Authors: Emma Bennett
I can’t stand it
any longer. I shove at the crowd that’s enveloped me, to no use. So, I change
tactics. Instead of fighting my way in, I squirm my way out. But, I don’t run.
Not this time. I am done running away.
I find Smith and
the Captain huddled with their heads together again, tell them what is going on
outside. Smith and some of his security team
follows
me to the mob scene, where they finally break it apart.
“Are you sure
you’re ok?” Smith asks, afterward. He genuinely looks concerned.
“Yeah.
Thanks.”
“You know
,
if we met under different circumstances…”
“You mean, if I
wasn’t a fugitive and all?”
He rubs his chin
and smiles.
“Yeah,
about that.
I think you are in the clear if you sign the paperwork and
testify. Anyway, I think I might have liked you. You know
,
if I didn’t know you better.”
“So, what is
stopping you now?” I tease.
“We could never be
friends because of the chaos that rains down around you. You may not be a
criminal, but you sure are trouble. In fact, I’m considering getting a
restraining order for my own safety as soon as we reach the shore. Heaven help
the man who ends up with you!”
I laugh at this as
security sweeps in, an emotion I didn’t think was possible an hour ago. The
team rushes Luke and I to the still-closed gallery, where he sits, a tattered
mess on a folding chair next to me. Alone, we are both quiet for several
minutes, he catching his breath, me not sure what to say. Finally, I can’t
stand it any longer.
“Are you going to
tell me what that was about? If that’s what happens to ukulele players, maybe
you should take up another instrument.
Maracas, perhaps?”
He doesn’t smile,
doesn’t respond. I figure he wants me to leave, so I get up.
“Wait.” His voice
cracks.
After all this, the death of his friend, others?
Some girls set him off? Is this like his haircut? I don’t understand. I sit
back down.
“Luke, what is it?
What was that out there?”
“The reason I wear
my hair long and a beard is because of them. Well, not
them
, but fans
like them. I am part of a band, the lead singer, and we’ve had some success in
recent years…”
“What band?”
“Um, you may know
our last song. Well, here….”
He hums a tune,
the one I’d heard when I met Carl on the stairway. I recognize it now. Of
course I knew it. It only topped every chart this past year.
“You’re THAT Luke?
Then, I guess you’re last name isn’t Taylor.”
“Yeah.
It’s
Ledgely
.” He looks at the floor, can’t own the
title. I don’t see why.
His album had been
a huge commercial and critical success last year. He and his
bandmates
had seen success with their last three, but
nothing like this latest one. They were hailed for their big, revolutionary
sound that could also be very personal.
Then, nothing.
Luke, who was the
lead singer and the primary songwriter, simply dropped off the map last year.
According to Rebecca’s tabloids, rumor was that he wished he hadn’t been so
open with his life on the last album. In the band’s last interview, which was
highly publicized, Luke was noticeably missing. They said he just wanted some
privacy.
“It feels good
being forced to talk about it with someone. I’d rather you hear it from me than
someone else.”
“Why?”
“Because
I care about you.
Don’t you get it? You are the reason I had the nerve
to cut my hair, to get up on that stage tonight. I knew there would be someone
who recognized me as Luke the celebrity, not the no-name ukulele player. But, I
did it anyway because I knew it would help you.”
“I don’t
understand.”
“You know, I never
told you how beautiful you look this morning.”
“Don’t change the
subject. Besides, after getting dragged through the smokestack platform grease,
bled on and soaked with fountain water, there is no way this mascara has held
up.
Or my hair.”
Or,
Rose’s lovely dress.
It’s shredded. I suddenly start to cry for her and
how I treated the things she trusted with me. She should have known better.
Smith was right, I’m a walking catastrophe.
“Luke, I better
go. I’ll send a nurse to take a look at your hands.”
“Stop!”
He grabs my wrist, but doesn’t pull me back down. Instead, he rises to meet me.
“Don’t you get it? You are the first person who has been yourself around me in
a long time. At least, that I’ve cared enough to tell the truth to. Maggie, I’d
really like the chance to get to know you better. Without bullets and killer art
thieves. I don’t know what the future holds for me or you, but what do you say?
Can we still at least be friends?”
He is staring down
at me so intensely, I want to say yes. And, by God, kiss him. I swallow the
lump in my throat before responding.
Chapter 12
“I don’t know you.
The Luke I know is a poor musician who plays in a crummy cruise ship ensemble.
He lives in a closet, with a curtain for a bedroom door. He is honest and trustworthy.
The person standing in front of me now is a stranger and a liar. Goodbye, Mr.
Ledgely
. Have a nice life. Stop whining about being too
rich and famous.”
It is icy and I’ve
hurt him. But, I mean every word. I may have said my share of fibs this weekend,
but I’d have never lied about my whole identity. I’ve been burned once by Rebecca
like that and refuse to be that naïve again.
Goodbye Luke Taylor
, I think.
I’ll
miss you
.
As his hand falls
from my wrist, I hear the announcement that we are approaching land, and will
soon dock. The cruise is over. I turn and walk away from Luke for the last
time.
“Miss Swift? Miss
Swift!”
A crew member is
running up to me, breathless.
“Thank goodness I
caught you before you disembarked! Mrs. McConnell asked me to hold this package
earlier today. She said she would either pick it up when we docked, or I was to
give it to you. Since, um, she won’t be able to take it, here it is.”
He holds out the
small, brown envelope. It is crisp and new. My name is written across it in
fluttery, ornate handwriting. I assume it is Rose’s.
I rip into the package
and a door card falls out.
“I don’t
understand.”
“Me either,”
replies the purser. “That is Mrs. McConnell’s room key, but no instructions
came with it. She is very good about keeping in contact with her attorney and
the cruise line about these matters, so please keep that safe for her. I’m sure
they’ll be in contact with us all about what she wants done with it. Until
then, the room is sealed.”
He coughs
slightly, and then I realize he is waiting for me to hand over Rose’s loaned
jewelry.
“Oh,
sorry.”
I take off the
earrings, take the card and head for the exit.
“Pleasant travels,
Miss Swift.”
….
“Hey, doll! You
gonna
leave without paying me? I almost died for you!”
“Mike!” I hug him,
and then realize I have nothing to pay him with. “Uh, Mike, I don’t have your
money on me right now.”
“Don’t worry about
it! You look like something the cat drug in, so I’m inclined to forgive the
debt. Besides, that diamond I swallowed ought to make us more than square. Rose
said she didn’t want it returned anyway. Thanks for introducing the two of us.”
I give him a
skeptical look.
“Now, how are the
cops going to prove it didn’t fall out by accident somewhere?” he continues. “If
they want that diamond back, they’re going to have to hold me down and hunt for
it!”
I cringe, give him
one last hug and head for the gangway.
As I step onto dry
land, I hear the PA system crackle.
“Excuse me ship
personnel!” says a shaky female voice. “Someone notify animal control! We have
a primate loose on board. Thank you.”
Funny, I’ll kind of
miss this place.
The End
Hopefully, you enjoyed
this
ebook
. Please feel free to leave a reader review
on Amazon.com. --Emma