Wild Shores

Chapter Eight

Gem pushed away her half-finished meal, swallowed the dregs of her wine, and placed the glass carefully on the carved wooden coaster decorated with a seashell. She blew out a breath. “I had no idea I was going to go there, and I think I should apologize. It’s probably way too much information at any point, but especially when we hardly—”

“No, it’s fine. Well, not fine fine,” Austin said quietly, “but…” She wanted to tread carefully in the unfamiliar waters. Her emotions were rolling around like a buoy on a rough sea, tilting from one side to the other and occasionally going under altogether. Interpersonal revelations weren’t exactly her strong point. She didn’t think she’d ever had the kind of soul-baring conversation she’d just had with Gem—who in her past would’ve talked to her of something so deeply personal, so meaningful, so revealing? Not her goal-oriented, action-loving family—not her mother, with her cool, calculating surgeon’s brain able to assess any situation and act instantly, no regrets and no second guesses; not her father, the jocular daredevil, who loved to fly into danger and was bored whenever he wasn’t, but never talked about what it meant to face death on a daily basis; not her jock of a brother for whom skill, success, and celebrity came easily. If they’d suffered along the way to victory, they kept the pain, if it was there at all, buried even to themselves. And who would she have talked to if not family—certainly not the women with whom she had fleeting relationships, some more than one night, true, but none where a touch of compassion and understanding was valued more than heat and passion. She and Gem had shared one simple kiss and so much more. She was humbled to be trusted with so much, angry for the pain Gem had suffered, and helpless knowing she could do nothing about it. She cleared her throat. “I should confess right now that I’m really bad at this kind of thing.”

Gem’s smile was a little rueful, a little amused. “This kind of thing being…?”

“Touching when it’s not physical.”

Gem caught her breath. Yes, that was exactly what had been going on between them most of the day. The kiss aside, they’d been touching, exploring, connecting, even when they hadn’t been physically close. No wonder she’d wanted to kiss her. The whole day had been a seduction, and the whole dating scenario had been turned on its head. “I know what you mean. It’s a little disconcerting how easy it’s been to…be with you.”

Austin laughed. “Just a little.”

“I know you’re going to be busy once you arrive at Rock Hill,” Gem said, tentatively feeling her way along an unfamiliar path. “But I suppose you have to eat at some point, get a little fresh air. You do surface now and then, don’t you?”

“My schedule is pretty irregular,” Austin said. She couldn’t make any kind of plans. Best-case scenario, she’d have nothing to do and then she would happily spend a week or so relaxing in some little seaside hotel and getting to know Gem better. Or she could be sitting out on the ocean in a containment ship, getting no sleep and watching an oil spill spread toward land. “But I’d like to see you again, if it’s possible. Maybe I could call you?”

“Sure, yes. That’s good for now, then.” Gem toyed with the empty wineglass. “It would probably be good to slow down and back up a little bit anyhow.”

“As long as we don’t have to start the drive over again.”

Gem laughed, appreciating Austin’s attempt to defuse the tension. “I can’t say I’ll mind getting to the end of this particular road trip. At least in some ways.” She touched Austin’s hand, remembered she’d just said they needed to back up a little, and pulled away. Mixed messages much? “Although I’m glad we had this day.”

“Thanks. Me too.” Austin gathered up the bill the waitress left on their table and pulled out a credit card. “I suppose it’s time we took advantage of the break in the weather and got going.”

“Yes. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready.” Gem rose and headed toward the rest rooms at the far end of the room.

Austin signaled the waitress and checked her phone. Miracle of miracles, she not only had a signal, she had voice mail. Six of them, all brief and progressively more irritated messages from Eloise. The last being, Where the hell are you?

She pressed call back on the last one. Even though it was well after seven and the last time they’d spoken had been three in the morning, Eloise picked up her office line on the second ring. Her greeting was terse. “I did stress there was some urgency to this job, didn’t I?”

“Have you been watching the weather?”

“Of course I’ve been watching the weather. Along with maritime reports, satellite projections of the storm’s trajectory, and hourly updates from the rig. Not to be repetitious, but where are you?”

“About an hour and a half out. I got grounded in Baltimore and I’ve been driving all day, basically getting nowhere. Things have cleared here for the moment, so I ought to get in before ten.”

“Good. Ray is waiting on the rig for you to call. As of an hour ago, the fog was too heavy for the birds to fly. You ought to be able to reach him by phone, though.”

