Hurricanes in Paradise (18 page)

Monday evening . . .

Riley was having déjà vu. This marked the third time today that she had stood in the entrance of a restaurant waiting on Laine. Her bets were on being stood up again and spending the evening with Winnie and Tamyra, which would be far more enjoyable, she was certain. The peaceful music from the Steinway settled her nerves. She looked out over the breathtaking marina, the sun descending in the sky, and she couldn’t help but breathe a prayer of thankfulness that she had made it through the day. Truth be told, she had gotten a lot of work done and had enjoyed her Laine-free afternoon.

“Magnifique!”
Winnie announced as she entered the front of the restaurant. Her lime green denim outfit sparkled like the sun on water. Riley watched her carefully scan the restaurant.

Tamyra was right behind her, her long, lean body covered in a simple black dress. “Hello, Riley.”

“Good evening, ladies. I’m glad you could join us.” She looked at Winnie oddly. “Are you looking for someone, Winnie?”

Winnie turned her head back around quickly. “Me . . . um . . . no, I’m not looking for a soul. Just you. I guess you’ve figured out by now Laine doesn’t like eating alone,” she announced.

“Well, I was eating with her,” Riley informed her.

“I don’t think she’s crazy about you, Riley, for whatever reason.”

Tamyra grabbed her arm. “Winnie.”

Riley stood there dumbfounded.

“It’s not about you, Riley. This lady isn’t happy, and she’s simply trying to get through the week. Anyway, I think she just wants a warm body at the table that doesn’t remind her of her ‘stuff.’ Apparently, you remind her of her stuff and I don’t.”

“Am I interrupting something, ladies?” Laine asked as she approached their circle of three.

Riley felt her head start to pound.

“Not a thing, sugar. We were just talking about what a lovely evening we’re all going to have. Weren’t we, ladies?”

Riley and Tamyra nodded obediently. Winnie took matters into her own hands and told the hostess they were ready to be seated. They were led to a beautiful table in the back of the room next to the glass-enclosed wine cellar that carried the most celebrated vintages French and California wineries had to offer. Winnie’s rhinestone-covered outfit lit their way.

“I swear that woman must carry a BeDazzler in her pocket,” Laine whispered.

Tamyra stifled her laughter.

“How is this, ladies?” the hostess asked.

Winnie gave her a pat. “It’s fine, sugar. Just fine.”

The women all stood at their chairs awkwardly.

“Sit, girls.”

They all sat like schoolchildren under their principal’s watchful eye.

Laine picked up her menu as she spoke. “Are you sure I didn’t interrupt something?”

Riley picked up her menu and stuck it in front of her face. “No, we were just talking about all we’ve discovered today. Apparently, Miss Winnie here is a perceptive one.”

“She doesn’t miss a thing,” Tamyra added.

Riley looked up as Tamyra raised her eyebrows at Winnie.

Laine ordered almost as extravagantly as she had their first evening together, and between Winnie and Tamyra’s tales of their “day of beauty,” Riley needed to contribute little. By the time Laine paid the check, Riley had watched her fill up at least five pages of notes. She was pretty certain Winnie would have her own complete story line in Laine’s next book. Truth be told, if Laine wanted her book to write itself, she could have walked around and recorded Winnie for seven days.

Winnie stood to leave, and Riley and the other women followed suit.

“I’m looking forward to our dolphin experience tomorrow,” Laine said.

“Oh, about that,” Tamyra said, “I’m not really into swimming.”

“You’ll love it,” Laine assured her. Her smile was gracious and her voice irritatingly tender.

Riley wanted to slap her.

The fear was evident on Tamyra’s face. “I don’t know.”

Laine walked over and put her arm around Tamyra. “Trust me. It will be the experience of a lifetime. Now, you ladies go get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” She hugged them both before they left.

She turned to Riley as they disappeared up the hall. “I won’t need you for that tomorrow, Riley.” The old Laine was back.

Riley was grateful to not have to spend the afternoon with her, but the way Laine said it made Riley’s entire body bristle, though she refused to let it come through her words. “No problem. That’s fine. We’ve got your appointment all set up. Do you need me to meet you for breakfast or schedule anything else for you?”

“I’d like you to meet me at Mosaic for breakfast at nine. And if you could bring with you all of the answers to the questions I had yesterday, then I can make some final notes and we can begin our tour of the rest of the facility after our dolphin adventure.” With that, she turned to go. There was no
good night
. There was no arm around the shoulder. There was no hug. There was only the backside of one Laine Fulton, who needed a swift kick in the . . . When Riley knew Laine couldn’t see her, she stuck out her tongue. She had grown so much since she’d been here.

11

Tuesday morning . . .

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Hey, angel girl. You missing
your
girl?”

Riley leaned against the railing and let the breeze wash over her face. “Like crazy.”

He chuckled that deep laugh she loved. “She’s doing good. You know your mother; she’ll have every part of that child dolled up by the time she gets back to you.”

“You driving?”

“Yeah, headed down to the office.”

“I knew I could catch you up this early. You’re the only person I can call at the crack of dawn and find up and at ’em.”

“Well, you know, the sun don’t shine on the same dog’s tail all the time.”

She laughed. “Still afraid the sun is going to quit shining on you? You’ve been doing this for almost forty years.”

“Never know when they’re going to want some new blood.”

“Strom Thurmond was still a senator when he was in his nineties. You’re only sixty-seven.”

