His Harbor Girl

by Rekha Ambardar

  “So hard to overlook it, especially when you behave like one.” He moved his shoulders in a shrug of anger. The next moment, he came close, watching her intensely.

  “Whether you like it or not you’ll have to spend at least tonight here, depending on the availability of the fuel tomorrow. You have two choices. You can mope about the rest of the time, or make the best of the situation we’re in.

  Don’t worry, I don’t want you staying here any more than you do.” His voice dripped acid.

  Leanna took an abrupt step back as her mind worked furiously. It wouldn’t do to appear peevish especially since she had to depend on him to get home. Then there was the job.

  She took a quick breath. “My thoughts exactly,” she said, anger welling up. Did he empathize at all that she had a child at home? “Just that I’m concerned about Kai. She’s going to be worried.” And that was the truth.

  From the corner of her eye she saw Kip leave the cabin.

  “Leanna,” Bryce said, drawing closer, his voice low with feeling. “I understand you’re concerned about your daughter.”

  His hands reached her shoulders and he pulled her to him. “If you could see yourself…” His mouth closed over hers in a moment blending feeling and fury, for the longest time, it seemed. Until she struggled and broke loose.

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  “No, I don’t think you do,” Leanna said.” It’s work all the way and people don’t matter, even if it’s a small child.”

  Bryce moved away, his body appearing slack. “If that’s what you think, fine. Now,” he said, handing her the cell phone, “call and tell them you can’t get across today.” Then he strode out the cabin door.

  Leanna glanced at her watch. The dial showed a quarter to four. Where had the time gone? Alice would still be at The Tug.

  She dialed the number and waited as it rang.

  “Hello?” Alice’s high-pitched voice flowed through the phone line

  A wave of relief rippled through Leanna. How good it felt to talk to Alice. She’d missed them and she’d been away only for the day. And now, she couldn’t get home.

  “Alice, it’s me.”

  “How are you, dear? How is your new job?” Alice clearly seemed to be in a mood to talk. Leanna would have to get to the point quickly.

  “I like it fine. Listen, Bryce won’t be able to have the plane bring me home today. The fuel has to come in from Wisconsin and they are having difficulties with the shuttle that’s supposed to have dropped it off.” Leanna took a breath before she told her the rest of it. Alice was going to love this.

  “Which means you’ll have to stay the night there?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  “Don’t apologize. Maybe things are going to work in your favor and Bryce’s.”

  Leanna felt a stab of impatience. Alice was a dear, but she still lived in the previous century. She wanted desperately for

  “things to work out” between her and Bryce, just for Kai’s sake, even though too much had happened in both their lives.

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  “No, no, you don’t understand. I don’t want to stay here, but I’m going to have to until they bring me back tomorrow.”

  She tried to suppress the sharpness in her voice. “Is Kai with you? Could you put her on the phone?”

  A few seconds later Leanna heard Kai’s childish lilt, something that never failed to delight her. “Hi, baby. I’ll have to stay on the island today.”

  A short pause followed. “Aren’t you coming home, Mommy?” The disappointment in her daughter’s tone clenched at her heart. Steeling herself, she said, “No, sweetie.

  The plane’s out of fuel. I’ll be there as soon as I can tomorrow.” I hope, she whispered under her breath.

  Leanna handed the phone back to Bryce who entered the cabin bringing in a bundle of sheets and a sleeping bag. He looked at her. Was it her imagination or did she detect a shade of concern flit across those granite features?

  “I called home and told them I’d be home tomorrow, if you’ll be able to fly me over.”

  “All we need is the fuel. Soon as that gets here you get to go home.” He busied himself with finding a place to stack the bundle in the already crowded cabin.

  “Naturally, we’ll have to find a place for you to sleep in.

  You can use my room. It’s cramped, not the luxury you’re probably used to, but it’s clean and I’ve been comfortable there.”

  Of course! The minor details of where she would spend the night! She was even more anxious to escape him. “That’s fine.” She kept her voice even as she looked away.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have dinner to see to.” He moved to the kitchen area and wrapped an apron around his chest.

  Despite the tension intensity of the sudden kiss, which was more like a tidal wave than a gentle breeze, Leanna felt a 121

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  chuckle coming on. He looked funny with the apron tied around his middle, like an overgrown kid posing as a short order cook.

  Trying to sound nonchalant, she said, “Would you like me to help?” She’d rather have kept away from him for the rest of the evening.

  “If you like. We’re having leftover venison stew. You could make the salad. There are some tomatoes and cucumbers in the crisper.” He nodded toward the refrigerator.

  The “crisper” consisted of a small corner in the refrigerator. Here, Leanna found a plastic bag containing plump, juicy tomatoes and fresh-looking cucumbers. She washed these and chopped them up and put them in a large plastic dish. “How many are there for dinner?”

  “Just you, me, and Kip. The others have gone to our Wisconsin research lab for a few days’ work.”

  An hour later, they sat around the table finishing the meal which, to Leanna’s surprise, tasted exceptionally good, even though she could hardly eat. She and Bryce sat there like bookends sharply aware of each other.

