The Choice

301/571“How’d it go?” Stephanie asked. Feeling foggy the following morning,Travis could barely open his eyes. “Whattime is it?” “I don’t know. It’s early, though.” “Why are you calling me?” “Because I want to know how dinnerwent with Gabby.” “Is the sun even up?” “Don’t change the subject. Spill it.” “You’re being awfully nosy about this.” “I’m a nosy gal. But don’t worry. Youalready told me the answer.” “I didn’t say anything.” “Exactly. I assume you’re seeing hertoday, too?” Travis pulled the phone away and staredat it, wondering how his sister alwaysseemed to know everything. “Steph—” “Tell her I said hey. But listen, I gotta go.Thanks for keeping me informed.”

302/571 She hung up before he had a chance torespond.Gabby’s first thought upon waking the nextmorning was that she liked to think of her-self as a good person. Growing up, she’d al-ways tried to follow the rules. She kept herroom clean, studied for exams, did her bestto mind her manners around her parents. It wasn’t last night’s kiss that had herdoubting her integrity. She hadn’t had any-thing to do with that—that was all Travis.And the day had been innocentenough—she’d be perfectly happy tellingKevin all about it. No, her guilt had more todo with the fact that she’d willingly returnedfor dinner with Travis. If she had been hon-est with herself, she could have anticipatedTravis’s agenda and headed off the situation.Especially at the end. What had she beenthinking?

303/571 As for Kevin . . . talking to him hadn’tdone much to erase the memory. She’d called him last night after she’dgotten back to her house. As his cell phonerang, she’d prayed he wouldn’t detect theguilt in her tone. No problem there, she’dquickly realized; they could barely hear eachother at all, since he’d answered the phonewhile in a nightclub. “Hey, sweetie,” she said, “I just wanted tocall—” “Hey, Gabby!” he interrupted. “It’s reallyloud in here, so speak up.” He shouted so loudly that she had to holdthe phone away from her ear. “I can tell.” “What?” “I said it sounds noisy!” she shoutedback. “I take it you’re having a good time?” “I can barely hear you! What did yousay?” In the background, she heard a woman’svoice asking if he wanted another vodka

304/571tonic; Kevin’s answer was lost in thecacophony. “Where are you?” “I’m not sure of the name. Just someclub!” “What kind of club?” “Just someplace these other guys wantedto go! No big deal!” “I’m glad you’re having a good time.” “Speak up!” She brought her fingers to the bridge ofher nose and squeezed. “I just wanted to talk.I miss you.” “Yeah, miss you, too, but I’ll be home in afew days! Listen, though . . .” “I know, I know—you’ve got to go.” “Let me call you back tomorrow, okay?” “Sure.” “Love you!” “Love you, too.” Gabby hung up, annoyed. She’d justwanted to talk to him, but she supposed she

305/571should have known better. Conventions hada way of turning grown men back into ad-olescents—she’d witnessed that firsthand ata medical convention she’d attended inBirmingham a few months ago. By day,meetings were packed with earnest, serious-minded doctors; at night, she’d watchedfrom her hotel window as they’d traveled inpacks, drunk too much, and generally madefools of themselves. No harm in that. Shedidn’t believe for a moment that he had got-ten himself into trouble or done anythinghe’d regret. Like kiss someone else? She threw back the covers, really wishingshe could stop thinking about that. Shedidn’t want to think about the weight ofTravis’s hand on her hip as he’d pulled hertoward him, and she definitely didn’t want tothink about the way his lips felt against hersor the electric spark she’d felt because of it.Still, as she headed for the shower,

306/571something else was bugging her, somethingshe couldn’t quite put her finger on. Turningon the water, she found herself wonderingif—in the brief instant it hadhappened—she’d also kissed him back.Unable to go back to sleep after Stephanie’scall, Travis went jogging. Afterward, he’dtossed his surfboard in the back of his truckand driven across the bridge to Bogue Banks.After parking in the Sheraton Hotel lot, hehefted his board and made for the water. Hewasn’t alone; there were a dozen otherswho’d had the same idea, and he waved at afew he recognized. Like Travis, mostwouldn’t stay long; the best waves cameearly and would be gone as soon as the tideshifted. But it was still the perfect way tostart the day. The water was brisk—in another month,it would be nearly perfect—and he paddledover the swells, trying to get into rhythm. He

