Emotionally exhausted, she collapsed onto the deck. A thick wall of heat and the smell of decaying vegetation wrapped around her, cocooning her. The shadows cast by the surrounding trees her matched her mood as she cried herself snot-less and damn near lost her lunch overboard.
Rodney was alive all this time and hadn’t told her. Who cared? He. Was. Still. Alive.
She pulled herself to her feet and explored. Inside the sliding glass door, the boat had one large room with a bed, chair, table, and a little kitchenette area in the corner. Opening a door led her to a small stall holding a portable toilet. After using it, she unpacked her bag, and cleaned herself up.
Next, she explored the kitchenette, finding cabinets and a cooler stocked with the food and cold beverages Rodney had described. Ted would be horrified by the lack of gourmet fare, but at least she wouldn’t starve.
Ted. She’d come here to think about her future with him, but he was the last person on her mind. Maybe that should tell her something. She’d probably sweat to death before starving, anyway. The generator would run the small air conditioner, but she didn’t want to hear the noise and couldn’t remember Rodney’s hurried instructions for operating it. Her father should be here so he could complain about it.
Instead, she sat on one of the white resin deck chairs, propped her feet up on the railing, and let her mind drift back to memories of her short relationship with Rodney. Sadness turned into elation, making her heart race, because his being alive meant anything was possible. He’d broken up with her because of Breeze, but he wasn’t in it anymore.
Eventually, the sun lowered, casting the water around the boat into even murkier shadows. The knobby cypress knees sticking out of the water started resembling bones, and with every splash she heard, she wondered if an alligator would leap onto her deck.
When she heard an approaching boat motor, she couldn’t help wondering if some unsavory swamp criminal planned to ransack her floating home. When it got completely dark out, the spooky factor would only get worse. Couldn’t she have chosen a busy spa for her retreat?
Rodney waved at her before cutting his motor a few feet from her boat and tossing her a line. Knowing she’d miss it if she hesitated, she grabbed it.
Keep it cool, girl. Don’t get emotional.
Her nervous system had other ideas. At least the heat gave her an excuse to sweat like a glass of iced tea in a sauna. After his boat was safely tied to hers, he boarded with some difficulty, removed his cap, and ran his fingers through sweat-dampened golden-brown hair.
She gulped. The man looked more than good in the setting sun.
“How do you like the boat?” he asked as he rested his walking stick against the railing. “Did you find everything okay?”
Oh yeah. I even found something I thought I’d lost forever.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass crack about this boat right now,” she gritted out between clenched jaws. “How could you? I thought you were dead.”
Unable to stop herself, she lunged toward him and raised her arm. He grabbed it then studied the area around them as if hiding from something.
“Let’s go inside.”
She followed him in but left the glass door open.
“If you’re going to punch me, do it in here. I don’t want to fall overboard. Alligators can kill.” When he lifted his T-shirt sleeve, she gasped at the jagged scar. “I’ve already tangled with one.”
She ran her fingers across it, which was a mistake because tears spurted out of her eyes faster than a water main break. Then she couldn’t help touching the rest of him—his face, his hair, his hands—just to prove he was really alive.
“Rodney,” she said as she collapsed against his chest. “I was so afraid you were gone forever.”
He scooped her into his arms and cradled her, rubbing his bearded cheek against hers. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”
He followed his beard with tender lips. His breath was warm and scented with spearmint chewing gum. He pressed those lips against hers until she felt as if her anchor line had been cut and she flooded into him. Into his mouth, his body, his soul. They tasted salty—with tears, sweat, or saltwater.
Annoyed by her lapse of control, she placed her hand between their mouths to break the sweet contact she couldn’t resist. She’d thought the man was dead, so she supposed she could forgive herself for one kiss.
“Why didn’t you tell me—anyone—that you’re alive?” she asked.
“I have my reasons.” He sighed. “And, I knew you’d be better off if you moved on.”
“When I visited Jack in the hospital after the crash, I recognized that snake right away,” she babbled, dampening his shirt with more tears. “Why does everyone think he’s you?”
Rodney shrugged. “We look similar, and his face was messed up, so everyone assumed he was me. He’s always wanted to be me, so he obviously kept the truth to himself.”
“I-I looked for you.”
“I know.”
She pulled back enough to see his face. “What do you mean, you know?”
“I was on one of the boats you checked out,” he said, lowering his head.
“Why did you hide from me?” she yelled, backing up as she wrapped her own arms around herself. “Why didn’t you try to contact me earlier, so I wouldn’t mourn your stupid life like an idiot for the rest of mine?”
“Because I need to stay hidden from the world.” His head dropped even lower. “I’m sorry I hurt you. Believe me, I am, but I’m building a new life. A happier one.”
Her heart shriveled in her chest. “One that doesn’t include me, obviously.”
“Dee,” he said, his voice raw with emotion as he stepped toward her and stroked her wet cheek with shaky fingers. “I never wanted to break up with you. I had to.”
“Because of a band you’re no longer even part of.” She shook her head, more confused
