Moving his eyes from John to her, he scoffed. "Sure. I wouldn"t let you get into his wagon if I didn"t. Just don"t plan on having any long conversations with him."
"I won"t." She extended her hand. "Thank you for a very easy, very smooth trip."
Rick took her hand in a warm, firm grip. "You"re welcome. Now go fly off and conquer this island."
"I will." Reluctantly, Jade pulled away. "Goodbye, Rick."
The heart-stopping smile returned. "Goodbye, Jade."
She took a couple of steps backwards, holding onto his face with her eyes before turning towards the wagon.
ANN DREW JADE into a tight embrace as John set her bags on the wooden floor of the shop and left. "I"m so glad you"re finally here! I"ve been lost in cardboard and newspapers for two days now, and there"s still more to unpack, let alone everything that has to be set up and dusted..." Her voice faded away as she tucked a loose strand of honey blonde hair that had worked its way free from the pigtail behind her left ear. "I"m beginning to think I made a mistake taking over this shop, Jade"
"Don"t worry. We"ll get it done. You just tell me what to do." She pushed up the sleeves of her pink turtleneck.
"Ah, fresh optimism, I need it." Ann chuckled as she picked up Jade"s backpack. "Come on. I"ll show you to your apartment first."
Jade grabbed her two duffels and followed. "You look good, Ann."
"You mean for a thirty-three year old, twice-divorced woman, dealing with an early mid-life crisis while taking on a busy resort island trinket shop and hoping to find husband number three to whisk me away to the land of luxury? Thanks." She led the way around the cash counter and to a door right behind it. "So, how was the trip over?"
"Fine." Jade waited as Ann opened the door that led upstairs.
"This wind didn"t bother you?"
"It didn"t pick up until after we arrived."
"Did you meet anyone interesting on the flight?"
Jade decided not to tell Ann about Rick for the moment. "A couple," she replied.
Ann sighed. "I"ve only met John so far."
"Well, when we"re all set up, you"ll have time to go visit."
Ann set the backpack beside the only door on the left-hand side of the dim hallway, turned the k.n.o.b and pushed. "There"s that fresh optimism again. You"d better bottle it for later when we"re both about to throw up our hands and cry. Now, go change into something you don"t mind getting dirty in, and come back downstairs. We have a lot of work to do."
THE NIGHT WAS too warm and sticky for the end of April, and the air smelled of rain. Jade had opened the front door an hour ago to cool the place off, and once in a while she caught the tantalizing whiff of daffodils before the breeze shifted, taking away the delightful smell and cool relief with it. Thoughts of those cheerful looking yellow flowers made Jade resolve to talk Ann into letting her set up a couple of window boxes just outside the front door.
Returning her attention to the boxes, she continued to load the contents on a desk sitting near the front window. Ann had taken a spot at the cash counter and was busy tearing down all the empty cartons for recycling. Soft piano music floated out of the sound system, helping to keep both women calm in the face of all the mess. Little by little, every flat surface in the store was being filled with trinkets, books and oddities, while cardboard boxes, newspaper and packing peanuts were tossed on the floor. It looked like a tornado had blown through, but Jade knew that it would look better when the first of the tourists were supposed to arrive in a week.
Sweat beaded her forehead, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand before bringing up a small package with a return address label from the Florida Keys. Opening the carton with a little less energy than she had three hours ago, she found a wooden jewelry box with a strange spiral symbol carved on its top nestled in a bed of newspapers. Carefully, she pulled it from its wrappings, nudged the carton onto the floor with her elbow, and set the box on the desktop. Lifting the lid, she discovered four small velvet pouches tucked inside, each in a different deep, jewel tone color.
She picked up the royal blue pouch and held it in the air. "What"s this?"
"What"s what?" Ann glanced up from slicing and dicing another carton.
"This."
"Oh, that. It"s a good luck medallion created from a silver coin found in a shipwreck site in the Florida Keys. I bought it, and the others in that box, over the Internet from some guy down there."
Jade reached into the small bag and pulled out a medallion hanging from an intricate silver chain. The image of a ship crashing through the waves was embossed on the front, and another odd raised spiral symbol was on the back. She dangled the trinket from its chain and admired how the shop lights brought out the colors of blue and green around the edges. It was almost like she was holding a piece of the sea.
"That one"s meant for safe journeys," Ann stated, going back to breaking down the boxes. "There"s also one for romance, one for good fortune, and one for healthy children. I figure they"re all hogwash, but what the heck, someone will buy them just because they"re pretty. There should be a card for each one telling their story. I"m not sure how best to display them-maybe punch a small hole in the card and slip the chain..." She dropped the utility knife on the counter and sighed. "Oh, h.e.l.l. Let"s call it a night. I"ll take this cardboard out back. Drag some of that junk away from the front door and close it, okay?"
"Okay." With great reluctance Jade dropped the mesmerizing decoration into its pouch and laid it back in its box. She ran her fingers over the velvet one last time, startled when she didn"t feel the metal"s solidness beneath it. Panic set in as she realized that she must have dropped it into the ma.s.s of newspaper and boxes she was standing in. Swearing under her breath, she got down on her hands and knees and began to search. But looking for a thin piece of silver in the gray, black, and white heap was like looking for a diamond in a bin of ice.