307/571wasn’t a great surfer—in Bali, he’d studiedsome of the monster waves and shook hishead, knowing that if he even attempted toride them, he’d probably be killed—but hewas good enough to enjoy himself. He was used to being alone. Laird was theother surfer in his group of friends, but hehadn’t gone with Travis in years. Ashley andMelinda, two former girlfriends, had gonesurfing with him a few times in the past—butneither ever seemed able to meet him on thespur of the moment, and typically, by thetime they arrived, he was just finishing up,which threw the morning out of whack. Andas usual, it had been up to him to suggest theactivity in the first place. He was, he realized, a little disappointedin himself for choosing the same type of wo-man over and over. No wonder Allison andMegan liked to give him such a hard time. Itmust have been like watching the same playwith different actors, the outcome always the

308/571same. As he lay on the surfboard, watchingthe swells approach, he realized that thesame thing that made women initially at-tractive to him—their need to be taken careof—was the very thing that eventuallysignaled the end of the relationship. How didthat old saying go? If you’ve been divorcedonce, you might be right in thinking your exwas the problem. If you’ve been divorcedthree times? Well, folks, the problem is mostdefinitely you. Granted, he hadn’t been di-vorced, but the point was well taken. It amazed him that all this soul-searchingseemed prompted by his day with Gabby.Gabby, the woman who’d falsely accusedhim, consistently avoided him, overtly antag-onized him, and then made a point of re-peatedly mentioning that she was in lovewith someone else. Go figure. Behind him a swell seemed promising,and Travis began to paddle hard, maneuver-ing himself into the best possible position.

309/571Despite the glory of the day and the pleas-ures of the ocean, he couldn’t escape thetruth: What he really wanted to do was tospend as much time as possible with Gabby,for as long as he possibly could.“Good morning,” Kevin said into the phone,just as Gabby was getting ready to leave.Gabby moved the receiver to her othershoulder. “Oh, hey,” she answered. “How are you?” “Good. Listen, I just wanted to tell youthat I’m sorry about the call last night. Iwanted to call you when I got back to theroom to apologize, but by then it was prettylate.” “It’s okay. You sounded like you werehaving fun.” “It was less thrilling than you probablythink. The music was so loud that my earsare still ringing. I don’t know why I wentwith those guys in the first place. I should

310/571have known I was in trouble when they star-ted doing shots right after dinner, butsomeone had to keep an eye on them.” “And I’m sure you were the model ofsobriety.” “Of course,” he said. “You know I don’tdrink much. Which means, of course, that I’llprobably crush them in the golf tournamenttoday. They’ll be too hung over to even hitthe ball.” “Who were they?” “Just some other brokers from Charlotteand Columbia. By the way they were acting,you’d have thought they hadn’t been out inyears.” “Maybe they haven’t.” “Yeah, well . . .” She could hear him rust-ling and assumed he was getting dressed.“How about you? What did you end updoing?” She hesitated. “Not too much.”

311/571 “I wish you could have come down. Itwould have been a lot more fun if you’d beenhere.” “You know I couldn’t get off work.” “I know. But I wanted to say it anyway.I’ll try to give you a call later, okay?” “Sure. I might be out and about.” “Oh, how’s Molly doing?” “She’s doing well.” “I think I might want one of those pup-pies. They were cute.” “You’re just trying to get on my goodside.” “That’s the only side to be on. Hey, I wasthinking, though. Maybe you and I couldhead down to Miami this fall for a long week-end. One of the guys I was talking to just gotback from South Beach, and he said therewere a couple of great golf courses nearby.” She paused. “Have you ever thoughtabout going to Africa?” “Africa?”

312/571 “Yeah. Just taking off for a while, goingon safari, seeing Victoria Falls? Or if notAfrica, someplace in Europe? Like Greece?” “Not really. And even if I wanted to, it’snot like I could get the time off. What madeyou think of that?” “No reason,” she said.While Gabby was on the phone, Traviswalked up onto Gabby’s porch and knocked.A moment later, she appeared in the door-way, the phone to her ear. Motioning to thephone, she waved him inside. He stepped in-to the living room, expecting her to makesome excuse on the phone, but instead shepointed to the couch and vanished into thekitchen, the swinging doors swaying behindher. He took a seat and waited. And waited.And waited. He felt ridiculous, as if she weretreating him like a child. He could hear herspeaking in hushed tones and had no idea

313/571whom she was talking to, and he contem-plated getting up and walking out the door.Still, he remained on the couch, wonderingwhy she seemed to have such a hold overhim. Finally, with the doors swinging behindher again, she stepped into the living room. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a little late, but thephone’s been ringing off the hook allmorning.” Travis stood, thinking that Gabby hadgrown even prettier overnight, which madeno sense at all. “No big deal,” he answered. The call with Kevin left her wonderingagain what she was doing, and she willedherself to stop thinking about it. “Let me justget my things, and we’ll be good to go.” Shetook a step toward the door. “Oh, and I wantto check on Molly—she was fine this morn-ing, but I want to make sure she has plentyof water.”

