by Violet Paige
“Darlin’, look around you. Does this look like the kind of place with fluffy robes?”
This place didn’t look like it would have running water, but a girl could dream. All I wanted was for him to swipe my credit card and point me to my room and maybe some food. My stomach growled. The pretzels I had eaten on the morning flight from Raleigh hardly counted as a meal.
“How are you here, Cole? What are you doing in South Padre?”
He sighed. “That’s a long story. One I haven’t had a chance to talk to your brother about. I want to have a beer with him when he’s back State-side.”
“So Ryan doesn’t know you’re here either?”
He shook his head. The white T-shirt that clung to his torso was speckled with paint, and he had hooked a hammer along the rim of his back pocket. When had Cole turned into a hot handy man? And why?
“I’ve had a really terrible day, and I could use a hot shower and something to eat. Do you have a room for me?”
He pulled out a notebook and flipped open the faded blue cover. He traced the lines with his finger. “Yep, there’s a room for you.”
“You keep your reservations in a notebook?” I hadn’t really noticed until now that there wasn’t a computer in the office.
He looked at me. “Do you want a room or not, Kaitlyn?”
“Sorry.” I bit my lip to keep from sparring with him further.
“It’s fifty dollars per night. Do you have a credit card?”
“Right here.”
“What happened to your hand?” He glanced at my knuckles.
With the hotel hopping, I had forgotten that it had turned red and was starting to swell. “I ran into something. It’s nothing. Really, it’s fine.”
“Something or someone?” I thought I saw the corner of his lips form a smile.
He withdrew a piece of carbon paper and a metal rectangular device. I watched as he affixed the paper, placed my card on top, and then swiped a lever across my card.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He stared at me. “It’s a credit card machine.”
“Are you serious?” I think I had seen something like it in an eighties movie.
“Yes. I’m serious. Here you go.” He handed the card back to me and pointed to the bottom of the slip. “Sign here.”
I scribbled my name along the line, being careful not to press too hard with my knuckles. They were tender. He handed me a brass key attached to a palm tree key chain.
“You’re in room twenty-three, which is all the way down this side.” He pointed out the window. “You’re the last room on the right. Ocean side.”
Ocean side? At least there was something redeeming about the Dune Scape. The palm tree was heavy in my hand.
“Thanks. Is there somewhere around here I could get dinner and maybe some clothes?”
I was worried the airline still hadn’t called me and I would have to face the morning with my alcohol-stained jeans.
“There’s a local hang out a few blocks down and across the road on the sound side called Peabody’s. It’s not a party scene. You’ll have to head back to the resorts if you want music and dancing. About a block down is a surf shop and general store. I’m sure they’ll have something you can wear.” I caught him eyeing the dip in my shirt with his smoldering eyes. Eyes like that were hard to ignore.
“I’m not here for the party scene. Dinner sounds good.” I wanted Cole to know I was older. He didn’t know this version of me. I was more than Ryan Sinclair’s little sister.
I turned to pull the inside frame of the door. I wasn’t sure why I had told him that. “Thanks.”
“Oh, and, Rocky, there’s an ice machine on the way to your room. You might want to put some on that hand before it gets much worse.” He grinned.
6
Cole
The door closed and I took a step back. Kaitlyn Sinclair wasn’t a skinny girl in glasses anymore. When had that happened? How did I miss it? And why the hell did I have to fight the instinct to greet her with the kind of kiss that would leave her moaning for me to take her to bed?
Fuck. I was glad there had been a desk in between us. It was the only thing that kept my hands off her.
I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t think about it. She was my best friend’s little sister. I should be worried about her. Watching after her while Ryan was overseas. Not picturing her in my bed, tangled in my sheets.
There was a guy code. A Marine code.
Fucking her was not an option, no matter how gorgeous and plump her lips were. Or how innocently and sweetly she looked at me with those green eyes. She wasn’t the cute kid sister anymore. She was a sexy knockout that blew me away.
