by Joanna Neil
He nodded and continued to gaze around the room. It was a spacious kitchen, well set out in a U-shaped formation, with a breakfast area at one end by the French doors. Beyond those was decking that looked out over the orange grove and distant mangroves. ‘I suppose you must have had it remodelled. This house is quite a few years old, isn’t? Though you wouldn’t know it to look at it.’
‘Yes, it is. My parents bought it about twelve years ago, but I believe it was built long before that. Around fifty years or more, I should imagine.’ She smiled briefly. ‘It has certainly stood the test of time. As to the kitchen, I remember the old one but my mother had it modernised some three years ago, along with the rest of the house. My parents used to come here whenever they could. My father worked for a shipping company, and his job took him all over the world, but my parents always tried to make it back here for the holidays—they would stay here for several weeks during the summer months.’
His gaze was pensive. ‘I was probably in Miami during those years. My parents moved next door when I was away at university, and I only came back here to stay some eighteen months ago. They passed on some time ago and my brother kept an eye on the place until he had to go to work in Jacksonville.’
‘I’m sorry—about your parents, I mean. I know what it’s like to lose family.’ She was quiet for a moment or two, her thoughts dwelling on the events of the past.
Then she dragged her mind back to the present. Jake’s absence in Miami would most likely explain why they had never met.
She poured the coffee and then pushed the mug towards him. ‘Help yourself to cream and sugar.’ She frowned as she checked the contents of the fridge and freezer. ‘I’m starving. All I’ve had to eat today is the meal on the plane, but it looks as though Rob has left me a choice of quick snacks. I could rustle up some empanadas if you’re interested?’ Getting to know the new neighbour worked both ways, and this seemed like an opportunity not to be wasted.
‘Wow. The girl next door is turning out to be full of incredible talents…emergency medicine, culinary arts…’ His blue-grey eyes took on a gleam of mischief. ‘And she looks good, too. Seems to me things are definitely looking up.’
‘I wouldn’t get too far ahead of yourself, if I were you,’ she retorted in a dry tone, switching on the oven and reaching into the freezer for a stack of pastry shells. ‘You haven’t tasted my cooking yet. Anyway, the pastry’s the supermarket frozen variety.’ She separated the pastry discs onto a piece of parchment paper. ‘Besides, considering that I was on my way over to your place to investigate the disturbance, we may still end up having our disagreements. I can’t say I’m a fan of late-night noise.’
His mouth made a crooked shape. ‘I’m sorry about that. I wanted to work on the boat, and I felt pretty secure in thinking that I wouldn’t be disturbing anyone, with Rob away from home. Wrongly, as it turns out.’
‘It looks like a big project. Have you done it all yourself?’ Lacey started to prepare the fillings for the empanadas, layering strips of chicken, bacon and cheese on top of the pastry.
‘Yes, all of it. It’s just a hobby. There’s something incredibly satisfying about working with wood…the smell, the feel of it, the finished product.’
‘What wood are you using? Oak’s a good hardwood, isn’t it?’
He nodded. ‘It is. Actually, I’ve been using a variety of wood-oak for the timbers and floors, cedar for the planks. The inwales, thwart risers and sheer strakes are larch.’
She had been folding the pastry into little dough packets, crimping the edges, but now she paused, giving him a long look from under golden lashes. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Sorry.’ He grinned. ‘It all gets a bit technical and I get carried away sometimes. Boat building tends to bring out the fanatic in me.’
Her mouth made a faint upward curve. ‘So I see.’ She placed a baking tray, loaded with empanadas, into the hot oven. ‘I’m not sure I understood quite what you were doing back there, hammering thick cotton wadding between the planks.’ She rubbed her hands on a clean towel and lifted the mug of coffee to her lips, taking a satisfying swallow. Then she arched her spine and rubbed at a knot of tension in the small of her back. It had been a long day.
