Scooter was still muttering when Buddy Lee dropped the phone back in place.
With that business taken care of and the last customer driving out of the service stall, he finally managed to take a deep breath before he checked the time. Hang it all, if they were going to make it to the airport by noon, he’d have to hustle his butt.
Pocketing the day’s receipts, he took less than twenty minutes to lock up the shop and get home. Fifteen minutes for a shower, another fifteen to throw some clean clothes in his duffle, and he was on the road to Granite City. But before he picked Faith up at her apartment, he had one more stop to make.
Chapter Five
Yeah, this was Paradise, all right, Buddy Lee thought later that day as he adjusted his sunglasses to lessen the glare of the Mexican sun.
The sleepy little village of Dos Lunas lay on the curved beach of a lagoon as aquamarine as any jewel he’d ever seen. Come to think of it, the few jewels he had seen were limited to those worn by his customers, most often Beryl Morgan.
With white sands stretching from one end of the spit of land to the other, the solitary atmosphere promised privacy from the intrusion of everyday turmoil. No one hurried. No one wanted to. After only a short time in residence, Buddy Lee discovered that adapting to the slower pace of the village was easier than he’d expected.
Frothy waves licked the edge of the sand, leaving a momentary fringe of bubbles in their wake. Silly sandpipers darted along searching for tidbits while noisy seagulls dipped and chased each other, vying for a choice seafood snack.
From his beach chair, he watched Faith dozing on a nearby chaise lounge, her golden skin bathed by late-afternoon sunlight. His breath hung like dead weight in his chest. The modest one-piece swimsuit she wore clung to her curves tighter than the pink skin of a ripe peach, yet showed no hint of her newly discovered pregnancy. Only the slight fullness of her breasts suggested changes to come, but right now all he could think about was wanting to touch them, kiss them. Damned if his mouth didn’t start to water.
Out of necessity he ran down the beach, belly-flopped into the water and swam like he had a great white shark chasing him. No ‘gators in saltwater. His arms sliced through the salty waves, taking him away from the temptation that dogged him constantly.
He’d fought with his conscience throughout the entire flight across the border. The inner battle had continued as they bounced along a dusty road in the battered yellow bus, finally reaching the exclusive resort hidden on a crooked finger of land that wasn’t even on a map. Reconciling the recklessness of their actions didn’t come easy. Justifying their quickie marriage was even more disturbing. But his biggest dilemma was wanting Faith. He swam until the ache went away–temporarily, he was pretty sure. Knowing he couldn’t stay in the water forever, he flipped over and back-stroked easily to where the shallow water slid up on the sand, then made his way across the beach to Faith.
He nudged the side of the chaise with his knee. “Better wake up, darlin’, before you turn into a crispy critter.”
Green eyes opened slowly, squinting up at him. With a smile wide and welcoming, she stretched, cat-like, then patted the lounge for him to sit beside her.
Why does she keep doing that? He wondered if she was totally immune to the jolt of electricity arcing between them. Was he the only one who felt it? Hell, it was strong enough to power a lighthouse.
“Isn’t this perfect?” She swept her arms in a wide circle. “It’s so private, no one will ever find us.”
“Sounds great, but we can’t stay here forever.” He ran his hands through his wet hair, grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist before he sat next to her. The reason was entirely too obvious.
“I know,” she said, “but let’s pretend, okay? Just for a few days, let’s imagine our world is perfect.”
The silent plea hidden in her lighthearted words nudged at a tender spot in his heart. Shoot, hadn’t she always wanted to pretend something or other when they were younger? Her pretending had gotten him into some mighty sticky situations, but none as hazardous at this. Back then, it was just a game. Now they were playing for real.
“That would be quite a stretch of the imagination.”
They were sitting close enough for his legs, still wet from his swim, to stick to her damp, sun-warmed ones. The fragrance of her coconut-scented suntan lotion mingled with the salty tang of sea spray, blurred his senses with a longing so intense he had to grind his teeth to keep from groaning out loud. At this rate, he was gonna need a bite guard.
