The Summer Sand Pact, Chapter 2
*Women's fiction *Five Island Cove novel *Heartwarming friendship fiction *Beach reads
Kelli Thompson saw the man with the light brown hair and freckles across his face sitting in the area for the gate next to hers. She’d seen him at the market yesterday too, and this morning, on her block as she and Parker had left the house to come to the airport.
Her skin prickled, but Kelli told herself not to over-react. She watched a lot of crime dramas, that was all. This man wasn’t following her.
She stared at him for several minutes, and he never once looked up from his tablet. Someone bumped into her leg, and Kelli’s attention diverted from the man to her son, who had taken off his headphones and opened his backpack to put them away.
“Done?” she asked, reaching over to smooth Parker’s loose hair off his forehead. He’d gotten kissed by some of her strawberry blonde hair, but his eyes were much darker than hers, a trait that had come from Julian.
“Yeah,” Parker said. “Can we get a cinnamon roll?”
“Yes,” Kelli said, some relief moving through her. “Let’s go get a cinnamon roll.” They shouldered their packs and walked away from the man sitting a few rows over. A slip of unease moved through Kelli to turn her back on the man, but no one grabbed her from behind.
Calm down, she told herself, and she glanced over her shoulder. The man still studied his screen as if his life depended on memorizing whatever sat there.
She bought a cinnamon roll and a bottle of milk for her son, skipping everything except a bottle of water for herself. They walked slowly back to the gate, and it had grown even more crowded as their flight’s departure time grew closer.
After scanning the waiting area and the one for the next gate over, Kelli didn’t see the man. Further relief seeped into her muscles, and soon after that, she and Parker boarded the plane, found their seats, and settled in.
The flight from Jersey to Five Island Cove only took eighty minutes, and the plane was full this time where Kelli had enjoyed her choice of seat the last time she’d gone. Seven weeks made a big difference on the island, and the summer vacationers had obviously already started to flood the cove.
She disembarked behind Parker, taking his hand in hers once they could walk side-by-side so they wouldn’t get separated among the masses of people making their way to the baggage claim area. “So,” she said, smiling down at him. “What did you think? Your first flight.”
“It was great,” he said, smiling. “I wasn’t even scared.”
A rush of love for the eight-year-old moved through Kelli, and she led him to the baggage claim only to find other people four deep, waiting for their bags.
Kelli never was one to push her way to the front, so she hung back, waiting for others to get their bags and go. She’d told Robin she could get herself to Rocky Ridge, because she was coming in a day after everyone else.
Delaying her trip by one day had allowed her to finish the week at the gym without having to get someone to cover for her for too long. And Julian had been able to get a huge order out yesterday while Kelli laundered everything she and Parker owned, packed, and scrubbed the townhome from top to bottom so Julian would have a clean house while she was gone.
When Kelli had proposed the idea of a two-week vacation in a luxury home in Five Island Cove for the three of them, Julian had frowned. Actually frowned. Kelli could still see the drawn-down eyebrows, the way small lines appeared on the outer edges of his mouth as his chin drooped.
She pushed the image of her unhappy husband out of her mind. She’d been unhappy when they hadn’t taken the vacation he’d promised they would. His mother hadn’t known about taking Parker so Julian and Kelli could reconnect.
Parker didn’t have school, and other than her few aerobics classes each week, Kelli wasn’t tied to New Jersey during the summer. So she’d boldly told Julian she’d take Parker herself, and they’d see him on the twenty-fifth.
Done. Simple as that.
Her phone dinged, and Kelli rummaged in her purse to find it as it continued to chime over and over. Embarrassment heated her face, and she quickly silenced her phone as if the people around her cared that it had made a few noises.
Julian had texted several times, saying he missed her already and he couldn’t wait until she got home. A sigh gathered in the back of her throat. She wasn’t sure how to interpret the messages. He could simply miss her and wish she’d hurry home. That would be the sweet assumption, the one that made her smile softly at how romantic her husband was.
But Kelli suspected he’d sent them to make her feel guilty for leaving at all. The back of her throat burned, and familiar bitterness gathered there.
Miss you too, she sent back, adding a smiley face emoji to the text before shoving her phone back in her purse. The crowd inched forward, and Kelli looked up to see if she could get closer to the rotating baggage belt.
