Dandelion Wishes (Harper's Mill Book 3) Read online

  “Something nice?”

  “Have you seen my handsome husband?” she asked. “Everything we do is nice.”

  “You have a good time, too, then,” Violet said, sliding her sunglasses into place and beginning the short walk to the sand and surf.

  The sand was hot, the air thick with the tang of saltwater, and Violet felt the tension leave her shoulders. She was just a beach girl living for the summers and sand in her toes, she decided. The Monday afternoon crowd was light so she put her towel down and hurried toward the cold Atlantic water, greeting it like a long-lost friend.

  After a few bracing bites of cold ocean water, she found a comfortable spot and body surfed until she was bumped into by a boy with a bright shock of white blond hair.

  “Wanna use my boogie board?” he asked, his eyes bright with interest.

  Violet laughed and joined him in the shallows as they took turns chasing the waves.

  “You want to grab some dinner?” Ian, her new friend, asked.

  “No, that’s sweet, but I have plans tonight,” she said, lying easily to deflect his interest. “I should head back. I don’t want to burn more than I already am.” She felt the sharp pain on her shoulders that signaled the first burn of the season. She knew better, she really did, but the compelling cry of the ocean’s waves always made her forget the hot glare of the sun.

  She planned a quick shower in the kitchen (because there was no room for it anywhere else) and then she would begin the daunting task of figuring out what to eat for dinner.

  Pizza? Chinese?

  Who cooked down the shore, her mother had declared and her father had agreed. The oven was removed, leaving only an inside grill, a toaster oven, and a dorm room sized refrigerator.

