“It’s not too late,” she argued, feeling the old attorney in her rise again. “Wouldn’t it be better to end the band with dignity instead of letting it self-destruct? So people will have good memories about it and still play the music for years to come?”
“I hear you, Dee.” He shot her a half-smile. “You’re as persuasive as ever. Kind of reminds me of our old flag debates.”
She smiled, too. “I know you feel sorry for Jack because of his upbringing, but he’s completely out of control.”
“I know. He’s really abusing drugs.”
Anger burned through her limbs. “I’m tired of him getting away with everything, and you allowing it. From what you’re telling me, he caused the plane crash, too.”
“He always wanted to be number one,” Rodney said, crossing his arms over his wide chest. “I figured he deserved a chance.”
She slapped the railing. “Why?”
“Because my parents treated him like shit. They should have put him up for adoption.”
“Not your fault,” she pointed out.
“Yes, it was,” he replied, “because I let it happen. I loved being the favorite. Instead of doing anything to help him, I sucked up the love.”
Why did he have to be such a nice guy?
“Okay, I get it, but you were just a child, and you’ve repaid that debt a hundred times over. Almost with your life.”
His whiskey-colored eyes grew cold. “I’m not the one you’re thinking about marrying, so why are you trying to tell me how to live my life? You’re as bad as my brother.”
“Because you’re hiding out here like a coward.”
“I’ve been recovering from injuries,” he pointed out.
“But they’re healing. You even got a menial job here.”
“I’m living off the grid,” he snapped, facing the water again. “Like your parents.”
“Wrong. My parents may live without modern conveniences, but they still participate in society. They help their fellow man. I know I couldn’t sit down here day after day on my butt doing nothing.”
“No one is asking you to,” he said, his voice quiet and cold.
“Maybe I should expose you,” she joked. “In my political career, I’ve gotten to know several top journalists.”
He gripped her arm. “If you care about me at all, don’t do that to me. How I live is my decision to make.”
“You’re right,” she demurred. “It is.”
“I may have no money and no identity, but I’m still in charge of my own life.”
“Maybe you should tell Jack that…someday.” She rubbed her arms. “Not many people could give up fame and wealth the way you did. It took bravery. I’m sorry I called you a coward.”
“Forgiven.” He hobbled to his chair and sat again as if their arguing had worn him out. “Let’s drink this tea before it gets warm. We need to stay hydrated in the heat.”
She joined him and drank a few swallows.
“You must really care about me, Dee. Otherwise, you wouldn’t give me such a hard time about my life. To love,” he said, clinking his bottle against hers.
“Love?”
“I never stopped loving you, and I know you haven’t, either. Why else would a busy attorney general take time out of her busy schedule to fly to another state and search the swamps?”
She couldn’t deny it, but her gut twisted at the irony. She and Ted had clinked more than one glass filled with expensive champagne in upscale restaurants and clubs. Yet, none of them held a candle to these sweaty tea bottles in the middle of a swamp.
“Guilty as charged,” she said in a small voice.
He stood. “I should go. It’s getting dark, and I don’t much like driving motorboats at night. Too easy to hit a tree.”
She stood, too, feeling as if someone had opened a vein and her life was bleeding out, all over the deck. He couldn’t go. Not ever. The darkness had also changed the swamp from enchanting to downright creepy.
Just then, something nearby bellowed, making her jump into his arms. “What was that?”
He chuckled. “Just a bullfrog. Don’t tell Ms. Attorney General is scared?”
“Can I pay you extra to stay the night…for security reasons?” she asked, backing up a step.
“I’m off duty, so I can’t accept your money. But I’d love to stay. Once you spend the night in the swamp, it gets into your blood.”
They stepped inside.
“Don’t you want to run the air conditioner?” he asked.
“I grew up without it, remember? Besides, we may as well rough it all the way.”
“Sounds good. I’ve gotten used to roughing it myself lately.”
“There’s only one bed, and it’s not very big,” she said. “Maybe we can share it, as long as we stay fully clothed.”
“Works for me,” he said before removing his shoes and hoisting his bad leg after him into bed. “But, do you really think we’ll be able to keep our hands off each other?”
She bit her bottom lip. “We have to.”
If she had sex with him again, she’d be even more heartbroken when they parted ways again.
“It’s a good thing this boat doesn’t have a shower, then.”
Shower. The mere word heated the insides of her thighs.
Still the perfect gentleman, he propped his pillow under his head and lay on his back, not touching her.
She slapped another mosquito, wondering how she was going to hide all the welts when she stepped in front of the next camera.
“These things are beasts,” she exclaimed. “How do you stand them?”
“After they suck out half your blood, you don’t notice them anymore.”
Despite her better judgment and the humidity, she snuggled against his side. She couldn’t be near him without touching him.
“Being here reminds me of staying at my parents’ house during the flood.”
He stroked her hair. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“You’ve got quite a beard growing there.” She fiddled with it, his breath hitched.
“I almost shaved it all off.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. Makes you look like a man.” Her smile melted away. “Rodney, what was the crash like? Do you remember the plane going down?”
“Dee,” he said tightening his grip until the roots of her hair stung. “Some things are best forgotten.”
“I just…tried to