314/571 A moment later, with her bag flung overher shoulder, they moved into the garageand filled the water bowl to the brim. “Where are we going, by the way?” sheasked on their way back out. “Not to somebiker bar out in the sticks, I hope?” “What’s wrong with biker bars?” “I wouldn’t fit in. Not enough tattoos.” “You’re generalizing, don’t you think?” “Probably. But you still haven’t answeredmy question.” “Just a ride,” he said. “Over the bridge, allthe way down Bogue Banks to Emerald Isle,back over the bridge, and then we’ll wind ourway back to this place I want to show you.” “Where?” “It’s a surprise.” “Is it a fancy place?” “Hardly.” “Can we eat there?” He thought about it. “Sort of.” “Is it inside or outside?”

315/571 “It’s a surprise,” he said. “I don’t want toruin it for you.” “It sounds exciting.” “Don’t build it up too much. It’s just thisplace I like to go—nothing spectacular.” By that time, they’d reached the drive.Travis motioned toward the bike. “This is it.” The chrome on the bike made Gabbysquint, and she put on a pair of sunglasses. “Your pride and joy?” “Frustration and angst.” “You’re not going to start whining abouthow hard it is to get parts again, are you?” He made a face, then chuckled. “I’ll try tokeep it to myself.” She motioned toward the basket he’d at-tached to the back of the bike with bungeecords. “What’s for lunch?” “The usual.” “Filet mignon, baked Alaska, roast lamb,Dover sole?” “Not quite.”

316/571 “Pop-Tarts?” He ignored her gibe. “If you’re ready, wecan go. I’m pretty sure the helmet will fityou, but if it doesn’t, I’ve got more in thegarage.” She raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Whatabout this special place? Have you taken a lotof different women there?” “No,” he said. “Actually, you’ll be thefirst.” She waited to see if he would add any-thing else, but for once he seemed serious.She nodded slightly and walked to the mo-torcycle. She put on her helmet, fastened itbeneath her chin, and threw her leg over theback of the seat. “Where do I put my feet?” Travis unfolded the rear pegs. “There’sone on each side. And try not to touch the ex-haust with your leg. It gets very hot and youcould get a nasty burn.” “Good to know. What about my hands?” “They’ll be around me, of course.”

317/571 “Such a ladies’ man,” she said. “Why, ifyou were any smoother, I probably wouldn’teven be able to hold on, would I?” He put on his helmet and in a single,smooth motion climbed on and started thebike, allowing it to idle. It was quieter thansome motorcycles, but she could feel theslight vibration through her seat. She felt adistinct anticipatory thrill, as if she wereseated on a roller coaster as it was about tostart, only this time without a seat belt. Travis eased the motorcycle forward, outof the drive, and onto the street. Gabbyreached for his hips, but as soon as shetouched him, she thought about his hip flex-ors, which made her stomach do a flip-flop.It was either that or wrap her arms aroundhim, and she didn’t feel ready for that. As themotorcycle began to accelerate, she told her-self not to squeeze, not to move her hands atall, just to keep her hands steady, like astatue.

318/571 “What’s that?” Travis asked, craning hisneck. “What?” “You said something about hands and astatue?” Unaware she’d spoken aloud, shesqueezed his hips, telling herself that she wasdoing it only to provide cover. “I said keepyour hands steady, like a statue. I don’t wantto crash.” “We’re not going to crash. I don’t likecrashing.” “Have you ever crashed before?” Continuing to crane his neck and makingher nervous by doing so, he nodded. “Acouple of times. Spent two nights in the hos-pital once.” “And you didn’t think this was importantto mention before you invited me?” “I didn’t want you to get scared.” “Just keep your eyes on the road, okay?And don’t do anything fancy.”

