The Lighthouse Chapter 13

Chapter THIRTEEN:

Eloise heard her phone go off again, and she couldn’t believe she had someone texting her in the middle of the night. She didn’t even have students right now, and she fumbled for her phone, determined to silence it without even looking at it.

Number one, her eyes felt like someone had smashed sand in them, and she wasn’t sure she could even open them. Number two, it was the middle of the night.

“I’m going to go shower,” Kelli said, and Eloise sat straight up in bed, remembering that she wasn’t at home, in her beautiful brownstone, in Boston.

“I’m sorry,” Eloise said.

“It’s fine,” Kelli said. “It’s after seven.”

“It is?” Eloise glanced around the bedroom she shared with Kelli. Robin had closed the blackout curtains when she’d set up the beds, and not even a trickle of light came into the room.

Eloise reached for her phone as it chimed yet again, wondering who on Earth was doing all this texting, especially so early in the morning. Her mother didn’t know how to use a cellphone, and apparently, Eloise didn’t either, as hers slipped from her fingers and fell between the bed and the nightstand.

Of course. If there was a way for something to go wrong, for Eloise, it did. She tried to banish the negative thoughts, because she knew they weren’t true. She’d just dropped her phone; the world wasn’t conspiring against her.

She had a few friends back in Boston that could be texting, but she’d notified them of her trip to Five Island Cove. So it was either important, or—

“Holy biomes,” Eloise said, using her biology swear words. “It’s Aaron Sherman.” Fear moved through her, and she jerked her head up as if Robin would be standing right there, her eyes flashing with triumph.

She’d squeal and enter the room saying, “I knew it! I knew he was flirting with you.”

Of course Aaron had been flirting with Eloise at the deli a couple of days ago. She’d known he had been. What she didn’t know was why.

And she didn’t need to deal with squealing and explanations. She was forty-five-years-old, and he wouldn’t be her first boyfriend. She reminded herself of this as she tapped on the screen.

She’d done so too gingerly, and the text didn’t open. Another try, and his messages filled the screen.

Morning Eloise. It’s Aaron Sherman.

I was wondering if you might stop by the station later today. I have something I want to talk to you about.

I realize it’s early. Sorry. Just text me back when you can.

“Something he wants to talk to me about?” Eloise wondered aloud. “What could that possibly be?” She let her phone drop to her lap and looked up, thinking through the last two interactions she’d had with the man.

She did not need him to pay her cleaning bill, something he’d mentioned both times. Her jaw clenched. She didn’t want to go down to the police station and tell him that again. She’d had to do a little explaining to her mother about why she was wet when she’d shown up at the house on Sanctuary Island, but that had been easy. The ferries sometimes had big waves come over the side, and her mother hadn’t questioned her.

Her mother likely hadn’t been off the island in years, though, so she certainly couldn’t argue either.

Okay, she texted Aaron back. Can I ask what it’s about?

Nothing big, he said, but that didn’t soothe the nerves attacking her stomach. I’ll be quick. I just have a question about Sanctuary Island.

Eloise frowned at her phone as if it were responsible for giving her these cryptic, confusing texts.

Okay, that was a lie. Aaron sent another smiley face. I just want to—can I call you?

Eloise’s stomach swooped then, and she pressed her eyes closed.

“You okay?”

Her eyes flew open and toward Kelli, who came in and closed the door behind her, a towel wrapped around her body and one turbaning her hair. She flipped on the light, which only activated the lamps, sending soft, yellow light chasing the shadows up the walls.

“I need some advice,” Eloise said, pressing her phone to her chest. “But you have to promise not to tell Robin.”

Kelli’s whole face curved into a smile. “I love keeping secrets from Robin.”

“And Alice.”

“And Alice,” Kelli said, joining Eloise on the bed. “Show me.”

Eloise did, her heartbeat picking up speed with every second Kelli read the text conversation and didn’t say anything.

She looked at the side of Kelli’s face, noting the wide eyes, the shocked expression. “Tell him yes.”

“Yes?” Eloise couldn’t comprehend the word for some reason.

“Yes,” Kelli said. “Tell him to call. I’ll take my clothes into the bathroom to get dressed.”

“No, I’ll go,” Eloise said, standing up. She needed some fresh air and a room that wasn’t one shade away from midnight.

“Your voice will echo in the bathroom,” Kelli said, and Eloise paused.

