On the Island…
“It’s been four hours, shit for brains. Still think your darling Denise is asleep?”
“Dr. Camellia would be really upset if he heard how you speak to me, Duke. Maybe I should call him.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“If you don’t start being nice to me, I might.”
“You won’t call. You’re too much of a pussy. And if by some miracle you do find the balls to dial the doc, he’ll send the white coats again. Stick you back in that dark room all alone. Maybe this time they’ll force you into that jacket like the rest of the freaks.”
“Dr. Camellia told me to ignore you. He says you’re no good for me.”
“Friggin’ shrinks. What do they know? The doc’s never looked out for you. I’m the one who’s had your back your entire life. I’m the one who stands up for you while you’re cowering in the corner. I’m the one who doesn’t let filthy whores use you, always begging to buy ‘em this and that. Me! You’d be wise to remember that, little brother.”
Tears gathered like storm clouds as Dale stared at Denise, still sprawled across the sand. “You’re right, Duke. I’m sorry I threatened you.” He dropped his chin to his chest. “It wasn’t a very nice thing to do after all you’ve done for us.”
“All right, all right, don’t cry. You know I hate that shit. Hey, I bet your toys are lonely. Why don’t you go play for a while before lunch.”
“Great idea, Duke. If I haven’t told you lately, you’re the best brother in the whole wide world.” Dale rushed to the picnic table, surrounded by tall conifers, and sat across from Chip and Tom. About a week ago, they came to the island with dishonorable intentions, but Duke helped them to see the error of their ways. He was always so generous that way.
The soft aroma of evergreen rode the summer wind, dried pine needles cascading over the soil. Sap stuck to Dale’s elbows when he rested his chin in weaved hands. “You guys must be getting hungry. I was thinking of grilling a few hot dogs. Doesn’t that sound yummy? You guys love hot dogs, right?” Without waiting for a response, he rose to his feet. “I’ll go fire up the grill. We’re gonna have so … much … fun! Oh, if you wouldn’t mind, could you ask the girls what they want? I won’t be far. Just give a holler.” Strolling away, he waved over his head. “Thank you.”
Dale dashed into the rustic cabin for long, wooden matches while softly humming, “In Case You Didn’t Know.” From the moment he heard the song, he’d adopted it as his own because the words portrayed the very things he longed to tell Denise.
To date, he never had.
After Duke’s less-than-favorable way of inviting her to the island, Dale figured it best to ease into the relationship. Dreams of spending a lifetime with Denise grew stronger with each pitter-patter, pitter-patter of his heart.
While slicing lines into the beef franks—Mom taught him to do exactly three cuts per dog, no more, no less—the steak knife nicked the tip of his finger. Blood dribbled onto the buns he’d piled on the serving tray. Trying to slow the bleeding, he sucked the wound clean, and an irony sweetness seeped into his tastebuds.
Did everyone’s blood taste the same?
Shoot. Would his guests notice the bloodstains? Meh. Once he toasted the buns on the grill, he bet no one could tell the difference. Where were Chip and Tom? He heaved a sigh. Maybe Duke’s right about being the only trustworthy individual on the island. Chip and Tom never obeyed.
Flames burned in his gut as he rotated toward the door. A millisecond later, he shrugged off the anger. Even with limited menu choices the girls may still be undecided. He could wait. Another minute or two wouldn’t hurt. Mom always said girls had to worry about calories and stuff, that being pretty took work, and that boys should appreciate their effort. Duke never listened to Mom—instead, he got the belt—but Dale did. He’d memorized every tidbit she’d shared over the years.
Oh, right. He should probably make a few hamburgers, too. Denise despised hot dogs.
Nadine and Christopher helped us clear the way to the wave runners. Levaughn and I each grabbed hold of the trailer and dragged it out of the garage.
“That was a lot easier than I thought,” I said, letting go.
“The hard part will be pulling it downhill without it getting away from us.” Levaughn turned his gaze to Christopher. “We may need you for this.”
“Sure. No problem.”
I snarled. “You think you can handle it, lover boy?”
“I’m so sick of your digs, Shawnee.”
“Maybe you shoulda thought of that before screwing the walking dead.”
“Enough! Nadine’s forgiven me, so you need to just let it go.”
“Umm …” Nay hesitated. “I never said I forgave you.”
“Ooh, snap. Guess she told you.” I raised a closed fist. “Bump it, girlfriend. Nice shot to the ego.”
