Will spoke before she could. “Thanks for coming to our rescue.”
“I enjoyed it. What’s your plan if the storm comes here? Have you booked a room?”
Jilly didn’t give her daddy a chance to answer. “Not yet.”
“Then why don’t you plan to stay with Isa and me?”
“Seems like a huge imposition.”
“Not at all. We’ll have fun.”
Jilly leaned back against his legs and grabbed his hands at her shoulders. “We want to come,” Jilly said. “Don’t we, Daddy?”
“Certainly, if the storm comes this way. I’m sure Jilly would enjoy your house more than a hotel, even if we could find one. Isa seemed skeptical that we would.”
Tadie stopped at the boarding ladder. “It’s settled then. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Do you have my number?”
Will raised a finger as a gesture to wait and went below. Jilly bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet.
“Did you get your boat safe?” Jilly asked. “You want us to come and help?”
“Thank you. I have help lined up, but I certainly appreciate the offer.”
“Ready.” Will jotted down the number Tadie gave him and asked, apparently as an afterthought, “You have a ride home?”
“Isa,” she said, on her way down the ladder.
Will’s voice followed her with an, “Okay then.”
She punched in Isa’s number as she walked toward the marina office. She’d wait there or even start walking out to the access road. It was fine. Will was obviously preoccupied.
Well, who wouldn’t be, getting his boat ready to haul? It had nothing to do with her.
Of course not.
Chapter Fourteen
Tadie flipped on the lamp next to the sofa and snuggled into the deep cushions with the Dorothy Sayer mystery she’d been trying to read. She was determined to get past the second chapter, but so far it hadn’t hooked her interest. The new air-conditioning unit hummed unobtrusively. If it got much cooler, she’d need a sweater.
Imagine, a sweater in August.
The doorbell startled her. Who would come visiting at this hour—and come to the front door?
He stood with his feet slightly apart, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans, the collar of his white oxford shirt open. His dark hair had a silvery sheen, but his face remained slightly in shadow as he looked down at her. The years vanished, and a younger Alex had come to take her walking with him in the fading summer light.
“Hey, Tadie.” He spoke her name with the same caress he’d used way back when.
She stared, unable to move or find any words.
“I came to check on you. We got Matt’s house battened down. Thought you might need help with yours.”
“My house?” She cleared her throat to get rid of that croaky sound.
This was Alex, the man she despised. She took a deep breath, released it slowly, and backed away to close the door. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
He extended his hand, stopping her. “Haven’t you heard the latest report? They projected a course that could hit us sooner rather than later.”
“Last I heard, it was stalled down south, picking a target.”
“So, what do you need done? What about Luna?”
“She’s scheduled for tomorrow.”
“Tide’s high.” He glanced out toward the water. “There’s enough light and no wind. How about we get her out now? You still have the trailer?”
“A newer one.”
“Yeah? Bearings go bad?”
Tadie grunted assent. She’d been taken by surprise. That had to be it. And by his concern for Luna.
She left the door open while she turned to get her shoes. She hated letting him help, but wouldn’t she be cutting off her nose if she turned away an offer now?
Besides, it fit, him thinking about her boat, knowing what needed doing. He’d always been like that before. Before …
She shook her head. She had to stop worrying about those years. They’d been in love, he’d broken her heart, but that was a long time ago. Now he was just Hannah’s brother-in-law coming over to help Hannah’s best friend—who’d been his best friend once, or so he’d said.
Where were those stupid shoes? She’d kicked them off hours ago. Where had she put them?
“I’ll hitch up the trailer while you’re getting ready,” Alex called.
She headed to the kitchen. No shoes. She bent to look under the kitchen couch. “Have you seen my shoes?” she asked when Eb stuck his head down there too. He wiggled under, but all they found were dust bunnies. Her studio? Bedroom? She plodded upstairs.
Fine, they’d disappeared. Forget them.
