Swept Away (3 page)

Tucker offered to start work that afternoon, but Murray wouldn’t consider it. Suggested Tucker do some sightseeing, maybe spend a day at the beach. Murray even suggested Josie show the new employee around the place, but she professed a headache and practically slammed her door. Tucker was almost offended, but he noticed she kept peeking from behind the lacy curtains.  He pretended not to notice.

Murray wandered home, proclaiming it was past time to fish. Tucker unloaded his bags from his car. He’d packed clothes, laptop, and toiletries, but he never thought to bring towels, sheets, or food. Shopping was his first order of business. Unpacking his things took him all of five minutes.

First stop was back at Ella’s. She smiled as he came in the door. “My favorite soldier is back. Murray give you a job?”

“In a heartbeat. The guy that desperate for workers?” Tucker said as he leaned against the counter.

“Nah, you just have the look of a lost soul, and Murray collects ‘em. Have you met his wife, Hetty? She’s the prize in his collection.”

“No, I didn’t meet her. I think Murray said she was sick?”

“Yeah. She’s sick most days.” Ella wiped dust from the counter with her hand.

“Anything wrong with her?”

“Yeah, she weighs about four hundred pounds.”

Tucker didn’t say anything about that. He’d learned long ago not to comment when women and weight were mentioned in the same conversation. “You know where I could buy sheets and towels? Stuff for the kitchen?”

“Closest K-Mart is back up on Kitty Hawk.”

“You’re joking? That’s more than two hours away.”

“Yeah, it sucks.” Ella thought a minute. “Let me call a friend. She’s head of housekeeping for a cottage cleaning company. Maybe she has some old rentals you could buy.”

A call later and Tucker had another name and address.

“I appreciate all the help. I hadn’t meant to stay here for long, and I sort of assumed I’d stay in a hotel.”

Ella gave him a wink. “This place will grow on you. And I figure if you’re going to get any answers about Josie, it won’t be easy. She’s lived here for years, and I don’t think the girl has said more than ten words to me.”

“You’re right. Murray is pretty adamant that she’s his niece.”

Ella nodded. “That’s what he says. And it could be true. Murray does have a sister who left the island years ago, and she’s never returned. It’s just that the Banks family are all so…well, let’s just be honest. They’re ugly as a dog’s ass, but Josie is cute as a button.”

Tucker thought of his short, pale mother and his own tall, dark frame. The other parent offered genes to the mix too. “Maybe she gets the looks from her dad?”

“I suppose. Just can’t imagine overriding those genes so easy.”

Tucker shrugged. “So, is this the best place to get groceries?”

“Sure is. Just get what you want, and I’ll ring you up. I’ll even give you the resident discount.”

Tucker loaded cans of food, bags of chips, and packages of cold cuts into his cart. He laid it all on the counter and went back for paper plates, napkins, and plastic silverware. Then he grabbed a gallon of milk and a box of Life cereal.

Ella rang him up and bagged the food. He asked, “What do you know about Mad Mags?”

“The ghost story?”

“Yeah.”

Ella shrugged. “It’s this island’s version of the Lady in White. I think every town has one. She’s said to walk the path down near where you’re staying. People say they’ve seen her. Hear her sea shells tinkling in the middle of the night.”

“Sea shells tinkling?”

“Yeah. Don’t ask me what it’s all about. I’ve never really paid much attention to the ghost stories. I’m more into the stories about the living.”

“The ghosts were once people too, I guess.”

Ella laughed. “If you say so, soldier. Here.” She flipped his receipt over and wrote down a phone number. “Give this lady a call. She’s a bit of a nut, but she’ll be able to tell you all about Mags.”

Tucker gathered up his groceries, visited the housekeeper for his bag of sheets and towels, and headed back to the cottage. Josie was curled up on her front porch rocker reading a book when he pulled up. As he stood there, staring and debating what to do, she looked up at him and blushed.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey to you too.” Josie carefully tucked a folded sheet of paper into the book before setting it down on the table next to her chair.

“I had to get some groceries,” he said, feeling stupid as he hugged the paper bags.

“You go to Ella’s?”

“Yeah. She said it was the best place to shop.”

“She wasn’t lying. It is the best place, even if she does ask a lot of questions,” Josie said with a little laugh.

“She is curious. Says she’s a writer.”

“Really?” Josie sounded intrigued.

“Yeah, says she has some book she couldn’t get published.”

“Well, that’s sad. She’s never mentioned it to me, but then I try to avoid her as best I can. I mean, she’s nice; it’s just all those questions.” Josie rolled her eyes and grinned.

Tucker was sure she had the prettiest smile he’d ever seen. He wasn’t done admiring it when she said, “See you later, Mr. Tucker.”

“It’s Boone. Tucker is my first name.”

“All right. Mr. Boone.” She grabbed her book and an empty glass from the table and opened her front door.

“It’s just Tucker…I mean, call me Tucker. Not Mr. Boone.”

She nodded and was gone. He had the urge to follow, but he fought it and made a mental note to never bug her with questions.

Tucker settled in, laptop on the dining table, notepad to his right, and a cold beer on the left. Turning on the laptop, he quickly realized he didn’t have any internet. “Shit,” he said aloud to the empty space.

He went to the workshop to find Murray and see if he needed a password or something, but the old man was nowhere to be found. Tucker went outside and looked around. The shop was unlocked; surely Murray was here somewhere.

A screen door squeaked open, and a woman yelled, “What the hell you snoopin’ ‘round for?”

Tucker turned slowly. The woman addressing him was huge; dressed in a bright red muumuu, she leaned heavily on a cane as she stood in the door of the house.  “Name’s Tucker Boone, Ma’am. Murray hired me this morning.”

