“Cold?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Alex tightened his grip and leaned close enough to brush his lips on her ear. “I was afraid I’d lost you, Twinkle,” he murmured.
“Twinkle? Why–” Sharp pain speared behind Harriet’s eyes. She groaned and pressed her free hand to her forehead and rubbed.
“What’s wrong?”
The pain subsided and she dropped her hand. “Nothing. Residual after-effect from the tranq Ed shot into me, I suspect. Or too much sun. What are we going to do about Lana, Alex? She scares me a little.”
Alex watched Harriet worriedly for a minute but she seemed okay. He felt an overwhelming desire to smack Big Ed a time or two for the pain he’d caused her.
“Alex?”
“What?”
“What are we going to do about Lana?”
“I’m going to speak with Mr. Wade first, but I think the resort will be looking for a new kitchen manager. Lana is good at her job but she has issues that can’t be overlooked. If you want, you have every right to bring criminal charges against her. She broke into your home and destroyed your property.”
Harriet shook her head. “I don’t think she’s going to miraculously get over her fixation on you, but I don’t see how pressing charges will help. But you could use that threat to get her to leave the island. Tell her I’ll press charges if she doesn’t leave.”
“I’ll see what Wade says. I have a feeling he’ll want to see her punished for the way she treated you. At the very least he’ll make it difficult for Lana to get another job in the food and hospitality industry.”
Fox jumped out to tie up the boat as soon as they pulled into the marina dock. Harriet gave him back his shirt and put Solly’s back on.
Fortunately Alex had called ahead and the island medics were waiting to greet them as Amos was severely dehydrated and running a fever from sun exposure. He was too weak to argue against being wheeled off the dock on a stretcher. Harriet insisted on walking, despite the fact that her leg muscles felt like pudding.
She was relieved to find her camera and rucksack still in her vehicle. Since Alex had to transport Ed to the security office, Fox drove Harriet back to her own office in her own vehicle .
The ride back to the main resort seemed to take forever. She was shivering despite the heat, and ached everywhere. Her head ached with a dull throbbing beat and her eyes felt swollen and scratchy.
She found Solly anxiously waiting for her when they pulled up in front of the office building. He helped her out of the cart and pulled her into his arms, then let her go so he could check her over, his eyes filled with concern.
“What happened, Harry? Dammit, I’ve been beside myself with worry.” He ran a hand through his thick brown hair, leaving it in tufts. “No one could tell me anything. Cassie called me to see if I knew where you were. She said you went to pick up her lawyer and then you disappeared. What happened?” he repeated.
Harriet grabbed her friend and held on tight. Hot tears pricked her eyes. “I was afraid I’d never see you again. I’m fine, now. Ed Whitfield kidnapped me and Amos and left us on Halfway Rock. I didn’t know it was Halfway Rock at the time, Alex told me after, when he and Tarbell rescued us. Have you met Tarbell Fox yet?” she asked, her face still buried in her friend’s chest.
Solly reached out a hand to the ex-cop. “I’m Solomon Ayers. Thank you for rescuing Harry.”
Tarbell took the offered hand and shook it. “Tarbell Fox. Most people call me Fox. And you should thank Alex. I was just along for the ride.”
“I will.” Solly pushed Harriet away from him again. “And just who is Amos?”
“He’s Cassie’s divorce lawyer.”
“All right. Apparently this will take more than a minute or two to catch me up. Let’s go home. Your new clothes arrived. I’ll draw you a bath, we’ll put some lotion on that sunburn and get you into some soft clothes, then you can tell me the whole story over a bottle of wine.”
Harriet realized that her saltwater-soaked clothes had dried stiff and felt like rough boards rubbing over her sore, sensitive skin.
“That’d be great.” She turned her head toward the cart. “Thank you for the lift, Tarbell. Oh, Solly, could you grab the camera and my bag, please?”
“There’s no need.” Tarbell climbed out of the cart. ”Why don’t you two take the wheels? I’ll walk over to the security office to see if Alex needs anything more from me.”