She pulled an old pair of walking shoes from the back of the closet and stuffed her feet into them. Passing her dresser mirror, she caught a glimpse of her fly-away hair and paused to recapture it behind her head. No, she wasn’t doing it for Alex. Alex was a thing of the past. Besides, even if he and Bethanne were separated, he was still a married man.
Married, got it?
Yes ma’am. Never going to forget that one.
He parked Matt’s truck at the boat ramp and then got in her car to drive back to her dock. “You got two oars?”
“In the barn.”
He left her and went to fetch them. The tails of his shirt hung untucked. She turned away.
“Good time to be doing this,” he said, climbing down into the boat. “I imagine we’re seeing the calm before the storm.”
She had the lines ready to cast off when he pushed them toward the piling. They retrieved the spring lines and took their old positions, with Tadie on the starboard side, Alex on the port.
Her muscles strained as she tried to keep up with the strokes of the port-side oar. She wouldn’t let Alex get ahead and turn Luna’s bow off the rhumb line.
Fifteen minutes later they were at the landing. It took them another hour to get Luna ready, to bag the sails and lines, and to pull the boat onto her trailer. Tadie focused on the task at hand so she wouldn’t hear his laugh when a turnbuckle got loose and sent the stay flying out of reach—or notice how their hands seemed to remember motions—or how their feet found the spot to stand, the best position to support the lowering mast. They’d done this together countless times.
Suddenly, another face appeared and that voice spoke in Tadie’s head. Her daddy was calling her to set the cushion under the mast’s rigging so it wouldn’t mar the deck, telling her to watch her fingers so they wouldn’t get pinched. It was her daddy who’d taught her to sail, to haul and ready Luna. They’d launched her together so many times, Samuel Ellis with some bit of wisdom cloaked in a story.
But he’d toss her no more lines, tell her no more sailing yarns. And her darling Bucky—Bucky would never again tell his big sister how to set the fenders off Luna’s side.
Neither her daddy nor Bucky had chosen to leave. Alex had.
Keep focused. Keep the anger working.
Dark was almost upon them and the light over the barn door left some things in shadow. With Tadie giving the cues, Alex backed the trailer into its space. He uncoupled it from the hitch, locked it down, and helped her pull the doors closed. “We need to wash down the wheels.”
“I’ll get it in the morning, when I can see what I’m doing.”
He nodded.
“Thanks so much.”
He reached toward her just as the light at the garage apartment illuminated the stairs. James came out onto the landing.
“That you down there, Miss Sara?”
“Hey, James. Just putting Luna away.”
Alex walked around to the side of the barn and called up, “How’re you doing, James? It’s me, Alex.”
Silence. Then, “What you doin’ here, Alex Morgan?”
Tadie could picture his squint and James wielding his sword.
“Just helping Tadie get her boat in. The storm’s coming, you know.”
“Yeah, I know ‘bout it. I thought I�
��d be helpin’ her in the morning.”
She should have foreseen this. “I still need you to help me with the shutters, especially that loose one. How’s Elvie?”
“She’s just fine. Restin’ while Rita’s gone to the store. We thank you, Miss Sara, for gettin’ all them supplies in. The only thing we didn’t have was ginger ale. You know how Elvie loves her ginger ale when nothin’ else feels good goin’ down.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t think about getting some this morning. Good thing you’ve got Rita there. You’ll send her over to visit soon, won’t you?”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll do that. You be wantin’ her to stay with you for the storm?”
“No, thank you. I’ve got Isa and some boat-folk coming. Did I bring up enough candles?”
“Got plenty. We’ll fill up the tub sometime tomorrow, so there’ll be water, food, and candles. Can’t want for much more, except folk you love around you. Ain’t that right, Miss Sara?”
Tadie smiled, though James couldn’t see her. “You’ve got it right there.”
“So, Alex Morgan, you goin’ on home to your family ’bout now?”
Tadie could barely make out Alex’s features in the barn’s light. She thought he looked rueful as he answered. “I am. Back to my brother’s place.”
