Chapter 15
Fifteen
Ted was dancing with his grandmother when he saw Caroline slip out of the tent and head in the direction of the guesthouse. Smitty, Parker, and Chip were enjoying cigars on the lawn, and Ted couldn’t see Elise but assumed she was with them.
When the song ended, Ted escorted Lillian back to her seat and was on his way to a clean escape when his mother stopped him.
“Oh, Ted, darling, do you remember Madeline and John Harrington?”
They had been summer friends of his parents’ for as long as they had been coming to the island. “Of course.” Ted shook hands with both of them. “I ran into Jack in Newport a month or so ago,” he said, referring to their son. “He was pushing a big stroller.”
Madeline laughed. “His twin boys are two years old.”
“Doesn’t he have older children, too?” Mitzi asked.
“Yes, four of them. The oldest is in college. He had the twins with his second wife.”
The small talk was killing Ted. “Would you all excuse me, please? It was great to see you again.”
“You, too, Ted,” John said.
He left them talking to his mother and followed the gravel path through the pitch black night to the guesthouse where the creak of a rocking chair told him Caroline was sitting on the back deck.
“I saw you leave. Are you all right?”
She didn’t answer.
“Caroline?” His heart knocked against his ribs. “What is it? Are you all right?”
“I really wanted to . . .”
“What?” he asked, his heart pounding.
“Cut in on you and your grandmother, broken ankle and all.”
He jammed his hands into his pockets to resist the overwhelming need to touch her. “This has been the longest day of my life,” he whispered.
“Mine, too. I loved hearing about how your parents and grandparents met.”
“My grandmother has us figured out.”
Caroline gasped. “Oh, no! Oh, God, Ted, what she must think of me!”
“She thinks you’re lovely.”
“Does she think we’re awful?”
“No, she thinks we’re lucky. My boss is sending me to New York for a conference in two weeks.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh, and I want to see you while I’m there.”
“I want to see you, too. I don’t know how I’ll ever stand to wait two weeks.”
“I want you to wear that dress again—just for me this time.”
“Anything,” she said, sounding breathless. “Anything for you.”
Smitty crushed out his cigar and wandered back into the tent to look for Caroline. Elise was returning from the restroom where she had repaired the damage the flood of tears had done to her makeup.
“Have you seen Caroline?” Smitty asked, scanning the crowd. The red dress was nowhere in sight.
“Not in the last fifteen minutes or so.”
“Maybe she went back to the house to get a pain pill.”
“I thought she wasn’t taking them anymore.”
“She’s been on the ankle a lot today. She might’ve needed one.”
“Do you want me to go check on her?”
“That’s all right. I’ll do it.” He kissed her forehead. “Go find your fiancé.”
“Fiancé,” Elise giggled. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“I still can’t believe Chip pulled one over on all of us.”
“He’s just full of surprises.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Smitty took the scenic route from the tent across the lawn behind the main house.
The moonless sky was polluted with stars.
Stopping for a moment, he gazed up at them, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to study them without any light to hinder the view.
He picked out the Big Dipper before he continued along to the guesthouse.
He had almost reached the back deck when a sound stopped him. A whisper. Someone was whispering.
“I want you to wear that dress again—just for me this time.”
“Anything. Anything for you.”
“Tomorrow, after you talk to him, will you call me?”
Duff? Why’s he whispering, and who is he talking to?
“I don’t have your number.”
Caroline? What the fuck?
Smitty heard the rustle of clothing and swallowed a growing tidal wave of panic and rage and disbelief. More than anything else, there was disbelief.
“Here’s my card. Call my cell. I’ll be waiting.”
“I will.”
“No matter what happens, remember we’re in this together, and we’ll figure it out. Somehow, we’ll find a way to be together.”
Smitty backed away before they could discover him, his heart in his throat as he cut between the two houses on his way to the driveway. Once he felt the crunch of shells beneath his feet, he began to run.