The Husband She Never Knew

“You can forget about those few pieces you went to Virginia to buy and come home immediately.”

“I wish I could, but—”

“You’ll be the talk of the Boulevard once we get this merchandise into the shop. But there’s work to be done, Victoria. You have to be here to receive the shipment.”

“There’s a storm brewing, Graham,” she said. “Haven’t you been watching the news? I can’t leave right now.”

“A storm? You mean that little tropical depression?”

“That little depression has grown up.” Vicki tightened her grip on the receiver. “It’s not like I planned it, Graham. I’ll be home well ahead of the shop opening, which is still almost two weeks away.”

“Where exactly are you, Victoria?”

She stole a peek at Jamie again. He wiggled his fingers in a little wave. There was no doubt in her mind that he was listening to everything she said. “Where am I? Didn’t I tell you I was staying at the Ramada in Norfolk?” She was becoming almost as good at evading as lying.

Graham breathed a heavy sigh. Vicki pictured him swiveling in his executive chair to face the wall of windows in his eighteenth-floor Miami office. The sight of the ocean a few blocks away might calm some people, but she doubted it was having that effect on Graham. “Yes, I guess you did,” he said with a deliberate show of patience. “Just please get back here as soon as you can. You have to sign the bill of lading for customs to release the furniture.”

“I know. I’ll be home as soon as the storm lets up.”

There was a pause followed by a calming breath this time. “Of course you will, sweetheart. I know that. I’m just uptight today. The important thing is, you’re not in any danger, are you?”

The Bucket o’ Luck picked that exact moment to lurch against the dock and rock back and forth several times before finding its equilibrium. Vicki grabbed the edge of an end table to steady herself. “I told you, I’m in a perfectly safe place. Don’t worry.” She imagined the trees swaying dramatically just outside the window. Even Mother Nature was mocking her lies.

“Okay, then. I’ll call you later. I’ve got this number on my cell-phone call record.”

All at once Vicki hated technology. “You’re going to call me here?”

“Of course. I am worried about you, Victoria.”

“Don’t be. I’ll be home before you know it.”

The lights in the houseboat flickered once, twice, then a critical third time. Vicki was plunged into the deepest, darkest void she’d ever known. She squealed, reached out, but couldn’t even see her hand. A second later, the glow of a fluorescent lantern outlined shapes in the living room. She saw Jamie with matches and candles in his hand, and she breathed normally again.

“Victoria, what’s wrong?” Graham asked. “You screamed.”

“Nothing. It was a bug, that’s all. Ran right across my shoe, but I killed it. I have to go now.” She ended the connection and stared at Jamie. He’d lit candles and a pleasant scent filled the room, reminding her of Christmas in the stores of Maple Grove, Indiana.

But Vicki could not relax. Now Jamie knew what a liar she was. He’d heard her weave a grid of deceit for the man she planned to marry. She didn’t know why that knowledge distressed her. After all, her relationship with Jamie was based on deception.

Jamie carried two plates to the dining table and went back for cutlery and napkins. When she didn’t come to the table, he asked, “Are you all right, Vicki? I told you we’d lose power, but we’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I guess I’m not as hungry as I thought.”

He brought a pitcher of milk from the kitchen and pulled out a chair. “Sit down, girl. No one can resist Jamie Malone’s stew. And besides, your almost fiancé won’t be calling you.” He gestured toward the phone. “That’s always the next thing to go.”

She sat woodenly. The stew smelled delicious, and now that the power was out, it would probably be the last hot meal she and Jamie would share for hours. She should try to eat. She picked up her fork and scooped a mound of beef and potatoes. The utensil was halfway to her mouth when she realized why she was so distressed that Jamie had heard her lies.

I’ve just lied to the man I love, she said to herself. The man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. She stared across the table at Jamie, who enjoyed his meal with all the gusto she lacked. And then there’s you, she thought. Once the storm is over, I’ll never see you again, and everything I’ve told you is the truth.

The irony of the revelation struck her with as much force as whatever bulky thing suddenly thumped and banged across the roof of the houseboat.

CHAPTER FOUR

VICKI JERKED and nearly fell out of her chair. Fear tingling in her every nerve, she looked at the ceiling. “What was that?”

Jamie glanced up, then took a swallow of milk. “A loblolly branch, I imagine.”

