Barefoot Beach

by Debbie Mason

  He tapped his forehead. “You’ve also suffered a head injury that needs to be checked out.” At the reminder—not that he needed one, really, but it solidified his plan to get her out of there ASAP, no matter how much she fought him; she probably wasn’t thinking straight—he braced his feet and bent to pick her up.

  “What do you think you’re…? Put me down. Put me down this—oomph.” Her breath shot out of her when he carefully tossed her over his shoulder.

  She pounded his back. Her delicate-looking hands packed a wallop. He tightened his arms around shapely legs that seemed to have more muscles than the average female, at least the females he dated.

  His sister teased him for being attracted to the delicate flowers who needed to be rescued—something this woman was not. He also wasn’t attracted to her, which kind of validated his sister’s assessment. Except he wasn’t totally immune to the woman currently flaying his back with her fists, as his body’s reaction to her voice, even now, proved.

  “Would you just relax?” he said when she continued to struggle. “We’re almost…” His legs buckled. She’d gotten a foot free and kicked him in the crotch. Despite the emasculating pain, he regained control of her legs and her feet and managed to make it to the end of the aisle without falling to his knees. “Keep your head down,” he said, an angry snap in his voice as he ducked out the door.

  He winced. She might have nearly unmanned him, but less than twenty minutes ago her life had probably flashed before her eyes.

  The winds had picked up, noisily whipping the flag over the terminal, rattling the metal staircase he carefully traversed to the tarmac. The plane’s captain looked over from where he sat in the back of the ambulance, having his hand wrapped. He blanched and shot to his feet, shaking off the paramedic.

  “What happened to her? Is she going to be okay?” he asked as he jogged toward them.

  “The only thing wrong with me is him. He completely overreacted to the situation, ruined the interior of the cabin, and then decided to play He-Man.” She tried to wriggle out of his hold. “Put me down. Now.”

  The pilot looked relieved. “Don’t give him a hard time, T. He was just doing his job.”

  “He’s right, ma’am. Now, if you promise not to kick me again, I’ll put you down.”

  “So, what? If I don’t agree, you’re going to walk around with me over your shoulder for the rest of the freakin’ day?”

  “When you put it like that…” He kept his amusement in check as he lowered her feet to the ground. He grimaced when she stood before him. Her hair and face were bloody. Both he and the pilot reached for her when she swayed. She swatted their hands away. “I’m fine.”

  “Of course you are. You just look like you’re auditioning for a horror flick.”

  “That’s exactly what I thought,” Marco said, smiling companionably at the pilot. “By the way, man, that was some flying. Honestly, I don’t know how you held it together. From down here…” Marco trailed off. He didn’t think the woman needed to hear what it looked like from the ground. “Anyway, great job.”

  “I’d like to take cred—”

  Arms crossed and head cocked, the woman interrupted the pilot. “He wasn’t the one flying the plane. I was.”

  Marco laughed. “Yeah, right.”

  “I’d take two steps back if I were you. Maybe four. Her legs are longer than they look.” The other man covered a grin with his bandaged hand.

  She stopped glaring at Marco to stare at the pilot. “What happened? Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

  “Same reason you’re pretending you don’t have blood dripping in your eyes. We’re both stubborn idiots. Now, go get yourself checked out. I’m going to inspect the damage to the cabin. I’ve got a call in to the maintenance crew.” He looked up at the darkening sky. “They probably won’t make it until sometime tomorrow.”

  The observation earned the man a withering glare, which the woman then turned on Marco before stomping off in the direction of the ambulance.

  “You’re not yanking my chain, are you? It really was her flying?” Marco winced when she stopped. She looked like she was about to turn around and stomp back to him but instead gave her head an irritated shake and continued to the ambulance.

  Her co-pilot leaned in to him. “She has excellent hearing.”

  Marco glanced to where she now sat in the back of the ambulance. “Despite what it sounds like, I’m not a sexist jerk. I just—”

  “Yes, you are,” she yelled at him while waving off the paramedic.

