Hold Me Now: Hope Harbor

by Harrison, Ann B

  She lifted her chin. You do not do failure, girl.

  “You okay in there, Hilary?”

  “Coming.” She turned toward the door too fast and the drying skin on her back ripped. Hilary let out a squeal of pain and the door burst open.

  Arlo rushed to her. “What?”

  She swallowed back the pain, took a breath and tried to smile at him through tears. “Sorry. Moved too fast. That lava I told you about? It cracked.”

  “How are we going to do this? Fireman’s carry? Do you think you can handle that?”

  “No! Not yet.” She couldn’t stand it, not right now.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Hold me now, Arlo. Just hold me until it doesn’t hurt so much.” Hilary closed her eyes and fought back the tears as his arms came around her neck and he cupped the back of her head, bringing her close. She rested her face on his chest and waited for the pain to ease.

  After a few minutes of quiet, the burning subsided and Hilary could breathe.

  “Okay now?” Arlo stroked a gentle hand over her hair.

  “Yeah. Much better, thanks.”

  He picked her up in his arms, held her against his chest, and headed back to the bedroom.

  Hilary protested. “No. Please don’t leave me in there all day.”

  He paused at the door. “But you need to rest up.”

  She wanted to wipe a hand over his hair, the bits that were sticking up anyway, and tuck it all back into that neat little man bun he wore to work. “I know, but I don’t want to be stuck up here by myself. Can’t I sit outside in the sun while you do whatever it is that you need to do today? I promise not to annoy you.”

  “I guess so.” Arlo shrugged and headed down the stairs with her still leaning into his chest. “So long as you don’t go trying to help. Got it?”

  He thudded down the stairs, took her over to the couch, and put her down carefully. He arranged cushions behind her and made sure she was comfortable. “I’m going to put coffee on first before the guys get here. You up for a cup?”

  “Oh, yes, please. And a side of painkillers too, please.”

  He grinned, pulled them out of his pocket and put them on the table beside her. “On it. Coffee coming up.” Arlo walked over to the coffee machine, the haunted look he’d had upon waking long gone.

  * * *

  “What’re you doing here?” Bryce stood at the door, hands on hips and a scowl on his face. “I told you how he feels about having people around.” He advanced on her, then stopped when he saw her bandaged hands. “What the heck happened to you?”

  “Chill out. He knows I’m here.”

  “I do, so back down, Bryce.” Arlo shut the downstairs bathroom door and walked over to Hilary. “Here you go.” He handed her the phone from her skirt pocket.

  Bryce rolled his eyes at Arlo. “Care to fill me in?”

  “Bear got her last night.” Arlo walked to the stove and grabbed a frying pan. “Sent her flying into the mud and roughed up her back and hands on the old oysters and rocks around the point.”

  “Is she going to be all right? I would’ve come over if you’d needed me.” Bryce reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a morning drink, keeping his gaze on Hilary.

  Arlo hadn’t given his friend a thought throughout the whole ordeal. “It was okay. I had it under control.” Upon hearing himself say it out loud, the truth of this statement amazed him. Usually Bryce dealt with everything. But something about Hilary had gotten under his skin. He liked having her around, and last night had proved that.

  “I know, but it’s okay. April came out patched her up. Thing is, she can’t use her hands so she’s a bit stuck for a couple of days, at least until I can get her back to see April.”

  “Do you want me to give her a lift into the clinic?”

  “It’s okay; she’s no bother.” Arlo could tell that Bryce didn’t believe him and he wasn’t surprised. For years Arlo had been the reluctant businessman, the recluse who never made contact with the public, leaving that side of it to Bryce. But after what he and Hilary had gone through, Arlo wanted to see how this went. He’d hardly ever had much to do with other women, and she was interesting when she wasn’t protesting her pain.

  “I can take her back to Matt’s if you like.” Bryce watched Hilary over the top of his mug.

  “Nah. I told April I’d take her into the clinic tomorrow to get checked, and we can take it from there. If she needs anything from Matt’s, I’ll take a drive later. What’s on the agenda today for you and Sam?” He slipped bacon slices into the hot pan and listened to the sizzle, ignoring the frown on Bryce’s face.

  “Lifting those last oyster totes and checking them before we re-bag them. Still got a row to do. What about you?”

  “I’m halfway through those new clam beds. I was doing a final rake on one last night when Bear knocked Hilary over. Needless to say, I never got it finished.” He cracked eggs into the pan.

  “Right. I’ll get on with it then. Yell if you need me to take care of anything.” Bryce drained his mug, gave a lingering look Hilary’s way and then walked out.

  “He doesn’t like me. I’m sorry to get in the way.” Arlo hated the sad tone of her voice. She sounded like her best friend had rejected her.

  “He looks out for me. Always has. He doesn’t mean to come across as bossy.” Arlo flipped the eggs before sliding them onto two plates. He picked up cutlery and carried it over to the couch where Hilary sat perched among the cushions. Arlo put both plates down on the low table and started cutting up the food. He stabbed a slice of bacon, dipped it into the runny egg yolk and held it out to her.

