His Harbor Girl

by Rekha Ambardar

  Leanna reminded her daughter. “Besides, don’t you want to help me at the store?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Aren’t you sure?” Leanna knew Kai would never forfeit the importance she felt when called upon to help out at the shop. No doubt, it was Bryce and his charming personality that made Kai forget about The Tug.

  “I’ll come again. Now I have to get back to the island.”

  Bryce’s voice had the reassuring ring so endearing to very young children.

  “The island? We’re going to the island, too, right, Mommy?”

  Leanna tried to keep calm while her face felt hot and flushed by the effort of having to keep Kai and Bryce at two opposite ends of a pole. She didn’t want the two of them getting too friendly even though she didn’t really know why.

  She’d been fine until he showed up.

  “One of these days. Promise.”

  They neared the lakefront.

  “Where do you want me to drop you?” Bryce asked. It was the first time he’d spoken to her since their argument.

  “At my house. The road that goes up from behind The Tug leads to a row of houses. I need to check on Cody and take him along to the shop.”

  “Cody? You still have him?” He glanced at her in utter disbelief.

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  “Yes. He’s a big boy now.”

  “I see.” Bryce’s wide-eyed astonishment vanished and he reverted to stony-faced preoccupation.

  Driving up the hill toward a colorful assortment of houses, he said. “Do you like managing the apartment building?”

  “Yes.” Her voice seemed to come from a long way off. “I do it for extra funds. The Tug doesn’t bring in as much as I’d hoped. Someday, I’d like to build a snack bar to attract tourists who come for hiking in the fall and skiing in the winter.”

  The next minute she regretted the casual confession of her dream. It wasn’t his business and she had no intention of parading her financial problems in front of him.

  “Really?” he replied without inflection. “Looks like Nolan Packard showed up like a timely lifeline.”

  Leanna jerked around to face him, stunned by his bluntness. In the backseat Kai talked to herself, pretending to be the teacher at her daycare. She was oblivious to the tension between her mother and Bryce, Leanna noted with relief.

  “Save your caustic remarks. You have suspicion written all over your face.”

  “Can you blame me? After what you did?” His curt voice lashed at her.

  “What did I do? Leave without telling you when things weren’t going anywhere between us.” She glared at him with burning, reproachful eyes. “I don’t owe you any explanations for why I left, if that’s what you’re thinking. Especially since you’re incapable of trust.”

  Leanna held her breath, waiting for the road to turn toward the driveway of her house. There at the window stood Cody, his tail wagging like pussy willows in a gale. From the 77

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  chatter in the back seat, Leanna gathered that Kai couldn’t wait to go home and tell Cody all about her adventures today.

  “Do you want to pet my dog?” Kai asked Bryce shyly as he parked the jeep.

  “I’d love to but I have to go.” He got out of the jeep and waited for Kai to scramble out. Bending toward her, he lowered his voice. “Tell you what. When I come again, I’ll bring him a treat. Think Cody would like that?”

  “Oh, yes. Mommy, can Bryce come on a picnic with me and you and Cody and Grampa and…”

  “We’ll see, sweetie. Here’s the key. Now run along and let Cody out so he can do his business.”

  Kai skipped away happily toward the house, ignoring Leanna and Bryce, who now glared at each other like combatants ready to pick up arms again.

  Bryce kicked a stone near his foot. “You seem to forget that, in the end, I did come looking for you.”

  “After I started a new life? What did you expect to find?”

  “Honest answers,” he snapped.

  “I’ve given you the only answers you need, Bryce.”

  Leanna threw the words at him like stones being tumbled in a quarry.

  “All right.” He glowered at her and turned away. “I was right. When I started out to come here, I hoped to find something of the girl I used to know. But I see she’s gone.”

  A sudden chill hung on the edge of his words and Leanna sensed his anger. The fact that he spoke the truth stung her.

  She swallowed hard. How soon the cheery tenor of their afternoon together had turned into a contest of opposing memories filled with recriminations. Too much had happened to both of them to try and grasp the gossamer thread of young love. Still, he’d come to look for her, or so he said. Mixed feelings zapped through and she tried to control them.

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  “Yes, Bryce, it’s not meant to be. That’s the wisest thing you’ve said so far.”

  She bit her lip and looked away, suddenly anxious to escape any more revelations she might unconsciously make.

  She didn’t want to turn into a shrew. She only wanted to state her case and couldn’t help it if some of the frustrations of her loneliness came to the surface.

  As Leanna turned to go inside, Cody came trotting out at full tilt and headed straight for Bryce whose eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Whoa, Cody.”

  Unfazed he bent down and extended a hand, letting Cody sniff it. He made a circle around Bryce, squatted in front of him and wagged his tail furiously, to Leanna’s annoyance.

  That was Cody’s way of enticing somebody to play with him.

  Now Bryce had her dog in thrall.

  “Cody, come back here!” Leanna called out sharply from the door of her house. But the energetic dog went right on enjoying Bryce’s friendly pats on the head as he talked to Cody all the while.

  Leanna stood with arms crossed and tapped her foot with the scolding impatience of a metronome. Now she’d have to rescue Cody from Bryce’s coaxing manner that knew no boundary with children or animals. Was there anyone who could resist that special sparkle of his? It had gotten her into the predicament she found herself in years ago. Now, when she wanted to get him off her yard, she couldn’t manage it.

  Kai was inside, probably foraging for cookies, or she’d be out here joining Cody in the Bryce for Hero-of-the-Hour Campaign.

  A sigh escaped her as she waited for her dog to quit flattering Bryce and vice versa. This had to stop. She strode out to where Bryce now rolled on the grass with Cody licking his face.

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  “Do you mind? I have to take Cody inside. It’s his lunch time.” Restless and irritable as she was, Leanna held herself back from saying anything more.

  “Okay, Cody, enough face time. Your mama wants you home.” Bryce got up and dusted himself off.

  Blades of grass stuck to his thick hair. Leanna fought back an incredible urge to brush them off. Annoyed with herself at the quicksilver changes in her feelings she said, “Here, Cody.

  Inside, boy.”

  Ever the obedient mama’s boy, Cody, subdued, trotted back into the house with a last backward glance at Bryce.

  The moment Cody left, Bryce’s lips puckered in annoyance. “Afraid that Cody might like me too?” he drawled with distinct mockery.

  “I have to hand it to you. You have a way with dogs and kids.” She could ignore the twinge of envy.

  His eyebrow quirked up. “I believe that’s a compliment!

  It’s only you I haven’t been able to win over.”

  If only that were true she’d be safe and heart-whole, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that. “There are some things you have to earn.”

  “Believe me, I mean to try. I’m not one to give up.”

  “Quit before someone gets hurt. I’m a different person now.”

  “True, but there’s got to be something of the girl I once knew. Even you can’t have chang
ed all that much.” He strode to the jeep, his long lean body moving with the grace of a jaguar.

  Did he know his own power? Leanna suspected he did. It showed in his carriage and in the pride dormant in those chiseled features. The next moment he jumped into the jeep and was gone.

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  Leanna went inside and shut the door. Then she moved to the window and watched him pull out of the driveway faster than the speed limit would allow at Dylan Heights, a tidy little residential area overlooking a bluff.

  As the jeep wound out of sight she tried to keep her fragile control. What would his presence at Benedict Island do to her and Kai? She hardly cared to think about that, especially if Bryce had any suspicion that Kai was his daughter.

  She sighed and moved away from the window. Her fears were premature. He’d see the settled quality of her life. No need for him to know about Kai, if Leanna didn’t tell him.

  And she didn’t plan to unless the situation warranted it.

  Cody peeked at her from behind the door leading to the kitchen.

  “Hungry? You’ve been such a good boy,” Leanna said.

