I recalled how the pump-house looked from the outside. It was a small shed-like building with a cinder-block exterior, two small windows just below the roof-line, and a thick, wooden door that was always locked.
I'd never been inside the pump-house, but Ihadseen my dad enter it a time or two. Now, I watched as Joel stepped into the darkened space and looked around.
A moment later, he motioned for me to join him. I did, and together, we studied the secret doorway from the external vantage point.
From the other side of the doorway, Bishop said, "Hang on." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a penlight. He clicked it on, and offered it to me through the opening. "I'm gonna shut this, so you can see how it works from that side."
A moment later, the rack swung forward, closing the gap and leaving us in near darkness. Together, Joel and I studied the closed passageway. From here, it didn't look like a wine-rack at all. Instead, it looked like a wide, wooden shelving unit, almost like a bookcase.
Some of the shelves even had things on them. Running the beam of light across its surface, I saw a couple of metal boxes and a few random tools. On the wall that surrounded the shelving unit, thick wooden trim made the illusion complete.
If I were unfamiliar with the setup, I'd see nothing out of the ordinary.
I looked to Joel. "What do you think?"
He smiled in the dim light. "I think it's cool as hell." He reached out and pulled me close. "But forget that." His voice was soft in my ear. "I missed you." His voice grew intense. "You have no idea."
Actually, I did. I smiled against his chest. "I missed you, too."
"If we were alone," he said, "I'd show you how much."
I couldn’t resist teasing, "Actually, wearealone."
He squeezed me tighter. "Not alone enough."
I couldn’t argue with that. As I stood there, in his arms, listening to the muted sounds of the unseen waves, everything felt a million times better than I ever would've dreamed. Joel was here, and somehow, we'd work everything out.
On top of that, I'd finally have a way to stop my aunt and uncle from popping in whenever they wanted. I could add some new locks or maybe, just move something heavy in front of the secret passage, to prevent the wine rack from swinging inward.
Either way, those annoying raids would finally be a thing of the past.
But that wasn't the primary reason I was happy. Holding me like he'd never let go, Joel felt warm and hard, and too wonderful for words. I burrowed closer and said, "So I'm curious. Did you get everything worked out?"
"Hell yeah."
I pulled back to gaze up at him. "Really?"
"Really." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my forehead. "I've got a lot to tell you."
"Good news? Or bad?"
His hands caressed my back. "That depends."
It wasn'tquitethe answer I was hoping for. "On what?"
His voice was nearly a caress. "You."
"Why me?"
"Lemme back up," he said. "Yournews? It's all good. So don't worry, okay?"
"What do you meanmynews?"
"I love you." His eyes held the hint of mischief. "And if you don't love me back? Well, that's bad news for me, right?"
I had to laugh. "Oh stop it. YouknowI love you." I rolled my eyes. "I must, right?"
"That's what I'm counting on." His expression turned serious. "Just so you know, I'm not messing around. I do love you. And I'll always love you, no matter what you say."
I wasn't sure what that meant, but I really liked the sounds of it. When he once again pulled me close, I let my eyelids drift shut and simply savored the joy of being close to him.
In spite of all my questions, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away – at least, not until Bishop's amused voice broke into my thoughts. "Should I come back later?"
My eyes flew open, and I pulled back. As I did, the penlight slipped from my grasp and clattered to the cement floor. Funny, I hadn't even realized that I was still holding it.
I looked down. The light was still on, thank goodness. In front of me, Joel bent down and picked it up, and then, slapped the penlight into Bishop's hand with more force than necessary.
Bishop gave a low laugh. "Hey, I was just asking."