  “I think she just told them not to waste time numbing her cut before they stitch it. She’s like some kind of superhero. Oblivious to pain and able to save planes from crashing to the ground,” Marco said.

  “I wouldn’t say that in her hearing, but in some ways, she is. She’s a former navy fighter pilot.”

  “Really? Wow. That’s, ah…cool.” He went with the opposite of what he’d been going to say. Hot. The woman was hot.

  “Trust me, pal. You don’t want to go there,” the co-pilot said.

  “What? You think I’m interested…in her? No. I just met her, and she, ah…” He was about to say kicked him in the groin and maybe quip that he wasn’t a masochist, but his gaze had strayed to where she sat talking to the paramedic who was preparing to stitch her cut, acting like she wasn’t nervous. Her fingers clenched into fists said otherwise. And that small show of vulnerability intrigued him. He wondered what else she was hiding.

  “Hey, what do I know? You may be exactly the man for the job.” Grinning, her co-pilot clapped him on the back and walked away.

  Marco followed him to the plane. “Okay. I don’t know what you think I said, but it wasn’t that. Seriously, it wasn’t.”

  “‘Methinks the man doth protest too much.’”

  “It’s lady. ‘Methinks the lady doth protest too much,’” Marco corrected him.

  The co-pilot laughed. “If she heard this conversation, she certainly would.”

  * * *

  Theia had no idea what Caine had just said to the man who had ruined her plan to escape from Harmony Harbor at five tonight, but they looked too buddy-buddy for her boss to have threatened to sue the Harmony Harbor Fire Department. Lucky for her—and the overzealous firefighter—there was hardly anyone around to witness her humiliation.

  She could only imagine what her uncle and cousins would say if they had seen him throw her over his shoulder. Who does that in this day and age? It wasn’t like she was incapacitated or seriously injured.

  Self-consciously, she rubbed her butt while squinting at the two men, trying to read their lips. Caine looked far too amused for her liking. And her would-be knight in turnout gear looked…panicked.

  Why would he look panicked? Of course. She should have known. Caine was threatening to sue, just doing so in a nonconfrontational manner. Which made sense, she supposed. It wasn’t as if the firefighter had purposely set out to flood the plane and put it out of commission for who knew how long. Maybe he was new on the job or not very good at it.

  “Stop squinting. You’re wrinkling your forehead, and this is difficult enough as it is.” The paramedic leaned in to peer at the cut, made a face, and pulled back. “Are you positive you’re allergic to local anesthetic? I feel really bad that I’m hurting you. It would be better if you went to the hospital. There’s a plastic surgeon on—”

  “Don’t worry about me. I grew up with three older male cousins and have the scars to prove it. I’d rather a few minutes of pain than an outbreak of hives any day.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure.” She leaned in again, gingerly repositioning strands of Theia’s hair. “Your hair is all clumped together with blood, so it’s hard to tell if you have bangs. If you don’t, a wispy side bang would look great on you and hide the scar.” The twentysomething woman gave her a commiserating smile. “It never fails, does it? You always meet the hottest guys when you’re looking your worst.”

  Theia frowned. “What do you mea
n?”

  “Um, you’re all bloody, and your hair is kind of matted and stuck to your face. Plus, you have no makeup on, and your white shirt and black pants aren’t all that flattering, you know.”

  “I’m a pilot. This is my uniform. It’s not supposed to be flattering. It’s also wet. And I don’t wear makeup.” She’d tried once, but her cousins had teased her mercilessly.

  “That’s cool, you being a pilot and all.” She sighed. “I wish I could have been you for five minutes. Not when you were actually flying, of course. Just when Marco carried you from the plane.” She fanned her face with the hand that held the needle. “He is so hot. And he’s—”

  “An idiot.”