She grew quiet and rested her head on his shoulder. There was something disarmingly trusting in the way she relaxed against him, prompting him to slip his arm around her and let his imagination stretch. So sue me. His conscience was the only one who heard him.
“At least say you’ll try,” she implored. “We may never see a paradise like this again.”
Isn’t that the truth? Thinking about what might be waiting for them when they got back to Liberty gave him heartburn that no antacid could cure. It wasn’t gonna be Paradise, for damn sure. But then, neither was this hands-off friends-only marriage.
“You always did like playin’ ‘Let’s Pretend’, didn’t you?”
He slid off the chaise without waiting for her answer. “C’mon, you’ve had enough sun. Time to go inside.” He grabbed up their belongings, cramming them into the ridiculous fish-shaped beach bag she’d brought along.
When they’d arrived at the resort earlier, she’d insisted on catching the last rays of late afternoon sun, so they’d hurried to the eye-squintingly bright, white sand beach. They had yet to talk about the important stuff. But he planned to correct that oversight as soon as they got back to their room. The one with the king-sized water bed, well-stocked mini-bar and sunken jacuzzi. He rolled his eyes heavenward. Give me strength.
Faith hopped up from the lounge and shoved her feet into bright pink plastic flip-flops she’d purchased earlier in the hotel gift shop. Without warning, a tidal wave of nausea flooded her, swamping her with its merciless force. Dizzying brightness flashed behind her closed eyes and she cried out. Buddy Lee grabbed her right before she crumpled in the sand.
The first thing she saw when she came to was the slow- circling blades of the overhead fan. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. Whup, whup, whup. Even the sound was dizzying.
“Please turn it off. The whole room is spinning.”
Perched on the edge of the bed next to her, Buddy Lee jumped up to hit the wall switch and shut the fan off as soon as she spoke. “Holy shi...shoot, Faith, you scared the daylights out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She tried opening her eyes again, this time a little slower. The room still spun.
Something bitter and scalding churned in her stomach and rushed up the back of her throat. Oh, no. She tried to get out of the bed but her limbs tingled and refused to move.
“Buddy Lee. Bathroom. Quick.”
Afterwards, a little weak and totally humiliated, she sipped a glass of ginger ale and took small bites of the plain crackers brought by the concerned housekeeper who appeared after Buddy Lee’s frantic call to the concierge.
The Mexican woman had known exactly what Faith needed as soon as she’d seen her in the bathroom, paying homage at the porcelain altar.
“Poor mamacita,” she’d crooned in broken English as she scurried about. In no time, she had helped Faith into a nightie, settled her quietly in bed with a pat on the cheek and given Buddy Lee a verbal list of instructions complete with arm-waving and head-shaking. He nodded like he’d understood.
Faith watched him thank the woman for her kindness and press some bills into her hand. Hard-earned money from his Saturday customers, no doubt. His easy way of putting others' needs before his own had always been hard for her to understand. Especially when most of the time he had less than the average person. It was common knowledge that before he was sent to prison, Boyd Walker had little concern for his son. Some even suspected
there’d been physical abuse, but no one stepped forward to help. Out of necessity, Buddy Lee had learned to fend for himself at an early age.
Her heart stumbled, remembering how he’d always been willing to help her out of her self-inflicted predicaments. And here he was after all those years, still solving her problems. He is definitely a better person than I am.
“Feelin’ better, hon?” Buddy Lee closed the door and returned to her bedside.
The sun had already added a healthy tan to his face, but Faith noticed creases of concern wrinkling his brow.
“A little. I’m really sorry I spoiled our first day here. I think I got too much sun.” She reached for the cloth the woman had left in a water basin on the nightstand.
Buddy Lee took it from her and used it to gently bathe her forehead. “Being pregnant might have something to do with it, too.” His crooked grin delighted her.
“Yeah, that too,” she admitted, turning her face to give him better access.
