henever turbulent weather starts churning out in the Atlantic during the months of September and October, residents of the southeast coast turn on the radios and TVs and keep watch.

Cara and Brett were driving home from their fishing expedition when they heard the bulletin. A tropical storm was forming off the coast of Africa and heading toward the Caribbean. This was the first hint of a hurricane she’d lived through in twenty years but the chill she felt running up her spine was all too familiar.

“Do you think it will form a hurricane?”

Brett didn’t appear the least bit alarmed. “Who knows?” he answered with an easy shrug. He glanced at her from the wheel, a question in his eyes. “Why? Are you worried?”

“No, no,” she lied.

“Right.”

“It’s just that with Mama sick and Toy due any day now, the timing couldn’t be worse.”

“Don’t worry. We get these reports all the time. It wouldn’t be the season without them. At this very moment, hundreds of people are running for the hurricane tracking charts they got from the grocery store with smiles of glee on their faces. The newscasters just love to get the people going. Fact is, most of the storms die far out in the ocean long before they even come near shore.”

Cara chewed her lip and searched his face. His features were serene; she decided to take his word for it. After all, he knew more about nature than she did. She looked out the car window. The sky was brilliantly sunny with only a few wispy clouds. It didn’t look like a storm was coming.

“But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get things ready anyway,” he said. “Lay in supplies. You should always enter the hurricane season prepared.”

“Great,” she said with a groan. “I’ll add it to my list.”

She glanced at the clock when they pulled in the driveway. It was a quarter to five. She was pretty grungy after an afternoon of fishing. Her hair was falling out of the elastic, her shorts were damp and the suntan oil had collected sand and dirt like a magnet. But she felt better than she had in days. They’d caught some nice trout and stopped off at the Red and White for a few groceries to make a feast. Her mouth watered at the prospect of grilled fish smothered with lemon juice.

“I’ll clean the fish if you’ll grill ’em up,” Brett said, offering the usual deal as he hoisted several bags full of groceries in his arms. Creek fishing was one of their favorite dates and she’d become an avid fisherman over the past months.

“Suits me fine,” she replied, grabbing the final two bags and balancing them on her knee as she closed the trunk. She followed Brett up the stairs to the house with a heavy tred. She couldn’t wait to get into the shower and wash off the smell of sea salt and fish. “I hope Toy has some of her famous coleslaw leftover. I’m so hungry I—”

She stopped short, almost crashing into Brett’s back. He was standing at the threshold with his arms full of groceries. Her mother stood across the room. One look at Lovie’s face told her something was wrong.

“Look who’s here,” Lovie said in her cheery hostess voice.

Cara stepped around Brett into the room, feeling as though she were stepping onto a stage. She heard a shuffling sound to her left and swung her head to look past Brett’s shoulders. In a single glance she caught sight of the last two men on earth she expected to see that afternoon: her brother, Palmer, and her former lover, Richard.

She almost dropped her groceries. The room suddenly seemed to shrink in size. She hadn’t thought of Richard in months. Her brain couldn’t make any sense of him being here—on the Isle of Palms—at her mother’s beach house, of all places. She was left speechless.

Always at ease in awkward situations, Richard stepped forward to relieve her of her bags. “Hello, darling. I’ll bet you’re surprised to see me.” He tugged at the bags. “You can let go,” he said, chuckling.

She relinquished the bags gratefully, because her knees were about to buckle at her first whiff of his expensive cologne.

“Surprised?” he asked.

“Surprised doesn’t begin to say it.”

She darted a glance at Brett. He was standing rock still, the muscles of his arms bulging under the weight of several bags and the cooler. She saw him at that moment as she knew Richard would, just some laid-back local in baggy cargo shorts, old brown sandals frayed at the heels and wind-whipped hair curling around a baseball cap.

She rallied as training clicked in. “Brett, this is my former colleague, Richard Selby. Richard, this is my good friend, Brett Beauchamps.”

Colleague? Friend? Who did she think she was kidding?

Richard cracked a smile. “Any friend of Cara’s is a friend of mine. I’d shake your hand but…” He shifted the bags in his arms.

Brett only jerked a nod of acknowledgement. Any harder, she thought, and he’d have broken his neck.

Cara was grateful they both had their arms filled and didn’t have to go through the charade of a handshake. All they had to endure was the pretense of politeness.

Which was, apparently, too much to ask of Richard, she thought, as his glance traveled insolently over Brett.

“Been fishin’ have you? I heard you good ol’ boys were good at that.”

Brett stared back at Richard. The blue of his eyes turned icy.

