The Summer Wind (22 page)

After all, she thought with a laugh, her odds had to be better than one in one thousand.

On her way back to Sea Breeze, Devlin’s truck pulled up alongside her and he fired off a wolf’s whistle.

Dora loved it, but she feigned annoyance. “Devlin Cassell, you’re embarrassing me.”

“Nice outfit,” he called out.

Dora blushed, thinking again how Devlin had seen her in her ratty gym shorts and T-shirt. She sauntered toward the truck and leaned against the open window. “Feels a lot cooler in here.”

“Hop in.”

“Can’t. Want to finish my walk.”

“Aw, come on. There’s something I want to show you. It’ll only take a minute. Hop in.”

Dora narrowed her eyes with speculation, but curiosity won her over and she trotted around the front of the truck to the passenger side and jumped in. Devlin floored it and the tires spit gravel as he took off toward Breach Inlet.

“You sure look cute walking out there,” he told her.

She deflected the compliment. “What do you want me to see?”

“Hold your horses. We’re almost there.” He pulled into the parking lot at Breach Inlet and swung open his door. “Come on. Hurry.”

Together they jogged along the path to the bridge that spanned the turbulent water between Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms. On the western side of the bridge lay Hamlin Creek, the wetlands, and the Intracoastal Waterway. On the eastern side, the water emptied out into the Atlantic Ocean. It was stunning to see how calm the water was on the western side, and how
choppy and turbulent on the east. Devlin led her to the middle of the bridge, then they crossed the road to where they could overlook the creek. She stood beside him as cars passed from one island to the other. Suddenly he pointed.

“There! Look straight out, smack dab in the middle. See the dolphins?”

Dora raised her hand over her eyes and squinted. Then she saw them. One larger dolphin arcing in the water, then—she squealed with delight—she spotted the smaller dorsal fin of its baby.

“I see them. A mother and baby! They’re beautiful.”

Devlin was watching her, smiling at her reaction. “The mothers like to bring their young here to feed. See how turbulent that water is? There’s lots of fish in there and it’s easy hunting. I’ve heard tell mothers give birth to their young here, too, but I’ve never seen it.”

He peered out at the water. The sunlight glistened against the murky brown depths of the rough water. “Right beneath us! See?” he called out, pointing excitedly. “There’s another pair.”

Immediately beneath them on the bridge Dora spotted another mother dolphin arcing in the water, and immediately after, her young calf. She clutched Devlin’s arm and in response, he slipped an arm around her waist.

Dora watched the smooth symmetry of mother and child skimming in tandem across the water. The young calf was riding safe and secure in its mother’s slipstream. Her thoughts naturally turned to her own child and she felt a sudden loneliness for him. He’d love to see this and she wished he were here with her. She wanted to share special moments of happiness with her son, like this, rather than always be the disciplinarian.

They stood side by side watching the dolphins, feeling the
warmth of the sun on their backs until the dolphins swam off into the creek. She looked down to see his hand at her waist, then up to his face as he stared out at the water with an expression of a deep appreciation and even peace. She thought to herself,
I like spending time with Devlin.
He was easy to be with and deceptively intelligent. He played the role of a good ol’ boy, but he was very smart. Few people knew the lowcountry as intimately as he did. He loved the sea, the land, the culture, the history—all of it. These islands were his home. She found that very attractive.

Devlin turned his head and caught her looking at him. His eyes kindled. “Thought you’d like to see that.”

She was touched that he’d thought of what she’d like to see. Dora couldn’t remember Cal thinking of her in that way. She smiled and hoped it conveyed all she’d been feeling. “I surely did.”

“Best get you back. I’ve got to get to work sometime today.”

Dora reluctantly turned away from the view and followed Devlin back to the truck. “It’s been quite a morning,” she told him. “First turtles, now dolphins.”

“That’s just a normal morning in the lowcountry,” he said in a magnanimous tone as he opened her door. “You just have to get out and look.”

“You’re right,” she admitted. How many people were like her? she wondered. Living in this paradise and not exploring its wonders. She slid in the front seat and waited for him to hop in beside her. “I’ve stayed indoors for too long.”

Devlin put the key in the ignition, then paused to turn and face her. “Girl, you know what you need?”

Her lips twitched. “Nope.”

“I think you need someone to reintroduce you to your own backyard.”

She tilted her head, amused by his suggestion. “You think?”

“I do.” He fired the engine.

“You wouldn’t happen to have someone in mind for the job?”

He shifted into first, then cast her a sly grin that kicked her heart into gear.

“I just might.”

“Uh-huh,” she said in a teasing tone, then laughed as the truck pulled out of the parking space.

He drove a few blocks through the dappled shade of Middle Street. “How about I start by taking you boating?” he asked at length. “We used to love to cruise these waters, remember?”

Dora looked out the window and recalled countless summer days going out on Devlin’s boat when they were young, roaring up the creeks, putting down anchor near some hammock, making out while the boat rocked gently in the waves.

