The Jumbee (20 page)

As a wave crashed into the sand a few feet away, Esti felt the beach shift beneath her feet. Even if Alan was gone, she didn’t want to fall for Rafe so quickly. She could feel the catapult lurking beyond her view, waiting for the perfect moment to shatter her sanity again.

When she returned to school for finals, Esti ignored all the whispers, slogging her way through each exam until she could finally dump her books and escape. To her surprise, Lucia stood patiently beside her locker, looking like she’d been waiting all this time. For a moment, the two girls studied each other in silence.

“You okay?” Lucia finally asked. “Ma, she ask about you.”

“I’m fine.”

“I have worry, but I am relieve, also.” Lucia glanced around, then stepped closer to Esti. “Ma, she say every girl need a warm boyfriend. Otherwise you end up cold and frighten.”

“Has your mom talked to him?” Esti whispered before she could help herself, then shook her head. “Never mind; I probably shouldn’t know. Rafe is better for me, right?”

“Ma, she say Rafe jus’ need a powerful girl get he on the straight and narrow,” Lucia said in amusement. “
You
keep Rafe in line, easy.”

Esti snorted, then gave Lucia a sincere smile. “Carmen told me you might get an agent for modeling. That’s really great.”

“Yeah, mon.” Lucia’s eyes sparkled. “I have hear some melee about Esti Legard, also. I gotta take my last exam now, but I see you at the Christmas party, eh? We maybe all go to Carnival together.”

When Esti walked into town an hour later to meet Rafe, she felt unexpectedly relaxed. Carmen and Chaz walked with her, discussing how Carnival traveled from island to island every year. The celebration always reached Cariba after Christmas, but workers were already assembling seahorses and mermaids for a huge carousel at the edge of town.

“The parade is the last weekend of Christmas break,” Chaz said, casually grabbing Carmen’s hand.

“It’s the best time of year,” Carmen added, swinging Chaz’s hand into the air. “You don’t want to miss it.”

Esti stared at their hands. “I apparently missed something else last week.”

Carmen giggled. “Two little monkeys, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—”

Chaz yanked Carmen into a bear hug before she could finish. “Esti, you been to The Boardwalk yet?” He laughed as Carmen struggled to get free. “Carmen promised to buy me dinner there when she gets rich and famous. Rafe’s uncle has the most hoppin’ place on the island, especially this time of year.”

“Not yet.” Esti grinned at Carmen’s expression. “Rafe says he gets busy. We’re going swimming as soon as his shift is over.”

Half a dozen Jet Skis raced across the bay, the whine of their engines filling the air like a swarm of giant mosquitoes. As Esti’s eyes followed a parasail, hanging in the deep blue sky behind a speedboat, she abruptly swallowed. Two women beside the carousel had turned to stare at her, simultaneously lifting their hands. Esti had seen the motion enough by now to realize that it wasn’t a friendly wave.

“The richest tourists spend their vacation getting drunk at The Boardwalk,” Chaz added, his eyes still on Carmen. “Rafe’s gotta be making serious money.”

Forcing herself to ignore the women, Esti quickly followed Chaz and Carmen away from the carousel.

The Boardwalk, true to its name, stretched down a long wooden walkway overlooking Manchicay Bay. Three West Indian men played steel pan drums at the end of the dock, their colorful robes and long dreadlocks swaying in time to the bright calypso music. Crowded tables filled the long boardwalk, and the open-air bar was just as busy, people in chino shorts and designer swimsuits standing three rows deep. Esti heard Rafe’s voice before she saw him, laughing and teasing his customers.

Rafe stood behind the bar, deftly mixing drinks as he flirted with three deeply tanned women. When the redhead set a stack of bills on the counter and told Rafe to keep the change, a flicker of jealousy swept through Esti. She studied the women for a moment, then shook her head. They all had to be older than Aurora.

“Serious money,” Chaz repeated in awe.

As Rafe flashed his perfect white smile at the redheaded woman, he suddenly caught sight of Esti. “My favorite girl!” he hooted.

To Esti’s embarrassment, everyone within hearing distance immediately turned to stare at her as Rafe vaulted over the bar and wove his way through the crowd. Carmen stepped back, rolling her eyes at Chaz.

With a flourish, Rafe scooped Esti into his arms. “I am so ready to see you,” he muttered into her ear. “Ten minutes to get rid of the old ladies, and then I can escape.”

“The redhead just put that big tip back in her purse,” Esti whispered back.

“Get a room,” Chaz said loudly.

“There’s a reason my mama told me to stay away from guys like you,” Carmen added. As laughter flooded the bar, the three women picked up their bags and walked away.

Walking to Manchicay Beach a few minutes later, Esti mused over the easy silence that she and Rafe had already developed. Carmen chattered incessantly with Chaz on one side of her, while Rafe merely held Esti’s fingers loosely twined through his. The flirting bartender she’d seen was a completely different person from the peaceful guy holding her hand, yet both sides of him seemed equally real. She wondered what he would say, if she told him his transparency felt like a breath of fresh air.

Dumb as a doornail,
she thought wryly.

He glanced down at her with the familiar grin that made her heart beat faster, then came to an abrupt stop. A West Indian man stared at Esti from the ferry dock, his superstitious gesture cut short as Rafe glared at him. Raising his eyebrows, the man dropped his hands back to his sides.

“Rafe,” he said awkwardly. “’Sup?”

“Limin’ wit’ de smartest girl on Cariba,” Rafe retorted. “She name Esti Legard. You need some education?”

