‘The dark side of my nature.’
‘Ah, so there is a dark side after all.’
‘Yes. There sure is.’
‘I’ve never seen that side of you.’
‘You see only what people let you see, Ginia.’
‘Is this going to be some kind of confession?’
‘No. I’d like to forget it now.’
‘Then I’ll forget it,’ she said. ‘I only know I missed you. I missed you every day. I’d come by the boat and sit up there and wonder where you were and what you were doing and whether you were well. I had this awful feeling you weren’t coming back.’
Close, he thought, your instincts are pretty damn good.
‘I thought a lot about you, too,’ he said.
‘I realized how little I know about you in those two weeks,’ she said. ‘I don’t know anything about you before you came to the island. You could be married for all I know.’
He laughed. ‘No, no wife. No children. No ugly surprises like that.’
‘I didn’t know you went to Annapolis, although I suppose I should have guessed, you’re so good with boats.’
‘Where did you learn that?’
‘From Jim Cirillo. I was over one day cleaning the boat and he came by. He really loves you, you know, I don’t think I ever realized that before. You’re like a son to him. He worries about you.’
‘And do you?’
She smiled, nuzzling harder. ‘Not when you’re here.’
‘I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere for a long time now.
‘That’s good news.’
‘It is?’
‘I’ve become too accustomed to being with you, Hatcher. It’s screwed up my life-style.’
‘Screwed it up?’
‘Well, not in a bad sense. I suppose that was the wrong way of putting it. I’ve become — dependent on you for certain things. I was always radically independent before you. That kind of thing can be, uh, uncomfortable.’
He rose on his elbows and stared down at her. The lights from the wharf reflected off the water and danced on the ceiling of the cabin. She turned her eyes away from his and rolled over, swinging her legs to the floor.
‘Why don’t I get our dinner ready,’ she said. ‘You must be starved.’
He reached out and pulled her back across his lap.
‘Not for food,’ he said.
‘See,’ she said, ‘that’s what I mean—’
‘Listen to me,’ he said. ‘I’m attracted to you like I’ve never been attracted to any other woman. It’s not just sex, it’s everything. It’s this island that you’re part of.
It’s the way you think, your independence, your sense of humor. The mystery of you.’
‘Mystery?’
‘We both have dark times in our past—everybody does.’
‘And you think that’s good?’
‘I think it’s interesting. There are some things that don’t need to be shared.’
‘Well, I think your mysteries are probably one hell of a lot more interesting than mine.’
‘What I did on this trip, it was like cleaning out the attic, throwing away things that don’t really matter anymore. The friends I said good-bye to will always be friends. It’s just that our wavelengths have changed. My life is here, not there.’
He leaned over and kissed her softly on the mouth. Her lips, soft and yielding at first, became demanding. Her hand moved up the back of his neck, pressed his face harder against hers. Then suddenly she broke away and sat up. ‘Going to the reef is a wonderful idea,’ she said. ‘Besides, some of your fishing pals are liable to drop by if we stay here.’
‘I’ll put out the “Do not disturb” sign.’
She stood up and shook her clothes back in place.
‘No. Get some clothes on and crank this thing up.’
‘Done, mate,’ he whispered. He slipped on a pair of gray jogging pants, a T-shirt and sneakers and went up on deck. A southeasterly wind blew in off the ocean, carrying with it a hint of rain. The sky was dark, moonless and cloud-cluttered.
‘It tastes like rain,’ he said.
