“That kid. The one you saw on the boat,” Wayne said finally. “He just came home after a long, long time away. None of us thought we would ever see him again. When I got word that he was coming home, I dropped the ball and ran up to Cindy’s. Everywhere I looked, I was overwhelmed with memories. Tara and I, we kind of adopted that kid for a while because he didn’t get along so well with his parents. And...”
Elise’s eyes gleamed. She stepped toward him, bowing her head slightly.
“So another person has come back to Mackinac Island for a reunion with the Swartz family?” she asked with a soft laugh.
Wayne chuckled. “I guess there’s something in the air.”
“I guess so.”
The receptionist bustled toward them. Her eyes were like the little pinpoints of needles, there behind her cat-eye glasses.
“Excuse me. Wayne? I’m sorry to say, but if you’re not a guest at the Grand at this time, we need you to step out. We’re going to have the reception cleaned.”
Elise and Wayne returned to the porch, where Elise stuck her elbow into Wayne’s ribs and said, “Every beautiful woman on this island knows your name.”
Wayne rolled his eyes. “I told you. I’m trying to overcome my reputation. I did a pretty good job of building it...”
“I mean, when I looked over to find you on that dock in Mackinaw City on my first day, I knew what kind of guy you were,” Elise said. She placed her elbows on the white railing of the porch and gave him a sneaky smile.
“Oh, did you? You already knew that I’m a kind and considerate gentleman? That I go out of my way for my friends? That I would be overly willing to let you stay at my place when your bed and breakfast burned to the ground?”
“Here we go. Now you’re just complimenting yourself.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I know,” Elise agreed. “That’s one thing that’s become increasingly clear as the days on Mackinac Island have gone by.”
Wayne stretched his large hands over the railing. He stood only an inch to the left of Elise, where he could inhale the beautiful scent of her perfume and the smell of her hair.
He wanted to kiss her more than he had ever wanted to kiss another woman in the previous three years.
“I’ve really struggled to let anyone into my life,” Wayne whispered. “And I know there’s a lot you don’t know—about your life in California, about your relationship to the Swartz family, about what you’re going to do next. I guess all I can say is...”
He trailed off as a phone began to vibrate.
Elise turned her eyes toward his as he pressed a hand on his phone, which was still and silent.
“I guess it’s you,” he said. He could feel a crooked grin play out between his cheeks.
“I guess so,” she said. “Bad timing.”
“We don’t have the timing thing down at all, do we?”
Elise lifted her phone so that they both read: Officer Cutler.
“I better get it, I guess,” she said, sounding disappointed.
“Officer?”
Elise was silent for a long time, while Wayne’s eyes found the water’s edge. Everything in his life felt up in the air, as though it had been lifted up on stilts, without rhyme or reason, poised to fall to the ground and erupt.
“Thank you again, Officer. I’ll see you soon,” Elise said, finishing the call.
When she turned back up to face him, she said, “Apparently, they’ve finished the investigation into the bed and breakfast fire. They want me to come to the station quickly. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I love a casual trip to the police station,” Wayne said.
Fear permeated behind Elise’s eyes. Against his better judgment, he reached out, grabbed her hand, and said, “I’m sure he just wants to tell you the insurance will cover all the things you lost.”
Elise’s eyes scanned his hand over hers. Her eyes were difficult to read.
Did I actually just tell her how I’ve struggled letting people into my life?
Did I really just insinuate that I would bring her into my life if she wanted that?
Wayne was suddenly overwhelmed with panic and nausea.
He couldn’t just assume Elise wanted anything to do with him, especially now.
He slipped his fingers through his hair again and said, “Shall we?”
Elise watched him with those eyes that seemed to catch everything. She reached a tender hand toward one of his curls and slipped it around his ear—an act so intimate, it nearly broke Wayne’s heart.
“You always mess with your hair,” she whispered. “But it always looks perfect.”
