Page 35 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
I handed her his leash, and she hooked it to his collar. “We’ll stop down and get him when we’re back from whatever it is Mr. Winsome has planned,” I promised.
“No rush,” she sang as though she knew something she didn’t. “I might even have a hot dog or two that needs a home in a big dog’s belly. Have fun, you two,” she called. Laverne trundled my dog away as quickly as she’d come, and all I could do was shake my head.
“She’s something else. Wonderful, but something else,” I said on a laugh.
Gulliver took a step closer and leaned down, balancing his forehead on mine. “I know someone else who is just as wonderful. I can’t wait to see her face when she sees the surprise I have in store. If I’m lucky, it just might sell her on staying in this small town forever.”
Before I had a chance to respond, or maybe so I couldn’t, his lips found mine. There was no holding back this time, and he deepened the kiss instantly, teasing my lips with his warm tongue until they parted. He slipped his tongue inside where it glided alongside mine in velvet harmony. He nipped and tugged on my bottom lip, pulling it through his teeth gently until the kiss ended. His chest was heaving against mine, and I had his shirt wrapped up in both of my fists.
“Oh, Gulliver, keep kissing me like that and you just might tempt me to stay,” I murmured before his lips found mine again.
♥
Iwent down the stepsbackward with his crutches and hoped he didn’t fall as we made our way to the beach. I couldn’t stop him if he did fall, and I would go rolling right down with him.
His laughter filled my ears when we were halfway down. “You’re petrified. Relax, I’m not going to fall and take you with me,” he promised, holding on to the railing tightly with each step.
“How did you know my exact thoughts?” I asked, laughing with him but grateful we were nearing the bottom.
“It’s written all over your face. You’re cute when you’re worried.”
I scrunched up my nose. “I still don’t know if this is safe,” I said, glancing down to the beach. “How do you walk on the sand with these things?” I asked, holding the crutches up.
We took the last two steps to the sand before he answered. “Maybe you’ve noticed I only use them for balance. I don’t use them as traditional crutches, I just use them to take the pressure off my knee and hip. If I don’t, I’ll end up with everything hurting at the end of the day.”
I handed him the crutches, and he tucked his arms into them, then walked through the sand carefully. “There’s our ride,” he said, stopping and pointing.
I followed his finger to the orange sea kayak parked on the sand. “A kayak? And only one?”
He kept crutching toward the boat, his head nodding. “We only need one.”
In another couple of feet, I discovered why. “A tandem kayak?” I asked, surprised.
“The best kind,” he said, laughing. “It’s Mathias’s. He’s letting us borrow it for the afternoon. He knows I can’t haul the kayaks around down here with the steps, so he always drops it off for me.”
“Hey, did Mathias say how Honey is doing?” I asked. I saw an opportunity to see if they still needed me at Butterfly Junction. I was going to take it.
“He said she’s doing a little bit better but still in pain. He can’t convince her not to come back to work on Monday, though. We will have to see what happens.”
My heart jumped at his words. Not because Honey was still in pain, but that they might still need me at the business. “I’m always available, Gulliver. It’s probably better if she starts slow and works her way up to the whole day. I can be there to help.”
“Charity?” he asked, and I glanced up at him, afraid of what I’d see in his eyes. “You don’t need an excuse to see me, okay? I’m not going to disappear from your life just because your work at Butterfly Junction is done. The only way that will happen is if you leave. You don’t have to make yourself useful in order for me to want to spend time with you. Do you understand me?”
I nodded, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “How do you always know the things I’m not saying?” I asked, grasping his shirt in my fist. “No one has ever stuck around in my life, Gulliver. Ever.”
“Yet,” he answered. When he kissed me, it was so tender I wanted to cry. “‘Yet’ is the word you’re looking for, my sweet Charity.”
“Yet,” I whispered. “I suppose the last six years it was my fault that no one stuck around considering that I didn’t.”
His head bobbed as his fingers grasped my fist still holding his shirt. “That does make it a bit harder for someone to stick around, sweetheart. It doesn’t make it impossible, though. Fair warning.”
I nodded once. “Warning heard.”
He handed me a life jacket, which I noticed was perfectly sized just for me. “Good, now it’s time for some fun.”
Before I strapped it on, I looked up at him. “Um, Gulliver. I don’t know how to kayak, and my arm isn’t...”
He put his finger to my lips. “That’s why it’s a tandem kayak. I’ll sit in the back and do the paddling. You get to enjoy the scenery.”