319/571 “You want me to do something fancy?” “No!” “Good, because I’d rather just enjoy theride.” He craned his neck again; despite thehelmet, she could swear she saw him wink.“The most important thing is to keep yousafe, so just keep your hands steady like astatue, okay?” On the back of the seat, Gabby felt herselfshrink, just as she had in his office, aghastthat she’d said those words aloud. And thatdespite the wind in their faces and the roarof the engine, Travis had actually heardthem. There were moments when it honestlyseemed as if the world were conspiringagainst her. That he didn’t bring it up again over thenext few minutes made her feel slightly bet-ter. With the motorcycle zipping along, theyleft the quiet confines of their neighborhood.Gabby slowly got the hang of leaning whenTravis leaned, and a few turns later, they

320/571were making their way through Beaufort andover the small bridge that separated themfrom the Morehead City limits. The roadwidened to two lanes and was clogged withweekend beach traffic. Gabby tried to ignorethe feeling of vulnerability as they rodealongside a gigantic dump truck. They veered toward the bridge thatcrossed the Intracoastal Waterway, and thetraffic slowed to a crawl. When they reachedthe highway that bisected Bogue Banks, thetraffic headed for Atlantic Beach evaporatedand Travis gradually began to pick up speed.Sandwiched between two minivans, one infront and the other behind them, Gabby feltherself relaxing. As they sped past con-dominiums and houses hidden amid theMaritime Forest, she could feel the heat ofthe sun beginning to soak through herclothing. She held Travis to keep herself steady, in-tensely conscious of the outline of his back

321/571muscles through the thin fabric of his shirt.Despite her best intentions, she was begin-ning to accept the reality of the attraction shefelt for him. He was so different from her, yetin his presence she felt the possibility of an-other kind of life, a life she had never ima-gined could be hers. A life without the rigidlimitations others had always set for her. They drifted in an almost dreamlike si-lence past one town, then another: AtlanticBeach, Pine Knoll Shores, and Salter Path.On her left, largely hidden from view by oaksbent by the never-ending wind, lay some ofthe most desirable oceanfront property inthe state. A few minutes earlier, they’d by-passed the Iron Steamer Pier. Thoughwarped from years of storms, today it washome to scores of people fishing. At Emerald Isle, the most westerly townon the island, Travis applied the brakes toslow for a turning car, and Gabby felt herselflean into him. Her hands inadvertently slid

322/571from his hips to his stomach, and shewondered if he noticed the way their bodieswere pressed together. Though she willedherself to pull away, she didn’t. There was something happening here,something she didn’t quite understand. Sheloved Kevin and wanted to marry him; in thepast couple of days, that feeling hadn’tchanged at all. And yet . . . she couldn’t denythat spending time with Travis seemed . . .right, somehow. Natural and easy, the waythings were supposed to be. It seemed an im-possible contradiction, and as they crossedthe bridge at the far end of the island, head-ing toward home, she gave up trying to re-solve it. Surprising her, Travis slowed the bike be-fore turning onto a partially hidden one-laneroad perpendicular to the highway thatstretched into the forest. When he broughtthe bike to a halt, Gabby turned from side toside, puzzled.

323/571 “Why are we stopping?” she asked. “Isthis the place you wanted to show me?” Travis got off the bike and removed hishelmet. He shook his head. “No, that’s back in Beaufort,” he said. “Iwanted to see if you’d like to try driving for abit.” “I’ve never driven a motorcycle.” Gabbycrossed her arms, remaining on the bike. “I know. That’s why I asked.” “I don’t think so,” she said, pushing upthe helmet visor. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. I’ll be right behindyou on the bike, and I’m not going to let youcrash. I’ll have my hands right next to yours,I’ll do all the shifting. All you’ll have to do issteer until you get used to it.” “But it’s illegal.” “A technicality. And besides, this is aprivate road. It leads to my uncle’s place—alittle way up, it turns into a dirt road, and

324/571he’s the only one who lives that way. It’swhere I learned to ride.” She hesitated, torn between excitementand terror, amazed that she was actuallyconsidering it. Travis raised his hands. “Trust me—therearen’t any cars on the road, no one’s going tostop us, and I’ll be right there with you.” “Is it hard?” “No, but it takes a little getting used to.” “Like riding a bike?” “As far as the balance goes. But don’tworry. I’ll be right there, so nothing can gowrong.” He smiled. “You up for this?” “Not really. But—” “Great!” he said. “First things first. Slideforward, okay? On your right handlebar isthe throttle and the front brake. On the left isthe clutch. The throttle governs your speed.Got it?” She nodded.

