CHAPTER 3

I swung my leg back the way it had come and picked made my way around to the other side of the capsized boat, keeping my hand on the side of the boat for balance in the shifting sand. A man lay in the sand facing the sky. He was soaked through to the skin and shivering lightly. I ran closer letting go of the boat, slipping and sliding in the sand in the process of rescue. I crouched down next to the man, a broken shell digging into my knee though my jeans. "Are you alright? What happened? Can I get you something? Hello, hello, can you hear me?" I was afraid for this man, this man that was laying here out in the elements. What had happened to him? Tentative, I reached for his shoulder to give him a light shake; he turned his head to look at me. No recognition in his dark eyes. He slowly pulled his head away and muttered something that I couldn't understand. "Are you ok sir? Please, can I help you? Let me help you." He continued to lay in the sand, faintly twitching, probably shivering, staring up at the darkening sky. His hands in tight fists across his chest, his legs splayed straight out like two arrows. His blinking eyes never left the sky, his breath came in short but even intakes, like panting, dark hair curled and lay across his forehead and around the sand like a halo. Gently, I touched his shoulder again and again asked if I could offer him help, my free hand in my pocket and on my cell phone ready to get him the help that he appeared to need. He turned his entire body to me, wrapped my lower half into his arms, his knees coming up to meet my back and shook violently into my abdomen and lap. I kneeled shocked, too afraid to move. "What was this?" I thought. This complete stranger was shaking like a leaf in my lap and I didn't know what to do. Motherly instincts took over almost immediately and I gingerly placed a hand on his broad back rubbing in faint circles, something a mother would have done to soothe an upset child. We sat like this for what seemed an eternity, him shaking, me wishing he would stop. I patiently waited for this breathing to lengthen and even. His hands grasping me as if I was the life line to pull him back from whatever dark hole had been trying to suck him in. I stared out at the ocean, warily watching the waves while absently rubbing his back. I was faintly aware of the muscles that I felt there and the wistful longing that quickly came over me to stop in the pit of my stomach, it came on so quickly that I blushed and then felt a pair of eyes looking up at me. I looked down to realize that the mystery stranger had stopped shaking and had released his heavy grip on my lower body but was still touching me, this time gently. He looked up at me. "I'm sorry." The Mystery Man quietly said. His voice was deep and low. I liked the sound of his voice. It was obvious that this was rough from having been out in the elements but it felt gentle, soothing almost. I had almost forgotten the predicament that he had gotten himself into if his body wasn't still rocking with occasional spasms of shivers. "I had taken my boat out yesterday during a lull in the storm, got caught in the winds when they picked back up and crashed here". I continued to look down at him and wondered what kind of a story is that? Who doesn't live on Cape Cod and doesn't know how to prepare for a storm? By preparation, I meant staying in. The weather in New England could be quite volatile. I hoped that the doubt in my mind was not read on my face.

I cleared my throat, "Are you ok? Can you sit up? If you can move, I can get you to the hospital and have someone look you over. If not, I'll call 911 and get the paramedics here." Looking at him shivering, I figured an ambulance would probably be better than trying to get him to my house to warm up. I blushed at the thought of his lean frame sitting in my tiny kitchen.

"No, please, I am just cold. I am not hurt, just shook up. I'm not usually this stupid. I think that I need to warm up a bit. I don't want an ambulance." He pleaded, still shaking and seeming to read my mind. Unconsciously, he settled in closer on my lap, almost too familiar, I thought, his hands wrapped loosely around my waist, his knees drawn up closer to his chest. My body heat appeared to warm him up a little, as he relaxed more into my lap and a little color spotted on his cheeks. Was he blushing I wondered?

I shifted slightly, unsure of what to say. Do I bring him home? Do I call the ambulance anyway? I know nothing about him and rather than being anxious like I should be I seemed to understand his anxiety. I too, wouldn't want to take a ride in the ambulance. He was probably embarrassed to be found in a foolishly precarious situation, I thought. If he was from the Cape, he should be fairly knowledgeable sailor. What caused him to go out alone and unprepared in the face of a storm? He was obviously not from around these parts. Not that I was either but I had learned. How stupid could someone be? What if I hadn't decided to come out and explore my beach? I removed my hand gently from his back and stuck it deep into my pocket. I pulled my phone from my pocket and apologetically said, "I think that we should have someone other than me look you over. I'm not a doctor and you don't look good, though it's not too cold right now, I don't want you to catch hypothermia". He suddenly stiffened and sat up suddenly, a flash of something that resembled pain flashing across his face. He is hurt I thought to myself but his movement was so quick that I fell back off my knees and onto my butt. My hands circled around to catch my wobble, the phone dropping into the sand. I gasped in shock over his speed. He pulled himself up, his bent knees touching mine. "Please, I don't need an ambulance. I don't want a bunch of doctors looking me over a microscope, the news picking up on my stupidity to blast on the six o'clock news". His handsome face looked dark but pleadingly into my eyes. I stared, openly shocked at the color that had washed over his entire face this time, not just his cheeks. He grabbed my shoulders gently and helped me right myself. "Ok." I drawled out. "I'm not sure that coming to my house is in my best interest". A complete stranger, takes out his boat, gets caught in the biggest storm in years and wants to come to my house? Crazy, I thought to myself.

