The Widows of Sea Trail-Tessa of Crooked Gulley

by Jacqueline DeGroot

  Something clicked in the middle of the night and I woke up again. I remembered going through their wedding album with Amy by my side on the couch the very first night we were over for dinner. The guests had been given disposable cameras and many had taken some unusual shots. Several were of the photographer taking pictures of the bride and groom. The photographer was blonde and buxom, and unless I missed my guess, from a little city in Florida called Boca Raton. She was the one in the hot tub Carlos had doused liberally with champagne tonight. I wondered if he had been unfaithful from the very beginning.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Girlfriends to the end Amy wasn’t home the next day and she didn’t return any of the calls I left for her on her voice mail. A powwow with both Viv and Cat ended up being a lunch date at The Purple Onion followed by drinks at Las Palmeras. The veggie quesadilla was delicious and the Margaritas just enough to loosen my tongue and ask for advice. I don’t like to gossip, not when it was this potentially harmful, so as I used the tiny straw to rearrange the salt on the rim of the over-sized glass, I let them drag the sordid tale out of me.

  “It doesn’t surprise me a bit. He never really fit in, everyone just tolerated him because of her,” Viv said, clearly miffed and affronted by Carlos’ behavior.

  “Matt told me he was a player, but I never thought he’d chance losing it all, and gosh, so blatantly. That’s really weird. Amy must be devastated.”

  “Yeah and that’s why I’m so upset that I can’t find her. She can’t be handling this well at all,” I said as I tried to wave off the waiter while Viv beckoned him on when he asked about refills.

  “Where could she be?” Viv asked. “Does she have family nearby?”

  “No, she really has no one to go to about something like this. That’s why this is so odd. I would have thought she’d have come running to me, if anyone.”

  “Well, just stop by, don’t call. Maybe she’s hiding, maybe she can’t face anybody,” Cat said.

  “Nah, she wouldn’t hide. And there’s no way she would tolerate his infidelity. At least I don’t think she would, but who knows what goes on behind closed doors,” I said. “But still, she’s my friend, and I’m really one of the few she has so I feel it’s my job to at least make sure she’s all right.”

  “Well, go over there and find out, confront Carlos if you have to. Ask him where she is. If you need a show of strength, we can all go,” Viv said.

  “Nah, I can handle him. He doesn’t scare me,” I said as I hefted the newly delivered drink in both hands. “These things are gargantuan, I’m glad you’re driving, Cat.”

  “Me, too,” Viv said as she plucked the lime out of the top of her Corona and sucked on it.

  So that’s how I came to be leaning on Amy’s doorbell with a tummy full of margaritas. I finally woke a very tired and grumpy Carlos.

  “So what’s with Amy and why are you screwing around on her here in her house, on her deck, in her hot tub?” I was not able to tiptoe over all this. Amy was not in any condition to fight for her dignity, but I sure was.

  “From what I can see, this is none of your concern. If you want to ask Amy and she wants to tell you, that is her purgative.”

  He didn’t have the best command of the English language so I had to search my brain for the word he meant. “Prerogative?”

  “You know what I mean, if she wants you to know our personal business, she can tell you about it.” He was leaning on the doorjamb and I could smell the chlorine from the hot tub lingering on his skin. His hair was so lacquered down by the amount of gel products he used that it crunched when he attempted to run his hands through it.

  “Well, if I could find her I would! Just where is she?”

  “She is seeing a doctor. As you may be aware, she has not been feeling herself lately.” The way he smiled at the end of his sentence was both sinister and snide. Okay, finally I got what Tom had surmised from the very first day—this guy was a sleaze ball with nothing to recommend him whatsoever except that he could do amazing things with hydrangeas.

  “Well, when she gets home, could you ask her to please call me?”

  “Sure,” he was twisting his mustache as he closed the door in my face. I knew he wasn’t going to bother telling Amy I had been here and that I was asking about her. Poor Amy, she must be feeling all alone with all this. And if she had managed to find herself at a heart doctor’s, I doubted he would be treating her for the heart condition she was currently experiencing, namely a broken and shattered heart.

  I met Cat and Viv at Magnolia’s the next day and we settled in for a two-hour lunch. I had so much to tell them. And as it turned out they had a lot to tell me, too.

