Rogue Wave

by Isabel Jolie

  An awkward routine settled between Jasmine and me. I would stare out the window, feel her gaze, and I would quickly look down to my book and pretend interest, flipping pages to enhance my performance. She practiced her writing in a workbook, creating a flurry of eraser dust as she wrote, erased, and rewrote letters. My ringtone, a shrill cry of a seagull, shattered the silence. Sasquatch jumped off my lap, his tail twitching his discontent. An unknown number flashed on the screen.

  “Probably a telemarketer,” I said, answering her silent question. She squinted in confusion.

  “Hello?”

  “Luna? It’s Gabe. I can’t reach Tate. Have you seen him?”

  “No. We’re at Alice’s.”

  “I know. I thought he might have made it back there.”

  “No—”

  “Luna? Make sure he keeps his phone on him today. Plan G is rocking and rolling.”

  He hung up on me. Confused, I stared at the phone in my hand. He had some plan in the works and hadn’t deemed me adult enough to share it with me. And no matter how much I wanted to leave this house, I couldn’t. Jasmine didn’t need a babysitter, but she didn’t need to be left alone either. I didn’t mind being there with her, but I minded Tate treating me like I was less. Like I wasn’t someone he could share everything with. Like I wasn’t an equal.

  If he wanted a relationship with me, this crap would not fly.

  I paced the room, trapped. Every now and then, Jasmine’s gaze would lift from her workbook. Several old board games with yellowed cardboard and dented corners filled the bottom shelf of a shelving unit near the stairs. I lifted the Scrabble box and brought it over to the coffee table in front of Jasmine.

  “Game?” I offered.

  I spread out the wooden pieces and the board. Jasmine picked up on the game with ease, and we played out the game using three- or four-letter words.

  An eternity passed, and the door cracked open. I scanned the nearest coffee table for a weapon.

  Alice passed through the door, and I lowered the wooden letter tray I’d been prepared to pummel an intruder with.

  “You’ve got the jumps,” Alice teased.

  “Can you blame me? And Gabe called and said Plan G is in effect. Do you know what that is?” She’d better not. If he told Alice and not me…

  Her gentle hand rested on my shoulder. “He wanted to keep the two of you safe.”

  “Well, that’s—” Jasmine’s wide eyes forced me to swallow my anger and frustration. I stood and stretched under Alice’s watchful gaze.

  Alice patted my shoulder then squeezed it. “Listen to me. No man is perfect. Talk to him. No relationship works if you don’t.”

  Chapter 34

  Tate

  * * *

  I shook hands with the FBI agent who seemed to oversee the entire operation. I had to hand it to Gabe, the man had contacts. Boats with flashing lights filled the marina. Small groups of islanders hovered around the marina, looking on and talking. I’d seen more than one finger pointed my direction.

  Gabe and I alternated between texts and calls. There would be no need for him to fly down. We’d somehow concocted a plan that worked. I kept checking the time on my phone. Luna would wonder what was going on. Every time I had a second free, another uniformed man would approach, wanting to ask questions. The FBI, US Coast Guard, Homeland Security. Logan directed officers, one by one, to me. I had only seen the guy in passing before this, but he’d taken me seriously this morning when I stopped in and met with him. I owed the guy. Prior to today, his biggest worry had been speeding golf carts. He handled it all like a seasoned pro.

  Gabe texted and asked the same question, with different phrasing, multiple times. “Do you need a lawyer?”

  A man in khaki shorts, a badge, and a gun holster approached. I’d stopped paying attention to the badges over an hour ago.

  “Do you know an Alexandre Gueirrero?”

  “No.”

  “He was on the offshore ship. There’s a warrant out for his arrest.”

  I slipped my hands in my pockets and shrugged. I wouldn’t put it past Zane to be hauling a felon into international waters. The man would do anything for a fee. But I had no information to offer.

