The Love Letter
Authors: Erica Matthews
The Love Letter
by
Erica Matthews
Cover image copyright Doreen Salcher
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
All rights reserved. No part of this e-book can be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without the written permission of the author.
This book is fiction
, and its characters are purely a manifestation of the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places and events is entirely coincidental. (5)
Other books by Erica Matthews available on Kindle:
In the stillness of the sultry afternoon, a sudden rustling of the sea oats dotting the sand dunes caught the girl’s attention. Her eyes easily found the tall figure with the head of wavy, coal-black hair moving quickly along the path that led from the beach. The girl’s heart began to jump wildly in her chest. When a man emerged from the trail and headed straight for the gazebo, her heart seemed to stop altogether. Too late she tried to crouch out of sight.
“Hello
!” a deep voice called to her. The man came lightly up the steps and sat down a few feet away from her. His eyes fell on the blonde pigtails that hung over each shoulder. “Is it okay if I join you?”
The girl
stared at him with a frankness that brought a faint smile to his face. Up close, she could see that he was probably a few years older than her sister, who had just turned seventeen. He flipped up his sunglasses, and she found herself looking into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. They reminded her of a cloudless sky on a summer afternoon. Her own eyes dropped to the floor.
“
Yes, if you want to,” she answered slowly.
He watched her for a moment
. “You can go back to reading. That’s what you were doing before, wasn’t it?”
She noticed he didn’t have a book
and wondered why anyone would come there without one. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m meeting someone here, but I’m early.”
A thought occurred to her. “Is that someone a girl?” He nodded, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Is she pretty?”
This time he grinned
, and the girl’s heart did a queer jump that made it difficult to breathe.
“I think so, but you can decide for yourself when she comes.”
“Are you going to kiss her?” she asked with a frown.
“
I’m not sure. Do you think I should?”
“
It depends on how much you like her, I guess. I saw my sister kiss her boyfriend once, and it kind of made me sick.”
A chuckle
escaped him. “Well, I don’t want you to get sick. If I decide to kiss her, I’ll do it somewhere else.”
“Or I could leave when she comes. I don’t mind doing that.”
“That’s nice of you. Aren’t you a little young to be out here by yourself?”
“
I’m not young at all; I’m twelve years old,” she stated firmly.
Hiding a smile,
the man nodded. “That’s fine then. I think I see Heather coming.”
Suddenly,
the girl didn’t want to meet Heather. And she didn’t want to think of this nice man with the blue eyes kissing Heather, either. “I better get going.”
“Thanks for letting me borrow your gazebo
.”
“It’s not my gazebo. Will you be meeting her here tomorrow?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She may not like me enough to meet me again.”
The girl
moved to stand in front of him, her small hands clasped tightly around her book. “If you want to meet someone here tomorrow, I’ll come.”
The man
reached out and tugged gently on one of the pigtails. “Will you really?” She nodded solemnly. “Okay, I’ll see you here tomorrow, then.”
All the way back to the cottage,
the girl thought of those words. Had he meant them? Would he really come again? Experience had taught her that people don’t always do what they say. She hoped he was different.
Flying
through the screen door, she called out a greeting to her mother and ran down the short hallway to her bedroom. Before she did anything else, she had to record this incident in her journal. This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in her entire life.
Her
impatient fingers delved under the pillow, finally settling on the contours of the leather-bound book. Grabbing a pen, she flipped past pages filled with what now seemed to be the most ordinary events. How could anything compare to this? She would never forget those dreamy eyes as long as she lived!
With a soft sigh, she absently chewed on the end of the pen.
After a moment, the words flowed rapidly from her mind to her fingers. She couldn’t get her thoughts out fast enough. The girl was still writing when her mother summoned her to dinner.
Th
e next afternoon she skipped eagerly up the steps of the gazebo, pigtails flapping in the ocean breeze. She was early, of course, but it had been too hard to wait at home. Better to be here; the man might come early again.
With a hopeful sigh, she sank onto the circular bench and glanced in the direction
of the narrow path. Unconsciously, her fingers tightened around the journal in her lap. Would he come? And more importantly, would he come alone?
This
particular detail had become a crucial part of the equation. The presence of Heather would undoubtedly change everything. With the possessive nature of her sex, the girl wanted the blue-eyed man to herself.
As she waited,
she thought of all the summers she’d spent here. This year was the first time she hadn’t wanted to come to the island. She tried everything she knew to change her parents’ minds. Nothing worked, of course. Despite her pleadings, she’d been packed in the car and taken away from all her friends to a place that didn’t even boast a fast-food restaurant, mall or theater. To make matters worse, her sister had been allowed to remain behind because she’d been smart enough to get a job.
With no one but her mother for company, the days
dragged, one following another with growing monotony. One could only make so many trips to the lighthouse. The girl had been marking off the days of August on the wall calendar for the last week, relieved that summer was almost over.
The man’s appearance at the gazebo changed all that. Suddenly, s
he didn’t want to leave; if she did, she might never see him again. If only it was possible to flip back the calendar to June and start again.