  Except when he fell all over Bryce so shamelessly.

  Cody sat on his haunches, head angled to one side, tongue hanging out, so that his face assumed a smiling expression. He trotted toward the narrow closet that contained dry dog food, sat in front of it and wagged his tail, as if he were cheering her on in her chores.

  She laughed. “All right, all right. I’m getting there.”

  “Cody, know what I did? I played on the swing and the slide,” Kai called out from behind, her hands over her mouth.

  Her mouth full of chocolate chip cookies made her cheeks bulge like a chipmunk’s.

  Leanna turned around. “Kai did you finish up all the cookies I made yesterday?” She tried to look stern as she placed Cody’s dish in front of him. But she only succeeded in suppressing a chuckle. Kai looked so comical.

  “No, Mommy. ’Course not.”

  “When Cody’s done eating, we’ll have to go to The Tug.

  Aunty Alice will need to go home. First, I’d better call the 81

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  service garage and have my car towed away and fixed. There go another few hundred dollars.”

  Kai’s eyebrows puckered in a look of anxiety. “Are we poor, Mommy?”

  “No, just broke.”

  Leanna picked up the phone and dialed Superior Transmission and explained that her car wouldn’t start. No problem, the owner assured her. They would take care of it and give her a good deal on it. Chester had done him a favor and now it was his turn to return it.

  She replaced the receiver and a warm feeling surged through her. This had been the only thing that went right today.

  An hour later, a small crew consisting of Leanna, Kai and Cody headed out to The Tug. Leanna trudged on, holding Cody’s leash in one hand and Kai’s little hand clutched in her other one.

  The late afternoon brought in a breeze off the lake, which looked like bright blue glass in the distance. Yet, the beauty of the vibrant day failed to invigorate her. All she could see in her mind’s eye was the stony mask that Bryce’s face had assumed after lunch. The memory of it left her with an emptiness echoing inside. Yet, what had she expected? That he would be overjoyed at finding her with a daughter?

  Leanna shook back her wayward hair and her hand tightened on the leash. She’d come this far and she wouldn’t let Bryce intimidate her or make her feel guilty.

  They climbed down the side of the rolling hill, using a track that led to the back entrance of The Tug.

  Leanna looked toward the parking space at the back. “I don’t see Grampa’s pickup there. Maybe he’s taken a run into town.” Her gaze scanned the side of Chester’s apartment where he had started building a patio the size of a small pen.

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  “So you girls can sit when the weather is nice,” he’d said.

  “Er…you too, Alice.” The afterthought made Leanna suspect that he had Alice in mind mostly, and she had grinned at her father’s roundabout way of approaching the topic.

  “Hello, anybody home?” Leanna called out as she entered with Cody and Kai in tow.

  “In here, honey.” White square-shaped boxes that she had stacked up to throw away surrounded Alice. “Your father’s gone into town to pick up plywood, and we need to move these ceramic vases. They’re getting crowded here and don’t show well.”

  Leanna laughed. “I see you’ve been busy.”

  “Where have you been?”

  “My car refused to start. Battery’s dead. So Bryce gave me a ride to the daycare. Then we had lunch and after that, he dropped us off at home.” Leanna’s eyes gleamed wickedly as she watched Alice’s stare.

  “Okay. But did anything interesting happen? How did you run into Bryce?” Alice’s forehead creased into deep ruts.

  “Wait, now I remember. He came in here expecting to see you.”

  “Really?” Leanna made sure she sounded casual.

  “He looked disappointed to see me. Don’t worry, that’s the effect I have on all men. All except Gerry, God rest his soul.” Alice smiled benignly. “Then Bryce bought some things and left.”

  “I met him at the parking lot after work.”

  It was a cinch Bryce had planned it that way. She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or scared. Obviously he just wanted a fling, someone to pass the time with while he stayed on the island. He claimed he was looking for her, but the question was why? To hash over the past, or just to have a good time for the few months he’d be stuck here?

