Chasing Sunsets Part 10

Startled, I turned in the direction of the voice. A man stood shadowed only a few yards to my left. "I'm sorry?"

"Kimberly, right?"

I squinted. With the distance between us I could only make out his build-tall and muscular-and the dark crop of his hair. He wore tan shorts, an untucked short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt, and Birkenstocks.

When I still said nothing, he added, "Kimberly-Boo?"

Struck with fear, I managed, "Who are you?"

He took a step forward. The scent of expensive cologne and Gulf water met me before he said, "You don't remember your old island buddy, I suppose."

My breath came ragged as my heart skipped. Could it be? "Steven?"

Another two steps and I could see his face. He'd changed over the years. Blond streaks had grown dark brown. The boyish features had given way to a man's. Then they'd been soft; now he seemed handsomely chiseled. The brow was naturally furrowed and eyes less carefree. But the impish grin hadn't been stolen by time. That alone remained. "One and the same."

"I . . ."

"Don't know what to say?"

"Quite frankly, no."

Now he stood directly before me. And when he smiled I saw the young man I'd fallen so giddily in love with as a teenage girl. "I thought I saw you today from Dad's boat. Wasn't that you walking near the marina? I waved . . ."

"That was you on the boat?"

"Yep. That was me. You waved back so I thought . . ."

I laughed lightly. "I thought you were some teenaged boy your father had hired for the summer."

Steven laughed too. "I am."

"So what are you doing here?" we asked in unison.

"You first . . ." he said.

"I'm here for Dad. The woman who took care of the house pa.s.sed away."

"Eliana."

"Yes."

"The whole island mourned. She was a staple here, you know."

"She was like another mother to me . . . though I admit I hadn't seen or spoken to her in years."

Steven blinked. "Why not?"

I dipped a shoulder. "I . . . it's just been hard to be here since . . ."

"Your mom pa.s.sed away?"

I turned back toward the sunset. The sun had gone to its nightly home, and the sky had become a brilliant shade of red. "This is really something, isn't it?"

Steven bent a little at the waist for a better look at me, then straightened. "Tourists sometimes come out here to watch the sunset, then walk or drive away the minute it disappears. What they don't know is that if they'd just wait about fifteen minutes, that's when the sky really puts on a show."

"I remember." Oh how I remembered. More than the colors of the sky I remembered the firework displays inside my own head when, under the canopy of the emblazoned sky, Steven used to wrap me in his arms and kiss me until my knees buckled.

But of course I didn't say that.

We were silent a moment until Steven spoke. "So, where's your camera? I can't remember a time I didn't see you without one slung around your neck."

I looked down at my feet and whispered a silent "thank you" to Heather that I'd gotten a pedicure. "I don't take pictures anymore."

More silence.

"How long are you here for?"

I looked back to the boy of my youth. The one who had taken one summer and turned it into an elusive dream . . . and my life into a nightmare. The boy turned man, who hardly deserved to know how his rejection had affected me. "Not long. I'm only here to find a replacement for Eliana."

"I don't think she's replaceable," he said with a smile, "but I'd venture a guess that if you went to see Rosa, she could help you."

"Rosa. Why do you say that?"

"She owns a real estate office here . . . she's Rosa Fuentes now." He chuckled. "I guess she figures Cedar Key isn't big but it's persistent." He dipped his head. "A lot like Rosa."

I turned fully toward him again and crossed my arms. "Owns it? I was told she worked there."

"Oh no. She owns it. Lock, stock, and barrel."

"So you think she could help me find someone? Because if she could, that would be terrific."

"She has a staff of women who clean some of the rental properties so I don't see why not." He pointed across the street with his thumb. "I'm renting one of her places until I can figure out what I'm doing."

"You don't live here?"

Even in the near-darkness I could see Steven pink. "Now I do. Until Dad either gets well or decides to sell the business. After that, I don't know . . ."

"Your father is sick?"

"Had a ma.s.sive heart attack last fall."

"I'm sorry. I hadn't heard."

