"Taking a trip to Bath," Hubey commented.
"With her friend," Lyle added.
"Griffin Rourke," Shep completed.
They all spoke as if their own particular revelation was the most startling. Tabloid television had nothing over the porch at Jenny's General Store. Even the most mundane subjects became exciting fodder for the island news service.
Meredith stepped up on the porch. "That's right. We're leaving at-"
"Dawn," Early said. "Weather's supposed to be just fine. No hurricanes in the forecast."
Lyle nodded. "We all know how you're bothered by bad weather," he said sympathetically.
"But it looks like you survived Horace with no worries," Shep said.
"But then, that was only a category one," Hubey concluded. "Nothing like Delia."
"I have some shopping to do," Meredith said as she reached for the screen door, anxious to escape the inquisition.
"Hey, we heard your boyfriend might be looking for work," Hubey said.
Meredith froze, her hand on the door. "What?"
"Yeah," Early said. "Tank Muldoon says your Griffin was asking about jobs on the island when he was in there a few days back."
"I guess Rourke's planning to stick around for a while," Lyle said.
Shep shook his head. "Jobs are hard to come by on the island."
"You tell your friend, Griffin, to come down to our dock as soon as you get back from your trip," Early said. "Me and the boys bought ourselves an old shrimper. We're going to haul it out and fix it up and sell it to a guy down Georgia way. If Rourke ain't scared of hard work, we can give him something to do and pay him for it."
"I-I'll tell him that. Thank you." Meredith quickly stepped inside the dim, cool interior of the store. Overhead, fans gently whirred from the low ceiling, mixing the smells of meat and produce with the salt air. Shelves stacked high with goods ran the length of the building, separated by narrow aisles. The old wooden floor creaked beneath her feet as she reached for a plastic basket from the stack beside the door.
Early's words echoed in her mind and she tried to fathom their meaning. Had Griffin finally resigned himself to staying? She shook her head. No, it couldn't be. Early had misunderstood. If Griffin had decided to stay, she would have been the first to know. She brushed the thought from her mind and focused on her shopping list.
"'Mornin', Meredith," Jenny called from behind the register. "Hear your boyfriend is looking for a job."
Startled, Meredith snatched a can of tuna and tossed it in her basket, then glanced over at Jenny. The storekeeper peered at her through the reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, a newspaper propped up in front of her. "Yes… he is," Meredith called.
She moved down the aisle, picked up a box of taco shells and studied the nutritional label distractedly.
"So, are you two planning to stay on the island for a while?"
"No," Meredith said, shoving the box back on the shelf and continuing down the aisle. "I mean, I'll be here through December, but I'm not sure how long Griffin will be staying." She peeked around the whole-wheat dinner rolls to find Jenny staring at her, a concerned frown wrinkling her forehead.
"You two having problems? Tank says your Griffin was hoisting a few the other night at his place. Said he was in the doghouse."
Meredith groaned inwardly. Living on this island was like having a hundred sets of nosy parents. From the day she'd set foot on Ocracoke again, she'd become part of a larger family, filled with people who had helped her father raise her all those years ago. Hubey and Jenny had given her her first after-school job. Early's wife, Millie, had taught her how to iron Sam Abbott's shirts. Lyle had lent her his collection of Civil War history books and Shep had teased her mercilessly from the time they'd entered the first grade together.
So how could she be angry with their prying? After all, they cared about her happiness. "Griffin and I are getting along just fine," Meredith said with a smile. Too fine, if the truth be told.
Her thoughts wandered back to the kiss they'd shared on her couch. She'd recalled the moment again and again, each time, searching for some clue to his true feelings. But her limited experience in the ways of passion gave her a distinct disadvantage.
She was nearly certain she'd seen desire suffuse his expression the instant before he kissed her. But then, it could have been boredom. And the kiss itself had been incredibly wonderful, deep and soul shattering, to say the least. But then, hehad drawn away with some ridiculous excuse about unseemly behavior and taking a walk. Suddenly, she wasn't quite sure what had happened between them.
One thing she did know was that the man knew how to kiss. When their lips had touched, she'd felt as if every ounce of his attention was focused on her mouth, his firm lips tempting her, his tongue offering her a taste of his soul. And his body… all that hard muscle and warm sinew, as though he'd been carved from sun-warmed granite…
"He is a handsome young man," Jenny called, "even if his hair is a bit long."
Meredith swallowed convulsively. "Yes," she said, her voice catching in her throat. "Yes, he is. Do you think he needs a haircut?"
Jenny pondered the question for a moment, then smiled slyly. "Naw. He looks mighty fine just the way he is." With that, thankfully, Jenny went back to her crossword puzzle and left Meredith to her shopping… and her fantasies.
She silently chastised herself. This would have to stop! She couldn't walk around all moony-eyed over the man. Griffin had made it perfectly clear that he would do everything in his power to get back to his own time. For days, he'd refused to consider the other alternative.
But she couldn't put Early's words out of her head. If they were true, maybe Griffin had changed his mind. Could he be responding to the undeniable attraction between them?
As Meredith grabbed a bag of mini-marshmallows, she attempted to ignore the blooming optimism that flooded her heart. She would not allow herself a single instant of hope. There couldn't be a future for them… especially after he learned that she might be the one responsible for bringing him here in the first place.
So Tank had told Early, she mused, quickly forgetting her resolve. And Griffin had told Tank he was looking for work-before Meredith had told Griffin that Kelsey had told herthat there might be a way for Griffin to get home. Meredith stopped in the middle of the produce section, dizzy from trying to sort out all the conversational connections.
Maybe she would do well to put the whole matter out of her mind. The fact was, as long as Griffin had hope, he would try to return. And as long as he stayed, she, too, would harbor a hope of her own. But for now, she'd have to keep her hope, and her fantasies, in check.
Ten minutes later, Meredith made her way to the tiny marina, a grocery bag clutched in each arm. As she walked down the dock, she caught sight of Griffin sitting in the cockpit of the twenty-five-foot sloop they'd rented. His attention was focused on a navigational chart he held out in front of him.
She stopped and slowly placed the bags on the dock, then straightened, her gaze coming to rest on Griffin. He was a devastatingly handsome man, there was no denying that fact. And Jenny hadn't been the only one on the island to notice. He'd elicited a number of appreciative stares, from sixteen-year-old schoolgirls to gray-haired grandmothers.
She watched as he brushed his wind-whipped hair back from his face, revealing a startlingly perfect profile. How could any woman help staring? His dark, brooding good looks were like a magnet to the eyes. She'd caught herself watching him so many times over the past few days, wondering whether she really knew him at all, or whether he was as he appeared-an enigma.
Even if he stayed, he'd never lack for feminine companionship. Merrie's heart twisted at the thought and all her self-confidence drained out of her body. How could she have thought she'd be able to hold his interest? She was a shy, boring history professor who had never been able to attract much more than a mild interest from the opposite sex.