“That’ll be good. You stay there with that wife of yours, you hear?”
“Goodnight, James,” Alex said. “Say ‘hey’ to Elvie Mae for me.”
James ignored him. “Goodnight, Miss Sara,” he said before harrumphing and heading back inside.
Tadie held out her hand to Alex. “Thanks again. I appreciate it.”
“I could come in for coffee or something, by way of payment.”
“I think not.”
Alex kept hold of her hand instead of shaking it. “Bethanne moved back with her family. To be honest, I think she met someone at the Dunes Club.”
“I’m sorry.” Tadie pulled her hand free, tucking it with her other one behind her back. Her heart pounded, a fact she did not appreciate.
“I’m not sorry,” he said softly.
“I’ve got to go.” She backed toward the porch. “I suppose I’ll see you around.”
His teeth showed white in the gloom. “I’m counting on it.”
She didn’t watch him walk toward his car, but turned and fled up the backporch steps. So, his marriage had ended. Good—or bad—depending on how you wanted to look at it. Her daddy used to say what started badly usually ended badly. Alex’s marriage qualified on both ends.
She plopped back on the couch and put her feet up. Why had she felt more vulnerable tonight? The answer had to be Luna. Her boat was like her baby. And anyone who cared about Luna had an advantage.
She grimaced. “That’s just sick,” she told her toes as they wiggled in front of her.
“No, it isn’t. It’s normal,” her toes—or her other self—argued back.
She dropped her feet to the floor and rested her head in her hands. She really needed to get a life if a man could get to her just because he cared about her boat. She didn’t even like Alex Morgan, no matter what they’d been before. Probably because of what they’d been and then weren’t.
Maybe it was a hormonal imbalance. Early menopause? She cringed at the idea. She was way too young.
But she’d heard of celibate women shutting down early. She ought to see her doctor. She could ask for some kind of medication or maybe something herbal—something that would get her back on track.
A knock on the back door made her jump. Alex hadn’t returned, had he? Perhaps he’d forgotten something. Maybe dropped something in the barn. She flipped on the porch light and opened the back door.
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Rita entered the house and bent to run her hand along Eb’s back. “He sure is getting big.”
“All the kitten’s gone out of him, and the heat’s made him lazy.”
“So, are you?”
“Fine? Sure. Your daddy worried?”
Rita nodded, obviously embarrassed. “Daddy said Alex was here.”
“He was, but he’s gone now. You want anything? Tea? Water? Come sit down.”
“I’ll sit a moment, but Mama and Daddy have been plying me with food and drink. You know them.”
“Don’t I ever. Since Elvie stopped cooking here, I’ve lost at least ten pounds.” She glanced over at Eb. “They seem to have landed on him.”
“Mama sits at the table and tries to spoon food onto my plate as if I’m ten.” Rita followed her to the couch. “The apartment feels really comfortable. Thanks for getting it cooled. That window unit they had didn’t quite make it to the bedrooms.”
“I should have done it a lot earlier. How’s your mama feeling?”
“She’s got to get her strength back and have some physical therapy for her arm—where they took the lymph nodes—but the doctor thinks the prognosis is good.”
Tadie tucked a pillow at her back and kicked off her shoes before propping her feet on the coffee table. It felt so good to relax and not have to do anything but visit with a friend. “I’m so glad you’ve come,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment. “It’s got to be making Elvie happy, and happy will go a long way in her recovery.”
“She’s always been my rock.”
“Anything I can do, you’ll let me know, right?”
“I will. Same for you.” It sounded as if Rita’s shoes had joined hers on the floor. “Let me know if you need a friend to talk to. I mean, this has to be confusing, having Alex back in town.”
Tadie’s eyes snapped open at that. “I don’t even like him. Just because he helped with my boat doesn’t change things.”
Rita angled her head. “It sounds like you’re protesting rather strongly.”
“Divorced or not …”
“Is he?”