“Come along, boys,” Lovie said, stepping into the fray. “You can put those groceries down in the kitchen.”

There was a reluctant shuffling of feet as they followed her. In their wake, Cara shot a loaded glance at her brother. He was enjoying the scene immensely.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Palmer said with a short laugh. “He came looking for you at my house. All the way from Chicago.”

“I see,” she hissed. “And you personally brought him out here?”

“It was the neighborly thing to do. Once he explained your relationship.”

She opened her mouth to ask exactly how Richard had defined that relationship when suddenly he was there. He looked as handsome and polished as ever in creased dove-gray trousers, linen navy jacket and a silk, open necked shirt. On his feet he wore tasseled shoes. Not one of his sleek dark hairs was out of place and, despite the heat, he looked as cool and fresh as though he’d just stepped from a shower. In contrast, she felt sure she smelled like a fishery.

“It’s great to see you again,” he said, stepping closer.

She drew her shoulders and took a step back. He understood the implication of the small movement and didn’t press any closer.

“Richard, what are you doing here?”

“I should think it’s obvious. I’ve come to see you.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

Richard looked over her shoulder at the group of people in the room listening to every word. When he faced her again, his eyes pulsed a private message of discomfort. They used to communicate with glances all the time during client meetings. They’d known each other’s thoughts and opinions so well that one look could speak volumes.

“It’s a little crowded in here. Can I take you to dinner?”

“I have dinner plans.”

“There’s a lot I need to talk to you about.” His eyes were pleading.

“Sorry.”

“Cara, I can only guess what you’re thinking.”

“If you knew what I was thinking, you wouldn’t have had the nerve to show up in my house.”

He grinned mischievously, without a trace of guilt. It threw her.

“Precisely. Which is why we need to talk. Alone.”

“Richard,” she said with frustration, hedging.

“And just to sweeten the lure,” he went on as though he hadn’t heard her, “let me tell you right now that, all personal feelings aside for the moment, I’ve come on business.”

Her interest suddenly perked up. She looked over to Brett. His brows were gathered and he was listening intently.

“I had dinner plans….”

“This is more important.”

“You two go on and settle your business,” Palmer said, stepping forward with congeniality. “I’ve been looking for a chance to visit with Mama.”

Cara looked at him with irritation. They both knew his coming here had nothing to do with visiting Mama.

“Hey Brett,” Palmer called out. “What you say we cook up whatever you got in that cooler?”

“Not this time, Palmer,” he said, moving toward the door. “I’ve got things to do. But you help yourself to the fish. Cara caught most of them anyway. Miss Lovie, it’s good to see you looking so well. Toy, always a pleasure.” As he passed Cara, his eyes searched hers before he put on his sunglasses.

After he left, she turned to Richard. “If you’ll wait till I get cleaned up, I’ll hurry.”

It was as though she’d returned to another life. The candlelight of the downtown restaurant glimmered seductively as she traced the thin crystal bowl of her wineglass with her fingertip. Around her she was aware of the gentle buzzing of conversations and the clinking of glasses. For the first time that summer she was wearing the slinky black dress that she’d packed in that hastily gathered assortment of silks she’d arrived with. Sizeable pearls around her neck and at her ears had been pulled out from the back of her drawer, as well as the Cartier watch that replaced the Timex she wore on the beach.

“You look marvelous,” Richard said, his eyes glowing with appreciation. “You’re so tanned and fit. Are you playing golf?”

She laughed. “Hardly. I’m a Turtle Lady.”

He looked puzzled. “A what?”

She gave him the shorthand version, knowing he wouldn’t be the least interested in the loggerheads. “I walk on the beach a lot. And I’ve been gardening, fishing and boating.”

Now it was Richard’s turn to laugh. “You? I can’t believe it. You hate the outdoors.”

It irked to be described like that. It was no longer how she saw herself. “No, I don’t. The lifestyle here is quite different. You might like it.”

“What’s not to like? It’s a beautiful city, the weather’s great and there are world-class golf courses here. And the restaurants are superb. I read about this one in Gourmet magazine. Five stars.”

“Would you be surprised if I told you this was the first time I’ve eaten in the city since I arrived?”

“You’re kidding. Poor darling, you must be starving. You hate home cooking.”

Cara thought of all the fresh crabs and shrimp Brett had harvested and boiled or grilled for her, of impromptu picnics on the beach, of Toy’s experiments with healthy cooking and Mama’s family recipes and smiled, thinking she’d never eaten better in all her life.

“How’s your mother?”

“She’s dying, Richard. How do you think she is?”

