Love at Large (17 page)

She spun in tight circles, laughing at the childish, light feeling in her soul until her head began to swim and she slowed to a stop. As her vision steadied, she saw Rick leaning back against his plane, arms folded across his chest, staring at her with an amused smirk on his face.

“What’s so funny?” she asked as she propped her hands on her hips.

“You,” he replied with a pleasant chuckle. “You looked like a pink and blue helicopter.”

“I can’t help it. I’m happy to be here.”

“I can tell.”

Her hands spread out to the air again as she walked towards him. “I finally quit the boring bank teller job that I put up with for ten years. I said ‘see you in six months’ to my loving but much too motherly big sister. And I’m finally out of a loveless three-year marriage to my ex-best friend which was only created because Jeff and I didn’t want to be single anymore.”

“You’re divorced?”

“It’ll be a month next week.”

His chuckle returned. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

Jade’s eyes locked onto Rick’s. And though he was still smiling, in the bottomless depths of his light brown eyes she could see a hint of sorrow hiding there. She fought the need to ask him if he was happy.

“Then by all means, spin,” he said, as the sorrow retreated into the shadows at the same time his hand reached out to take her left arm. “You deserve it.”

“Jade Reynolds?”

A deep voice resonated through her, and she turned to see an unkempt, giant-sized man standing behind her.

“Are you Ms. Reynolds?” he repeated.

Rick moved his hand from her arm to just below the back of her neck. “Hey, John.”

“Captain Montgomery.” John nodded, unmoved and somber before returning his attention to Jade. “Ann Spencer sent me to get you. My wagon’s over there.” He jerked his large thumb over his shoulder towards a dirty, green-colored, flatbed wagon with a long box serving as the seat. Two large bay horses were flicking their tails and waiting with great patience for their master to return. “She said that if you took the Main Street taxi, she’d be dead in a sea of boxes and newspapers before you got there. Are these your bags?” He nudged the bags at Rick’s feet with an oversized boot.

Before either one could answer, he seized the luggage and swung them over his shoulder with ease. “Ready to go?”

“In a minute.”

The big man nodded and headed for his wagon, lugging her bags as if they weighed nothing at all. Jade turned back to Rick. “Who’s that?”

“John Sanders. He’s been on this island for years; does odd jobs and errands for everyone. Nice enough guy, but he always makes me think of Lurch from the Addams Family when I see him.”

She grinned at his words. “So you think I’ll be safe with him?”

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.

A
NN DREW
J
ADE
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 knob 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.”

T
HE 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, hell. 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 mass 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 assistance 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, hello 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 breasts 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 buttons 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 competition 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 passengers 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 butter 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.