In Shelter Cove (Angel's Bay)

by Barbara Freethy

  “Take it.”

  “You’ll keep me posted on the Kane case?”

  “You’ll be at the top of my list,” Joe promised.

  As he left the office, Jason answered his phone. “Dad?”

  “I need your help,” Hal Marlow said, his voice laced with excitement. “I’m heading to Vegas in a couple of hours.”

  Jason’s stomach turned over. The last time his father had gone to Vegas, he’d come home with his third wife. “I’m on my way.”

  “You don’t have to come over here, I just want to—”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he interrupted. He usually didn’t get a lot of warning before impending nuptials. Maybe this time he could talk his father out of making yet another mistake.

  After divorcing his third wife, Jason’s father had moved into a one-bedroom apartment over Dina’s Café. Hal Marlow opened the door with a big, broad smile and an eagerness in his brown eyes that made him look a lot younger than his sixty-one years. He’d lost some weight in recent weeks, and he’d exchanged his usual faded work jeans for khaki slacks. Even his hair looked a little less gray—all signs of a new woman.

  “You didn’t have to come running over here,” his father said as he headed into the bedroom, where he was in the middle of packing.

  “Of course I did. You only met Patty three weeks ago. You barely know her.”

  “I know exactly who Patty is, and if you gave her a chance, you might like her,” Hal said as he placed a sweater in his suitcase.

  “Do you know how many times you’ve said that to me since Mom died?’

  “Patty is different.”

  “And how many times have you said that? Lois was special, Rita was exotic, Tammy was interesting, and Jeanette was unlike anyone you’d ever met. Should I go on?”

  “Please don’t,” his father said, an irritated gleam flashing through his eyes.

  “Dad, come on. You want to date Patty, fine, but why marry her? You’ve got enough ex-wives. Do you really need one more?”

  Hal shook his head, disappointment shading his eyes. “Patty is different,” he repeated. “She’s real. She’s herself. And I’m crazy about her.” He zipped his suitcase and set it on the floor. “But I’m not going to marry her in Vegas. We’re just closing up her apartment there and arranging to have the rest of her things moved here.”

  “You say that now, but once Patty gets you near a wedding chapel and drunk on champagne, who knows what you’ll do?”

  His father’s brown eyes sparkled with amusement. “I think I’m a little too old to be warned about the dangers of drinking in combination with Las Vegas wedding chapels. I’m the father. You’re the son.”

  That might be theoretically true, but Jason had watched out for his dad almost his entire life. His mom had died when he was seven, leaving his devastated father heartbroken and lonely. For years, he’d barely made it out of bed; then he’d tried to fill the void in his life with women. Some had made him happy for a while, but no one had lasted. Jason wanted to see his father happy again; he just didn’t think Patty Pease was the answer.

  “You could do better, Dad.” The words slipped out before he could stop them.

  His father’s smile disappeared, and he shook a warning finger at him. “Don’t ever say that again. Patty is a fine woman.”

  “She’s a stripper. Granted, she’s got a lot to offer, and I mean a lot, but you don’t need to go to Las Vegas with her.”

  “Watch your mouth, Jason. Patty is no longer an exotic dancer.”

  “She’s playing you.”

  “No, she’s not.” Hal paused. “What are you so worried about? I know it’s not your nonexistent inheritance.” His gaze narrowed. “In fact, I don’t even think it’s me or Patty that’s got you so on edge.”

  His father rarely paid any attention to his life, which made his current scrutiny surprising. “I’m fine. I’m just not in the mood for any more surprises.”

  “Any more? What’s happened? Wait, I know. Derek’s funeral was today.” He gave Jason a compassionate smile. “Dina said you went to the cemetery.”

  Apparently, everyone in town knew about his impulsive trip. “I had to see it for myself. I can’t quite believe Derek is dead.”

  “That’s understandable. You were good friends for most of your childhood. When you weren’t with Colin, you were with Derek, and the Kanes were practically your second family.”

