The Weekenders

by Mary Kay Andrews

  “Her café girls can handle the cleanup. And I’ll come back early in the morning to break down the tent and load out the tables and chairs. Anyway, what’s she gonna do, fire me?”

  “You two seem to work so well together,” Riley said.

  “Annie and I have our moments,” Nate said, steering the cart through the dense tunnel of greenery that led to his cabin. “After I’d been back here a few weeks, helping out, she let me know she was quite capable of handling the Mercantile and the ferry without any meddling from me.”

  “Was that when you decided to start your own business here?”

  Nate turned to look at her. “Can we talk about this without you wanting to throw something at me?”

  “Yes,” Riley said solemnly. “I’m ready to listen, if you’re ready to talk.”

  “Let’s wait until we get to the cabin, okay?”

  “Sure,” Riley said.

  The road veered sharply to the left and transitioned into more of a narrow path. The undergrowth was so dense here that it nearly shut out the moonlight. All around them were night sounds: the thrum of cicadas, croaks and peeps of tree frogs and peepers, and a lonely whip-poor-will.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been to this part of the island,” Riley said. “Where exactly are we?”

  “This is Sandy Point, and you wouldn’t have been here unless you were a duck hunter,” he said. He made two more sharp turns and finally steered the cart into a clearing.

  “Here we are,” he announced.

  The cabin was unassuming, built of unpainted cedar. Its foundation sat on sturdy tree stumps, and the tin-roofed porch was held up by stout cedar trunks, bark and all.

  Nate got out of the cart and grabbed a backpack, and Riley followed suit. “Watch out for that first step. It’s pretty steep,” he warned. She climbed onto the porch, and he held the screen door open. “Welcome to Duck Inn.”

  “This is so cool,” she said, turning around in the living-dining-kitchen room. “So, what? Rustic?”

  “Primitive? Manly? Barbaric?”

  “It’s not barbaric at all.” She laughed.

  “Make yourself at home,” Nate said. “I grabbed a couple of bottles of wine from the party—do you like white or red? Or I’ve got cold beer if you want that.”

  “White’s good,” she said. “Would you mind if I looked around? I’ve never been in a hunting cabin before.”

  “Go ahead,” he said, opening a wooden cupboard to search for something resembling a wineglass. “It’s only two bedrooms, so I don’t think you need a guided tour.”

  The room on the right held two sets of built-in pine bunk beds, but Nate was obviously using it as storage. Neatly labeled cardboard moving boxes were stacked against the walls, and in one corner of the room leaned half a dozen fishing poles, assorted tackle boxes, and two beautiful old shotguns.

  There was a bathroom with a sink and commode and a shower stall lined with what looked like galvanized metal sheeting. The fixtures were ancient and rust-stained and the vinyl flooring was peeling.

  She crossed the living room to the other bedroom, which he’d obviously fixed up for himself. There was an unmade double bed and nightstands made from upended wooden wine crates. An old pine dresser spilled clothing, and a faded oval braided rug covered the wooden floor. The bathroom was clean but basic.

  “I wasn’t expecting company, so it’s kind of a mess,” Nate called from the living room. “I thought I was going to spend a quiet night at home until Annie shanghaied me into helping out at the party.”

  She walked back into the living room, and he handed her a pint jelly glass filled with Chardonnay and gestured to the sofa—the nicest piece in the cabin, it was made of soft glove leather and looked expensive.

  “I haven’t had a whole lot of time to do anything with the place,” he said, taking a seat beside her. “I was staying at my parents’ house, until one day Annie announced that she thought it was absurd for a grown man to be living with his mama. This place was available, and the price was right, so I bought it.” He took a long drink from his bottle of beer.

  “I’m in the same position, you know,” Riley said. “Except my mother is delighted to have Maggy and me under her roof—and under her thumb.”

  “But it’s probably good for Maggy, having family around now, right?”

