Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
Eileen smiled for the first time since she’d arrived as she and Kate raised their glasses. “To liberty and happiness.”
forty-three
Peyton waited patiently in a porch swing, watching the island wake up. In the pinkish-gray light of early morning, he could see the occasional bicycle cruising down the street or a milk truck heading out for its rounds. Now and then, a few chickens crossed the small square lawn of the boardinghouse where Lisa was staying. It was women only, and the owner, Miss Flossie, wouldn’t even let Peyton inside the front parlor. When he rang the bell, she eyed him suspiciously, snatched Lisa’s hand-washed sundress hanging from a hook on the front porch, and told Peyton to take a seat in the swing. He was relieved to see the green dress come back through the doorway, this time worn by Lisa, the blue-green straps of her new bathing suit peeking out just a bit. He had worn a T-shirt over his swimming trunks.
“Morning,” he said with a smile, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Just in case Miss Flossie’s watchin’, I’ll give you a churchyard kiss.”
“Oh, she’s watching,” Lisa said.
They hopped on the scooter and drove to a beach the guys on base had told Peyton about. It now seemed like the most natural thing in the world to have Lisa’s arms around him, a tropical breeze in his face, and turquoise water all around. They parked and found a couple of empty beach chairs. Peyton covered them with towels he had borrowed from the base while Lisa, who was not comfortable taking her dress off in front of all the sunbathers, went to one of the bathhouses.
Watching her walk back across the beach in a bathing suit the color of the ocean, her long red hair blown back by the wind, Peyton thought he might actually faint.
Lisa carefully folded her dress and slipped it into a beach bag she had brought along. “Ready?” she said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Peyton and Lisa held hands and waded into the water, which was smooth as glass, lit by the sun in amazing shades of ocean. Key West was known for shallow waters around its beaches. By the time Peyton and Lisa were in deep enough to swim, they were distant from the families with children happily splashing in ankle-deep water. They swam to a huge sandbar, part of it barely submerged, and lay down on the dry end, letting the cool water wash over their legs.
“Miss Wallace, you are gonna have a ton o’ sand in your hair,” Peyton said lazily as he gazed at her face glistening from the sun and water, her eyes closed, her red hair salted with sand.
“Yes, I am going to have a ton of sand in my hair,” she said with a sigh, “but I don’t care.” She opened her eyes and stared into his. “You know what’s so wonderful about being here, Peyton?”
“I’m looking at her.”