by Sandi Lynn
“That’s why you always paint the water?” I signed.
“Pretty much.”
“Your dad sounds like he was a wonderful father.”
“He was. Are you going to explain to me why you kidnapped me from New York?”
“Are you ready to listen? And I didn’t kidnap you. I borrowed you.” I smirked as I signed. “We can talk over some dinner and wine if you’d like. I stocked the refrigerator with all kinds of great food. I can whip something up in a flash.”
“You don’t cook.”
“Okay. Okay.” I held my hand up. “There’s a grill and I can throw on some burgers.”
Her eye narrowed as she glared at me.
“I am hungry. But then I’m leaving.”
“Then I shall grill you a burger, and if you wish to leave after, then you’re free to go. But I hope you choose to stay,” I signed.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” she said as she walked back up to the house.
As I stood at the grill with the burgers, I stared through the window of the kitchen and watched while Ellie made a pasta salad. She was so beautiful and still so angry. I’d never forget the look in her eyes when she saw me standing in the living room. They were full of rage and hatred. She looked over and caught me staring, so I quickly looked down at the burgers. She walked out with the pasta salad and set it on the patio table.
“We can eat out here,” she said.
“I like that idea,” I signed as I gave her a smile.
When the burgers were done, I took them off the grill and set them in the middle of the table. Walking inside, I grabbed the rest of the stuff and a bottle of wine. After pouring her a glass, I took the seat across from her.
“Okay. Now tell me why you kidnapped me.”
I let out a chuckle. “I borrowed you.”
“Same thing because you did it without my permission.” Her brow arched.
“I thought we both needed to get away from New York for a while. I certainly did with everything that went on with my parents and Kirsten. And I know you probably did as well.”
“You’re right, Henry. I did. But the difference here is I needed to get away from you. I’m trying so hard to heal the heart you broke, and you’re making it worse for me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying that!” she shouted. “I know you’re sorry, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t trust you.”
“You can’t or you won’t? I know I screwed up in a big way, and I know how badly I hurt you. I’m human, Ellie, and I make mistakes. All I’m asking from you is to give me one week. Just the two of us here in Malibu with no distractions and no interruptions. No work, no parents, no drama, nothing. The moment we laid eyes on each other at the grocery store, we both felt an instant connection. There’s no denying that. What we had was so special. You make me want to be a better person. A better man. And I screwed that up because I was too afraid you wouldn’t want to see me anymore if I’d told you about her in the first place. Then, after I called off the wedding and broke up with her, I was trying to find a way to tell you. Then my father had his heart attack and open-heart surgery, and so much shit was going on.”
“Then Kirsten told you she was pregnant and—”
“My mother told you before I could.” I looked down in shame.
“You can make a thousand excuses, but that’s all they are, Henry.”
“I know, and if I could go back in time, I would have told you from the start.”
Her eyes stared directly into mine from across the table for a few moments as silence filled the space around us.
“If I decide to stay, we aren’t sleeping in the same room.”
“I already know that, and I didn’t expect us to. You’ll stay in the master bedroom, and I’ll stay in one of the other rooms. There are a million things we can do here. We can go swim in the ocean, go kayaking, shopping, scuba diving, anything you want.”
“We aren’t together, Henry. You need to understand that.”
“I do understand that. But I was hoping after this week we could at least be friends. If anything, that’s what I want the most. Because I’d rather have you in my life as a friend, than not have you in my life at all,” I signed.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go down to the beach by myself.”
“Of course. I’ll clean up.”
Ellie
I sat down in the sand and brought my legs up to my chest. Looking up, seagulls were flying overhead just as the sun was about to set. What he did. God, I could hate him so much right now, and a part of me wants to grab my suitcase and hightail it out of here. But I needed to look beyond his actions. He didn’t do any of this to hurt me. That much I knew. And he really had no choice but to lie to get me here because if he would have flat out asked me, I would have told him no. I had been filled with so much hurt and anger, and I wouldn’t look beyond what his mother had told me that day in the café. And when he walked into my apartment after I’d texted him, I was already done with him regardless of his explanation and excuses.
While I was pondering my thoughts, Henry sat down in the sand next to me.
“Is it okay if I sit here?” he signed.
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
“The sunset is amazing,” he signed.
“It truly is,” I said as I stared at it.
“Have you decided if you’re going to stay?”
“I’ll stay.”
The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Thank you,” he signed.
“How did you find out the baby wasn’t yours?”
“Addison took it upon herself to do some investigating.”
“Addison?” I laughed.
“Yeah. My sister is a little spitfire. Anyway, Kirsten lied about when she got pregnant. Addison found out and called her out on it. I got her to confess that the baby wasn’t mine, which happened to be right in front of my parents.”
