over his
shoulder, clutched his metal detector in one hand and shovel in the other.
“What are you doing?”
“Grab your stuff. We’re done for the day.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You can’t just walk off the job because I
said something that pissed you off. I’m not spending all summer doing this.”
“Boat leaves in ten minutes. Be there, or have a nice swim.”
Tanya dropped her shovel and stepped up to him. “Same old
boring, methodical Parker. No sense of adventure or excitement.”
“Same old Tanya. Still an impulsive adolescent. Never seeing
what’s right in front of your face.”
“Better than plodding along and going nowhere.”
“Since when is running away the equivalent of going
somewhere?” He knew by the fury in her eyes that he hit a nerve on that one. He
turned and started walking.
Tanya reached for her plastic water bottle, set her feet in
place like a quarterback going for the bomb, cocked her arm and hurled it full
force at his head. The plastic bottle whizzed by his left ear, off the mark by
a fraction.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Missed.”
She trotted after him. “Must I remind you that you were
hired to help me do this?”
“I’m done. Get somebody else to be your lackey. Spoiled,
self-absorbed bitch.”
“You know, I thought maybe you’d changed, but I can see
you’re as rigid as ever.”
“Better rigid than frigid.”
“Cute one-liner. But while I have my faults, we both know
frigidity was never one of them.”
“There are other ways of being cold. But you wouldn’t
understand that. You never did before, why should you now?”
She scooted around him, cutting him off, fists balled at her
sides. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You really want to go there?”
“Yeah,” she said, blocking his way. “Maybe it’s time we
cleared the air. Since you obviously have a lot on your mind today.”
“Okay. You asked for it. You’re still the same stuck up
phony. The same girl that told me I didn’t meet up to your high standards. I
was too small town. A local yokel.”
“I never—”
“You told me you wanted a lifestyle the likes of which I
wouldn’t understand. That I wasn’t sophisticated enough for you. That I lacked
ambition.”
“Life isn’t always that simple, Mr. Boy Scout. You forgot
about the things you said to me. Always passing judgment. Like the time I
shared with you my dream of having a penthouse with my own private dance studio
overlooking Central Park. You laughed at me. Told me I was unrealistic. And
that my goals were excessive and overly materialistic. Part of that might be
true. So what? People need dreams. But you made fun of mine because they
weren’t the same as yours. All because I didn’t want to spend my life cloistered
in a small town where everybody knows everybody’s business and drives a Ford
pick-up. To tell you the truth. You could use to get off the farm. Go party in
Paris. Whore it up in Amsterdam. Or at least tie on a drunk in Brooklyn.”
“Are you finished?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I hope it was therapeutic.”
“Definitely. Feel like a kid again. Fresh as a daisy and
good to go.”
“Me, too. And by the way, I quit.”
She turned and stomped off. Parker tried not to stare at her
perfect butt and the sexy way it swayed with each step.
He headed back to the dock, forcing himself to keep moving
even though he was dying to go back and physically drag her to the boat. But as
he neared the beach he heard footsteps running through the brush behind him.
With a relieved sigh, he turned to see Tanya. She gave him a poker face that he
returned in kind.
The ride back to the mainland was a silent one where not a
word was spoken between them.
Chapter Twelve
Getting a handle on her anger and confusion, Tanya put on an
enthusiastic smile and walked through the front door. She hoped her veneer
wouldn’t crack when her mother barraged her with questions about how today went
and if they found
shoulder, clutched his metal detector in one hand and shovel in the other.
“What are you doing?”
“Grab your stuff. We’re done for the day.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You can’t just walk off the job because I
said something that pissed you off. I’m not spending all summer doing this.”
“Boat leaves in ten minutes. Be there, or have a nice swim.”
Tanya dropped her shovel and stepped up to him. “Same old
boring, methodical Parker. No sense of adventure or excitement.”
“Same old Tanya. Still an impulsive adolescent. Never seeing
what’s right in front of your face.”
“Better than plodding along and going nowhere.”
“Since when is running away the equivalent of going
somewhere?” He knew by the fury in her eyes that he hit a nerve on that one. He
turned and started walking.
Tanya reached for her plastic water bottle, set her feet in
place like a quarterback going for the bomb, cocked her arm and hurled it full
force at his head. The plastic bottle whizzed by his left ear, off the mark by
a fraction.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Missed.”
She trotted after him. “Must I remind you that you were
hired to help me do this?”
“I’m done. Get somebody else to be your lackey. Spoiled,
self-absorbed bitch.”
“You know, I thought maybe you’d changed, but I can see
you’re as rigid as ever.”
“Better rigid than frigid.”
“Cute one-liner. But while I have my faults, we both know
frigidity was never one of them.”
“There are other ways of being cold. But you wouldn’t
understand that. You never did before, why should you now?”
She scooted around him, cutting him off, fists balled at her
sides. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You really want to go there?”
“Yeah,” she said, blocking his way. “Maybe it’s time we
cleared the air. Since you obviously have a lot on your mind today.”
“Okay. You asked for it. You’re still the same stuck up
phony. The same girl that told me I didn’t meet up to your high standards. I
was too small town. A local yokel.”
“I never—”
“You told me you wanted a lifestyle the likes of which I
wouldn’t understand. That I wasn’t sophisticated enough for you. That I lacked
ambition.”
“Life isn’t always that simple, Mr. Boy Scout. You forgot
about the things you said to me. Always passing judgment. Like the time I
shared with you my dream of having a penthouse with my own private dance studio
overlooking Central Park. You laughed at me. Told me I was unrealistic. And
that my goals were excessive and overly materialistic. Part of that might be
true. So what? People need dreams. But you made fun of mine because they
weren’t the same as yours. All because I didn’t want to spend my life cloistered
in a small town where everybody knows everybody’s business and drives a Ford
pick-up. To tell you the truth. You could use to get off the farm. Go party in
Paris. Whore it up in Amsterdam. Or at least tie on a drunk in Brooklyn.”
“Are you finished?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I hope it was therapeutic.”
“Definitely. Feel like a kid again. Fresh as a daisy and
good to go.”
“Me, too. And by the way, I quit.”
She turned and stomped off. Parker tried not to stare at her
perfect butt and the sexy way it swayed with each step.
He headed back to the dock, forcing himself to keep moving
even though he was dying to go back and physically drag her to the boat. But as
he neared the beach he heard footsteps running through the brush behind him.
With a relieved sigh, he turned to see Tanya. She gave him a poker face that he
returned in kind.
The ride back to the mainland was a silent one where not a
word was spoken between them.
Chapter Twelve
Getting a handle on her anger and confusion, Tanya put on an
enthusiastic smile and walked through the front door. She hoped her veneer
wouldn’t crack when her mother barraged her with questions about how today went
and if they found
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