“I didn’t think about what I did. I wrote Jared that I was Hallie and I had lots of degrees and I would gladly accept the house. It threw me when he told me some rich guy wanted me to do physical therapy on his son, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t back down, so I agreed to take him on as a client. Hallie’s such a do-gooder, I figured that once I was there I could get her to write me out a plan for how to work on the guy.
“Most of all, I saw the whole thing as my once-in-a-lifetime chance to take another path. Just for a while I’d pretend to be Hallie, a person who never screwed up, who never got weak-kneed at the sight of a guy in black leather sitting on a big Harley. I’d have a highly respected career—and I’d be liked. Loved. Just like Hallie is.
“But it all backfired and I may be sent to prison. Yet again, Hallie is the good one and I’m bad. But then she probably won’t prosecute me even after I tried to steal an entire house from her! What does it take to knock her off that holy cloud she lives on?!”
Braden was staring at her. He’d never heard this many words from Shelly—and her anger had taken away his. “I think we should ignore the rain and get out of here.”
“All right,” she said.
When Braden tried the doorknob, it turned easily and outside the rain had stopped. He led the way to his car across grass that was quite dry and opened the door for Shelly. When he got in, he paused for a moment to look at her. Even though he’d known her since she was a kid, he was feeling that he didn’t know her at all. “Mind if we get carryout and go back to the house where I’ve been staying? I think we should talk more. All right?”
“I’d like that,” Shelly said and smiled at him.
Chapter Twenty-four
Hallie kept looking at Jamie as she worked on his knee. He was lying on the massage table and staring up at the arbor. Neither of them was speaking.
But then last night they’d done a lot of talking. They’d ended up buying food at Bartlett’s, then driving back to the chapel. It was a quiet place and that’s what they needed.
The building was beautiful in the fading light. They walked past it to sit on the sand by the water.
Hallie was still feeling the effects of her confrontation with Shelly and she didn’t know if she was happy or sad about it. What happened now?
Jamie sat down with his braced leg stretched out and he took care of the food while Hallie began to talk. He wanted to hear her side of her life. He didn’t tell her what he and Braden had spoken about.
Hallie’s side of the story was softer than Braden’
s version. Between the two, Jamie was able to see what had been a very lonely childhood.
But what he liked was that Hallie carried no bitterness or hatred about it all. She just wanted it all to stop. She especially wanted to quit worrying that Shelly was going to steal her boyfriend.
“You mean me?” Jamie asked. “I’m the bargaining chip?”
“You are,” she said. “If you and I are…you know.”
That led into a discussion of their future, and they agreed that they’d like to try being together.
“I’d just like to stay here for now,” Jamie said, “here on this magical island.”
“Me too,” Hallie said.
They made love on the beach. Slow, sweet love. Gentle, quiet, enduring love.
Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms and looked at the stars, saying nothing, but both of them thinking about the future and where they would go from there.
It was late when they left and drove home. They slept together, cuddled, wrapped up in each other. And when Jamie’s nightmares began, Hallie was there to soothe him.
In the morning they went about their usual routine, but they kept stealing looks at each other. Was this the person they would spend their lives with?
Hallie received a text message from Braden.
SHELLY IS WITH ME AND I’M TAKING HER HOME TOMORROW.
After she read it to Jamie, he made a call to Raine. The last of the Montgomery-Taggert family had left the island and were on their way home.
Jamie clicked off the phone. “I think you should be told something, but I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.” He told Hallie that Shelly and Braden had spent the night together. Night as in one bed.
“Oh,” Hallie said and sat down on a chair at the kitchen table.