by Owner
“Ah, here comes my gal.” The mayor outstretched his arms as his daughter approached. She kissed him on the cheek and then exchanged air with Barb.
“I feel left out,” Jon said, and everyone chuckled, politely.
“We’re trying to convince Jon to stay for dinner and the weekend, but with little success.” Barb’s mouth went grim. She didn’t seem to take refusal well.
“Maddie, please, try to persuade him,” her father said. “For your mother’s sake. Just the idea of discussing something other than pain pills has put a blush on her cheeks.”
Jon eyed Barb’s cheeks. They were rouged red. He tilted his head toward Maddie. She was obviously up to bat.
“If Jon has other plans.” She splayed her palms upward. “It’s out of my hands.”
He stared at her hands. He could put prime parts in them in a second. His cock twitched to break free and accommodate at least one of her empty palms. Then, Jon met her violet eyes, which pleaded with him to keep their agreement.
“We’re his client,” Barb said, dismissing any personal concerns of his.
“I feel we’re putting Jon on the spot,” Maddie persisted.
In a flash, