Sweeter Than Wine (5 page)

Wasn't this what this vacation of hers was
supposed to be about, taking chances, doing things she'd never
done?

Still, she was a grown woman, able to handle
herself. Even with an attractive man. Yes, she could handle this,
and it might be exciting. She was out for excitement, wasn't
she?

* * *

The next morning Sam waited for her again at
a table. He was surprised when she came down the stairs in Capri's
and t-shirt. She could pass for a typical tourist, but her beauty
seemed to grow on him. Every time he saw her she became more
intriguing.

"Good morning," she smiled and instantly sat
opposite him.

"Good morning, sleep well?" he asked giving
her a quick once over.

"Yes, I did, must be the ocean front or
something." She said as she told the waitress she'd like some black
coffee.

"And you?" she asked.

"Surprisingly well, thanks. And I've given
some thought to our expedition, never been on a motorcycle,
right?"

"No, never."

"Then that's how we'll travel. We'll see the
coast, have a picnic, and travel a ways down toward the big reds."
He smiled.

"Big reds?"

"The magnificent Redwoods of California.
You'll love it." He smiled.

"Oh yes, I was planning on seeing them." She
quipped. "I've done some research on them as well. Did you know
that some of those trees are taller than a skyscraper?"

"Yes, there's one they claim is as tall as
four skyscraper put together. Of course I wouldn't want to climb it
to verify that. However, you'll see them up close this way. I think
we should take our time, see everything we can and enjoy it. When
the Dean of your school said you hadn't been around enough, surely
he understood why you hadn't been vacationing. I mean, spending
that time with your mother was important. And I don't think you
should feel bad about yourself for it."

"Oh he understood, but he still refused me
the job? He hoped I understood. At least that was his last words to
me," she queried. "I don't think he realized what a challenge he
put before me, either."

"Do you have a camera?"

"I bought a little camcorder, yes. I wanted
to bring the girls some pictures back."

"Great, when you go back, you'll have
mountains of pictures to share with your teacher friends and word
will get out that Ms. Lacey Malone has indeed been around. And you
won't have to surf or snorkel to do any of the things we'll
do."

"When will we start?" she asked sipping the
coffee the waitress had brought her.

"As soon as we finish breakfast."

"Am I dressed appropriately?" she asked. "I'm
afraid my vacation wardrobe doesn't consist of much."

"You're dressed great, and I have an extra
helmet too, so not to worry," he smiled.

"Umm, I've never ridden a motorcycle, is
there any instructions?" she asked timidly.

"Not really, just lean with me on the turns,
relax, and hold on," he chuckled.

"I can do that."

They ordered and talked pleasantly for a
while, "You said you wanted me to go with you, to meet this family.
Is it your new family?"

"So to speak, I've never met them before. I
thought with you along, things wouldn't be quite as tense."

"Are you tensed up about meeting them?"

He stirred his coffee slowly as the waitress
brought a refill.

"A little, I'm sure they don't know any more
about me, than I know of them. Well to be honest they don't know as
much. I hesitate to enter their lives."

"Perhaps before we go then, you should give
them a call, sort of warn them."

Sam thought about that, "You might be right.
I'll have to see if I can find their numbers in the phone book. I
haven't planned this out yet. I don't know how I want to approach
them, or even if I should."

"In all your life, you never suspected that
you weren't your father's son?" Lacey asked as the waitress
delivered her coffee and she blew on it before sipping.

"No, he treated me as his son. Loved me, took
care of me. He made no difference between my brother and me.
Our….coloring was a little different, and once I began looking at
myself I realized I didn't look like any of them. But it's not
something you normally question, is it?"

"No, I guess not. Your mother didn't tell you
anything?"

Sam hesitated, "She was dead a long time ago,
and no, she never said anything either."

Lacey looked at him with compassion. "It must
be very hard for you. Obviously you had feelings for this family
all your life and now…this."

"All these years not knowing blew my mind.
Not once had I suspicioned anything like this. My brother….knew
about it. However, he said it made no difference to him whatsoever.
He'd been raised with me all his life and considered me family,
especially now that they are both gone. But I told him I hoped he
understood that I had to at least meet my half sister too."