  Ahomeowner, frustrated beyond belief at the squirrels invading his attic had accidentally blown a two-foot hole in his roof, and despite claiming they were intruders that were robbing him (they were stealing pink insulation), he was charged with discharging a firearm and breaking the law in an animal sanctuary. And he was being charged with killing a protected species. To his chagrin, he had missed twenty out of twenty-one shots. The twenty-first shot, shot through the hole he had opened in the roof, hit a wood stork gliding into the Lake Meade area at the end of the Calabash River.

  There were two holes in one on the same day, and everyone was up in arms about some new sign rules and despite the best efforts of many, the expansion was getting bad press and was sure to be voted down.

  The squirrels, the holes-in-one, the chance for new digs to exercise and party in, and the new sign ordinance quickly became yesterday’s news when I told them about Carlos and then broke my silence and started telling them about Roman and all we had done together. Okay, not all we had done together.

  “So, he was here, on the plantation and you didn’t call us?”

  “I hadn’t even called him. He just showed up, held my head while I retched into the toilet, smeared some goopy paste where I had broken out with that allergic reaction, and fed me soup. I fell asleep within an hour of his arrival and he was gone when I woke up.”

  “So’s he coming back?” This from Viv, her eyes agog, her finger circling the rim of her Mimosa glass over and over again. Had it been gold-rimmed, it wouldn’t be now.

  “I’m meeting him in Charleston in two weeks, just for a few days while he’s there as an expert witness.”

  “Wow, an expert . . . at what?” Cat asked.

  “Well, let me just say that the things he’s expert at, had better not be discussed in a courtroom!”

  We all guffawed, and sloshed down more champagne.

  “I just can’t believe how you met, there at the jewelry store after having seen him practically leap onto the ship that very morning. How romantic.” Viv was in another world, probably daydreaming that she was replacing me as the heroine in my story.

  “He had actually followed me, well, sort of. So it’s not all that outrageous, or involved with some grand design of destiny. Except for the cat’s eye thing, that part is pretty amazing.” I looked over at Viv, “You remember that cat’s eye marble I found the day we did the chanting in the pouring down rain?”

  “Yeah, I remember you made me hold it and that it was warm to the touch.”

  “Well, Roman’s eyes are the exact same color. And he bought clothes for me to wear from a shop that specializes in all things cat.” I lifted my sweater away from my neck and drew out the necklace he had given me, then moved my hair aside so they could see the matching earrings. Oohs and Ahhs were passed back and forth as they were admired by not only Cat and Viv, but by several of the waitresses passing by. Donna, the one serving us, sat down and admired my necklace while marveling at the novelty of the clasp.

  “The store was called The Cat’s Pajama’s and he must have a connection to it of some kind, as he had practically filled the closet in the guestroom with clothes from there for me to wear.”

  “From what you indicated earlier, I’m surprised you needed them.”

  I blushed and sighed, remembering all the diff
erent and inventive ways Roman had managed to undress me. “Yeah, a lot of time I didn’t.”

  “So, how was it? Awkward at first? Or was he a smooth operator. I mean, it’s been a long time for you, hasn’t it?”

  “Oh yeah, a very long time. It was . . . it was . . . well, it was natural. Everything just evolved. He was very upfront in what he wanted. He never made any bones about the fact that he wanted me and that he meant to have me. When he showed up in the helicopter that day, I was toast from the minute I looked up and saw him. Something in his eyes spoke to me and told me that I was going to be treated to the best sex I ever had.”

  Donna stopped as she walked back with a tray of dirty dishes and raised an eyebrow before backing up. “Go on, continue . . .”

  “Well, I’m glad I listened. It was amazing, he was amazing. Let me tell you about this one place he took me.” Donna set her tray down on a table opposite us and sat in one of the empty chairs and propped her chin in her hands, “Okay, I’m listenin’.”

  We all laughed and I told them about the magical place on top of the island and the misty waterfall and the Thomas Kincade houses. I didn’t tell them that he had taken me up against an ancient stonewall and made me feel like the woman I always wanted to be. But they could see that I was enthralled by the man who had piloted my ship and then commandeered my body for nefarious and delicious purposes.

