Pieces of Me (6 page)

He looked around and didn’t see her in the immediate area. Davis called out to her. When she didn’t answer he got a little worried. “Nicole!” Then, he saw her exiting the clearing that led to the lagoon dragging something and carrying a plastic container from the raft.

She walked towards him with a smile on her face “You’re awake.”

Stone faced Davis took the plastic container from her as they continued to walk back towards the fire.

“How’s your headache?”

The crease was coming back. “Thanks to you it’s gone.” Davis couldn’t contain the agitation in his voice. “What were you doing in the jungle alone? And, it’s almost dark. I thought we agreed not to go anywhere without one another? Anything could have happened to you.”

Nicole teased “Were you worried about me?” The crease was deepening. Nicole exhaled loudly “Okay Davis our truce was only a few hours ago. Please don’t ruin it. The lagoon was not that far from the beach and I took the gun with me just in case. I wasn’t gone that long. I went to get some more fruit and wood. I also brought back some fresh water in that plastic container you’re carrying.”

Why was it that women had to be so exasperating? Davis ran his hand across his face. His five o’clock shadow was getting really heavy after just one day. “Why can’t you ever just do as you’re told? It would make life a whole lot easier for everybody.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Davis, I just worked my ass off for the past couple of hours trying to pull my weight in this disaster! I brought more wood, I brought more fruit, and I brought fresh water. Are you just going to stand there and yell at me? Can’t you just appreciate what I’m trying to do? Maybe if you didn’t find reasons to be angry all the time you wouldn’t have so many headaches.”

Davis was barely controlling himself “I was showing concern, Nicole. Anything could have happened.”

“True, but nothing did. It’s only a few minutes from here to the lagoon. I kept coming back to check on you in-between trips. You were exhausted, it’s getting dark, and we needed more things. So, I handled what needed to be handled. That is typically what ‘women’ do. We handle situations.” Nicole turned her back to him and started stacking up the wood pieces she’d brought back next to the fire.

Davis realized he was overreacting. It was just so much easier to be angry with her than to not be angry. He walked over towards her and touched her shoulder. She turned but didn’t look at him. Her face must have shown her shock when he mumbled “Thanks.”

Nicole couldn’t help but look him in the eyes to make sure he wasn’t kidding. He seemed serious so she gave him a half smile “You’re welcome.”

Nicole sat down in front of the fire and he sat down next to her. The butterflies showed up again. She needed to do something with her hands to keep them from shaking. He made her so nervous. Without saying another word, she handed him a piece of fruit.

Neither one of them trusted their voices not to give them away so they stared into the fire and ate in silence.

Chapter 9

After being on the island for about a week, hope of a rescue diminished with each passing day. So, Davis tried to teach Nicole some survival skills. He showed her how to weave with leaves from certain trees among other things. Davis built a couple of traps for fish and smaller animals. He’d also shown Nicole how they worked. Today was the first day they set them out. She hoped they caught something because after a week she was tired of fruit.

They’d been lucky that it hadn’t rained since they’d been on the island but they needed to build a sturdier dwelling. Davis had been working on that. It was hard with the small knife he had and it was taking longer than it needed to because of it. At some point, he would need to make another cutting tool. It would be crude but in the meantime he had to work with what he had.

After a long day, Davis and Nicole finally sat down for dinner. They were silent for a while which wasn’t unusual. Davis kept his thoughts locked up pretty tight. That’s why after a week, she still didn’t know much more about him than she did before the plane crashed. Nicole finally admitted to herself that she was attracted to Davis. It was silly but the butterflies were even more intense once she did. Tonight, Nicole was going to try to get to know him a little better.

“We’ve been in each other’s company for well over a week and other than you being pretty easily irritated, I still don’t know much about you. I mean other than what I read in the papers.”

Davis finished up his fruit and tossed the rinds into the fire. “The papers are always so reliable.”

“Are you being sarcastic so that you don’t have to share anything about yourself?”

“There’s not much to tell.”

Nicole took a chance and peeked up at him not believing that for a second. “Everybody has a story to tell Davis. It’s cool if you don’t want to share yours with me. I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other seeing as you’re the only other person on this island to talk to.”

Davis stretched his legs out before him. “I’m 37, divorced, no kids, and as you know I built Chatham Industries from the ground up. Not much more than that to tell.”

Nicole laughed, “That sounds like a really bad profile that you’d post on a dating website. Seriously, who is Davis Chatham?”

Davis thought about that for a moment as he stared aimlessly into the fire. “I’m a ruthless man if you haven’t already heard.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that about you. But, typically there’s always a story behind it. I want you to tell me the story.”

“You know you’re pretty nosey? If we weren’t on this island…..”

“If we weren’t on this island you wouldn’t even say hello to me. I’ve already experienced that side of you. But, we are stranded with absolutely no one else but us. I promise your secrets are safe with me. And, if we’re ever rescued not to write a tell-all book about this experience. So, now that we’ve got the disclaimers out of the way, you can tell me anything. Except that you’re a mass murderer. If that’s a part of your story keep that to yourself.”