Kelli giggled, gathered her clothes, and left the room again. Before Eloise responded to Aaron, she walked over to the curtains and yanked them apart. The sunshine assaulted her eyes then, and she bathed in it, using it to calm her heart and quiet her mind.

She was Eloise Hall, and she could talk to a man on the phone.

She was Eloise Hall, and she had a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston University.

She was Eloise Hall, and she had a master’s degree in science education and biology research from Harvard.

She was Dr. Eloise Hall, and she held a doctorate from Harvard in Biological Sciences in Public Health.

Joel may have gotten her through a door she couldn’t have stepped through without his help, but he had not earned a single credit of those degrees. He had not paid even a penny for her education.

Eloise knew she was different today than she’d been yesterday, and for sure different than she’d been when she’d first run into Aaron on the beach, though that was only two days ago.

She tapped out the three letters—yes—to let him know he could call, and only a moment later, her phone rang. “Hey,” she said, making her voice as bright and carefree as she knew how.

“Hey, Eloise,” he said, and a smile touched her heart as his deep voice said her name. She pictured him in her mind, and he was a handsome man. A very handsome man.

He chuckled, and Eloise would categorize the sound as nervous. “Sorry about those texts,” he said. “I’d sleep a lot better if I knew you were going to delete that whole thing.” Another chuckle.

“All right,” Eloise said, determined not to giggle. It seemed unfair that men could giggle and it got categorized as a chuckle, something sexy and throaty and desirable. But if women did it, they were flirty schoolgirls. And Eloise was definitely not one of those.

“All right,” Aaron said. “Phew. Listen, I wanted you to come to the station, because well, I wanted to see you.”

“You wanted to see me?”

“Again,” he blurted out. “I wanted to see you again, and I was hoping to ask you about dinner tonight.”

“Dinner tonight.” Eloise pressed her eyes closed again, commanding her brain to start working. “I think I’m going to eat dinner tonight.”

Aaron chuckled again, and Eloise let her lips relax into a smile. “Would you consider eating it with me? I mean, I know you’re here for Kristen and with your friends, but well, I thought we could…go to dinner together.”

Eloise’s fingertips buzzed as pure warmth moved over her. “I’d like to go to dinner together,” she said.

“Great,” Aaron said, and his relief came through the line like a palpable being. “Should I come pick you up, or do you want to meet me somewhere?”

Eloise glanced at the closed bedroom door, sure Kelli had finished getting dressed by now. “I better meet you,” she said. “I have a rental, and that way I won’t have to explain anything to the ladies.”

“I think you mean Robin,” Aaron said, his voice full of teasing now.

“I definitely mean Robin,” Eloise said, giving in to the laughter inside her throat. But it was not a giggle, and Aaron’s throaty laugh definitely wasn’t either.

“What do you like?” he asked.

“Oh, I like food,” Eloise said. “You pick somewhere, and I’ll be there.”

“How about going to a different island?”

“I know how to ride a ferry.”

“Great.” Aaron wore a smile in his tone. “Let’s meet at the south ferry station. There’s a great seaside restaurant on Pearl Island. I’ll get us a reservation.”

“Seven?” Eloise asked.

“See you at seven.”

The call ended after Eloise and Aaron said their goodbyes, and Eloise simply stared straight ahead. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, or that she’d agreed to it.

A light knock sounded on the door—definitely Kelli. Eloise strode over to the door and pulled it open.

“Well?” Kelli asked as Eloise ushered her back inside the bedroom.

“He asked me to dinner,” Eloise said, feeling wild and completely out of control. “Tonight. Seven. I’m meeting him at the south ferry station, and we’re going to Pearl Island.”

“That’s great, Eloise,” Kelli said, grinning like she really meant it.

But a scream had started in the bottom of Eloise’s soul, and it grew louder and louder. She couldn’t go to Pearl Island. What had she been thinking?

You weren’t thinking, she admonished herself. She’d let the man’s sexy voice fuzz her senses, blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Maybe she could just say she didn’t want to leave Diamond Island. She’d need a reason for that, though, and she didn’t want to lie to Aaron. Eloise tried to tell the truth as much as possible, because it made the secrets she kept easier to keep track of.

She smiled at Kelli, showered, and joined everyone downstairs, where she found Robin had sent Duke for breakfast sandwiches that morning. Eloise liked Duke Grover a whole lot, and it was obvious the man worshiped the ground Robin walked on.