325/571 “Your right foot controls the back brake.You use your left foot to shift the gears.” “Easy.” “Really?” “No. Just making you feel better aboutyour teaching skills.” She was beginning to sound likeStephanie, he thought. “After that, the shift-ing is kind of like driving a manual car. Youlet off the throttle, engage the clutch, shift,and then throttle up again. But I’m going toshow you, okay? But to do that, we’re kind ofgoing to be sandwiched together. My armsand legs aren’t long enough to reach fromthe backseat.” “A convenient excuse,” she said. “Which just happens to be true. Youready for this?” “I’m scared out of my wits.” “I’ll take that as a yes. Now, scoot up abit.”

326/571 She slid forward, and Travis got on. Afterputting on his helmet, he wedged up againsther, reaching for the handlebars, and despitehis warning, she felt something jump inside,a light shock that started in her stomach andradiated outward. “Now just put your hands on top ofmine,” he instructed. “And do the same withyour feet. I just want you to feel what’s hap-pening. It’s kind of a rhythm thing, but onceyou get the hang of it, you’ll never forget.” “Is this how you learned?” “No. My friend stood off to the side,yelling instructions. My first time out, Isqueezed the clutch instead of the brake andended up crashing into a tree. Which is why Iwant to be right here your first time out.” Helifted the kickstand, engaged the clutch, andstarted the engine; as soon as it began toidle, she felt the same fluttery nerves she’dfelt the moment before the parasail lifted her

327/571from the boat. She put her hands on his, rel-ishing the feel of him against her. “You ready?” “As I’ll ever be.” “Keep your hands light, okay?” Travis turned the throttle and slowlyeased out the clutch; in the instant the mo-torcycle began to move, he lifted his footfrom the ground. Gabby allowed her foot tosettle lightly on his. They went slowly at first, Travis acceler-ating gradually, then easing off, acceleratingagain, and finally shifting to another gear be-fore slowing again and coming to a stop.Then they started over again, Travis carefullyexplaining what he was doing—using thebrake or getting ready to shift and remindingher never to squeeze the front brake in panicor she’d go flying over the handlebars. Littleby little, as the process continued, Gabby gotthe hang of it. The choreographed movementof his hands and feet struck her as something

328/571akin to playing the piano, and after a fewminutes, she could almost anticipate what hewas going to do. Even so, he continued toguide her until the movements felt almostsecond nature. With that, he had them switch places; herhands and feet were now on the controls,with his atop hers, and they repeated theprocess from the beginning. It wasn’t as easyas he’d made it seem. At times the motor-cycle jerked or she squeezed the hand braketoo hard, but he was patient and encour-aging. He never raised his voice, and shefound herself recalling the way he’d beenwith the toddlers at the beach the day before.There was, she admitted, more to Travis thanshe had initially realized. Over the next fifteen minutes, as she con-tinued to practice driving, his touch becameeven lighter, until finally he let go entirely.Though she wasn’t entirely comfortable, shebegan to accelerate faster and more

329/571smoothly, and braking came just as natur-ally. For the first time, she felt the power andfreedom the motorcycle offered. “You’re doing fantastic,” Travis said. “This is great!” she cried, feeling almostgiddy. “Are you ready to try riding solo?” “You’re kidding.” “Not at all.” She debated only an instant. “Yeah,” shesaid enthusiastically. “I think I am.” She brought the bike to a stop, and Travishopped off. After watching him step back,she took a deep breath, ignored the pound-ing in her chest, and got the motorcycle go-ing. A moment later, she was zipping along.On her own, she stopped and started a dozentimes, gradually reducing the distances. Sur-prising Travis, she turned the bike around ina slow, wide arc and came racing back to-ward him. For a moment, he thought she wasout of control, but she brought the bike to an

330/571elegant stop only steps from him. Unable tostop grinning, she ran her words togetherwith kinetic energy. “I can’t believe I just did that!” “You did great!” “Did you see me turn around? I know Iwas going too slow, but I made it.” “I saw that.” “This is great! I can see why you love rid-ing. It’s a blast.” “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “Can I try it again?” He motioned to the road. “Feel free.” She rode back and forth along the roadfor a long while, Travis watching her confid-ence grow with every stop and start. Herturns were executed with greater ease aswell—she even began driving in a circle—andby the time she stopped in front of him, herface was flushed. When she took off her hel-met, Travis was sure he’d never seen anyonemore alive and beautiful.

