Bachelor Unclaimed (10 page)

Chapter 12

“S
o...when do I get to meet Dr. Chambers?

Winston met Ainsley’s gaze and knew the moment for reckoning had arrived. He breathed in a deep sigh, wondering what would be the best way to tell her the truth and make sure she understood why he hadn’t come clean before now.

After making love that morning, they had gotten out of bed and showered together. There had been something extra exciting and thrilling about taking her against that shower wall, then lathering her body, then taking the hand-held sprayer and rinsing her off before taking her all over again and kissing her hungrily while a stream of water rained down on them.

They had tossed her clothes in the laundry again while she put on a bathrobe. By the time her clothes had washed and dried, they had eaten the brunch he had prepared.

Now she was fully dressed and they were feeding Lucy and Ricky. It was close to noon already which was probably the reason Ainsley had begun getting antsy. The meeting couldn’t get put off any longer.

“Come on, let’s go for a walk on the beach and look for your duffel bag. Dr. Chambers will be ready for introductions when we get back.”

He saw the way his words brought an automatic smile to her face. “Thanks. Finally. But I can’t help being a little nervous about it.”

Winston used the hose to wash out the pails that had contained the dolphins’ food. He glanced over at her. “Why? He’s just a man.”

She was sitting on one of the stools he kept in the area to use when he conducted his daily lessons with Ricky and Lucy. “Yes, but he’s a renowned scientist of marine life. I did my research and so far he hasn’t granted an interview to anyone. Being his bodyguard I’m sure you know that.”

Winston was silent for a minute and then he said, “Then you need to think about what it means for him to be granting one to you.”

“Trust me, I do. But I know you had something to do with it. You can’t convince me he would be seeing me if you hadn’t put in a good word for me at some point. You don’t know what getting this interview means to me.”

He put aside the hose and reached his hand out to her. “Then tell me...during our walk.”

* * *

Leaving the house, they followed the oyster-shell path to the wooden steps that led down to the beach. The day after the hard storm had brought in wind and a little chill. The sun was no longer bright in the sky but was now hiding behind a row of clouds and the ocean waves were beating fast and furious against the shoreline.

In the distance she heard the powerful sound of boat engines, which meant the owners were eager to be back on the water again, even with the brisk wind and choppy waves.

Winston had loaned her one of his jackets and she tightened it around her as they began walking, making shoe prints in the sand. For a while neither of them said anything. His hands were in his pockets and a part of her missed seeing them—strong hands that could make her tremble from a single touch. Hands that could incite a need within her when they caressed her in certain places.

Ainsley drew in the poignant scent of the ocean but even that couldn’t erode the scent of the man walking beside her. Directly after their shower he had smelled like soap; now he simply smelled like Winston.

“So, why is it so important for you to interview Dr. Chambers, Ainsley?”

She glanced over at him. In all honesty, she had very little to lose by telling him the truth. He’d given his word and she believed him. Besides, maybe he would understand why she’d been so persistent. “I had a nice job with
The New York Times,
had worked my way up to staff reporter with a weekly column. I interviewed people making news and use the name A. Saint James on my byline. With the column came a plush office, administrative assistant and recognition.... It was a nice setup, one I felt was well-deserved. I’d worked my tail off to get it.”

She paused for a moment, remembering the hard work, the long hours and dedication to make a mark at such a young age. She probably would still have been climbing that ladder if she hadn’t broken that story on Senator Morris. No one would have known the staunch conservative had more than a few skeletons in his closet. And that someone who’d known about those skeletons was putting the squeeze to get him to vote against certain legislation. She wasn’t sure why she had been the one to get the anonymous tip, but she had.

“And?”

Winston’s question made her realize her thoughts had digressed. “And I gave it all up because I thought my hometown needed me. I returned to Claxton, New Jersey, to run for mayor.”

She paused a moment, remembering how hard it had been to make that decision and how she believed she would have the backing of the majority of the town.