Eloise realized in the moment Duke leaned down and kissed Robin that she wanted a man like him. She wanted someone to wake up with and text throughout the day, someone who was anxious for her to walk through the door when she got off work—and not just because they wanted another can of the wet cat food and a bowl of fresh water.

Duke waved to the ladies and left, off to work on his boat for another day.

“He’ll be gone until Sunday or Monday,” Robin said. “Should we throw a party tonight?”

Kelli’s gaze immediately flew to Eloise, and Robin didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see that. She acted like she didn’t though, and that was one of the best things about Robin. Eloise loved her powerfully in that second of time, and she cleared her throat.

“I have a date with Aaron Sherman tonight.”

Eloise had never been in an emergency situation. Or a tornado. Or a hurricane. Or nearby when a bomb went off.

But the silence streaming through the room, rendering every woman in the vicinity absolutely mute, felt like the calm before the storm. The way the air would rush out of the tornado zone. The eye of the hurricane. The silence before the screaming.

“I’m sorry, what?” Alice asked at the same time Robin launched herself off the couch, that trademark squeal filling the air.

“I knew it,” she said, engulfing Eloise in a hug. “Didn’t I tell you he was flirting with you?”

“You told me,” Eloise said, smiling despite her best efforts to the contrary.

“Flirting shamelessly,” Robin said, straightening again. “Oh, can I do your hair, please?”

Eloise looked at Alice. “Only if Alice will use her professional makeup on me.”

Surprise crossed Alice’s face, and her polished, perfect demeanor cracked for a moment. “Please, Eloise,” she said with a crisp bite to her voice. “You don’t need my makeup. You’re beautiful without it.”

Eloise watched her, wondering if she knew she was beautiful at all. Perhaps she thought she had to hide behind the expensive makeup and high thread count of her clothing. Today, she wore a pair of black shorts that went down to her knee—prim and proper for a woman her age. She had a killer figure, and her legs had always been a source of jealousy for Eloise. Kelli too, she knew. The shorts were amazing, but they paled in comparison to the silver blouse Alice had paired them with. This one had sleeves that went to her elbows, hugging tight around her arms, and she looked like a model for middle-aged women in every way.

“I still want you to help me with it,” she said. “Remember when you did that for my first date with Harry Eames?”

“Oh, Harry Eames,” Alice said, smiling as she lifted her coffee mug to her lips. “That was a disaster, wasn’t it?”

“Only a little bit,” Eloise said, though that date had definitely been a disaster and a half. Maybe two disasters. “But my makeup was flawless, and I kind of want to feel flawless right now.”

“Oh, honey,” Robin said. “You’re already flawless.”

“Yeah,” Eloise said, because agreeing with Robin was sometimes the easiest thing to do. “But I want to feel like it.” She surveyed the three women looking at her. “Don’t you ever just want to feel like something you aren’t? Even for just an evening.”

“All the time,” Kelli admitted, glancing at the other two.

Alice nodded, and Eloise saw the carefully hidden pain she carried everywhere with her. “I’ll do your makeup tonight,” she said.

So it was that hours later, after they’d survived another day of sorting and shredding and soft sniffling, the four of them returned to Robin’s house, where her eldest daughter, Mandie had made dinner and had it baking in the oven, which the others would eat once Eloise left for her date.

The six of them then got to work on Eloise, all giving their opinions on her hair, her shoes, her jeans—even the twelve-year-old Jamie said Eloise should “for sure wear her hair half-up and half-down.”

Eloise couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun, and she hadn’t even left for the ferry station yet.

When she arrived at the ferry station, she promptly wanted to leave again. She had no idea what kind of car Aaron drove, and she hadn’t heard from him since that morning. She parked, paid at the booth for parking and a ferry ticket to Pearl, and looked around.

The ferry to Pearl left every twenty minutes, on the nines. If Aaron didn’t show up soon, they’d be waiting here until seven-thirty.

In the distance, a siren blared. Eloise thought a car had been dispatched to arrest her for loitering, but such a thing was ridiculous.

The crowd swelled, as everyone seemed to be heading to Pearl Island this Thursday night. Eloise kept the smile on her face, recognizing some of the faces, though they’d aged. She hoped none of them had recognized her.

Desperation built in her chest, and she started wondering if she’d hallucinated the texts and phone call that morning. Her phone waited in her purse, but she did not pull it out to check it. It did not buzz or ring or chime.

