“What, no designs?” she said, in mock disappointment.
He paused and looked over his shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows melodramatically. “I didn’t say that. I have plenty of designs, just no evil ones.”
She decided it was safest to leave that untouched. I’d like some ice water, please.”
“Wouldn’t you know? I offer the woman a whole fist of drinks and she picks the one thing I didn’t mention.”
But he was smiling as he walked around the corner into the kitchen.
Rainbow sat on the couch and noticed a small cold-framed photograph that hadn’t been there earner. Idly curious, she picked it up, then felt a shiver of shock as she recognized the face.
Jake came back around the corner with two classes of ice water and saw what she was holding. “I wonder how the devil that got out here,” he said. I keep it in the bedroom.”
Rainbow jerked her head around and looked at him. “Who is this man? He was staring at me in the restaurant and it was making me uncomfortable.”
Jake froze in midstep. “Who was staring at you?”
“This man,” she said, pointing at the picture. “He was even dressed the same. Is he a friend of yours?” That would explain why he was watching her.
Jake put the glasses down on the coffee table and looked at her. “Are you sure you aren’t mistaken?”
“Of course I’m sure. He was sitting at the table right behind you, and he kept staring at me. Finally I just stared right back. Then he nodded and smiled, and when I looked again, he’d left.” She shook her head. “I was glad when he was gone. It’s unnerving to be watched that way.”
“You couldn’t have seen him.”
Irritation stirred in her. “Why not?” she demanded. “It was him. I have perfectly good eyesight, and an excellent memory for faces. Who is he? Is someone following you?”
Jake bent over and took the photo from her. “You’re mistaken,” he said flatly.
She jumped to her feet. “I am not. I saw him as clearly as I see you right now. Ooh, you’re impossible, Jake! Before you even knew me you were calling me a fraud and a swindler, and now you’re telling me I didn’t see what I saw!” She snatched up her purse and started toward the door.
“You men are impossible!” she stormed. “All of you! You treat women like idiots and fools. You’re the only ones who ever know anything! And you don’t even have the courtesy to hide your superior attitudes!”
“Wait! I’ll drive you home.”
She turned and glared at him. “I would walk barefoot on hot coals rather than endure one more minute of your insufferable company!”
“Rainbow…”
But she was already gone, slamming his door behind her.
He stood alone in the living room, the slam echoing like a gunshot. What had he said? Maybe it wasn’t so much what he’d said but the way he’d said it. He looked down at the picture, feeling the shock she’d given him when she’d told him she’d seen this man in the restaurant.
It was Joe, and Joe was dead. She couldn’t possibly have seen him. She had to be mistaken. But he wanted to question her more closely about it, and now she was gone.
“Shit!” he said, and threw the photo onto the couch. “Women!” All he had wanted was more information, but instead she’d taken offense. Well, she could just go hang.
Besides, he told himself after a moment, maybe she had seen the photograph and decided to use it. If a man had been staring at her at the restaurant, why hadn’t she said anything so he could deal with it? Why hadn’t this come out until now, when she saw Joe’s picture?
Easy. He had been right in the first place. Rainbow Moonglow was a fraud.
Lucinda looked at Joe. “Now you’ve done it, Joe, you never, ever should have done that!”
“I thought he was coming around! You heard what he said earlier.”
“He hadn’t come around that much,” Lucy pointed out.
“I guess not. This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“Just look at them,” Lucy said sadly. “Jake’s convinced Rainbow is lying to him, and her heart is broken.”
“I know. I know.” Joe groaned. “Lucy, you’ve got to help me! I’m out of ideas, and I can’t leave things like this.”
Lucy wasn’t at all sure they ought to do anything more, not after the mess they’d made of things already, but she didn’t say so. Instead, she patted Joe’s shoulder and desperately tried to think of something.
Rainbow kicked off her sandals, picked them up in one hand, and put her feet in the warm sand. A moonlit walk along the beach would soothe her, she .lecided. Besides, it was safer to walk here than along the busy boulevard at this time of night.
She passed palms and some dunes covered with sea oats on her way to the water’s edge, then turned toward her home.
Men! she thought again, with angry disgust. Damn them and their superior attitudes. Damn them, damn them, damn them! And damn Jake Carpenter in particular.
An angry tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away. They were all alike. Walter had been the worst of the lot, but they were all the same. At least she hadn’t known Jake long enough to feel really hurt by what he had done.
Yeah, right.
Another tear rolled down her cheek, and angrily she wiped it away. She was not going to waste tears on that man. She wasn’t even going to waste another thought on him. He wasn’t worth it. Thank goodness she had discovered what he was really like before they’d had sex. Otherwise she would not only have felt angry, but she’d have felt cheapened.
And wasn’t that just like a man, to be willing to pretend anything just to get a woman into bed? Jake’s “tolerance” of her beliefs had been nothing but a sham designed to lower her guard. Even the things he had said that afternoon about Joe and the furniture on his ceiling had probably been lies intended to soften her up for tonight.