His smile dropped and he drew back his shoulders. “I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“Don’t bother. Look, Richard, I can’t sit here and pretend we’re having a friendly dinner together. The last time I saw you, you kissed me goodbye and flew off to New York. I seem to remember that you were apologizing for having forgotten my birthday, but what you really forgot was the little detail about my getting canned the next day. Or was that your idea of a birthday surprise?” Her smile was so brittle she thought her face would crack.

“I did have to go to New York. And I couldn’t tell you about the layoffs that night. It would have been a breach of confidence.”

“Oh, please.”

He held up his hand to gesture for more time. “Cara, listen. Give me a chance to explain. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Right. Well, you did. I took a major hit with no backup. You just left me hanging in the wind.”

“I didn’t expect you to leave town! I’ve been going crazy these past months wondering where you were, how you were feeling. I tried to call you at home. On your cell phone. You had to have gotten my messages! Why didn’t you call me back? You could have spared me months of agony and I could have spared you all these months of wondering what happened.”

“I caused you months of agony? How delightful.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I suffered. Okay? You left word that you’d call me when you got home. So I waited by the phone for several days that turned into several weeks. Then I started trying to find you. No one knew where you were. It was like you’d dropped off the face of the earth. I didn’t panic. I knew how much you loved travel and I figured you’d taken some time away. And I knew you were royally pissed off at me.” He had the grace to look sheepish.

Cara wasn’t falling for the illusion that he really cared. He wanted something from her and she just had to wait it out to discover what. Her foot wagged in agitation under the table, but at eye level, she appeared calm and in control. He seemed to take her quiet fury in stride, having expected it. But he was holding a trump card.

“That all happened a long time ago,” she responded coolly. “It’s ancient history.”

“Okay, I admit it. But when you were gone for the summer I was damn scared I’d lost you for good. I put feelers out everywhere. I even considered hiring a private detective. Do you want to know how I finally found you? I had lunch with Adele. She told me you were still with your mother in Charleston but she wouldn’t give me your number. So I went straight to my office, looked up Rutledge in the Charleston phone book—by the way, do you have any idea how many Rutledges there are in Charleston?—and I finally reached your brother’s house. And here I am.”

“That’s quite a story. And I’m only left to wonder why you bothered?”

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then spread his palms open on the table and shrugged. “Darling, I know you’re angry. I’m sorry for not telling you about the layoff. I really am. But you have to believe me. I planned all along for you to come back. It was all a matter of timing. And that’s what I’ve come to tell you.” His dark-brown eyes glowed in the candlelight. “That fast-food campaign you were working on? It went over. We got the account. And they want Cara Rutledge to head the campaign. So do we. We want you back. We need you back.” He paused for drama. “As Senior Vice President and Group Director of the account.”

Cara’s foot stopped wagging and she dropped her shoe. “You can’t be serious,” she said, searching his face.

He leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Can’t I?”

She paused for only a moment. “I want it in writing.”

“Cara…”

“I want a contract specifying all that you just told me and all that you haven’t gotten around to telling me yet. FedEx it to me. No faxes. I don’t have a machine. And if it looks good, I’ll let you fly me to Chicago, put me up at the Four Seasons and wine me and dine me. And then, if after the few days of negotiating I like what I see, you’ve got me back.”

He returned a wry smile, half admiring, half annoyed. “You’re not joking are you?”

“I never joke about money or my career. I don’t lie, either.”

He laughed then, a high, grating sound, and she wondered what she had ever found so attractive about him. But business was business and she knew that, regardless of her personal opinion of him, the offer was valid if he’d come all this way to woo her. She gathered her purse and rose to stand.

“Where are you going?”

“Our business is completed. I really don’t see the need to continue this any further. It was good to see you, Richard, and I look forward to seeing you again in Chicago. At the office.”

“But dinner…”

“I hear the food is marvelous here. Enjoy. But I’ve got some trout I’m just dying to taste. Oh, and I hope you get that round of golf in while you’re here. You look a little pale. Bye!”

She tucked her bag under her arm and sauntered from the room with the glorious knowledge that he was watching every move she made as she walked away from him.

Cara felt so high she thought she was flying across the connector to the Isle of Palms. She’d put the top down on the Saab, turned the music up loud and was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she zoomed home. It seemed as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She wanted to shout out to the universe, “I’m back!” And not just to a job but a whopping promotion. They must really want her to have sent Richard begging and she planned to translate that into meaningful negotiations before she was through with them. As the wheels of her car turned, her mind spun with the names of good people from her team who’d been laid off who she could hire back. Oh, it was sweet to have a job and money coming in again. A future to look forward to. Cara Rutledge was back on track, she thought, then laughed out loud again as she reached the top of the connector and saw the ocean sparkling under the still-shining sun. She was soaring!