“Strom Thurmond was old as dirt and the sun quit shining on him quite a few years before he realized. Can’t say I want to be that old guy either.”

“Well, I think you’ve got a lot of sunshine days.”

“My girls are what bring out the sun.”

Riley rubbed her toes on top of her other foot. “Thanks for taking care of my angel girl.”

“You take care of
my
angel girl.”

She felt the burning start in her eyes. “Love you.”

“See you soon, okay?”

“What? You’re going to actually take a vacation?”

“Been thinking about it. Don’t underestimate the old geezer. I still surprise your mama every now and then.”

“I can’t wait.”

She hung up the phone and stared out into the first burst of morning. She prayed for a grace to match her day. With Laine Fulton as a part of it, she decided to pray that prayer twice.

When she walked into Gabby’s room, Ted was fast asleep on his rocky throne. She placed some lettuce inside his cage. “How you doing, Teddy? Missing our girl?”

Ted was motionless, his eyes closed.

“I know. Me too.” She nudged him with her finger to make sure he was at least alive. His eyes popped open. “Good boy, Teddy.”

His stubby legs moved slightly on his perch.

“Your princess will be back soon, I promise. Until then you’re stuck with me.”

He got his footing and closed his eyes again.

She shook her head. “Oh, if only getting rid of people were that easy. I’d walk around with my eyes closed all day.”

* * *

The Cove was still quiet at seven o’clock. Without Gabby at the house, Riley couldn’t sleep. But at least she was completely prepared for her day. She had spent most of the night and the wee hours of the morning finishing up the answers to all of Laine’s questions and officially OD’ing on Dr Pepper. Somewhere around 3 a.m., when The Cove was laying to rest its reds and magentas and awakening its yellows and oranges, she fell asleep. She wouldn’t awaken until The Cove began to play its piano and strings. Those were the sounds that were wafting through the breezeways while the staff flitted about like conductors of a new day.

A warm breeze blew through her soft curls, and the skirt of her red dress fluttered around the tops of her knees. She patted the double layer of matte gold beads that hung from her neck and straightened her collar. With as little sleep as she had last night, she was simply grateful she had been able to dress herself at all.

She headed to the far end of the entrance that presented a panoramic view of the grounds of The Cove and a breathtaking view of the ocean. She wanted to see it one more time before the day officially began. She placed her hands on the railing and leaned over slightly, closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The salt air clung to her lungs and brought to mind every cherished memory of her childhood.

“You aren’t going to jump, are you?”

She opened her eyes and looked up to heaven quickly. She’d never heard an audible voice from above before. And she thought if God was omniscient and all, He’d know jumping hadn’t been on her Tuesday agenda.

“Riley.” Christian touched the back of her arm.

She almost jumped out of her skin. “Oh, my stars! You scared the living daylights out of me.”

He laughed. “Stars and living daylights?”

She leaned back against the railing, trying to steady herself and slow her heartbeat. “Yes, those are old sayings.”

“Well, you looked mighty serious leaning over the railing like that. I didn’t know what you might be planning.”

“Rest assured it wasn’t jumping. I’m petrified of heights.”

He turned and leaned against the railing too. They both stared at the long expanse of the lobby. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Trying to get some work done before Laine Fulton determines the rest of my day.”

“Still keeping pace with the writer, huh?”

She turned her head toward him. “She stood me up twice yesterday. She hugged Winnie and Tamyra. Hugged them! Oooh, she makes me crazy!” Her hands gripped tighter on the railing that she now held behind her. Her face scrunched up. “See? Just talking about her gets me all riled up.”

“You Southern women. You’re loud and passionate. You’re a lot like the women from my family.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He laughed. “You obviously haven’t met the women from my family.”

She couldn’t help but laugh too.

“You watching this storm?”

“Get updates periodically. How’s it looking?”

“It turned into a tropical storm yesterday afternoon, and if it stays on course, it looks like we’ll be in its path. The swells have really increased and the waves are coming in quicker. So there is definitely something out there.”

“When did you find out it had been upgraded?”

“This morning.”

“Maybe Laine will fly out sooner.”

He smiled, his dimples deep and adorable. “From the sounds of Ms. Fulton, I can imagine her sitting on the beach, sipping a martini while it roars around her.”

“You’ve met her, then,” Riley quipped.

He shook his head. “So, lunch? Dinner? Midnight picnic on the beach before we pack away the umbrellas and lounge chairs?”

“Lunch and dinner will be determined by Ms. Fulton. And midnight, I pray, will find me comatose, since I was awake last night at midnight.”

“I should have called you then, huh?”

“Yes, you should have called me last night,” she said, smiling. He was undeniably charming.

“I hope you have a wonderful day, and I hope Ms. Fulton realizes how lucky she is to spend her meals with you.”

“Thank you. I’m really not crazy.”

“I know. You just play one on TV,” he said, offering her a wink as he headed through the lobby.

Riley covered the day with Mia, cleared all the messages awaiting reply from her desk, and headed to Mosaic to meet Laine for breakfast. By nine thirty she knew she had been stood up again, and something inside of Riley snapped. There was only so far she was willing to allow a customer to go. She didn’t care if Laine’s face was plastered across the backs of thirty million books. At this point Riley also didn’t care if she lost her job. And she wasn’t calling anyone to get permission. She was simply finding Laine Fulton.