Touch Me Now

“Come in,” rang out the cheery voice.

“Your friend Ms. Brooks is here.” Gina headed back to the front.

Before Layla could put one foot in front of the other the door swung fully open and Desiree burst out like sunshine after a storm.

“Layla!” Desiree swept her friend up in a tight hug then stepped back and held her at arm’s length. “How was the drive?”

“A breeze. You look fabulous. And happy.”

Desiree had opted for a short, natural spiral hairstyle and her complexion fairly glowed from the inside out.

“Thanks and I am.” She beamed, then a frown tightened her brow. She glanced around the space where Layla stood. “Where are your bags?”

“In the car.”

“Oh,” she breathed in relief, pressing her hand to her chest. “For a minute I thought you weren’t planning to stay.” She hooked her arm through Layla’s. “Let’s get your bags and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

“I’m not sure for how long, but I have enough clothes and accessories to last me a minute.”

Desiree laughed. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

They walked arm-in-arm out of the main building and across the landscaped front. Desiree had one of the staff gather Layla’s bags from her car and bring them to her room.

“I’m so glad that you decided to come,” Desiree said while she turned the key in the cottage door lock. “You’re going to love it and my guests are going to love you.” She swung the door open and they stepped inside.

As Layla expected, the space was beautiful. Pale walls and whitewashed floors gave the rooms an expansive, open aired feeling and the rattan furnishings, glass accessories and the bay windows topped it off. Although The Port had a full-service restaurant and bar as well as room service, each cabin came with its own fully functional kitchen.

Layla’s cabin looked out onto the beach and down the pathway that branched right and left with a cabin on each side of comparable size to hers.

She dropped her purse on the kitchen counter and turned toward Desiree with a broad smile on her face. “Beautiful.”

Desiree took a mock bow. “And you’re going to have a ball. I’ll leave you to get settled. When you’re ready come on over to the main building. Lincoln can’t wait to see you.”

“Okay. Give me about an hour.”

“See you then.”

Desiree let herself out and Layla took her bags to the bedroom and began to unpack. She laid out an outfit and then went into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Wrapped in a thick, pale peach towel, Layla padded around her new digs and she had to admit, from the moment that she’d stepped onto the property and inhaled the ocean-washed air and spectacular views, she felt lighter inside. All of the worry and stress of everything related to home evaporated. She went into the seating area and turned on the stereo, and then two-stepped to the beat back into her bedroom.

Totally refreshed, and dressed for the sultry spring afternoon, Layla followed the path back to the main building and took in the sights along the way.

Maurice Lawson lounged beneath the shade of the blue and white striped canopy that hung above his back deck. His injured leg was elevated on a pillow. Absently, he rubbed his upper thigh while he watched the waves gently move in and out from the shore. The temperature was perfect, and the light breeze blowing off the water combined for a near hypnotic effect. Although he’d been reluctant to take his therapist’s advice, he was glad that he’d come. The past few nights were the first in months that he wasn’t awakened by the nightmares. Simply being able to rest through the night was beginning to have a positive effect on his spirit.

It was hooking up with Ross that finally changed his mind.

There’d been several moments of panic when he’d pulled up in front of Ross’s Long Island home. He’d sat in his car debating on whether to get out and go inside. But then the front door to the house opened and Ross stepped out and all the time apart slipped away. It didn’t matter to Ross and Janet that he’d been hurt or that he’d cut them off for so long or that he was seeing a shrink to try to get his head right. All that mattered was that their friend was alive and he was back.

He and Ross talked long after the last guest went home. They talked until the sun rose, and when he returned to his apartment in Brooklyn he felt almost human. Human enough to take Ross and Janet and Dr. Morrison’s advice and go to Sag Harbor. Do some thinking and some soul searching. And whatever he decided, they would be there for him when he returned.

He rested his head against the back of the chair and was just about to close his eyes and let the pain medication settle in when movement to his right drew his attention. At first he thought that perhaps it was an apparition, a vision like the ones he would see at the end of the tunnel of light—beckoning him through those painful nights of recovery. That light and the ethereal image at the end of it were the only things that gave him hope and the will to go on. He hadn’t seen the vision since he’d left the military hospital in Afghanistan, until now.

But it wasn’t his imagination and the image wasn’t a result of hallucinations from the pain. She was real and she moved as if walking on air. The lightweight white clothing that she wore gently floated around her, lifted by the gentle breeze.

Maurice sat up a bit to see where she was going, and to convince himself that she was real. She turned a corner, and disappeared behind one of the houses. He stared at the space where she’d been until his vision blurred. He shook his head and blinked his eyes several times to clear them. The strange, unsettling sensation rippled in the center of his stomach.

“Crazy,” he muttered to himself and tried to push the moment aside. He closed his eyes, leaned back and let the medication do its work. He dozed lightly and the one thing that he remembered when he awoke and found the sun setting down beyond the horizon was that he’d dreamed of the illuminated image again.

Chapter 4

“Are all the cabins full?” Layla asked, sipping on her mojito.

Desiree, her husband, Lincoln, and Layla were seated at the on-site bar relaxing and catching up while listening to the backdrop of soft jazz and calypso floating in from some unseen source.

“We have three vacancies, for now. But they’re already booked. Of course everyone isn’t staying for the entire season. The majority are here for about two weeks,” Desiree said, then popped some peanuts into her mouth.

“Surprisingly, business has remained pretty good, even in the off-season,” Lincoln said.

“During hard times people need some kind of escape, even if it’s only temporary,” Layla added.

“True, that’s why we work really hard to keep the prices down and the service up,” Desiree said. “And at least once every quarter we have a half-price weekend special with all amenities included.”

“That must really help to draw in the business and make people want to come back.”

“It does. And of course Melanie recommends all of her clients to come and visit. When she has functions up at her place and clients want to stay over, some of her guests will stay here.”

“Can’t wait to see Mel. I haven’t seen her since the wedding,” Layla said.

“She’s out of town but she should be back early next week. She insisted on hosting our anniversary party, so I know she will have plenty to do when she gets back. And she has a long list of very eligible men she wants you to meet.”

“Meeting men is not on my list of things to do. I came here to get away from the city, help you out and get some sun in. That’s it.”

Desiree and Lincoln shared a quick “sure you’re right” look, between them.

Layla pushed out a breath and slowly gazed around at the tranquil setting. Singles and couples walked along the beach, gathered beneath umbrella covered tables or swam in the pool. Several guests were entering the restaurant and the sound of happy voices filled the air. She could easily get used to living like this. The whole notion of not having to think about where she was going to park her car every day was more than worth the price of admission.

“Did you show Layla her place?” Lincoln asked.

“Yes.”

“Love it,” Layla said. “I get the feeling that the two of you have intentions of me being around for a while.” She looked from one guilty face to the other.

“We just want you to be happy and comfortable,” Desiree offered, putting on her sweet as syrup voice.

Lincoln draped his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “And if you decided to stay,” he hedged, “you’d be all set up already. As a businessman I have to always think ahead.”

Layla deadpanned the two of them and then laughed. “You two are a mess.”