  “Maybe,” Riley said. “I really do admire the relationship you and Annie have. It seems so easy and natural for you to work together. I love Evelyn, but if she and I had to be together in a business, I’d have to kill her for sure.”

  “Did you ever think about working in the family business?” Nate asked.

  “You mean Belle Isle Enterprises? That was never an option for me. My great-grandfather Riley started the business with his brother, and then when Mama married my father, he turned it over to my dad.”

  “And then you married Wendell and your father turned it over to him to run,” Nate said.

  “Daddy used to brag that he chose Wendell before I did,” Riley said, swirling the wine around in her glass. “Wendell was already working for Daddy when we met. He used to say he saw my photo on Dad’s desk and was, quote, ‘intrigued by my beauty,’ end quote. Typical Wendell bullshit.”

  “The beauty part wasn’t bullshit,” Nate said, touching her chin lightly. “I always thought you were the prettiest girl on the island when we were teenagers, but you’re even more beautiful now.”

  “You thought I was pretty? That’s so sweet. I didn’t think you knew I was alive.”

  “I didn’t pay much attention to girls until I was fifteen, but believe me, I knew who you were. I kinda had a crush on you. But it was clear you were way out of my class.”

  “Hah! I guess I was too busy being the super-nerdy Beta Club president-slash-school newspaper editor, until my senior year of high school. But believe me, that summer, all my girlfriends had the hots for the hunky deckhand on the ferry, because we thought you looked exactly like Don Johnson.”

  “Who?”

  “The guy who played Sonny on Miami Vice. You always had that same stubble he had.”

  Nate laughed. “That’s because I was too lazy to get up in time to shave before I went to work, and my dad wouldn’t allow his employees to have beards, because he said only bums had beards.”

  Riley sipped her wine. “I was just remembering—that summer, my girlfriends and I would always try to get down to Southpoint in time for either the early-morning ferry or the last one of the day, because we figured out that’s when you’d be working.”

  “Because I had football practice during the day,” Nate said.

  “I thought you were sexy as hell back then,” Riley said.

  “I’ve still got the stubble,” Nate pointed out.

  She reached out and ran a finger down the graying stubble on his jawline. “And I think maybe I’ve still got the hots for you.”

  “But earlier, at the Holtzclaws, you accused me of everything just short of burning down this precious island of yours.”

  “I know,” Riley said with a sigh. “And I want to apologize for the way I treated you. I’ve been a total bitch. Suspicious and paranoid.”

  “Not bitchy, but you sure made it clear you wanted no part of me or anything I wanted to do here. What made you change your mind?”

  “It was something Parrish said. She told me I was bitter and unforgiving, and she was right. And then, when I heard what Annie told Parrish about your donating the Holtzclaw property to the university, it made me realize who you really are and what you want. Why didn’t you just tell me that the day we were together?”

  “It wasn’t a done deal yet. It still isn’t. I think it will happen, and I’m excited about it, but it’s early days yet. And, let’s face it, you wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”

  “I do now,” Riley said. “Parrish was right, damn her. You do want what I want.”

  She inched over beside him on the sofa, until she was close enough to smell the wood smoke on his skin a
nd hair and clothes.

  “Riley Nolan. Are you trying to put the moves on me?” Nate pretended to be shocked.

  “If you have to ask, I must be doing it wrong,” Riley said, leaning in to kiss him.

  She’d known this would happen, from the moment she’d asked to buy him a drink back on the beach. Maybe even before that.

  Her kiss was tentative at first, and tender.

  Riley felt his lips curve beneath hers, into a smile, and then he was holding her face between both hands and the kisses became deeper and more insistent. She slid backward onto the sofa, pulling him down with her, and they were lying sideways, facing each other, the space between them disappearing, the old fears and distrust dissolving.

  She ran her hands up under the back of his T-shirt, craving the feel of his warm skin beneath her splayed fingertips. His shoulder muscles knotted at her touch. She slid her hands around to his chest, felt his rib cage, brushed one nipple with her thumb. He inhaled sharply, and she felt him smiling again.