The ferry horn sounded, and Eloise turned toward it. Perhaps she’d misunderstood. Perhaps he’d already gone to Pearl, and she was supposed to meet him over there.

But if so, wouldn’t he have called by now? After all, she was late if they were to meet on Pearl at seven. She lifted her hand to her lips, her natural instinct to bite her nails. She’d tried for most of her life to overcome it, and most of the time, she won out. But in times of stress, or when she was really nervous, the old habit returned.

This is why you shouldn’t blame your father, she thought, that door in her mind creeping open again. She shoved against it, realizing that the siren was coming toward her, and fast. There was nowhere else to go, and she knew the police would be arriving at the ferry station at any moment.

Perhaps she could ask them to page Aaron. He’d said she could come to the station anytime, ask for him, and someone would find him. She wasn’t sure she was comfortable with that, as Eloise liked to hang out in the back of lectures and turn in her professor ratings at the last minute, even if they’d been completed for weeks. If there was no one watching her, she didn’t have to be perfect all the time.

The car screeched around the corner and into the lot, actual smoke coming from the tires as the driver skidded. Then it came right toward her.

Eloise scooted out of the way, but the car came to a jarring and complete stop, siren wailing, lights flashing, at the curb right in front of her.

Aaron got out of the driver’s seat and jogged around the car, high-fiving the man who’d gotten out of the passenger side door. He grinned like he’d just won the Indy 500 with that cornering move, and easily slipped one arm around Eloise’s waist as he said, “Hey, I’m so sorry I’m late.” He looked at the ferry. “I think they’ll still let us on. Come on.”

She had no idea what was happening, but she went with Aaron, because he had his hand in hers. He was holding her hand. Holding it. Eloise enjoyed the rough, warm sensation of his skin against hers, and she couldn’t help smiling as they hurried over to the attendant.

“Walk’s still down,” Aaron said.

“Tickets,” the man standing there said. Eloise produced hers, but she hadn’t bought one for Aaron.

“Sorry,” she said. “I—”

“It’s fine,” he said smoothly. “I know Gilbert here, and he knows I’m going to buy a full fare ticket on the other side.” With that, he stepped through the turnstile, clapped Gilbert on the shoulder, and led her up the ramp to the ferry.

Everyone—positively everyone—looked at them, and Aaron let go of her hand to shake several others, say hello and grin around as if he personally knew everyone on the boat. He probably did, Eloise realized, about the same time she realized the small-island gossip mill had already started turning.

Aaron led her to the back of the ferry and found a somewhat private spot along the rail. “Is this okay?”

“Hm.” She nodded, because she’d also just realized he still wore his police uniform, and the man was downright lethal to her pulse wearing black from head to toe.

“You must’ve had a busy day,” she said a few moments later, when she’d gathered all of her hormones and stuffed them inside a jar.

“Yeah,” he said. “It was a little crazy.” He glanced at her, those dark eyes drinking her right up. And Eloise wanted him to take more. “Really, I went home around four, and I lost track of time as I tried to figure out how to multiply fractions. So that meant dinner for the girls was late, and then my babysitter canceled right when it was time for me to leave.”

“Oh, no,” Eloise said, her heart skipping at the thought of “the girls.” She hadn’t heard from him about them, but Robin had mentioned he had two, and the mother didn’t grow up here and hadn’t been back in years. “You could’ve canceled with me.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Do you know how hard it was for me to ask you out in the first place?” He chuckled and ducked his head now, his dark hair showing no signs of gray. Too bad, in Eloise’s opinion, because there was nothing sexier than a man with silver hair salted among the darker parts.

Eloise had no idea what to say.

“No,” Aaron said, taking another step closer to her, his eyes shining and dazzling. “I called in my backup, and we got here on time.”

“Are you telling me the man who just left with the siren still on is watching your girls tonight?”

“Yeah,” Aaron said. “That was Paul Leyhe. Best deputy in the cove.” He slipped his arm around her waist again, and Eloise had never been happier for Kelli’s body shaper. “And the girls were in the back seat.”

Eloise pulled in a tight breath, whether from what he’d said or the very masculine touch of him, she had no idea. “Tell me you’re lying.”

He laughed, tipping his head back and filling the sky with joy. “I’m not,” he said chuckling. He bent closer to her. “I just couldn’t miss my date with you.” His eyes drifted closed, and for some reason, Eloise’s did too.

And then Aaron Sherman kissed her.