  “Who cooked the venison?” she asked Bryce when they were finished eating.

  “I did.” Bryce sounded as cool as if he were announcing the weather.

  Leanna’s eyes widened with surprise. “When did you turn into a good cook?”

  “Since I’ve been ‘batching’ it, living out of cans got old.”

  “You surprise me.” She tried hard to keep the wonder out of her voice.

  “There’s a lot you don’t about me, Leanna. As I’m sure you realize”

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  His voice, soft and sensuous, caressed the air she breathed. Or so it seemed. She had to get out of this cabin as soon as she could. Too bad she couldn’t fly across the lake like the seagulls she and Kai often watched.

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  Chapter 8

  Leanna pushed the window open wider so the cool air could ease into the room. A small nightlight glowed in the corner and she glanced at the alarm clock, which showed midnight. She was unable to sleep; her worried mind kept flitting back to Kai and she wondered what was happening at home. She’d never been away from her overnight before.

  Perhaps, the time had come to let Kai fend for herself a little.

  No harm in that.

  Silence cloaked the cabin with only the occasional hoot of an owl. She wondered if Bryce was coiled up in the sleeping bag he’d lugged in from the storage shed.

  She opened the door and peeked into the living room area. Dark shapes of furniture emerged in the film of moonlight streaming in from an open window. But the floor showed bare where a sleeping figure should have been. Where was Bryce? More to the point, why was she looking for him?

  Curiosity, Leanna thought fiercely. She merely wanted to know what the host of these rustic living quarters was up to.

  A locked door barred the entrance to the other room, so he couldn’t be in there. The cabin felt stuffy. What if a bear were to appear if she opened the door? She’d take a chance.

  The acr
id atmosphere in the cabin made her claustrophobic, and she needed fresh air.

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  She pushed open the front door with a palpitating heart and took a sniff of the cool, refreshing air.

  A little way toward the storage shed a small fire glowed next to a tent. It looked as if Bryce and Kip were camping out.

  Hugging Bryce’s borrowed robe around her, Leanna stepped out onto the muddy pathway wearing sneakers.

  A gruff voice floated over. It was Bryce. “What are you doing outside?” His voice had none of the deep, velvet quality it usually held. In the silence of the woods, it took on a harsh, flat tone, annoyed almost.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” Leanna said in a matter of fact voice.

  She really didn’t owe any explanations. “And it felt hot and stuffy in my room.”

  “Sorry we don’t have air conditioning, but we have to rough it for the kind of work we do.”

  “You really don’t like me, do you?” Leanna blurted out.

  Having had enough of his sarcasm, she knew there wasn’t going to be any tactful repartee with this man in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.

  “I wonder why.” Bryce’s features looked stern in the dancing flames of the small wood fire.

  Leanna shivered. Out here, the brisk air invaded a person like a chilled blanket. But she preferred this to the choking atmosphere in the cabin.

  The contours of his body encased in jeans and a sweatshirt showed in the flickering light. His hair, brushed back, looked thick. Somehow, even in the faint, opaque light, Bryce had a fresh glow, as if he’d just showered, and the tantalizing scent of spicy cologne skimmed her nostrils, stirring in her a heady feeling of desire. Whoa, this won’t do.

  She came closer and stood a few steps away from where he sat on a log, poking at the fire with a long stick.

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  “I’ve given up trying to figure you out. And, in answer to your question, no, I don’t dislike you.” Bryce stared at the flames, a handsome profile etched against the darkness.

  He turned sideways, glanced at Leanna, and took in the robe she was wearing.

  She tried to ignore the pointed glance, now tinged with curiosity. The intensity of his look sent a tremor through her.

  “You can sit down. I won’t bite,” he said.

  “I prefer to stand.” The cabin would have been more tolerable than this, stuffy or not. Returning to it seemed the sensible thing to do. Yet, she wanted to stay and prove to herself that Bryce’s attractiveness, grouchy mood and all, was no match for her strong resolve to resist it.

  Another voice, a snide one this time, screeched in her brain, asking if that was really what she was thinking. Like the bravado of a child whistling in the dark.

  Leanna shifted to the other foot, and decided to stay outside indefinitely.

  “Afraid of me, are you? Don’t worry, I won’t get my evil hands on you.” A devilish grin spread across his face.

  “I wasn’t even considering that.” Leanna’s chin rose with a new found resolution. His male ego had been dented.

  Something in the incline of his head indicated it, despite the roughness of his voice; the wall of pride seemed to be eroding.

  “Where’s Kip?” She felt her body slacken with the knowledge of having won this little skirmish of words.

  Bryce got up and put out the fire with a few sprinkles of the water he had near him in a small bucket.

  “He’s out camping near the Ridge, a few miles from here.

  I would have gone too if I didn’t think you might be afraid to stay alone.”

  “Why would I be afraid?”

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  Bryce shrugged. “Alone, at night, in a cabin in the woods.” He took a step forward. “I see now that I’m wrong.”

  There was a drawl in the voice and his gaze enveloped the robe that fell loosely around Leanna, burying her in its vastness.