“We have a problem.”

“Really?” Eloise’s cool voice was laden with sarcasm. She must be tired if she allowed that much emotion to show. “What exactly would that be, other than the obvious?”

Austin signed the credit card slip the waitress left, keeping one eye on the far side of the room for Gem’s return. “This wildlife sanctuary isn’t just any wildlife sanctuary. It’s some pivotal point on the Atlantic Flyway.”

“Enlighten me.”

“That’s a particular route that large numbers of endangered species travel this time of year.”

“Why don’t I know about this?”

“I don’t know,” Austin said. “Don’t you have people who research these things?”

“I’m supposed to have,” Eloise said.

Austin was very glad she wasn’t one of those people. “At any rate, it’s not only a locus for scientific research, but also tourism and bird watching. And I’ve never seen a birdwatcher who wasn’t a rabid environmentalist.”

“How exactly did you get all of this information while you were out of touch? If you couldn’t answer my calls, I assume you couldn’t search the Internet.”

“I’m actually traveling with the lead biologist who’s heading up a research team at the sanctuary.”

The line went silent, one of the only times Austin had ever experienced Eloise to be wordless.

“How did that happen?”

“By chance. We ended up getting one of the last vehicles out of the airport—that’s not really important. What is important is that if we do have a spill, we’re going to be under a magnifying glass, even more so than normally.”

“Then I’m glad we hired you.”

The message was clear—Austin’s job was to keep the lens of public scrutiny focused somewhere other than on the company. “Right. What’s the status out on the rig?”

“Ray says the breach hasn’t widened, and there’s no surface contamination at this point.”

“So we’ve still got time.”

“We’re bringing in the ships just in case. If we have to, we can burn, as long as the surface skim doesn’t get away from us.”

“We’ll have to make a statement before we do that. We’re walking the line right now. Someone’s going to ask the question sooner or later as to when we first knew about the breach.”

“We’re not required to report containable leaks.”

“I know that’s the party line.”

“It’s more than that, it’s the law. We have to accept regulations that aren’t always to our benefit, and we ought to be able to use those that are.”

“The public doesn’t care about the law, Eloise, it’s all about perception.”

“And that’s your job, isn’t it?”

Austin watched Gem walking back toward her. Manipulating perception, yes. That was her job, that was her skill. That was her. “I have to go.”

❖

Maybe it was the wine or the night closing in around the vehicle that sent Gem to sleep, but the deceleration of the SUV was what roused her. She jolted awake, discovered her head leaning at an awkward angle against the side window, and straightened with a nearly inaudible groan. “Sorry, I flaked out on you.”

“Not a problem,” Austin said.

“I wasn’t snoring, was I?”

“Um…no?”

“Good answer.” Gem blinked and peered through the windshield. Fog had rolled in again, but that wasn’t uncommon along the shore. It didn’t necessarily harbinger another storm, although she estimated this time it did. The town of Rock Hill, more a village really, encompassed barely a mile in length, the main street hugging the shoreline and the residential areas extending from it like tiny bristles on one of those spindly brushes used to clean test tubes. There were no hotels, merely a few dozen bed-and-breakfasts situated along the main drag, and at this time of year, they would be empty except for seasonal events like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and of course, the great migration. No Vacancy signs abounded. Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry about that. She had a car waiting for her at the tiny airport at the far end of the island. By midnight, she ought to be in her own quiet cabin, warm and dry and…alone. Usually she looked forward to solitude. Tonight her feelings were mixed.

She hadn’t spent so many continuous hours with one single person in weeks—possibly months. She didn’t really count dinner and an evening spent watching television and then sleeping with Kim in the same way. They talked, of course, shared the events of their recent days, discussed books or movies they’d read or were interested in seeing, and slept companionably until they enacted their choreographed morning routine of moving around one another in the bathroom—hers or Kim’s, depending on whose residence they’d spent the night at, before going off to work.

Those nights were pleasant, but not intense. Not like the day she’d just spent with Austin. An exhausting day, an exhilarating day, a day fraught with emotion and excitement. A night alone would be welcome. She needed to think about what had happened, perhaps even make sense of it if she was lucky. Still, she didn’t want to say good night. She didn’t want to let go of the feeling of being so alive. She never knew where the next conversation would take them, when casual contact would morph into something more, when she’d look across the space between them and be struck by the sensual angle of Austin’s jaw or the erotic promise in her hands.

“Which way to the airport?” Austin asked.