  Maybe no one cooked, Violet thought, but they did have to eat!

  ~~~~*

  Brick sat on the front porch watching the residents of Ocean Grove pass by. He checked and rechecked his messages. All of their neighbors were away or at the beach and Brick only had Amy’s word that she was here.

  Her truck was parked nearby but he hadn’t been able to reach her by phone all day. He debated looking on the beach for her but finally decided the best way to find he was to sit still and wait for her to come to him.

  The hair at his nape stood up before he saw her walking toward the small cottage. He stood so she could clearly see him in the encroaching twilight.

  They stared at each other for a long moment.

  “You’re burnt,” he said. “Do you have aloe?”

  “I need to shower,” she said, not answering him as she came up onto the tiny porch.

  “Okay.” He sat back down and waited for her.

  Twenty minutes later, she opened the door and allowed him in. She tightened the wrap of her white cotton robe.

  The small living room was decorated exactly as he remembered it – a small couch and oversized chair in one corner and a card table piled high with board games and chairs surrounding it in the other. A set of twin beds completed the picture. Tiny house living had nothing compared to tent living, Brick thought.

  “Are you okay?” Brick asked, taking a seat in the chair.

  Violet shrugged and got two glasses of water. “My ice hasn’t finished setting from earlier,” she said, placing the double insulated cup on a coffee table that had seen better days. “Why are you here, Brick?”

  “To apologize,” Brick said, trying to see into Violet’s expressive hazel eyes. “To talk. To explain.”

  “And what made you have that great epiphany to leave Harper’s Mill?”

  “Going to college, I guess. Meeting new people. It made me realize just how sheltered I was.”

  “And how stupid I was?”

  “Stop, Vee. You aren’t stupid. You are smart and funny and simply the most amazing person I know. You make everything from washing cars to picking weeds an amazing adventure and I couldn’t picture going through life with anyone but you.

  “But this isn’t a fly by the night fantasy, Vee. The world is a big place and I want to know more. I want to meet people who don’t know my name. Sleep under different stars. Talk to people with a different first language. I need to get out of Harper’s Mill. Out of New Jersey.”

  “And go where?” Tears trembled in Violet’s voice and eyes.

  “I took the ASVAB and scored really well,” he said, referring to the Armed Services Vocational Battery test.

  “So the military. Mandy told the truth. You’re leaving home to join the military?”

  “The Navy,” he said, clarifying his decision.

  “Why am I only hearing about this now?” Violet asked, hurt and betrayal clearly written on her face. She looked around sharply.

  “I did try and talk to you several times.”

  “Not very hard!”

  He stood up, walking towards her. “If it helps, I still haven’t told my parents.” He sighed, knowing how badly he had bungled this. “I didn’t tell you right away because I was afraid you’d have the power to talk me out of my decision. I was afraid you’d give me an ultimatum I wasn’t ready for. And honestly? In the light of the moon and under the stars and fireworks? The temptation to kiss you was too strong to resist,” he said, brushing his thumb against the petal soft skin of her bottom lip. “It still is.”

  “I don’t understand. You know I’m a Race, Brick. You know my place is at the Orchard.”

  “I do know. And I’ll understand if you need to stay here while I get shipped around. But you, Violet Race, are my home. My home port. My touch stone. Nothing can change that. I just,” he ran his fingers through his hair and stroked his beard. “I really just wanted you to understand and love me enough to come with me for a few years.”

  “And if a few years becomes longer?”

  Brick shook his head. “No, I know my place, too, Vee. It’s next to you. Taking on Hamilton Auto and working with my dad. It’s summers at the lake with you and hopefully, one day, with our family.”

  “You just need a little detour,” Violet said, her hazel eyes softening, understanding.

  “I want you to come with me,” Brick said. “I know about school and coming home for harvest and everything and we’ll make it work.” His voice shook with emotion. Sincerity. “But you’re my life. My future.”

  Violet stood in his arms, moving the puzzle pieces of her future around in her mind. “Eden said even she had to leave for a little while.”

  “And you can come back. We can come back and visit whenever and however we can,” he rushed to assure her. “Harper’s Mill is our home.

  Violet shook her head. “No,” she said softly. Brick’s dark eyes filled with understanding and he closed them, unable to bear the thought of seeing what was no longer his. Could he stay, as originally planned and have Violet? All the while knowing on a visceral level that the world was calling him.

  Or could he leave Violet and suffer through the soul deep wrenching from being apart from his life mate?

  “No, Brick. My home is wherever you are,” she said softly. “And if you need to see the world outside Harper’s Mill than my place is right by you. Beside you.”

  Brick stared at her, momentarily caught off balance with her words. He went over them again, looking for any loopholes or mistakes.

  “You’ll come with me?”

  “Of course,” she said. “They have business colleges all over the United States,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Or even online if we get stationed somewhere overseas.”

  Brick folded her in his arms, sobbing with the relief that he could actually have it all: his best friend, his future wife, and see the horizons outside of Harper’s Mill. “I love the way that sounds,” he said. “We.”

  “Me, too,” she admitted, shyly.

  “I love you,” he mumbled into her hair.

  “I love you,” Violet said softly, reaching for the outline of his lips. His tongue teased hers and she opened for him, eager to learn all there was to know about passion and the phys
ical side of love. “No more secrets.”

  “Never,” he vowed. He grinned. “Can I stay?”

  “You’re crashing my vacation?”

  “If you’ll let me.”

  “And if I won’t?”

  “You’re my best friend.” His voice broke with emotion as he felt his heart ache. “Being away from you is like an ache, Vee. I was kind of hoping we could enjoy a few days here in Ocean Grove before going home.” He shrugged, his hands lifted upwards. “I want to get back to us before we go back and tell both of our families.”