  Zane would face multiple charges, not the least of which included carrying an unregistered firearm. The more significant charges, as I understood them, would include blackmail, extortion, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and tax evasion. He unwittingly led the feds to an entire network of offshore accounts. Prosecutors sought a minimum thirty-year sentence.

  Hours passed before I escaped all the men with questions. Alice’s house came into view through the wooded lane. Jasmine and Alice swung on the front porch.

  “You get everything taken care of?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Where’s Luna?”

  “Once we got word that we were in the clear, she took off.”

  She probably had work to do at the center. I climbed the two porch steps and rested my hand on the back of the chair I planned to sit in.

  Alice shook her finger and clucked her tongue. “No, sir. Your day’s not done. You’ve got some making up to do.”

  I glanced around the porch, clueless.

  “Get on with it. Jasmine and I are all good. You got a lot to learn about communication. And partnership.”

  You have to be fucking kidding me.

  “Uh-uh.” She snapped those fingers, and Jasmine smiled like she was in on a joke. “Drop that attitude. Would you like it if the shoes were reversed? If Luna left you in the dark? Treated you as less? You got some wallowing to do. Now, get to it.”

  I gritted my teeth as an argument brewed. Alice’s eyes leveled on me, and the fight deflated.

  I found Luna out on the beach and sat down beside her. She threw a shell fragment out into the wake. We both looked straight ahead, out over the crashing wake. Farther down the beach, a dog rushed the waves, its owner trailing behind.

  “Everything’s okay now.” Luna leaned forward to pick up another shell fragment, acknowledging my comment with a slight nod. Tension radiated, and I didn’t like it. But I refused to apologize for keeping her safe. I gritted my teeth, debating how to best address her.

  “It’s not going to work with us if you treat me like I’m not your equal.” She wiped the sand off the shell fragment, her focus so concentrated on her task it took me a moment to be certain I didn’t imagine her words. I picked up a smooth gray shell and rubbed it between my fingers, thinking. “Or have you decided you don’t want it to work?”

  “Luna, I want us to work more than anything.” I told her the truth, but she sensed my hesitation.

  “But I’m young. Right?”

  “It’s wrong to tie you down.” No matter how much I want to.

  “Is that the way you see relationships? Once you commit, it’s a done deal? Every decision made? By the man?”

  “No.” I tossed the shell, and it landed near my big toe. Her questions knocked me back. What was my expectation? That if we were together, she’d sculpt her life to fit mine? But that was what would happen, right? That was what couples did.

  “Why don’t you ask me how I see a relationship?”

  Because that’s an odd question. What does that even mean? I dug my toes into the cold, heavy sand. “All right. Tell me.”

  “I’ve watched my parents my whole life. For years, I wasn’t sure they’d make it. Can’t tell you how many times they called us down for a family meeting, and I expected them to tell us they were getting separated.”

  “That sounds…awful.” Admittedly, my mother died when I was a teenager, but I never recalled ever wondering if they would divorce.

  “Awful? Yes, and no. Because you know what I realized when I went home over the holidays?”

  A seagull dipped into the waves and a second later flew away with a slim, silver fish.

  “You’re not even listening.”

  “No, I am.” I shifted on the sand to face her and crossed my legs. She con
tinued staring straight ahead, but acknowledged I’d given her my full attention by continuing. “Every day, they wake up and decide. Will they keep trying, or won’t they? So far, each day, the answer has been yes. That’s twenty-five years of yes. Next year, one of them may decide it’s a no.”

  “That sounds unstable.”

  “I suppose. But it’s also the reality of any person in a modern-day American marriage. None of us are locked into a marriage. We always have options. Every day, we decide. I didn’t always see it that way.”

  The sun glistened in her hair. I thought about the meaning of her words. “When you went home…your ex. He’d be a better—”

  “I don’t want Brandon. I had thought I didn’t want him because what he offered was too similar to my mom and dad. Being trapped in the same small town for the rest of my life. But I realized I didn’t want Brandon because he’s not right for me.” She shifted her gaze. My reflection shone on her shades. “I believe you are. I want to give us a try. But if you can’t get past my age, and you can’t treat me like an equal partner, then you’re not right for me either.”