As he lightly stroked the cool cloth along her cheekbones and across her temples, she gave herself over to the soothing sensation. Totally relaxed, she drifted in and out of a dream-like state, allowing air-brushed images that looked suspiciously like Buddy Lee to tease and tempt. Sexy images she wanted to hang on to which suddenly disappeared the minute blunt, slightly rough, and definitely male fingertips traced her lips.
Did she dare open her eyes? What was he doing? It was one thing to be her caregiver for the moment, but this was more care than she’d expected. They were friends, not lovers.
Curiosity won, and she peeked through half-opened eyelids. Nausea was not what made her stomach lurch right then. Not what accelerated her heartbeat, either.
Buddy Lee’s hand cupped her chin while he stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. Nothing short of a national emergency could have made her pull away. Frozen in place by the dark intensity of his gaze and the sheer sensual delight of his thumb rubbing her lip, Faith knew there was something going on here that definitely surpassed friendship.
Oh, my! Had he always looked so intriguing? His lean, hard-muscled body did wonderful things to those leg-hugging, bun-defining jeans he’d changed into. Disturbingly dark eyes shot sparks of excitement she’d never noticed before. An aura of subtle temptation radiated around him, captivating her.
She wanted to speak, but her words stopped just short of popping out of her mouth when he leaned over to press a feather-light kiss where his thumb had been.
“I’ve ordered something from room service. Just some soup.” His raspy voice skimmed over the surface of her skin. “You need special attention, Faith. Let me take care of you.”
She clung to the side of the bed to keep from dissolving into a puddle of adoration for this man and his tenderness. Darn it. That was all it took to convince her that this was turning out to be a whole lot more than she’d bargained for. Why hadn’t she ever noticed his feelings before? Now it was too late to acknowledge them. Her plans for the future didn’t include a permanent husband. But how was she going to explain that without hurting him?
“Maybe we’d better wait until later to talk about stuff,” he said, moving away from the bed to stand by the window.
“Stuff?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and turned to her. “Look, Faith, we can’t keep ignoring the situation. When we get back home, people will have questions. Lots of them, I imagine. I don’t have any answers. We need to get our stories straight.”
She sat up in bed, and he was relieved to see color back in her cheeks. In fact, she was glowing—as in sunburned. Well, what next? He didn’t even want to guess.
“Everyone knows we were friends in school. We’ll just let them think we were seeing each other in Granite City,” she said.
“Doesn’t say much for your relationship with Royce the past year. Makes it look like you were two-timing him.” And makes me look pretty damn sleazy.
Faith sighed. “I know it’s awful, but if we say it happened three months ago, Royce and I weren’t engaged then. Most people in town still consider me irresponsible anyway.”
“Yeah, and guess what they think of me,” he muttered. “Boyd’s boy making trouble, just like his old man.”
“You didn’t make the trouble, Buddy Lee. I did.”
She eased her legs over the side of the bed and slowly made her way across the room. The flimsy blue thing she wore just about covered her fanny. Aw, man, what was she trying to do to him? He turned to face the window before he gave in and kissed her again.
Behind him, she slipped her arm around his waist and his whole body stiffened. If she didn’t knock that off, there was going to be more than trouble made. Right here, right now.
He swiveled, scooped her up and carried her back to the bed. That tantalizing, king-sized, made-for-lovin’ waterbed.
“Wha ....” Faith sputtered.
“Don’t start, Faith Nicole. I mean it.” He sat right down next to her and captured both her hands in his. “We’re gonna talk. Now. We’ve been married since yesterday, and nothing’s settled yet. You have to quit pretending. This is real life and, like it or not, we’ve got a helluva mess going here.” He shook his head. "I don’t even know why I let you talk me into coming down here. We should be back home, finding you a doctor and dealing with your parents. Instead, here we are in who-knows-where-the-hell Mexico, and you’ve got morning sickness in the afternoon, not to mention a deluxe sunburn that needs attention.”
He brought her fingertips to his lips, kissed them one by one. “Darlin’, what am I gonna do with you?”