She made a growling sound of frustration and kicked a broken seashell out of the way. Years ago it had been possible to walk these beaches and collect gorgeous shells, but these days the sand was picked so clean there was nothing left worth the effort of bending over. She kicked another shell and stopped walking, turning to face the sea. The foam on the waves almost seemed to glow in the moonlight, and the waves were dappled with silver. It was beautiful out there, but somehow tonight the beauty couldn’t work its usual peaceful magic on her. Tonight, peace eluded her completely.
She stepped closer to the water and let the warm waves lap over her toes, feeling herself sink slowly deeper into the sand. That was what had been happening to her with Jake, she thought. She had been slowly sinking in deeper as his attentions had lapped at her resolve.
At her age, she should have known better.
She stayed there a long time, while the stars wheeled overhead and the moon sank steadily toward the horizon. She didn’t want to go home and see her family’s questions, but she didn’t want to be out here after the moon set.
Sighing, she turned again and began to walk home. It was life, she told herself. It was just life. But she was never again going to allow a man to get so close.
The waves were strengthening, heralding a storm somewhere out at sea. She climbed higher on the road expanse of beach and trudged with her head down. All the seaside lights of the buildings were turned off, and it was almost possible to believe she i walking along a deserted beach in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization and the people who came with it.
She reached the sea turtles’ nest and paused, as she always did, to see if the nest had emptied since fee last time she’d looked.
What she saw made her hold her breath. The sand was moving, shifting as something beneath it moved. The babies were hatching!
Suddenly enthralled, everything else forgotten, she sat cross-legged on the sand to one side of the roped-off area to await one of nature’s miracles.
“Are you all right?”
Jake’s voice startled her, and her head jerked up to find him standing just
behind her.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a loud whisper.
He squatted down so he could hear her over the pounding surf. “Are you all right?” he asked again.
“Shh! Don’t scare the turtles!”
“The tur—” He broke off and looked at the nest. “Oh, my God,” he said with quiet wonder. He plopped down beside her, sitting Indian style. “Are they really coming out?”
She nodded and put her finger to her lips. He took the hint and fell silent.
The moon was still bright enough to guide them to the water, Rainbow thought, if they didn’t take too long to emerge. If they didn’t get out before it set, though, they might be confused and head toward the glow of the streetlights. She crossed her fingers.
She drew a sharp breath as the first little dark form began to emerge above the sand. So enchanted was she that she barely noticed that Jake reached out and took her hand. Besides, even if he was an idiot, it was nice to be sharing this miracle with someone else. ;
The next minutes were tense as the little turtle struggled out of the loose sand that confined it, but at last it made it, then hobbled slowly around as if seeking company, or trying to decide which way to go. Then another head appeared above the sand. This turtle climbed out more easily, as if its predecessor’s efforts had loosened the sand and blazed the trail. Free at last of the nest, it too wandered for a few moments before beginning its slow, laborious walk to the sea.
Then, in a few breathtaking moments, as if the sand had suddenly come alive, dozens of little turtles burst free of their nest, climbing out three and four at time, crawling over one another in their eagerness. Apparently the first two had only been ring for their brothers and sisters, because as soon as they burst free, all the turtles began march-rig toward the sea.
One tried to head the wrong way. Rainbow hesitated a moment, then rose and went to pick it up. Taking it down a little closer to the water, she set it among its brothers and sisters and watched with pride as it found its way.
By the time she sat beside Jake again, the last few turtles were climbing out of the nest.
“How many eggs do they lay?” Jake asked, whispering in her ear.
“Around a hundred, I think.”
“Incredible.”
In what seemed like only a few minutes, it was all over. Except for a couple of stragglers, the baby turtles vanished into the waves. The stragglers weren’t far behind, though, and soon the beach was silent and still, except for the eternal lapping of the waves.
“Wow,” Jake said.
She looked at him. “Wow,” she agreed. I hope they all grow up.”
“Only ten percent will make it to adulthood.”
He shook his head, apparently not liking the odds.
Rainbow turned away from him, focusing her attention on the water and setting moon, hoping he would just go away. But he didn’t move, and finally, unable to find the serenity the sea usually gave her, she faced him. “Why are you following me?”
“I’m not. Well, not exactly.”
“Right.”
He shook his head impatiently. “I’m just making sure you get home safely.”
“I’m not your responsibility.”
“I don’t quite see it that way. I invited you out, and until you’re safely home, I’m responsible.”
“God, what a male attitude!”
He stiffened. “What do you mean by that?”
“What makes you think I need you or any other man to protect me?”
“I don’t think that’s what I said.”
“No, but it’s certainly what you implied! I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way home, thank you!”
“I never said you weren’t. It’s just that—well, whether you want to admit it or not, it’s dangerous for a woman to be out alone at night, especially this late at night when there are no other people around. So whether you like it or not, I’m going to escort you home.”
She longed to argue with him, but angry or not, she was still rational enough to realize she would have only made a fool of herself. He was right, after all.
