From Glowing Embers

  ~ ~ ~

  Julie Ann was on this plane.

  Gray shut his eyes, forgetting for a moment where he was. The coincidence telegraphed shock to every part of his body, and his mind worked at maximum speed. Julie Ann was on this plane.

  He had been so careful. He had learned her itinerary and then adjusted his accordingly. She had been scheduled to fly straight through to Kauai this morning; he had even seen a copy of her ticket. What had gone wrong?

  It took him only seconds to realize that if he’d thought a little more clearly, he would have known this possibility existed. The plane was crowded with passengers from other flights that had been canceled because of a big storm in the Pacific. Obviously, Julie Ann was one of those whose plans had been changed.

  The change was going to cost them both. The advantage had been his; he had known where to find her in Kauai, and when. Now he no longer had the element of surprise on his side. Julie Ann knew he was on his way to Hawaii, although she didn’t know why. She would be wary; she would be prepared. She would be waiting for him.

  How could he not have recognized her immediately? He had seen the stunning woman dressed in stylish Hawaiian clothing, and he had admired her the way any man would have. But until she had spoken she had been just a rare, exotic creature, an island woman with more than her rightful share of beauty.

  He had managed to make himself forget more than he remembered about Julie Ann, but he had never been able to forget her voice. Low and husky, with just the tiniest catch in it, her voice had always melted over him with the sultry heat of a Mississippi night. She had never cultivated the moonlight-and-magnolias accent of a true Southern belle. There was a Deep South flavor to her words, but they flowed naturally, cleanly, with a complete lack of artifice. It was a voice he could listen to forever and never tire of its music.

  But, of course, he hadn’t listened to it forever. And that was why he was here right now.

  “Do you know that lady?”

  Gray opened his eyes again and looked at the little girl by his side. For a moment he’d almost forgotten that Jody Whitham was sitting beside him, counting on him for support and entertainment on the long flight. “I used to know her.”

  She held up her necklace for him to examine. “It’s made out of shells. She looked like she was going to cry when she gave it to me.”

  Gray had been too shaken to notice Julie Ann’s expression. He imagined Jody was right, though. He hadn’t cried in ten years, but now he felt as close to it as he probably ever would again.

  “Is she Hawaiian?” Jody asked.

  “She comes from Mississippi.”

  “My mommy says I ask too many questions, but how am I going to know anything if I don’t?”

  He tried to smile. “I’m not an expert on kids, but that’s how everybody learns, isn’t it?”

  “You don’t have any kids?” Jody asked.

  Gray shook his head.

  “That’s too bad,” she consoled him. “Maybe you will someday.”

  Those sympathetic words were just one more thing to haunt Gray as he stared down the aisle and tried to decide exactly what he should do next.