"Did he tell you about them, your father? Did
he tell you what happened? Anything…"

"No, this was an admission as he was dying."
Sam set his spoon in the saucer and glanced about.

"I'm not sure what I'd do in your shoes. I
mean, of course you would want to meet your real family, what is
left of them, but I don't know. But it would be sort of awkward,
especially if they never suspected either."

"My sister lives here in Oregon. That's why
I'm here. I plan to meet her before my vacation is up."

"Wow, sounds like something you hear on one
of those TV reality shows."

"Yes it does. I hope you don't mind going
with me. I just figured it might be easier this way."

"Are you going to tell them right off, who
you are?" Lacey asked.

"I'm not sure. I’m not at all sure how to
handle it." Sam sighed. "…but our little mini vacation will give me
time to figure it out."

She smiled. "I've never done anything like
this before. I mean you’re a stranger."

"Like what?" Sam smiled back.

"Going off with a stranger. People back home
would think I'd lost my mind."

Sam stared into her eyes, "Lacey, after what
I've just told you, I consider us friends."

"Oh, I didn't mean offense, but…"

"What If I'm a serial killer or something?"
Sam laughed.

"Well no, I think I'm a pretty good judge of
character, but Howard would say I was crazy."

"Howard?"

"The dean, Howard Newcomb."

"Ah, I detect a love interest here
Lacey…."

Lacey blushed. "Not really. There's no love
on his part, that's for sure. He hasn't so much as paid the tiniest
bit of interest in me in the past three years. Howard is well aware
of his sex appeal, and can have his pick of women."

"Maybe, but you've paid attention to him,
haven't you?"

"I respect him; I think he's handsome,
intelligent. Oh, okay, he's gorgeous and yes I've paid attention.
However, it's done me no good at all. He doesn't know I'm alive.
I've made up my mind to forget Howard Newcomb. You can only waste
so much of your time on a dead horse, so to speak."

"Let me guess, business suits, maybe even
glasses, brief case in hand, have I pegged him right?"

"Very close, yes, he's tall, brown hair and
eyes, and when he smiles he's quite handsome."

"Well, at least I'm not his clone." Sam
smiled.

After finishing, he paid the tab and escorted
her into the parking lot. And there it stood, all shiny and black,
a big Harley.

"Will I need anything?" she asked.

"Not today, today we'll just do some general
site seeing along the coast; tomorrow we'll go see the Big
Reds."

"In case I forget to thank you, thank you,"
she smiled. "It's really very sweet of you to do this for me."

"You are very welcome Lacey, now relax, we're
going to have a little fun." He pointed toward the bike. "And maybe
having a little fun will help me too."

"I hope so. I really do."

She admired the chrome and gadgets as he
watched her. "Okay, put your feet on the pegs, and hold on to me,
not too tight, just for security. We'll go slow, there are a lot of
winding mountains around here, we'll grab some lunch later and make
a picnic, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great." She said and she straddled
the motorcycle and tentatively put her hands around him.

"Hang on Lacey; we're going to see some great
scenery today. Nothing too wild, I promise. Okay?"

"Okay."

He started the cycle and she grabbed him a
little tighter, he handed her a helmet and she strapped it on.
"Another thing, either put your shield down, or close your mouth,
because bugs love us."

"Oh…okay."

She slid the helmet on, feeling as if she had
gone into a cave. The wind whipped at her face and she hurriedly
closed the shield. They went through a long winding road that took
them deep into the forest area. She felt like Alice in Wonderland,
as he guided her through some of the most beautiful parts of
America.

Lacey felt freer than she'd ever felt before.
She found herself relaxing as the ride smoothed out. She had
nothing to worry about, the way he handled the cycle. He knew
exactly how to handle the machine.

He pointed out different locals as they went.
Lacey knew most of the history of this area and she found
everything refreshing especially when she looked at it from his
viewpoint.

