Stranger's Game Page 8

  “You ever been married?”

  Had he really said that or just thought it? But when her eyes widened, he knew the words had come from his mouth. “Sorry, that’s too personal.”

  “No, it’s fine. No, never married. Engaged once but it didn’t work out. I’m sorry about your wife. That had to have been hard to lose her. How long was she sick?”

  A safe assumption since it was how so many died. “She died in a freak accident at an amusement park. A car on the Ferris wheel came loose. Julie and I were in the car, and I tried to grab her when she fell out. I missed. Hailey was below with my sister and saw the whole thing. She says she can’t remember it, but she has nightmares, and I think deep down she remembers more than she thinks.”

  Torie put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, Joe, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”

  “It was hard, but we’ve found healing here on the island.”

  He suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore so he stuffed his mouth with popcorn before he said something he’d regret even more.

  * * *

  After work on Wednesday, Torie biked along Old Plantation Road past the turn-of-the-century buildings lined with oak trees, their twisted limbs dripping with hanging moss. Magnolia branches displayed their shiny leaves and fought with pine trees for a share of the sunshine. Shrimp boats motored past in the distance as the birds sang overhead.

  She saw Island Sweets Shoppe and couldn’t resist heading that way. She stopped and leaned her bike into a stand. The scents of ice cream, fudge, and waffle cones greeted her when she stepped inside, and the aroma took her back eighteen years to when she was ten.

  The little girl in front of the counter turned to face her. “Torie!” Hailey’s face lit up. “I told Daddy we should have stopped by to see if you wanted to come with us.”

  Torie’s gaze met Joe’s. “Great minds think alike. What’s the best flavor of ice cream?”

  “Sea turtle,” they both said in unison.

  “What’s in it?” she asked.

  “Sea turtle–shaped chocolate chips in caramel ice cream,” Joe said.

  That was a no-brainer. “Sea turtle cone, please,” Torie told the girl behind the counter.

  Joe ordered two of the same, but Hailey shook her head. “I think I’ll have rocky road today. I want to be different.”

  Joe gave her a sidelong glance but changed the order.

  The surge in Torie’s spirit at seeing them took her aback, but Hailey had an engaging way about her that blew down her defenses. Joe was another story. Being with him last night had been a little uncomfortable.

  “Dessert instead of dinner seemed a good way to avoid another Mexican meal tonight,” Joe said. “I don’t think I can look another fish taco in the eye for a few days.”

  Torie chuckled. “I’m with Hailey. I could eat Mexican every meal.”

  “You have plans tonight?” Joe asked.

  She accepted her cone and shook her head. “Just getting the lay of the land while I have some time off. I’ll be working all next weekend.”

  “Me too. Walk with us?”

  “Sure. Where are we headed?” She followed them back into the sunshine.

  “Daddy promised me a glass sea turtle necklace.” Hailey pointed down Pier Road. “It’s supposed to be ready.”

  They turned toward more small shops, and a splash of color in one of the windows drew her attention. Rogers Glass. Wasn’t that the artisan Aunt Genevieve had mentioned—the one making the glass globes for the scavenger hunt?

  “This is the place.” Joe held open the door to the small building.

  The interior was full of light reflecting off a kaleidoscope of glass colors. A woman behind the counter looked up with a smile. “Hailey, I thought I might see you this week. I’ve got your sea turtle done.” She reached behind her into an old quartersawn oak cupboard and pulled out a small box.

  “It’s all she’s talked about, Amelia,” Joe said.

  The shop owner opened the small white box and withdrew a green sea turtle that sparkled in the light. Hailey squealed with delight when Amelia fastened it around her neck.

  “It’s amazing,” Joe said. “Thank you.”

  Torie studied Amelia Rogers and tried to recall if they’d ever met. She didn’t remember her if they had. Amelia was in her fifties with a trim figure and smooth skin. Her hair was that reddish-brown color that had been enhanced with a bottle, but it suited her coloring. Her ready smile encompassed all three of them, and Torie instantly liked her.

