A Good Man Walks In

by Ginna Gray

  Anyway, it was ludicrous for two people who had known each other practically all their lives to suddenly become lovers.

  What the hell. If friendship was what she wanted from him, then that's what she'd get. It was the least he could do after the way he'd treated her all those years.

  The winds had died down and the rain had lessened to a monotonous downpour. The steady drumming blended with the sound of the shower, drawing Travis's attention. Immediately an image formed in his mind of Rebecca standing naked beneath the spray, her pale skin rosy from the hot water, mounds of lather slithering down over her breasts and abdomen, the long curving length of her legs.

  Heat surged into his loins, and Travis groaned. His grip tightened, crushing the aluminum beer can, and the foaming brew spewed onto the table like a small geyser.

  "Aw, man. Get a grip, will ya," he spat in utter disgust, and bolted out of the booth. He snatched up a dishcloth and mopped up the mess, muttering under his breath the whole while. "For Pete's sake. You're not a randy teenager anymore. So you find the woman attractive and sexy. So what? If you're going to make this friendship thing work, you've got to put those kinds of thoughts right out of your mind."

  By the time Rebecca stepped out of the head, he had his wayward body under control and had convinced himself that he could deal with the situation. One look at Rebecca proved him wrong on both counts.

  The pink cotton nightie barely skimmed the tops of her thighs and beneath the ruffled hem peeked the edge of a pair of matching panties. The gown hung from her shoulders by two tiny straps, exposing an expanse of creamy skin, tinted the slightest peach by the day in the sun.

  This was Abigail's nightgown? Until that moment, Travis hadn't had any idea that his cousin's prim little wife even owned such a provocative garment.

  Rebecca's face was scrubbed clean of makeup and shining, and her hair tumbled about her shoulders in a glorious mass of dark gleaming curls. Warm moist air roiled from the head, carrying the smells of minty toothpaste and women's toiletries—floral soap and talc and lotion. The exquisitely feminine scents made Travis's head spin and his heart pound and his body harden all over again.

  "The bathroom is all yours." The hesitancy in her voice and the way she kept tugging at the bottom of the nightie betrayed her nervousness. Travis knew that the rosy glow of her skin owed its origin to more than exposure to the sun and a hot shower. Strangely, he found her embarrassment endearing.

  "Great." He forced a casual smile and had to grit his teeth to keep it in place as she scurried past him and went into the forward stateroom.

  "Oh, yeah. Just great," he muttered, closing the head door behind him.

  Though he'd taken a shower earlier, he took another one. A cold one. A long cold one.

  Thirty minutes later, when he stepped from the head, the lights were out in the forward cabin. Dressed in only his underwear, Travis turned off the lights in the galley, groped his way through the darkness and slipped into bed beside Rebecca.

  She lay stiff as a poker, not moving so much as a muscle. He guessed that she wanted him to think she was asleep. He knew that she wasn't.

  Rain pattered on the foredeck above them, and the boat rocked gently. The darkness thrummed with a heavy quiet and tension vibrated the air like the soft, silent beat of a predator's wings.

  Travis turned on his side, and Rebecca jumped.

  He laughed; it was either that or groan. "Relax, honey. I'm not going to bite you."

  "I know that."

  "Oh, yeah? Then what are you braced for?" He raised up on one elbow and peered at her through the darkness. "I'm not going to jump your bones the minute you fall asleep, Rebecca." He paused a beat before adding wickedly, "I'm going to wait an hour or two and catch you by surprise."

  "Oh, Travis, you idiot." She laughed, as he had intended, and gave his shoulder a playful sock.

  Though he could make out only her vague outline, he could feel the tension seep out of her and her body slowly relax beside him. After a moment he asked, "Feel better now?"

  "Yes. Much. Thank you, Travis."

  "Hey. That's what friends are for. Now go to sleep."

  He lay back and turned over, facing away from her. Rebecca shifted positions and punched her pillow.

  "Good night, Travis," she murmured softly.

  "'Night."

  The silence stretched out again. The rain pattered. The boat rocked. Water slapped the hull.

  "Travis?"

  "Mmm?"

  "I'm glad we're friends."

  "Yeah. Me too."

  She exhaled a contented sigh and wriggled around, finally snuggling into a comfortable position. The smell of floral talc and warm woman drifted to him through the darkness. Travis gritted his teeth.

  He was glad, dammit. The problem was, his body wanted a helluva lot more.

  * * *

  Rebecca awoke to find herself enveloped by Travis. His arm lay draped across her waist, and his muscular leg was hooked over both of hers. Along her backside, from shoulder to toes, his body heat warmed her like a blast from a furnace.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Rebecca eyed him warily, grasped his wrist between her thumb and forefinger and removed it from her waist. Then, just as carefully, she began to work her legs from beneath his. When at last she was free, she inched to the foot of the bed and climbed out. She retrieved her clothes and started to leave the stateroom, but at the head of the bed she paused and looked down at Travis.

  Asleep and rumpled, he should have looked vulnerable, less appealing, but he didn't. He looked every bit as sexy and devilish as he did awake.

