Read Rising Tides for Free Online Page B

felt a lump in my throat.  “There’s nothing worse than pity.  Nothing in the whole world.”  Pulling my hand away, I took one last glance at the sky as tears blurred my vision.  For a moment, I thought about telling him the truth about the tumor and Gary’s affair and why I knew so much about pity.  I wondered what his reaction would be.  But just as quickly as that thought came, I brushed it aside.  Maybe I would tell him, but not now.
    “It’s getting dark,” I said.  “I’d better be getting back to the hotel before Gary sends out a search party.”
    As I headed for the door, I heard him ask, “Are you feeling well enough to drive?”
    My hand rose, and I wiped away the two streaks spilling down my face.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”  I braced my back and took a deep breath.  “I don’t get too many of those.”
    Tyler walked in front of me and opened the door.  Standing in the doorway, I put on my shoes.  At the corner of my vision, I saw Tyler go to the kitchen table and pick up the conch I had often picked up.  He offered it with both hands.  “Take this with you.  That way, you’ll always hear the ocean.”
    My fingers trembled as I accepted it.  “Thank you.”  I held the conch under my arm and picked up my keys.
    As I stepped out the door, he asked, “What time will you be here tomorrow?”  He thrust his hands into his pockets and leaned against the door.
    I shrugged.  “I don’t know if I’ll be coming to paint tomorrow.”
    Tyler laughed and touched my shoulder.  “When are you coming to sail?  You do still want to go, don’t you?”
    I almost dropped the shell.  My fingers tightened around it at the last minute.  “You don’t mind?”
    He folded his arms across his chest.  “No.  Should I?”  He squinted slightly as if he were trying to remember something he had said that would have made me think I wasn’t welcome to go with him.  “I’ll have a wetsuit for you this time.”
    “No, you shouldn’t,” I finally amended, sorting through the keys until I found the one for the door.  “I don’t know what I was thinking.  I’ll be here at twelve.”  The wind swept my hair into my eyes, and I raised my hand to push it away.  I took a deep breath and savored the salty air.
    “Good.  I’ll have the cat ready, diapers and all.”  A mischievous grin appeared on his face. We walked down the stairs side by side, our steps falling in rhythm as we walked.
    “Diapers?  You mean like Pampers?” I asked as I unlocked the door and set the shell inside.  “I can hardly wait,” I mumbled, thinking of a commercial.  “I am potty-trained, you know.”
    “Wrong kind of diaper, Kelly,” Tyler murmured, tapping one hand against the opposite forearm.  “I’ll show you what a sailor’s diaper looks like.”  In the twilight between sunset and night, his skin looked golden, and the sand dollar lay against his shirt.  He crossed one leg over the other while leaning against the door way.
    I waited for him to say something more, but he  stared back at me with a half-cocked grin lighting his face.  “You’re not even going to explain that one to me, are you?”
    “Nope.  You want to know, be here at twelve.”   His voice sounded deep and fluid, a tide washing to shore.  “Or you really will be wearing Huggies.”
    I laughed and sat down in the driver’s seat.  “See you tomorrow,” I said and waved, closing the door.  From behind the tinted glass, I saw him uncross his arms and lift his hand, moving it slowly back and forth.  During the drive back to the hotel, I stared into the faint glare of street lights and neon letters, imagining them all washed away beneath the swirling whitecaps I’d temporarily left behind.
    * * *
    “I thought we’d celebrate by going out to dinner,” Gary said, sorting through his clothes until he’d settled on a charcoal pair of slacks.  “The deal is finally finished.  Everything went great.  Our new client