Beach Rental (9 page)

“The ocean. Do you hear its pulse?”

Juli closed her eyes again. “Yes,” she breathed. “I do.”

He moved, ever so slightly, one leg sliding outward and forward, then the other. She followed his lead and they began to move slowly to the timing of the waves. Juli folded her body into his and they moved in unison, round and round in slow and graceful rhythm.

It would never be performed in a ballroom—this dance belonged to the ocean, the sand and the moon, temporarily lent to a starlit couple in need of a little magic.

Chapter Ten

Ben slept late the next morning. Juli was out early hoping to greet the sunrise and to watch the smooth, controlled flight of pelicans skimming the waves in search of breakfast. The pelicans were, indeed, feeding, but no sun broke through the cloud cover. As darker, lower clouds pushed onshore, she turned back. She was almost to their crossover when she saw Frankie leaning against the steps.

Despite herself, her stride faltered. What was he doing here? How did he find her? She’d never been afraid of Frankie, but his unexpected appearance promised no good.

No good at all.

Frankie’s wrinkled khaki shorts hung low on his hips. His loose-fitting, untucked polo shirt was stretched out of shape giving him a slovenly look. As she approached, he pushed away from the post he’d been leaning against. Juli tried to smooth the suspicion from her face.

“Surprise, surprise,” she said.

“Ouch. I was sure you’d be impressed I found you.”

“It’s eight a.m. A little early to drop by.”

“You’ve been gone a month. Like, vanished. I was worried. I had a friend check the license plate.”

Ben’s car, of course. “And now you’re here, unannounced.”

“Would your friend have minded if I’d called and asked for you? Or how about if I’d just shown up and knocked on the door? Not knowing what you’ve got going here, well, I didn’t want to screw it up.”

“The only thing going on here is a friend doing a favor for a friend. That’s all.”

“Cool. Glad to hear it. You never had the face for larceny. It shows everything you’re thinking. So, are you going to invite me in?”

“What?”

“Invite me in. I’m housebroken. Your friend won’t mind if you have another friend, right?”

Frankie was definitely not getting an invite into the
Glory
. Better to be blunt.

“Go home, Frankie. This has nothing to do with you.”

“That’s harsh, Jules. You sure this is how you want it? These people aren’t your friends.”

Frankie wasn’t visiting because they were buddies. Frankie was fishing to see what he might catch. Juli took the next logical step on the rude road, “You and I are neighbors who do favors for each other once in a while. No more than that. If you want to discuss it, we can talk when I come back to the apartment.”

She moved closer to him. “Am I wrong? If you were here because you’re worried about me, then it might be different, but that’s not it, not at all. You think I have some kind of scam going on here and you want a piece of it. You couldn’t be more wrong, Frankie. Plain wrong. Go away and let me help my friend.”

“Sure.” He tugged at his shirt and swaggered a few steps. “Whatever you say.” He stopped and turned back. “Might be a time where you need me as a friend again.” He spit on the sand. “I wasn’t alone in that coatroom, Jules. You were there, too. Remember that.”

Frankie sauntered up the beach away from Juli and the
Glory
. Had he come from up the beach?

He wouldn’t have gone to the house first. He wouldn’t risk messing up whatever dishonest game he thought she was perpetrating—not as long as he had a ghost of a hope of profiting, too. A few houses further up, he turned right and used someone else’s crossover to leave the beach.

Uneasy in her heart, she turned toward the house. Luke stood on the porch, looking her way.

What was he doing here? Had Ben gotten sick? Had he called Luke because she wasn’t there to help him? Juli ran the length of the crossover. “What’s up? Is he sick?”

Luke was icy. “Ben left some medication over at the house last night. I brought it by. Was that the man from the party? The one you were with inside the coatroom?”

“Coatroom. What’s the deal with the coatroom? I was there long enough to get my backpack. That’s it. End of story. Is Ben up?”