“I thought it was going to be a pretty easy win for me. After all, I was a hometown girl and my opponent hadn’t lived in Claxton for more than a year, so I felt I was the town’s favorite. Their favorite daughter, so to speak, especially since one of my ancestors founded the town close to a hundred years ago.”

She paused again before saying, “I hadn’t expected a nasty campaign. My opponent made up a lot of lies, smeared my good name, and what hurt more than anything was that people who’d known me all my life actually believed them.”

Ainsley leaned down to pick up a seashell and thought it was beautiful. A keepsake. “I lost and intended to go back to New York, but my father had a heart attack the day after the election. I’m convinced all that nastiness during the campaign took a toll on him. I’m the only child and my father and I were close. It hurt him to see the townspeople turn on me that way.”

She drew in a deep breath. “I remained in Claxton to help Mom out with Dad, who’d never been sick a day in his life. I was so busy helping my parents that I kind of forgot about the election until it was time for the inauguration. I decided with Dad doing better that this would be the perfect time to get away since Claxton was the last place I wanted to be during that week.”

“What happens when you go back?”

“I’ll be there long enough to pack up my stuff and move back to New York. Luckily I subleased my place and the couple will be out by the end of the month, so things are falling nicely into place for me. But my job isn’t a sure thing yet. My boss might be able to rehire me if I can get the interview with Dr. Chambers. Bobby received a tip that the doctor is working on something big. Plus Bobby wants dibs on that new sexual enhancement drug before the FDA.”

Winston didn’t say anything. He could have interrupted and told her that thanks to Charley, he knew the story of her short political career and her father’s illness. But listening to her tell it had put a whole new perspective on things, filled in some blanks.

“I have to admit that getting my old job back might have been the factor driving me initially, however...”

He glanced over at her. “However, what?”

“Now I’m intrigued. Why would someone so accomplished want to be a recluse and not toot their own horn? Why not give interviews and let the world know who he is and what he’s about?”

“He has his reasons,” Winston said quietly.

“And you know what they are?”

Winston stopped walking and scanned the ocean waters. The shrimpers joined the boaters, with sea gulls swarming in their wake. In the distance he could see the nets being tossed in the water, anticipating a good catch. At one time his grandfather had owned a shrimp boat that had plied up and down the Port Royal Sound. Captain Jeremy Coltrane was well known in these parts and loved Barrett Shores. Winston loved this place as well, always had and always would. It was in his blood the same way it had been with his ancestors before him.

He glanced back at Ainsley, deciding to respond to her question as to whether he knew the reason Chambers didn’t grant interviews. “Yes, I know his reasons, and if he wants you to know, he will tell you. Come on, it’s time to go back.”

“And meet Dr. Chambers?” she asked in a hopeful voice.

He held her gaze for a moment before reaching out his hand to take hers in his. “Yes, and meet Dr. Chambers.”

* * *

A chilling dread washed over Winston as he sat across the room and watched Ainsley as she nervously paced. When they had returned from the beach, he’d assumed admitting the truth would be easy but he found it wasn’t. A part of him figured although she would be upset, she wouldn’t turn her back on the chance to do the interview. Yet another part of him knew that regardless, he needed her to understand why he’d put off telling her until now.

“While we’re waiting, I think I need to clear up a few things,” he decided to say.

She stopped pacing and turned to him. “What?”

“Barrett Shores belongs to the Coltrane family.”

He saw the surprise that lit her eyes as she perched her hip on the arm of the sofa. “But I thought that—”

“Yes, I know what you thought,” he interrupted her. “So I figured I needed to clear that up now.”

He watched as she slid her curvy frame off the arm of the sofa and into the seat. “How did your family come to own an island?” she asked. “I assume it’s being leased to Dr. Chambers to use as a marine sanctuary for his work.”

“I had a hunch that’s what you figured,” he said, getting up from his chair to cross the room to the wine decanter. He turned toward her. “Would you like a glass?”

“Yes, please.”