  “. . . and then when I came back from the ladies room, the Captain and Roman had apparently been arguing. I didn’t find out until later when . . .” I told them about the speed dating event and how Roman had taken my hand and lead me through the ship for our first kiss before jumping off our ship.”

  Donna sighed, Viv sighed, and Catalina sighed. Then I propped my own hand on my elbow and sighed along with them. Sounds from the kitchen finally alerted us to the fact that the kitchen was closing and the buffet was being taken down. Donna resumed her waitressing duties, and Cat, Viv and I fished through our purses for the tip.

  “I don’t know what you were all moony-eyed and sighing about,” I said to Cat, as we walked out of the restaurant, “you just had your own version of this and are living your happily-ever-after right now.”

  “Yeah, but it’s always wonderful to hear about someone else having those magical, life-defining moments.”

  “Life defining?”

  “Well until this half century, the things you two did could have had serious and permanent consequences you know.”

  “I’m too old for that.”

  “Just barely. Get those juices roiling again . . . “ Viv muttered as we walked down the stairs by the porte cochere to our cars.

  “You’ve been listening to your mother again . . .”

  “She wants to visit.”

  Both Cat and I groaned.

  “I know, I know, “ Viv said, “but what am I supposed to say, ‘No you can’t visit now, mother?’”

  “Yes!” both Cat and I hollered in unison.

  “Just because she set your porch on fire trying to perfect a spell, is no reason to act that way, Tess!”

  “Yeah well, how about the time she collected all those tree frogs in a basket and then they got loose in my house!” Cat added.

  “She means well . . .”

  “She is a disaster,” Cat said.

  “She’s coming next month,” Viv mumbled.

  “Arghh!” Catalina said. “I’m going to get Matt to take me to Virginia.”

  “Oh no you don’t,” I said. “I’m not having my tea leaves read without you!”

  “If that’s all she does this visit, we’ll count ourselves lucky,” Cat said.

  “Don’t say lucky around Momma, she doesn’t believe in luck.”

  “Because she doesn’t have any, or what she does have is all bad,” Cat said.

  “C’mon, you’re my best friends, you have to help me.”

  “I’ll fix one dinner and we’ll eat it at the pool,” I tentatively offered. “There’s lots of water there.”

  “In December?”

  “I don’t care, she’s not coming to my house.” I was adamant about this. I had just had my porch repaired not three months ago.

  “She wants to go to the planetarium and ask about some new stars.”

  “Then we’d better call and alert them, tell them to make sure their fire extinguishers are all up to date,” I said.

  “Very funny,” Viv said.

  “I’ll make dinner one night,” Cat said, “Matt’s just got to meet her.”

  “Thanks, Cat, you’re the best.”

  “If I’m making the dinner and hauling it over to the MAC, am I not the best, too?”

  “You’re the best,” Viv said with a sincere smile. “Now if I can just keep her from conjuring up a man for me.”

  “Might not be a bad idea,” I said.

  “She likes men who are, well . . . like her.” Viv added.

  “Warlocks?” I asked.

  “Bad idea. Tell her we’ve got that taken care of. You’re next for the Merlin Tree.” Cat declared. She rummaged through her purse and found her date planner. “The February coming up has a Friday the 13th. So everybody save the date.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Slave driver The drive to Charleston was infinitely better than my last drive back from Charleston. It was too cold to put the top down but I had the windows down for most of the trip.

  I got to the hotel around four and checked in. Roman had arrived the night before so it was a simple matter of picking up the extra key that he had left for me. It was a beautiful room overlooking a courtyard, yet very private. We were on the upper level, and because of the intricate brickwork, not visible from the areas below. It was odd unpacking and putting my stuff next to his in the closet. I couldn’t help myself, I had to sniff the collar of his jacket to see if the smell of him lingered. I closed my eyes and breathed deep and instantly I was rewarded. The tangy, woodsy, outdoorsman smell that was Roman wrapped around me and I ended up taking the jacket with me when I kicked off my shoes and stretched out on the huge antique four-poster bed with the white crocheted canopy.

  There was a note propped up by the sink outside the bathroom that said he expected to be back just after five and that I should help myself to whatever I wanted in the minibar or call room service. At 4:45 a bottle of champagne was delivered in a silver ice bucket with explicit directions on the enclosed card to “Ready myself for the master.” I smiled and took a glass into the bathroom to enjoy a leisurely soak in the tub.

