Romancing the Storm: Second Chances (4 page)

We spend the next two days exploring the beaches so on the fourth day we head to the interior of the island through the lush green forest at our backyard. Up through hills and over tiny creeks we climb until we reach what seems to be the crest of the island. The waterfall plunges just on the other side into a beautiful pristine pool of water.

"Oh, we need to check this out," Judah says over the crashing falls.

We carefully climb down to the pool below and Judah jumps into the water. "Woo, it's so cool." He takes a taste. "It's fresh water too. Come on in."

I smile and remove my shoes and an outer tank top and shorts and jump in feet first. The fresh water surrounds me. "Oh my, this is brisk compared to the ocean water."

"Yeah, for sure. I love this. Hey come over here," he says and swims to the falls and goes through them. It scares me because it's a powerful rush. "Come on." He calls from the other side.

I hold my breath and swim through to find the falls creates a curtain and a small cave that juts into the mountain behind it. We scamper up the ledge to the cool stone and follow it back in the hollow. "Now this would be a cool camping trip. We should trek over here for one or two nights. What you say?" Judah asks with a big grin.

His sense of adventure is contagious. I shiver though looking around and wondering where we'd sleep or what we'd sleep on. "I guess," I say, and we both laugh because he knows I enjoy sleeping on soft surfaces.

He hops back into the water and swims through the falls, and I follow. He dives down to the bottom and resurfaces trying to grab me, but the water is crystal clear so I can see his every move. I yell when he grabs me and he comes up for air right behind me.

"Let's jump. We climb to the top and jump. This is plenty deep enough we can do it," he says as he swims to the shore.

I glance up at the falls, and it looks awfully steep to me. "I think I'll just wait down here and see how you do first," I say as I tread water in the middle.

He climbs to the top and does a Tarzan yell while standing at the edge of the falls. Then he pushes off and forms a perfect dive, fingers first straight down. My heart stops for a second as I watch in fear his perfect dive with very little splash. He dives deep and resurfaces.

"Woo, now that's exhilarating! You need to try it with me, Gracie," he says as he swims to me.

I shake my head. "No, chicken."

"Ah, come on. I'll hold your hand," Judah says to entice me as he swims over to me.

"I can't, this is different than the lake. It's smaller, and there're the falls."

"Look you can see the bottom. It's crystal clear and plenty deep enough for this. Come on, you haven't lived until you've dived off the top of a waterfall."

"I don't dive. Feet first only and if you dive, you can't hold my hand," I argue.

He chuckles as he scrambles to the edge. "Then I'll jump feet first with you. Come on," he demands.

I sigh and swim to the edge and climb with him to the top. We stand there looking down at the crashing water below, the sound deafening. My heart beats hard within my chest, and my hand rises instinctively to under my chin.

"Oh stop looking so scared. Hey, watch me jump in first, feet first and see. Then I'll come up, and we'll do it together, okay?"

"Okay," I say unconvincingly.

He steps back and makes a slight run before pushing off the ledge and falls feet first into the water making a big splash. Moments later he surfaces. "Woo, this is awesome," he says and shakes his head wildly, water flings all around him.

When he reaches the top again, he sees I'm still hesitant and puts his cold, wet arm around my shoulder.  "Come on. Let's make memories. You will regret it if you don't try it," he coaxes.

"Okay," I say and swallow hard. He grasps my hand, and we back up a few feet.

"One, two."

"Wait," I say and withdraw my hand. My heart is beating so hard I need to be able to catch my breath before I take the plunge.

"It's okay. I'm here I won't let you get hurt," he says as he rubs my arm.

I laugh. "Like you can save me from it."

"I can. Do you doubt me?" he asks his brown eyes piercing through mine. "So come on, gimme your hand, and don't think about it. Just jump. I have you."

I nod and even though I couldn't slow my pounding heart I take his hand, and we step back. He counts down from three, and we shove off feet first. I end up letting go of his hand as my hands fly up. "Weeee," I scream as we plunge down into the calm pool below. We land feet first in the water than then all the way down to the bottom. I open my eyes and see I'm almost at the bottom. I move my arms to the surface as I pull in a lung full of air. "Oh my, it was awesome."

"I told you. Now that you've done it you'll want to do it again and again. I know you," Judah says.

We spend another couple of hours doing that, jumping on the top of the falls and swimming in the pool below. It's like a dream, and I couldn't be happier.

