Hold Me Now: Hope Harbor

by Harrison, Ann B

  “It might have been the best thing all around.” He came and put his hand under her elbow and lifted her to her feet. Her head swam but nowhere near as badly as it had done before. After a couple of seconds, Hilary took a step, then another. Her back burned and the throb in her hands only increased with movement.

  “This way.” He led her to a door under the stairs and held it open. Inside was a toilet to one side with a wash basin and an open shower stall.

  “Thanks.”

  “Towels there, soap and everything in the shower. I’ll leave some clothes outside the door for you but shout out if you need anything.”

  “Sure. Thanks.” He let go of her arm and shut the door.

  She could hear him bounding up the stairs and walking across the floor above her. He was probably relieved to shut her out of his sight after all the trouble she had caused him.

  Hilary looked at herself in the mirror above the basin. Mud plastered her hair down and was smeared across her cheek and down one side of her throat. What a sight!

  She continued the damage appraisal and gasped. Her clothes were ruined. Quick tears of frustration rushed to her eyes. She’d never made such a mess of acquiring a client before. The rejection hit her hard. It brought back too many memories she’d rather forget, tying the two episodes together.

  Losing her restaurant had been swift and deadly. Her supposedly silent business partner had waltzed in one night followed by an entourage of men in suits, one of whom she recognized. He was a top notch chef with a habit of swallowing up smaller, up-and-coming restaurants. The tuna steak she’d been searing was suddenly forgotten as they headed into her open kitchen, ignoring the maître d’ trying to stop them.

  “Hilary, I’d like you to meet Gavin Porter. I’m sure you know who he is.”

  She’d swallowed down her fear, certain that Lester couldn’t do anything to hurt her. After all, she owned almost half the shares in this business and there was no way in hell she’d even consider letting this slash and burn chef take over her restaurant and add it to his own growing empire.

  “Gavin is the new head chef.” He’d smiled then, a condescending smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I decided it was better to get someone in who knew what they were doing. You’re a great cook, but to be honest, your business skills don’t come up to what I was led to believe they were. I haven’t seen the return on my investment that I was expecting and thought it was time to take drastic action. My restaurant needs a name to draw in the crowds.”

  Hilary had stepped forward, her nerves tight. “Since when do you get to make all the decisions here, Lester? I’m part owner of this restaurant too, or have you forgotten?”

  “But I own the majority of the shares, as you well know. That gives me the control. I can do what I choose, and I choose to have Gavin take over. You can work for him if you like.” He smirked as if he knew she wouldn’t take him up on his offer.

  “You can’t be serious? I started this restaurant. It may have been your idea, but it’s my baby!”

  “And my money, which, as I already said, hasn’t come back as fast as I would like.” He’d taken a sheath of papers from one of the people hovering behind him and held them out to Hilary. “Look these over. If you want to walk away, get them signed and back to me within forty-eight hours.”

  When Hilary didn’t take the papers from him, he dropped them on the counter. She couldn’t walk away. “And if I refuse?”

  “Gavin will let you know what your roster will be by the end of the week. And it will be on a casual basis.” He’d turned on his heel and walked out with his minions following him.

  She blinked, bringing herself back to the present. Get a grip, Hilary. This is the first client who’s turned you down, and you don’t like it. Do not lose your shit over one man, for goodness sake, just because you’re in pain. Deal with that first, then try to talk to Arlo.

  And now the one customer she wanted for more than a business contact didn’t want anything to do with her. That was it. Had he already checked her reputation out and found her wanting? Did he decide that because she’d failed so spectacularly that he didn’t want to risk his own business by being aligned with her? Hilary wasn’t ready to walk away from this no matter why he tried to ignore her.

  She finally admitted it to herself: she was interested in the soft spoken fisherman.

  A tap on the door startled her. “You okay in there, Hilary?”

  “Um, yeah. Sorry, daydreaming.”

  “If you need me, I’ll be in the living room.” His footsteps were followed by the dog’s as its nails tapped on the wooden floor.