  Something about being back on the island had stripped away some of Torie’s defenses. Maybe it was coming home, back to her roots and the life she’d led before she’d learned most people only wanted to be friends because of her money and family connections. She didn’t know if she wanted it to last or if she wanted to don the mantle of reserve again.

  Maybe she had no choice. Once she left here, she’d likely be right back where she was with constant travel and never getting a chance to know someone better than the preliminary niceties.

  But what else could she do? Going against her father’s expectations wasn’t something she knew how to do.

  Amelia directed a smile at Torie. “Hello, I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Torie returned the smile. “Torie Berg. I’m working at the hotel in the IT department.”

  “Oh good, so you’ll be around for the upcoming glass globe event.”

  “I just heard about it this week from Ms. Hallston. It sounds intriguing. Do you have some of the globes here?”

  “They’re all ready. I’ll show you.” Amelia beckoned them to a door on the other side of the counter.

  They followed her into a work space in the back that smelled of dust and left a metallic taste in the air. A man at a workbench looked up from his task of stringing glass items together in a wind chime.

  His interested gaze settled on Torie. “Hello.”

  She returned his smile. “Hi.” He was attractive enough—about five eleven with brown hair and hazel eyes above a neatly trimmed beard. She judged him to be about thirty.

  “This is my son, Noah,” Amelia said.

  “I’m Torie Berg. I’m new here.”

  “Good to meet you. I’m an aide to Senator Richardson who is attending the meeting here next week, so I came early to spend a little time with Mom.”

  Torie noticed the copy of The Creature from Jekyll Island on the table by him. “Is that yours? I’ve just been reading it. Interesting stuff.”

  He glanced at it. “Yeah. I’ve been trying to get the senator to read this. He might be able to do something about it.”

  Amelia pointed to a glass furnace on the outside wall. “There’s my glory hole.”

  There were Y-shaped benches in front of the furnace and other metal stands around the room. Torie recognized some blow pipes, but the other equipment in the room wasn’t familiar. A set of shelves along the back held various glass globes with such delicate workmanship and exquisite colors they took her breath away. Smaller globes of other colors melded into the interior of the larger globe.

  Torie stepped closer. “You’re giving these away? They’re beautiful! I love the lapis lazuli one.”

  Amelia reached past her and took it from the shelf. “It’s yours as a welcome gift to the island.”

  “Oh I couldn’t take it! It has to be worth a lot of money.”

  Amelia pressed it into her hand. “I have a feeling you belong here on the island, and I want you to have it. I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Once her fingertips touched the cool glass of the glass float, Torie didn’t have the strength to say no. The swirling blue colors drew her in and held her captive. “Your art is amazing. The scavenger hunt is going to be a huge success with our guests. They truly get to keep a float?”

  “Oh yes. I’ve been working on them for months. They’re some of my finest pieces, but it’s not totally altruistic. These executives have the clout to mention my art to other people who will buy it. It’s a
win-win situation.”

  Noah wandered over to stand beside her. “Her work is selling like hotcakes in my online store. Business is booming.”

  Torie smiled at the pride in his voice and touched the globe to her cheek. “Thank you, Amelia. I’ll treasure it.” And once she slipped back into her real life, she could direct people here as well.

  They left the workroom and went out front, where Torie perused some of the other items. If only she had a real home so she could buy some of these things. Her gaze lingered on a lapis lazuli mermaid.

  When she moved on, while trying to decide if she should buy it, she made the circuit around the interior and came back to the counter, where Amelia was wrapping up something in brown paper. She handed it to Joe, and he passed it over to Torie.

  “What on earth?”

  “It’s the mermaid. Consider it a welcome gift.”

  Torie was seldom speechless, but every thought in her head flew away at the kindness in his green eyes. When had someone other than her father given her a gift just because he wanted to? Maybe only Lisbeth.