He watched her, his gaze moving languorously over her, stroking her feminine curves, a flicker of interest darting in the blue depths of his eyes.
Lacey straightened. She knew that entirely male look, and she was suddenly all too conscious of her actions. The last thing she needed was to have him pay her that much attention. She was through with men, at least relationship-wise. They complicated things, promised the earth and a lifetime of love and then let you down when things didn’t go their way.
Jake smiled. ‘They call it caulking.’
She frowned. ‘Caulking?’ For a second or two, she had completely lost the drift of their conversation. The plain truth was the male of the species was a liability. You never knew where you were with them. And this man was probably no exception. He was only here in her kitchen because he had set her on a path of investigation.
‘Think of it as padding,’ he said helpfully, and she struggled to bring her thoughts under control once more. ‘The material fills in the wedge between the planks and makes sure that they don’t move…they swell, of course, or shrink, depending on different levels of moisture. You need a boat to be watertight as well as mechanically sound, so I’ll apply a coat of epoxy resin, and then I’ll paint it.’
‘Oh, I see.’ At least, she thought she did. Whatever procedures he was following, he was building a good-looking boat back there in his barn. ‘You already have a couple of boats moored alongside the dock, as far as I could see. Do you collect them? What’s this one for?’
‘Lobster fishing. As to the others, they were inherited from my father and my grandfather. I guess you could say that boats and the sea are part of my heritage.’ He gave her a crooked smile, and for some reason she had the idea that it was an ironic kind of smile, as though he was holding something back. Perhaps Rob had been right when he’d said that Jake was not quite like other men. There was a hidden side to him, Rob had said, a part of him that you couldn’t quite fathom.
The scent of hot cheese and bacon filled the kitchen, and she pulled herself together and went to check the oven.
‘These are done,’ she said. ‘You’ll have to mind that you don’t burn your tongue. We don’t want you being injured for a second time today, do we?’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that…you make a very lovely medic.’ He gave her a wickedly sexy glance that immediately set her temperature rising. ‘You can tend to my injuries any day.’
‘I wouldn’t count on that, if I were you,’ she said dryly, ‘or on anything else, for that matter. I can see when I’m being strung a line.’ She figured it was better to cut him down at the first pass, rather than leave things to roll on and get out of hand. She slid golden pasties onto a plate and passed them to him.
‘That’s a great shame,’ he said, affecting to appear dismayed but finding it difficult to prevent a grin from breaking out. He gave a false sigh. ‘I dare say I’ll have to console myself with the empanadas instead.’
CHAPTER TWO
LACEY picked her way carefully along the rocky shoreline, deep in thought, her gaze sweeping along the line of coral reef islands that made up the Keys. They made a glorious picture, strung out like a jewelled, emerald bracelet across the Florida Straits. To the west the sun-dappled waters of the Gulf of Mexico gave off a blue haze as the heat of the day began to rise.
She was content for the first time in a long while, and perhaps now she would find the wherewithal to cope with whatever lay before her. A couple of weeks had passed since that evening when she had first arrived here and met up with her new neighbour, but she still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. An hour or so in Jake’s company had been enough to make her realise that he was a definite threat to her peace of mind. And peace was what she wanted right now, above all.
There hadn’t been any contact between them since that first day, probably because she had been out and about, exploring the island and making the most of her newfound liberty. She was still licking her wounds after the disaster of her relationship with Nick. On top of that she’d had to cope with the upheaval of selling her parents’ house before the move out here. What she needed now was space, a chance to sort out her troubled thoughts. Jake was a distraction she could do without.
‘Hello, there… Lacey…wait up…’
She half turned. It was almost as though thinking about Jake had conjured him up. He was heading towards her, emerging from the woods that covered the land behind both houses.