“We couldn’t–” Harriet was interrupted by Solly.
“We certainly can. Anyone can see you’re ready to fall down. Thank you, Fox. That’s considerate of you. Back in the cart, Harry. You don’t have the strength to walk home and I can’t carry you.” He practically lifted her into the passenger seat and patted her arm. “We’ll be home in no time.”
Fox watched them drive off. Did Alex know how close Solomon Ayers was to Harriet, he wondered? A little competition there maybe?
He had seen the look on Alex’s face when they found the foxy lady alive. The man was definitely in love. Whether Alex knew it or not–well, Fox had only met the security director that day. He didn’t know him well enough yet to know what went on inside the man’s head, let alone his heart, but any fool could see that Harriet Monroe was important to him.
Fox set off toward the security office whistling. It had been a good day. They’d rescued the damsel in distress and a pudgy, funny lawyer. Best of all, he was getting back into work that suited him.
He would never be a cop again, but working resort security with a fly guy like Alex was damn close, and far, far better than humping overpacked luggage.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Harriet woke in Solly’s bed. Soft night air fluttered the bed curtains. Outside the lanai doors the moon cut a wide, ivory path across the water. She lay, relaxed and safe, and tried to figure out what had awakened her.
Her sunburned skin tingled and felt hot but she didn’t think that was what had woken her.
She turned her head slightly to check the time on Solly’s antique Big Ben clock. Harriet had bought it for him as a joke gift one Christmas–a gaudy lime green, wind-up alarm clock with analog numbers, moving glow in the dark hands, and two big bells on top that made enough racket to wake the dead. Solly loved it.
Eleven o’clock. She’d slept three hours. She had fallen asleep over the dinner Solly prepared, she remembered. The bath, soothing sunburn lotion, and soft pajamas had done her in. Solly had carried her in here, despite her protests that she could sleep on the couch.
She heard muted voices coming from the living room. Either Solly had the screen on or he had company. She listened harder and recognized Alex’s deep rumble. A part of her wanted to get up and join them, but her body argued against that.
She closed her eyes, more than willing to fall back asleep. Solly would tell her anything she needed to know about Alex’s visit tomorrow. She breathed in the sweet scent of night jasmine that grew in pots on Solly’s lanai. She’d have to ask him to pot some for Mermaid Cottage. It was such a lovely scent.
Drifting on the softly perfumed night air, she was nearly asleep when she caught a sour smell and sensed someone moving in the room.
“Who’s there?” she asked softly.
The bedside lamp snapped on revealing Lana in its muted light. Her red curls looked disheveled, her lipstick smeared toward one cheek. She curled her upper lip into a snarl.
“I told you to stay away from him. But you won’t, will you? You just can’t leave him alone. So I’m going to have to make sure that you do.”
Harriet’s blood ran cold at the venom in Lana’s voice.
“Alex rescued me today, Lana. That’s the only reason we were together. He saved my life.”
Lana didn’t seem to hear Harriet’s words.
“Alex told me I have to leave the resort tomorrow.” Lana’s eyes glowed red. “Because of you. But I’m not the one who’s going to leave, Harry. You are. If you’re gone I’ll get to keep my job and Alex.�
�
She stepped closer and put a knee on the bed. “You just can’t leave him alone, can you?”
They were back to that. This was all about Alex. Harriet wondered how she should handle the situation. Lana must have followed Alex to Solly’s cottage and slipped inside through the bedroom’s open lanai doors.
“Listen to me, Lana, I am not chasing Alex.”
“He’s here now, isn’t he? He’s here for you and I won’t have it.” She raised her hand. A long, slim blade gleamed in the lamplight.
Harriet gasped. “Lana, please, think about what you’re doing. You don’t want to go to prison. Put the knife down.”
“No.” Lana lunged at Harriet, slashing through the insect netting with the knife.
Harriet rolled away from the blade and screamed for Solly. She heard Lana swear and felt her climb after her on the bed.
“Man-stealing bitch. You won’t get away with it. I saw him first. He’s mine!”