Chapter Nine
When Elise thought about this day much later, she referred to it as the day everything changed forever.
But there, outside the Grand Hotel as she gazed up into Wayne’s eyes, her heart heavy and her mind buzzing with fear, she couldn’t have known.
She had entered a complicated world of family secrets and personal tragedies and many, many in-between hours, when they hadn’t known about her or her mother, not for a moment, not at all. Wayne had offered up a slight concept—something to do with him not being able to let people in. But what did that mean? Did it mean that he wanted to try to let her in?
Could Elise rationalize changing her life forever for this stranger before her?
She shot down the staircase, her hand gripping the railing and her legs feeling light. She ran as quickly as she had as a youngster, wild and alive, until she reached the ground, turned up to find Wayne hot on her heels.
“You thought you could outrun me?” Wayne said with a laugh. “You have another thing coming.”
Elise laughed, in spite of all of it. “I can’t believe I was ever so foolish.”
“Me either. I’m rethinking all of this,” he said.
They headed back toward the road that led out toward the police station. Elise cupped and uncapped her elbows, suddenly frightened.
“What if Alex found a way to frame me for the fire?”
“Then he’s a whole lot smarter than I ever thought he was,” Wayne affirmed.
“Tracey mentioned that Alex was especially close to their mother,” Elise said contemplatively. “Which says a lot, I guess. Now that I storm in here with news of a woman Dean cheated on Mandy with...”
“He was a momma’s boy for sure,” Wayne said.
“But he’s been through so much. Even Dean said Alex’s life has been especially hard on him,” Elise said.
“But that doesn’t mean you should let him push you around,” Wayne said.
Elise arched her brow. “Do you think that’s what I’ve allowed him to do? I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“You said you were headed off the island.”
Elise laughed good-naturedly. “That might have had more to do with you.”
HAD WAYNE REALLY AFFECTED Elise that much?
Nobody ever really knew how powerful they were in other people’s lives.
Wayne had learned this first-hand after his attempts at dating people casually over the previous few years. Usually, things were only casual on his end, which had led to countless broken hearts and a great deal of gossip.
Before Wayne could dig into Elise’s comment, Elise walked into the police station. He hustled in after her to find Officer Cutler and Alex himself, both seated on the other side of the desk. The image was a funny one, as though both were attempting to compete for whatever power came with the position of Mackinac Island police officer.
“Elise!” Officer Ben Cutler said. “Good to see you again.”
Alex glowered beside him.
“And you as well, Ben. How are the girls?” Elise asked.
Wayne laughed inwardly. How was it possible that she had already gotten so close to the officer assigned to go over her case? Was she really that friendly?
Was she really that perfect?
“They’re good, thanks. They had me putting together a new playhouse for their doll
s last night, which is how I got this,” Officer Cutler said, lifting his hand to show a huge bandage.
“Ooph! Looks rough,” Elise said. “I hope they know all you go through for them.”
“They don’t,” Officer Cutler said. His eyes then turned over Elise’s head to find Wayne. His smile fell slightly.
Wayne knew this was related to the fact that he’d had a brief romance with Officer Cutler’s wife’s good friend, Deirdre, the previous summer.
Yet another stain on his bachelor life on the island.
It hadn’t ended well, obviously.
“Wayne. Didn’t expect you to stop by,” Officer Cutler said.
“I’m just watching over the proceedings,” Wayne said. “Our California arsonist clearly can’t be trusted.”
Elise cast him a funny glare. Alex shifted in his chair and grimaced.
“This isn’t a laughing matter,” Alex affirmed. “And the fact that either of you think it could be deemed as such should be seen as evidence.”
“Give it a rest, Alex,” Officer Cutler said.
Alex’s jaw dropped open.
Nobody talked to the Swartz family like that. Not on Mackinac Island.
In the silence that fell, Elise cleared her throat and said, “Thanks again for investigating the fire so extensively, Officer.”