  Minty breath assailed her. Like musk extracted from the sperm whale, it was heady. Leanna moved back instinctively.

  He gave a soft, hollow laugh. “What are you afraid of?

  Yourself? That’s it, isn’t?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself that I can’t resist you,” she said calmly.

  Bryce’s hand went to her chin and lifted it gently. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

  Moving closer, he enveloped her body under the robe.

  Hands wandered the length of her, intensity and passion in his fingers. He’d probably guessed she had nothing on but bra and panties. His invitation was a bristling challenge, hard to resist, and it opened up the floodgates of her own desire. She felt like a breathless girl of eighteen. Her feelings had nothing to do with the self-control that had kept her going all these years.

  Leanna wanted the moment to go on and yet, she knew the timing was wrong. Although aching for the fulfillment of his lovemaking, she pulled away in exasperation and her pulse skittered alarmingly. Back to square one!

  “Conscience bothering you?” His words dripped with sarcasm. “Up to your games again I see.” A muscle worked in his jaw and his hands dropped.

  Leanna stared. “I never played any games, Bryce. I never really existed for you, remember?”

  Even with the hurt welling up inside, Leanna sensed that all Bryce must have seen was a fickle woman who had a sudden change of mind. But he had been in a work-ridden 127

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  haze all those years ago and she wasn’t about to tell him that they were going to have a baby and the right thing to do was to marry her.

  She remembered coming to the realization of what was happening, when she’d missed a period, and then another.

  Forcing herself not to think about it while nursing her mother had helped. But the morning sickness had started with a vengeance. Look at what could happen when passion ran unchecked!

  Leanna shook herself free of the memories that still held her fast. She turned away from the glow of the fire; the familiar bongo drum beat pounding inside her chest. She knew what it meant. Bryce still had the power to cause havoc, but this time, Leanna had her own plans.

  “I always knew you were there. I wasn’t that buried in my work.”

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Leanna insisted on making him see what she’d realized.

  “What?”

  “That you and I can’t make it together as a couple. Only as employer and employee. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “If that’s what you want.” Hurt showed through in his voice, the hurt of a man who felt abandoned. Or was it wounded pride again?

  Leanna turned around to run back into the cabin. But her foot caught in a mesh of surface roots of a tree, causing it to twist. As she fell, her palms grazed the stony ground.

  “Oh!” She cried out in pain.

  Bryce strode hurriedly toward the crumpling form. He knelt down and touched her face with gentle fingers. “Are you all right? Here, let me help you up.”

  Leanna attempted to raise herself slowly. “I can’t.” She fell back on her elbows, her foot throbbing.

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  “You’d better lie still.” Bryce slipped his left hand deftly around her and lifted her. “Hold on to me. Looks like I’ll have to carry you inside.”

  Leanna sat up, dazed by the fall. Trying to apply weight on her foot only hurt it even more. “Something’s wrong.”

  “You may have sprained it. Hang on.”

  Despite her reluctance, she held on as he lifted her and walked toward the cabin.

  He cradled her in his arms, walked up the steps and kicked the front door open. Darkness enveloped them. He swung around slowly and switched on the light, then laid her on the floppy couch. “Let’s take off your shoe and look at it.”

  His hands felt cold as he removed the sneaker and examined her foot. “There’s a slight swelling. Better put some ice on it.”

&nbs
p; He pulled out a large men’s handkerchief from his jacket on the hook by the door, and filled it with ice cubes from the icebox. He sat on the couch and placed the ice pack on her foot. “That feel better?”

  “The swelling should go down by tomorrow.” He raised her head and plumped a cushion under it. “Comfortable?”

  Leanna nodded. “Thanks.” She found herself staring up into those eyes of his, losing herself as if in an endless pool, drawn and mesmerized by their depth. Her palms felt the corded strength of his muscles as his arms encircled her, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist him. But she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself either.

  He was gazing at her too. Their eyes locked and it seemed an eternity passed while each refused to make a move, as if holding onto the moment. Bryce traced the lines of her face and lowered his head.

  “And now, my payment.” He bent down and kissed her on the mouth. His mouth was soft, yet demanding, leaving 129

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  her breathless. She found herself encircling his neck with her arms and returning his long kiss. All of her loneliness and confusion melded together in one upsurge of devouring yearning and she clung to him.

  “You little tantalizer,” he murmured.

  The next second, he pulled away. “If you prefer, I’ll put you in my bed.” He inclined his head toward the bedroom she’d occupied. “Without me in it, of course,” he added in a hurry, getting off the couch and sitting back on his haunches.

  “I’d like that,” she replied in a dull voice, knowing well what she felt was disappointment. Where had all her resolve gone? She seemed frozen in a state of limbo where decisions and actions were a mockery.

  At last, she fought to control her swirling emotions. He had no business taking advantage of her weakened condition.

  “No business at all,” she muttered, not realizing that she had said the words out loud.

  “Pardon?” He surveyed her from the side of the couch.

  “Did you say something?”

  Leanna shook her head. “Just talking to myself. What happened between us shouldn’t have.”