331/571 “I’m done,” she announced. “You candrive now.” “You sure?” “I learned a long time ago to quit whileI’m ahead. I’d hate to crash and ruin thisfeeling.” Gabby scooted back and Travis got on thebike, only to feel her wrap her arms aroundhim. As he wound his way back to the high-way, Travis felt charged, as if his senses hadbeen put on overdrive, and he was acutelyaware of the curves of her body against his.They made their way up the highway, turned,and cut through Morehead City, passing bythe Atlantic Beach bridge and completing theloop on their way back to Beaufort. Minutes later, they were passing throughthe historic district, cruising past restaurantsand the marina on their way down FrontStreet. Travis finally slowed the motorcycle,pulling onto a large grassy lot near the end ofthe block. The empty lot bordered a

332/571weathered Georgian that was at least a hun-dred years old on one side and an equallyaged Victorian on the other. He turned offthe engine and removed his helmet. “Here we are,” he said, ushering her offthe bike. “This is what I wanted to showyou.” There was something in his voice thatkept her from making light of what seemedto be nothing more than a vacant lot, and fora moment, she simply watched Travis as hewalked a few steps in silence. He was staringacross the road, toward Shackleford Banks,his hands in his pockets. Removing her hel-met and running a hand through her mattedhair, Gabby walked toward him. Reachinghis side, she sensed he would tell her whatthis was all about when he was ready. “In my opinion, this place has one of themost beautiful views anywhere along thecoast,” he finally said. “It’s not like an oceanview, where all you see is waves and water

333/571stretching to the horizon. That’s great, butafter a while it gets boring, because the viewis always pretty much the same. But here,there’s always something to see. There are al-ways sailboats and yachts streaming towardthe marina; if you come out here at night,you can see the crowds along the waterfrontand listen to the music. I’ve seen porpoisesand rays passing through the channel, and Iespecially love to see the wild horses over onthe island. I don’t care how many times I’veseen them, I’m always amazed.” “You come out here a lot?” “Twice a week, maybe. This is where Icome to think.” “I’m sure the neighbors are thrilled aboutthat.” “It’s not like they can do anything aboutit. I own it.” “Really?” “Why do you sound so surprised whenyou say that?”

334/571 “I’m not sure. I guess it just sounds so . . .domestic.” “I do own a house already. . . .” “And I hear your neighbor is terrific.” “Yeah, yeah . . .” “I just meant that buying a lot makes itsound like you’re the kind of guy who haslong-term plans.” “And you don’t see me like that?” “Well . . .” “If you’re trying to flatter me, you’re notdoing a very good job.” She laughed. “How about this, then: Youcontinually surprise me.” “In a good way?” “Every time.” “Like when you brought Molly to the clin-ic and realized I was a veterinarian?” “I’d rather not talk about that.” He laughed. “Then let’s eat.” She followed him back to the motorcycle,where he unpacked the basket and a blanket.

335/571After leading her up a small incline towardthe rear of the property, he spread theblanket and motioned for her to sit. Oncethey were both comfortable, he started re-moving Tupperware containers. “Tupperware?” He winked. “My friends call me Mr.Domestic.” He pulled out two chilled cans ofstrawberry-flavored iced tea. After openinghers, he handed it to her. “What’s on the menu?” she asked. He pointed to various containers as hespoke. “I’ve got three different kinds ofcheese, crackers, Kalamata olives, andgrapes—it’s more a snack than a lunch.” “Sounds perfect.” She reached for thecrackers and then sliced herself some cheese.“There used to be a house here, right?” Whenshe saw his surprise, she waved toward thehouses on either side of the lot. “I can’t

336/571imagine that this particular spot has been va-cant for a hundred fifty years.” “You’re right,” he said. “It burned downwhen I was a kid. I know you think Beaufortis small now, but when I grew up here, itwasn’t more than a blip on the map. Most ofthese historic homes had fallen into dis-repair, and the one that had been here hadbeen abandoned for years. It was a great bigrambling kind of place with big holes in theroof, and it was rumored to be haunted,which made it that much more attractive tous when we were kids. We used to sneak overhere at night. It was like our fort, and we’dplay hide-and-seek for hours in the rooms.There were tons of great hiding places.” Hepulled absently at some grass, as if reachingfor the memories. “Anyway, one winternight, I guess a couple of vagrants lit a fireinside to stay warm. The place went up inminutes, and the next day it was just thissmoldering pile. But the thing was, no one

337/571knew how to contact the man who owned it.The original owner had died and left it to hisson. The son died, and he’d left it to someoneelse, and so on, so that pile of rubble satthere for about a year until the town came inand bulldozed it away. The lot kind of gotforgotten after that, until I finally trackeddown the owner in New Mexico and made alowball offer on it. He accepted it immedi-ately. I doubt if he’d ever been here, and hedidn’t know what he was giving up.” “And you’re going to build a house here?” “That’s part of my long-term plan, any-way, being that I’m so domestic and all.”Travis grabbed an olive and popped it intohis mouth. “You ready to tell me about yourboyfriend yet?” Her mind flashed to the conversationshe’d had with Kevin earlier. “What’s yourinterest?” “I’m just making conversation.”