Chin tucked to his chest, Christopher skulked down to the water.
I called out, “Is that a no on helping with the wave runner?”
“Maybe I should apologize,” said Nadine. “He didn’t deserve that. I humiliated him.”
I laid my hands on her shoulders. “Did you deserve to get your heart ripped out?
What if he didn’t choose Aunt Patti—which, honestly, I still can barely wrap my head around—and instead screwed some pig with the clap? Or worse, AIDS?”
Silent, her eyes flashed wide.
“Relax. All I’m sayin’ is, let him brood. Trust me on this. Next time, maybe he won’t be so quick to whip it out.”
“Do you have to be so crude?”
I raised splayed fingers to my chest. “Me? I’m just stating the facts.”
“I know you’re tryin’ to protect me, Shawnee, but we took this vacation to see if we could work things out. The least I could do is try.”
“Fine. Hey, it’s your life. Tell me one thing, though. Does he still make you happy?”
“I dunno. Things haven’t been right for a while. I think he could make me happy again, yeah.”
Backing away, I flashed my hands in surrender. “Then go. If this is what you want, you won’t hear another word outta me.”
And so, she did. Like a puppy chasing his adopted father, she hurried after him, her long, dark ponytail swishing like a zebra tail.
“You’re oddly quiet,” I said to Levaughn as he fiddled with the trailer. “What’s up?”
“Leave me out of it. I’m only here to spend time with my love.”
In an instant, my heart melted into goo. “Nicely played, Detective.”
His brilliant white teeth gleamed against his bronze skin, and I chewed on a closed fist as my gaze traveled down to the bulge in his camouflage shorts.
With the tip of his finger, he wiped a spot of drool off my lower lip. “Careful. Your frisky side is showing.”
“Right.” I cleared my throat, trying to shake the X-rated images from my mind. “Where were we?”
“We still need help getting these wave runners to the beach.”
Out of nowhere, this brawny dude in fatigues, a black T-shirt, and dark-tinted shades strode up behind us, and I jumped. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to startle you. Going downhill, trailers can easily topple over. Or worse, get going too fast. If something happened, I’d never forgive myself for not coming over to help. We’re staying next door. Do you need a hand?”
By the way Levaughn shook the guy’s hand he seemed fine with the stranger in our midst. “Thanks. I’m Levaughn and this is Shawnee.”
“Nice to meet you. Friends call me Boomer.”
“You have a beautiful family, Boomer. When we first pulled into the driveway, your wife and daughter waved to us. She’s adorable.”
They did? Where the hell was I?
“Thanks. Daphne’s not my wife yet. Soon though. And Maya, well, she’s our happy little girl. If only we could see the world through a child’s eye, eh?”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
What the—? Since when did Levaughn get all buddy-buddy with strangers? Don’t get me wrong. The dude seemed nice enough, but who was he? Why was he really here? I wasn’t buying his bullshit about helping us. He must want something.
“I noticed the tattoo on the back of your shoulder, Levaughn. Let me guess. Marines?”
“Semper Fi.”
He jerked a thumb toward his chest. “SEAL, retired.”
Ah, okay. This is one of those military things, where brothers in arms help each other. Gotcha.
“What sort of work do you do now?”
“I provide personal protection through Brotherhood Protectors, a group made up of retired Special Forces members, many of them SEALs. But this week, we’re on vacation. Daphne tells me my job is to relax. Easier said than done.”
“Ha! I hear ya.”
“Uh, guys?” I waited for them to acknowledge me. “As riveting as this conversation is, we’re burnin’ daylight.”
Levaughn chuckled. “Yes, dear.”
Boomer laughed too, but not for the same reason. “A man who knows when not to play with fire.”
In a comradery sort of way he slapped Boomer’s back. “Brother, if you only knew the half of it.”
“Believe me,” said Boomer, “I’ve got one at home just like her.”
I biffed our new pal’s arm. Wow. He’s built like the side of a cliff, almost as tall as one too. “What are we pets?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“For me to hear you?” My lips twisted into a sarcastic smirk. “Yeah, kinda figured that.”
Clearly uncomfortable, Boomer ran a finger inside the neckline of his T-shirt. “So, where do you want me?”
“If you two wanna hold the back end,” I suggested, “I can drag the trailer from the front.”
The three of us managed to get the wave runners down to the dock and into the water. Now all I needed was a lesson on how to ride it. How hard could it be? A quick YouTube tutorial showed me how to start, stop, and drive. It even showed me what to do in the event I flipped the thing, but I couldn’t imagine doing something so stupid.
