Chapter Sixteen
This girl hasno idea what she is doing to me. She couldn”t, right? Or is this just another woman pretending at something and me being too naive to catch her in her act? Snap out of it, Coop. I look away from Molly”s face and take my seat on the blanket, shoving things back into the cooler. “Welp, guess it’s time to get back out there and tag us some turtle nests.” I sound like an idiot, and the look on Molly’s face says I not only sound like one, but look like one too.
We put everything back on the plane and slip a few waters in Molly’s backpack before heading back toward the North Shore.
The sun is warmer now,beaming down on our backs as we work. That, combined with the humidity, is making us move a lot slower. I grab a bottle of water and chug it down, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I haven’t seen Molly drink anything since we took our lunch break, and that has me a little worried. Should I say something and risk the backlash from the woman who doesn’t like to be told what to do? Or leave it alone and hope she doesn’t get sick? I have seen some of my tourists after they have spent a day at the beach with little to no water, and the after effects weren’t fun to clean up. Screw it. I might regret these words later, but here goes.
“Molly, you need to make sure you are drinking enough water.” Her cheeks are blotchy and red, and her hair has a life of its own. “You’re not from around here, and you can get dehydrated really fast.” I don’t know why I am telling this woman to drink more water. She is just going to argue with me about it.
“Yeah, Coop, I’m not an idiot. Haven’t you ever heard of the little water jingle?” I have no idea what she is talking about, so I lean on one of the stakes, motioning for her to proceed.
“Seriously? Uh… Okay...It goes like this. Water, water, H2O, dehydration, NO NO NO.” She says it like she is on the cheer squad at a football game, and her movements make me smile. But also, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. How is that supposed to help you remember to drink water? It’s not like School House Rock, which helps you learn math or how to count by threes, it just tells you the water has the chemical make-up of H2O and that dehydration is bad, in horrible English.
“That’s… uh… well… I don’t get it. How is that supposed to help?” I run my hands through my hair, moving it away from my sticky neck and forehead. She fans herself with her hand and removes her linen shirt, tying it around her waist, giving me a better view of what she had hidden underneath. I try not to gawk at her as I take her in, in her forest green form fitting halter-top bikini. It has a higher neck and stops just above her navel. But she has curves I didn’t even know about, and the woman has to work out to have the flat stomach she is rocking. She interrupts my thoughts as I start to picture what the rest of her bikini looks like, and I focus on her face instead as she continues on.
“It reminds you that you need to drink water, because if you don’t, you’ll get dehydrated, which isn’t good. Duh.” This woman. I have never had someone argue with me so much about so many things.
“Okie. Whatever you say.” I hand her a bottle of water, and she rolls her eyes, before twisting open the lid and gulping half of it down. So she was thirsty. Stubborn woman. I shake my head as she hands it back to me, wiping the water from her lips as some of it dribbles down her chin and neck. My eyes follow the water trail, and I catch myself before they travel too low. Come on, Coop, get your head together, man.
We continue markingnests and taking measurements until the sun begins to dip lower in the sky. “Time to call it a day, Molly. I need some daylight to be able to land the plane at the dock in Willow Cove.” I brush off my shorts and stand, helping her gather all of her things and placing them in her backpack. She looks beat; the sun must have really taken it out of her today. Molly swings the backpack onto her back and winces before removing it.
“Guess I should have reapplied my sunscreen a couple more times.” I take the backpack from her, and we head back to the plane. We get settled into our seats, and I hand Molly her headset again before starting up the engine.
“How many nests did we tag today?” I look over at Molly, and she has her clipboard on her lap, making little notes here and there.
“38… 39… 40… 41. We flagged 41 nesting sites today, Coop. Isn’t that awesome?” Molly sticks her clipboard back into her backpack and sits back, wincing again as her back hits the seat.
“I have some aloe in my bag in the back. Want me to go get you some before we take off?” Her back doesn’t look very red, but sometimes it takes a few hours for the burn to show up.
“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.” I flip the switch back off and head to the back, pulling it out of the bag I always keep on hand.
“Here ya go.” I hand it to her and take my seat, doing all of my checks before taking off. The sun is a little lower than I’d normally like, but it will be alright. I’ve flown in complete darkness before, so this won’t be too bad.
Once we arein the air, I flip on auto-pilot and look over at Molly. She is meticulously spreading the aloe vera over everything she can reach on her body. But now I know why she is hurting. There is one spot on her back that she couldn’t reach, and I can see it beginning to turn red.
“You missed a spot back there.” I point to the part on her back that is open. The halter top may be higher in the front, but the entire back has a circular cut-out, and she barely reached any of it. She reaches behind her and tries to rub in the aloe, but she misses it entirely.
I really don’t know how I feel about this, but I stand from my seat and move over to where she is sitting, trying to dislocate her arm to reach the middle of her back. “Give it here. You look ridiculous.” She flinches as I reach for the bottle, startled by my presence.
“Oh… I… think I can reach it. Don’t worry about it, Coop.” She stretches for the spot again, and I squirt some aloe into my hand.
“Would you just stop that, please? Your arms are too short to reach it.” She leans forward and moves her unbraided hair out of the way. When did she take her pigtails out? I move closer, and coconuts, mixed with sweat and sunscreen, waft toward me as I reach toward her back. Being as gentle as I can, my hand makes contact with her skin. I can feel the heat radiating off of it as I move my hand across her back, hoping my callused hands aren’t causing her more pain.
“Oh dang. That’s tender,” She says through tight lips.