  Those impossible lashes lay against his cheeks like feathery fans, their blackness a startling contrast to the long blond hair spread across his pillow. Her gaze was drawn to his mouth. His lips were open partway, revealing the edge of perfect while teeth. Rebecca stared, recalling how those chiseled lips had felt against hers, the passion that had exploded between them. Unconsciously she touched her own mouth with her fingertips.

  It had come as a surprise to discover that she was still attracted to Travis—even if it was only on a physical level. That's all it was, of course. That's all it could possibly be.

  All the reasons she had given Travis were valid. Her life was a mess right now; she had no business starting any sort of relationship with another man until the past was truly ' behind her. Her emotions were too raw and battered. After Evan, she no longer trusted her own judgment where men were concerned.

  She couldn't—she wouldn't—let herself be drawn into a temporary summer affair that would only hurt her in the end, all because her heart persisted in hanging on to the remnant of a foolish, teenage crush that had ended years ago.

  Her mouth set in a determined line, and she slipped out of the room into the galley.

  Thirty minutes later, when Travis joined her, she was topside, standing at the-rail, sipping her second cup of coffee and watching the rising sun paint the glassy waters of the cove a vivid flamingo pink.

  "Are you always such an early bird?" he asked, and Rebecca turned to find him standing at the top of the companionway steps, yawning and scratching his furry chest.

  "Mmm. I like to get up and watch the sunrise."

  She smiled and took another sip of coffee to hide her disquiet at his appearance. He had obviously just stepped into his disreputable cutoffs, but he hadn't bothered with a shirt or shoes, or even to comb his hair. His cheeks, above the beginning beard, still bore the marks of sleep and his eyes were drowsy. And sexy as all get out. Rebecca was quite sure he knew it, too.

  He gave her a heavy-lidded look and ambled closer. "Shoot, I can think of a lot better reasons to stay in bed. You sure you don't want to drop this 'friendship' nonsense and let me demonstrate one or two?" he asked with an outrageous leer.

  Rebecca experienced a flash of panic until she looked into his eyes and saw that he was teasing. Fighting a grin, she lifted her chin and tried for a stern look. "No,. I most certainly do not. You promised y
ou'd be my friend and I'm going to hold you to it"

  Travis rolled his eyes mournfully and sighed. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that."

  She laughed at his woebegone expression and skirted around him. "I'm going below to cook breakfast. In the meantime, since you're not interested in the sunrise, why don't you have another look at the engine."

  "Jeez, what a slave driver."

  * * *

  That first encounter set the tone for the rest of the day. Travis teased Rebecca every chance he got, his silvery eyes dancing with wicked delight at her blushes and valiant parries.

  Gone was the surly antagonist she had encountered all her life. Gone, too, was the quiet, watchful companion of the day before. This devilish, sexy flirt was the Travis the rest of the world had always known. Though she privately chided herself for letting it matter, Rebecca was thrilled at last to be on the receiving end of his charm.

  Between preparing breakfast and lunch and doing the dishes, she spent the day sitting beside the engine well, talking to Travis and handing him tools when he asked for them, reveling in the easy companionship that was growing between them.

  By late afternoon Travis had the boat running again and they headed back to Alhaja Verde. Rebecca had enjoyed herself so much she hated for the outing to end.

  In San Cristobal Travis described the trouble they'd had with the Freewind to the mechanics at the boatyard and turned the craft over to them with instructions to give it another thorough going-over. Weary and anxious now to return home, they headed for Rincon Island in the speedboat.

  They had no sooner docked, the boat and headed up the pier than they were greeted by the incessant shrilling of the telephone. Exchanging a surprised look, they hurried to the house and let themselves in.

  "I'll get it," Travis said, dumping his fishing gear in the middle of the living room floor. He strode over to the wide counter that divided the kitchen and living room, snatched up the receiver and barked an impatient, "Hello."

  "Travis McCall, you rat!" Erin screeched right back at him. "Why the devil didn't you let us know that you and Rebecca were engaged?"

  Chapter Eight

  "Engaged!" Travis chuckled. "Good, Lord, Erin! What the devil are you talk— "

  He halted as his gaze met Rebecca's and their eyes widened simultaneously. A look of horror came over her face.

  "Oh, my word! We forgot to explain to Pepe!"

  "Aw, sh-"

  "I'm talking about your engagement to our best friend," Erin snapped, cutting of the crude expletive. "I've always known you were a devil with the ladies, but this is working a bit fast isn't it, even for you?"

  "Erin's right," Elise chimed in, and Travis groaned.

  He should have known she would be on the line, too. They always acted as a pair. Arguing with them was like arguing with a stereo; they came at you from two directions at one time.

  "Rebecca is vulnerable right now," the gentler of the twins continued in a softly accusing voice. "I'd hate to think that you took advantage of her, Travis."

  "Now, Elise, sugar, you know I wouldn't—"

  "Elise has a point. Rebecca is in no shape to be making such a serious commitment. And another thing. I am very disappointed in you, cousin. I figured you for a lot of things, but never a sneak."

  "Whoa! Now wait just a minute, Cuz. I am no sneak."