After a couple hours, he pulled over to a
small old station and got them something to drink. Lacey was
thirsty and it felt good to stretch her legs.

"It's as beautiful as I imagined it would be,
maybe more." Her gaze swept the countryside.

"There's an old swing bridge down this way,"
he pointed as he crossed the highway. "Come on, are you game?"

"Sure," she laughed. "Why not."

"Get your camera ready, because this is a
particularly beautiful spot."

The camera was around her neck and already
ready to shoot.

They walked for a long time, discussing the
vegetation, the weather, and nothing important. Lacey let down her
guard. She'd never imagined enjoying herself doing something like
this, but perhaps it was the company, and not the scenery, she
decided.

"There it is," he pointed after a few minutes
of walking along a small trail...

It was very old and long and was made of
nothing more than wood and rope.

It looked interesting. There was a gentle
creaking in the air, as the bridge swayed just a tad. Water rushed
below creating a soothing operetta.

"Want to try it?" he challenged.

"Is it safe to walk on?" she asked.

"That's what it is for, come on," he smiled
and grabbed her hand.

His smile was infectious and his challenge
fun.

Lacey squashed the thrill the smile gave her,
and took his hand as he guided her across the bridge. The boards
creaked louder as they began making their way across. She felt the
gentle sway of the bridge beneath her.

Half way out, he stopped and leaned over the
bridge. The wood and rope provided a lean-to for them. "What do you
think?"

She looked down at the river below and
watched the water bubble from the rapids. White water splashed
against the rocks.

"Wow, it's something. I mean, I'd have never
found something like this on my own, I'm sure of it. Thank you for
bringing me here."

He took out a coin and handed it to her, "Go
ahead, make a wish, they say if you don't tell your wish for a
whole day, it'll come true."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Kidding? This is a special bridge. Not
publicized by travel journals. It's like a big well kept secret. So
when one crosses it, they should at the very least make a wish upon
it."

"How long ago was it built?"

"Probably before the 20th century. They don't
make bridges like this any more."

Wanting to get in the spirit of it all, Lacey
smiled and took the coin. She closed her eyes for a long time and
then it happened. It was crazy, it was stupid, but her wish was for
another kiss.

She flipped it and it went over falling for a
long while before it hit its target.

"Now, what did you wish for?" he asked with a
curious glance.

"Oh…but I can't tell you, it won't come true
if I tell you," she bubbled with enthusiasm.

"Uh. You believe that hogwash?" he asked
playfully.

She frowned momentarily staring into his
face. "Is that what it was?"

Their eyes locked on each other, "No, I'm
trying to get you to tell me what you wished for. I'm trying to
trick you, Lacey. Aw…come on, I'll race you to the other side."

"Race me? Run on this?" she questioned.

"Scared?"

"Well, what if I get my foot caught? Or worse
still what if I fall"

"Then I'll just have to pry it loose or pick
you up." He laughed.

"On you mark…go," she laughed and sped in
front of him. Trying to close the distance so he couldn't get in
front, she held both sides of the ropes. But he crawled beneath her
and tried to squeeze between her legs. She yelled, but he kept
going, knocking her to the flat boards. He fell on top of her.

"Are you hurt?" His question was real and
concern laced his voice.

"No," she answered staring up into his eyes.
Suddenly she started laughing. She laughed, so hard she was crying.
He looked down and the next thing she knew, he was kissing her
silly. Her wish had come vibrantly to life.

Laughter turned to moans of pleasure as he
sought her lips repeatedly. "Kissing you is getting to be a very
addictive habit with me, Lacey."

She tried to think, tried to stop, but the
feel of his lips on hers was like magic and she didn't want to stop
him. She'd never been this free in her life. Never experienced such
wild abandon with a man. He kissed her as if she was some inviting
woman, a new and exciting sensation. He moaned as his hands came up
under her t-shirt. As he continued to tease her lips, she forgot to
stop him due to the pleasure he evoked. One flick and her bra came
open. Objections were never on her mind. The sheer joy of kissing a
man without regret made her moan with new pleasure.