  They’d been his only family for some of the years his father had been wandering through life in a drunken stupor.

  “I can’t imagine what they’re going through, losing their son like that,” Hal continued. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.” He cleared his throat, a guilty expression tightening his mouth. “I know I wasn’t always the best father, especially in those early years. You lost out big when your mother died. She knew how to make a family. I wasn’t very good at it.”

  “You did your best.”

  “And you’re being generous,” Hal said with a smile. “At any rate, the reason I called you was that I need your help. I want you to watch Patty’s pets while we’re gone. She’s been staying at her mom’s house since Shirley went into the convalescent home, and she doesn’t want to drag her animals on the plane. She’s got an itty-bitty dog, a couple of cats, and a bird. All you have to do is sleep there, feed the pets, let them out, and maybe spray some water on the flower garden.”

  “I don’t think I can. The Harvest Festival starts in two days. I’m going to be pulling some double shifts with all the tourists in town. I won’t be around much.”

  “You can fit it into your schedule,” his father said, ignoring his excuse. “And it’s not like you’d be leaving a wife or a girlfriend at home alone. You’ve had quite the dry spell the last few months.”

  “I’ve been busy, and it hasn’t been that dry,” Jason said with a frown.

  “Hasn’t it?” his father asked with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “I know you were watching over Kara while Colin was in the hospital, but now that he’s home, you should get back out there. You can’t spend your life playing third wheel to those two.”

  “I’m out there.” He just hadn’t had anyone catch his interest in a while. Brianna’s image flashed though his head, but that wasn’t going to happen. Derek had always been between them, and he always would be.

  “Come on, Jason, I’d really appreciate your help. Patty is important to me. I want to make this work.” His father’s expression grew serious. “I know I don’t have the best track record with women, but she’s—”

  “Different,” Jason finished, meeting his father’s gaze.

  “Yeah, she is,” he said sheepishly. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time, like a young man on the verge of something exciting. It’s a great feeling—exhilarating, almost like jumping off a cliff.”

  “Jumping off a cliff might be cheaper.”

  His father slapped him on the back. “You’re such a cynic. I hope my divorces haven’t ruined you for love. It is out there, Jason. I had it with your mother, and I’m going to have it again.”

  “Well, you’re certainly due.”

  Hal smiled more broadly. “That I am. The keys to Patty’s house are on the table. Whatever you do, don’t lose one of her pets. She’s crazy about those furballs. They’re her children.”

  “And whatever you do, don’t marry her until you get a prenup.”

  “Prenups are not romantic,” his father said with a breezy wave of his hand.

  “No, but they will keep you out of bankruptcy.”

  “Where’s your sense of adventure? Marrying someone is always a risk, but it does have some advantages. You get a lot of sex.”

  Jason quickly put up his hand. “I don’t want to discuss your sex life.”

  “Wasn’t going to tell you. Wouldn’t want to make you jealous,” Hal said with a twinkle in his eye. “Thanks again. I’ll bring you something from Vegas.” He grabbed his suitcase and headed toward the door. />
  “Just make sure it’s not a new stepmother,” Jason called.

  THREE

  It was almost midnight before Brianna settled into bed. As she stared at the ceiling, watching the shadows dance in the moonlight, she felt tense and jumpy. She wasn’t used to the way her new house breathed yet. And it was so quiet in Angel’s Bay. She’d become accustomed to falling asleep to the sounds of traffic on the highway by her apartment building, sirens as the nearby fire department answered calls, and loud thumps coming from her upstairs neighbors. Those noises had comforted her, made her feel less alone. While Derek might have died a few weeks ago, he’d been gone for five years. They’d never lived together before their marriage or afterwards. But even though she’d been on her own for a long time, it felt different now, more final.

  As if sensing her need for noise, the puppy began to bark and whine, long, pitiful, high-pitched cries. Despite Lucas’s plea to let the dog sleep with him, she’d insisted on putting the puppy in a crate in the kitchen. She didn’t want to set a precedent that she wouldn’t be able to change. Unfortunately, the dog was testing her willpower.