Inside the beach house, it was quiet.

“Hello!” she called out, setting her purse down on the table. The kitchen was sparkling clean. Sniffing the air, she didn’t catch the scent of fish. “Where is everyone?”

Toy came out from her bedroom. It was only seven-thirty and the sun was still out, but she was already in her pajamas, tying the sash of her robe as she came down the hall. “Oh, hi, Cara. How did it go?”

“Fine. It’s so quiet. Where’s Palmer?”

“He left a little while after you did.”

“And Mama?”

“I’m in here!”

Cara and Toy walked into Lovie’s bedroom. The windows were wide-open and there was a steady breeze blowing in from the ocean, but Cara could still smell the stench of medicine and illness in the room. The wastebasket beside her mother’s bed was filled with crumpled tissues, an oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose and the TV was on. She put on a smile and went directly to Lovie’s bed.

“Hey there, Mama,” she said, sitting on the bed and giving her a kiss. “How are you feeling?”

Lovie reached up to remove her mask. Toy hurried over to turn off the oxygen.

“Oh fine, fine. I just use this to help me out a little.” She used it more and more each day but hated to admit it. “Well, look at you!” Her eyes brightened at seeing her daughter dressed up and Cara felt a flush of pleasure at her approval.

“How was your visit with Palmer? He didn’t stay long.”

“A little of this and a little of that. He likes to keep things light. He had to leave and, honestly, that was fine with me. I can’t take long visits anymore.” She sat up a little higher on the bed, coughed long and hard, then settled again, smoothing the sheet across her chest. “Toy, be a darling and turn that thing off, would you?” she asked, pointing to the TV. Then she turned to Cara, her nose pointed like a bloodhound. “So, what did he want?”

Cara laughed and felt the tingle of excitement stir again. “You won’t believe it,” she said, settling on the mattress beside Lovie for a good chat.

Lovie’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

“He offered me my job back. With a promotion! Remember that fast-food account I was working on before I left the agency? Well, it flew and now they want me to come back to head the account.” She smiled to herself, the wonder of it all just beginning to sink in.

“Wow, that’s great,” Toy said in a breathy voice.

Cara turned her head to acknowledge the girl’s words.

“I worked very hard for that account. Oh, Mama, this is such a big deal for me.”

Lovie looked puzzled. “You mean, that young man flew all this way just to offer you a job?”

Cara’s smile slipped. “Yes. What did you think he came for?”

“Well, I suppose I thought he’d come to propose marriage.”

“Marriage?”

“Why are you looking at me like that? That’s the usual reason a man comes storming in unannounced like that. At least in my generation.” She lifted her slight shoulders. “In your generation, who knows? Everything is so different. I thought you were quite taken with the young man. Wasn’t he your fella for several years?”

“Yes,” she replied slowly. “We had some good times. But trust me, Mama, I’ll never be Mrs. Richard Selby.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I know now that we don’t want the same things out of life.”

“How about Mrs. Brett Beauchamps?” chimed in Toy.

This time, Cara didn’t rise to the bait. “I’ve wondered about it sometimes,” she said, surprising everyone. “But the moment I heard Richard offer me that promotion, I knew what I wanted. I said yes.”

Lovie made a face. “Brett is such a fine man and you two seem to get along so well. Are you sure you know what you really want?”

“As much as anyone, I suppose.”

“But to live alone, Cara. That’s so hard on a woman. Every woman needs a man to love her. To provide for her. You’re not getting any younger.” She tsked and shook her head with worry. “If only you could find yourself a good husband.”

All the soaring elation Cara had been feeling crashed to the earth. She felt a familiar clutch inside her gut and her first instinct was to let the iron wall fall between them again. But she’d had enough of the old patterns. She took a deep breath and looked at her mother long and hard.

“Mama, you really don’t understand, do you?”

“Understand what?”

“How things are today for women like me. And Toy.” She looked over to include the young girl in the conversation. “You’ve lived a privileged life. It’s not like that for us. There isn’t anyone out there who’s going to write a check to cover our health bills or the rent or to put gas in the car. If we even have a car. We have to provide for ourselves. You know, sometimes I think you forget that I’ve always taken care of myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Cara looked straight at her. “You and Daddy didn’t put me through college. You didn’t set me up with my first home. You didn’t contribute one dollar to my well-being after I left Charleston. When I was eighteen. Toy’s age,” she added, driving the point home. “There were more years than not when I was running one paycheck away from the street. I’ve worked very, very hard for many years to get to the point in life where I’m offered a position like this one.” She took a ragged breath. “It’s a big moment in my life.”