“Yes,” she replied dreamily. “I remember.”

The truck stopped at the sign. “We’ll do it again,” he said, swinging his head around. The sparkle in his blue eyes was contagious. “We’ll putter along the coastline, have a few drinks, then I’ll take you to dinner.”

Dora moved her sunglasses down her nose so she could look at him eye to eye. “That sounds rather like a date.”

“Well, I hope so!” he blurted. “It was meant to. Took me damn near three days to work up the nerve. So what’s your answer? Yea or nay?”

Dora slipped her sunglasses up her nose. “Yea.”

H
arper couldn’t wait to get back into the garden. She’d already ordered four books on the subject of gardening in the South, plants for hot-weather climates, and butterfly gardens. She and Dora had designed a modest garden plan, and Harper had ordered the plants. Dora was keeping firm control—approving or disapproving any of Harper’s suggestions. Her lack of trust chafed, especially in light of how Dora didn’t trust Harper to take her son to Florida. No matter what they did, or how hard she tried, Dora seemed to keep her at arm’s length.

Harper was deep into comparisons of varieties of lantana when the morning’s peace was rent by a squeal of delight, followed by the thundering of feet approaching. As she looked up from her computer, the porch door flung open and Dora rushed out, her face beaming with news.

“I lost ten pounds!” Dora exclaimed breathlessly. “Ten pounds!”

Harper turned in her chair, surprised to see Dora practically jumping up and down. “Hey, congrats! That’s a lot of weight. Since when?”

“Since the last time I weighed myself in the hospital.”

“I told you that you were slimming down.”

“You’ve always been trim and fit. You don’t understand how huge this is,” Dora said, her eyes still blazing with triumph. “I’ve been trying to lose ten pounds for ten years.”

Harper wondered why her being fit would render her any less excited for her sister. “It’s the exercise, more than any diet,” Harper said, trying to be supportive. She closed her laptop and rose to her feet. “We have to celebrate.”

“What’s the point? I can’t eat anything good.”

“Why do we have to eat at all? Let’s go shopping!”

Dora looked surprised at the suggestion, as though she’d never thought of having a celebration without food. “Well, I could use something pretty to wear on my dinner date with Devlin.”

“Something that shows off your figure.”

“Well, I’m hardly showing off,” Dora said, suddenly shy. “I have another ten to lose, at least.”

“Glass half empty,” Harper told her, wagging her finger. “You can buy another dress when you lose the next ten, too. Come on, sis, life’s too short not to celebrate each milestone.” Harper scooped up her laptop, water bottle, and pens and paper from the table. “Besides, we haven’t had a shopping trip yet. Or a mani-pedi. I seem to recall it was on our list of things to do this week. It’ll be fun. Just us sisters.”

Though Harper meant the shopping trip to be a bonding experience, so far it was anything
but
. Harper stood outside the dressing room of the fifth store they’d plowed through with all the joy of Sherman’s march to the sea. Every dress or top she’d brought in for Dora to try on was figuratively burned and utterly rejected.

Harper stood outside the dressing room door, counting to ten and telling herself that this would be the last bunch she’d select from this cute shop. Harper was at her wit’s end. She couldn’t get Dora free from her locked-in look of cover-ups in flowing fabric without any discernible waistline, and she wouldn’t show any skin. Dora wanted to go to the clothing stores in the mall that catered to overweight women or women of a particular age who didn’t want to show too much curve. Stubbornly, Harper steered Dora to King Street in Charleston to some of her favorite stores, hoping to inject a little trend and youth into her older sister’s style.

Harper loved clothes. In New York City one of her favorite things was to gaze at all the store windows, swooning over the new styles so fancifully displayed. The bonus of shopping on King Street in Charleston was that there were so many wonderful, chic boutiques, and they wouldn’t have to fight the crowds. It should have been fun.

Instead it was war. Dora shot down all the stylish outfits Harper brought in; they were “too tight,” or “too small,” or “too young.” She wasn’t even nice about it. Dora was snapping and snarling like a cornered dog in the dressing room, sulking while Harper went back out to find new outfits for her to try on.

Harper resented feeling like she was torturing Dora, rather than trying to help. This batch was her last effort before she
bailed. Mustering her resolve, she knocked on the dressing room door.

“Ready?” she called out in a pleasant voice.

“More?” Dora called back with a groan.

Harper closed her eyes, then said with forced cheer, “Last bunch! I’m sure we have a winner here.”

Dora opened the door a crack, just enough to reveal her mulish expression. She looked about ready to burst into tears. “I don’t want to try any more on. I’m done here.”

“Dora, just a few more. I thought you looked beautiful in some of the dresses.”

“No, I didn’t. I looked fat. Everything makes me look fat!” Dora blurted out.

A salesgirl approached them, young and perky and eager to help. “Anything working for you?”

“We’re not sure yet,” Harper said in a polite tone.

“Yes, we are. None of these work. You can take them all,” Dora snapped.