Her eyes met those of the man who’d been sitting in the airport in Jersey. They were a darker blue than hers, but just as bright and just as…electric. He lifted his hand in a wave, and Kelli turned to look at the people around her. He couldn’t be waving at her; she didn’t know him.
When she looked back at him, he’d moved, and Kelli frantically searched to find where he’d gone. Who was he? Why was—?
She found him heading out the door, towing a single, black piece of luggage behind him. She glanced around at the others beside her, sure they could protect her. He wouldn’t dare try to hurt her or Parker with so many people around.
“That’s mine,” Parker said, and Kelli blinked her way back to the present.
She said, “Stay here,” and went to get his bag. It too was black, with a bright green duct tape turtle on the front of it. She hefted it off the moving belt and took it to him. She turned back and got her own bag, pulling out the handle so she could walk with the bag beside her.
“All right,” she said, refusing to scan for the stranger. “Let’s go get in line for a car.”
Five Island Cove had an amazing summer transportation system, as no one could drive to the cove. At the airport and every ferry station, a station for RideShare could be found, and all she had to do was get in line and say how many people she had and where she was going. They’d drive her there, and if she bought a monthly pass, she could ride as much as she wanted.
Since she and Parker would only be there for a couple of weeks, Alice had said she had two cars, Eloise had volunteered to rent one so she could go see Aaron whenever she wanted, and Robin said she’d have her SUV, Kelli hadn’t bothered with a pass. But she still needed to get to the house on Rocky Ridge.
The line stretched down the sidewalk, and Kelli joined it, noting that it was moving quickly, as cars were lined up to get people already. It was just a matter of loading as quickly as possible, and only a few minutes later, she and Parker had a car headed for the north ferry station.
Parker’s eyes stayed round as dinner plates as he took in the island, the ferry, the water that seemed to stretch in every direction. Kelli kept a smile in her heart at the way he wondered and experienced everything, confident in her decision to bring him to the cove this summer. They rarely went anywhere, and she’d taken him to every park and museum in their Jersey suburb. They’d gone into the city several times, and Kelli did her best to make sure Parker had plenty of opportunities for play dates. He had no siblings, and Kelli wasn’t the best playmate for him, she knew that.
“This is Sanctuary Island,” she told him as the ferry approached the dock. “We’re not getting off here. This ferry will continue around the west end of the island and go on to Rocky Ridge.”
“That’s the last island on this side of the cove,” Parker said. “Right?” He looked up at her.
“That’s right,” she said. “We flew into the middle island. On the south side is Bell Island, and then Pearl Island.”
“I heard they were going to build a highway to connect Bell and Pearl,” someone said, and Kelli’s anxiety spiked as she turned toward the woman standing there. She seemed familiar, but Kelli couldn’t place her light green eyes and washed out brown hair.
“Really?” she asked, wishing talking to new people didn’t freak her out so much. She was far too old to have a fight or flight response over making small talk on the ferry. “I didn’t know that.”
“Been some rumors among the locals,” she said with a smile.
“Are you a local?” Kelli asked.
“Born and raised.” The woman smiled, her eyes filling with pride. She was probably five years younger than Kelli, but the locals on Five Island Cove all knew each other.
“Do you know Robin Grover?” Kelli asked. “Her younger sister, Rosalee, still lives here too.”
The woman’s face lit up. “Sure,” she said. “Rosalee and I were in the same class.”
Surprise hit Kelli right between the eyes. “Really? What’s your name?”
“Leslie Norman,” she said. “Well, I was Otto, back in those days.”
“Leslie Otto?” Kelli said, putting the name together with the girl she’d gone to high school with. “I’m Kelli Watkins.” She touched her chest, wondering if anyone from her younger days would remember her.
Kelli had the kind of face that was forgettable. She didn’t speak up the way Alice did, and she hadn’t been perky and popular like Robin. She didn’t play sports and have boys fawning over her like AJ, and she didn’t stick out academically like Eloise. Yes, Kelli was entirely able to disappear from memories as if she’d never existed.
“Kelli Watkins,” the woman said, clearly trying to find the right memory with Kelli in it.
“I’m older than you,” Kelli said. “I’m sure you don’t remember me.” She glanced back out over the railing of the ferry, the sunshine so bright today. No wonder so many people came to the cove in the summer. Everything about it soothed her soul, and again, Kelli was glad she’d decided to come.
“Did you have siblings?” Leslie asked, and Kelli nodded.