I rubbed the back of my head and looked around the office. She probably thought this place was a shit hole. I know I did. But it paid the bills, and right now I needed to give Grayson stability.
Amber was all over the place. This might be the only thing I could give my son and I was going to work my ass off to make it perfect. It was going to take time. But I wasn’t going anywhere. He needed me.
When I found out Amber was pregnant I knew I had to leave the Marine Corps. Ryan had tried to convince me to stay in. But he didn’t know Amber the way I did. I couldn’t leave my son with half a parent while I fought a war on the other side of the world.
He said he understood, but I always wondered if he’d forgive me. I left my brothers for my son. I didn’t regret it, but it didn’t mean the guilt didn’t keep me up at night.
I tried to remember if Kaitlyn’s room had everything it should. Did I put enough towels in there for her? I imagined her curvy body undressing in the pink-tiled bathroom. Damn, she had perky round breasts. I knew she caught me checking her out.
I thought about stopping by her room. But just the idea made my cock twitch and I knew I needed to head in the complete opposite direction.
I needed a cold beer and a cold shower.
7
Kaitlyn
The Dune Scape was divided into two rows of rooms angled toward the beach in a V, like a seagull with its wings fully spread. All the odd-numbered rooms were on the right and the even-numbered on the left. Mine was at the farthest end, closest to the beach. It looked as if guests could still catch a glimpse of the ocean from their balcony even from the side closest to the highway.
I inserted the key into the rusty lock and turned the door handle. The air was musty. The kind you smell when you forget you left your wet bathing suit in the bottom of the clothes hamper.
The walls were coated in a thick paint, which was doing a miserable job of covering up the paneling. Strips of peeling paint dangled from the corners.
“Home sweet home,” I muttered.
I was still dying to know why Cole was here. What did he have to do with this place? Ryan hadn’t said much other than he left the Corps to take care of his baby.
I remember thinking how sweet and amazing that was. Ryan never mentioned anything about him taking handy man job. But I reminded myself my brother wasn’t big on details.
I flipped the switch on the air conditioner, pulled the drapes closed, and sat on the bed. It was pointless to try to clean up before I even had a shower or clean clothes to put on afterward. I had been wearing the alcohol-stained jeans so long I couldn’t smell the bourbon anymore.
Cole mentioned a place to eat within walking distance. That seemed like the best option for dinner, but first I wanted to buy a few things to make it through the next day until my luggage arrived. I stopped myself from getting nostalgic about my favorite Carolina T-shirt, or the cute pink skirt and the mini-pack of new makeup I just bought. They were all in my suitcase, and I could do nothing about it.
I headed out of the room. As I passed by the Dune Scape office, I saw Cole sitting behind the desk shuffling through a stack of papers. I wondered if he always wore a scowl on his face. His jaw was set in a line of determination. I stood in front of the window a second too long; he looked up from his work and saw me staring at him. I
scurried out of view, wishing I didn’t have to be so curious all the damn time.
The surf shop was only two blocks from the motel, on the beach road. After being squeezed into small seats all day, it felt good to walk.
“Hey, honey. Welcome to Tassels.” The red-haired woman called from a nearby hat stand. She was straightening a line of visors that had been displaced. Yes, it was a surf shop, but not like any I had seen. “Can I help you find something? You look lost, darlin’.”
I took in the Stetson hats, rows of surfboards, and rack of suntan lotion.
“Yes, I need something to wear. The airline lost my luggage and I’m here all week. I’m sure it will show up, but I need a change of clothes.” I spotted a mannequin wearing a sundress that was adorable.
“Oh, you poor thing.” The woman ditched the set of pink hats and rushed over to me. “Those airlines are so bad these days. Last year my sister, Sue, had two bags lost and she never got them back. She had everything in there. It was a mess.”
Hearing Sue’s story didn’t comfort me. I was still hoping my phone would ring any second with a call from the airport saying they were on their way with my clothes. I hadn’t itemized what was in the suitcase, but there were more sentimental things than just my school T-shirt.