"Need some help?"
Jade was so surprised to hear Rick"s voice that she almost failed to grasp the missing necklace as her hand ran past it in her desperate search. Her heart jumped as her eyes shot up to focus on the man standing over her. "You scared the daylights out of me, Rick."
"Sorry. The door was open so I didn"t knock."
Wrapping her fingers around the charm, she sat back on her legs and stared at him. His hat was gone, there was a bead of sweat at his temple, and she could see signs of fatigue at the corners of his eyes. But that smile of his could still make her heart jump a beat. "What are you doing here?"
He extended his hand to her. "My good deed for the day."
She accepted his a.s.sistance and rose to her feet, the medallion clutched tight in her left hand. "You mean saving me from this mess?"
"That." He released her and reached back to where he"d thrown his jacket over a shelf. "And this."
Jade blinked as he pulled a hardcover novel out from beneath it. "My book?"
"I found it in the corner of the cargo hold this evening while I was loading stuff to go back to the mainland."
"But how did you know it was mine?"
"I saw you reading it this afternoon. It"s a good mystery. I read it myself a few weeks ago and-"
"Don"t spoil the ending for me!" She widened her eyes in mock horror.
Rick chuckled and then leaned against a shelving unit. "So this is The Curiosity Cove?"
"Yep. It looks bad, I know." Jade dropped the book on top of a box. "But we have a week to put it all together."
"Well, h.e.l.lo there." Ann"s sultry voice slipped into their conversation.
Jade was not at all surprised that her friend"s man-radar was leading her right in his direction, and she fought the sudden urge to intercept her before she reached her target. "Hey, Ann. This is Captain Rick Montgomery, the pilot of the plane I came over on. He just brought over the book I left on board."
"I see." Ann smiled and held out her long, slender hand to him. "It"s nice to meet you, Captain Montgomery. I"m Ann Spencer, owner of this chaos you"re standing in the middle of."
"It looks like some interesting chaos," he replied, taking her hand for just a second.
"That"s what I like to hear."
Jade then caught one of Ann"s signature moves: the crossing of her arms just under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and a long, deep inhale. It was designed to give the man in her sights a nice view of her ample chest. And since the first three b.u.t.tons of her blue and green plaid flannel shirt were already undone, Jade knew Rick was getting a jaw-dropping view of her cleavage. A quiet sigh escaped Jade"s lips as she peered down at her own middle-sized chest, which was covered by an oversized, cut-up blue and white Indianapolis Colts T-shirt. No compet.i.tion there. But as she looked back up, she caught a smirk from Rick and suddenly felt foolish for worrying about her breast size.
"Would you like to look around, Rick?" Ann tilted her head at him. "I"m sure I can find something in all this mess that would interest you."
"I"m sure you could, but I"m flying to the mainland in less than an hour."
"Why so late?"
"Well, someone has to take pa.s.sengers and cargo back after hours. Tonight"s my turn. But I don"t mind. It gives me a chance to explore the island after most of the tourists leave for the night." He tossed a knowing wink at Jade that made her tingle from head to toe. She returned his conspiratorial smile, the warmth of having a shared joke spreading through her like b.u.t.ter on bread fresh from the oven.
"I see." Ann dropped her arms and stepped beside him. Reaching out for a piece of newspaper on the shelf next to his arm, she brushed it gently. "I haven"t had a chance to do that yet."
"I"m sure you will." Rick straightened, grabbed his jacket, and threw it over his shoulder. "And now I need to go. It was nice meeting you, Ann."
"Can I walk you out?" Jade asked before Ann could volunteer.
"Sure." He reached out to take her hand.
"Stop back again when you have the chance, Captain." Ann"s voice was quiet as she let the piece of newspaper fall from her hand and flutter to her feet.
"I will. Goodnight."
The music from the store faded into the quiet of the night as Jade and Rick stepped onto the wooden boardwalk that ran in front of and along the western side of the store. A line of tall streetlights stood like soldiers along Main Street. Their glow highlighted the strong sway of hanging signs in the growing strength of the wind.
Silently, Jade let Rick maneuver them away from the front doors and toward the ferry docks, which were dimly lit and quiet since the water was still frozen. The indigo sky was void of stars. The air seemed even warmer than it had earlier and the humidity level had risen.
"I think it"s going to rain soon," Jade stated as she leaned her bare forearms on a narrow railing. Making sure not to drop the medallion, she gazed down at the ice around the dock"s supports.
"It is." Rick leaned backwards on the railing beside her and glanced westward. "Actually, it"s supposed to storm." A forceful gust of wind pushed at them, as if to make his point.
She looked away from the ice. "Then isn"t it too dangerous to fly?"
"Not if I take off soon. My cargo"s all loaded, and what few pa.s.sengers I have should be on their way to the airport right now. I should be safely landed at Gordon"s before the squalls. .h.i.t."
"Good." She pushed herself off the railing and watched his hair flutter in the breeze. Hooking her thumbs into the front pockets of her jeans, she drew in a long breath. "I don"t like storms."
