Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (8 page)

Sniffing, she stared at him.
“I’d never seen so many alligators in one place. He might have slipped
…
”

“Darling
, don’t allo
w
your imagination to create a situation that doesn’t exist. Even if that
w
ere so, Rod’s strength
w
ould have allo
w
ed him to pull himself back in the boat. Beside
s
, alligators
prefer other food than peo
ple.
”

Taylor blanched.

“Sorry, honey. I’m trying to be logical.
They probably
caught a deer and
w
ere
protecting
the carcass.
”

“But
w
e
also
sa
w
the cooler …
”

Martin shook his head. “
Anyon
e could have lost
that
chest
.”

Taylor
shook her head. “Rod used one exactly like the cooler
w
e sa
w
.”

“Until
w
e have proof that it’s the one, don’t go do
w
n that path.”
Her father squeezed her lightly then glanced over her shoulder
.
“
Don’t stand in the door
w
ay,
Jeff,
please come in. You’re almost family.
”
His
w
ords
showed
w
arm
th and
w
elcome
even as
his face remained somber.

She sensed her father’s relief at Jeff’
s arrival. Conflict never sat
w
ell
w
ith her dad. He controlled his life so that his ship didn’t rock. Perhaps her mother’s problems caused or enhanced
this trait.
Taylor
,
although not
understanding it, accepted the fact
.

Jeff follo
w
ed Taylor and he
r father into the living room.
T
aylor’s bridesmaids
surrounded her and took her ov
er to the yello
w
sofa facing the fireplace.
Observing
her friends comfort
ing
her
, he
again
w
ished that he had the right to do so.
From
the time he
w
as a small boy
, he’d been
w
elcomed in this house and
w
ith this family
.
Occasionally, his father,
w
ho had managed
the plantation,
w
ould bring him
w
hen he
mad
e a report to Doc
regarding
some facet
of
the runn
ing of
Harmony Plantation.
In those days, his parents had lived in a small house, on site, but near the edge of the
Harris
2500 acre property.
His father still had the house, but no
w
he o
w
ned the home and the lot.

“
Been four or five years since I’ve seen you,
w
hy I hardly recognized you today. Ho
w
’s your dad?”
Martin asked, interrupting Jeff’s momentary daydreams.

“Good.
He’s re
covering from his stroke or
he
w
ould
have been here for the
…
”
Jeff fumbled for an instant. “He assures me he’ll be up and back to his normal routine
w
ithin the month.”

“That’s good to hear.
W
hen I called on him in the hospital, he told
me you’d taken the job at the
University and until you found your o
w
n spot you
w
ould be living
w
ith him.
W
ho’s doing the cooking?” Martin teased.

Kno
w
ing
Doc
w
as trying to keep the conversati
on going and, for Taylor’s sake
a
w
ay from Rod,
Jeff
w
ent along.
“
W
e’re dividing the meals,
he has breakfast and I handle dinner.
W
e’re on our o
w
n for lunch. Before Mom died, she made sure
w
e could survive in the kitchen.
But
w
e often call out for delivery
often
.”

“Fine
w
oman, your mother. As you kno
w
,
w
e go
w
ay …
”
The telephone rang, breaking
the
ir
conversation.

Taylor dashed for the phone.
“Yes?”
For the next fe
w
moments, she stood completely still.
No one e
lse in the room spoke, they all
listened. Martin
w
alked over to her and pl
aced his arm around her
w
aist.
Jeff
ached to comfort her.

“Oh, no,” cried Taylor. “Oh, no”

Martin
grabbed the phone from his d
aughter’s hand. “Martin Harris
speaking.
W
hat did you find?”
His face blanched and he grabbed the chair that stood in front of the old telephone
table.
“I’ll be right there.
Yes, he’s our doctor.”

Jeff
and everyone else in the room
looked from
Taylor
to the
father
.

“Mom’s had a car accident. After
Miss
Mary dropped her off, she m
ust have decided to come back.
She
hit
a young girl on a bike, just before she crashed into that
huge
oak at Pinckney and Ferry Road. Dad
and I have
to
go to the hospital. Can
you please stay
here until Miss Mary arrives and keep manning the telephones?” Taylor’s gaze moved quickly around, touching each person, but not lingering.
“
Someone must be here.”

Emily replied,
“Go,
w
e’ll take care of ourselves
and if there are any ne
w
developments,
w
e’ll call
.”

“If you all have questions,” Martin said, “ask Jeff. He’s local and kno
w
s most the people.”

* ~
*

Jeff
vie
w
ed father and daughter
almost running out the front door.
Instead of follo
w
ing his heart and going
w
ith them, he must coordinate
the search for Rod
,
w
ho’d inadvertently caused all today’s problems
.
W
ith night falling, the search
w
ould
soon
be called off until tomorro
w
.
He’d
w
ait for the officials to notify him before he contacted the guests.

The bridesmaids,
all of
w
hom h
ad change into
shorts and tops,
tried to include him in their conversation, but of the six he had only met Sara, the maid-of-honor, before and then only
briefly.
He excused himself and
w
ent out onto the p
atio. If the house phone rang
,
he’d
hear it.
Right no
w
he craved quiet.
Settling himself on the cushioned,
w
rought-iron furniture, h
e stared at the star-filled sky. Attempting to clear his head, he concentrated on the number of constellations
beginning to
fill the sky
. Ho
w
could he have forgotten?
N
ights so clear shado
w
s formed on the land from th
e trees, bushes, and buildings; air,
at times heavy
w
ith humidity
that
w
rapp
ed
itself a
round him like a
w
arm blanket.
The breezes filled
w
ith the smell of the marsh and the salt. He had missed the Lo
w
country, but even more he’d ached for Taylor.
Damn
, he thought,
being here
w
ith her so close
and yet unable to share his feelings
w
as Hell.

Jeff had stayed a
w
ay or
come to see his parents
briefly over the past 10 years,
pref
erring to have them visit him
. After his mother passed
a
w
ay, he continued this policy.
As much as possible, he had avoided
Harmony
P
lantation
until five years ago. Tayl
or and Rod had broken up,
yet
again.
She had called him,
desperate.
Jeff thought they’d finally split.
He’d flo
w
n do
w
n from Philadelphia,
w
here he
w
as completing his PhD in Finance and Investments, thinking he could comfort her and that he might
have a chance
w
ith her.
Things hadn’t
w
orked out.
He pushed the memory asi
de.

No
w
at thirty, he had r
eturne
d,
reluctantly. Being an only child, like Taylor,
he had obligations to his father.
W
hen his dad
recovered,
w
ould he stay or fle
e? Flee,
w
hat a strange
w
ord, yet t
he
w
ord suited this situation.
Jeff honestly
had no idea
w
hat he
w
ould do.

Childhood m
emories of Rod and Taylor filled his mind
.
Jeff fumed at his ex-friend.
W
hen Taylor asked
w
hy he and
Rod had gro
w
n apart, Jeff struggled not
to say ‘Because the bastard has an inconsiderate ego and doesn’t care
w
hom he hurts
as long as he
gets
w
hat he
w
ants.’

The
house
phone
rang breaking his concentration
. H
e rushed inside to ans
w
er.
“Jeff Benjamin, here.”
He listened for a moment. “Dr.
Harris
is at the hospital
w
ith his
w
ife.
I’m taking all the messages.” Again,
he listened.
The bridesmaids had come into the hall
w
ay and stood around
the desk that held the phone.
“As soon as the doctor calls, I’ll let
him kno
w
.” He nodded his head.
“You’ll conti
nue the search in the morning.
Thank you.”