Sam woke to find the bed empty and the boat quiet. Where the hell had that woman gone? He walked up the dock searching for her. Before the big change he would have been ecstatic to find the bed empty after a night together, but he wanted to be with Delanie. It was funny that the girl he wanted wasn't clingy like the women from his past.



He closed up the boat and made his way into town. He guessed that he could have stayed at the wharf and eventually Delanie would show up, but he didn't want to wait.



The city was a sharp contrast to the peaceful beaches and sailboat life he had become accustomed to. Litter blew down the streets and the smell of beer and urine hit him as he walked passed an alley. The party scene he'd been active in before leaving New York had been more upscale but the result had been the same. Idiots too drunk to hit the urinal at the end of the night. The smell was universal at party places.



More people hit the streets as the hour passed. Delanie might have gone back to the sailboat, but he doubted it. He stopped at a payphone and called Bill.



It had been years since he'd even thought about Bill. On scholarship as a day student at Pawling had sucked. The connections had been invaluable in getting him into Harvard. But the abuse of the rich boys there had been unrelenting. Really, he should thank them. They spurred him onto become one of the most successful Pawling graduate ever. Bill had gone to Pawlings because his great grandfather had been close personal friends with Gamage, the founder of the school.



Sam heard Bill's voicemail come on. The disappointment was palpable. He left a brief message and decided to head over to the police station anyways. Two blocks over he caught a cab.



He hated cabs, they reminded him of his time in New York when he'd been a jerk. Eventually he'd go back, but meeting Delanie had changed how he felt about living alone.



The cab pulled to a stop and he tossed the driver a few dollars. His phone rang before he entered the station.



"Sam here."



"It's Bill. Yeah, Delanie is here. I need you to come down and listen to what she has to say."



"I'm out front of the police station you took me to yesterday. What's up?"



"Just get in here."



The line went dead. Sam stared at his phone, wondering what Delanie was up to. How the hell had he gotten so attached to the woman after spending years avoiding relationships?



Before moving to the Caribbean he would have sent his lawyer to tidy up the situation and end the relationship. That kind of crap wouldn't do with Delanie.

Copyright Sara Thacker 2011