Officer Cutler scooched to the front of his chair and beamed. “I’m glad I finally get to tell you both our official results.”
“I hope your investigation was extensive.” Alex groaned.
“I can assure you, it was,” Officer Cutler said. His voice sounded sour. “In any case, we’ve officially declared that the fire was caused by an electrical issue. We’ll make a formal announcement in the paper, which will finally rid poor Elise here of all these rumors.”
Wayne glared at Alex. Alex sniffed, and then pressed a hand across the desk.
Wayne couldn’t help himself.
“Don’t you think you owe Elise an apology?”
Alex turned his horrible eyes toward Wayne. “I’m sorry?”
“You accused this woman of arson. You’ve spent a lot of time here accusing her of a lot more than that, too. All Elise wanted was to come to Mackinac for a little vacation, the kind of thing any person does. A little time away to find herself.”
Alex arched his eyebrow. “Right. And you’re the kind of guy who knows what it means to run around, finding yourself. Aren’t you, Wayne?”
“Boys, if you want to have some kind of altercation, then I suggest you do it outside,” Officer Cutler said. He then turned his eyes back toward Elise and muttered, “I don’t know what to do with them.”
Alex burst from his chair and sauntered toward the doorway. He stood only a foot or so away from Wayne. After a moment, he turned back to look at Elise.
“You won’t find what it is you came here to find,” he said, his voice rattling around ominously. “My father wants nothing to do with you. The Swartz family, in general, wants nothing to do with you.”
Wayne snorted. “You should tell that to Tracey, who just spent a whole afternoon with Elise.”
Alex glowered at both of them, turned toward the door, and stormed out. Elise hustled to her feet, thanked Officer Cutler again, and raced after him. Wayne tore through the door to find her reaching out to grab his elbow and hold him back.
“Alex, wait...”
Alex tore around, volatile, his eyes burning with anger. “Don’t you touch me.”
“Alex, I just really think you have me all wrong,” Elise said. “I don’t want your money. Heck, I didn’t even know about the Swartz family before I arrived. I just came here to—to get a better picture of my mother. I know you recently lost your mother, too. I know you know what it feels like.”
Alex looked on the verge of exploding. “If you’re this upset about your mother, then I suggest therapy. Back where you came from. And again—if you think this guy over there is any kind of solution to your problems...?”
Wayne’s hands clenched into fists. “You’d better stop that kind of talk, Alex,” he said stormily. “We’ve been through enough, you and me. I don’t think I deserve that.”
Alex placed his fingers on his temples and huffed. He muttered something else, an insult Wayne couldn’t fully hear.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Alex finally articulated. He returned his angry eyes to meet Elise’s. “We’ve been through enough. Way too much, actually. And now that it’s the end of the season and Michael’s back, we can finally tend to the family that has been slowly falling apart over the past several years. You? You just bring heartache and torment and reminders of mistakes. We all did fine without the other over the past forty-some years. Let’s go back to that. Shall we?”
With that, Alex turned on his heel and stomped away. Wayne’s hands relaxed from their fists, but his pulse didn’t calm down. Finally, Elise turned back to face him. Her face was blotchy with tears.
WAYNE STEPPED TOWARD Elise, placed a hand on her cheek, and swiped his thumb through her tears. Her knees clacked together as her ears replayed the words Alex had said to her, over and over again.
“What can I do to help you?” Wayne whispered then.
“As if there’s anything to be done at all,” Elise returned with an ironic laugh.
“Let’s go grab a drink,” Wayne said. “I don’t know what to say anymore. I just need a drink in my hand.”
Elise slipped her fingers through Wayne’s as they walked toward the Pink Pony. It seemed like years ago, that night that Wayne had taken her there and she’d first confessed that her father was Dean Swartz. Be careful who you tell that to. Some people won’t like that you’ve come back. Maybe she should have run as fast as possible away from Mackinac Island on that night.
