by The Hero
Cooper didn’t have possession of her for long—her USCG friends and coworkers were present and wouldn’t let her rest.
After dancing with his mother and sisters, Cooper gratefully returned to the blanket, sitting down beside Spencer. He noticed that Austin had already abandoned them for Landon’s party, a safe distance away.
“I guess you couldn’t convince Rawley to come as a guest tonight,” Spencer said.
“Not a chance. I’m lucky I got him in that shirt, the only thing that identifies him as part of the wedding party. But have fun? Never.” Cooper laughed. “He’s a cautionary tale,” Cooper said, nodding at the man behind the serving table. “He’s exactly what I was destined to become if I stayed as solitary as I’d been.”
“You throw a good party,” Spencer said. “You should do beach parties regularly, even when you’re not getting married.”
“Makes sense,” he said. “I have to hand it to Carrie—she sure can pull a party together under difficult circumstances, can’t she?”
“Where’d she get that band?”
“They’re a bunch of local guys. One’s a mailman, one’s a crabber and I don’t know who the third one is. Not exactly American Bandstand, but you can’t complain about their tone, right?”
“If you like ballroom music.”
“Get out there, Spencer,” Cooper said. “Wrap your arms around something soft. Give Sarah a whirl, because after tonight you can’t touch her.”
Again Spencer laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, I think I’ll just enjoy the view.”
“Looks like the new doc is circling a target,” Cooper said. He nodded toward the other side of the bandstand to where Scott Grant reclined on a beach blanket and Devon was kneeling in front of him, talking animatedly with her hands, making him laugh.
* * *
Spencer had seen them arrive together. They came to the beach arm in arm. Then she held his hand, pulling him all over the beach, introducing him to people he hadn’t yet met. Then they spread their blanket together.
Were they already a couple? he wondered. It would only make sense. They spent every day together. And Dr. Grant—he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
But Devon, she was something else. Her transformation since the first day he’d seen her was remarkable. She had arrived here as a skittish and shy runaway from some kind of cult or something. She didn’t know he had overheard her when she was telling—or rather, trying not to tell—Rawley that first morning. By now Rawley might know the details, but Spencer didn’t. Still, the changes in the girl were impossible to ignore. Or forget. She’d become a cute, efficient, fun-loving sprite with a quick wit and spontaneous smile that just lit up her whole face. She must be feeling safer, more confident. She had a glow about her and he was inexplicably drawn to her.
She’s a blonde, he thought. His wife had been blonde. Maybe he was just hot for blondes....
And of course, that was the last thing he was in the market for. He’d laid his young wife to rest just a few months ago, after a long and ravaging illness. Now he was concentrating on raising his son, starting a new career, making a new home. There was no room for romance, especially with a woman hiding a weird and mysterious past.
Someone approached her—one of the Coast Guard guests, he believed. He gave her a half bow that made her laugh, held out a hand and took her out in front of the bandstand to dance. There was a little more laughter, some barefoot twirling. He found himself smiling, glad she was having a good time. He couldn’t believe there was anything creepy or sinister about her—she seemed so transparent, except maybe for that part of her life she was fleeing. For no logical reason whatsoever, he was glad her flight had brought her here, because he believed this to be a safe place and populated with the kind of men who had the strength to protect her and her little girl, if that became necessary.
He shifted his gaze to Cooper, who was making the rounds, dancing with the women in his family and with friends from town. Sarah was being passed around pretty liberally as well—lots of cutting in going on out there. Then there was Gina and Mac, the newlyweds, locked together in a sweet, close sway...until they were disrupted by Mac’s aunt Lou and her steady, Joe, and partners were exchanged. But that didn’t last long—they were back together for the next song.
He looked for Austin, who hadn’t moved in quite a while. He was still sitting with the teenagers, Landon, Eve, Ashley James and a young man by the name of Frank. When Spencer had decided to come to this town, he had no idea it would include kids like Landon. He was an expert on high school kids, especially athletes, and Landon and his friends were A-list, no question—smart, healthy, responsible and very patient with ten-year-old Austin. Landon was bunking with Spencer and Austin while Cooper’s parents borrowed the RV as their guestroom and he was a perfect houseguest.
Spencer wandered over to the outdoor bar for another beer and, while standing there, he talked with a number of folks from town. Yeah, this was a town excited about football season and it made sense. Their high school teams did well and were worth bragging about. People wanted to warn him about competing teams and ask him if he had some secret weapon. They wanted to go over details of performance in previous years and talk about their stars. Finally he was dragged out to dance by Ray Anne and, with beer in hand, he spun her around a little bit.
“Wow,” she said, “you can even dance!”
“I’ve chaperoned a ton of high school dances,” he explained.
She tapped his beer bottle with a long, pink, manicured finger. “No beer at those dances, I bet.”
“Not where I could see it,” he answered with a laugh.
“Hard to believe times have changed so little since I was in school. It’s been a couple of years.”
“Has it now?” he asked, playing dumb.