  Despite his insistence that he didn’t want her here, his manner said something else. Underneath his brash exterior, he was kind and considerate. Maybe she needed to try to be a little bit gentler with him. Not everyone responded well to Hilary’s gung-ho attitude. If she wanted to get to know Arlo better, she needed to take a step back and not come on so strong. Now that she’d seen the caring side of him, Hilary wanted to know more about the man himself even more than she wanted to sign him up.

  Chapter 7

  “What am I going to do with her, Bear?” Arlo sat on the couch and reached for his best friend. Bear leaned into his leg. “She’s all gung ho and keen to get her hands on our oysters. And look where that got her. In the mud with you all over her. I don’t want to get involved just because I’m sorry for what happened to her.”

  The door opened and small a voice called out. “Arlo. Um, I need help.”

  “Stay.” He held his hand out to the dog, stood up, and took a step toward the bathroom but kept his back toward the door. “What can I do?”

  “I can’t undo my top. My fingers won’t grip the zipper.”

  Flaming heck. He could do this. He knew he could. Just go in there, undo it and get out. She’d be fine once she got into the shower. “Okay. Can I come in now?”

  “Yes.” The door opened further and she turned her mud covered back to him. Arlo took a deep breath and reached up to do as she asked. He held the garment off of her skin, careful of the horrible bruise on her spine and the grazes that decorated her body.

  He undid the zipper, helped peel the top from her shoulders, and let it drop down her arms. As he spun around to make his escape, her voice stopped him. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to undo my bra either. While you’re here, I wonder, would you…” His cheeks were flaming and he dared not meet her eyes in the mirror.

  Arlo swallowed. He was already too close to her, too confused by the feelings he had when he touched her. He knew he was playing with fire but she gave him no choice.

  He turned back to her as Hilary reached for a towel and held it against her chest. Arlo lifted his hand to do as she asked, horrified at the sight of bruises and cuts he hadn’t seen before on the top part of her slender back. “Your back is worse than I thought!” A deep gouge on her shoulder blade would sting when she got under the water, but it had to be cleaned.

  “It hurts like hell. I’m guessing it doesn’t look that pretty now you can see all of it?”

  “No. I’m really sorry. This is all my fault. You’re going to be pretty damn sore tomorrow.” He reached for her bra strap and lifted it off her skin to undo the hooks. His breath caught at the same time as she tried and failed to hold back a moan of pain. “Sorry.” Arlo undid the hooks and dropped his hands. He averted his eyes as she clutched a towel to her chest. “You going to be okay now?”

  Her voice was shaky. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I’ll be close by.” He shut the door and sagged against it. How did she have such an effect on him? They’d only just met and she wasn’t anything like the last two girls he’d dated or the one who’d tried to get him out of his shell by taking him to a party. He and his date had stood on opposite sides of the room, each wishing the other would make a move in their direction. They hadn’t repeated the evening again.

  Bear stared at him accusingly from his spot in the lounge. “It was your fault
she got hurt, you big oaf.” The shower turned on and Arlo breathed a sigh of relief. At least she’d made it in there on her own. He walked out to the kitchen and reached for the phone.

  “Hey, Drew. I need a favor. Can I borrow your wife for a little bit?”

  “What for? She’s busy getting dinner ready. Can’t I help?”

  “Yeah, but I think it would be better coming from a lady.” He gave his brother a quick rundown of Hilary’s accident.

  “Just bring her into the clinic. I’ll meet you there.”

  How could he explain it without sounding like he was being a princess? “I don’t think she’d suffer the ride very well. I’d call an ambulance but it’s not an emergency and I don’t want to upset Hilary by making a big deal out of it.”

  “Hilary? Is this the girl Matt told me about? The one from the mainland?”