The man laughed, giving Esti an almost-sincere smile. “You ain’t change a bit, Rafe.”

Although Rafe’s fingers tightened on Esti’s, his voice relaxed into an easy banter. “Yeah, mon. You spread de word, eh?”

Astonished, Esti watched the man walk away.

As Rafe continued toward the beach like nothing had happened, Carmen exchanged a gleefully incredulous look with Chaz. With a growing sense of peace, Esti matched Rafe’s casual stride. Despite his reputation, she felt safe with him. She hadn’t yet learned to swim fast enough to leave thoughts of Alan behind, but it suddenly occurred to her that maybe by the end of Christmas vacation, she would.

Act Two. Scene Six.

Esti collapsed on the beach, giddy with fatigue and relief.

“You did it.” Rafe smoothed out a beach towel beside her, but it was too late. Her body had turned into rubber, incapable of movement. Pressing her wet cheek into the sand, she watched him through a comfortable haze.

“I’m tired,” she said.

“Over a mile.” He grinned. “The whole length of the bay, against a decent tide and a swell. Merry Christmas.”

“Christmas isn’t until tomorrow.” She let out her breath in a long, exhausted sigh. “Unless we missed the party. How many hours did I flail behind you out there?”

“We didn’t miss the Christmas party.” Rafe laughed. “You know, you’re the first girl who ever swam the bay with me.”

“I can’t move.”

“Stay here, and I’ll get you something to eat. I know
I’m
starving.”

“Mmm,” she said. Without lifting her head, she watched him sprint toward the concession stand. She didn’t know how he could possibly run after their marathon swim; she wasn’t sure she could even stand up.

Closing her eyes as he disappeared, she rolled over on her back, luxuriating in the warmth tickling her skin. Endorphins, she had read somewhere, flooded the body during strenuous exercise to provide a natural high. She was floating on endorphins right now, drunk with exhaustion and euphoria.

She replayed the image of Rafe sprinting across the beach a moment ago, his perfect body dark against the white sand. It was time to kiss him, she thought languidly. She still missed Alan desperately, but her sorrow held a growing seed of resignation. She’d been wrong to think Alan was the answer to all of her problems. Her lonely imagination had created a ghost in shining armor, when she really knew nothing at all about him. Washed up on the beach as a baby? Maybe it was better if she didn’t know the real story.

Now all she had to do was convince herself of that.

When she opened her eyes, Rafe was sitting several feet away, watching her. His arms were draped over his bent knees, a can of grapefruit soda hanging loosely from his hand. She blinked, her body instantly reacting to the hungry look in his eyes. Yes, it was definitely time. No matter what Carmen said, Esti wanted those lips touching hers again. She didn’t care about his reputation, and she could think of no better way to get Alan out of her mind.

As she eagerly sat up, however, her head began to throb. The endorphins had fled, and she felt like she’d been hit by a truck. When Rafe reached out to brush dry sand from her cheek, she winced back from him, pressing her hands against her temples. “Headache,” she muttered in frustration.

Her head was still pounding when she followed him to his Jeep half an hour later. “Rafe,” she said. “I don’t think I can go to your dad’s Christmas party.”

He opened her door for her, waiting until she sat down. “Tired of me?” he asked matter-of-factly.

“Of course not.” She met his guarded look with a reassuring smile. “But everyone on the island thinks I was kidnapped by a jumbee, and honestly . . .”

“Yes?”

“I know some talent scouts will be at the party. I’m not sure I can face them yet.”

“The hard work’s done, babe.” Now he sounded amused. “When my dad introduced me around, every one of them asked me about you. All you gotta do is kick back and let ’em come begging.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” she said, trying to feel flattered. After the wonderful days of swimming and no stress, the theater seemed like a threatening former life, loaded with anxiety. “The thought of getting back onstage is overwhelming.”

“Because of your Shakespeare jumbee?” Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Should I be worried?”

“Nothing like that.” She leaned against the door frame, wondering if Rafe
did
have anything to worry about. “It’s a lot of pressure, that’s all.”

“I bet it is. Well, you don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t want to.” Rafe climbed into the Jeep, flexing his arms. “That’s why you got a bodyguard.”

She smiled. “I’m lucky.”

“Nah, I’m the lucky one. You keep a lot hidden under the surface, don’t you?” He studied her face. “You remind me of the sea, beautiful and quiet, and way too easy to take for granted. But there’s something dangerous about you that I haven’t quite figured out.” He gave her a sudden, mischievous grin. “I like that.”

When Aurora drove her to Coqui Beach the following evening, Esti tried to act like she was looking forward to it. She couldn’t tell her mom that she would much rather be alone with Rafe, throwing all warnings into the wind as she became the next girl on his long list. She couldn’t explain how her dreams at night were filled with Alan’s voice, drawing her exquisitely close until he hurled her away. She didn’t dare say how she ached to sit by the fireplace in Ashland, singing
heigh ho, the holly
with her dad. More than anything, she was tired of pretending to be in control.

Jayna Solomon stood at the door greeting her guests, tall and elegant in a deep blue dress and matching head-wrap that perfectly complemented her dark skin. “How pretty you are tonight,” she said warmly to Esti. “I saw your performance at school. You’re all Rafe talks about these days, you know.”

Esti welcomed Rafe’s arm around her shoulder as she and Aurora made their way through the house to the back door, chatting with Carmen and her parents.

“Esti Legard?” An artistic-looking fellow appeared from nowhere, thrusting out his hand. “Darling!”