Dance over, he found himself standing around with Coach Rayburough, Cliff and Mac. The talk was football, of course. And his eyes kept drifting to Devon—she either danced or visited with women friends or sat on the blanket. It wasn’t late, but inevitably the party dwindled—people started leaving.
Spencer was tackled around the legs by his son. Austin looked up at him and said, “Can I go home on the Razor?”
“Who’s driving?” Spencer asked, joking.
“Ha, ha. You know.”
He looked around and saw Landon was saying his goodbyes, shaking Cooper’s hand, giving his sister a kiss on the cheek. Then Landon was striding toward Spencer. “Eve and I are going to head out. We’ll take Austin home in the Razor, if it’s okay with you. If it’s not, I’ll walk him and Eve will drive the Razor. Or we could leave it for you.”
“As long as he has his seat belt on and you go slow,” Spencer said. “Don’t hit any wedding guests. That’s bad luck.”
“For sure.” Landon laughed.
“We’ll swing by and grab Eve and Ashley on the way home,” Mac said. He glanced at his watch. “Half hour or so?”
“Come on, Mac, it’s Saturday night!”
“You gonna bring ’em home?” Mac asked.
“Yeah, later! After Spencer gets home.” Then he looked at Spencer and said, “There’s no hurry on that....”
They were walking off in the direction of the far side of the beach, Austin with four teens. And then the saxophone player spoke into the microphone and said, “We’ll give you a couple more, then this old band is packing it up....”
Spencer handed Mac his beer bottle and said, “Excuse me.” He walked across the dance area. He was thinking, Get a few beers in me and I’ll do any stupid thing. In front of him Devon was talking with Scott Grant as he folded up that beach blanket. “Almost missed my chance,” he said, holding out a hand to Devon. “The band’s shutting down.”
“Aw, that’s nice,” she said, putting her hand in his. Then she looked at Scott. “If you want to go, I’ll see you in the morning when I come for Mercy. I can get across the beach on my own.”
“Got your whistle?” he asked.
She laugh
ed at him, but Spencer, half expecting an argument, said, “I’m her neighbor—I’ll make sure she gets home.”
And then to his surprise, Scott Grant said, “Okay. Later, then.”
Probably shouldn’t have done that, Spencer thought. He already knew he found the girl intriguing and attractive and complicated—spending more time with her just didn’t make sense for a man in his position, single father, recently widowed, vulnerable. But then he put his hand on the small of her back, brought her gently up against him, and that’s where all thinking ended. He was vaguely aware of someone in the band singing You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.... He swayed with her, their feet barely moving, her head resting lightly against his shoulder, her hair under his chin.
She lifted her chin and smiled up at him. “Did you have a good time tonight?” she asked.
He just nodded and pulled her a little bit closer.
He tried to make sense of this. It had been so long since he’d had his arms around the warm, soft flesh of a woman—that’s probably all it was. He’d held his wife in her last months, weeks, days, hours...but that wasn’t the same as this. This woman was all too alive. And her hair...the fragrance was just knocking him out.
“What is that fragrance?” he asked her in a whisper. “What do you wash your hair with?”
She looked up at him and laughed. “Baby shampoo.”
Okay, he was clearly losing his mind. Baby shampoo? Whatever was filling his senses was much more serious and sensuous than that. The song ended and the next began. He felt her pull back slightly, but he just gathered her up closer. And she came to him. He heard the music, but he was also vaguely aware of the sounds of packing up. Coolers opened and closed, trash was gathered, there was talking and laughing, bottles clinked. He lifted his head, opened his eyes and they were the only couple dancing.
And then, too soon, the music stopped.
“Thanks,” he said. “That was nice.”
“It was. I’m going to see if I can help before heading home,” she said. And with that she walked right over to Carrie, who gave her a brief hug and shook her head. It looked as if they were just about done with everything they had to do tonight. Once the food and trash was gathered and stowed, everything else would wait until morning.
Spencer went to where Devon had been sitting with Scott and picked up her flip-flops. He stood there at the edge of the party area holding her shoes, waiting. It seemed just about everyone was gone; Cooper and Sarah stood on the deck with his parents, saying good-night. Mac and Gina were halfway across the beach. The band was packing up their equipment. And he had an overwhelming desire to wait them all out, to wait until it was only himself and Devon on the beach, under the twinkling lights.
She was beside him again. “Thanks,” she said, reaching for her flip-flops. She slipped them on her feet and they began walking toward the marina. “What a nice wedding. I admit, I cried a little bit.”
He said nothing.
“I think the little kids would’ve liked it, but I’m glad they weren’t there. I would’ve spent the whole night chasing them. And I haven’t been to a grown-up party in so long, I can’t remember when.”
He stopped walking and looked down at her. “Devon. You and the doctor?”
“Huh?”
“Are you with the doctor? Are you seeing him?”
“Scott?” she asked on a laugh. “Oh, my gosh, no!” She laughed again. “I’m sharing his babysitter so I can work for him, that’s all. He’s been wonderful about that—but of course I do pay Gabriella. But seeing him? Spencer, I can’t be dating my boss! I can’t be dating anyone!”
“You can’t?”