He poured two glasses of wine and strolled over to hand her one. He had decided to open a few of the windows and the breeze blowing through caused the curtains to stir. The scent of the ocean mingled with that of yellow jasmines that were growing practically everywhere on the island.

He reclaimed his chair in time to watch her take a sip of wine and thought the way her mouth fit the glass was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. He could feel his gut stirring and tried pushing the feeling aside knowing he needed to focus on their discussion.

“Have you ever heard of Robert Small?”

She scrunched up her brow for a second. “No, I don’t recall the name.”

He nodded. “Small was well-known in these parts many years ago. He was a slave who, along with my great-great-great-great-grandfather Isaac Coltrane, made a daring escape during the Civil War.”

She sipped her wine. “How?”

“By commandeering a Confederate ship,
CSS Planter,
and turning it over to Union officers.”

He could tell by the light in her eyes that what he’d said had interested her. “Really?” she said, leaning in to hear what else he had to say.

“Yes. Robert grew up on a plantation in Beaufort. Isaac was born here. At the time it was called Barrett Plantation. The two slaves met as kids. The masters of both plantations were brothers and it wasn’t uncommon to bring some of their slaves along whenever they visited each other.”

She nodded and took another sip of her wine. “How did they learn to navigate a ship?”

“Small’s master was a captain and took him on several voyages with him. Both Small and Isaac worked the docks in Charleston and became very knowledgeable of the Charleston waterways.”

Winston took a sip of his own wine and continued. “Small and Isaac came up with this plan. If they were successful, it meant freedom. If they failed, it meant death. They were willing to take their chances.”

“How did they carry it out?”

Winston wanted to keep talking and keep her interested, so he could ease his way into what she needed to know. “The captain of the
Planter
decided to dock for a little R & R, took his crew with him and left behind his eight slaves. Foolish of the captain to think, since they were uneducated, they also didn’t have a lick of sense.”

He paused a moment and then said, “With Small taking over as captain and Isaac as his first mate, they decided to use the ship and make a run for it.”

A half smile touched her lips. “I’m happy for them but sad they had to leave their families behind.”

Winston chuckled. “Says who?”

Ainsley’s eyes widened. “They had hidden their families on board as stowaways?”

“No. They’d instructed their kin to be on a nearby wharf hiding out. The ship made its first stop there and collected everybody. And by everybody, I mean Small’s family and the families of his crew members.”

Her smile widened. “That included Isaac’s wife?”

He shook his head. “No, he was single and his parents had died years earlier. His only sister, Ruth, had been sold away to another plantation in Georgia when she was ten.”

“Oh. That’s sad.”

“Then let’s get back to talking about happy stuff,” he said, taking another sip of wine. “With everyone of importance on board, they made their daring escape by heading for Union waters. And what I forgot to tell you was that one of the things they had on board—that had been left behind by the good captain—was the all-important Confederate code book that contained a lot of information that would be detrimental if it fell into the Union’s hands.”

He watched how she shifted positions on the sofa and tucked her legs beneath her. She had gotten so pulled into the story that for the time being she had forgotten about the fact she was waiting for Dr. Chambers to make an appearance.

“So what information was in this all-important code book?” she asked.

He stretched out his legs in front of him. He hadn’t told the story of his family’s history in a long time and didn’t recall telling another woman...since Caroline. “Important info such as special Confederate secret signals, the location of mines in and around the Charleston Harbor and planned water attacks of the Union fleet.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I kid you not. Small, Isaac and the crew succeeded, steering the ship right into Union waters. They were awarded for their bravery by President Lincoln. Pulling off such a feat proved to be invaluable to the Union army. At the end of the Civil War, Small became the owner of his former master’s home and over fifteen hundred acres of land. He later went into politics and was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives.”

“And Isaac?” she inquired.

“He became the owner of this island and came here to live, changed the name to Barrett Shores. But first he went looking for and found his baby sister. And he met and fell in love with the woman who happened to be his sister’s best friend. A young woman by the name of Judith. He brought them both to live here. He married Judith a few months later.”