  The paramedic jerked back. “What? No, he’s not. He’s, like, a hero. He’s amazing. Everyone loves him.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s a great guy. He’d do anything for anybody. And, well, like I said, he’s totally hot. Anyone with two eyes in their head can see that.”

  Okay, so admittedly the guy wasn’t hard to look at. He had the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going on with his thick, wavy hair and masculine, chiseled jaw. But so what? The world was full of good-looking guys. She’d worked with a bunch of them. Not that she’d share that with the head of his fan club.

  “Looks aren’t everything. Being good at what you do is what really counts, and he isn’t,” Theia said.

  “Wow. I can’t believe you just said that about a man who risked his life to save you. Who ran into danger instead of away from it. For you.”

  “It’s his job. And the only danger I was in was because of him. I nearly drowned. If he had evaluated the situation before coming in water blasting, he would have seen I had it under control.” She was eighty percent certain she would have if she’d had two minutes to evaluate the situation herself.

  “Just FYI, HHFD was told there was an out-of-control electrical fire onboard and they had seconds to act before the plane exploded. They were also told the plane had been evacuated. Marco’s an experienced firefighter and a total pro. He had an equipment malfunction.”

  “Oh, I didn’t—”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t make disparaging comments about someone before you know the facts.” She leaned toward Theia with the needle poised. She didn’t look so friendly anymore.

  Theia leaned back and put up her hand. “You know what? I’ll take care of it myself.”

  Chapter Four

  Theia wondered what the odds were of her would-be rescuer not seeing her as she crossed the tarmac to the plane. She sighed when Marco glanced her way and changed direction, meeting her halfway.

  “Don’t let me stop you from doing what you have to. I…I’m…” What exactly was it she’d been going to do? Somehow she’d lost her train of thought. It might have something to do with his warm caramel-colored eyes.

  The paramedic was right; he was an exceptionally handsome man. The type of man a woman would fall head-over-heels in love with, especially if he was as great a guy as the paramedic made him out to be. Theia blamed the woman for her sudden inability to think straight. No man could live up to that hype. She lowered her gaze from his. “I’m going to check on the damage report.”

  “And I wanted to check on you. How’s your head?” His brow furrowed, and he raised his hand.

  She jerked back. “What are you doing?”

  He slowly lowered his hand. “Are you always this jumpy?”

  “No…well, yes, sometimes.” She lifted her bangs, positive that’s what he’d intended to do. “See, all good.”

  “No, it’s not all good. Your wound should have been stitched, not glued.”

  “I know. The paramedic told me glue doesn’t work well on foreheads, but I’ll take my chances.” She tried to shove her hands in her pockets before realizing the water had practically sealed the seams shut. So instead she rubbed her hands self-consciously on her hips while looking around. “She also told me about your equipment malfunction and that you’d been misinformed about the severity of the fire. Sorry for misjudging you and acting like a…well, you know.”

  His mouth lifted at the corner. Funny, she hadn’t noticed his lips until just then. Nice. Actually, she’d go so far as to say he had a beautifully shaped mouth. His bottom lip was full and looked…Ugh. What was up with her sudden obsession with his looks? It was the paramedic’s fault. Theia should have slapped a bandage on her forehead and called it a day.

  “So, what, you thought I wasn’t only a sexist jerk but an idiot too?”

  “That’s about right.” She fought a grin. Mostly because he was doing the same and it was kind of contagious. “Just so you know, I still think you’re sexist.”

  “I’m not, but I can see why you might think I am. And if I try to defend myself, I’ll no doubt validate your opinion.”

  A firefighter came around the nose of the plane, waving him over. “Hey, DiRossi, we could use some help with the kids.”

  “Is he talking about the Gallagher kids? The ones who were on the plane?” She thought they’d already left for the manor.

  “Yeah.” He brought his attention back to her. “The other team was treating the aunt and one of the boys. Liam promised them a ride in the engine. He’s their second cousin.”