  She opened her mouth and leaned forward to take it when he felt it—the tug to his gut and the excitement that crept up his throat. He wasn’t nervous around her anymore. That alone had the ability to take his breath away.

  Hilary chewed with her eyes closed and Arlo watched, mesmerized. She blinked, grinned at him, and opened her mouth for more like a little sparrow demanding its food rations. He obliged her with another few forkfuls before he started eating his own breakfast. From them on, it was fork for fork.

  “I needed that.” Hilary licked her lips and wiped the back of her fingertips over her lips after the last morsel had been consumed, careful to avoid getting food on the bandage. “I was so hungry when I woke up this morning. I think that’s half the reason I felt off, you know? If I don’t eat properly I get out of sorts. Hangry even.”

  “Hangry?” What was she talking about?

  “Yeah, you know when you get so hungry, it makes you angry? No? Well, I get so busy I sometimes forget to eat, and when I need food, there’s no stopping me.”

  “Okay. Glad to be of service. Now, a cup of coffee and some pills and then I have to get to work. Clam beds don’t make themselves.”

  She stood up as he gathered the plates. “Arlo. I have to apologize again. I didn’t mean to interrupt your work or make life hard for you. All I wanted was a chance to tell you how I can help your business and hopefully get you to sign up. It all went wrong, and I’m really sorry.”

  He grinned. But it might also have had a silver lining. “I know. I’ve decided to think about it and maybe we can talk tonight. You can tell me more about what you do.”

  “So what you’re saying is that you want me to charm you so you can’t say no?”

  “Maybe.” God, no! Why had he said that? It was exactly what he was afraid of. He didn’t want anyone in his space, did he?

  Maybe that was before Hilary landed on his beach and needed him.

  Chapter 11

  He wanted to discuss it! Despite the pain in her hands, she was tempted to clap with glee. Hilary restrained herself to a sedate smile. “Great. I’ll try and give you the best version I can of the perfect scenario and we can go from there.”

  Arlo dumped the plates in the sink and poured two mugs of coffee and brought them over. “Two tablets coming up. I’ll be back at lunchtime to give you some more. Reckon you
can manage on your own for a few hours?”

  “Sure. I’m going to try and move around as much as I can because if I don’t, I’ll only seize up because my muscles are sore anyway. No point in making it worse than it needs to be. My scabs are going to get hard and hurt either way, so if I can lessen the pain by moving more, I will.”

  “Well, don’t go doing anything you shouldn’t, okay? I don’t want to have to come rescue you again because you did something silly. Stick close to the house and you’ll be fine.” Arlo took out two tablets and placed them on her tongue.

  She washed them down with coffee. “Thanks. You’re being awfully sweet when I’m really a pain in the butt. I didn’t want to put you in this position, Arlo. Honest.”

  “I know. And I don’t want you to feel bad because it wasn’t all your fault. I have to take some of the blame. It would’ve been easier if I’d listened to you in the first place and then this might not have happened.”

  “But I invaded your privacy when I shouldn’t have.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you did. Most people are happy to leave me alone and just write me off as weird. I get that and it’s easier to go along with it than to explain.” His throat worked under the layer of whiskers that hugged up his jaw and down to the top buttons of his plaid work shirt.

  “You don’t have to explain to me either. It’s not my business.” She desperately wanted to know why he was the way he was but Hilary wasn’t going to come out and ask. She’d rather he chose to tell her.

  Arlo stood, ran his fingers through his hair, and shuffled his feet. “Right. I’d better get to work. If you, ah, if you want to take a walk, you know where I’ll be.”

  “Yes, I do, and thank you, Arlo. I might just take you up on that.”

  He whistled to Bear and left her on the couch.

  She sat pondering how she was going to get through the day when her phone rang. Hilary poked at the screen and put the call on speaker with her heavily bandaged hand making things more than a little awkward.

  “Hilary, what the heck is going on? I’ve been calling you all night.” Emily shrieked over the phone, her panic obvious.

  “I have news for you.”

  “Good or bad?”

  Hilary smiled. “A little bit of both, actually.” She proceeded to explain everything that had happened but didn’t tell her friend about her newfound feelings for Arlo.

  “I don’t believe it.” The excitement in Emily’s voice made Hilary smile.

  “I know, Em, neither do I.” It exhausted her to think how much she’d gone through to get Arlo to even want to discuss it. She couldn’t afford to mess this up now that she had her foot in the door.

  “How long do you think you’ll be before you come home?”

  “That depends on my injuries and how they heal. I can’t use my hands. You should see the mess I made of them. It all happened so fast; I had no chance to save myself and get to safer ground. Bear was so excited and I thought he was going to attack me, not try to lick me to death.”

  “You know you can work this to your advantage, don’t you?” A sly tone had crept into Emily’s voice. “He feels responsible so maybe you can play on that if you need to. If he looks like he doesn’t want to sign up, put on your sad face.”

  “I don’t think I can do that to him. It wasn’t his fault and if I hadn’t been so determined and refused to take no for an answer, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” She couldn’t treat Arlo like that after what he’d done for her. It would be dishonest and mean. Besides, something about him made her think he wouldn’t understand the cutthroat side of business. He seemed too pure and gentle to be involved in the seedier side of things.

