Island

by Mary Davis

  He scratched his head with a goofy look on his face, pretending to think. “But what would I do with all these tickets?” He fanned out several tickets, all for the carriage tours.

  “You bought that many tickets? You’ll be riding all day.”

  “That’s the idea. I’ll be right in this seat the whole time.”

  “Why would you want to hear the same drivel all day long?”

  “There’s a pretty tour driver I’d like to get to know better. I figured if she wouldn’t go out with me, then I’d go out with her. All day.” He tapped his tickets against his palm, then tucked them back into the pocket of his navy fleece jacket.

  That was bolder than she’d expected. She should say something back, but nothing came to mind. Since when did she have trouble shooting back a reply?

  Be careful. He could be a stalker.

  Stalker? She didn’t think so last night. But that was when she thought she’d never see him again. Now he was back. All day. Lord, was that a caution from You?

  I bore those nails for you and for him.

  She fingered the cross hanging around her neck. This cross meant something to her. The Lord, her Lord, took those nails for her. Did it mean as much to him? She turned to see if she could read it in his face.

  He smiled at her and wiggled his eyebrows. With her carriage full, she turned back, unclipped her mike, and spoke into it. “Welcome to Mackinac Island. I’m Haley. If you haven’t bought fudge yet, Mackinac Island is famous for its fudge. You haven’t truly experienced the island until you’ve experienced our fudge.” Then she went on with her tour intro and set Golddust and Pete into motion.

  She shouldn’t have looked back. It only encouraged him. But he did seem sweet. Gorgeous didn’t fit him. He was more a Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones type of handsome, a little bit rough around the edges and seasoned to perfection. But none of that mattered because she was not going to date a fudgie. Even if he looked that good and was destined to be on her carriage all day.

  She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned, staring straight into his endearing face. Her pulse quickened.

  “Aren’t you going to tell them that joke?”

  She looked around and was startled that the horses had taken her farther than she realized. If she told the joke now, it would run into when she should talk about the next site. “I’ll tell it later.” She usually told the joke at one of two places. If a front-seat passenger was talkative, she saved it for the stretch just before Surrey Hills.

  She had to get a grip. She wasn’t some silly schoolgirl who melted at a handsome guy’s feet. After she pointed out the sites, she decided she should tell the joke before her brain went fluffy on her again. “Here’s a little island humor. What goes clippity-clop, clippity-clop, clippity-clop, bang, clippity-clop-clop?” She paused a moment to let her passengers think, then said, “A drive-by shooting on Mackinac Island.”

  Some laughed right away, others took a moment, and then a few wouldn’t be able to find the humor in it even after it was explained. She hung up her mike.

  “I love corny humor. And your timing is impeccable.” The Lone Ranger had leaned way forward, right by her ear. There couldn’t be much of him left on the seat.

  Haley let out a slow breath between her pursed lips. The day was heating up earlier than usual. Was it going to be a scorcher?

  Though a part of her wanted him to stay that close, she said, “Please remain seated.” This was not the time or place to be developing a go-nowhere romance.

  As the carriage neared the turnoff for Surrey Hills, Golddust picked up the pace, apparently hoping she would let him charge on by and quit for the day. Haley reined him in. Golddust swished his tail, slackened his stride, and followed Pete’s lead.

  ❧

  After several runs, Haley said to the Lone Ranger, “Time to get off.”

  “I still have more tickets.” He dug the tickets out of his pocket as proof.

  “If you want to use them, you’ll have to hop on another carriage. These horses are finished for the day, and I’m going to lunch.”

  He jumped down. “Lunch? I’ll buy.”

  She bit her top lip to help control her smile. “I have plans.”

  “When will you be back?”

  “After lunch.”

  “What time is that?” He looked like a little boy begging to keep a stray puppy.

  “When I get here.”

  He nodded and held up his tickets. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  Maybe she would, and maybe she wouldn’t. He could decide he’d had enough of the same old Mackinac Island sights and history. She headed to the barn and helped remove the harnesses and traces from Golddust and Pete. She was glad she’d brought a box lunch from the dining hall this morning. She did not look forward to Jason’s interrogation when he asked if she’d seen the Lone Ranger today. She would have to tell him yes; then the questions and accusations would begin. It was nice to have friends who cared about her safety, but she didn’t feel it was necessary in this case.

  After a quiet lunch, she retrieved her carriage with a fresh team of horses. She would spend the afternoon with Bruiser and Brutus, a pair of chestnut drafts, brothers. As she pulled her carriage to a halt behind the one loading, she saw the Lone Ranger leaning against a building, fiddling with his camera. His fleece jacket hung over his camera case. He’d actually waited for her.

  He glanced up, and as he started to look back down, he jerked his gaze toward her and smiled. He put his camera into his shoulder bag and pushed off the wall. As he reached her carriage, so did John from the tour company ticket office.

  John stepped aboard. “Big John wants to see you inside.”

  “I can’t leave the horses. You know that.”

  “I’ll hold them.” John reached for the reins.