“Not yet. But no matter, he can’t come back into my life. Not that way. No man can do what he did and keep my respect.”
“You go, girl.”
“Yes ma’am. I aim to. So, what about you? Tell me more about this doctor of yours.”
Rita studied her resting hands. When she lifted her head, her eyes glinted with mischief. “Did I mention he’s white?”
Tadie’s hand flew to her mouth. “White? Oh, my goodness, Rita!” She couldn’t help it. A hoot broke loose. “I can hear your daddy now. You know he’s not going to be happy, don’t you? Elvie won’t care, but James? He may be the sweetest man in the world but, honey, you’re the apple of his eye. Seems to me he may have something to say on the subject.”
The dancing left Rita’s eyes, and she loosed a deep sigh. “He’s a bit of a snob, isn’t he?”
“None better. A little bit of ‘everyone in his place.’”
“So how come he sent me to school so I wouldn’t be stuck in a certain place? How’s that supposed to work? I can go to school with the white folk, have white girlfriends, but I can’t kiss a white boy?”
“Maybe he’s just worried you won’t be accepted by the man’s family. What’s his name?”
“Martin. Dr. Martin Levinson.”
“Oh, Rita, no. Jewish too?” More laughter bubbled out. As it waned, Tadie pressed palms to her cheeks to try to cool them. “What were you thinking? Honey, this is going to be a hard one.”
“He doesn’t look Jewish.”
“And you don’t look black. A lot that’s going to help, as much as church means to your folks. They’re going to want you there with them. I love you to pieces, but you’re double-dosing your daddy with this one.”
Rita’s feet slid back into her sandals, and she stood quickly, beginning to pace the length of the kitchen.
“You think he’s the one?” Tadie asked, fascinated by this turn of events.
“I don’t know. How does a person know?”
“Don’t ask me. Obviously, I haven’t a clue.”
Rita snapped a grin Tadie’s way before stopping her march and bracing herself against a counter, her eyes all dream
y. “I look at Martin and think how good he is, and not just to me. In the little things—remembering what I like, what makes me laugh. He’s caring to everyone, and—” her grin turned wicked “—Lord, have mercy, Tadie, he’s so cute, he makes my toes curl.”
Curling toes sounded good. It’d been a long time since Tadie’s toes had done anything but balance her walk. “How’d he feel about your move home?”
“That’s another thing. He’s been totally supportive, even helped me pack. But the day he hugged me good-bye, I swear he had tears in his eyes.”
“You’re only a few hours away.”
Rita nodded, her tone way past dreamy now. “I know.”
“Well, it seems to me—who’s not the expert, remember—he certainly fits all the romantic images I’ve ever had of the perfect mate.”
“Except he’s white. And Jewish.”
“Well, yes. But maybe—” Tadie laced the words with a chuckle “—you could keep that a secret.”
Rita couldn’t seem to find the humor as she pushed away from the counter. “The white thing’s going to fall apart as soon as they meet him.”
“You think?”
Rita waved her off. “But the other? You know me, my mouth’s going to open and out it’ll come when I’m least ready. And I can hear Daddy now. Once he gets past the color issue, the whole unequally yoked thing is going to raise its ugly head.”
“Then you’ll have to be patient and see what happens. I guess if it’s supposed to be, things will work out.”
Sighing, as if that were all she could eke out, Rita headed toward the door. “I’ll let Daddy know you’re fine. And we’ll be over to help do whatever’s left in the morning.”
As Rita’s steps receded, Tadie turned toward the sink and held a glass under the faucet, barely noticing when the liquid spilled over her fingers and down the drain. Suddenly, the old emptiness felt like a burn needing salve.
She flicked off lights on her way upstairs. Some nights, being alone with only echoes and a lazy cat for company just didn’t cut it.
Chapter Fifteen
Becalmed: When a Southern woman with a broken heart finds herself falling for a widower with a broken boat, it's anything but smooth sailing. Page 12
