden. Before she knew it, they were at the cliff. She looked at her
watch out of curiosity and saw that they had been walking for an hour, yet it
felt like fifteen minutes. She had been having so much fun that time had sped
by.

The cliff was sharp and higher than the one opposite her
house. She felt as though she was standing at the edge of the world as the
cliff came to a sharp point and they were standing in the middle of it. Below
them, the ocean seemed to nearly completely surround them, crashing at the
rocks that lay strewn at the foot of the cliff, as though kneeling down to it
in worship. The view was fantastic, giving her a glimpse of its untamed
freedom.

Someone had created a clearing to serve as a lookout point.
Luke spread out the picnic blanket and put the basket on it. He went to her and
encircling her in his arms, pointed out the various sites. “There’s Chester
Island, he took her hand in his, pointed both west. There’s no one living on
it. It’s a nature reserve and a haven for seals. If you get a permit, you can
take a ride out there on a boat. I’ll take you sometime if you want.”

“I’d love that.” She turned her face to smile up at him.
“The seals must be an amazing site. I remember seeing them in the harbor too.
They look arrogant, lazy and adorable all at the same time.”

“They’re a foolish bunch but I wouldn’t recommend trying to
swim with them. They can be vicious, being as big as they are. Nate, Matt and I
tried it once and learnt that like everything in nature, we need to respect
them enough to let them be.”

“Do you sail, Luke?”

“Most of us sail here. When you grow up in a small town, there’s
a limitation to what you can do, so you either keep busy or get into trouble.
Can you sail?”

“No, I’ve been sailing but unfortunately don’t know how to.
It must be exhilarating though. I can imagine the expanse of the ocean before
and behind you, the wind in your hair and the salty spray in your face.”

“That about covers it. I doubt I would’ve said it as nicely
as you did but yes, it does feel like that. I could teach you to sail if you
want?”

Turning to look at him, she answered, “I’d love to.”

He pointed to the east, waiting to see if she recognized the
landmarks.

“Oh, I see! That’s the harbor and there’s the waterfront and
the inn too. Up here, it all looks so tiny. It’s amazing how insignificant all
the things we fuss about seem up here.”

“That’s precisely how I feel. It was one of the primary
motivators for making the deal for the land. Eventually, I might want a bigger
place or a place closer to town but I don’t think I could ever get rid of this
place. I worked things out nice and tight so that the deed for those two acres
is in my name.” He led her to the picnic blanket. “Should we eat? I didn’t know
what you liked and admit that I was a bit intimidated to feed you with your
level of cooking expertise, so I got a bit of everything I liked from the
Oyster Box hoping that there’d be something that you’d fancy.”

She couldn’t believe that he had felt intimidated by her and
admitted it. That and all the trouble he’d gone through for the picnic touched
her. “It looks great. I see you have that aphrodisiac.” She pointed towards the
oysters. He had them shelled and on top of chipped ice, in a small cooler box.
He had even thought of the mandatory lemon wedges, black pepper, Tabasco and
oyster forks. He really was winning points with her. Champagne was chilling in
an ice bucket. She felt thoroughly romanced and told him.

“I’m glad you like it. I wanted to do something nice for
you. You’re always feeding me and well, I like you and wanted to show it to
you.” Preparing an oyster, he leaned forward and tipped it into her mouth. “Is
that aphrodisiac working?”

She didn’t respond, couldn’t respond, he was so close to
her, so warm and smelled so good.

“No?” He moved his head down towards hers, “Let’s try this.”

She couldn’t get enough of his kisses. They were magical.
They made her feel desirable and far from frigid. Maybe she could do the sex
thing. Too soon, he broke off the kiss but prolonged the intimacy of the moment
by pulling her into his arms as they watched the view spread out in front of
them.

“This is one of my special spots. I come here when I need to
be alone; to reflect and learn when things are rough or just enjoy good fortune
when it finds me. You’re the first woman I’ve brought here.” Holding her in his
arms, he kissed the top of her head. Strangely enough, Caro being here with
him, didn’t detract from the sanctity the place held for him, it enhanced it.

She was at the Edwards’ home for Sunday lunch. She came early,
at Laurel’s request, to help prepare. When she arrived, she found not only the
Edwards but the Blacks too. She learned that Patsy was a widow, Nate’s dad
having died during a fishing incident two years before. Luke, Nate and John
were at the cliff side of the house, in the back yard, firing up the barbeque.
With the warm weather no one had any desire to have lunch indoors. Faith and
Rachel were also helping in the kitchen.

“Where’s Bess?” Caroline enquired. Bess had been
conspicuously absent lately.

“Oh, she sends her regards and regrets.” Faith replied. “It
gets busy this time of year. Bess claims that tourists come here to get sick
and visit the pharmacy and not on holiday. So, they’re working overtime at the
moment.”

She made a light summer trifle and a berry topped pavlova
for dessert. To prevent the pavlova from becoming soggy, she’d add the cream
and berries just before dessert was ready to be served. Patsy and Laurel seemed
to have everything else under control, so she headed out to the back with Faith
and Rachel, deciding to take the men a round of cold beers. Men, beer and
barbeque were as essential to such an event as the women preparing the sides
and dessert in the kitchen, she mused.