  Pulling the pillow over her head, she told herself that Lucas had learned to sleep through the night on his own, and so would the dog—the yet-to-be-named dog. Lucas was debating among Oscar, Snickers, and Digger. After seeing what damage the puppy had already done to the backyard in the short amount of time he’d been in it, she was voting for Digger.

  Ten more minutes of pathetic dog cries finally drove her out of bed. She pulled a sweatshirt over her camisole and cotton pajama bottoms and walked into the hall. She stopped at Lucas’s bedroom to pull the door shut, then went into the kitchen. The puppy bounded to his feet when he saw her, barking and yelping even louder. She closed the kitchen door, hoping the noise wouldn’t wake Lucas.

  Kneeling next to the crate, she gave the dog a firm look. “It’s bedtime. You’re supposed to go to sleep.”

  He barked in delight, as if she’d just told him it was time for a walk. She stuck her fingers through the mesh, and he licked them with enthusiasm, bringing a reluctant smile to her lips.

  “Okay, I get it. You don’t want to sleep. But you can’t keep barking.” Maybe if she let him out, he’d run around and get tired. She took him out of his crate, and he squirmed in her arms, licking her face and hands and anything he could get his puppy tongue on. Then he jumped to the ground and ran around the kitchen, sliding into the table legs and the walls.

  She opened the back door, and the dog flew around the dark yard, exploring the shadows under the bushes and trees. There was a great deal of overgrown foliage; she’d need to do some gardening. It was nice to have such a big backyard; Lucas would probably enjoy it as much as the dog did.

  Glancing toward the house next door, she saw lights on at the back of the house. Someone was up late. The Realtor had told her that an elderly woman owned that house. On her other side was a family with three older children—she hoped she’d find a babysitter among them.

  With the dog digging in the dirt, she returned to the kitchen and put on some water for tea. Maybe it would help her relax enough to sleep. Like the puppy, she was finding it difficult to settle down in her new surroundings. While she waited for the water to boil, she unpacked one of the half-dozen boxes on the kitchen floor—one fewer task to do tomorrow. When the water boiled, she poured it into her mug and stepped out onto the deck.

  The puppy was nowhere to be seen, and her uneasiness grew. Just as she saw the hole the puppy had dug under the neighbor’s fence, she heard barking, a decidedly unfamiliar yap, and then a crash followed by male swearing—all coming from next door.

  “Damn,” she muttered as the barks and swearing grew louder.

  She ran alongside her house and found a gate that led into the neighbor’s property. There a tiny white puff of fur ran around her feet, chased by her puppy and a very pissed-off man, who was also wrestling with an irate, spitting cat.

  “Digger, puppy!” she yelled, but he was too busy chasing the other dog to pay attention to her. Then the small furball squeezed under the bottom of the deck, in a space so small that her puppy could do little but bark furiously at his escaped prey.

  The man let out another curse as the cat sprang from his arms. He put a hand to his cheek, and as he stepped into the light, she saw a long red scratch on a face that was very familiar.

  Her heart jumped into her throat. “No way!”

  Jason looked as shocked as she felt.

  “You can’t possibly live here,” she said. “I was told this house belongs to an elderly lady.”

  “It does. Shirley Pease. She had a stroke a few months ago and went into a care facility. Her daughter, Patty, is living here now.”

  “You don’t look like her daughter.” Her gaze slid down his body. His jeans were slung low on his hips, and his button-down shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a broad, muscular chest. His bare feet and tousled hair made him look as if he’d just rolled out of bed. She swallowed hard at the thought, a wave of heat running through her. She’d forgotten how sexy he was. Forgotten how his gaze had always made a little tingle run down her spine. But Jason was the cop who’d ruined her husband’s life, and she could never forget that.

  “I’m house-sitting for Patty, my father’s girlfriend,” Jason said. “You need to get your damn dog under control. He’s digging a hole under the deck.”