Harriet tried to scramble off the bed and found herself tangled in the gauzy bed curtains. She felt Lana behind her and shouted for Solly again.
The door crashed opened and Solly came rushing in. “Harry? Bad dreams, honey? Lights on full.”
The room was suddenly bathed in bright light.
Lana paid no attention to the lights or to Solly. She grabbed Harriet by her hair and slashed at her again. This time she caught Harriet on the upper arm and laughed.
“Alex!” Solly threw himself at Lana before she could slash at Harriet again, trapping her in the bed curtains. He pressed his knee on Lana’s wrist and she dropped the blade.
“Bastard! Let me go.” Lana rolled free of the curtains and scratched at Solly with her free hand, catching him in the neck, raking his skin with her long red nails.
“I have her.” Alex grabbed Lana’s hand and slapped a restraint on it, then grabbed the second hand and did the same.
“Lana Tso, consider yourself under arrest. I’m handing you over to the mainland authorities in the morning, along with Ed Whitfield.” He eyed the filet knife lying on the mattress and was filled with a cold fury.
“You’ll be charged with attempted murder.” Harriet had fallen down beside the bed where he couldn’t see her.
“Harriet, are you all right?” He spotted the blood on the mattress and his fury turned to frantic worry.
“Harriet?”
“She’ll be okay,” Solly answered from the floor where he was pressing a corner of the sheet to Harriet’s arm wound. “It’s shallow. Call the medics on your way out, will you?”
Harriet didn’t look at Lana as Alex led her, alternately swearing at him and begging for his love, out of the bedroom. She shuddered at how close she’d come to dying. Twice in one day. If she hadn’t woken up tonight . . . she didn’t want to think about it.
She curled into Solly’s chest and fought back her tears while waiting for the medics to stitch up her arm.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“The medics did a neat job on your arm,” Cassie said as she settled her bulk onto a chair in Harriet’s office. “I can’t even see the scar.”
Harriet reflexively felt her arm where Lana had sliced her. The wound had healed, the only evidence of Lana’s attack a thin red scar that the medics had assured her would disappear completely.
“They did do a good job, didn’t they?” She didn’t want to talk about that night and changed the subject. “How was your date with Amos last night?”
A week had passed since Ed and Lana’s arrests. One of the head chefs was filling in as kitchen manager until a replacement for Lana could be found. Leonard Dixon had already filled the assistant manager vacancy at the marina caused by Ed’s arrest. All handled with little fanfare and without any inconvenience to the guests.
Amos Blattsworth had recovered from his ordeal and asked Harriet to dinner. She had declined until he confessed to her that he was sweet on Cassie and needed someone to talk to. After the life-threatening ordeal they had endured together the young lawyer felt like a good friend, so she had gone to dinner and enjoyed herself immensely. It had taken Amos another week to find the courage to ask Cassie out.
Cassie wagged her hand in answer to Harriet’s question, jangling the brightly colored bangles she wore. “I like Amos a lot, but only as a friend, you know? Besides, it could never work. I’m committed to my job here on the island, and Amos’s life is on the mainland. I think I’ll just enjoy being a single divorcée for a while. Play the field.” Her brown eyes sparkled. “What about you?” she asked with a smirk.
“What about me, what? You know how busy I am.”
Harriet’s life was finally beginning to settle into a routine. She had moved back into Mermaid Cottage the day after Lana’s arrest. She and Solly ran on the beach together every morning before work and usually shared dinner at the end of the day.
It was almost like the old days when they shared an apartment, only they each had their own place. It was the best of both worlds as far as Harriet was concerned and she suspected Solly felt the same.
Alex had stopped by her cottage the previous evening and taken her for a ride on his motorcycle. It had been the most romantic experience of Harriet’s life. The stars blanketing the sky, the warm, soft breeze in her face, her arms wrapped tight around Alex’s strong body and the power of the machine between her legs. Alex had even kissed her when he dropped her back at the cottage. Her lips tingled again thinking about it.