Without a doubt, Judah stays true to his word and every single day is a great adventure. The next morning he steps outside the hut and throws his arms out. "Perfect," he exclaims.

"Well yeah," I say stepping out behind him.

"Another adventure awaits today my dear. I'm stretching you to do things you've never done for the first time," he says.

My mind flits back to Blaine. He has never done such a thing to make sure I have a great time. His going off like he did throw me for an emotional loop. Judah grins at me with eyebrows raised.

"Did you hear me?" he asks. I shake my head, and he chuckles. "I said we need to get ready for some
extreme
fun."

I gulp hard. "You scare me, you know that right? I mean how much more extreme can we get from jumping on the top of a waterfall?"

He chuckles. "You'll see." He winks at me. I disappear in the hut and dress in a one-piece suit and emerge ready to face whatever else dear Judah has planned.

After grabbing my hand, we head to the doc and have a seat at the end hanging our feet off and watching toward inland for a boat. "What are going to do? Let me guess, deep sea diving? Oh, you're giving me diving lessons?" I ask as I hop up and down on my bottom.

"Well now, I hadn't thought of that. Nope. This is opposite. Quite opposite," he says. We spot the boat in the distance bobbing up and down as it heads our way. He stands up and waves and pulls me up with him.

The boat arrives, a ski boat with a captain and another man. "Hello, I'm Neil Capers, I'll be instructing and helping with the sail," Neil Capers says and shakes our hands after the introductions.

"We're sailing?" I ask looking from Judah to Mr. Capers.

"Parasailing," Neil says. "And perfect time with the storm brewing there's some good winds for this."

My eyes grow wide as Judah helps me onto the boat. "Parasailing as in skiing with a parachute and lifting off?"

"You got it, babe," Judah says with a wink. He's such an adrenalin junkie and wants me to come along for his satisfaction.

"Okay, let me explain how its done," Neil says and we listen to his instructions on proper parasailing techniques. It all happens so fast I don't have time to protest or refuse. Judah has already paid for this adventure and its set.

"The best thing is we can experience this together! So I'll be right there with you," Judah says. I can't help but smile at this. I'm a big chicken when it comes to anything heights but doing it with someone sounds fantastic.

After the instruction, we set up by sitting in the harness side-by-side. Judah grins at me as we latch ourselves in place. Judah reaches over and squeezes my hand.

"Ready?" Neil asks. We nod and I squeal as the captain gives gas to the boat causing it to glide faster over the choppy waves. We lift off gently, and I withdraw my hand from Judah and squeeze the harness lines.

"Oh, Judah! I can't believe you have me doing this! Wheeee," I yell.

Judah throws his head back laughing. "Yeah!" he yells at the thrill of it. We soar high as the boat heads out to sea. We can see other ships and parasailers in the distance. The wind whips around us, the air a little cooler than I expected. The exhiliration swirls around me and after a few moments I settle into the seat and enjoy the thrilling ride.

"Look over there," Judah yells. I follow where he points and see dolphins jumping through the waves.

"That is so cool," I exclaim as we turn and the captain takes us around the island. The water is exceptionally choppy and the boat bounces along as we travel toward the mainland and head farther south. The air warms a bit as the sun comes out entirely, the small clouds parting.

We turn and head back to our little-deserted island and Neil waves to us as the lines shorten, and we come back to the boat for our return. "Oh my, that was so fun. I'd love to do it again," I say to Judah.

"See? If it weren't for me you'd be sitting back in Kentucky moping about the house," Judah says giving me a sheepish grin.

The captain steers the boat back to the dock and lets us off. "Be careful out here. There's a storm brewing in the Gulf, and they think it might turn and come up the eastern seaboard. If it does the island keeper should send a boat for you before it lands," the captain says.

"Storm? Like a hurricane or a tropical storm?" I ask.

"I believe it's upgraded to a hurricane. This area is in the projected path, but it might turn and go west, so we're in the clear here. Don't worry; they'll get you off the island if it does turn this way."

"Okay, thank you," Judah says and we back up as the boat leaves for the mainland.

"Why haven't we heard about this storm before now?" I ask as I look up at the sky. It looks innocent enough; the occasional white cotton puff floating by but mostly blue. The water is choppy, though, and that's disconcerting. The wind picks up more than normal, blowing in nice briny warmth.

"The island's owner is supposed to alert us to storms. So if he doesn't come by then we'll be okay," Judah says as he turns to head back to the hut. "I'm famished. Let's barbecue some burgers."

I follow along. "That sounds great," I say but still the weather worries me.

I wake up to the sound of Judah messing around in the kitchen. "What's ya doing?" I say as I yawn and stretch.

"Today we're going to trek to the other side of the island only this time I'm packing a picnic lunch. We'll travel from the outer edge on the other side to see the beaches and then come home through the middle, see?" he says as he packs oranges and apples.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Sort of a welcome change from the previous two days' adventures. I can walk along the beach," I say as I grab the box of granola and pour a bowl for breakfast.

"Now, aren't you glad I've pushed you to do these fun things?" Judah asks.

"Yes. In fact, I'm not sure what I want to do next. I want to play in the surf more. I also want to go jump off the falls," I say.

Judah grins. "And you are having the time of your life, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess I am," I say. I have to admit I haven't thought about Blaine much at all over the past week thanks to Judah. I take a good look at this man who so effortlessly brings a smile to my face and wonder what I'm doing.

I dress in jean cut-offs and a tank top with one of my swimsuits underneath. It has been my mainstay outfit since arriving at the island. "You know, I could live here. I could totally get used to this kind of lifestyle," I say as we walk out the door.

The wind is whipping fiercely, but the sky is still bright enough though a few more clouds float by. Judah turns to me. "That would be wonderful, wouldn't it? Just you and me and this island," he says as he bumps into me playfully. My heart beats faster at his touch.

We trek on around the beaches, beholding the beauty created by the sea. We find rocky crags and outcroppings of palm trees, beautiful pristine sand, and surf that's unrelenting today. The waves crash upon the beach with a vengeance ripping away anything that may have landed on the sand moments before.

"I don't think we want to get in that today," I comment as I watch the waves crash in and out.

"Naw. I think once we reach the other side and have a picnic we can take a dive or two on our way back through this evening," Judah says as we trudge through the whipping winds to our destination.

"I believe this is it," he says as he stops and sets the picnic basket down. "I remember the driftwood over there from the other day." He points to a few logs that settle on the beach.

We spread the lunch and eat on a thin tablecloth on the sand. The wind whips harder now and in the distance dark clouds appear on the horizon. The sky above us is still blue with small white clouds. It's very deceptive.

After we finish lunch, we kick off our shoes and walk to the surf. The sky in the distance is ominous growing with foreboding darkness. The surf treacherously thrashes about our feet. I stumble, and Judah reaches out to keep me steady.  I shake my head. "I don't think I could swim in that," I say as I try to maintain my footing.

Judah squints at the horizon. "I think we should head back. Those clouds are headed right for us. I wouldn't be surprised if the captain heads here to pick us up before this thing hits," Judah says and turns to gather the picnic items.

By the time, we reach the falls Judah climbs down the ledge and carefully makes his way behind the falls to store the picnic basket while we swim. We jump into the cool pool and swim around for a few minutes when we hear the first rumbles in the distance from the rolling dark clouds. The sunlight disappears leaving us in milky dimness since the forest is thick and lush with greenery.

The rumble continues and snakes in closer. "We should head to the hut now before we get caught in a downpour," Judah says. We climb out of the pool and barely dry ourselves when the first droplets of rain start to fall.

We take off and run a few yards. "Wait, the picnic basket," I say as I stop.

"Forget it. We'll come for it later. We need to get to shelter before the storm hits. I don't want to miss the boat in case he comes to us," Judah says as he moves along fast through the lush forest. I barely keep up. He glances back every once in a while to make sure I'm still behind him.

The thunder booms loud overhead. Judah swears as he picks up the pace. I'm wondering how safe the little hut will be in such a storm.

"I wish we had a boat. That was an option. I could have leased one to keep with us. Wish I had done that now," he says. I run to catch up with him.

"Crap Judah. What are we going to do if we miss the boat?" I ask as the thunder rumbles. The raindrops stop temporarily and then start again. We finally reach the little clearing where the hut nestles at the beginning of trees. The wind is whipping the smaller palms over double.

Judah squints towards the dock and swears again. "What?" I ask as he takes off running towards the dock. I take off after him. "Wait!" I yell as the fat rain drops fall thick and hard almost blinding us.

We rush down the dock where a plastic bag whips violently in the wind. Judah grabs it and the paper within is so wet we can read the smeared ink. Judah looks at me dejectedly. "I think we missed the boat," he yells above the torrential downpour. "Let's get back to the hut."