I slipped the kill switch band over my wrist and latched the end to the stop button. Apparently, in the event of falling off, the band pulled the kill switch out of its notch so the wave runner wouldn’t circle back around and run me over. Good to know.
“It says in the video we need ski vests,” I told Levaughn. “Did you see any in the garage?”
“Yup. There’s a whole rack of ‘em by the door. I’ll get ‘em.”
Levaughn and Boomer trekked back up the incline. My man’s sculptured calves and firm ass sent tingles to all the right spots. Mm-mmm.
With how quiet Nadine and Christopher appeared, the fractured couple staring out at the water with an obvious wall between them, I extended the offer to join us, even though Nadine had never felt comfortable on the water. She could swim somewhat, but I’d hate to witness her reaction if the watercraft capsized. Nonetheless, I gave it a shot. “You guys wanna come?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Nadine clutched a tight fist to her chest. “I think I’d rather ride in a boat.”
“A relaxing spin around the lake sounds nice.” Christopher weaved her fingers with his, and kissed the back of her hand. “On the drive in I saw signs for the lake cruise. They offer rides in a double-decker pontoon boat.”
Ignoring him, Nadine’s gaze traced me up and down. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
“Yeah. Why? Somethin’ wrong with cut-offs and a tank?”
“The motorcycle boots are a bit much.” Upper lip twitching, her glare lasered right through me. “Most people wear bathing suits to the beach, paired with a flattering sarong or sundress and topped with strappy-sandals or flip-flops.”
“Whatever.” I tsked my tongue. “In case you haven’t noticed in the twenty-eight years we’ve been friends, I’m not most people.”
She mumbled, “You can say that again.”
“Hey, how ‘bout this? Save your shit comments for your dog of a fiancé. I’m the one who’s never betrayed you.”
Nadine parted her lips to speak, but I beat her to it. “Okay, okay, so maybe I withheld a few things over the years. Big deal. You of all people gotta admit you can be a tad—what’s the word I’m looking for?—excitable at times.” In reality, Nadine had “drama queen” written all over her, but Levaughn shot me a sideways glance, silently begging me not to escalate their volatile situation. “At least I’ve never intentionally hurt you like some people.” I coughed Christopher’s name into a closed fist. Second cough. “Dick-wad.”
It took at least fifteen full minutes for Levaughn and Boomer to say goodbye. In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen him bond with anyone the way he did with our temporary neighbor. Granted, for most of that time we only saw each other at work, but cops got buddy-buddy all the time. Their blue blood ran deep, forever linking them together.
Not so for Levaughn.
After his partner died in the line of duty, he morphed into a loner. I wasn’t sure whether he pulled away on purpose to protect his heart, but it sure seemed that way to me. Did he blame himself? Did he fear if he got too close to another cop it might happen again? A second blow to the gut like the day Hawkeyes died—nicknamed for his ability to find evidence others missed—might destroy him. He did tell me losing a partner likened to the spiritual collapse of his soul. In his words, he only began to live again once he met me.
As much as I adored the sentiment, that’s a heavy load to carry. What if he pushed for marriage? He’d already bought the ring; I found it in his sock drawer while putting his laundry away.
Did he plan to ask again during our vacation? Part of me prayed he did; the realist in me knew better. I wasn’t meant to live “happily ever after.” Destiny carved my path long ago, a life interrupted by predators, killers, and psychopathic freaks. Simply put, if I were a car, I’d spend most of my time stalled in the breakdown lane as Jaguars, Corvettes, and Ferraris whipped by my window, threatening to sideswipe my doors, my body crashing into the ravine below.
Witnessing Levaughn and Boomer interact stirred feelings I’d buried years ago. It’s so unlike me to get emotional, too. Had Levaughn’s gentle and kind nature, not to mention his unwavering devotion, affected the way I viewed the world? Throughout my life I’d built a protective wall around my heart, and I remained unwilling to abandon it yet. See why I could never marry? Not only would I lose the whole cool factor, but what if I lost the very core of who I am?
When Boomer climbed his deck stairs, his fiancé was waiting for him. He cradled her face in his palms, kissed her, and then enveloped her in a warm embrace. For Levaughn’s sake, I should probably get to know her. If nothing else, when Nadine and Christopher got back to bickering, maybe we’d have the perfect escape next door.