  Violet wiped at her cheeks. “Eek,” she said, teasingly. “Maybe now I understand what you were going through. I have no idea how our families will take this news.”

  “If it helps, everyone probably knows since the video of you and Mandy fighting hit Facebook.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  He shrugged. “At least it wasn’t a knockdown cat fight. Two girls yelling will maybe probably not go viral.”

  “Except in our home town.”

  “Well. Yeah, there is that,” Brick conceded.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “It’s early yet. There’s a concert over at the Great Auditorium. Maybe we could go see if there are still tickets available?”

  “I’m kinda tired tonight,” Violet said. “I was boogie boarding all afternoon and I got some color.”

  “I see that. How about a pizza?”

  Violet shook her head but her stomach growled angrily. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “You relax, I’ll go out and get a small,” Brick said.

  Hours later, the pizza box was in the recycling bin and Violet struggled to stay awake over a hand of rummy. “An ace on you, a pair of deuces, and I’m out,” she said as she laid her cards out. “And with that, I’m going to bed.”

  She nodded toward the bottom bunk in one corner of the tent. “You can sleep there. I’ll be in the main bedroom.”

  Brick nodded, “Let me put some aloe on you before you go to bed.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment, letting the heat build and swell. “I should be okay,” Violet protested half-heartedly.

  “Lay down, Vee. Let me take care of you, baby,” Brick said, picking up her hand and leading her to the bed.

  “I’m so sore, Brick.”

  “I know. Your skin is so pale and you burn so easily. Let me help you. Please?”

  With haunted, hooded eyes, Brick watched her delicate fingers as they slowly unbuttoned the robe that flowed loosely over her delicate curves. He swallowed when it dropped to the floor, leaving her gloriously nude except for a pair of fairly modest pink panties.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said, meeting her eyes.

  Her hands twitched to cover her naked breasts but he didn’t want her feeling embarrassed in front of him. Ever.

  “Lay down,” he said, patting the bed. “I picked this up at the pharmacy when I got the pizza. It’s got coconut oil and aloe. Supposed to be good for a burn.”

  She was beautiful as she lay down, presenting him with a view fit for a god. Her slim back, taut derriere, and long legs lay before him. Sweetly vulnerable and waiting for him to take care of her.

  His heart beat heavily in his chest as he poured a generous amount into his hands and onto her pinkened skin.

  Her breath caught as he touched her with delicate precision. Her poor shoulders had received the most abuse. Her arching neck. The line of her spine. His hands were everywhere, soothing her, calming her, seducing her.

  His own arousal pushed against him as he traced each finger and gently rubbed her wrists. Her soft sighs encouraged him. Emboldened him. Long, slow strokes up the backs of her endless legs, his fingertips just grazing the hemline of her bottoms. She relaxed and arched into his ministrations until she was slick with oil and he was breathless with anticipation.

  He pulled up a single soft cotton sheet to cover her and she lifted her eyes with drowsy arousal. “I’m going to take a shower,” he said, his voice not quite as steady as he would have liked. “You get some sleep, okay?”

  She nodded, relaxing again. “Thank you.”

  “It was my pleasure, baby,” he said, brushing a kiss across her forehead.

  Chapter Nine

  “You’re such a cute couple,” Mrs. Vitali said as the two couples sat around the small table she set up in her front room.

  Violet blushed and looked at Brick.

  “Thank you,” Brick said, smiling shyly at her.

  “Don’t they remind you of us when we first met?”

  Mr. Vitali smiled at his wife over the edge of the newspaper. Warm brown eyes gleamed with humor. “That was too long ago, Cookie,” he said.

  “Bah,” she said with a laugh, raising her hands in mock frustration. “Not so long ago.” She smiled a little dreamily. “Forty years but it feels like we’re still on our honeymoon.”

  “My parents are still ridiculously in love, too,” Violet confided with a smile.

  “Your mother is an angel,” Mrs. Vitali said. “I always love seeing her when they come down to visit. Will your folks be here this summer?”

  Violet nodded. “I’m sure Mom will. Dad gets busy during picking season.” She finished the last of the spring salad in her bowl and sat back in the chair, her belly happily full.

  “Here,” Mrs. Vitali said. “Have a little more salad, sweetie.”

  Violet watched with amusement as the bowl she had just finished was refilled.

  “Brick, honey. Is that all you’re going to eat? Here, have another chop. Some potatoes, maybe?”

  “No leftovers allowed. They make my wife cranky,” Mr. Vitali said, accepting the last of the potatoes from his wife. “No room in the refrigerator.”

  “I can’t believe you have a full kitchen in here,” Violet said. “My mom always says no cooking on vacation. She had Dad take out the big appliances and converted it into a semi private bedroom. All we have is a dorm sized fridge, an electric grill, and a toaster oven. They sleep there and left the front room for me and my friends to sleep in.”

  Mrs. Vitali smiled. “Frank had this kitchen custom fitted for me. He knows how much I love to cook.” She patted her ample behind with a soft laugh. “And it’s only us here. No need for spare beds or anything. If those kids on TV can live in 160 square feet, I can get a full-sized kitchen in 300, right?”

  “It’s your home,” Violet agreed. “You should feel comfortable in it.”

  “Exactly,” Mrs. Vitali said with a smug smile. “Now, Frank picked up some cannoli at Morelli’s Bakery. Would you like coffee with that?” The coffee pot began the unmistakable sounds of starting up and Mr. Vitali started clearing the plates.

  “Brick, do you want to help me wash while the ladies relax?”

  Brick looked up, startled for a moment. “Sure, Mr. Vitali,” he said, grabbing a few dishes.

  “Frank, he’s a guest! He doesn’t have to help.”

  Frank brushed a kiss across his wife’s cheek. “But how will the boy learn that when his wife cooks and serves him a delicious meal, he should say thank you by cleaning the dishes?”

  With amused indulgence, Cookie watched them clear the table and start washing dishes. “Now,” she said, patting Violet’s hand. “When is the wedding?”