She slowed down and he came alongside her. ‘So, I’ve found you at last,’ he said, his deep voice vibrant, echoing his energetic presence. ‘I’ve been looking for you these last few days. Then, just now, as I was on my way to the boathouse I spotted you down here.’ He fell into step beside her, sending her an oblique glance that took in her loose cotton top and the white shorts that showed off a golden expanse of long, shapely legs. ‘You’re looking good…’ he murmured. ‘All sun kissed and glowing with health. This part of the world must agree with you.’
‘The climate’s certainly better than it is back home,’ she agreed. ‘It’s tempted me to get out and about while I have the chance.’
‘Hmm.’ His eyes took on a faint gleam. ‘So much so that you’re hardly ever at home. I was beginning to get the idea that you might be trying to avoid me.’
Her mouth made a wry shape. He really wasn’t far wrong in thinking that way. ‘As I said, I’ve been spending time getting to know the place all over again. It’s all so different out here. I feel as though I’m being given a glimpse of paradise.’
As she spoke, a black cormorant, standing some three feet high, paused by the water’s edge, where it had been searching for food, and spread its wings to dry. He lifted his orange-tinted throat towards the sun, as though he was stretching and taking joy in the day.
Jake followed her glance. ‘You see a lot of them around the coastal area. You’ll often catch sight of white heron, too, wading in the shallows, but they’re shy and will fly off if you disturb them.’
‘I know. I’ll take good care not to do that,’ she murmured. ‘Herons are such graceful, beautiful birds, aren’t they?’ She glanced at him. He was casually dressed, in cargo pants and a navy T-shirt, and looked completely at ease with life in general.
He inclined his head, tilting it a little so that he could study her. ‘You seem to be very interested in all that the Keys have to offer, especially the natural environment…but there are other ways to enjoy life around here, you know?’ His voice softened. ‘In fact, I’m going to be hosting a get-together at my place tomorrow evening. It’d be great if you could come along. Any time from seven-thirty onwards.’
Her gaze met with his. She wasn’t at all sure that it would be a good idea to spend her leisure time with him. He started all kinds of warning bells ringing just by being close at hand. Even now, she could feel the warmth emanating from his long, lithe body as he moved alongside her, and her pulse had notched up a beat. She felt as though she ought to take a step away from him in a kind of desperate attempt at self-preservation.
‘Thanks for the invitation,’ she murmured, ‘only I’m afraid I’ll have to turn you down. I start my new job tomorrow, and I’ll be working the late shift…for the whole of the week, as it happens. I doubt I’ll be home until an hour or so before midnight.’
‘You could still come along.’ His voice took on a husky, coaxing note. ‘The night is still young at that time on the Keys.’
‘Perhaps it is for some.’ She smiled. ‘You get full marks for trying, anyway.’
‘Hmm…’ His gaze was quizzical. ‘You can’t blame a man for doing his best, but if it’s a competition we’re in, you have the highest score for caginess.’
He frowned, looking around briefly, and Lacey wondered if he was finding it a new experience, being thwarted this way. She doubted women often turned him down. He had a compelling, persuasive manner about him, and as for looks, he definitely had the wow factor. It was a pity she was immune…or should that be allergic? She had given everything to her relationship with Nick and it had turned sour. Why would she want to risk putting herself in the danger zone all over again?
She stopped walking. They had reached a clump of mangrove trees, jostling for room at the water’s edge. Their gnarled, tangled roots were a reddish colour, partly submerged in the salt water so that it seemed as though the trees were walking on its surface. Small birds hovered at the water’s edge, searching for morsels of food among the crustaceans. Looking up, Lacey caught a glimpse of brown pelicans nesting in the branches. As she watched, one of them flew down, splashed into the water and emerged a moment later, soaring upwards, triumphant, with a fish in its beak.
‘I think we must have come as far as we can along this path,’ she said, giving her attention back to Jake. ‘It’s time I started for home, anyway. I have to go into town for some provisions or I shall be living on stale bread and water for the rest of the week.’
