Her Forbidden Love (Indigo Island Book 2) (8 page)

Nervous parents began banging in the door of the cottage, collecting their kids and hurrying out before the downpour. Tade, as usual, was the last to be picked up.

“I don’t want to go. Dorsey and I have plans,” he said to his parents when they eventually appeared.

“Well, you can just have that to look forward to on your next visit. You know we were only here for the long weekend, son. We’re back in three weeks,” Tade’s mom said, hurrying him out the door.

Dorsey was surprised how sad Tade’s departure made her. She had started to clean up the Kids Club for the day when the door burst open again. Tade.

“I forgot. I have something for you, something to keep you safe,” he said. “Put out your hand.”

“It better not be a bug, or I’ll get you,” Dorsey said.

“OK, open,” Tade said.

“What is it?” she asked, rolling a little figurine the size of a wine bottle cork back and forth in her fingers. It was a tiny clay person glazed periwinkle blue with a white base, four pressed buttons up its middle, two arms, and a little face with a pointed hat.

“It’s an oogle. Barbara said it’ll keep you safe. She gave me two. One for you. You need to keep it in your pocket, and when you go to sleep, put it by your bed.” Tade pulled his own small figurine out of his shorts pocket.

“Tade, I love it. Thank you. I’ll miss you, but I’ll see you in three weeks,” Dorsey said, and watched as he ran to the golf cart and his mother drove quickly away.

It was getting eerily dark outside, almost as if night had fallen when it was only four in the afternoon. A crack of thunder boomed above Dorsey’s head and she saw a lightning bolt strike on Hilton Head, near the famous red-and-white striped lighthouse. They’d close the pool for sure, she realized, and decided to head there to find Jack, even though it was wrong for her to want to be near him, even though he might have made plans with Rebecca. It was as if an invisible force was pulling her to him. She made it to the pool as the last of the guests were hurrying away in their golf carts.

Jack grinned when he saw her. “Hey beautiful, ready for your first Indigo Island storm?” he said, unzipping his backpack and rummaging through its contents. “Not that it matters. I’m prepared for both of us.”

He pulled out what looked like a yellow garbage bag. “Voilà! A rain poncho, straight from Disney World. Present from Mom. Just ignore the big mouse ears and think of me as a bright yellow beacon on a rather miserable day. I have an extra. Want to borrow it?”

He had unconsciously run his fingers through his dark brown hair, and it stood up. When he grinned, a dimple appeared on the left side of his smile. Dorsey hadn’t felt this tingle inside for years, maybe never.

The feeling was happiness, she realized. And a really big, teenage-sized crush.

“Give me a poncho, buster, and let’s explore this little resort in the rain. It’ll be fun. We look like a couple of overgrown ducks,” Dorsey said, pulling the yellow tent over her head.

“Hey, wait for Big Bird, would ya,” Jack said, hanging the “pool closed” sign.

They walked together in the pouring rain, past cottage after cottage, first the employee row and then the ocean-front guest cottages, which alternated blue, white, and yellow, blue, white, and yellow, until finally they reached the seawall protecting the cottages and the inn from the ravages of the Atlantic storms that would always come.

“You know, this is pretty.” Jack yelled to be heard over the crashing waves, pressing wind, and whipping rain. “Good shelling and arrowhead finding tomorrow!”

“I like finding colonial pottery shards. I have started quite a collection—that and my spearhead.” She turned to look up at him, and Jack leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, as water ran down both of their faces. Dorsey’s knees almost buckled.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it,” Jack said, smiling. “Let’s go near the water.”

“Strong currents,” Dorsey said, shaking her head.

“Yes, there are. Oh, you mean the water,” he teased. “We’re not going swimming. We’re just walking next to it. Come on. We’re already wet. I love the power of the ocean. I’ll hold your hand.” He jumped from the seawall to the sand a foot below. Reaching up, he held her with ease before lowering her to the sand. It was scary and sexy, all at the same time she realized as her heart thudded in her chest.

“Come on,” he yelled, pulling her hand.

The waves thundered, making it impossible to talk. By the water’s edge, the wind’s strength forced Dorsey to bend her head down to her chest. Her heart was pounding, the angry waves so close, so violent and still building in the normally flat and calm sound, but holding Jack’s hand made her feel safe, grounded. At that moment, she realized, Jack seemed to have always been with her, that he always should be. Protecting her, saving her.