It was later in the evening, now, and the sun had dipped low, casting everything in ghoulish light. They walked past the fudge shop, where the owner had dropped down in the little display window, to arrange the décor into a more autumn setting. The owner waved a hand to Elise, having recognized her from her constant treks up and down Main Street. Elise waved back.
“See?” Wayne said with a crooked smile. “You belong here. Everyone sees it.”
At the Pink Pony, Wayne ordered them both stiff whiskeys and remained standing as Elise collapsed onto a stool. That bartender from that first night, Marcy, hustled toward them with their drinks and winked at Elise.
“I heard you were still around,” she said. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Wayne’s a hard one to give up.”
Although Elise was pretty sure Marcy had been the origin of all the gossip surrounding her, Elise couldn’t help but deliver a sterling smile. “Don’t give him too much credit. He’s already arrogant enough as it is.”
Marcy laughed good-naturedly as she disappeared. In her wake, Wayne lifted his glass and said, “To one of the strangest twenty-four hours of my life.”
“To not being an arsonist,” Elise replied.
“That too,” he said.
Elise sipped a sliver of whiskey. She had a million questions. Mostly: what was she meant to do, now? Now that she had spent time with her sister, now that Alex still wanted her out, now that some guy named Michael had returned home and shattered Wayne’s previously intact mental health...
That moment, Wayne received a phone call. Elise was grateful. It gave her time to stew in her own thoughts.
“Hey there,” Wayne said. “Yep, still downtown.” He paused. “Is that right? Okay. Well, I’ll have to check with her, but I imagine it won’t be a difficult sell.” His smile widened slightly.
Wayne’s smile was like kryptonite.
When he hung up the phone, he slowly returned it to his pocket and beamed at her.
“You’re freaking me out,” Elise told him. “What’s up?”
“We’ve been invited somewhere,” he told her.
“We?”
Here we are. A “we.” Isn’t that what I always wanted?
“That’s right. You and
me.”
“And you aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?” Elise asked.
“Nope.”
“That’s kind of cruel, isn’t it?”
Wayne laughed. “Aren’t you up for a surprise?”
That’s why I came here in the first place.
I wanted the surprise of my life.
I wanted things to happen again.
Elise lifted her glass to her lips, grumbled sarcastically, and said, “Jeez. What now?”
Again, Elise found her fingers laced through Wayne’s as they walked down Main Street, toward the Grand Hotel, then up that now-familiar hill, which led to the Pontiac Trail Head. Unlike the last few times, they bypassed Dean Swartz’s family house, and instead entered through the little gate outside of a lavender-colored house, one a tiny bit smaller than Dean’s.
Just before Wayne could rap his knuckles against the door, Michael, the young man from the sailboat, opened the door and delivered a boisterous smile.
“You made it!” he said. He rushed forward, gave Wayne a big hug, and then turned toward Elise. “And you must be Elise. I’ve heard so much about you today.”
Elise’s eyes flickered toward Wayne’s. “I can’t imagine what you heard...” she began, before being swallowed by Michael’s infectious hug.
“Come in. Tracey and Mom have set up the dining room table,” Michael said. “Like I told you earlier, Wayne, Mom is obsessive about feeding me.”
“He’s going to eat me out of house and home!” Cindy called from a far room.
Elise kept her hand in Wayne’s. She felt like a foreigner on spindly legs, hardly able to walk or speak in this, her oldest (supposed) sister’s home. Michael led them toward the kitchen, where he poured them both hearty glasses of wine and clinked glasses with them.
“Elise, I heard you’ve been involved in a bit of drama since your arrival,” Michael said, crossing and uncrossing his arms.
“As if you’re one to talk, Prodigal Son,” Cindy said as she whisked back into the kitchen and dotted a kiss on Michael’s cheek.
“I hope I kick that nickname soon,” Michael said. “But anyway. A fire? At the old Willow Grove?”
Lost Loves (Secrets of Mackinac Island Book 4) Page 6