Lovie looked at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

“And all you can say is that you wish I’d find myself a good husband?”

Cara stood and walked to the window to look out. As always, the sea rolled in and out in its monotonous, never ending rhythm. She turned to face her mother again, crossing her arms tightly around herself. “Mama, do you even know how you’ve just dismissed me?”

“I did no such thing! I simply said how nice it would be for you to find a husband, someone to provide for you. Is that so wrong to wish for my child?”

“Oh, Mama, I’m not saying I wouldn’t like a relationship with a man. Even marriage—maybe. But I’m not looking for a man to provide for me. I’m not going to settle for marriage just to be married or to find security. That’s a pipe dream I can’t count on. I’m counting on myself.”

Instead of drawing herself up with indignation or lowering her shoulders in a sulk, as Cara expected, her mother lay back against her pillows and studied her as though she were seeing someone she hardly knew.

“I’m so sorry,” Lovie said softly. “I didn’t know…. You always wrote such positive, upbeat letters and told us how well you were doing. I wanted to believe that. You’ve always been so capable that it was easier to think everything was fine.” Her eyes filled with tears, which she hastily wiped with a tissue from the box by her side. “I didn’t know.”

Cara watched her mother weep and felt ashamed for her outburst. Why hash this out now, she asked herself? Her mother was dying, she had enough to deal with. Besides, after all these years, what was the point? She came closer to stand at the bedside, wishing she could just drop the whole subject.

“Oh, Mama, never mind. It doesn’t matter anymore. I didn’t come in here tonight for a row. I shouldn’t have told you. I just thought you’d like to know about the job offer, that’s all.”

Lovie wiped her eyes and sniffed in the tissue. “No, I’m glad you told me. I didn’t mean…It’s just that I’ve always believed a woman is happier being married.”

“Can you honestly tell me that you were?”

Lovie looked up, her eyes red rimmed and watery, and opened her mouth to respond. But no sound came out. She seemed to be struggling with an answer that left her mute.

“Does that mean you’ll be leaving for Chicago soon?” Toy wanted to know.

Cara turned to face Toy who was standing by the door. She looked as if she were halfway in the room and halfway out.

“I’m not going anywhere until after you have that baby!” she said, pointing her finger and interjecting a little enthusiasm into her voice. She saw relief blossom on Toy’s face. “But, after that, I’ll have to go to Chicago for a series of interviews. It should only take a few days. A week at most. I imagine you can hold the fort for that long if I bring in help. And Flo’s promised to be on call, but we all know she just wants to hold that baby. I won’t dally. I’ll hurry right back.”

Cara sat on the edge of the mattress again and took her mother’s hand. She squeezed it and said with intent, “I love you and I won’t leave you. You understand that, don’t you?”

Lovie mustered a weak smile. “Of course I do.”

In the pause Cara could almost hear the subject drop. She had never felt the role reversal so strongly as she did at that moment. The responsibility for these two lives—one about to depart life, the other about to bring a new life forth—fell squarely on her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” she asked Lovie.

Lovie nodded feebly.

“Did you eat dinner? I don’t smell any fish.”

“We just weren’t up to cleaning fish,” Toy replied apologetically. “So we ate the leftover tuna casserole from yesterday and a little fresh pea soup.”

“It was delicious, dear,” Lovie said, distracted.

“Can I get you some?” Toy asked Cara.

Cara’s stomach growled. “I didn’t eat and I’m starving. But don’t get up. I think I’ll scrounge around in the fridge after I change into something more comfortable.”

“You look quite nice in that dress,” Lovie said. She was eager to make amends.

“Sexy,” added Toy. “I can’t remember the last time I wore anything like that. Or high heels.”

“Me, neither,” she quipped as she left the room.

As she kicked off her heels and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, Cara wondered what Brett was up to. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. It rang several times but there was no answer. It was just like him to forget to turn on his answering machine. He was probably out on the dock, cooking up some shrimp. Her stomach growled again and she decided to go right over. Tying her tennis shoes, she thought how much she wanted to see his face again after staring at Richard’s.

“Mama?” she called out, grabbing her purse. “I’m going over to Brett’s. Don’t wait up.”

“Okay,” Toy called out over the television noise in Lovie’s bedroom. Before closing the door, Cara heard the weatherman announcing that the tropical storm in the Caribbean had been upgraded to a hurricane.

The hatchling swims from the dangerous, shallow water near its natal beach to the deep water of the Gulf Stream. Once there, it will hide and feed in the relative safety of enormous floats of sargassum weeds and flotsam.