“Well, let’s get you some things to wear. You here for graduation week?” She flashed a red lipstick smile.
“I am. All week.” Standing in Tassels Surf Shop, it was starting to sink in that a week in paradise was a long time to spend alone.
“Oh, wonderful. That’s so good to hear. I’m Lisa.” She reached her hand to me.
“Kaitlyn.” I shook the freckled hand that had seen obvious years of sun.
“Where you from, honey?” She busied herself with a circular stand of board shorts.
“North Carolina.”
“Why don’t you just go right in that dressing room and I’ll bring you a few things to try on?” Lisa shuttled me over to a cubicle covered by a curtain that had been strung across the doorway.
Normally, I would have browsed the racks myself, but Lisa had a mothering hen approach that I followed like a new chick. I waited in the cubby for her to select a few pieces.
“I brought a few different sundresses. That’s what all the girls are wearing this year. I guessed on your size.” She shoved the hangers and dresses in through the slit in the curtain. “I’ll be right back with a few bathing suits for you to try.”
I looked at the collection of dresses she handed me. They were all short and strappy. I dipped my leg into a green one and pulled the straps over my shoulders.
Lisa reached a handful of bikinis in through the curtain. “Why, don’t you look, darlin’, in that dress? Green is definitely your color.”
I looked at the girl in the mirror with choppy blond bangs. “I’ll take it.”
“Good, now try on these suits. With your figure, they’re all going to look great. I wish I could still wear some of these. I’ll grab some sandals and flip-flops for you to try too.”
Lisa sure knew how to sweet-talk her way into a sale. There was no hiding the curves in my hips or in my breasts. I made a pouty face with my lips, wondering if Cole would notice me like this. Would I look different to him?
I chose a turquoise bikini out of the pile of prints she gave me. I liked the bright color against my skin, even though I was in desperate need of some sun.
I walked to the register in the green dress with a tank top, two fitted T-shirts, a pair of running shorts, khaki shorts, and my bikini folded in my arms.
“Is it ok if I wear the dress now?” I asked.
“Of course. It really is your color.”
I felt better being out of the sticky jeans. Something about wearing a dress just made me feel prettier.
While I was in the dressing room, Lisa had collected an assortment of sunscreen, toothpaste, and shampoo for me. It looked like she had all my short-term needs covered.
I handed her my spring break credit card.
There goes two hundred dollars I didn’t plan to spend, but I was more than making up for it by staying at the Dune Scape. I could afford a few outfits.
“I’m so glad you came in tonight. Now if you need anything this week—you know, if you’re luggage doesn’t show—you just come right back here and I’ll help you find something else.” She winked as she passed two bags to me over the counter. “I’ve got every necessity right here in this store.”
“Thank you, so much, Lisa. I hope my bag gets here tonight, but I promise I’ll come back before I leave.” I spotted a black dress on a corner stand that I wanted to try on during my next shopping trip.
I smiled and walked out the door in the direction of the bar the Dune Scape Cole had suggested. It was easy to navigate around the beach neighborhood.
I walked into Peabody’s in my new green dress and sandals, feeling slightly reenergized, but famished.
A guitar player was perched in the corner singing an acoustic song I had never heard about a girl with eyes as blue as the Texas sky. I sidestepped a few guys playing pool and made my way to the bar that stretched the length of Peabody’s.
“What can I get you?” The bartender had a warm smile. He reminded me of my dad with the way the edges of his hair were peppered with gray. I was terrible at guessing ages for people my parents’ age, but he was probably fifty.
I slid onto an open barstool and dropped my wardrobe bags to the floor. “I’m starving. I could eat anything. What do you recommend?”
“Peabody’s has a pretty mean cheeseburger. How does that sound?”
“Awesome.” I grinned. Just the thought of a burger right now made my mouth water.
“One cheeseburger coming right up. What can I get you to drink?”