Unfortunately, what he wanted to do with her wasn’t even an option, he thought, and went to answer the knock on the door.
“Couldn’t we eat on the balcony?” Faith asked after the waiter had brought their dinner tray into the room. “I feel much better now. Honest.” The sunset was spectacular, and she didn’t want to miss a single minute of it.
The cautious look in Buddy Lee’s eyes filled her with remorse. She didn’t blame him for not trusting her. All she wanted to do was have these few days to pretend she’d done something right, something normal like everyone else. So far, he was the only normality in her life.
She knew he’d agreed to this unconventional situation only because of the kind of man he was—decent and caring. There wasn’t another person in the whole town of Liberty who would’ve put her welfare above his own. Not one. She squeezed back the hot tears blurring her vision. Some day, she’d make it up to him. Prove to him just how grateful she was.
“Just look out there, Buddy Lee.” She pointed to the view from the patio door. “Aren’t those colors gorgeous?”
“Yeah, they are, but we’ve got sunsets back home,” he said as he carried their dinner tray out to the glass-topped table on the tiny patio. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to sitting out here?”
“Absolutely,” she assured him, hurrying to follow. “The fresh air will be good for me.” Ignoring the slight tilt of her stomach when she moved too quickly was easier than ignoring the note of resignation in Buddy Lee’s voice. She took a deep breath and eased into the nearest chair.
He set a bowl of steaming tortilla soup in front of her and tucked a bright yellow linen napkin across her lap. “No sense messing up that fancy thing you’re wearing,” he mumbled.
The robe she wore matched her blue sheer nightie but even though it was calf-length, she knew it didn’t do much to protect her from his intense scrutiny. She wasn’t sure what she’d been thinking when she’d purchased it. Had she still been pretending about having a real-life honeymoon? And had it really only been a few hours since she’d dashed through the mall to buy clothes for her temporary escape to Mexico?
Reflecting on her actions made her wonder if she was mature enough to be a parent. Sometimes she felt like a child who’d never grown up. Did Buddy Lee see her that way? Probably. He’s certainly seen me at my worst, hasn’t he? she thought, remembering how he never even flinched when he’d held her he
ad through that awful episode in the bathroom.. Maybe he was more qualified to be a parent than she was.
“Something wrong?”
He looked up from his soup, careful to place his spoon on the plate and not on the tablecloth.
“This stuff’s got quite a South-of-the-Border kick. Is it too spicy for your stomach?” he asked. “I should’ve remembered where we are and requested something milder, like chicken noodle.”
“I’ll be fine. And thank you for thinking to order room service. I love sitting out here, looking at the beautiful view.” She leaned back in her chair. “Isn’t it magical? Like a fairy tale.”
He couldn’t stop the way his heart softened when she talked like that. When they were younger, there’d been a part of her that longed for a magic carpet ride to paradise. She’d hated the restrictive, small-town lifestyle and her parents’ rigid expectations. How he wished he could be her Aladdin with a fancy flying rug to take her away.
He never quite understood her discontent, since a stable family life was all he’d ever wanted. Still, he’d always admired her determination to champion those less fortunate. It was just one of her endearing traits.
“You really like it here, don’t you?” He watched her face light up like the neon time-and-temperature sign in front of her daddy’s bank.
“I do. It’s so beautiful here. I wish we could stay longer.”
The wistful yearning in her voice hit him like a fist, and it took all the self-restraint he could muster to keep from whisking her back to that big ol’ waterbed in yonder to love her thoroughly and completely until she loved him back. Walker, you are one messed up man.
“We have to go back on Monday,” he reminded her, though staying here with her was enough to tempt a saint—which he wasn’t. “And first thing we’re gonna do is make an appointment for you with a doctor. I want to take care of you and the baby, Faith, and I aim to do it right.”
She smiled that soft smile again. “We’ll have to find someone in Granite City who doesn’t know me, or else everyone will find out the baby’s real due date. I’ll go into the city when we get back, I promise.”