“You mean the trees are flying?”

He gazed at her with a half grin curving his lips. “I said ‘branch’ Vicki. And I’m only guessing. If it had been a whole tree, I’d know for sure what kind it is because it would be sticking through a wall of the houseboat. I’m assuming it was a loblolly because the sound started here—” he pointed to the ceiling at the bow and slowly moved his finger to the stern “—and ended there. There’s a thicket of loblolly trees by the front of the boat. My suspicion is that one of them is now missing a fairly good-size limb.”

“It’s so frustrating not being able to see,” Vicki said. “We don’t know what’s going on out there.”

Jamie cupped a hand around his ear, drawing attention to the eerie sounds beyond the houseboat walls. “Oh, I think we have a pretty good idea. Besides, there’s still the door. You can have a look whenever you want.”

“No, thanks. I tried that, remember?”

He smiled. “Look, Vicki, if you’re going to jump at every little sound for the next few hours, you better tie yourself down. It’s only going to get worse.”

He was right. She took a deep breath, then dug into the tasty stew again. After a moment she heard another strange noise, a thumping coming from under the table. Forcing herself to remain composed, she looked to Jamie for an explanation.

He gestured down to a nearly hairless tail curling around a table leg. “It’s Beasley. He’s scratching his ear. I hear that even when there isn’t a storm.”

“Oh.” Vicki leaned over and patted the dog’s head. She expected his gray fur to be soft, but instead, each individual hair felt like a brush bristle. He lolled his head to one side and gazed up at her, his marble-size golden eyes holding something almost like adoration. “I wish I could accept this hurricane as calmly as you do,” she said to the animal.

A gust of wind rattled a metal panel on the window nearest her. Vicki forced herself not to react by concentrating on Beasley. “What kind of dog is he?”

Jamie swiped at a pool of gravy with a thick corner of bread. “Nobody knows. He wandered up the causeway three years ago. I don’t know where he came from or why he decided to stay. But he did. In all that time I’ve never spoken about his questionable parentage. I can’t see making a creature feel bad over something that was none of his doing.”

An image of her parents flashed through Vicki’s mind. Her drab, defeated mother, whose grease-stained apron symbolized the lack of attention she gave all the details of her existence. Her indolent father, who complained of aches and pains in every part of his body while he sat in a patched recliner watching an ancient television. Nils Sorenson blamed government taxes for his inability to buy a new TV. He never once considered that he might be able to save enough money to buy a nice set if he worked as hard on the farm as he did making excuses.

Jamie was right. People couldn’t change their origins. Remembering the way he’d looked thirteen years ago, she figured he’d experienced that frustrating fact of life almost as much as she had. But maybe Jamie had been lucky enough to have parents who’d encouraged him emotionally if not financially.

Jamie stood and picked up his plate. “Yep, Beasley’s story is pretty much the way life is here on Pintail Point,” he said.

“Why is that?”

He stacked her empty plate on top of his. “On any given day, I never know what or who is going to wander down the causeway. Or how long they’re going to stay.”

Vicki knew exactly how long she was staying on Pintail. Well, maybe not the precise hour she would leave, but she knew that the minute the wind stopped howling and the water receded from the causeway, she would get into her rented car, the divorce papers signed and tucked safely into her briefcase, and head back to Norfolk, where she’d catch the next plane to Fort Lauderdale. With a little luck that would happen before Graham became more impatient with her absence.

Still, if she had to endure a hurricane, she could do far worse than to be with Jamie Malone. He certainly had a calming effect in the midst of a meteorological nightmare.

They finished the dishes quickly, using hot water sparingly so there would be enough left for a couple of showers. When the supper utensils were put away, Jamie went to the living room and picked up the telephone. He gave Vicki an I-told-you-so look. “Future husband number two won’t be able to reach you tonight.”

What should have been good news was suddenly alarming. If Graham couldn’t reach her here, he would probably call information for the number of the Ramada Hotel. The phones might not be out in Norfolk, and he’d discover that she wasn’t at the hotel and in fact, hadn’t even registered. She’d have to come up with a logical explanation for her supposed change in plans… Well, she thought, she could avoid the problem by contacting Graham before he tried to contact her. A good offense was always the best defense.

“Do you have a cell phone?” she asked Jamie.