He removed his hands from my shoulders and took my lightly shaking hands into his, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I startled you. I'm not injured, other than my ego." He grimaced and softly began massaging the skin on my palms with his thumbs. "I just need to a moment to get warmed up and I promise that I will be on my way. I don't live around here but I do need to get my boat back in sailing condition. I don't want to leave it here. I promise that I will not hurt you and that I will leave soon."

I breathed deep the sea air that a bit ago had smelled salty, earthy and of dead minerals, now it had a hint of male. I knew I shouldn't say yes but I couldn't pull away from his pleading eyes and gentle voice. "Well, I don't know but ok. You can stay. I need to at least tell someone that you are here."

He sat back, still holding my hands in his arms, nodding his head in agreement. I pulled my hands from his, slightly incredulous that I had agreed to this and slightly embarrassed that I didn't want my hands to leave his. I picked up my phone that was sitting in the sand beside me, shook off the excess and dialed my best friend. My phone beeping as he looked at me still nodding absently in agreement.

"Hey there sweetie, you surviving the storm alright?" Alice answered excitedly " I keep watching the weather and the storm coverage on the news and thinking of you all alone in that house of yours! I'm half expecting to see it go flying across the ocean"

"Hey, yourself" I answered shortly. 'I'm fine, been holding up well."

'What's the weather like now?"

"It's settling down, the wind and rain has finally died off. We are expecting another major storm at the end of the week, something to do with Hurricane Erica coming from the Bahamas but I called because I just wanted to let you know…." My voice trailed off uncertain of what to say. Hey, guess what? I just found a half drowned man and am taking him to my house to nurse him back to health? I shook my head while thinking, this is the stupidest thing that I could do but the truth was the best thing. I sighed again and continued. "I was walking the beach this afternoon and I found a man, he had been sailing. The storm caught him off guard and he capsized his boat."

"Oh my god! Is he ok? Why was he out there? What's his name? How dumb can one be!" She gasped firing off questions in one breath.

"I think he is fine but he is swearing off the ambulance so I am taking him to my house to warm up. I just wanted someone to know and I think if I told my parents, they would kill me." As they should, I thought to myself.

"Well" she started, not quite knowing what to say. "Do you want me to call the police? I can come down and watch him with you. I'm sure that Jasper can watch Aiden for a few days. I just happen to have the next few days off and I can be there in a few hours." Alice lived in Lowell, right on the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border just about 3 hours away. Aiden was her adorable two year old son, Jasper, her love of her life and the baby daddy.

"No Alice, I will be fine". My voice lowered at this and my eyes flickered to his face. He was watching the sea, peaceful serenity starting to flit across his face but his body still shaking faintly, giving in to the ordeal that he had been through.

"Well, this is probably the craziest thing that you have ever done. I definitely think this is probably not the smartest thing to do but if you say so. Just check in with me in a few hours, ok."

"Yes, I will. Thanks Alice. Give Aiden and Jasper a big hug for me and I'll talk soon. Bye."

I silently clicked the phone shut, took a deep breath and asked my mysterious stranger, "Can you get up ok? My house is a short walk from here."

"Yes, I will be." He turned to look at me. "Thank you". He then did something that sent an unexpected shockwave through to my core. As his thank you left his lips, he leaned in and softly placed his lips to mine. He moved again so quickly that I could feel his breath from his last word on my lips. I felt my heart beat faster and my pulse quicken. I hoped that he couldn't hear my response to the kiss. Just as quickly, he pulled back and stared deep into my eyes. "You have saved me some humiliation and I am indebted to you." I leaned back automatically, and saw a small smile creep across his face, his hand raked through his dark hair and he continued, "Shall we go?"

I slowly got to my feet, shook the sand from my lap and my jacket, watching the small grains of pebbles fall back to the beach. I could feel the color creep to my face again and I willed my blood to stop moving so fast in my veins. He stood slowly, a grimace again returning to his face. He faltered just a bit and rested some of his weight unexpectedly on my shoulder. I reached out to steady him, made sure that he was up and pointed across the beach. "My house is over there, just beyond that jetty of rocks. Can you make it?" I asked concerned for the unsteady sand, every rock, piece of driftwood, sea weed and sea creature that stood in the path. I silently cursed the scene before me momentarily forgetting the previous state of awe of nature that I had been in. He nodded and stepped in the direction that I pointed. The rain started to fall again, the wind whipping a little harder.