  She stood and wiped the sand off her bottom. Gobsmacked, I remained sitting. As she walked away, understanding dawned. I chased her down and matched her pace once I caught up. The wind whipped her loose hair around, covering a portion of her face, and I tugged on her arm for her to stand still. I tucked her unruly strands behind her ears and cupped the back of her head, angling her chin upward. I kissed her, gently, deeply, and with promise. I broke the kiss and lifted her shades, forcing her to look me in the eye, so she could see.

  “Luna, if you are open to us, I want to try. You’re the best thing to happen to me. I don’t see you as less. I see you as so much more. Jasmine, she’s in the picture, too. She’s a part of me now—”

  “I care for her too, you know? She’s a remarkable person. I want to be there for her. Help her with her new life. She’s stronger than you give her credit for. And she’ll be off to college in four years.”

  I grimaced at the notion, unsure. “Not if she’s not ready—”

  “You’ll be there for her if she needs you.”

  “What about you?” My thumb grazed her smooth, flawless skin, and she looked up at me, silently questioning. “Are you thinking you want to pursue your doctorate?”

  “I still don’t know. But my options don’t change because of you and Jasmine. It’s something I’m exploring. We can make it work.” She pressed her palm against me, pushing for space. “But not if—”

  “Luna, this morning, I didn’t know what I was dealing with. I didn’t know how it would play out. When I dropped you off, I still didn’t have a cohesive plan. I didn’t know Zane would be on the island today, not for certain. It’s luck Logan was in his office when I stopped by the police station.” Station was a generous description. It was more of an attachment to the fire station that housed the only two fire engines on the island. “If anything happened to you…I had to keep you safe. Can you understand that? I love you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” She nodded and pulled at a wisp of flyaway hair, her eyes glassy with emotion. I held her close and kissed her forehead. I will try harder. Her cheek. I want you in my life. The corner of her lips. Please let me be enough. Her lips. I need you. I treasure you.

  “I love you too.” Her softly spoken words filled me like wind against a sail.

  I clasped Luna’s hand, weaving her fingers through mine. When I arrived on this island, I’d been on the brink of a fall line. No more.

  “So, how do we do this? Where do we start?” I looked to her for direction.

  “We take it day by day.”

  “Together?”

  “That’s the only way.” Her determined gaze locked on mine, and all doubts evaporated.

  Epilogue

  Luna

  * * *

  6 months later

  * * *

  Find the hidden pond & follow the instructions. I’d heard about this hidden pond before. Tate had once suggested we go there to skinny dip. An insane suggestion, that one. Here on Haven Island, we were surrounded by the Atlantic, ergo plenty of snake-free skinny dipping options.

  The leaves crunched beneath my sandals as I gripped my phone. The prior two clues had required I send photographic evidence of my location, then additional instructions arrived. Jasmine and Tate loved these games.

  The hidden pond left much to be desired. Interior inlet, or sunken area in the middle of the island described it better in my mind. A yellow piece of fabric tied around a skinny pine marked my destination. With great care, I stepped through the underbrush.

  Once again, the paper scrawled in Jasmine’s textbook elementary handwriting read Take a photo and receive your next set of instructions.

  I snapped a photo, sent it into the ether, and repeated the careful stepping process back to my golf cart. My phone vibrated. Find the island’s highest point. From there, me you shall see.

  I took off for the lighthouse. We’d used the highest sight line in more than one of our games. In order to enter, you had to make a donation to the lighthouse conservation fund. Joni, the lighthouse volunteer extraordinaire, waved me through when I stepped up to the cash register inside the tiny museum next to the stone structure. “He’s already donated for you.”

  “That means I’ve really got to walk up all those stairs this time?” I asked, and she smiled and pointed the way. She got a kick out of our trail map games.