  Chapter 12

  What had possessed him to buy that mermaid?

  The sunset lit Torie’s hair with orange and gold as they walked back toward the parking lot. Torie carried both her treasures as if they were the most precious things she’d ever owned, and Joe didn’t regret his impulse, even if he didn’t understand it.

  He’d seen the longing in her brown eyes and hadn’t been able to stop himself.

  “Let’s take Torie on a tour,” Hailey said. “I don’t want to go home yet.”

  Joe poked her in the ribs. “I’ll bet a little girl wants her dad to buy her a stuffed animal in the gift shop.”

  She gave him a cheeky grin. “They’re supposed to have new stuffed baby turtles.”

  “I wouldn’t say no either,” Torie said. “I’ve been wanting to take a tour. Let me drop my treasures off in your truck if you don’t mind, and I’ll grab my bike.” She retrieved it from the bike rack and wheeled it along with them.

  They reached the parking lot at the hotel, and he unlocked his truck for her to place the wrapped glass items behind the seat before he locked it again.

  “I’ll put your bike in the bed and you can ride home with us.” Without waiting for an answer, he lifted it into the bed, and they turned toward the museum.

  Excursions and shrimp boats were coming in, and the putt-putt of motors mingled with the tinkle of silverware as they walked to the long building.

  “The museum is housed in the historic stables of the original compound,” Joe said.

  They skirted the line of red trolleys and went inside. Hailey hurried to the gift shop and began to sort through the stuffed animals while Torie wandered over to the history exhibit. He’d spent many hours in here with his daughter.

  It didn’t take long for Hailey to pick out a stuffed turtle, and he paid for it along with the tour tickets. He wanted to let Torie browse through the history exhibit longer, but they had to hurry if they wanted to catch the departing tour trolley.

  Every minute he spent with her seemed more and more special, and he couldn’t put his finger on the reason why he was becoming so intrigued. Was it the way she held her shoulders and head high and proud as if being tall was the best thing in the world? Was it the hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she looked out on the world? She seemed to always be waiting for a blow to fall, and he wanted to dig under the surface and see what had caused that shadow in her eyes.

  Whatever it was, he was caught in her net as firmly as the shrimp in the nets pulling up to the pier right now. It felt terrifying when he’d evaded any attraction to a woman all these years. Especially when she still held that wall around her, a wall he might never break through.

  They stepped out into the fading sunshine, and Hailey’s eyes widened. “There’s Emily and her parents. Can we ride in the same trolley, Daddy?”

  “As long as you sit with us.”

  She drew herself up to her full height. “I’m eight, Daddy. I’m big enough to sit with my friend.”

  She stared him down, and he shrugged. Sometimes it was hard figuring out the changing goalposts with kids. “Okay, but I’ll be right behind you so don’t get out of line.”

  His daughter scampered over to join her friend on the front bench seat while he and Torie found a spot a couple of rows behind. Truth be told, he relished the idea of having Torie to himself for a few minutes. Not that he knew how to approach her without making himself look like an idiot, but he could try while the trolley filled with tourists.

  He cleared his throat. “So are you ready for next week with all the bigwigs? I will be swamped myself. We’re deploying our sea mammals all along the Eastern Seaboard as the Navy’s new Trident sub comes into port for war games.”

  “Are the subs always armed?”

  “They always carry nuclear missiles, yes.”

  She hugged herself and shivered. “That sounds scary.”

  “The Navy has only launched them as tests, and we pray we never have to use them in a war. But with all the terrorism, they’re always on high alert with them. The subs are impressive to see.”

  “I’d love to see one someday.”

  “I could arrange that if you like when this one comes in.”

  Her perfectly shaped brows winged up. “Really? I’d love that.”

  A small victory but he’d take it. “It’s coming next week, Wednesday. I’ll let you know what time.”

  “How long have you been training sea lions?”