He turned his head to her. "Oh, I don"t mind them, as long as I"m not a few thousand feet off the ground."
Jade chuckled. Somewhere up the lamp-lit street people walked by, talking and laughing quietly. A second later, the clip-clop of horse hooves mingled with the jingle of a harness. And then there was silence again.
"This is nice." Rick"s rich voice interrupted the peaceful companionship between them. "Susan and I used to sit in the darkness and listen to the island sounds for hours."
"Susan?" Jade feigned ignorance.
"My wife. She died two years ago."
"I"m sorry."
He reached up to run his fingers through his hair and stared across the docks. "She loved the island as much as anyone could. She was an interpreter at Fort Mackinac, and her dream was to sell our condo in Mackinaw City and live here fulltime. It"s really expensive, but I was willing to do anything to make her happy. She was my whole life; my world." He paused for a second and drew in a deep breath.
There was a long pause as Jade studied at the man in front of her, staring into the distance as if trying to see the past. His last statement rolled around in the warm breeze that continued to pick up in intensity.
Then, in an instant, the mood changed. A smile returned to his face, and he shifted his eyes to her. "But you don"t want to hear all this."
"I don"t mind," she replied, bringing up her right hand to push away the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and into her eyes. "You listened to me go on about my life this afternoon."
His grin turned into the same amused smirk that had crossed his face back at the airport. "But that was fun. I liked watching you spin around like a top and shout into the air like a loony person."
Jade laughed and slapped him on the arm. "Get out of here, Montgomery."
The medallion suddenly warmed in her grip, and she quickly grabbed his arm. "No. Wait."
"Make up your mi-"
"Here." She grabbed Rick"s right hand and dropped it into his palm.
"What is this?" He stared at the piece of silver.
She crossed her arms. "It"s a charm that promises safe journeys. I was looking for it when you saved me from the trash monster. It"s made from a coin found at a Florida Keys shipwreck site. I know it"s probably just silly, but I like it. I"m not sure what the symbol on the back means and-" She stopped herself. "Oh, heck. Like I said, it"s silly."
Rick closed his hand around the piece. "No. It"s not. Thank you."
"You"re welcome."
"I"ll bring it back the next time I"m in town."
"No. Keep it. I want you to be safe all the time, not just tonight."
Slowly, he reached out to touch her cheek. His hand was still wrapped tight around the medallion while his thumb gently caressed the side of her face. "You"re a very special woman, Jade Reynolds."
Jade allowed herself to enjoy the feel of his touch for a short time before finally, reluctantly, reaching up to take his hand away. "If you don"t get out of here right now and beat the storm, that medallion will really have to prove it works." Her voice was soft as she squeezed his fist tight.
"I know." Rick raised their joined hands and kissed the top of hers gently. "I"ll come see you tomorrow. I promise."
"Please be careful."
"I will." He touched the tip of her nose with his index finger then took a step back. "I think I"ll bring Lawson with me. I know he"d love a personal tour of the shop from Ann."
Jade laughed as China"s comment of Captain Lawson being a "gray-haired gigolo" flashed through her mind. He might just be Ann"s type. "And she"d love giving it to him," she called after him, giving him a wave before wrapping her arms around herself.
He blew her a kiss, then turned and faded into the darkness of the street. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she stood on the lamp-lit dock and let the wind whip around her.
She almost, almost, did her happy spin again.
"WHY DON"T YOU cut it a little closer next time, Montgomery!" Toby tried to shout over the wind as he sat in the driver"s seat of his truck; aiming the headlights at the plane"s stairway. "You knew these storms were heading our way!"
"This one blew up out of nowhere, old man!" Rick hollered back as he stood at the top of the stairs and watched his four pa.s.sengers race into the oncoming storm and jump into their vehicles. When he saw they were all safely on their way, he ducked into the c.o.c.kpit to grab his jacket, keys and the medallion that he"d hung from one of the radio k.n.o.bs.
The wind shook the plane as he glanced out the windshield to see Toby move his huge pickup truck to the nose, jump out, and grab the tow line from the bed. Rushing back outside, Rick leaped from the stairs and landed on the tarmac just as a huge gust blew between the buildings. Through the dust and dirt, he quickly raised and secured the hatch, then threw his stuff into the truck"s pa.s.senger seat before heading for the hangar. He groaned into the wind, slid the metal doors open and stepped away as Toby finished hitching the plane to the truck. Dirt, dust and spits of rain beat at him as he shielded his eyes and watched the truck and his plane head his way. The moment they were both inside the large open s.p.a.ce, he unhooked the towline.
"I warned you to get back here before midnight," Toby grunted as he jumped out of the truck and helped Rick push the plane into its parking spot. "But did you listen to me?"
"I did get back here in time! I told you, this storm formed out of nowhere." But Rick knew a big part of why he"d cut it so close had been a certain beautiful woman he"d found sitting in a pile of newspapers wearing worn-out black jeans and a cut-off T-shirt that showed off her very s.e.xy, full curves. He wasn"t about to admit that to Toby, though. He tossed the rope into the rear of the truck.