338/571 Gabby reached for an olive as well. “Thenlet’s talk about one of your previous girl-friends instead.” “Which one?” “Any of them.” “All right. One of them gave me somemovie posters.” “Was she pretty?” He considered his answer. “Most peoplewould say she was.” “And what would you say?” “I would say . . . that you’re right. Maybewe shouldn’t talk about this.” She laughed, then pointed to the olives.“These are great, by the way. Everything youbrought is perfect.” He added cheese to another cracker.“When does your boyfriend get back totown?” “Are we back to this again?” “I’m just thinking of you. I don’t want toget you in trouble.”

339/571 “I appreciate your concern, but I’m a biggirl. And not that it matters, but he’ll becoming home on Wednesday. Why?” “Because I’ve enjoyed getting to knowyou these last couple of days.” “And I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.” “But are you bummed it’s coming to anend?” “It doesn’t have to come to an end. We’llstill be neighbors.” “And I’m sure your boyfriend wouldn’tmind if I took you out for another motorcycleride, or went for a picnic with you, or if yousat in the hot tub with me, right?” The answer was obvious, and her expres-sion became more serious. “He probablywouldn’t be too happy about it.” “So it’ll be ending.” “We can still be friends.” He stared at her for a moment, then sud-denly grabbed at his chest as if he’d beenshot. “You really know how to hurt a guy.”

340/571 “What are you talking about?” He shook his head. “There’s no suchthing as being friends. Not with single menand women our age. It just doesn’t work likethat, unless you’re talking about someoneyou’ve known for a very long time. Certainlynot when it comes to strangers.” Gabby opened her mouth to respond, butthere was really nothing to say. “And besides,” he went on, “I’m not sure Iwant to be friends.” “Why not?” “Because most likely I’d find myself want-ing more than that.” Again, she said nothing. Travis watchedher, unable to read her expression. Finally heshrugged. “I don’t think you’d want to be friendswith me, either. It wouldn’t be good for yourrelationship, since there’s no doubt you’dprobably end up falling for me, too, and inthe end, you’d do something you’d regret.

341/571After that, you’d blame me for it, and thenafter a while, you’d probably end up moving,since the whole thing would be so uncom-fortable for you.” “Is that so?” “It’s one of the curses of my life to be ascharming as I am.” “It sounds like you’ve got the whole thingfigured out.” “I do.” “Except for the part about me falling foryou.” “You can’t see that happening?” “I have a boyfriend.” “And you’re going to marry him?” “As soon as he asks. That’s why I movedhere.” “Why hasn’t he asked you yet?” “That’s none of your business.” “Do I know him?” “Why are you so curious?”

342/571 “Because,” he said, his eyes steady onhers, “if I was him, and you moved up here tobe with me, I would’ve already asked you.” She heard something in his tone thatmade her realize he was telling the truth, andshe looked away. When she spoke, her voicewas soft. “Don’t ruin this for me, okay?” “Ruin what?” “This. Today. Yesterday. Last night. All ofit. Don’t ruin it.” “I don’t know what you mean.” She took a deep breath. “This weekendhas meant a lot to me, if only because I fi-nally felt I’d made a friend. A couple of them,actually. I didn’t realize how much I’d missedhaving friends in my life. Spending time withyou and your sister reminded me of howmuch I left behind when I moved here. Imean, I knew what I was doing, and I’m notsorry I made the decision I did. Believe it ornot, I do love Kevin.” She paused, strugglingto order her thoughts. “But it’s hard

343/571sometimes. Weekends like this most likelywon’t happen again, and I’m partly recon-ciled to that, because of Kevin. But there’s apart of me that doesn’t want to accept thatit’s a onetime thing, even though we bothknow it is.” She hesitated. “When you saythings like you just said, and I know youdon’t mean them, it just trivializeseverything I’m going through.” Travis listened intently, recognizing anintensity in her voice she hadn’t allowed himto hear before. And though he knew heshould have simply nodded and apologized,he couldn’t stop himself from responding. “What makes you think I didn’t meanwhat I said?” he countered. “I meant everyword. But I understand that you don’t wantto hear it. Let me just say that I hope yourboyfriend realizes how lucky he is to havesomeone like you in his life. He’s a fool if hedoesn’t. I’m sorry if that makes you