She didn’t wait for his answer, but brushed past on her way to the door. He grabbed her arm and stopped her dead.

He spoke in a low voice, “Don’t bring him around here. Tell your boyfriend to stay away. You owe Ben that. If you think I don’t mean it, test me. I’ll give you up to the police in a heartbeat and you can explain it to them. Ben will be disappointed, but I’ll do it if I have to.”

He was holding her arm and his face was in her face. The anger in her body surged into the arm not being held and perhaps some of the hurt from the evening before was still simmering. She swung with all her might. Her open palm hit his face with as much force as she could put into it. He released her like a hot potato, shock on his fine, high cheekbones, one of which was now bright red.

“Don’t talk to me like that, don’t threaten me and never manhandle me.” Juli’s voice shook. “I suppose I should thank you for a lovely dinner yesterday. Consider yourself thanked.” She pushed him aside as she swept past and into the house.

No one was in the living room. “Ben?” She saw the prescription bottle on the counter and picked it up. It was pain medication. “Ben?” She was halfway up the stairs before he answered.

“I’m up here.” He descended to the landing. “What’s up?”

Sweet relief. “Luke brought your medication. You left it at his house.”

“I know. He was up here. Is he still around?”

“I think he’s gone now.” He’d
better
be gone.

“Do you mind if we have a quiet day? Just stay in?”

“Good idea. It looks a little rainy, anyway.”

Juli cooked breakfast and was pleasantly surprised at her growing skill. Ben said he wasn’t hungry, yet again, but after a few listless bites, he ate. First, she thought, he ate to please her and then because he enjoyed the food.

Ben settled at the table by the front window with his cup of coffee. Jigsaw puzzle pieces were scattered across the tabletop. He picked them up, piece by piece, but did nothing except to put them down again. Juli wasn’t in the mood to work a puzzle either. She needed to work off the negative energy from the early morning.

She pulled out the sketchbook and pencils from a drawer in the entertainment center. “Don’t say no,” she said.

“Oh—” he groaned.

“You don’t have to do anything but sit. You wouldn’t want to stifle an artist, would you?”

He leaned forward with his elbows on the table and stared out the window. Juli sat across from him and after a few false starts she buckled down and kept going. She lost track of time.

“Can I see?”

Pencil stopped, suspended over the sketchbook. “See?”

“Yes,
see
.” He laughed. “You look surprised. What did you expect?”

He rose and walked to where she was sitting. Juli held the sketchbook close to her, but not touching because she didn’t want to smear the graphite.

“No, it’s not ready.”

“Hand it over, lady.”

“Yikes.” She tore the page from the spiral binding and gave it to him.

Ben held the edges of the paper delicately to avoid marring the surface, as if the graphite markings and shadings were more than they were. Juli appreciated the care he was showing, but was also embarrassed by it. The seconds ticked by as he studied the rough portrait. She was about to yank it back when he shook his head sadly.

“Is my nose really this big? And this ear—”

She jumped up and moved toward him, but his sudden grin stopped her. He pulled the drawing away, safely out of reach.

“I’m teasing. It’s wonderful. Makes me look…maybe intelligent, possibly verging on good looking?” He grinned broadly. “Can I have it?”

“Oh, please. Give me a break. I’ve got a long way to go and a lot of practicing to do before I draw something worth keeping, if I ever do produce something worthwhile. There’s no need to say those things, not for
my
ego.”

His soft brown eyes were suddenly earnest. “I
am
serious. Is it brilliant? Probably not, not yet, but you have a style that shows through. You’ll get better, true, but there’s often beauty in the untutored hand—a flair that can be lost if you learn to follow convention too closely.”

“Flair? Style? Please.” She waived her hand dismissing his foolishness, yet inside she had a little glow. She didn’t totally get what he was saying, and wasn’t convinced he wasn’t mocking her, but that hadn’t seemed to be his style. She decided to take his words at face value, but with reserve, so she wouldn’t look like an idiot if he
was
having fun at her expense. “You can keep it if you promise not to show it to anyone else.”