I surveyed the row of liquors behind the man. The oversized bottle of Jose Cuervo caught my eye. “I would love a margarita.” Mary Ellen and the other girls were likely ordering pitchers of them right now.
“You’re here by yourself?”
I gulped down the first half of the margarita before answering. “Yep. Stupid idea I guess.”
“I don’t usually do this, but here.” He jotted something down on a napkin and slid it across the bar.
I read the numbers. Oh my God. Did he just give me his phone number? Maybe he wasn’t the paternal type after all.
“I’m Hank. If you need anything while you’re here, you give me a call. That’s my cell. Anything. I’m serious. It makes me a little nervous knowing a young girl like you is here alone.”
I sighed. He was doing something my father would do. “Thanks, Hank. That’s really sweet. I’m Kaitlyn.”
“Where are you staying? One of the big resorts?” He dried a beer pilsner before placing it on the shelf.
“No. My boyfriend, I mean my ex-boyfriend, stole my room. The only place I could get a room was the Dune Scape.” I hoped it didn’t take me long to stop making that mistake about Branch.
Hank chuckled. “The ole Dune Scape, you say. That place has seen better days.”
“Yeah, it is in serious need of a makeover.” I tasted the salt on the rim of the glass. Someone should call HGTV and have them do a motel crashers episode on the place.
“Cole’s working on it. It’s going to take some time. There’s a lot of work over there for one man to handle.”
“Cole? You know him?”
“Orders up!” a high-pitched voice called from the other end of the bar.
Hank turned to retrieve my cheeseburger from the cook. He placed the plate in front of me.
“Taste it. Go on. Try it.” He waited for my first bite.
I didn’t need much prodding. My stomach growled at first sight of the plate of food. A pile of fries spilled over the side and onto the counter.
“Mmm-hmm,” I managed to mumble through my first bite of the cheeseburger.
“Told ya. Best burger on the island.” Hank threw a towel over his shoulder and moved down the bar to help a new customer.
The last ounce of my drink tasted especially limey. I could feel waves of the tequila starting to warm my limbs. Hank delivered a second drink to me with an extra lime. Maybe it was the country crooner or the margarita, but for the first time all day, I felt relaxed.
Then, he walked in.
It was impossible to ignore the broad shoulders on his athletic frame as he passed between the pool players. He was almost a head taller than the other guys in the bar. He no longer wore the paint-splattered T-shirt. His hair looked damp, like he had just taken a shower. The blue plaid button-up shirt he wore was rolled up to his elbows. He was sexy in that silent, mysterious way, but Cole shouldn’t be mysterious to me.
He used to come home with Ryan at Christmas break. He used to wake up on our couch. I had seen him brush his teeth. I’d seen him play basketball in our driveway. I’d watch him fight with Rayn over Halo. I knew this guy.
But something about being in South Padre made me wonder if I knew this Cole. I didn’t know Cole the committed man. Cole the father. Cole who worked at Dune Scape.
I was way too curious about him and trying too hard to catch a glimpse of his eyes again. I focused on the limes floating in my drink.
“Hey, Cole. How’s it goin’?” Hank asked over the guitar player who had amped up his performance.
Cole sat on a stool a few spots from me. “Hey, Kaitlyn.”
“Hi.” I smiled. Was he not going to sit next to me?
“Same ole, same ole, Hank.” He rested his forearms on the counter while Hank poured him a beer.
“I hear ya, man.” Hank deposited the beer in front of him. “You ready for the grads over there?”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. There’s a shit-ton of work to do.”
“Hang in there, man. We’re all real proud of what you’re doing.” Hank smiled and walked toward the kitchen.
Cole raised the glass to his lips and took a sip. I mirrored his actions. Every time he took a sip, I took a sip. I kept stealing looks at him behind the safety of my margarita glass. Within five minutes, my second margarita was history. My head felt slightly fuzzy, but my whole body was tingling from the tequila.