  Nate nibbled at her earlobe and found the hollow in her throat. She inched his shirt upward, letting the palms of her hands rest lightly against his erect nipples.

  He kissed her deeply, his tongue teasing hers, while his hands found her breasts, gently pushing them upward until they spilled from the deep V neckline of her dress. His lips found one nipple, kissed it, teased it, nipped at it, and she rolled onto her back to allow equal time for the other nipple.

  Riley let her hand slide down his abdomen until it was resting squarely on the crotch of his jeans. His response was immediate. He reached for the hem of her dress. It was still damp and sandy from where she’d stood in the waves, a lifetime ago, watching the moon spill silver onto the night.

  Nate tugged the dress upward, past her hips. He stopped suddenly, propping his head on one hand, gazing down at her. There was that smile again.

  “You keep doing that,” Riley said.

  “I smile when I’m having a good time,” he said, trailing a fingertip down her chest, toying with her nipple again. “Don’t you?”

  “Maybe, but I can’t remember when I’ve had as good a time as this,” she said truthfully, kissing him again, rolling his T-shirt up, then pulling it over his shoulders as he very helpfully raised his arms to allow her to remove it entirely.

  She gazed down at his sun-browned chest, at the golden and silver curls of hair, and then at the dark line of hair that extended below his navel, toward his groin. Her fingertips followed the trail, pausing at the metal snap of his jeans.

  “And we’re just getting started,” Nate promised. He reached behind her neck and expertly untied the halter top with one hand. He’d always been good with knots. A moment later, he yanked the dress over her head, tossing it to the floor. Riley curved herself into him, yearning to feel the warmth of him pressed tight to the entire length of her body. Moments later, he’d done away with her panties, his knee parted her bare legs, and his hand was sliding down and into her, and when she moaned very softly she could feel his smile grow wider, matching hers, because she was having a very, very good time.

  Riley cupped her hands on Nate’s butt, drawing him closer, feeling the bite of the metal snap over his swollen fly digging into the sensitive flesh of her belly. She reached around and managed, with both hands, to unfasten the snap and slide the metal zipper slowly downward. She tugged at his waistband, hooking her thumbs into the fabric of his briefs and jeans, rolling them down over his narrow hips past his erection and then to his knees, before using her toes to push them around his ankles.

  Nate stood, kicked off the rest of his clothes, and pulled Riley to her feet. He placed a hand on either side of her face, resting his forehead against hers. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this?” he asked.

  “No,” Riley whispered, kissing him lightly. “How long?”

  “Since the first time I saw you prancing around in that one-piece bathing suit of yours, on the beach, with your friends. You were all dancing around, trying to copy the girls in that Robert Palmer video.”

  She buried her head in his chest. “‘Simply Irresistible?’” Oh, my God! You saw that? I was such a klutz. I would have died if I’d known somebody saw us.”

  “Nobody saw you but me,” Nate said. “But if I’d known what was under that bathing suit of yours…” He ran his hands slowly down her back, grinding his hips into hers. “I’ve always wanted you, Riley. Always.”

  “I was just a stupid, naïve girl the first time we were together,” Riley said. “I didn’t want you then, or maybe I did, but I was too dumb to realize it. But I do now. I’ve wanted you for a while, but I just didn’t know it until now. Right now.” She kissed him and felt the heat and need within her building to a fever pitch.

  “You’re sure?” he asked. “No second thoughts?”

  “I’m sure.” Riley looked up at him, suddenly shy, through lowered eyelashes. “I think I’m ready to smile again.”

  50

  Nate rolled onto his side and draped an arm over Riley’s side, caressing her breast. He pressed his lips to her ear. “You finally had your way with me, after all these years. Was it worth the wait?”

  His beard tickled her cheek, and she could feel his erection pressing into her side. She slid just out of his reach and turned to face him. “The question is, was I worth your wait?”

  He cast his eyes downward. “You can’t tell?”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever stop smiling,” Riley said.