344/571uncomfortable, and I won’t say it again.” Hegrinned. “But I had to say it once.” She looked away, liking what he had saiddespite herself. Travis turned toward the wa-ter, allowing her the silence she needed; un-like Kevin, he always seemed to know how torespond. “We should probably be heading back,don’t you think?” He motioned toward thebike. “And you should probably check onMolly.” “Yeah,” she agreed. “That’s probably agood idea.” They packed up the remains of the foodand placed the containers back into the bas-ket, then folded up the blanket and retracedtheir steps to the motorcycle. Over hershoulder, Gabby saw people beginning tocrowd the restaurants for a late lunch, andshe found herself envying the simplicity oftheir choices.

345/571 Travis refastened the blanket and basket,then put on his helmet. Gabby did the same,and they pulled out of the lot a moment later.Gabby clung to Travis’s hips, trying and fail-ing to convince herself that he’d said similarthings to dozens of different women in thepast. They pulled into her drive, and Travisbrought the motorcycle to a halt. Gabby letgo of him and dismounted, removing herhelmet. Standing before him, she felt anawkwardness she hadn’t experienced sincehigh school, a notion that seemed ridiculous,and she had the feeling he was about to kissher again. “Thanks for today,” she said, wanting topreserve a little distance between them. “Andthanks for the riding lesson, too.” “My pleasure. You’re a natural. Youshould consider getting your own bike.” “Maybe one day.”

346/571 In the silence, Gabby could hear the en-gine ticking in the heat. She handed Travisthe helmet, watching as he placed it on theseat. “Okay, then,” he said. “I guess I’ll see youaround?” “Hard not to, us being neighbors and all.” “Do you want me to check on Molly foryou?” “No, that’s okay. I’m sure she’s doingfine.” He nodded. “Hey, listen, I’m sorry aboutwhat I said earlier. It wasn’t my place to prylike I did, or make you feel uncomfortable.” “It’s okay,” she said. “It didn’t bother meat all.” “Sure it didn’t.” She shrugged. “Well, since you were ly-ing, I figured I’d lie.” Despite the tension, he laughed. “Do me afavor? If this whole boyfriend thing doesn’twork out, give me a call.”

347/571 “I might just do that.” “And on that note, I think I’ll take myleave.” He turned the handlebars and startedwalking the motorcycle backward, getting in-to position to leave her drive. He was aboutto start the engine when he looked at heragain. “Would you have dinner with me to-morrow night?” She crossed her arms. “I can’t believe youjust asked me that.” “A man’s got to seize the moment. It’skind of my motto.” “So I’ve learned.” “Is that a yes or a no?” She took a step backward, but in spite ofher reservations, she found herself smiling athis persistence. “How about if I make youdinner tonight instead? At my place. Seveno’clock.” “Sounds great,” he said, and a momentlater she was standing in the drive,

348/571wondering if she had taken temporary leaveof her senses.

Thirteen With the sun beating down merci-lessly and the water from the hose icy cold,Travis had a hard time keeping Moby in oneplace. The short leash didn’t seem to helpmuch; Moby hated baths, which struck Trav-is as ironic, considering how much the dogloved to chase after tennis balls thrown intothe ocean. On those occasions, Moby wouldbound through the waves, dog-paddling withfury, and showed no hesitation about shov-ing his head underwater for a better grip ifthe tennis ball bobbed away from him. But ifhe noticed Travis opening the drawer where

350/571his leash was kept, Moby would seize the op-portunity to explore the neighborhood forhours, usually returning long after dark. Travis had grown used to Moby’s tricks,which was why he’d kept the leash out ofsight until the last instant, then hooked it toMoby’s collar before he could react. Moby, asusual, had given him his best “how could youdo this to me?” expression as he was beingwalked around back, but Travis had shakenhis head. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t tell you to rollin dead fish, did I?” Moby loved to roll in dead fish, the morefoul-smelling the better, and while Traviswas parking his motorcycle in the garage,Moby had trotted up happily with his tonguehanging out, acting proud of himself. Travishad smiled for only an instant before thestench hit and he noticed the disgustingchunks embedded in Moby’s fur. After givingMoby a tentative pat on the head, he had