  “Okay then. It was just a thought. So I guess you’d better make the most of it while you can then. I do hope you have your sales pitch perfected and don’t let a chance slip by you to promote, promote, promote.”

  “Do you know what he said to me before he went to work just now?” Her attention was caught by Bryce and Sam walking across the lawn down to the jetty. She watched their progress as she spoke to Emily. “He said we could talk about it tonight. I think I have to redo my sales pitch for Arlo. I don’t think what I usually say will work with him.”

  “He wants to sell his produce, doesn’t he?”

  “He does, but he seems more interested in the product than the sales.”

  “Well, girl, you better put on your thinking cap and make the most of it. Keep me informed of progress, please, and if you get a chance, send me a happy snap of this ‘interesting’ guy. You’ve never had that lovestruck sound in your voice before.”

  Hadn’t she? “It’s not like that.”

  “Sure, sure. Gotta go. Be good and talk later.” A smoochy noise was followed by a click as Emily ended the call.

  The more time she spent with Arlo, the more she came up with reasons to like him. She wanted to get to know this reclusive man way beyond the usual client/salesperson relationship.

  * * *

  Arlo gathered his rake from the barn, pulled on his big rubber boots, and walked toward the point to finish up the new clam bed. The early morning sun peeked through the pine trees as Bear raced ahead of him looking for squirrels or any other small animal he could chase for the sheer joy of it.

  Arlo’s step had a spring in it that wasn’t there yesterday. The fear he had of seeing Hilary again and the way she was relentlessly chasing his business seemed to have faded as well. If anything, he was keen to talk to her and get to know her better. His cell rang as he stepped down onto the beach.

  He pulled it out of his shirt pocket. “Hey, Dad. How are things?”

  “That’s what I wanted to ask you, son. I hear you have an unexpected visitor.”

  “Yeah, I do.” Was nothing secret around here? No doubt the whole island knew by now.

  “Are you okay with that, Arlo? I know how much you hate having to deal with the public.” But he didn’t consider Hilary ‘public’ anymore. She wasn’t a stranger now. She was the woman who’d shared his bed last night along with small insights into her life, tempting him to find out more. His father’s voice was full of concern, and for a moment, Arlo felt guilty for being the child who had always needed protecting from the outside world. Even now he didn’t understand why he was like that.

  “I’m fine, Dad. Hilary isn’t to blame for what happened. Bear got too excited, sent her flying into the mud and rocks, and now we have to deal with it.”

  “If you’re sure. What did she want anyway? Matt said something about her being an intermediary for restaurants and producers or something.”

  Arlo watched the seagulls screeching over the waves. “Something like that. I know she wants to sell my oysters but I don’t have the finer details yet. We’re going to talk about it some more tonight. Bryce likes the idea, and I’ve decided I need to give Hilary a chance to convince me it’ll be good for the business.”

  “Don’t feel obligated, Arlo. While I think you should never stand still in business, don’t feel pressured to go along with her because your dog caused her some injuries. If you want, you can talk it over with the family before you make any decisions.”

  “Sure, Dad. I’d do that anyway even if you didn’t have a stake in the place.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I want what’s best for you and if that means sending her on her way without taking her up on her offer because your mental health depends on you not putting yourself out there, then so be it.”

  “I didn’t wake up anxious with her here this morning. I don’t understand it, but I can breathe with her around.”

  He could hear his father clearing his throat. Clearly he hadn’t expected Arlo to admit that they’d shared a bed, though he wasn’t about to share the finer details. “That’s good, Arlo. I might have to meet this girl.”

  “Don’t go getting too excited. I said I can breathe around her, not that I want to have a relationship with her other than business. April didn’t want her to suffer the ride back to town. What was
I supposed to do?” He stepped down onto the mudflats. “But I like her, Dad. Just not sure how much yet so don’t go getting excited, okay?”

  “I know, son. I hear you. But it’s progress, and that makes me happy.”

  Not as happy as it made Arlo.

  Chapter 12

  “More?” Arlo held out an oyster and waved it under her nose playfully.

  Hilary laughed. “I’ll bust. I’ve honestly never eaten so many oysters at once. You’re spoiling me, Arlo, and I love it.” She squealed and stamped her feet, her bandaged hands in the air like a cute Muppet Baby as his stomach did a dive that reminded him she was an incredibly appealing woman.

  She’s so cute when she laughs. Arlo’s hand paused as he stared at the glimmer of joy in her eyes. Hilary was the most interesting person he’d met in a long time. Of course he only had himself to blame for not taking that further. I could have this too if I’d only stop overthinking everything.

  “I adore them so much.”

  He licked his lips as she opened her mouth like a dolphin awaiting a treat for a trick well executed. His breath hitched as he popped the plump oyster on her tongue and she closed her lips over the fork, shutting her eyes at the same time. Her moan of pleasure made him shift in his seat. He wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction to her, but Hilary had a way of evoking emotions he hadn’t felt before. Watching her sleep had made his protective tendencies come to the surface. Feeding her generated images of her naked in his arms.