liked it…I mean, your kiss. I wanted you to kiss me. I- I want you.'
Griffin quickly got to his feet and stepped away from the couch, putting a reasonable distance between them. 'My behavior was unseemly. And for that, I am truly sorry.' He rubbed his palms together and forced a smile. 'I believe I might take a walk.'
She stood and stepped in front of him, blocking his retreat to the door with her body. 'I'm not some naive schoolgirl!' she snapped. 'I was a willing participant. This is the twentieth century, Griffin, and it takes two to tango. No one,' she continued, punctuating her words with a poke to his chest, 'and I mean no one kisses me unless I
Griffin frowned, completely confused by her outburst. He drew a deep breath, trying to still his thudding heart and the urge to follow her. Damn, she was inviting his touch, craving his advances! He knew of her low moral character, yet he couldn't bring himself to take advantage. What kind of man had he become that he couldn't make love to a woman with Merrie's beauty and obvious passions?
He glanced over at Ben Gunn who sat silently on his perch, watching him with a suspicious, unblinking eye. 'I believe I have put myself in the doghouse again,' he said to the gray parrot.
'Have a care,' Ben said.
'Fine advice,' Griffin replied. He shifted on his feet, wincing at the blatant proof of his arousal and willing himself to relax. 'Perhaps a walk would be just the thing right now.'
5
To Meredith's great relief, the next day dawned bright and clear and the weather promised to hold for at least the next five days. After their disastrous kiss the previous afternoon, she'd done all she could to avoid Griffin. She was as anxious as he was to get the trip under way and leave the embarrassment of her feeble attempts at seduction far behind.
What had ever made her think she might be able to entice him into something more than what they had? He'd slept beside her twice, yet he'd not made any move to seduce
To keep her mind off her mortification, she began to make preparations for their trip to Bath the next day. Griffin walked with her down to the harbor to take a look at the small sailboat she had chartered, excited about the prospect of getting off the island. He made no mention of what had happened between them the previous afternoon and Meredith was convinced that he, too, wanted to forget.
While he examined the layout of the lines, she went to Jenny's General Store, a rambling white clapboard building on the water, for provisions for their trip.
A long porch shaded the side entrance, and the two rocking chairs and low bench were occupied with the usual morning group. Jenny's husband, the balding Hubey Hogue, had commandeered the head rocker. Early Jackson, the wiry, wizened owner of Happy Jack's Fishing Charters sat in the other rocker. Two younger members of the group, the bespectacled Lyle Burleswell and the flamehaired Shep Cummings, rounded out the group. Lyle owned the Sandpiper Hotel and Shep was the island's venerable handyman. They all sipped coffee out of a motley collection of chipped mugs, while they munched donuts and kept an eye on passersby on both the road and in the harbor.
'Morning, Meredith.' Early tipped his captain's cap. 'Hear you're chartering a sailboat for tomorrow.'
Meredith smiled. The only way to keep a secret on Ocracoke Island was to take a vacation to the mainland. Even then, the rampant speculation about the trip was worse than whatever secret a person was trying to keep.
'Taking a trip to Bath,' Hubey commented.
'With her friend,' Lyle added.
'Griffin Rourke,' Shep completed.
They all spoke as if their own particular revelation was the most startling. Tabloid television had nothing over the porch at Jenny's General Store. Even the most mundane subjects became exciting fodder for the island news service.
Meredith stepped up on the porch. 'That's right. We're leaving at-'
'Dawn,' Early said. 'Weather's supposed to be just fine. No hurricanes in the forecast.'
Lyle nodded. 'We all know how you're bothered by bad weather,' he said sympathetically.
'But it looks like you survived Horace with no worries,' Shep said.
'But then, that was only a category one,' Hubey concluded. 'Nothing like Delia.'
'I have some shopping to do,' Meredith said as she reached for the screen door, anxious to escape the inquisition.
'Hey, we heard your boyfriend might be looking for work,' Hubey said.
Meredith froze, her hand on the door. 'What?'
'Yeah,' Early said. 'Tank Muldoon says your Griffin was asking about jobs on the island when he was in there a few days back.'
'I guess Rourke's planning to stick around for a while,' Lyle said.
Shep shook his head. 'Jobs are hard to come by on the island.'
'You tell your friend, Griffin, to come down to our dock as soon as you get back from your trip,' Early said. 'Me and the boys bought ourselves an old shrimper. We're going to haul it out and fix it up and sell it to a guy down Georgia way. If Rourke ain't scared of hard work, we can give him something to do and pay him for it.'
'I-I'll tell him that. Thank you.' Meredith quickly stepped inside the dim, cool interior of the store. Overhead, fans gently whirred from the low ceiling, mixing the smells of meat and produce with the salt air. Shelves stacked high with goods ran the length of the building, separated by narrow aisles. The old wooden floor creaked beneath her feet as she reached for a plastic basket from the stack beside the door.
Early's words echoed in her mind and she tried to fathom their meaning. Had Griffin finally resigned himself to staying? She shook her head. No, it couldn't be. Early had misunderstood. If Griffin had decided to stay, she would have been the first to know. She brushed the thought from her mind and focused on her shopping list.
''Mornin', Meredith,' Jenny called from behind the register. 'Hear your boyfriend is looking for a job.'
Startled, Meredith snatched a can of tuna and tossed it in her basket, then glanced over at Jenny. The storekeeper peered at her through the reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, a newspaper propped up in front of her. 'Yes… he is,' Meredith called.
She moved down the aisle, picked up a box of taco shells and studied the nutritional label distractedly.
'So, are you two planning to stay on the island for a while?'
'No,' Meredith said, shoving the box back on the shelf and continuing down the aisle. 'I mean, I'll be here through December, but I'm not sure how long Griffin will be staying.' She peeked around the whole-wheat dinner rolls to find Jenny staring at her, a concerned frown wrinkling her forehead.
'You two having problems? Tank says your Griffin was hoisting a few the other night at his place. Said he was in the doghouse.'
Meredith groaned inwardly. Living on this island was like having a hundred sets of nosy parents. From the day she'd set foot on Ocracoke again, she'd become part of a larger family, filled with people who had helped her father raise her all those years ago. Hubey and Jenny had given her her first after-school job. Early's wife, Millie, had taught her how to iron Sam Abbott's shirts. Lyle had lent her his collection of Civil War history books and Shep had teased her mercilessly from the time they'd entered the first grade together.
So how could she be angry with their prying? After all, they cared about her happiness. 'Griffin and I are getting along just fine,' Meredith said with a smile.
Her thoughts wandered back to the kiss they'd shared on her couch. She'd recalled the moment again and again, each time, searching for some clue to his true feelings. But her limited experience in the ways of passion gave her a distinct disadvantage.
She was nearly certain she'd seen desire suffuse his expression the instant before he kissed her. But then, it could have been boredom. And the kiss itself had been incredibly wonderful, deep and soul shattering, to say the