“Oh shit.” I laughed. “Your mom must have been heartbroken.”
“She was very angry, and after saying a few choice words, she kicked her out.”
“Good for her, but I’m not a fan of your mother.”
“Neither am I.” A smirk crossed his lips. By the way, I never did ask you how your flight was?”
“Before or after Frankie screamed at the guy in the aisle seat next to me?”
“What?” He cocked his head.
“I was sitting in my seat reading a book and all of a sudden, Frankie was practically on top of me and in the guy’s face.”
“Wait. I booked you the window seat. Why was Frankie sitting in it?”
“He doesn’t like to fly.”
“I know that. But I figured he would be a gentleman and let you have the window seat.”
“It was fine. I offered because he seemed nervous.”
“So why did he get in that guy’s face?”
“I guess the guy was asking me a question, and when I didn’t respond he called me a bitch. Frankie told him I was deaf with a few other choice words.”
“Did the guy apologize?”
“He did.”
“Remind me to thank Frankie. And please don’t be mad at him. I really gave him no choice. He was so worried you were going to hate him.”
“I don’t hate him. I’m a little mad, but I’ll get over it eventually.” I smiled.
“He’ll be grateful to hear that,” his smile widened as he signed.
“Did you feel that?” I held out my hand in front of me.
“Feel what?”
I let out a laugh as a large raindrop hit him in the face.
“Yep. I felt that.” He wiped it from his face.
Suddenly, the sky opened, and it began to pour out of nowhere.
“Oh my God,” I jumped up. “Where did this come from all of a sudden.”
“I don’t know but we better get back inside,” he signed and then held out his hand.
Without even thinking about it, I placed my hand
in his as we ran back up to the house. When we stepped inside, we were both soaking wet.
“Stay right here. I’ll go get us some towels,” he said.
He was back within moments and wrapped a towel around my shoulders.
“Thanks,” I said as I dried off the best I could, but I needed to change.
“Can you get me my suitcase you’re holding hostage.” I smirked.
“Follow me. It’s upstairs in the master suite.”
Following him up the winding staircase, we stepped into the sprawling and beautifully decorated master suite with floor to ceiling windows and a sliding glass door that provided an incredible view of the ocean.
“This is beautiful.” I stared out the window.
“Your suitcase is over there. I moved it in here while you down at the beach.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll let you change. Wait until you see the master bath,” he signed. “There’s even a steam room off to the side.”
“I think I’m going to take a bath and get some of this sand off me.”
“Good idea. I’m going to change as well, and then I’ll be downstairs.”
He walked out and shut the double doors behind him. Grabbing my suitcase, I unzipped it and grabbed a pair of light cotton sweatpants and a tank top. Starting the water in the oversized marble encased tub, I climbed in and let my body relax. The only time I’d texted my mom was when I landed. How was I going to tell her about Henry? It was probably best I waited until I got back to New York.
Chapter 29
Henry
I walked over to the bar and poured myself a scotch. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I saw I had a few text messages from Frankie.
“Hey, bro. How’s it going?”
“??”
“Did she kill you, man? Come on, text me back.”
“Everything is going good. She’s upstairs right now taking a bath.”
“So…is she pissed at me?”
“A little, but she said she’ll get over it eventually.”
“So, I’m assuming you got her to stay?”
“Yeah. She’s staying with me for the week. Separate bedrooms of course. She made that very clear.”
“At least she’s staying. That’s all that matters, bro. Good luck and I want all the details when you get back.”
“Thanks, Frankie. By the way, she told me about the guy on the plane. Thank you for having her back.”
“Any time, bro. She’s a friend and I always have my friend’s backs.”
I smiled as I placed my phone back in my pocket.
“How was your bath?” I signed when she walked into the living room.
“Wonderful.” She smiled.
“Can I get you a glass of wine?”
“I can get it myself. It looks like the rain stopped.”
“Yeah. It did a few minutes ago.”
I followed her into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of wine.
“This house must cost a fortune to rent out,” she spoke.
“It’s not cheap.” I smiled. “But as far as I’m concerned, it’s worth it. Do you want to go sit down in the living room?”
“Sure.” She nodded as she went and took a seat on the couch.
I refilled my glass and took a seat next to her.
“Tell me more about your family? You never talked about them.”
“And for good reason,” I signed with an arch in my brow. “You’ve already met my mother and you don’t like her, which I can’t blame you for.”
“I can’t really say that because I don’t know her. But when she told me about you, it was as if she was enjoying every minute of it.”