  The inside of the centuries-old lighthouse held a dusty smell. Remnant spiderwebs coated crevices as the stairs to the top became steeper and narrower. A faint layer of perspiration rose as my heartrate increased.

  At the tip top, the stairs transitioned into more of a ladder, and I crawled into the six-foot round space. Deep windows let light in. There was a sign propped against one of the windows. “Look through the window and see through my eyes.”

  The thick, ancient glass didn’t provide the best view, but all around the tower, the ocean could be seen. The mainland, not so far away, appeared as green trees. The marsh line could be seen in closer proximity, up until the ocean laid claim. I searched every angle along the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circumference, but I didn’t see.

  My phone vibrated. Marina side.

  Treetops and buildings blocked the view of the bulk of the marina. The sun set against the mainland’s horizon, casting rose and golden hues over the line of trees. Closer by, near Jules, lights twinkled over the outside deck. Farther out, in the marina, a sailboat with an oversized flag hung between the sailboat and a nearby post. It read, “Come Sail Away.”

  He’d done it. Tate had gone and bought the small sailboat.

  I texted back OTW then took the stairs two by two, jumping down as I went. I found my cart and floored it to the marina. Jasmine beamed as she saw me approaching and scrambled onto the deck, running toward me.

  “It’s the Luna! Or, he hasn’t decided what he’s going to name it. He might name her the Jasmine Luna. Or the Jasmine Moon. Or Sweet Moon. He’s brainstorming. He wanted you to have a say.” As predicted, she’d become fluent and now could speed talk and text like any other teen. Her accent gave her what I thought of as a sophisticated advantage.

  “I see.”

  Along the opposite side of the boardwalk, Poppy approached. She carried an ice bucket in one hand and a champagne bottle in the other. She leaned off the dock, and Tate reached over and took both items from her.

  “Ah, fun. Are you coming out for her maiden voyage?”

  “Oh, no, lady. Jasmine and I have a girls’ night planned. Movies and all.”

  Jasmine bounced on the back of her heels and clapped her hands.

  Gabe shouted out from the deck of the Will o’ the Wisp, a tiny restaurant overlooking the marina. “Love the boat, man.”

  Poppy wrapped an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Jasmine, it’s time for ladies’ night to commence.” She smiled at Gabe and waved to him.

  Ga
be waved back then picked up his beer and returned to his bar seat overlooking the marina. He appeared to be in deep conversation with Logan.

  Tate held the boat close to the dock for me to board. As I stretched over the water gap, I pointed an index finger Gabe’s way. “Is everything okay with those two?”

  “Gabe and Logan?”

  “No. Gabe and Poppy.”

  “How would I know?”

  “Didn’t you go surfing with him this morning?” I’d missed out on dawn patrol because Jasmine and I went for a run. She was considering joining the school’s cross-country team, and we’d started building up her endurance, although she’d need to start running with Tate soon. Like most things, she approached running with a singular focus, and she improved rapidly.

  “The waves were decent this morning. Not much talking.”

  “Ah.”

  A white tablecloth lay over the small table on the back of the boat. Champagne glasses rested in the ice bucket, and a cooler was below the table.

  “Look at all this. Is there an occasion, or is this the sailboat life?”

  “Welcome aboard. I thought we’d take a romantic sunset cruise.”

  “That’s so sweet. But you didn’t want to include Jasmine?” She had to be excited about us getting a new boat.

  “You don’t know what today is, do you?”

  I shook my head. End of summer. No birthdays…

  “One year ago, you zoomed by in a golf cart. You didn’t know it, but you reeled me in. Jasmine helped me with the surprise. When Carter decided to sell me his old sailboat, it all fell into place.”

  “I’m impressed you remember the date.”

  He wrapped an arm around me as the boat tilted and we fell against the side. “It’s also the day I arrived on the island.” The corners of his lips skewed up, creating his signature tease of a smile. “And I remember this young girl, gliding by, so carefree.”