I turned toward him. “Are you teasing me?”
“No.”
More people streamed from the oceanfront motels toward the water. Included were the beginnings of the bathing suit crowd. Seeing the bikini-clad women made me wonder where Julie would spend the day.
“I’ll help you with the Jones case this week,” Zach said, breaking the silence.
“Okay. Just let me know.”
We stood beside each other without speaking for a long time. A crazy thought raced through my mind that Zach wanted to throw me off the pier. I gauged the distance to shallow water. If I survived the fall it would be an easy swim. Zach touched my arm, and I jumped.
“Are you ready to go back to the motorcycle?” he asked.
“Yes.”
As we walked off the pier, the fear of harm at Zach’s hands didn’t leave me. It would be easy for him to ram the sidecar into a tree, endangering my life.
“Why did you invite me on the motorcycle ride?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you at our next stop.”
“How far is that?”
“It’s on the island.”
I put on my helmet and stepped into the sidecar. I wanted to return to Mrs. Fairmont’s house as soon as possible. Zach backed the motorcycle away from the curb with his feet and started the engine. We retraced our route onto the island. Before crossing the bridge at the marsh, Zach abruptly took a side road.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my anxiety rising.
“You’ll see.”
After a few hundred yards, the paving gave way to sand. There were a few houses hidden among the trees. Zach turned down a driveway with no house at the end of it and stopped the motorcycle. It was a lonely spot. My heart was pounding in my chest. I sat in the sidecar, not moving.
“Get out here,” he said.
“I’m ready to go back to Mrs. Fairmont’s house,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
“And I need to spend several hours at the office. We’ll only be here a few minutes.”
I licked my lips and climbed out. Zach didn’t bother to lock up the helmets.
“It’s a short path,” he said, heading off into the underbrush.
I didn’t know whether to refuse and stay by the motorcycle or run down the road for help. I reluctantly followed. After about twenty yards we came into a clearing. There was the foundation of a destroyed house and a rickety pier with a lot of the boards missing. Zach pointed at the outline of the house.
“The house burned down shortly before I moved to Savannah. Mr. Appleby represented the owners who had to sue the insurance company on the policy.”
“Why?”
“The company alleged arson. There was no question it was a set fire, but the evidence connecting our clients was sketchy. They used the insurance money to pay off business debts and avoid bankruptcy instead of rebuilding the house.”
The strip of land extended out and provided a nice view up and down Tybee Creek. In the distance I could see cars crossing over the bridge.
“It’s a pretty spot,” I said. “Can we go now?”
“You can see better from here,” Zach said, walking toward the water.
I followed him to a gazebo near the edge of the water. It didn’t take many months for wood to weather in the salt air. Only a few flecks of white paint remained. The vines planted at the edge of the structure were in summer green. Zach didn’t enter the gazebo but sat on the front steps. I stood beside him. He was right about the view.
“I like to come here and pray,” he said. “I’ve been in every season of the year.”
I looked at him in surprise. I’d been thinking about him in such a negative way that his comment caught me off guard.
“Why here?” I managed.
“It reminds me of a place I liked to go in California. It wasn’t near the ocean, but it felt the same.”
“What sort of place?”
“Up in the mountains near an abandoned cabin that had fallen in on itself. That’s where the Lord told me to come to Savannah.”
I sat down on the far end of the steps, leaving a healthy distance between us. “How did that happen? You promised to tell me.”
“I know.” Zach smiled and took off his sunglasses. “And I try to always keep my promises.”
It was such a sweet smile that I blushed in embarrassment at my fears of a few moments before.
“Mr. Appleby read an admiralty case note I wrote for the Pepperdine Law Review and contacted me. I’d never visited this part of the country and agreed to fly out for a visit. I already had three offers from law firms on the West Coast but thought it wouldn’t hurt to check out Savannah. I met with Mr. Appleby, and he offered me a job before I left town. The money didn’t compare with the other firms’ offers, but the cost of living is so much lower here that it was worth considering. Of course, like you, the most important consideration for me was God’s will.”