“I’m a single mother! I have a lot of responsibility! I can’t—”
He stopped walking. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her up off her feet and planted a kiss on her, cutting her off midsentence. He moved over her mouth and decided immediately that the taste and texture were perfect. But her arms hung limp at her sides. He lifted his lips from hers. “Me, either. I can’t get involved with anyone, either.”
“You have a very strange way of demonstrating that, Mr. Lawson....”
“Kiss me back,” he said. “Come on, can’t you see I can’t help it?”
“Seriously?”
“You’re beautiful. You smell so good. You taste like heaven.”
“And I’m not dating!”
“We’ll be friends,” he said. “Very good friends. While we figure out if we should date. I haven’t been on a date in years.”
She laughed at him, shaking her head. “Are you drunk?”
He let go of her, let her drop to her feet. “No, I’m horribly sober. So you don’t want to kiss?”
“I think it would be a bad idea. I only kiss boyfriends and I haven’t had one of those in...forever.”
He shook his head. “You have no idea how much we have in common....”
“Come on,” she said, taking his hand. “I’ll give you a ride home. And behave yourself.”
They were almost to the marina when he said, “Devon, we should...I don’t know...spend some time or...” He stopped walking again. “Do you need someone to cut your grass? Help you paint something?”
She shook her head. “What’s up with you?”
“I’m very helpful by nature.”
She began walking again. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”
When they got to the truck, she asked, “Do you want a ride?”
“I think I’ll walk. It’s just a few blocks. And I should clear my head. I’m not usually so...” He shrugged. “I don’t grab and kiss women like that. And I could tell you didn’t like it. I think I should probably do some chores for you or something. Prove I’m not rude...”
She put a hand on his arm. “That’s all right, Spencer. It was just the twinkling lights and the wedding. Made you feel a little reckless.” She tilted her head and he really wanted to dig his fingers into that messy, willful short hair of hers. So he put his hands in his pockets. “Will you be all right?” she asked him.
“I’m fine. Be careful driving home.”
Nine
Oh. My. God.
Devon sat in the truck, in the driveway of her duplex. She felt a slight trembling in her extremities and it was not from cold or fear or embarrassment. It was from that very alien feeling of desire that rippled through her arms, breasts, toes...and lips. He’d kissed her. Really kissed her right off her feet. He’d stunned and paralyzed her and it made her want to kiss him back.
Instead she’d scared him away. Which was probably for the best. The last time she’d felt anything like that, it had been for Jacob, much older, much more practiced in seduction, much more dangerous. At least she thought that’s how Jacob seemed compared to Spencer.
It had been so long. Of the seven women she’d lived with at The Fellowship, only three of them were regularly sharing Jacob’s bed—Charlotte, Pilly and Lorna. Devon had foolishly believed he had fallen for her—the new girl. And the others didn’t tell her, warn her, didn’t explain that all the children were his. When she’d realized the truth, she’d wanted to run for her life, and then it was the women who convinced her to stay. “You don’t have to accept his advances and we’ll take care of you. He might try with you, but he would never hurt you or force you—you’re safe,” Reese had said. “You’re pregnant and have nowhere to go—just stay close to me and you’ll have everything you need.” By which Reese meant food and shelter and friendship. So at first she stayed because there was nothing else for her, then she stayed because she felt it was safe for her and Mercy. It didn’t take long to realize what Jacob was—a manipulative liar who liked having his harem, his kingdom. He was omnipotent and as long as he believed himself to be the Divine Ruler, he was manageable. But she was never his lover again and she could tell it made him angry. Reese made him angry as well, but he needed her medical skills in his camp.
She came from such an ordinary, white-bread b
ackground she still couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to be duped into that lifestyle. But they all had. Jacob liked ’em young—early twenties at the most.
She thought Spencer was all the things Jacob was not. She imagined him as generous, guileless, honest and innocent; she knew he was a single father, a widower, a dedicated teacher. She’d been successfully ignoring the fact that he was also hot—built, sexy, sweet. Those deep brown eyes with the golden flecks under sometimes brooding brows—those eyes were deadly. There were plenty of hot men around, but they were all locked into very serious relationships, so they were easy to ignore. A little eye candy, that’s all, because all Devon wanted was a way to sort out her life and be free of the kind of entanglements that could mean trouble.
Except Spencer, who was single, as new to Thunder Point as she was, was so kind. She’d always been a sucker for this quality in a man.
She was going to have to ignore Spencer. She had a feeling he could complicate her life.
She should go inside, she told herself. The duplex was dark and although the summer night was mild, it looked cold to her. On instinct, she drove away from her home and across the small town to Scott’s house. She parked, knocked softly on the door and waited until he answered. He was changed into plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. He was holding an open book and the house was dim and quiet.
“Devon! Everything all right?”
“Fine. Fine.”
“I was wondering how... How’s Mercy doing with spending the night?”
“Gabriella said the kids were very good. They stayed up a little later than usual to watch a movie and were in bed around nine-thirty. They’re curled up like a bunch of puppies, sound asleep. Gabriella and Charlie went out for a while. Want to check on the kids?”