She didn’t share any of that with Cassie, however.
They talked instead about Harriet’s first ad campaign featuring the amusement park. It had begun running four days earlier and the results were more than she had dared hope for. The resort was once again fully booked. She was already sketching out her next campaign.
“You should make some time for romance, honey,” Cassie advised as she finished her drink and stood, her colorful, loose robes flowing around her. “Trust me. Especially living on the islands. It doesn’t get much more romantic than a tropical island.”
The resort manager stretched up to give Harriet a peck on the cheek. “Don’t push yourself too hard,” she warned, patting Harriet’s arm. “I’d better get back to my office. I have two interviews this afternoon with candidates hoping to fill the kitchen manager position. I must have had at least a thousand applicants. It seems that everyone wants to work for the Island Resort. I just wanted to give you my gift and tell you again how sorry I am that I got you tangled up with Ed.”
“The scarf is beautiful, Cassie. I love it, thank you. I’ll think of you whenever I wear it. And you don’t have to apologize for Ed. None of what happened was your fault.” She walked Cassie to the door and hugged her friend.
She had just stepped back to her desk when there was a knock.
“What is this, Grand Central Station today?”
She walked back to the door and disengaged the locks. Since the night Lana had attacked her in Solly’s bedroom Harriet had been locking her cottage and office doors and windows and compulsively double checking them. She knew it was a reaction to the attack and hoped that soon she wouldn’t feel the need to lock herself in.
When she opened the door she found Payson Douglas standing in the hallway with a broad smile on his handsome, lean face. He leaned down and kissed Harriet’s cheek. “How are you, my dear?” he asked as she moved back to let him enter.
Harriet had kept her Thursday lunch date with Payson the day before. She found that she truly enjoyed spending time with the older man. They talked about a variety of topics and laughed often, and she loved listening to his stories. He was like a favorite uncle, not that she knew what having a favorite uncle was like. But if she’d had one, she imagined he’d be like Payson.
So when she saw him at her door she greeted him with a wide and welcoming smile even though they had made another lunch date for the following week and she hadn’t expected to see him again this soon.
“What can I do for you, Payson? How about some lemonade? One of the underchef
s has begun bringing me a fresh pitcher every day. I have to admit, it’s making me feel spoiled. I’ve become addicted to the stuff.”
“No, thank you, Harry. This will only take a minute. I just wanted to drop off a package.”
Harriet noticed the box wrapped in brown paper under Payson’s arm and frowned.
“Package? I haven’t ordered anything.”
“It’s from Douglas.” He handed her the box and turned to go. “I’ll see you next Thursday then.”
Harriet looked at the package in her hands. “Yes, I’ll see you Thursday. Wait, what is this, Payson? Why is Mr. Wade sending me a package?”
“You’ll have to open it and see for yourself, Harry. I have to run.” And he was gone.
Harriet locked the door behind him and set the box on her desk. She looked at it for a long moment, trying to figure out what Mr. Wade could possibly have sent her.
“Only one way to find out, Harriet. Don’t be a dope. Open it.” She took a small art knife from the container of pencils and markers she preferred to sketch with and sliced open the paper. It fell away, revealing a plain wooden box with a fitted lid. She ran her hand over the smooth, glossy wood, admiring the pattern of the grain. Oak, she was pretty sure, with its blend of honey color and darker brown lines.
She tipped it to watch the light on the lid and heard something rustle inside the box. Curious now, she lifted the lid and set it aside. Tissue paper protected and hid whatever lay inside. She gently pushed the tissue paper away from the contents. Her hands trembled as she pulled a perfectly carved, three-inch wooden hippo from its folds.
“Rosewood,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears.
She pulled hippos from the box one by one, identifying the type of wood for each one until eighteen of them stood on her desk, all carved from different woods, all sanded smooth and gleaming.
Some had open mouths, some closed. A couple sat on their fat hind ends, two looked like they were swimming. Each one was executed in exquisite detail. It was a magnificent gift, one Harry would cherish forever.
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