The Lighthouse Chapter 7

Chapter SEVEN:

Eloise stepped out of the small airport on Diamond Island and moved out of the stream of people so she could stop and take a breath. For a while there, it had been hard to breathe in Five Island Cove, but now the air went down just like it did in Boston.

She continued to the car she’d rented, in no hurry to get to the ferry and continue her trip. Her mother still lived in the cove, on the island of Sanctuary Island, where Eloise had grown up. She’d met Wesley Daniels in high school, and he’d gone to Boston University a year ahead of her.

They’d married too young, Eloise knew that now. Not only that, but Wesley had not wanted a woman who thought for herself. So he and Eloise always seemed to be on opposite sides of decisions that needed to be made. He had followed her to Harvard, though he wasn’t continuing his education past a bachelor’s degree.

She remembered how they’d both wanted a child, but she was beyond grateful that she hadn’t been able to get pregnant. She couldn’t imagine being a single mother, having to deal with Wes all the time to arrange visitation and child support.

As it was, she hadn’t heard from him since their divorce was finalized, almost eighteen years ago. She’d dated a man here and there, but nothing had ever taken off and become serious. And at this point, Eloise wasn’t looking for anything other than her next good meal and the reality television shows she liked.

She did love the beaches here though, and the ferries ran every twenty minutes from Diamond Island to Sanctuary, the two biggest islands in the cove. She could catch the next one, or the one after that.

She’d arrived a day earlier than she’d told Robin she would, and she towed her carryon behind her with one hand while she carried her two cats in the carrier she’d put under her seat for the short flight to Five Island Cove.

She’d told her mother she’d be staying with Robin after their brief visit, because it would be much easier to get to Kristen’s to help if she wasn’t on Sanctuary Island. Plus, Eloise could only handle her mother in less-than-twenty-four-hour doses, but she didn’t want to tell her that.

After pulling off the main road and into a parking lot, she got out of the car and shed her sweater. She always traveled with a sweater, as airplanes were usually cold. Eloise was always prepared for anything and everything, right down to the bottle of water she’d purchased in the Boston airport so she’d have something to drink when she got here. After all, she knew herself, and she knew she was always thirsty when she landed.

She locked the car, though there was no one else around, and headed up and over the swells of sand. The cats would be fine for a few minutes.

The water spread before her, and she imagined she could see all the way to Nantucket. When she and the other Seafaring Girls got a few minutes alone on the beach, they’d all tried to see the smudge of land on the horizon. And sometimes, on a very clear day, someone would spot it.

The weather today was a bit angrier, and clouds foamed in the sky above the ocean. Eloise went all the way to where the water kissed the sand, kicking off her shoes so she could feel the surf against her skin. A sense of relaxation came over her that she’d never felt anywhere but in Five Island Cove.

If only she could remember this feeling every time she thought about the place she’d grown up, and not that her father had gotten so drunk one night, he’d beaten her and her mother, then gotten into a bar fight and arrested. Not only that, but after she and Wes had divorced, he’d come back to Sanctuary Island for a couple of years until his death. Eloise had hosted her mother at her brownstone in Boston those years.

She drew in a long, deep breath, listening to the constant roar of the waves. Down the beach a bit, a man ran with his dog, coming her way. Eloise would stay for another moment, and then she’d go. Her footprints would be washed away by the time the man got to the spot where she’d stood, and she wondered if the footprint her life had left on the world would be erased as easily.

Before she knew it, a whistle rent the air, and Eloise looked to her right. The man yelled something too, but he was still too far away for it to be comprehended.

The dog, however, was nearly upon Eloise.

She didn’t even have time to yelp before the huge animal was upon her, his thick tail wagging as if they were best friends. He jumped up on her, and while Eloise carried a few extra pounds, she couldn’t shoulder the lurch of a dog the size of a small pony.

The man whistled again, yelling, “Prince!” as Eloise went down. She cinched her eyes shut, thinking this was it for her. But the dog hadn’t barked once, and all she got was a severe licking with the dog’s huge tongue.