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  “Waiting for you, was he?” Alice’s hands were busy sorting but her eyes threw Leanna a profound look as she said with a sigh, “Ah, young love.”

  “Oh, knock it off,” Leanna said. She didn’t feel the least bit romantic after the altercation with Bryce.

  “Suit yourself.” Alice sounded resigned.

  “We have too many differences now. Our lives are separate.” Weariness slammed into Leanna, pulling her down.

  “Did you tell him about Kai?”

  “I can’t. Just don’t feel I can share Kai with him yet.”

  “Too many feelings to sort out?”

  “I have to get used to Bryce’s being here first.”

  Alice gave her a look that said she understood.

  Coming home to forget didn’t work, Leanna thought as she collected up the sales receipts for the day and cleared the counter of wrapping paper. She’d have to work a little harder.

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  Chapter 6

  Bryce let the jeep idle for a few seconds before shutting off the engine. He propelled himself out of it and looked around. Cars in the Park Service parking lot were packed tighter than sardines, and people came out of the office holding tickets and maps to the island. What did he expect?

  That he’d have a one-man’s island just to be able to get on with the study? The tourist center at Pelican Harbor knew how to generate revenue. And that was the bottom line, money.

  A glance at his watch showed it was close to quitting time at the Park Service office and everywhere else. Kip should be hovering in the Piper Cub any minute now. Bryce squinted up at the pale blue sky. And then, the low drone of a plane grew louder as it approached him. Out of the blue, the familiar light aircraft swooped lower in preparation to land.

  Good old Kip, and not a moment too soon. Bryce felt the backpack containing the purchases and reassured himself. At least, the trip to the mainland hadn’t been a total waste.

  Kip made a circle and then landed the plane.

  Bryce grinned and waved.

  “Ready, boss?”

  “Ready.” Bryce swung himself in and pulled the door shut.

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  “Got the films all squared away,” Kip said and pulled on the throttle to t
ake off. “The Wildlife Center can’t wait to see the pictures. I told them we had some dandies and how you practically hung out of the plane to get them.”

  “Er…thanks.” Bryce strapped himself in and leaned back.

  “And how was your day?”

  “I got the things I wanted. We have water filters to last till the end of our stay. Just want to make sure we don’t fall sick before the work is finished.”

  As they gained altitude Bryce’s thoughts went back to Leanna. What a day it had been! Contrary to his expectations, he hadn’t made any headway with her. All he wanted to do was to find out what was on her mind, but instead he’d come away feeling like a rooster chased out of the henhouse. Fine.

  With his work he had enough on his hands already to try to figure her out. Women!

  He glanced at Kip who hummed to himself. Even above the drone of the plane Bryce could hear his tuneless hum, and that was a good sign. That would keep him busy. He noticed little else when flying the plane.

  Bryce wasn’t the best companion today. Tormented by confusing feelings, he turned his attention to the expanse of blue below. How free it felt to be up here! No worries about past mistakes. He glanced sideways at Kip. He was too engrossed in his prowess as a pilot to be concerned about Bryce’s lack of conversation.

  “Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie,” Kip started belting out after they were airborne for a while.

  “Hate to bother you, Kip, but are we almost there yet?”

  Bryce hoped that would shut him up at least for the time it took to reply.

  That annoyed Kip. “Of course not. Do you think this is a bus that you can get off just anywhere?”

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  “Sorry. I forgot.”

  But now Kip seemed to have lost his mood for singing.

  “You see that clearing there? That’s where we’re headed, so it’s close. Hope Fred has dinner waiting for us.”

  Bryce hoped so too. They should have eaten dinner at one of the restaurants at Pelican Harbor. But Bryce wanted to leave the mainland and forget the heated exchange he’d had with Leanna until he could sort out the workings of his confused mind. An inexplicable feeling of withdrawal came over him, a feeling of defeat and he asked himself how he would he act if he saw Leanna again. Would there be a next time in this crazy situation of theirs?