  She set the safety break and handed the reins over before stepping down. The Lone Ranger nodded to her as she passed by. Once she was inside, Big John took her to his small office. Although he wasn’t any bigger than the other John, they had to have some way of distinguishing the two, and Big John was the other John’s superior. Big John was a willowy sort of fellow with a shock of thinning brown hair. “Jessica said a man bought enough tickets to ride all day and that he was in your carriage all morning.”

  She swallowed. “Yes.” Why did she suddenly feel guilty? Because she was secretly enjoying harmless attention from a stranger?

  “I’m concerned. Is he giving you any trouble? Should I have Morris check him out?”

  Oh no, not the sheriff! She didn’t want to get him in trouble. “He hasn’t been a problem. He mostly sits there and makes casual conversation like any of the other passengers. I don’t think there is any reason to bother the sheriff.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She wasn’t absolutely sure, but he did seem harmless. “Yes.”

  “If he gives you any trouble at all, call in.”

  “I will. But I don’t think that will be necessary.” She had a feeling he was only a nice guy passing his time by flirting with her. She refused to read more into it than that.

  She walked back to her carriage and relieved John of the reins.

  With his back to where the Lone Ranger stood a few feet from the carriage, John gave her a wide-eyed look of concern.

  “Thank you, John.”

  John walked away but didn’t look too convinced, and the man stepped aboard. “Was that about me?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Why would you think that?”

  “Call it a hunch. It seemed unexpected for you to be called away from your carriage. And your man John kept shooting glares at me the whole time you were gone.”

  “Oh.” He didn’t miss much.

  “So?”

  “So what?” She didn’t want to explain that her friends thought he could be up to no good.

  “Now you’re going to start playing games?”

  How to put it gently? “It’s just unusual for someone to ride so much.”
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  “I’m not a threat to you. I hope you know that.”

  “That’s what I told him. I hope I’m right.”

  “You have my word. And if you tell me to get off and never ride your carriage again, I will.”

  She believed he’d do that.

  “Haley, do you want me to get off?”

  The earnestness of his voice touched her, and she really didn’t want him to get off, so she could do nothing but be honest. “You can stay.”

  Her carriage filled, and she set the horses into motion. At the time for the drive-by shooting joke, she took down the mike.

  The Lone Ranger leaned forward. “Can I tell it?”

  She stared at him a moment, a little surprised. “Why not?” He took the mike and told the joke.

  It sounded fresh the way he told it. It had gotten stale for her, telling it numerous times a day, week in and week out. The passengers laughed just the same. It was always fresh to them.

  ❧

  Haley was usually glad for the end of the day. The carriage seat made her stiff and sore, but today she wasn’t so anxious for it to end. “The ride’s over.”

  He jumped down but kept one hand on the carriage. “Have dinner with me?”

  It was tempting. She wanted to say yes. No fudgie dating. Her declaration to herself rang in her ears. “I have plans.”

  “After dinner then.” He didn’t give up.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “I’ll be in the park down the street between seven and nine. See you then.” He winked at her.

  Big John stepped onto her carriage. “I’ll ride to the barn with you.” Once they got under way, he said, “You’re meeting him later?”

  “I never said that. He’s going to be in the park and wants me to meet him there after dinner.”

  “I hope you’re not planning to. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  She hadn’t planned on anything at this point. But she had to admit that a part of her wanted to meet him.

  “What’s his name?” Big John asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  He turned to her. “You didn’t get his name?”

  She looked at him as Brutus and Bruiser gladly pulled the carriage up the hill toward home. “Should I have? I don’t think I’ve ever asked a fudgie their name.”

  “No, I guess not. It would be nice to know in the event he. . .decides to cause any trouble.”

  Trouble? He was more likely to take over her job and tell corny jokes than cause trouble.

  ❧

  Haley scooted toward Veronique to make room at the table for Jason and Shane. She turned her tray sideways to accommodate theirs at the table for eight that now sat nine. Shane tried to take the seat next to her, but Jason won it.

  “So did the ‘Lone Ranger’ show up today?” Jason tried to sound casual, but Haley could hear the accusation in his question.

  She swallowed hard on her half-chewed lasagna. Should she try to evade his questions or end the torture and tell him everything? “Yes.” Maybe he would be satisfied with a simple answer to a simple question.

  Jason turned in his chair. “Did he ride in your carriage or talk to you?” Accusations again.

  “As a matter of fact, he did both.”

  “We have to tell someone,” Jason said emphatically. “He could be dangerous.”

  She took a deep breath. “He’s no more dangerous than you or Shane.”

  “How do you know?”

  She could tell him it was none of his business, but that would imply she was trying to hide something. And she wasn’t. “Because I spent all day with him.”

  “You what?” Jason said, with Shane echoing him a half beat behind.

  “He bought enough tickets to ride all day.” She might as well tell them the rest and be done with it. She had nothing to hide. She told them about the whole day, including being asked to lunch and dinner and meeting him in the park.

  “You’re not going.” Jason’s stern voice carried to the nearby tables. He didn’t even try to intone it like a question.

  What was it about someone telling her she couldn’t do something that made it all the more appealing? “Big John would like to know what his name is.” She wouldn’t mind knowing either.