“Actually, there’s only one way to and from anything in this place. Just keep driving straight and you’ll eventually end up at the airport. It’s at the very end of the island. I’m sorry to make you play chauffeur now. I’m sure you’re beat.”

Austin smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine, really. I’m used to crazy travel schedules with no sleep.”

Gem frowned. “Really? I got the impression you didn’t get out all that much—that you tended to hibernate with your work.”

Austin’s jaw tightened. “I don’t really have any set schedule.”

“Okay.” Gem sensed the issue was closed although she couldn’t quite see why. They rode in silence until Austin turned into the access road to the airport. Five or six small planes, dimly illuminated in the diffuse glow of the halogen lights penetrating the fog, were tied down at the end of the runway beside the small single-story terminal. “It looks like all the flights have been grounded. I’m not surprised.”

“I’m sure there were plenty of people who didn’t get off the island today if they’d planned on flying.” Austin pulled up in front of the terminal. “I’ll wait until you get your car so you can transfer your luggage.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that.”

Austin leaned closer and squeezed her hand. “I want to. It’s no trouble.”

“Thanks,” Gem said. “It shouldn’t be long.”

She hurried inside and wasn’t surprised to find the waiting room empty. Clearly, no flights were leaving here anytime soon. No one was behind the counter, but an open door spilled light from an office in the rear.

“Hello?”

A few seconds later a trim, middle-aged sandy-haired woman in a long-sleeve navy-blue shirt and dark pants emerged. Her name tag read Peg. “Hi. Can I help you?”

“Yes,” Gem said. “I was supposed to arrive early this morning from Baltimore, but my flight was canceled.”

Peg made a face. “Everything’s been canceled. I’m not sure we’ll fly tomorrow.”

“Yes, well, I reserved a car. Can I pick it up here?”

“Sure can.” Peg pulled a folder out from under the counter, flipped it open, and scanned a page. “We won’t have much of a choice for you, I’m afraid. When news of the storm came in and the weather started turning bad, a lot of folks who were supposed to fly out rented cars. Name?”

Gem told her. “Anything with four wheels and an engine will be perfect.”

Peg smiled, gave her some paperwork to fill out, and handed her the keys. “I hope you’re not headed too far tonight.”

“No, just out to Kramer Point.”

“Not tonight you won’t be.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Not by car. Part of the causeway’s washed out. I don’t know how bad it is, but last I heard, they’ve stopped all traffic out to the Point in both directions.”

“And the pontoon boats?”

“You mean from Flyers?” Peg chuckled. “Even if you could find someone around to rent you one, only a crazy person would try that at night, and in this weather?” She cocked her head. “You don’t exactly look crazy to me.”

“Right at this moment, you’d be surprised.” Gem sighed and picked up the keys. “Thanks.”

As she approached the car, she could see Austin behind the wheel, her head tipped back against the seat. She had to be tired, but she wouldn’t admit it. Gem smiled to herself. She understood priding oneself on independence, even sometimes when it wasn’t completely to her benefit. She opened the car door as quietly as she could, but Austin was already sitting upright and gazing in her direction when she slid in.

“All set?” Austin asked.

“Yes and no. I’ve got a car, but I can’t get to my cabin tonight. Apparently the road is underwater.”

Austin frowned. “You’re going to have trouble finding anyplace to stay in town.”

“There’s got to be one room. I’ll make some calls. You should get going. I can’t imagine you want anything more than to crawl into bed right now.”

Austin grinned. “Well, now that you mention it…”

Gem’s face heated. “I guess you’re not so tired you can’t make trouble.”

Austin’s grin widened. “Never am.”

“I’ll just get my bags.”

“Wait.” Austin grabbed her hand. “Why don’t you call around from here, and then I’ll follow you to your place. The roads are really bad tonight.”

Gem should say no, but she didn’t really want to. The parking lot was empty and a little creepy in the fog. Visibility was no more than a few feet. The interior of the SUV was warm, and Austin was there. Gem flicked on the dash light and perused the town’s weekly magazine she’d picked up inside that listed all the restaurants, motels, B and Bs, and other businesses. Twenty minutes later, she closed her phone. “Other than going door to door, I think I’m out of options.”

“Nothing?”

Gem shook her head. “Well, it won’t be the first time I’ve slept in my car.”

Austin laughed. “It’s hardly going to come to that.”

“I don’t plan on sleeping in the airport.”

“Of course not. You’ll sleep with me.”