  “I know. I stayed at the manor last fall. Liam’s wife, Sophie, hired me to fly in guests for the manor. But I, ah, got a lucrative contract I couldn’t pass up.” Even though she barely knew the man, she hated lying. It had been awful leaving the Gallaghers in a lurch last year. She blamed Caine for putting her in this position.

  “Sophie’s my sister. I remember her talking about you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “My grandmother talked about you too.”

  She didn’t miss the grimace. “Looks like I didn’t make a good impression,” she said, then frowned as she put two and two together. “Wait a minute. If Sophie’s your sister, that means Rosa DiRossi is your grandmother, and I know for a fact I made a good impression on her.” She winced, thinking she should have kept that tidbit to herself. She’d made such a good impression on Mrs. DiRossi that the older woman had decided Theia was the perfect match for her grandson.

  Marco sighed. “Don’t worry. You’re off the hook. She has her sights set on Liam’s cousins as the future Mrs. DiRossi.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s still illegal to have two wives. Anyway, Penelope and Daphne don’t seem the type to share.”

  He laughed, turning at the high-pitched whir of a siren. “I think that’s my cue. I better go help with the boys. I’ll see you around.”

  “I doubt it. I’m leaving first thing in the morning.”

  “You might want to tell that to your co-pilot. He seems to think you’ll be around for a few days.”

  “Does he, now?”

  Marco held up his hands, his helmet in his right. “Don’t shoot the messenger.” He began to walk away and then turned to walk backward with the wind whipping through his movie-star-gorgeous hair. “If you start feeling dizzy, nauseous, or get a headache, go to the hospital and get checked out, okay?”

  “Hospital sounds like overkill. I’ll just take an aspirin—”

  He shook his head. “No aspirin or ibuprofen. You could have a concussion or a bleed.”

  “Good thing you’re not a doctor. Your bedside manner needs some work. Thanks for leaving me with that cheery thought though.”

  “I may not be a doctor, but I am a certified paramedic, so do me a favor and take it easy tonight.”

  A firefighter and a certified paramedic, she thought as she watched him walk around the nose of the plane. Weirdly, her heart started to race. So maybe she did find him a little hot.

  “This is a first. I’ve never seen you drool over a man before, T. You’ll be glad to know he seems to feel the same way about you.”

  “Get out of here. He does not. And I wasn’t drooling.” Pretending she was scrutinizing the body of the plane for signs of damage, she rubbed a hand across her chin while surreptitiously moving he
r index finger to the corner of her mouth.

  Caine broke into a wide grin. “You are interested.”

  “I am not. And don’t think you can distract me. I know what you did.”

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

  She repeated word for word what the paramedic told her and then crossed her arms, waiting for him to try to deny it.

  “All right, I may have exaggerated the risk to the plane.”

  “You told them it was seconds away from exploding! Was there even a fire?”

  “Yes, but it appeared to be contained. And before you ask, no, I didn’t expect the water damage to be quite so bad.”

  “I don’t believe you, Caine. I could have been hurt. There’s a lot of pressure in one of those hoses, you know.”

  “I didn’t expect you to stand in the line of fire.” He grabbed her hand as she turned to walk away and tugged her back. “I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt. It’s no excuse, but just before I went back to the cockpit to prepare for landing, Penelope and Daphne were talking about how freaked out they were. They decided to stay a few days at the manor to recover. In my defense, I didn’t exactly have a chance to think it through. Things were a little hairy at the time, if you recall.”

  “Trust me, I remember. But you need to come up with a better excuse because that one’s not working.”

  “Right or wrong, I did what I thought was best for Wicklow Developments. A lot of money and time has been invested in this, T. I don’t trust Daniel not to blow it. You can help him stay focused. You’re good with him. He likes you.”

  “He’s afraid of me.”

  “There is that.” He smiled. “I promise, it’ll be a couple of days at most. I need you to keep an eye on him on and stick close to Penelope and Daphne. We don’t have anything pressing scheduled. You can enjoy a few days by the sea. Get some R and R.”