  “Then let Big John meet him.”

  “I think it is romantic.”

  Jason glared at Veronique. “You would. You’re French.”

  “What is zat supposed to mean?” If Veronique had been standing, Haley was sure her hands would have been on her hips. “Men! No. Boys!” Veronique turned to her. “Zay know nothing. Follow your heart.”

  “Tell me you aren’t going,” Jason demanded.

  “I told him I wouldn’t be there. Now can we drop it?”

  Jason huffed and stabbed at his lasagna. She dared a glance at Shane. He looked disappointed in her, as if he knew she’d go, then turned back to his food. Well, it couldn’t hurt to meet him for only a minute to find out his name. What was the harm in that?

  ❧

  Haley scanned Marquette Park as she walked down Fort Street, along the edge of the park. She stepped onto the grass by the dome-shaped Missionary Bark Chapel and headed toward the statue of Father Marquette in the middle of the park. Marquette had come as a missionary to the local Indians.

  She looked around at the few people still milling about. He might not even be here. He may have decided she wouldn’t come and left long ago. She hadn’t given him much hope. She would make a quick loop through the park, then head home. She didn’t want him wasting his time standing around there.

  “You looking for me?”

  She sucked in a breath and spun around. The Lone Ranger.

  He raised his eyebrows, daring her to deny it.

  She stared at him a moment and decided to ask a question of her own. “What is your name?”

  “Is that why you came? Just to find out my name?”

  She shrugged and began walking. “I was curious. You do have a name, don’t you?”

  He walked alongside her. “If I tell you my name, your curiosity might be satisfied and you’ll abandon me. Let me buy you a soda or some fudge, and I’ll tell you when we’re through.”

  “You’re persistent.” She headed for the edge of the park.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  She jumped down from the three-foot wall at the front corner of the park. “Ice cream cone?” She looked up at him sideways.

  He smiled in triumph. “Lead the way.”

  She led him down Main Street to the best ice cream place on the island. “I’ll take a scoop of raspberry sorbet on a waffle cone,” she said to the girl behind the counter.

  “Make that two large scoops.”

  “I don’t need that much.”

  He opened his eyes wide. “It’ll take you longer to eat.” He turned to the girl. “Two scoops for her, and I’ll take two of Rocky Road.”

  She turned to the girl. “One.” The girl looked from one to the other.

  He gave Haley a puppy-dog look. “Please have two.”

  She couldn’t help but cave in with that look. “Fine.”

  His smile broadened, and he turned back to the girl. “We’ll both have two.”

  Haley liked his smile. It warmed her heart. She held their cones while he paid.

  He took his cone. “You want to sit?”

  “I sit all day. I’d rather walk.”

  They headed out the door and down the street.

  “Are you enjoying the island?” she asked between licks.

  “I am right now.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  She tried unsuccessfully to keep a straight face. “Are you always this big of a flirt?”

  “You bring it out in me.”

  “If I can’t eat all this, I reserve the right to throw half of it away. And you still have to tell me your name.”

  His only reply was a shrug of his shoulders. What did that mean? Would he tell her or not if she didn’t finish? They w
alked in silence for a while as they consumed most of their frozen treats.

  “You said you lead a Bible study. What are you studying?” He pushed the last of his cone into his mouth and brushed off his hands.

  She wished she were finished, as well. “We’re discussing what Jesus said and did during the crucifixion week.” She bit down another round of the cone. Why hadn’t she asked for a regular cone that was smaller? Because she thought she was only getting one scoop.

  “I went to a church once where the pastor was giving a series of sermons on that. The words and actions of a man who knows he is going to die are very powerful. Especially when that man is the Lord.”

  “You don’t still go to that church?” She ate quickly as the sorbet was leaking out the bottom.

  “I’ve moved around a lot.”

  He watched her balance between licking the sorbet, eating the cone, and plugging the hole in the bottom. “You’re a master.”

  She was going to finish this cone so he would have no excuse for not giving up his name. She popped the last of the cone into her mouth and ate it. “I ate it all. Now it’s your turn.”

  “May I stand here and marvel for a moment at your skill?”

  “No.”

  He chuckled. “Brent Walker. Are you going to disappear on me now?”

  “Not yet.”

  He guided her across the street to the beach beyond the library. Across the water stretched the five-mile Mackinac Bridge. Soft waves gently lapped the shore.

  “Oh, look at the sunset.” The clouds beyond the bridge were orange and pink. “Where are you staying?” Dumb question. It made her sound as though she were interested in him. Well, she was interested, but he didn’t need any more encouragement.

  He pointed to the lights on the shore at the far left end of the bridge. “I’d say about the twelfth light from the left in the second or third row, with my friend Dalton.”

  She jerked her gaze to him. “You’re staying in Mackinaw City?” She hadn’t meant to say it like an accusation.

  He nodded. “Is it a crime not to stay on the island?”

  She glanced back at the city, then at an incoming ferry. “No, but—” She flipped her wrist up to look at her watch, then pointed to the incoming ferry. “That might be the last ferry of the night. You’d better hurry.”