  The story had spread quick. Typical of his family. “Yeah. Look, she’s pretty roughed up but I don’t think it’s hospital worthy. I don’t have the goods to make sure infection doesn’t set in, and you’re better at this stuff anyway. I thought maybe April would help out because she’s a female and Hilary might feel better with her tending to her wounds.” The more he said the worse it sounded.

  “I do have female patients, you know, Arlo, and none of them have complained about my skills. I’ll be there soon. Just keep her comfortable and calm, okay?”

  “Thanks, Drew.” He hung up the phone and stared at Bear. “He’s going to help, which is more than you’ve done.” Bear thumped his tail on the floor.

  The water shut off in the shower and Arlo looked toward the bathroom. The door opened a fraction and the sweatpants and top were dragged in with a slender foot before the door shut again. At least she was attempting to dress herself, thank goodness.

  He kept watching the clock to see how long it took her to get organized in case he had to go in and offer her help. Eventually the door opened again and Hilary came out, holding the wall for support. He rushed to help her but she lifted a hand.

  “Please don’t touch me. I couldn’t bear it.” Her face was streaked with tears. “That was by far, the worst shower I’ve ever had. So painful.” She screwed up her face. “I don’t know if I got all the dirt out or not. I can’t turn my head to look at my back.”

  Arlo hovered close by in case she needed him. “Drew, my brother, is on his way over. He’s a doctor.”

  “Sweet. I hope he has better drugs than you do because the last ones didn’t really do as much as I’d hoped.” She struggled out to the living room and looked forlornly around the room.

  “Take a seat.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I feel like my body is starting to freeze up. I may never move again if I sit down.”

  Just then, lights flickered through the windows. “Here’s Drew.” Arlo hurried over to the door and let out an excited Bear who ran barking to greet their visitor.

  * * *

  “I guess it’s not just me he was keen to greet.” Her voice was shaky with tears but Hilary couldn’t help it. She hurt everywhere. Arlo stood looking at her like he wanted to wrap her in his arms and soothe her but couldn’t bring himself to do it. As if that dislike he had of people was holding him back when she really needed him to stand up.

  “Arlo, what have you been up to?” A woman’s soft voice reached through the rush of white noise in Hilary’s head. She leaned her cheek against the timber wall for support and tried to focus on the person coming toward her.

  “Arlo. Quick. I think we have a fainter.” Strong hands gripped her shoulders. Hilary felt herself lifted into a pair of arms and everything went black.

  * * *

  Hilary moved her tongue around her mouth, desperate for moisture to take away the powdery feel that coated the inside of her cheeks. A cool hand pressed against her brow and she jolted.

  “It’s okay; you passed out. Try and stay still for me.”

  Hilary was on her stomach, her cheek pressed into a soft pillow. She tried to guess where she was. The pillow smelled familiar; the voice soothing her did not. What the heck was happening? Her brain felt like mush and Hilary wanted to close her eyes again but hesitated. She hadn’t been in this room before, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Arlo hovering in the background, so she assumed it was upstairs.

  A woman leaned down and peered into her eyes. “Feeling a bit more like yourself again now?” She smiled. “My name is April. I’m Arlo’s future sister-in-law and a nurse on the island with plenty of emergency room experience. I hear you had a run in with Bear and came off worse.”

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “Do you think you can sit up so I can take off that top and have a look? Arlo told me some of your injuries but I’d like to see for myself and then we can take it from there. Okay with you?”

  The thought of moving again filled her with trepidation. April seemed to sense this. “Arlo can help sit you up before he gives us some privacy. How does that sound?”

  “If we have to, I guess so.” The last thing Hilary wanted to do was to sit up.

  “As much as it may feel like you want to close your eyes and sleep this away, I don’t advise it. Those oyster cuts can cause all kinds of nasty infections and if what Arlo told me is true about the extent of your injuries, we need to clean them out properly and apply antibiotic cream everywhere.”

  “Fabulous.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. Funny how it was all her own fault, yet her anger was directed at Arlo. Unfair, but if it helped get her through the next hour or so, she’d apologize to him later.