  Jason was right. Dirt was flying through the air with her puppy’s exuberant efforts to get under the deck. She grabbed the dog, thankful he was still small enough to hang on to.

  Jason got down on his knees and peered under the deck. “Come on, Princess,” he called. “It’s safe to come out now.”

  “Princess?” she echoed.

  Jason flung her a scowl. “She’s not my dog. I didn’t name her.”

  “She seems to like you,” Brianna said as the tiny princess threw herself into Jason’s waiting arms, whimpering with relief. “Unlike the cat. That’s a nasty scratch she gave you.”

  “She lured me in, rolled over on her back like she wanted me to pet her, then took a swipe at me,” he said with disgust. “Do you see her anywhere?”

  Brianna scanned the yard. “No, It looks like she took off.”

  “Great. First night, and I’ve already lost one of them.”

  “How long are you going to be house-sitting?” She couldn’t handle the idea of Jason being right next door; it was way too close.

  “A few days, maybe a week.” His gaze dropped to the puppy in her arms. “He looks like Buster, Derek’s old dog.”

  “I’m sure that was the intention. The Kanes got him for Lucas at Derek’s request. I’d better get back. Lucas is asleep in the house.”

  “Hang on.” He opened the door to the house and thrust Princess inside. “I’ll go with you. The cat might be in your yard.”

  Brianna walked down the path between their houses, keeping an eye out for the cat, but a large shadow by the front windows of her house gave her pause. She stopped so abruptly Jason bumped into her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She took another step forward, knocking into the trash can, and the shadow moved through the trees. “I think someone is in my yard,” she said in shock.

  “Stay here.” Jason moved past her quietly, quickly.

  She hesitated for a moment, but the idea of Lucas being alone in the house propelled her forward. Jason met her on the lawn. “I don’t see anyone. It was probably just the wind moving the trees.”

  She cast a quick look around. Maybe he was right. There were tall trees on both sides of the property, and it was pretty dark, the nearest streetlight three houses away. “I need to check on Lucas.”

  “Did you come out the back door?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll walk around with you.”

  Her back door was open the way she’d left it. She hurried inside to check on Lucas. He was still asleep. As she came out of the room, she sa
w Jason checking her bedroom.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just looking around. Everything seems to be fine.”

  “It was probably just my imagination.”

  “More than likely. It looks like you have a lot of unpacking to do.”

  “Tell me about it.” She walked into the kitchen and put the puppy in his crate. He immediately started barking. “He really doesn’t like that thing.”

  “I can’t say that I blame him.” Jason slid onto a bar stool, making himself a little too comfortable. Then again, it was nice not to be alone in the house. She didn’t know why she was so jumpy. It had to be the new house, the new town. She just needed to get her bearings.

  She refilled the teakettle and turned on the burner. “Tell me again, who lives next door?”

  “Shirley Pease owns the house, but she had a stroke a few weeks ago, and her daughter, Patty, is moving in—if she doesn’t rope my father into marriage before that,” he grumbled.

  “Is that a possibility?” She really shouldn’t have been encouraging conversation, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

  “Absolutely. Patty is an ex-stripper, which doesn’t bother my father at all. She has certain noticeable attributes, if you know what I mean.”

  “Got it.”

  “My father is a trusting romantic who always thinks he’s about to embark on the greatest love of all time—up until the moment he ends up in divorce court. He’s been married three times already.”

  “What number was your mother?”

  A dark shadow passed through his eyes. “She wasn’t a divorce. She died when I was seven.”

  “Oh—I’m sorry.” It felt strange to say those words to Jason, even stranger to feel anything but hate for the man. She didn’t want to see any other side to him than the one he’d shown the day he testified against Derek.

  Unfortunately, Jason didn’t look like that cold, ruthless cop now, with his wavy, mussed-up hair and bare feet. He looked like the guy she’d first met in the bar five years ago, the one who’d shamelessly flirted with her until he’d realized she was taken.