production. Slaves were taken to St. Thomas where
plantation owners would purchase them for their plantation workforce.”
“So I take it that when slavery was abolished it really took a
bite out of the local economy,” Justin remarked wryly to which she nodded. “It’s
hard to say that sucks because slavery is wrong but I imagine a lot of people
lost their livelihoods when they couldn’t farm the sugarcane any longer.”
“Yeah, actually St. John has quite a bloody history. At one
time the slaves outnumbered the freemen and a brutal revolt ‘turned the waters
red’ as the old-timers say.”
“Every place inhabited by humans has its dirty secrets,” he
said with a grim smile. “Even places as beautiful as St. John I suppose.”
She nodded in agreement. “With such a brutal past, it’s easy to
see why the Caribbean people are so superstitious. The island is overrun with
stories of vengeful or sad jumbie floating
around.”
“Tell me a jumbie story,” he
prompted with a big grin. “I love spooky stories.”
She laughed. “I don’t have any good ones. Heath said he saw the
ghost of Maunie Dalmida on the Reef Bay Trail but I’ve never actually seen any
ghosts.”
“And who is Maunie Dalmida?”
“A young boy who was killed in a sugar mill accident. The
stories are that Maunie roams the trail.”
“Creepy.”
“Yeah, but like I said, I’ve been all over this island and
never seen anything like that. I wish I had. I used to hope that something
otherworldly would happen to me but it never did.” Well, except dying, she
thought but kept that little tidbit to herself. “Anyway, anything like that
happen to you in New York?”
He paused to think for a minute, the dappled sunlight playing
with the lighter brown strands in his dark hair, and then said, “Well, the
boarding school I attended was pretty old and there were rumors that the ghost
of a young girl haunted the cafeteria. I never saw anything but my best buddy,
Keenan, swore to all that was holy he saw her standing over the mashed potato
tray one afternoon. No one but Keenan saw her but he looked pretty freaked out.
I believed him. He also never ate the mashed potatoes again.”
“I don’t think Heath has ever hiked the Reef Bay Trail again,
either,” she said, laughing. They settled into an easy silence as she drove, but
then she remembered a small snippet of shared information and decided to comment
on it. “Boarding school, huh? So...something tells me you weren’t ever a free
lunch recipient at school?”
Justin shifted just a little as if caught and said, “My
childhood was comfortable,” he admitted. “I guess you could say privileged.
You’re not going to hold that against me are you?”
“Of course not,” she said. “I never hold someone’s past against
them, particularly their childhood. I choose to judge people on their
actions.”
“Good to know,” he said, looking as if he were vastly relieved,
which made her wonder what other little truths he didn’t want to be judged on.
She’d meant what she said. She was the last person to pass judgment on someone
else but, unfortunately, she found herself itching to know more details about
him. Not only a bad idea but hypocritical, she
chastised herself. Focus on the road, not the distracting
cuteness.
Which, she could tell, was going to be impossible.
It’d be a miracle if they didn’t end up in a ravine.
CHAPTER EIGHT
J USTIN INHALED THE SWEET scent of green
things and enjoyed his stroke of luck. He was spending the day with Lilah on an
island paradise. Things couldn’t have worked out better if he’d planned
them.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he was so taken with
Lilah but he didn’t need to dissect his feelings to simply enjoy them. She made
him feel alive, as if someone had flicked a switch inside his brain and suddenly
everything was illuminated for the first time. He chuckled privately at how
ridiculous he was being but he was smiling from the
plantation owners would purchase them for their plantation workforce.”
“So I take it that when slavery was abolished it really took a
bite out of the local economy,” Justin remarked wryly to which she nodded. “It’s
hard to say that sucks because slavery is wrong but I imagine a lot of people
lost their livelihoods when they couldn’t farm the sugarcane any longer.”
“Yeah, actually St. John has quite a bloody history. At one
time the slaves outnumbered the freemen and a brutal revolt ‘turned the waters
red’ as the old-timers say.”
“Every place inhabited by humans has its dirty secrets,” he
said with a grim smile. “Even places as beautiful as St. John I suppose.”
She nodded in agreement. “With such a brutal past, it’s easy to
see why the Caribbean people are so superstitious. The island is overrun with
stories of vengeful or sad jumbie floating
around.”
“Tell me a jumbie story,” he
prompted with a big grin. “I love spooky stories.”
She laughed. “I don’t have any good ones. Heath said he saw the
ghost of Maunie Dalmida on the Reef Bay Trail but I’ve never actually seen any
ghosts.”
“And who is Maunie Dalmida?”
“A young boy who was killed in a sugar mill accident. The
stories are that Maunie roams the trail.”
“Creepy.”
“Yeah, but like I said, I’ve been all over this island and
never seen anything like that. I wish I had. I used to hope that something
otherworldly would happen to me but it never did.” Well, except dying, she
thought but kept that little tidbit to herself. “Anyway, anything like that
happen to you in New York?”
He paused to think for a minute, the dappled sunlight playing
with the lighter brown strands in his dark hair, and then said, “Well, the
boarding school I attended was pretty old and there were rumors that the ghost
of a young girl haunted the cafeteria. I never saw anything but my best buddy,
Keenan, swore to all that was holy he saw her standing over the mashed potato
tray one afternoon. No one but Keenan saw her but he looked pretty freaked out.
I believed him. He also never ate the mashed potatoes again.”
“I don’t think Heath has ever hiked the Reef Bay Trail again,
either,” she said, laughing. They settled into an easy silence as she drove, but
then she remembered a small snippet of shared information and decided to comment
on it. “Boarding school, huh? So...something tells me you weren’t ever a free
lunch recipient at school?”
Justin shifted just a little as if caught and said, “My
childhood was comfortable,” he admitted. “I guess you could say privileged.
You’re not going to hold that against me are you?”
“Of course not,” she said. “I never hold someone’s past against
them, particularly their childhood. I choose to judge people on their
actions.”
“Good to know,” he said, looking as if he were vastly relieved,
which made her wonder what other little truths he didn’t want to be judged on.
She’d meant what she said. She was the last person to pass judgment on someone
else but, unfortunately, she found herself itching to know more details about
him. Not only a bad idea but hypocritical, she
chastised herself. Focus on the road, not the distracting
cuteness.
Which, she could tell, was going to be impossible.
It’d be a miracle if they didn’t end up in a ravine.
CHAPTER EIGHT
J USTIN INHALED THE SWEET scent of green
things and enjoyed his stroke of luck. He was spending the day with Lilah on an
island paradise. Things couldn’t have worked out better if he’d planned
them.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he was so taken with
Lilah but he didn’t need to dissect his feelings to simply enjoy them. She made
him feel alive, as if someone had flicked a switch inside his brain and suddenly
everything was illuminated for the first time. He chuckled privately at how
ridiculous he was being but he was smiling from the
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