  "Oh, no? What about all those years of you claiming not to like Rebecca? Huh? What about that? And all that ranting and raving you did just a few weeks ago about having to share the beach house with her? Why, only yesterday morning you were still pretending not to like her. And all the while you were taking unfair advantage of her emotional state. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Travis McCall, rushing poor Rebecca that way."

  "Hold on. I haven't-"

  "Not that we don't think you and Rebecca would make a good match, you understand," Elise inserted quickly, trying, as always, to pour oil over troubled waters. "We do. It's just that we think Rebecca needs more time to recover before she gets serious about another man."

  Travis made an exasperated sound and cupped his forehead with his palm, his thumb and first two fingers moving in a rotating massage against his temples. David was right; his sisters could drive a saint crazy.

  Agitated, Rebecca stood beside him, wringing her hands and shifting from one foot to the other. "What are they saying? Are they upset? Oh, dear. Maybe I should talk to them."

  Before Travis could answer, Erin jumped in again.

  "And since when have you been in such an all-fired hurry to get married, I'd just like to know? You've always been as slippery as an eel whenever a woman even mentioned commitment."

  "Now look—"

  "She didn't mean that the way it sounded, Travis. She's just concerned. We both are. We've been so worried about you and Rebecca."

  "That's right. And while we're on the subject of worry, where the devil have you two been? When we called Rebecca back last night to wish her a happy birthday, there was no answer. We called all night long. By dawn we had begun to imagine all sorts of horrible things. That's when we telephoned Pepe and Constanza to see if they had heard from you."

  "Ahhh, I see. And of course they just had to blab that Rebecca and I were engaged." Travis's drawl held wry amusement, but Rebecca gave a distressed moan.

  "You really should have told us yourself, Travis. Do you have any idea how much it hurt to hear news like that from a third party?"

  "Elise, sweetheart, please believe me. I didn't tell you because there's nothing to tell."

  "Then you didn't tell Pepe and Constanza that you were engaged?" Erin demanded.

  "Well... yeah, we did. That is, I did."

  "So you are engaged?''

  "No!"

  "Then why in heaven's name did you let the Moralleses think that you were?"

  "If you'll shut up for thirty seconds I'll tell you," he said between clenched teeth, his much-acclaimed insouciance strained to the limit.

  "Really, Travis, there's no need to get testy," Erin drawled. "That's precisely what we've been trying to get you to do for the past five minutes."

  The sound that came from Travis's throat was somewhere between a growl and groan. He gritted his teeth and tried to count to ten, but on four he thrust the receiver at Rebecca. "Here. I give up. They're your friends. You deal with them."

  "Hi, it's me," Rebecca said cautiously into the receiver, watching Travis stroll away into the kitchen and open the refrigerator.

  "Rebecca!" the twins exclaimed in unison, and both began talking at once, peppering her with questions.

  "Where were you and Travis last night?"

  "What's this business about being engaged?"

  "Arc you all right? That cousin of ours isn't giving you a hard time, is he?"

  "Do you want us to come down there and set him straight?"

  Rebecca opened and closed her mouth several times, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise. Finally she gave up.

  Travis turned from the refrigerator with a frosty can of beer in his hand. Holding it aloft, he looked at Rebecca and mouthed, "You want one?" She shook her head, hitched herself up on a bar stool and settled down to wait for the excited pair to wind down.

  Finally a hill occurred in the babble, followed by an uncertain, "Rebecca? Are you there?"

  "Yes, I'm here. If the two of you are finished, I'll answer your questions. First of all, I'm sorry I missed your call last night. But before I get into that, let me explain this business about an engagement."

  As calmly and concisely as possible, she gave them an expurgated version of what had happened, leaving out any mention of that stunning kiss in the middle of Pepe's cantina. She did her best to make light of the incident and pass the whole thing off as a joke. "So you see, it was all just a harmless ruse."

  "Humph. Sounds to me like our dear cousin used you to get himself out of a sticky situation."

  "Well... maybe. But I didn't mind."

  "Nevertheless, Travis should no
t have put you in such an embarrassing position," Elise declared. "What I don't understand, though, is why you didn't explain the whole thing to the Moralleses?"

  "We meant to, but yesterday morning, when we reached Alhaja Verde, we were in such a hurry to stock the boat with supplies so we could start our fishing trip, that we forgot." She glanced at Travis, and added, "It was as much my fault as it was Travis's."

  "Wait a minute. Are you saying that he took you fishing on your birthday? Voluntarily?"

  Rebecca laughed at the surprise in Erin's voice. "Yes. Wasn't that nice of aim?"

  Smiling at Travis's sardonic expression, she quickly told them about the fishing trip on David's boat, and what an enjoyable day she'd had. Then she explained about the engine trouble and the storm, and their decision to remain in the cove and ride it out.

  "Travis spent today working on the engine. When he got it running again, we headed back to the marina in San Cristobal and left the Freewind at the boat yard. We just arrived back here."

  Silence followed. Finally Erin, her voice low and incredulous, said slowly, "You mean you slept with Travis?"

  "No! Of course not. That is..."

  "Rebecca. There's only one bed on the Freewind. Travis is a gentleman, but with a storm raging outside I doubt that even he would sleep up on deck."