  The man in question stepped toward the bed and held out his hand. Hilary gripped it gingerly with both of hers and shuffled her body over to the edge before she let April swing her legs off the bed. Between the two of them, they got her into a sitting position without her passing out.

  “Give yourself a minute or two before we let you go just in case you feel faint again.” April had her arm against Hilary for support.

  “I think I’m okay.” A sweat broke out on her top lip and her vision flickered once or twice. “Maybe not.”

  “Okay, sit with your hands either side of you on the bed and we’ll do this one bit at a time.” Once Hilary was stable, Arlo let go of her hand and stepped away leaving her feeling more alone than she had in ages.

  “I’ll be downstairs if you need me, April.”

  April smiled and then spoke over her shoulder. “Thanks, Arlo. This might take some time so don’t worry. I’ll look after her.” The door closed behind him.

  “This is his room, isn’t it?” An old faded photo of a woman holding a small baby in her arms sat next to the lamp on the bedside table. A dog-eared book lay next to it, and tossed on the only chair in the room was a checkered shirt.

  “Yes it is. This is the best place because it’s the only bed. Makes my job easier and you more comfortable. You don’t want to be standing for this.”

  “I feel like such an idiot. I should’ve given up when he said he didn’t want anything to do with me and gone home.” She winced as April lifted the hem of the sweatshirt.

  “Sorry, but you may as well take it off. Make things easier. Lift your arms and I’ll help.”

  Hilary did as she was told and April drew off the shirt, leaving her half naked.

  “Wow, you really did a job on yourself, didn’t you?” She touched Hilary’s back with gentle fingers. “The best thing you can do is lie on your stomach and let me get on with it. It’s pretty nasty, and once that’s done, I’ll deal with your hands, okay?”

  “I don’t think I’m ready for this.” Oh god! All because she was too stubborn to give up. Hilary, the trouble you get yourself into. She shuddered and gave a quick thought to telling April not to bother. She’d take her chances and be done with it.

  That idea flittered away at the look April gave her before she could utter a single word. She’d bet anything that the medical professional had skills when it came to talking wimpy
people into letting her do her job. Suck it up, girl.

  “I understand that, Hilary but it will only get worse the longer we leave it.” April withdrew a kit from her bag and ripped it open. She lay a waterproof sheet on the bed and helped Hilary to lie face down on it. Then she set to work.

  Chapter 8

  An hour later, April opened the door and called down the stairs. “Arlo, can you please come up now?” She met him out on the landing and pulled the door closed behind her.

  His anxiety had been going into overdrive since April had sent him away. He’d tossed over all the times he could’ve talked to Hilary about the business idea instead of ignoring her or telling her he wasn’t interested. Doing so would have saved all this pain she was going through now. Hindsight was a wonderful thing though.

  It was her muffled sobs that really made him feel guilty.

  April spoke to him in a soft voice, keeping a calming hand on his arm. “It wasn’t pleasant but her back grazes are clean and covered in antiseptic cream. I’ll want to see her in two days and do it again. I was hoping you’d sit with her while I did the same to her hands. Just talk to her, Arlo, and try and take her mind off of things, okay?”

  He followed her into his bedroom and took note of Hilary’s pale, tear-streaked face. His own reluctance disappeared.

  “Breathe through it, Hilary, and we’ll get this over and done with as fast as I can.” April smiled at Arlo, and he relaxed. He could do this. It wouldn’t help Hilary if he was in panic mode.

  Arlo perched on the opposite side of the bed to April. Hilary reached out a hand and hooked her pinky finger through his and Arlo blinked. Her pupils widened as April leaned over and looked at her palm, inspecting it carefully. With gentle strokes, he ran his finger over her skin, fascinated by the dusting of freckles that kissed her cheeks and travelled over the bridge of her nose. Hilary kept her gaze on his face, her eyes widening when April lifted her hand and placed it where she wanted it. Hilary opened her mouth to protest, but Arlo was ready.