“Prince.” The man dragged the dog off of Eloise, the sound of his panting almost as loud as the waves now washing against Eloise’s body. “Stay. No. Stay.” He spoke in a commanding voice, and Prince whined, but listened.

“I’m so sorry,” the man said, coming back to Eloise. She’d managed to roll to a sitting position so she wasn’t a complete lump on the ground. He extended his hand, and Eloise looked up at him.

He had the body of a runner, with plenty of tan skin and tight muscles. Her dormant female hormones leapt as she put her hand in his, and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet. “He’s still a puppy in a lot of ways, and he gets so excited when he sees other people.” He sucked at the air again. “There’s usually no one here, so I let him off the leash.” He held up one hand, palm out, and the dog whined again.

Eloise liked the way his voice slid into her ears and tickled. She cleared her throat and reached up to her hair, finding half of it wet. Pure embarrassment moved through her as she tried to comb some of the foam and sand out of the strands glued to her head.

“Do you need a towel?” he asked. “Or do you live around here?” He cocked his head at her. “I don’t think you do, because I swear I know everyone on the island. But you look familiar.”

“Do I?” Eloise asked, her first contribution to the conversation.

“Yeah.” The man narrowed his eyes, as if squinting at her would jog his memory. “I definitely know you. Maybe a younger version of you. What year did you graduate?”

She gave a light laugh, cutting it off when she realized how flirtatious it sounded. “That’s like asking my age.”

A smile touched the man’s lips. “I’m Aaron Sherman.” He extended his hand, but Eloise just stared at him. Of course she’d run into Aaron Sherman. “I’ll pay for any cleaning or anything.” He pulled his hand back, the moment turning awkward when she didn’t shake it. “I’m not hard to find. I’m the Police Chief. Just stop by the department, and someone will know where I am.” He gave her that grin again, one Eloise had seen countless times before, usually in her own fantasies.

“All right, Prince,” he said, turning as if he’d run away now.

“Aaron,” she blurted out, trying to find the professional inside her. “Sorry, I was just so shocked.” She touched her own chest as he looked at her, waiting for more of an explanation. “I’m Eloise Hall.”

That smile returned, and Aaron snapped his fingers. “Of course.” His laughter filled the sky, and he stepped right into her and drew her into a hug. She couldn’t help but laugh with him as she patted him awkwardly on his bare back. “Eloise Hall. Look at you.” He stepped back and did exactly that, head to toe.

Eloise grew much too warm, her smile seemingly stuck in place.

“You look great. What brings you back to the island?”

“Joel Shields’s funeral,” she said. “Kristen was my seafaring leader for years.”

Aaron cooled almost instantly, nodding. “Yes, the funeral is next weekend.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ll be here until at least then. Maybe a bit longer.” She didn’t have another class until September, and she could stay in the cove until then. And for some strange reason, she wanted to.

He brought the smile back. “We should get dinner or something,” he said. “Catch up on old times.”

“Okay, yeah,” she said, not quite sure if he’d just asked her out or not. “Sounds good.”

“Is AJ coming?” he asked, and Eloise’s fantasies and hopes came crashing back to reality. Of course he’d be interested in AJ. Everyone in high school had been, and she’d had more boyfriends than the other four of them put together.

“You know, I haven’t heard,” Eloise said. “I know Robin was trying to get her to come, but I’m not sure.”

Prince barked then, and Aaron’s attention diverted to him. “Seriously, stop by the department if there’s anything I need to replace.” He gestured to the dog. “Come on, boy. Right here.” He took off down the beach again, and Eloise stood in the sand, watching him until he disappeared from her sight.

Then she remembered she was half-wet and losing daylight, not to mention the pair of felines waiting for her in the rental car. “Get a grip, El,” she muttered to herself as she went back to the parking lot. Forty-five-year-old women didn’t have island flings, or summer romances, or whatever it was that had gotten her heart thumping so hard at the sight of Aaron Sherman.