Page 26 of To Have and To Hold

Well, that sounded promising.

Chapter 13

Coco face made a grimace as the cricket ball flew toward Colin and he lunged but missed. There were cheers from spectators but also heavy silence from all the men and the wives and families that had come to see the sponsored cricket match that included her father playing. She could see her father giving Colin a look from across the field where he was on the other side waiting to catch the ball when it came his way. So far, the charity game of Spartan against the Briar Hall players, made up of different cricket teams around Barbados, had Spartan in the lead, but if Colin kept missing the ball that lead would get eaten up. Even if this was for charity, playing cricket was a serious business.

Colin shot up from the ground and quickly moved to get the ball, turning and throwing it toward the wicket as the batters were in the process of making another run, thinking that Colin would not get off the ground and have the ball in hand before they could finish this run. But no one knew better than her what an athlete Colin really was and was not surprised when he got them out to the amazement of everyone.

The stand erupted in clapping and some vigorous shouting, and her father ran toward Colin. He clapped him on the back before making his way off the field, following his team.

Colin jogged up the stairs, giving her a quick kiss before heading inside to get ready to bat for the Spartan. A happy smile escaped her lips before she could stop it, and she held it in place, keeping up the appearance of a besotted and happy fiancée. Happiness, but knew that it wasn’t real and just for show for his grandfather. Since the night on the yacht, he hadn’t tried anything on her but instead a part of her was beginningto wish this was real, especially the way Colin was now acting around her. As if she meant something to him and that their engagement was real and that they were in a loving relationship.

After being bombarded about when the wedding was going to take place, Colin had convinced her that they shouldn’t wait to get married and wanted to do it in two months’ time, shocking her. He pointed out that he wasn’t sure how much time he really had with his grandfather and if they pushed it out, his grandfather could die, leaving him and his brothers with nothing. She’d finally agreed after some convincing and a private chat with the Norris family doctor that let her know the situation was indeed dire, even without confidential specifics.

But it was hard for her to also believe especially when his grandfather looked healthy and happy arguing with her grandmother. If she didn’t know any better, she would think his grandfather had taken an instant liking to her grandmother and the same with her. She had never seen her grandmother this alive in a long time, and the way she kept reaching out her hand to give Bruce Norris a light slap when he would tease her, showed that her grandmother was taking a liking to the Norris men.

Planning of the wedding was supposed to start when they returned home from the trip; her parents would get the ball rolling and Coco was to begin dress shopping and looking at locations that her mother would send her. One call to Jackie and she was already planning the bachelor and bachelorette parties, suggesting Vegas.

Colin had surprised her when he suggested that the wedding be in Barbados, surrounded by her loved ones. He wanted her day to be special for her and for them both to have memories of their big day.

Her head was spinning as everything began to spiral out of her control and the wedding that didn’t seem real was now becoming a reality.

She hugged herself because deep down she knew she wanted it now to be true and he was making it difficult to keep reminding herself that this was just for him to get his inheritance from his grandfather and for her to get her shares back from him. When they had been working in her office before coming to Barbados, she got to see how much he had changed since high school. There was such a give and take that flowed naturally between them, as if the past never happened and that had frightened her because she forgot they were not a couple. When coming to Barbados she’d hope to put everything back into perspective, but was failing miserably.

Because the way she felt his eyes track her in a room, it felt like a soft caress. Or when their gazes collided, she either saw a heated or happy possessive look in his blue eyes. He was always attentive to her needs, sometimes even before she knew them herself. Her family and friends on the island were also liking him, and she felt that even her father might be forgetting that this situation was temporary as she heard him inside the team’s room telling the other cricketers that this was his son-in-law.

She broke out laughing when her father announced that the winning round of alcohol would be on Colin.

She gave a small start from a sudden embrace and felt a pointy chin resting on her shoulder. The husky Bajan mixed with a British accent of her sibling brushed over her ear. “How do you not find these cricket games boring is beyond me. A hard ball flying in the air, men shouting and then running back in forth while trying not to get knocked senseless is a bit ridiculous. They need more protection than that especially if the ball hits them inan exposed area.” She sighed her voice clearly sounding bored. Reena had never liked going to the cricket grounds as a child and preferred being at home with one of her books.

“How much longer before we can slip away and head home?”

Coco laughed and grabbed the hands around her stomach, giving them a light squeeze and then a loving pat. “You just want to go home so you can bury your nose in one of your textbooks, Reena.”

Her sister gave her a long-suffering sigh and Coco turned to see her younger sister with a pout on her lips.

Her sister wore her hair in a natural curly big afro that covered her dainty face with hoop earrings and patterned tortoise glasses. She could barely see without them. She was glad glasses had come a long way and were no longer big lenses that looked like coke bottles. Reena was made fun of in school for not only being smart but for how her glasses were big on her face. Where Coco had a fuller figure, Reena had inherited their grandmothers lanky frame with smaller breasts. Her sibling was a lighter shade of brown than her and didn’t bother with foundation or makeup like she did. Reena thought if it took too much time to get put together that would take away from her time of studying, she didn’t want it. Coco was proud of her sister and that she’d gotten into fellowship program with Harvard Medical School.

But she also wanted her sister to have a little fun and not to be so serious all the time. Her sister had her face in a book since she came out of the womb. She didn’t fault Reena for her one-track mind when it came to studying and reading. She was proud of all her sister had accomplished at an early age and had worked hard for. Now when she was able to finally take a smallbreak, her sister was back reading her books instead of taking time off and being adventurous for someone of her age. Even though their parents were loving and strict, Coco was still able to go out and enjoy going out partying with her friends or travelling on vacation with them. Reena, even though she was an adult, seemed to still be very closed off and just wanted to spend time with her books.

Reena rolled her eyes and made a face that reminded her of when they were kids, and she would annoy her younger sister by teasing her or trying to hide her books. “You’re frowning, which means you are about to lecture me about my studying and not making time to get out and enjoy myself as I am young, blah, blah, blah. Well, you will be happy to know that I did do that finally and went out with a group of fellow graduate students from the apartment complex I was in. So, no need to keep worrying, big sister. I have finally experienced life.” The last part sounded slightly bitter.

Coco straightened up and searched her sister’s face. Something was wrong. She’d noticed that Reena looked tired and drained lately and sometimes would stare off into space but had attributed it to her being preoccupied with another one of the books she would bury her head in. But now after hearing this, she wasn’t sure.

“How did it go, Reena?”

Her sister gave her a bitter smile. “Not so good and I don’t want to discuss it right now. We are here for you and to get to know that hunk of a jock I finally get to meet after all these years.”

Coco scowled, knowing her sister was deflecting and that she and Colin were faking it. But as she was about to say something, one of the spectators walked past them with acontainer of pudding and souse, the scent making her stomach rumble with hunger. She turned to her sister to see if she wanted to go inside and get a drink and something to eat. But Reena’s face blanched and then she flew past her, heading inside. Coco scanned the people on the deck of the house, looking for her mother and spotting her talking to their grandmother and Colin’s grandfather, then rushed in after her sister.

Making her way to the ladies’ room, where she could hear Reena retching over the toilet bowl. She knocked on the door and her sister begged her to go away, that it was just an upset stomach. Coco left and went to the bar to get some ginger ale and a damp cloth from the bartender, before returning to the bathroom and the silence coming from the stall her sister was in.

“Reena?”

“I’m okay. I think my stomach is now completely empty and nothing else to come out.”

“Okay, can you open the door for me? I have some ginger ale for you to sip on.”

“Sure.” She let out a sigh and Coco heard the latch undo.

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