He nodded, turning with her, and together they retraced their steps. ‘I expect the supplies Rob left you must be running low by now.’ He sent her a thoughtful glance, and then said, ‘He’s been away for some time, hasn’t he? Are you expecting him back any day soon?’
She shook her head, frowning a little. ‘I’m not sure. Actually, I’m a bit concerned about him. He went off to film a documentary for a local TV company, but when he finished there he was going to drop by my place and pick up some belongings before visiting his family. He should have been back a few days ago.’
‘So you think something might have happened to him?’
‘I really don’t know what to think. I know he hasn’t been too well of late—nothing serious, he said, but I know he’s been seeing a doctor regularly over these past few months.’ She frowned. ‘Even so, it isn’t like him not to get in touch.’ She made an awkward shrug of her shoulders. ‘I’m probably worrying unnecessarily. He knows how to look after himself but, there again, the Everglades can be tricky if things go wrong.’
‘It could be that he had a change of plan and went straight on to his family.’
‘Yes, that’s most likely the answer…but I still think he would have given me a call to let me know. I haven’t been able to contact him.’ Perhaps she was distracted by thoughts of Rob and wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, because she missed her footing just then, and stumbled over a patch of rough ground. Instantly, Jake’s hand shot out, grasping her arm in a light, but firm, grip.
‘Are you okay?’
She nodded. ‘I’m fine, thanks.’ She wished her voice sounded more certain, but quite unexpectedly his touch was beginning to play havoc with her defences. The warmth of his fingers seared her tender skin, and her whole body flamed in reaction to his nearness as he drew her close to steady her. Her mouth was suddenly dry, her heart hammering against her rib cage as his thigh brushed hers and her nervous system went into meltdown. She couldn’t think straight with him holding her that way, with the flat of his hand resting on her waist, burning through the thin cotton of her top. She struggled to compose herself. ‘I’ll be all right now…Thanks,’ she mumbled. ‘I can manage.’
‘Are you sure? The ground is difficult underfoot here where the coral has been left exposed by the sea.’
‘I’m sure.’ She straightened, as though to emphasise the point, and he released her readily enough, so that at last her head began to clear.
‘You said Rob was supposed to pick up some belongings—does that mean he was going to move on from your place?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, although I dare say he will come back to the Keys from time to time because he still has contacts here. He found himself an apartment in Miami, close to where the film company is based and within a short distance of his parents’ and his brothers’ homes, so, all in all,
I imagine things have turned out quite well for him.’
‘I expect so.’ He was thoughtful for a moment or two. ‘You told me that you’d been friends for some time… How did you two meet?’
‘We met when I was doing my medical training. He was doing a completely different course—media studies—but we had both joined the camera club on campus, and we became friends. I think he decided to come back to the States because there were good opportunities here for him in the television and film industry…and of course his family were here. He was homesick, I suppose, and having spent holidays here in Florida I could talk to him about familiar places, so that’s probably what drew us together in the first place.’
By now they had reached Lacey’s house, and after a few more minutes of chat they parted company, with Jake heading off once more for the boathouse. ‘Going by boat is the best way to explore the Keys,’ he told her. ‘You should let me take you out on the water some day. It’ll open up a new world for you.’ His look was mischievous, inviting her to take him up on the offer there and then.
‘Maybe some other time. I’ll think about it,’ she said, taking the easy way out.
He threw her a wry smile, and she guessed he was well aware that she was prevaricating once more.
Lacey wasn’t at all concerned about what he might be thinking. He would most likely forget about the offer, or at the very least he would give up trying when faced with constant rejection. That suited her fine. Jake was a complication she could do without.
Next day, she decided to eat her breakfast out on the deck. There was something utterly relaxing about sitting here first thing in the morning, she reflected, sipping freshly squeezed orange juice as she gazed out over the straits. Behind her, the glass doors to the dining room were opened wide to let the fresh, warm air sweep through the house, but here on the deck she had laid a table with a rack of toast, butter and apricot preserve. It was a perfect way to start the day.