  ~~~~*

  Thursday dawned with the promise of rain and amidst the shadow of their return home. She wasn’t ready for this idyllic honeymoon to be over, she thought. How was she ever going to take being a Navy wife, even for a few years?

  Deciding there was no answer to that question within the immediate future, Violet shrugged and gathered up cleaning supplies. Her mother swore by cleaning therapy.

  “Mr. Vitali caught me coming in. Looks like he and the missus are going into the City to see a show this weekend,” Brick said as he entered with a sack of groceries. He handed Violet an ice-cold cola from the bag and unloaded the ingredients for dinner. “I got a couple of pork chops, some fresh corn, and a few tomatoes. Figured we c
an have tomato sandwiches for breakfast tomorrow.”

  After washing the plump red tomatoes, he pulled out a knife and cutting board and began to slice them and place them into a small bowl.

  “Is this what it would be like?” Violet asked from her perch on the couch.

  “What what would be like, Vee?” Brick said, rinsing off the knife and looking at her expectantly.

  “If we were together. If we lived together. Gossip and dinner and work and making plans?”

  “I don’t want to live with you, Vee,” Brick said slowly.

  Violet’s heart stuttered and slowed down and she stared at him with stricken eyes. A vice held her throat and for a long moment, she simply stared at him in horrified silence. Tears of betrayal filled her eyes and she fought for a deep breath against the panic clawing away at her like a cornered cat.

  Soft and bruised, her hazel eyes looked at him with the dawning realization that he held her heart and happiness in his work-hardened hands. Her gaze darted to the floor, surprised that the thousand million pieces of her broken heart weren’t actually scattered around like race tickets after payout.

  “I. Oh. I. I need to go,” she said, standing up and struggling to get her feet in her flip flops.

  “No, that’s not what I meant, Vee,” Brick said, panic making his voice unusually loud. He blocked her and grabbed her shoulders, refusing to let her leave the tiny confines of the tent.

  “Baby, that’s not what I meant,” he said, eyes closed as she struggled and fought with him. “Listen. Please. Stop, baby. I don’t want to only live with you. If we… No. When we live together, it will be as husband and wife. Not just living together.”

  She caught one last breath as the tears began to fall. “Shh,” he murmured against her hair, directing her onto the small couch. He sat and pulled her into his arms. Into his lap. “Baby, I can’t live without you. Not even for a minute.”

  Violet hiccupped and hid her face in the crook of his neck as hot tears fell down her cheeks. “You didn’t seem to mind before.”

  “Maybe I was asleep all through high school. In some kind of love blind coma,” he reasoned. “You were always there, a constant. Like the moon. But it wasn’t until I faced my first dark night that I realized how much I need you. The first time I thought about you finding someone else. Loving someone else. I couldn’t take it. My heart wanted to scream ‘mine’ like some caveman staking his claim.” He swallowed hard and gripped her shoulders with a fierceness would have hurt if it hadn’t felt so damn good. “Please don’t take the moon from my sky, Vee. I thought we had this settled. I need you.”