“Two sisters,” she said, cutting a look at Leslie. “One older and one younger.”
“Watkins…” Leslie made the connection, Kelli could tell, and she wanted to move away from the other woman.
“Heather?”
“Yes,” Kelli said.
“I didn’t know her very well,” Leslie said, and at least her voice was kind.
Kelli nodded again, and thankfully, Leslie didn’t try to strike up more conversation. Heather had not finished high school, so it wasn’t surprising that someone like Leslie didn’t know her. She’d left the cove when she was fifteen, and to Kelli’s knowledge she’d never come back.
Everyone handled the demise of their family differently, and Kelli thought Heather had hung on for as long as she could.
Thankfully, the smudge of island on the horizon came into view, growing larger with every passing minute. “Here we are,” Kelli said as the ferry pulled up to the dock. “One more car ride, and we’re there.”
She tugged her luggage along beside her, ready to be done with the travel already. Parker went in front of her, and Kelli edged her way off the boat and over to the line for a ride. She tapped on her phone and pulled up the address Alice had given her, and she read it to the driver while he loaded their suitcases in the trunk.
He peered at her phone, and then nodded. “I know where this is.”
“Great.” Kelli ushered Parker into the car, turning back to the line of people waiting for their car, her eyes catching on someone standing there.
Her feet stumbled as she realized that man had followed her to Rocky Ridge.
This couldn’t be a coincidence.
Her breath froze in her lungs, but she managed to hurry into the car behind Parker and close the door. “Hurry, please,” she said, and the driver pulled away from the curb. She turned around to see if he’d follow them, but he hadn’t even been next in line. There was no way he could follow them.
Coincidence, she told herself, but her pulse would not settle down. Could it really be a coincidence? She’d never seen him in her neighborhood before yesterday, and she would’ve remembered those blazing eyes.
She felt like she had ants crawling all over her body, and she couldn’t hold still for more than a few seconds. Alice owned a home clear up on the ridge, of course, as that was premium land, and nothing Alice did came in second.
“Thank you,” Kelli said, passing the driver a tip. He unloaded their bags, and Kelli started up the front sidewalk to the mansion’s front door.
“Wow, Mom,” Parker said. “This place is huge.”
“Isn’t it?” Kelli said, peering up at the two-story giant in front of her. The exterior sported gray siding above a darker gray stone that looked very expensive. The front door probably weighed a thousand pounds, as it looked thick and sturdy.
She’d just made it to the top of the six steps to the porch when someone called her name. She turned, her heartbeat ricocheting around her chest.
That man stood there, trying to get his bag, pay the driver, and walk toward her at the same time.
“Parker,” Kelli said, her voice quivering. “Hurry.” She didn’t bother to knock or ring the doorbell. She ran the few steps to the door and opened it, herding her son inside. She heaved his bag in after him, ignoring his question, and turned back to the man.
He’d left his bag on the sidewalk, and Kelli abandoned hers too. It was just a suitcase. She launched herself into the house and pushed the door closed with a deafening slam, twisting the lock immediately afterward.
“Kelli?” someone said behind her. A man.
A yelp came out of her mouth, because she didn’t think there would be any men here. Honestly, anything would’ve made her cry out at this point. She could barely hear anything past her own heart beating in her ears.
Aaron Sherman stood there, concern on his face, and Kelli almost started crying in relief.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Kelli looked from Parker to Aaron, to Eloise, who came into the foyer too. “There’s this guy following me,” she said.
“What?” Eloise asked.
“I know it sounds crazy, but he’s been everywhere I’ve been for the past two days.”
As if to prove her point, the doorbell rang, and a fist pounded on the door several times.
Kelli once again cried out as she leapt away from the door. Eloise caught her arm and pulled her to her side with the word, “Aaron.”
“You guys take the boy into the kitchen,” Aaron said authoritatively. “Tell everyone to stay out of sight.”
“What are you going to do?” Eloise asked.
Kelli reached for her son’s hand, ready to hide in whatever closet, under whatever bed, she had to in order to keep him safe.
Aaron turned toward them, and somehow gave a smile that was both confident and curt at the same time. “I’m going to talk to him and find out who he is and what he wants.” But as the doorbell rang again, and Eloise, Kelli, and Parker hurried into the kitchen, Aaron took his radio off his belt, and said, “I need backup to Upper Ridge Road, number 42357.”