Once they had walked far enough out and were walking parallel to the inn, she pulled on his hand, directing him back toward the gazebo and the grand yellow building beyond.

“OK,” he said, grinning at her and then lifting her back up onto the seawall before climbing back up himself. Together they ran to the white lattice gazebo, but it offered no protection from the growing storm.

“We need to get to the inn,” he yelled, and she nodded. They hurried up the oyster shell path. When Jack noticed her limping, he scooped her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. They had climbed the steps to the large porch and were about to go inside when he pulled her to the side, into the shadows in the corner of the porch.

“Hey, do you know what these are? I’ve been meaning to ask every year,” he yelled pointing to a long wooden plank suspended on two rocking horse bases.

He’s such a kid, like Tade. Always asking questions,
she thought, smiling. She was glad she knew the answer, too.

“It’s a joggling board. Made in Charleston,” Dorsey yelled. “Like this.” She sat in the middle of the long, foot-and-a-half-wide board that was inserted into rocking chair rockers on either end. She started joggling by bouncing up and down, and then added a back and forth rock by kicking her legs. “Ta da,” she yelled and Jack joined her. Two yellow ducks swaying on the joggling board.

“This is great,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “It’d be great to—”

“In Charleston, rumor was that there weren’t any virgins inside a house if it had a joggling board outside,” Dorsey said, surprising herself; she was suddenly glad the storm made it almost dark so Jack couldn’t see her blush.

“I can understand that. Wow, look at the lightning over the ocean,” Jack said, mesmerized by the sharp white streaks of light. He pulled Dorsey closer, holding onto her waist as they joggled. She could feel his strong hands on her sides, felt the electricity of his touch to her core.

Dorsey self-consciously pushed her wet hair away from her face and pulled the plastic hood off her head. She hadn’t seen her white Keds this muddy in a long time either, she thought with a smile. She hoped her stitches weren’t ruined. Her foot felt fine. She looked at Jack and wondered what they could do, should do.

“I’m glad I got to share this storm with you,” Jack said. “If I was in the corporate office now, I’d probably be dealing with hundreds of freaked-out guests. Instead, I just had to hang the pool closed sign and find you.”

Dorsey smiled. “Actually, I found you, and I’m glad,” she answered, leaning into his strong body.

Jack took his arm from her back and stood up in front of her, pulling her to standing, hugging her tightly. “I didn’t know how lonely I was until I met you,” he said, his hair wet but sexy, eyes dark and shining. “Now look at me. I’m falling for a soaking wet, muddy shoed, strawberry-blonde, adventuresome girl who is acting like she isn’t afraid of storms and who knows how to joggle.”

“I’m not afraid of the storm, not with you,” Dorsey said, her voice catching in her throat. Could this be happening to her? What about their employment contracts? What about Rebecca? Steve? “Jack, I was so lonely before I met you, too. When my last boyfriend, well my only real boyfriend, broke up with me, well, I haven’t been able to get past it.”

Jack grabbed Dorsey’s wet hair and tilted her head up. He leaned forward, covering her lips with his, gently pressing, exploring. Dorsey opened her mouth, gasping, as his kiss moved to her neck and behind her ear. She felt faint, the kisses were making her dizzy. Jack held her tight as another lightning bolt lit up the sky, this one close to the gazebo.

“I’m sorry he hurt you. I won’t,” Jack said, his voice low and needy.

Dorsey looked into Jack’s darkened eyes, wanting to believe him, as the thunderclap shook her to the core. She couldn’t trust him, though. She knew what he didn’t. He wouldn’t want to be with her once he knew her secrets.

“We better get inside,” Dorsey said, reluctantly breaking their embrace by pulling him into the lobby of the inn. Vacationers were everywhere, trapped inside by the storm. The bar was hopping, the library was packed, and Shane and Paula seemed beyond stressed by the volume of people in their lobby. Apples were disappearing faster than they could be counted. Dorsey smiled.

“Can you think of anywhere private we can go?” she whispered, stunned by her own boldness.

“Yes, I have an idea—come on,” he said, and they hurried up the main stairs, past Steve’s office, and down a long corridor, Dorey’s wet tennis shoes squeaking with every step. “This is the service entrance to the private dining room. I doubt anybody is in here right now.”

He was right. Flipping on the lights, Dorsey saw that they were alone in a formal dining room, complete with sparkling crystal chandelier, oil paintings of the former plantation residents, and three huge windows facing the ocean and the storm.