Ben walked over to where Juli sat. He took her hand and turned it over, palm side upward, displaying the dark smudges picked up from the paper while drawing.

“The mark of an artist,” he said.

He turned her hand again and lifted it to his lips and lightly kissed it. He released her and stepped away. She sat, stunned into silence, as he carried the drawing to his office and returned empty-handed.

“Safely tucked away,” he said. “In case you change your mind.”

She’d been thinking of doing exactly that before he kissed her hand. Instead, she said, “I’ll be able to do a better one for you soon, I hope.”

****

On the first day of June, Juli found a card waiting for her on the breakfast table. An anniversary card. A first anniversary card.

Humph. For the first month? It hadn’t occurred to her to get a card for Ben. It was only a month, after all. Despite their growing friendship, this was a business arrangement, wasn’t it?

Someone knocked on the side door. Juli put the card down and went to answer it.

The delivery man had an armful of red roses.

“Ben,” she muttered under her breath.

“Pardon, ma’am?”

She signed for the delivery. “Thanks.”

“Must be a special day.”

“Must be.”

She shut the door with her hip and set the vase of flowers on the table. Ben was standing at the foot of the stairs.

“I hope you like roses.”

“Ben.” She waved her arms as if to say ‘why?’

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Like roses.”

“I like roses, but this is extravagant and—”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I wish you’d said something about gifts. I didn’t even get you a card.”

“I don’t need a card. I wanted you to be surprised. I want to see you smile.”

How could she not? She gave him the smile he wanted and then, impulsively, blew him a kiss.

****

It was foolish to think Frankie would go away and stay gone. Like a hyena roaming the African bush, Frankie scented an opportunity and his greed was so strong it was beyond his ability to deny it free reign. As Ben and Juli enjoyed their sunset walk, she gripped his hand fiercely.

He looked at her. “Is something wrong?”

“No, sorry. Stronger than I knew.” She refused to look toward the crossover where Frankie was standing lest Ben notice and become curious. Her attention might also encourage Frankie to think he had more power than he did. He might do something reckless or stupid.

They were more vulnerable now. Frankie knew who Ben was—could recognize him. She’d become protective of Ben, at least where Frankie was concerned.

It was time for her to take matters into her own hands, to face down Frankie and put quits to this. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine what leverage she’d use against him, but she’d think of something.

Frankie would be most easily found at the apartment house and, while there, she could give notice. She’d still need somewhere to live when the marriage ended, but there were other, better places, with new neighbors.

She drove into Morehead City the next morning while Ben was napping. Juli sat in the car outside of the apartment house, parked in the deep shade of a low branching tree, camouflaged, necessary or not. It was quiet on the street. No one was in sight and traffic was light.

Juli hoped to surprise him. Frankie didn’t work mornings. He wasn’t a morning kind of guy. His sunrise beach appearance was an aberration. He preferred evening work and, like Juli, picked up work where he could get it. In the foyer, the musty smell of the old house was familiar. She liked it. It said history to her. A past with progression. Continuity? Still standing despite the blows life handed out.

Frankie’s apartment was on the ground floor and shared the front door entrance with two other apartments. His was a studio apartment with a kitchenette.

Juli was nervous, surprised to find her hands damp and a low-level trembling throughout her body. She needed to get this over with. She knocked, then again, more loudly. When he didn’t answer, she was disappointed and relieved, both at the same time. No matter how hard she tried to pump up her courage, she knew Frankie wouldn’t be intimidated by her.

So, no Frankie, but at least her hands were steady again. She went down the hall and knocked on Mrs. White’s door. It was usually a wait. Juli leaned back against the wall while she got into the right state of mind. Mrs. White was a nice lady, no question, but Juli wasn’t comfortable around her roomies.

After a few minutes, a high voice called out, “Who is it?”