“Sorry, I hope my hands aren’t hurting you.” I pull my hands away, and she turns, reaching for my hand to move it back.
“No, not at all. It feels really good on my burn. Can you get my shoulders too since you”re already back there?” I take a deep breath and squirt some more into my hands. Her skin is so soft, and even with the sweat from the day, Molly smells really good. How did I get myself into this situation? I frown to myself, thinking about Abby and all of the times I patiently rubbed aloe into her sunburns and the countless ways in which I helped her when she was sick or had a bad day. Never once did she reciprocate those gestures of kindness.
I finish rubbing it into her skin and drop the bottle onto her lap, walking back to my seat without another word. Scowling, I keep my eyes on the horizon as I continue to think about Abby. She’s the reason I gave up on relationships and vowed to never let another woman into my life in that way again. So what was I doing? What was I thinking? Doing nice things for another woman that I barely even knew. They are all the same. Selfish. Self Absorbed. Needy. Stinking women.
I feel a hand on mine as my mind comes back into focus. “You okay, Coop? You seem upset.” I relax my hands on the control stick and look up at Molly, standing there with a concerned look on her face.
“You shouldn’t be out of your seat, Molly. Don’t worry about me. Just please go sit back down.” I try to keep the anger out of my voice as I speak, but I can tell I am unsuccessful when I see her face fall.
“Oh. Right. Sorry. You just looked like you weren’t okay, and you were so nice to help me with my burn,” she points to her back. “I just thought I could help you with whatever was bothering you.” She spins around and starts making her way back to her seat before spinning back around. “Oh my gosh. I am such an idiot. Did you get sunburned too?” She reaches for my hair and holds it up and off of my shoulders before moving the collar of my shirt aside to assess the damage that isn’t there. A chill runs through my body as her fingers graze the skin on my neck. “You don’t look sunburned. Is it your arms?” She lifts one of my arms and looks it up and down before turning it over, repeating the same motion as before. “I don’t see one here either.”
I’ve never had anyone this concerned about my wellbeing before, but I can’t take all of the touching right now. Not with thoughts of Abby dancing around in my head.
“I’m fine, Molly. Really. I was just thinking about something that brought back old memories that… well… I’m fine. You can go sit back down.” I watch her out of the corner of my eye as she goes to sit down. She crosses her legs like she did before and settles back into the seat, resting her head against the back as she stares at the sun setting before our eyes. She takes out her camera, taking shots of the array of colors against the darkening backdrop of the sky and the ocean, before getting comfortable, untying the shirt from her waist, balling it up, and using it as a pillow against the side of the airplane.
I zone out, thinking about Molly’s consideration toward me as I continue to watch the sun retreat. Looking over, I see that she has fallen asleep, her face pressed against the window. Not a very flattering picture of the woman, but at the same time, it is also pretty cute. I decide not to wake her as I prepare the plane for landing, and she sleeps through it all.
Unloading the plane first, I choose to not wake her up and carry her to my truck instead. Using the picnic blanket as a pillow, I set her inside the cab as gently as possible before making my way to the other side. She continues to sleep as I drive, but now that we have reached Coralberry Cottages, I need to wake her so she can open the door.
“Molly…,” I shake her shoulder, trying to nudge her awake. Nothing. I nudge her again, and she doesn’t even move. The woman can sleep like the dead. Why is this chick constantly causing me to do things I would never do?
I rummage through the front pockets of her backpack and find a key clipped to the inside hook. This has to be the key to her cottage. I grab the key, placing it in my pocket, and go around to the other side of the truck. Looking up at the sky, I shake my head. “Why am I being punished?” I open the door and lift her into my arms, hoping she doesn’t wake up while I am carrying her.
We get to her cottage, and I skillfully manage to get the key in the door without dropping her. Now to open the door. I kick my leg up and hit the handle with my foot, pushing it down as I balance on one foot while holding ‘sleeping beauty’ in my arms. She stirs a little, her hands coming around my neck, causing a shiver to run up my spine as she snuggles in closer. I try not to swear out loud at the predicament as I kick open the door and head for the bedroom, peeling back the sheets before laying her down. She might have a bit of sand in her bed tomorrow, but what else am I supposed to do? I pull off her sandals and cover her up with the comforter before heading back out to the truck to retrieve her backpack.
I come back inside and notice that Molly has curled into a ball. She looks so small in the large bed. Smiling to myself, I watch her sleep. So peaceful… So pretty… also loud and obnoxious, but also caring. I reach up and slap myself in the face, causing Molly to stir in her sleep. What are you doing, Coop? I back out of the room and make my way to the front door of the cottage. I will just lock the door, leave the key under the mat, and send her a text telling her where it is. I glance back once more, moving back into the cottage. Maybe I should leave some things by the bed just in case she needs them in the middle of the night. I go out to my truck and grab the aloe from before and a few Advil from my bag before returning to where she is sleeping. Maybe I should leave her a note. Wouldn’t want to wake her up with a text message. I pull a piece of paper from her clipboard and scribble a small note, leaving it by her bed.
Molly,
Thought you might need some of these, and I’m not sure what you have around here. So, if you wake up with a headache or your burn hurts, here’s some Advil for the pain. Also, here is the aloe from the plane. I know you can’t reach all the spots, but hopefully it will help the ones you can reach. Oh, and I left you some water. Because… well… Water, water, H2O, dehydration NO. NO. NO. I still don’t get it, but hopefully it made you smile. See you tomorrow.
Coop
I walk out the door and lock it behind me, slipping the key under the mat before making my way to the truck. Two days down, nineteen left to go. Crap.