“Sorry about your boyfriend,” Jack offered, his eyebrows knit together with concern. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” she said. “It really is in the past, but for some reason, I can’t let go of it. He was embarrassed to be with me, after, after my dad died. He was from a long-standing family in Grandville, and well, my family’s scandal made him uncomfortable.”

“What a jerk,” Jack said, reaching over to hold Dorsey’s hand. They sat on the plush wool area rug, trying not to drip too much on the hardwood floor. “What could possibly make somebody act like that? That’s when you needed someone by your side. I mean your father’s death is a tragedy, not a scandal. I wish I could meet him. I’d punch him.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Dorsey said, rubbing the oogle in her pocket. “The sad thing, for Mom and me, was that we should have seen it coming. First somebody dyed our swimming pool a blood-red color. I came home from school and the pool, it was so creepy.”

“Why would anybody do that?” he asked, squeezing her shoulders.

Dorsey didn’t answer, she was lost in the past. She shivered.

“Then, they poisoned my dog, Rufus. He was a husky, with bright blue eyes. He was so sweet, so protective of me. He died in our kitchen, in my arms, foaming at the mouth. It was horrible.” Dorsey paused and took a deep breath. She’d never been able to say the words, she never wanted to believe them. “It was all to warn my dad, to force him to stop performing abortions. That was a tiny part of his practice. He was a celebrated Ob/Gyn doctor. He’d delivered everyone in town’s babies. But they took it all away. They threatened to kill us, my mom and me, too.”

“Oh, my God, Dorsey, I’m so sorry,” Jack said pulling her to him in a firm hug as another bolt of lightning lit up the room. With the crack of thunder, the electricity in the room surged, and then went out. One of the portraits on the wall, a Mrs. Stoddard, seemed to be staring down at them, creepily illuminated by each lightning flash, and she wasn’t smiling.

“I can’t talk about it anymore tonight,” she said, stifling a sob. She’d come close to telling Jack the whole story, and if she had, she would’ve ruined everything.

“I don’t even know what to say, you’ve been through so much. I’m here, if you need to talk, whenever you need to talk.”

They sat in silence, holding each other.

“You know, whenever I think my life has been tough and I get all self-absorbed and angry, especially angry, I try to remind myself that others have been through much worse,” Jack said. He leaned against the wall in the dark, Dorsey pulled into his lap. “My dad was such a jerk, leaving my mom with two kids to feed and raise. No child support, nothing. No playing catch, no father-son moments.”

“That’s just as hard, Jack,” she said, realizing that even if she only had a dad around until she was fourteen, he was a great dad. “I was lucky. I know. He was a great man.”

“That’s probably why you’re so good with kids. You had role models, a mom and a dad, showing you how to do it,” Jack said, and Dorsey felt him growing tense behind her. “I’d be awful with kids, with a family.”

“Are you kidding? You’re great with Tade,” she said, turning to try to see his face in the pitch-black room. She reached up, touching his cheek. “It’s not about role models, it’s about your heart. You have a good heart, Jack.”

“Whatever, but thanks,” he said. Dorsey noticed his hands were clenched into fists. She sensed that his anger just below the surface, waiting to explode.

She wondered if his self-doubt and this simmering anger at his dad were what was holding him back. Was this the reason he’d had a string of relationships? Conquests without meaning, without commitment.

“You deserve to have everything you want, Jack,” Dorsey said. “A great career, a family, kids.”

“Nobody deserves anything. It’s luck and fate and hard work, it’s how you were raised and what you can overcome,” he said, pulling her against him, nuzzling his chin into her shoulder. “I’ve watched you with the kids. You’ll be a great mom someday.”

“I hope so. Jack, let’s get out of here, I need some dry clothes,” she said eventually, chilled from being damp, from the draft in the room. Jack took her hand and led her slowly through the darkened inn until they reached the candlelit main lobby. Once outside, they made the run home through rain so heavy it concealed everything except what was just in front of them.

Jack’s cottage was closest, so they stopped there. He handed Dorsey a dry sweatshirt and sweat pants, and gave her privacy to change. Dorsey glanced at her reflection in the mirror and even in the dark could tell how swollen her eyes were from crying. After she’d changed, he joined her in his bedroom, dropping onto one of the two queen-sized beds. The walls, a bright sky-blue with midnight-blue band at the ceiling, were the most colorful thing she had seen all day. With the wind and the rain of the storm, the entire island seemed gray from the ground to the sky.