The minutes ticked past
, the only sound her fast beating heart and the buzzing of bees. Her eyes fell from the path to the journal in her lap. Here was proof that this exciting event hadn’t been merely a dream.
With trembling fingers, she
turned to the last entry. It was all still there; the details of an afternoon she would never forget and hoped to repeat at least one more time. With a sigh, she closed the book and clasped it tightly against her chest. She wished the man would hurry. It was so hard to wait.
The sound of whistling brought
her head up abruptly. Her eyes fought the glare of the sun until they settled on a familiar dark head. For a moment, the girl felt almost lightheaded with relief. He hadn’t forgotten her!
She slowly rose to her feet, the loud thud of her heartbeats ringing in her ears. When he caught sight of her, he smiled
, and she thought her heart would burst with happiness.
“
Hello, again. I wondered if you would remember to come.” He glided past her and sat down.
“I
never forget things,” she assured him. She retraced her steps and sank down next to him. “Did Heather not want to come today?”
“
I never asked her,” he admitted with a wry grin.
Her eyes fastened onto his face
. “Why?”
“I really don’t know.” He pointed to her journal. “I have one of those.
I used to write in it every day; but since I started college, I don’t have as much time. What kinds of things do you write about?”
“
My family, my friends, and my cat.” What he would think if he knew she’d written about him? “I’ve written some funny stories about my cat.”
“
Can I hear one? That is, if it’s not private.”
“
I don’t mind reading them to you,” she offered eagerly.
His smile was gentle. “
Go ahead then.”
The girl
read about her cat, pleased that the man laughed in the right places. Her sister never did anything but shake her head, and she hadn’t yet worked up the nerve to share any stories with her parents. She closed the book with a happy sigh and looked at him. Never had she seen such deep blue eyes. It’s like they were smiling at you all the time.
“I like your freckles,” he said after a moment.
The girl thought about this and then asked, “Does Heather have freckles?”
The man laughed softly. “No, I don’t think she does.”
This made her happy; she had something Heather did not. She noticed him glance at his watch, and young though she was, the girl knew what was coming.
“I
’ve really enjoyed meeting you, but it’s time for me to go. I have to be at work soon.”
“Will I see y
ou tomorrow?” she asked wistfully.
“I don’t think so.
I’m returning to college in a few days and still have quite a few things to do.”
“
I’m leaving at the end of the week.”
“I guess this is goodbye, then.” He stood up and held out his hand. After a moment, she placed he
r small hand in his large one. Awkwardly, almost as if he was embarrassed, he bent down and just touched her cheek with his lips. “Take care of yourself and who knows, maybe we’ll meet again someday.”
As
she watched him stride away, the girl absently touched the place on her cheek where his lips had been. Far from making her sick, his kiss made her feel warm and glowing inside. She could hardly wait to get back to the cottage to record this exciting and totally unexpected development.
When she at last managed to gain the privacy of her room, a terrible thought occurred to her.
She didn’t know the man’s name. Tears streamed down her face and spilled onto the cover of her journal. How could she have forgotten to ask his name?
Sabrina drifted slowly along the deserted shore, reveling in endless blue skies overhead and sea breezes tangy with salt. She loved the way the white, powdery sand felt beneath her bare feet. She also liked that this place had changed so little since the last time she walked on the beach. With a regretful sigh, she turned to retrace her steps.
A
s she approached the rambling two story inn, her ears caught the strains of classical music wafting through the open windows. A twinge of guilt assailed her. Casey was already in the kitchen. She hurried along the well-worn path that meandered from the shore to Sea Grape Cottage.
Opening the latticed screen door,
she donned the shoes she’d spurned earlier and made her way down a narrow passageway to the roomy kitchen. Here she found her sister removing golden brown muffins from the newly installed commercial oven.
“Mmm.
Those smell wonderful.” Sabrina unhooked the apron hanging on the back of the door and tied it around her slim waist.
Casey
grinned widely as she set the pans on cooling racks. “Where have you been? Or can I guess?”
For a moment
, the two women stood side by side. The blonde hair and green eyes they shared gave an illusion of likeness that was almost instantly dispelled upon closer observation. Sabrina, five years younger than her attractive sister, had the same warmth and charm, but little of her beauty.
“You know where I’ve been.”
She selected one of the muffins and bit into it thoughtfully. “Blueberry cheesecake, right?”
Casey
nodded. “While you were idling away the morning, I booked our last room.”
Sabrina
moved purposely toward the glass-fronted cabinets and started loading a dining trolley with the inn’s lilac china. “Congrats, sis! Only open a month and already no vacancies for the weekend.”
“His name is David Wells
, and he’ll be arriving this afternoon. I’ve given him Room 2. Since I’ve got a dentist appointment, could you take care of him?”
“Sure. Anything special I
need to do?”
“No. He’s coming alone.”
As Sabrina walked through the saloon-style swing doors into the dining room, she glanced over her shoulder. “Alone? Won’t he feel out of place with our honeymooners?”
Casey chuck
led. “That’s his problem. I only supply rooms.”
Once her sister
left for her appointment, Sabrina made her way to the reception area to await their new arrival. She’d already checked his room; everything was ready. Grabbing a book, she found her place and began reading.