Steven raked his bottom lip with his teeth, made a hissing sound and then said, "So where do you live now?"

"Orlando still."

"Married?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Why does it seem that is always the first question out of anyone's mouth?" I looked back at my pitiful toes and tightened the hold I had on myself. "No. I'm not. I was, but I'm not now."

"Me too."

I looked back at him, my senses sharpened. "I heard you got married . . ."

Steven looked out across the water. "Long story. Too long." Then, looking at me, he added, "But the good news is that I got one fantastic daughter out of it. Eliza. She's in college now, can you believe it?"

College? Mine were in middle school. "No, I can't."

"You? Do you have kids?"

"Two sons. Chase is fourteen and Cody is eleven."

"Ah . . . the best is yet to come."

"So I hear."

"It will be the time you'll wonder why you had them. Then, they'll become adults and you'll know."

For that I had nothing to say and, apparently, neither did he. He shoved his hands into his pockets and said, "Hey, would you like to come over? Have a cup of coffee or something cold to drink? I don't drink alcohol . . . but I have sodas . . . water . . ." He grinned.

I glanced toward where my car was parked. In the dusk, I could no longer make out my companion sitting there. "I have someone with me."

Steven blew out a breath. "Oh."

"No . . . not a man . . . I a.s.sume you mean a man . . . no. I have Patsy . . . uh. Goodness, I don't even know her last name."

"Patsy Milstrap? Older woman? Lives next to your dad's house?"

Apparently people living in Cedar Key still knew everyone who lived in Cedar Key. "Yes."

He grinned; I could almost see relief rush across his brow, and in spite of the years since we'd last kissed good-bye "until next time," I couldn't help but feel smug.

"Okay, then," he said.

"Well."

"Maybe I'll see you around the island."

"I don't intend to be here long."

We stared at each other, both blinking in silence.

"All right then," he said.

"Good-bye, Steven." I extended my hand.

His gripped mine easily, the palm torn between soft and callused. I wondered what he'd done before returning to his father's boat. "It was good to see you again, Kimberly."

My hand slipped from his. I shuffled past the man I'd once thought I couldn't live without, the boy whose name I'd written all over the inside front cover of every composition book of my senior year of high school. The man-child who had broken my heart as it had never been crushed before.

Until Charlie.

Then, when I was halfway between Steven and Patsy, I heard him call out, "Boo!"

I turned. He was jogging toward me. When he came to a stop, he placed his hands on his hips and said, "Listen, I know this is kind of short notice, but . . . would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"Dinner?"

"Yeah. You know, we'll go to a restaurant . . . sit down . . . eat? It won't be McDonald's on the mainland"-he winked-"but it'll be good."

"So you mean . . . like a date?"

Steven blinked, then widened his eyes. "Well, you don't have to call it a date if you don't want to."

I pressed my hand against my chest, felt my heart hammering beneath. Traitor. "No, I mean . . . I just . . . it's just . . ." Surely my smile looked foolish. I laughed in an effort to cover up the anxiety. "I haven't been asked out on a date since I married Charlie."

His brow furrowed. "Not even since the divorce?"

"No."

"You've just divorced?"

I shook my head. "It's been over a year."

"Then Orlando is filled with fools."

My cheeks grew warm. "Thank you for that. But the truth is, Orlando is filled with Charlie's friends. None of them would dare ask me out. No one wants to cross Charlie Tucker."

His face softened with compa.s.sion. "Charlie Tucker is a fool too." He blinked. "I should know."

I smiled. "Thank you for that too."

"Tomorrow night then?"

I nodded. "That would be lovely."

"I'll pick you up at 7:00. We'll eat then come back here to watch the sunset again." He glanced toward the water. "It's never the same twice, you know."

"Yes," I said. "I remember."

I called Heather as soon as I got back to the house to tell her about seeing Steven after twenty-four years.

"You sound like a schoolgirl."

I sat cross-legged at the head of my bed. "Don't be silly. I'm just excited that I have an actual date. And one Charlie can't bully."

"Did he tell you what happened after the two of you had your summer of love? About him and his . . . wife?"