“He did, did he?” The woman sighed and shook her head. “You’re not here about the girl, are ya?”

Tucker’s brows drew together, but he didn’t have a chance to open his mouth before she added, “Last guy had to be fired. He never did a lick of work, too busy trying to chase the girl all over the property. She’s a good girl. Minds her own business. She doesn’t like to be bothered much, and we respect that. I suggest you respect that too.”

“Ma’am, I can see where a guy would want to chase your niece around, but that’s not what I’m here for.”

Pointing to her eyes, she assured him. “I’ll be watching you, remember that.”

“Yes, ma’am. You have anything you need done? I can’t seem to find Mr. Banks.”

“Oh, he’s probably down at the dock fishing. He’s put in an hour or so of work, time to play.” The woman wiped her brow with a handkerchief. “I suppose as long as you belong, I can get inside. I can’t handle this heat. You may as well relax and have a look around the island. Murray will put you to work when he feels like it.”

With that, the door slammed, and she was gone.

Tucker made his way back to his cottage. He’d ask Josie if there was a password. He knocked on her door. She didn’t answer. Looking in the window, he could see her in her kitchen. He knocked again. She ignored him. “Josie?” he shouted through the door. Still no answer.

He turned to leave when he heard her door open.

“Uh, hi,” she said, blushing.

Afraid she’d lose her nerve and slam the door, Tucker asked quickly, “Hey, I was trying to get on the internet. Didn’t know if there was a password?”

“Sorry. No internet.”

“No internet?”

Josie shrugged. “Nope. Hetty says it’s a luxury.”

“I just met her, and I’m not shocked she said that,” he said, trying to make conversation.

“Hetty?” Josie grinned. “She was that nice, huh?”

“If by nice, you mean rude and bitchy, then she was a total sweetheart.”

Josie laughed. Her shoulders rolled forward with the effort, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “She’s crusty, but sweet in her own way.”

“I can see that. She made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate any bull from me. Says she fired the last guy?”

The color washed from Josie’s face. “Yeah, he didn’t work out.”

Tucker nodded. “Well, I’m glad for my sake he didn’t. I’ll have to keep my nose clean.”

“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll do fine. You have the look of good people.”

Tucker nodded. A smile twitched at his lips. “That’s a plus.  I like to think I’m good people.”

“Hetty is good people too. She’s grumpy, and you never know what she’ll say. But she’s very kind, she and Murray both.”

“It’s not Aunt Hetty and Uncle Murray?”

Josie’s eyes widened. “I didn’t meet them until I was sixteen. Calling them aunt and uncle feels awkward. It’s like consciously, I know they’re my family, but they don’t feel like my family.” She leaned back against the doorframe.

“I understand that,” Tucker said.  “I grew up never knowing my real dad. If he was in my life starting now, I wouldn’t call him dad either.”

Josie nodded. “I never met mine either. To be honest, my mother wasn’t ever really sure who to blame. She had a few guesses…there was her high school gym teacher, her senior prom date—“ Josie stopped mid-sentence and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually admit that. I’m not sure what came over me.”

“It’s all right. My mother told me my father was sperm donor eleven-one-five my whole life. Turns out, it was an old boyfriend of hers.”

“Did you ever find him?”

“Yeah, right before I came here. He had a stroke and is in a nursing home. It was a waste of time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been very disappointing.”

“It was, a little.” Tucker stuffed his hands in his pockets. The tiniest twitch of guilt told him it was wrong to use his dad to get her sympathy, but it worked so well, he had no intention of stopping. Should he add in the long-lost sister?

“So, what brings you here?” Josie asked.

“Just got back from Iraq and needed….wanted something different.”

Josie nodded slowly.

A quick internal debate nixed the idea of telling her about Maddy. If the Mad Mags clue was a dead end, she’d expect him to move on, to keep looking for his sister. But standing here, looking into a set of eyes he could only describe as hypnotic; in a place he could only call perfect—he knew—he wasn’t going anywhere else.

“This is the perfect place for different,” she said. “There’s so much history and beauty. And when the tourist season is over, it’s quiet—a true sanctuary.”

“So, it won’t stay as crowded as it is now?” Tucker figured as much, but any way to keep her talking.

“Oh no. It will begin to slow in August. But there are still quiet places here, even with the crowds. If you know where to look.”

“Maybe I could get you to draw me a map,” Tucker joked.

“I suppose I could show you.” She let her head rest on the doorframe.  “I’m sorry. I was rude earlier. I was just embarrassed. You’re so…and I’m so…”

“So what?” Beautiful? Alluring? Mysterious?

“Boring. You’ve seen the world. You’ve been to war.”

Tucker’s face scrunched up. “I don’t know that any of that makes me interesting.”

“You’re, like, a hero.”

Tucker laughed. Josie grinned and said, “I’m serious. You’re handsome and have that GI Joe look going on. Only you’re not an actor—so what branch?”

“Marine Corps. First Division.”

“See? That’s something. You did something. You saved people.”

Tucker’s smile died on his lips. “Sometimes. Sometimes not.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know how bad it hurts to lose someone.” Josie straightened. “I better get going. I have a couple of cottages to tidy up for some renters. Hetty said they’ll be checking in this evening. And I need to get the midweek linens washed and delivered.” 

“Let me change, and I’ll help you.”

“No, that’s all right. You get yourself settled.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m going a little nuts with nothing to do. It’s like being in the Stone Age here without the net. Hell, we had internet in war zones.”

“You’re really going to be crushed when you hear we don’t have cable.”

“No cable?”

“We get the basic. About twenty channels, nothing overly exciting.”

“What the hell do you do?”

Josie smiled and shrugged. “I suppose you have to get creative.”