  “Then don’t,” Nate said, closing the space between them, running his hand down her flank. He started to slide his leg between her legs. “I bet I can find a way to keep us both smiling. All night long. Tomorrow, too.”

  “I can’t stay,” she said. “You know that. It must be after midnight now.”

  “So? Do you have a curfew?”

  “Mama will be wondering where I am.”

  “You’re forty-two years old, Riley. Tell her you met a charming man on the beach, took him home, and seduced him.”

  “Who seduced who?” she said playfully.

  “You kissed me first,” Nate pointed out. “I was just being polite.”

  She yawned widely. “I certainly do love your good manners.” She sat up in the bed, clutching the sheet to her chest and glancing around the darkened room.

  “I wonder what happened to my clothes?”

  “You don’t need no stinkin’ clothes,” Nate growled, dropping kisses on her shoulders. “You’re gorgeous just like this.”

  “That’s very nice,” Riley said demurely. “But it might turn some heads if I ride home naked in your golf cart. Just think what Belle Isle Barbie would have to say about that! The coconut telegraph would be working overtime.”

  “Who cares?” Nate reached over and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.

  “I do. I have a twelve-year-old daughter, remember?” Riley clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God! Maggy! I completely forgot about her.”

  “You forgot you have a kid?” Nate walked into the living room and returned with her dress and panties.

  “No! She was spending the night at her friend Annabelle’s house. I left messages for the mother, but she never called me back.”

  “So?”

  “So I’ve never met this woman. Her name is Chantelle. I needed to explain to her about Maggy’s insulin, and her exchanges…”

  “Why can’t Maggy tell her?” he asked.

  “She could, but who knows if she will? Oh my God. I am the worst mother ever!”

  Riley grabbed her clothes and began dressing. “My phone! I don’t even know where my phone is. What if she tried to call? What if Maggy was sick.…”

  Nate walked calmly into the living room. Through the open bedroom door she saw him pull on his discarded jeans and walk out the front door, barefoot.

  A moment later she heard the screen door slam and he was back, handing her the phone. “It was in the cup holder in the cart.”

  Riley took the phone
and examined it. “No text messages. I guess that’s a good sign. But there’s one missed call and a voice message. I don’t recognize the number, but it looks like a Durham area code.”

  Riley tapped the message and turned on the speaker.

  The caller was a woman, with a slight Southern accent. “Hi. This is Chantelle Roberts. Sorry we’ve missed each other. I just wanted to let you know the girls finally settled down and went to bed. Maggy checked her blood sugar and everything’s fine. I’ll have her call you in the morning. Thanks so much for letting her spend the night. I think they’ve had a real good time.”

  “Thank God,” Riley said, exhaling loudly. “If something had happened tonight while I was here…” She shuddered. “I would never forgive myself.”

  “But nothing did happen,” Nate pointed out. “What does Maggy do about her diabetes when you’re not around? Like, when she’s at school?”

  “She knows how to test her blood and she gives herself insulin. But this is different.”

  “How?”

  “At school her teachers know about her diabetes and they know what to do if she’s in trouble. There’s a trained nurse in the school clinic.…”

  “And there was a responsible adult parent tonight at her friend’s house,” Nate said. “And nothing bad happened.”

  “But it could have,” Riley insisted. “I’m sorry, Nate, but you’ve never had kids, especially a sick kid. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Okay, okay,” Nate said. He moved behind Riley and knotted the tie of her halter dress, stopping to nuzzle her neck again.

  “I’ll take you home, dressed, if you insist. But what about tomorrow night? Can we do this again?”

  She turned and put her arms around his neck. “That would be lovely, but let me see what’s going on at home. Okay? I’m supposed to go to a cookout at Parrish’s house.”

  Nate kissed her deeply and sighed. “After? Before? Doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be with you.”

  “We’ll see,” Riley promised. She walked into the living room to look for her shoes and spotted her half-empty wineglass and full plate of food.