  “About thirteen years. I enlisted in the Navy at twenty-one when I got out of college with a degree in marine biology. Julie and I were married that same year and moved to San Diego when I was picked for the program. After a few years, I got out of the Navy and started my own training center. Then Julie died. Well, you know the rest of that story. Do you dive?”

  She blinked at his out-of-the-blue question. “I do, actually. I was certified at twelve and have been on dives in the Maldives, Hawaii, Belize, all over really. I love it, but I haven’t had a chance to dive here yet.”

  With her close association with Anton and this litany of everywhere she’d traveled, he assumed her expensive clothing had been purchased new. Maybe her family moved in the same circles as the Bergstroms. “Did you bring your gear?”

  “I shipped it and it’s arriving Friday. I-I didn’t send all my belongings since I wasn’t sure how long I’d be here. But I knew I had to dive while I was here.”

  His spirits sagged at the thought that she had an end date in sight to her job here. “You’re planning on leaving as soon as you find out what happened to Lisbeth?”

  “That’s the plan.” Her gaze focused across the road to the hotel. “Though this place feels like home already. It might not be as easy to leave as I’d once thought. My life is elsewhere though.”

  “What’s your life usually like when you’re not tracking down a murderer?”

  Her smile emerged then and lifted him out of the pit. He loved the way it lit her eyes.

  “My life is pretty boring. I work for Anton, and he often sends me to hotels to fix underlying problems.”

  So that explained how she knew Anton. “All that travel makes for a lonely life.”

  She nodded. “That’s why losing Lisbeth was so devastating to me. She was my one constant, the best friend I’d had since grade school. She understood me without long explanations. We were always able to pick up right where we left off.”

  Her brown eyes glistened with moisture, and he wished he could change things for her. Julie’s death had been hard, and he knew how it felt to lose a piece of his soul. For the past three years he hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to move on and discover any kind of new life without her. He’d sometimes worried about what he’d do when Hailey grew up and left the nest.

  But since he’d met Torie, he began to think of what it might be like not to wake up alone. To share his life with a woman again. That may have been a pipe d
ream with Torie, but if her arrival accomplished nothing else, at least it had opened his eyes to the possibilities.

  * * *

  The hanging moss on the oak trees cast weird shadows in the twilight by the time Torie returned from the tour with Joe and Hailey. The breeze, laden with the scents of the sea, blew in off the Intracoastal Waterway and made her shiver.

  “Cold?” Joe asked.

  “A little. Walking will warm me up.” She stopped as she stepped off the sidewalk and tried to get her bearings in the darkness.

  “This way.” He took her hand and led her onto the walkway.

  The warm clasp of his hand made her pull away and take Hailey’s hand instead. The little girl was safe. Once they broke the cover of trees lining the road, she saw the lights of the hotel. “I have the worst sense of direction in the world. Is that south?”

  His chuckle was without a hint of mockery. “It’s northeast.”

  “You just know that kind of thing?”

  “It’s almost impossible to get Daddy lost. It’s like he has a compass in his head. I’m pretty good at it too.”

  “I can get lost in a parking lot,” Torie said. “Right now I can’t even remember where to find your truck.”

  “We’re in the lot behind the hotel.”

  “Of course. I remember now.”

  They turned left on North Riverview Drive, then made a right on the small road leading to the hotel. It was grand at night with the lights shining out the windows. Her gaze always went to the tower where her mother had fallen. From this distance it didn’t look tall enough to kill someone, but her mother’s neck had broken. People had speculated that she dove headfirst off the tower to make sure the impact was fatal, but Torie couldn’t see any woman doing something that would damage her face so severely.

  It made no sense and never would.

  “You okay?” Joe asked.

  Had she gasped or something? “I’m fine.”

  “There’s the truck.”

  She glanced in the direction he’d pointed and frowned. “The interior light is on, but I’m sure you locked it after I shut the door.”