“That’s her. She loves to wreak havoc in people’s lives, and she doesn’t care who she steps on to get what she wants, including me. I thought maybe after my father’s heart attack, he would realize that life’s too short to behave the way he does. But he’s still the same old Carlyle Walker he’s always been. He even told Addison, his own daughter, that if Abigail wouldn’t have died, she wouldn’t have been born.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Very serious,” I signed. He was supposed to start the transfer of ownership for the company and I would take over in three months, but when Addison exposed Kirsten, he told me he was putting it on hold because he thought I wasn’t mentally prepared to take over due to the circumstances.”
“I’m sorry the baby isn’t yours,” she said.
“Are you kidding? I’m not the least bit sorry. Hearing those words come out of her mouth was the best thing I’d heard in a very long time. I didn’t want a child with her. I couldn’t stand her.”
“You were with her for three years, Henry.”
“For all the wrong reasons. Ben and Frankie tried to get me to break up with her for a long time, but I couldn’t because I was afraid of my parents, and I was afraid of letting them down.”
“And now?”
“They can rot in Hell for all I care.”
“They’re your parents, Henry.”
“What kind of parents threaten their children’s future if they don’t do exactly as they’re told? Even as adults. They’re trying to keep me away from you. My father said that hearing/deaf relationships can never work.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said.
“I don’t either, but it doesn’t matter. Because they believe it so it’s true in their eyes. Everything with them is black and white. There are no shades of gray anywhere.”
“Would they have felt differently if Abigail was still alive and dating a hearing man?”
“I asked my father that and he said Abigail wouldn’t be stupid enough to date a hearing man.”
“And he knows this how?” She cocked her head.
“It’s what he believes in his mind. Abigail was always perfect in his eyes. That’s why they don’t want me to see you. And I’m not telling you this to hurt you. I’m telling you so you know I am nothing like them.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“I think the main reason is because you’re a reminder of what they lost. I remember being at the store with my mother when I was younger, and I saw this man signing to one of the salesclerks. He didn’t speak and she couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell her. So, I walked over and interpreted for him. My mother grabbed my arm and dragged me away. She told me I was never allowed to talk to another deaf person again, especially in public, and I was never allowed to use sign language.”
“That’s awful!”
“Did my mother use sign language when she spoke to at the café?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Interesting.” I narrowed my eye. “Can I pour you some more wine?” I pointed to her empty glass.
“No thanks.” She let out a long yawn. “I’m tired as it is. Actually, I think I’m going to head to bed.”
“You’ve had a long day. Go get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning. By the way, the remote control for the blinds is sitting on the nightstand.”
She gave me a smile as she got up from the couch.
“Good night, Henry.”
“Good night, Ellie. Sweet dreams.”
I watched her walk up the stairs and then she was out of sight. Taking my scotch out to the deck, I leaned over the railing and stared out at the dark water, listening to the sound of the waves crash against the shore.
Ellie
I climbed in bed, grabbed the remote for the blinds, pressed the button and watched as they came down. A feeling of sadness rushed through me when Henry told me about his parents. I could tell he was ashamed and that explained why he never said too much about them before.
I was exhausted and my brain was tired from too much thinking. Plus, I was still on New York time and jetlagged. So, I closed my eyes and peacefully drifted to sleep.
The next morning, I awoke to the smell of something burning. Climbing out of bed, I went downstairs and saw Henry in the kitchen.
“
What is that smell?” I asked as I walked over to him.
“Good morning. That would be me burning the pancakes.”
I cocked my head and gave him a smile.
“Why do you even try?” I asked.
“I wanted to make you breakfast, and I know pancakes are your favorite. Go sit down, I’ll make some new ones and I promise not to burn them this time,” he signed.
“I have an idea. Why don’t you go sit down and let me make them?”
“But then I won’t be making breakfast for you,” he signed.
“I like to cook. You know that. So go.” I shooed him away.
“At least let me pour you a cup of coffee,” he said.
“I’d love some.”
After Henry gave me my coffee, he took a seat at the island and watched while I made another batch of pancake mix.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Really good. You?”
“Good. I was thinking we could drive to Santa Monica today and check out the Pier. I think you’ll like it there.”
“Sounds fun. I’d like to go.”
“Okay. Then we’ll head out after breakfast,” he signed with a smile.
After I poured the batter in the pan, he walked over and stood next to me.
“Don’t you think you should turn the heat up? It looks too low,” he signed.
“That is why you burned the pancakes.” I pointed the spatula at him. “Go sit down. They’ll be ready soon.”
After they were done, I set Henry’s on a plate, grabbed a can of whipped cream from the refrigerator and drew a smiley face.
“There you go.” I set the plate down in front of him.
“That’s great, Ellie. Thank you,” he signed with a grin.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for attempting to make me breakfast.”