Davis looked into her big brown eyes and knew she was sincere. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I had a lot on my mind. Where do I start? I’m the oldest of three. There is Jane, Rayna, and me.” His face softened when he mentioned his sisters. “My portfolio probably doesn’t mention this but we grew up dirt poor. My parents didn’t have two nickels to rub together. Of course, we didn’t know that because my mom and dad always made sure to give us everything we needed. Our clothes weren’t the best and they always seemed to be a size or two too small but my parents did the best they could with what they had. I look back now thinking, we played the candle game because we didn’t have lights. As a kid, I honestly thought it was just a fun family game. When we didn’t have much to eat, mom always produced a miracle. My parents were the best any kid could ever ask for. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have much because we were all together. Those were some of the best times of my life.”

He chuckled at his memories. He hadn’t thought about them in a long time. “I ate so many beans and rice as a kid that I refuse to touch the stuff today.” Nicole hung on his every word. She’d always dreamed of having her own family that just loved each other to pieces no matter what. It Sounded like he had that.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t truly know we were poor until my sister Rayna got sick.”

Davis’s voice changed. It suddenly got really thick and he had to clear his throat a couple of times.

“The place we lived in was always cold and damp. We all kept some kind of cold. Rayna was about six or seven when she got sick, Jane was about ten, and I was thirteen. We all thought it was just a cold. Of course, there was no money to go to a doctor. But, when her fever spiked too high mom and dad rushed her to the hospital. Come to find out she had pneumonia. She should have been admitted to the hospital. They were all set to put her into a room until the hospital administrator came back and informed us that since dad didn’t have any insurance they weren’t going to be able to admit her. They gave her some medicine and sent her home. She died two days later. We didn’t even have enough money to bury her.” Davis slammed his fist into the sand but kept talking. “Some of my parent’s friends chipped in for her funeral.” His face was wet with unshed tears. Nicole didn’t even think he knew the tears were there. Her heart was breaking for him.

“For a long time she didn’t even have a headstone. Now, she has one of the biggest headstones at the cemetery. I vowed from that moment on that I would never be poor. As soon as I was old enough, I got a job to help my parents. I worked the graveyard shift and went to school right after. I worked my ass off in school and got some scholarships for college. I was always good in math and science. I just had a knack for being able to build and repair computers. I started doing that to make extra money while I was in college. One thing led to another and Chatham Industries was born.” He wiped away the tears.

“I’m sure your parents are so proud of you.”

“I’m sure they probably would have been but they died in a car crash my sophomore year of college.”

Nicole reached out to touch him “I’m so sorry, Davis.”

“Lots of loss in the Chatham family. That’s why Jane and I are so close. I’ve been taking care of her ever since mom and dad died. Family means everything to me.”

“So, why’d you get divorced?” She saw a flash of anger in his eyes before he quickly covered it up. She shouldn’t have asked that question. “I’m sorry, don’t answer that. I was just thinking out loud and…..”

Davis pretended the question didn’t bother him and tried to laugh it off “It’s ok. It was a few years ago now. I guess, I’m just not husband material.”

That touched a nerve with her “What do men mean when they say that ‘husband material’? I’m sorry but that sounds like an excuse to not keep your promises.”

Davis’s jaw clenched “I always keep my promises. From my experience, its women who’s mind seemed to change like the wind. Not keeping promises is that what happened between you and Todd?”

Nicole looked a little surprised at that question. It was only fair “Touché Davis. I guess I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you did. I don’t want to talk about me anymore. Tell me about you.”

Nicole had asked to get to know each other so she couldn’t back out now. And, after Davis shared so much of himself, it was only fair that she did the same.

“When you were doing that thing with my head, you mentioned doing it with your ex, Todd. I’m assuming he’s part of the reason your year has sucked.”

Hesitantly, she spoke, “I guess you could say that. It’s not a complicated story. Probably happens all the time.” She put on a shaky smile. “He was my high school sweetheart and we got engaged right after college. He fell in love with a co-worker and broke my heart. I wanted a fresh start so I took an administrator position with Dana in Fiji. I grew up in foster care so I don’t have family like you do. You were very lucky to be surrounded with all that love. For a long time it was just Todd and me. Now, it’s just me.”

Davis wondered what kind of man would do that to her. She seemed to be smart, compassionate, and stunningly beautiful. Maybe Todd couldn’t take her independent spirit. Although annoying at times, it was also very refreshing. He also didn’t like knowing that she really didn’t have anyone looking out for her.

“Well, he sounds like an idiot. When I make a promise, I keep it. In relationships, you fix what’s broken you don’t just give up and quit because someone else comes along.”

“Is that why you’re still so angry at your ex-wife because that’s what she did to you?”

“I’m not angry.”

She gently touched his knee before she leaned her shoulder into his shoulder. “The sooner you accept it the sooner you can let it all go.”

He stood up “What are you a therapist now? Don’t you know when to back off?” He stalked towards the edge of the beach and gazed out over the ocean.

Nicole almost felt sorry for him. He wasn’t being a jerk just to be a jerk. Davis had been through a lot. And, even though he’d said he’d been divorced for a few years, his heart was still broken. Wasn’t that what led her on this trip in the first place her heart had been broken too. How ironic.