But she was in no mood to admit he was right. So, head high and mouth firmly shut, she began walking up the beach, leaving him to follow or not as he chose.
Apparently he chose to accompany her, regardless of her response to him. She could hear his feet crunching in the seashells right behind her.
She was behaving badly and she knew it, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to be friendly after what had just happened between them. He had no business acting as if she were too stupid to know what she had seen with her own eyes, and in her opinion he was adding insult to injury by insisting on escorting her home.
It didn’t matter if he was right about the dangers to her out here. His actions clearly shouted that because she was a female, he considered her weak and m need of protection. True or not, she didn’t have to like it.
Finally, however, her sense of courtesy overcame her resistance, and she slowed down until they were walking side-by-side. For all he insisted he had to escort her home, he wasn’t making any effort to trend fences between them, and that bothered her. Reviewing what had happened, she was sure her reaction was justified. What did he have to be annoyed about, other than the fact that she hadn’t liked having her judgment and memory questioned so bluntly? He had been the one who’d behaved badly.
But she had the definite feeling that he felt otherwise, and she began to wonder if he was one of those people who felt they should be able to say anything, however insulting, with immunity.
But no, that didn’t seem like Jake. He had, after all, apologized for his remarks at their first meeting.
What was he so miffed about?
But there didn’t seem to be any answers forthcoming. She didn’t want to broach the subject, because it would simply get them into another argument.
But with each step she took, she felt less annoyed and more sad. Walking always calmed her, and in times of upset she practically wore a path in the beach or in her living room carpet. Unfortunately, the calming effect this time was merely leaving room for the sorrow.
What might have been had once again proved to be an illusion. She had made a minor attempt to break out of the cage in which she seemed to be Irving, and for her efforts had merely had another lesson in the folly of hoping.
Well, she would never hope again, she promised herself. She’d get a cat or a dog—surely they were more trustworthy than men—tend her garden, see her clients, and make herself be content with her life.
Anything else only led to trouble; she ought to know that by now.
Jake walked her to her door, waited until she turned the key in the lock, and pushed it open. Then he said good night and walked away without another word.
Fifteen
In the morning, Roxy took one look at Rainbow and said, “I knew it! You should have listened to me. That man is nothing but trouble.”
Rainbow, who had hardly slept at all, was huddled over a mug of coffee. The last thing she wanted was a lecture from her mother, so she kept her head down and didn’t say a word.
“Men!” said Roxy, in a tone of utter disgust. “They’re after only one thing, and if there’s the least little complication, they bail out like rats deserting a sinking ship.”
Despite her resolution, Rainbow replied. “Deserting a sinking ship is wise, Mother.”
“Wise? Are you saying Walter was wise to treat you the way he did?”
“Apparently so. I’m a mutant, Mother. A weirdo. A freak.”
“Oh, good Lord!” Roxy sat with a thump and regarded her daughter worriedly. “I don’t want to hear you talk like that.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“It’s not true! My dear child, you’re blessed with a wonderful gift.”
“Really? It doesn’t seem to be doing me much good lately. I can’t read the cards, I can’t sense what’s corning, and
I scare people away. I wouldn’t call it a blessing.”
“Some people run from you,” Roxy corrected her. “Others run to you. Think of all the people you’ve helped.”
“I’m not sure I ever helped anyone.” Roxy frowned. “You sound depressed.”
“I’m just being realistic.”
“You are depressed.”
Rainbow didn’t bother to answer. If her mother couldn’t see the difference between realism and depression, then no argument was likely to change her mind.
Unfortunately, Rainbow’s silence didn’t silence her mother.
“Rainbow’s depressed,” she announced to Gene, when he walked into the kitchen. He had evidently been out for his morning run, because he was hot and sweaty, and the first thing he did was hit the refrigerator for some Gatorade.
“Rainbow doesn’t get depressed,” Gene said. “She has an unquenchable spirit.”
“See how unquenchable you think this is: she’s decided she’s a weirdo, and a mutant, and that she scares people. She’s also decided that she’s never helped anyone with her talents.”
Gene looked at his niece. “She’s depressed,” he said.
“Hah!” said Roxy, triumphant. “What did I tell you?”
“I’m just being realistic,” Rainbow said.
Gene sat across from her at the breakfast bar. “I take it the date last night didn’t go well.”
“It was a disaster.” Although, Rainbow admitted privately, it hadn’t really been that bad. In fact, most of it had been wonderful. It was just those last few minutes … she shook herself, trying not to minimize what had happened. “We had a fight,” she said, deciding to forestall the inevitable inquisition from her mother. “He’s a domineering, superior male chauvinist pig-”
“Ah,” said Gene, as if much enlightened.
Roxy saw it differently. “Well, of course he is. That’s the way all men are.”
“I beg to differ,” Gene said.
Roxy waved him to silence. “Gene always thinks he’s the exception to every rule,” she told her daughter.
“Well, he is,” Rainbow said, standing up staunchly for her beloved uncle.