True believer - Nicholas Sparks [91]
“You remembered that?”
“I remember everything,” he said, tapping his temple. “Little gray cells and all that. Where exactly were they married?”
He spoke casually, as if this were the most ordinary of conversations, which only made everything feel even more surreal to her.
“Over there,” she said, pointing. “On the ocean side, near the waterline.”
“It must have been beautiful,” he said, gazing in that direction. “This whole place is beautiful. I can see why you love it here.”
Instead of responding, Lexie took a long breath, trying to settle her turbulent emotions. “What are you doing here, Jeremy?”
It was a moment before he answered. “I wasn’t sure you were coming back,” he said. “And I realized that if I wanted to see you again, the best option was to come to you.”
“But why?”
Jeremy continued staring toward the lighthouse. “It felt like I didn’t have a choice.”
“I’m not sure what that means,” she said.
Jeremy studied his feet, then looked up and smiled as if in apology. “To be honest, I’ve spent most of the day trying to figure it out, too.”
As they stood near the lighthouse, the sun began to sink below the horizon, turning the sky a forbidding gray. The breeze, damp and cold, skimmed the surface of the sand, whipping up foam at the water’s edge.
In the distance, a figure in a dark heavy jacket was feeding the seagulls, tossing scraps of bread into the air. As Lexie watched him, she could feel the shock of Jeremy’s appearance beginning to wear off. Part of her wanted to be angry that he’d ignored her desire to be alone, and yet another part, the greater part, was flattered that he’d come to find her. Avery had never bothered to come after her, nor had Mr. Renaissance. Even Rodney would never have thought of coming here, and until a few minutes ago, if someone had suggested that Jeremy would do such a thing, she would have laughed at the very notion. But it was beginning to dawn on her that Jeremy was different from anyone she’d met before, and that she shouldn’t be surprised by anything he did.
The horses in the distance had begun to wander off, nibbling here and there as they moved back over the dune. The coastal mist was rolling in, merging sea and sky. Terns bobbed at the sand near the water’s edge, their long strawlike legs moving quickly as they searched for tiny crustaceans.
In the silence, Jeremy cupped his hands and blew into them, trying to stop them from aching. “Are you angry that I came?” he finally asked.
“No,” she admitted. “Surprised, but not angry.”
He smiled, and she returned it with a flicker of her own.
“How did you get here?” she asked.
He motioned over his shoulder toward Buxton. “I got a ride from a couple of fishermen who were heading this way,” he said. “They dropped me off at the marina.”
“They gave you a ride just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“You were lucky. Most fishermen are pretty tough characters.”
“That may be true, but people are people,” he said. “While I’m not an expert in psychology, I’m of the opinion that anyone—even strangers—can sense the urgency of a request, and most people will usually do the right thing.” He stood straighter, clearing his throat. “But when that didn’t work, I offered to pay them.”
She giggled at his admission.
“Let me guess,” she said. “They took you to the cleaners, didn’t they?”
He gave a sheepish shrug. “I suppose that depends on the perspective. It did seem like a lot of money for a boat ride.”
“Naturally. That’s quite a trip. Just the gas alone would have been expensive. And then there’s the wear and tear on the boat . . .”
“They mentioned that.”
“And, of course, their time and the fact that they’ll be working tomorrow before dawn.”
“They mentioned that, too.”
In the distance, the last of the horses vanished over the dune. “But you came, anyway.”
He nodded, as amazed as she was. “But they did make sure I understood it was a one-way trip. They didn’t intend to wait for me, so I guess I’m stuck here.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? How did you plan on getting back?”
He gave an impish