  My skin had cleared up and I was back to normal, albeit with a new appreciation for the sensitivities of the derma that covered my body. Over the last week I had thrown out or given away baskets full of lotions, creams and perfumes, determined to be more aware of the chemicals I was introducing to my system via my largest organ, a.k.a., my skin.

  At five thirty I heard the security lock click then beep and I turned back from the window just in time to see the door handle depress. Roman, unbelievably handsome in a dark business suit stepped through the door and let it close with a loud thump behind him. His eyes met mine and within seconds he was crossing the room to sweep me into his arms. With a delightful laugh, and his nose buried in my neck breathing deeply, he swung me in tight circles.

  “I was halfway afraid you might not come,” he whispered reverently into my hair.

  “Why?”

  “Mostly because of what you knew I was going to do to you!”

  “I don’t know what you’re going to do to me,” I said as my hand caressed his cheek, “other than make me some kind of love slave.”

  “I’m needin’ya vera bad lass, it’s been a brutal day.” He wrapped both hands around my head and took my lips with a passion that set my blood racing. He tangled his tongue with mine and after tasting me one way, he angled his head and delved in even deeper the other. Not content that he was driving me up fast enough, his hands caressed the tops of my legs while his thumbs drew my skirt up over my thighs. When his hands slid to my bare hi
ps he moaned. “I’d forgotten just how accessible you are,” referring to my lack of panties. He groaned when his fingers slid into me and he discovered me slick and ready.

  I was lifted and carried to the edge of the high bed where I was deposited unceremoniously and allowed to bounce toward the center while he stripped off his jacket and tie. Kneeling, he pulled me back to the edge, parted my knees wide and dove in, face first. His frenzied mouth ravished, his lips attempting to contain and capture my soft nether lips within his needy, firm ones. As his lips and tongue explored every nuance of my slick channel, his thumbs alternately circled and pressed against my clit. When it was throbbing and expanding to bursting, he sucked it between his lips and sent me into an oblivion that was so dark and so deep that I didn’t think I would ever find my way back. Colorful shards like broken pieces of stained glass splintered and were sent out like lighted projectiles and then I watched as they slowly reconnected behind my mind’s eye, my fractured body seemed to do the same, pulling itself together after having been rendered into infinitesimally small pieces.

  “Mmm, I think you liked that,” he murmured, his lips softening and nuzzling my inner thigh, leaving a damp trail of my own juices. He stood then, and as I looked down between my legs I saw he had unzipped his trousers and was leading his impressive erection to my core. I watched his face as he positioned himself and then thrust into me. I saw his eyes close from the sheer pleasure of being inside me and feeling me clutch around him and then I watched as a muscle ticked in his jaw and his face firmed into hard faceted planes. “Sorry, lass, I need ya badly, and I do unfortunately mean badly and without much consideration I fear.”

  His hands firmed on my hips, shifted, and he lifted me until he could grasp my buttocks, and then he began plunging in earnest, vacating and entering me so quickly that I was amazed at his control and precision. I watched his face contort into a most fearful grimace, felt him harden his thighs and anchor his feet and then he drove into me using long, powerful, jerking strokes. Had he not been holding onto me he would have propelled me into the headboard. Pulling me back to the edge of the bed and folding me almost in half with my ankles only inches from my face, he filled me completely, too completely; he was hitting my cervix and sending an achy crampy feeling to join the this-cock’s-toobig-I-can’t-take-it-all-in feeling. Then I felt him shift back, lower my legs to the bed, and close them around him while he was still inside me. I could feel the pressure of him pressing down where we joined. I hadn’t even known I was so close to coming, that all I needed was something, anything to press in that exact perfect way. Somehow he had though and my whole body spasmed as he surged and pressed me into the mattress and sent me over the edge. Mere seconds later I felt him pump like a jackhammer going into overdrive and then I heard one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe—the sound of a man who can no longer hold back, a man who’s so intent on driving for his release and so enraptured with the woman under him that he can not deny himself this pleasure even if it meant he would die from it. And from the sounds he was making, he could easily have been dying.