The South Beach Search
Page 31
Paul had supported her because, by blood, Dottie was her aunt. Dottie had loved her and Pepé as if they’d been a part of one another’s lives forever and not the short six months they’d shared before Dottie died. Because Dottie had vouched for Serena and introduced her to the other Scott brothers and their families, Paul believed in her innocence. Serena had been quickly removed from the suspect list by the island sheriff, so she hadn’t needed Paul’s legal support, after all. But it had been nice to know someone had her back.
Paul had warned her that Jonas was a little more than surprised that the house wasn’t his. They were all shocked by it, in fact. Dottie had promised it to Jonas when he was a teenager, after his father died and left Dottie a widow.
“I was going to call you, Serena. I’ve only been back a little more than a week.” Jonas’s deep voice stopped the flood of memories.
Before she could reply, he turned his attention back to Pepé.
“Ready for the machine?” Jonas grinned at Pepé, who smiled.
Serena knew she should be grateful that at least Pepé was still around military men. As if it would somehow help keep his few memories of his father alive. Sadness welled and she cursed the ache in her heart for what might have been.
What should have been.
“Sure, Jonas!”
Jonas placed the small cuff on Pepé’s upper arm and pressed the button to start the blood pressure reading.
“Open up.”
Pepé opened his mouth, all the while staring at Jonas. Pain mingled with the regret she’d feel the rest of her life for what Pepé was missing by not having his own father around. The only emotional balm in all of it was that Phil had died when Pepé was barely four, so he didn’t remember a whole lot about his dad—and the memories of grief would fade. They’d already faded for him.
Unlike her.
“So what are you here for, buddy?” Jonas had pulled the thermometer out of Pepé’s mouth and entered the results into the computer.
“I had an ear ’fection but it’s better now. No more yucky medicine!”
“Okay, well, let’s see what your ears look like. He get a lot of these?” Blue eyes. Unblinking. Professional. No further discussion of the house they both wanted. That she owned. Not here.
She wanted to grab him and make those eyes glaze over with lust for her.
Maybe it was time to start dating again. Not Jonas, of course. Another man, who wasn’t off-limits to her.
“Ear infections? Not until we moved here over a year ago. This is his third one since then.”
“What convinced you to stay on Whidbey? It couldn’t have been just the house.”
She heard the veiled cleverness behind his casual conversation. As if he didn’t know.
“Life. Getting the house from Dottie was a dream come true.” That was plain mean. She opened her mouth to apologize, to appease her twinge of guilt.
“Well.” His eyes stayed cool and made it clear that, like her, he wasn’t going to share anything more personal. His focus was on Pepé.
Serena knew a moment of unabashed shame. She should give him a break. The poor guy had just come back from war, for heaven’s sake. His stepmother had died while he was gone, and he hadn’t been able to say a proper goodbye to the woman who’d raised him. Serena remembered seeing him in photos Dottie had scattered all around the house. In one photo, he’d been tall and well built in his Navy dress uniform, at his brother’s wedding.
All the photos were gone—the brothers had come and collected Dottie’s most personal belongings before Serena had a chance to take possession of the house. They’d left behind Dottie’s collection of knickknacks and a house that was falling apart at the seams, if she were brutally honest. It wasn’t anything she blamed Jonas’s family for, though. Dottie was too busy making the most of every single day to concern herself with the daily maintenance of an old farmhouse.
Dottie’s will and the fact that she’d given the house to Serena had become public knowledge only after Dottie’s funeral.
He’d been at war. He deserved to know why she was the one who’d gotten the house. Problem was, she didn’t know why Dottie had left it to her and Pepé, either. A legacy gift, yes, but at the risk of so much dissension in his family. Especially with Jonas Scott.
A quick knock sounded and a hospital corpsman popped her head around the door.
“Your next patient is ready in exam room three, Commander Scott.”
“Thanks, I’ll be there soon.” Jonas proceeded to examine Pepé’s ears, ignoring her presence.
Serena’s chance to smooth the way with Jonas evaporated.
Copyright © 2014 by Geri Krotow
ISBN-13: 9781460342299
The South Beach Search
Copyright © 2014 by Sharon S. Hartley
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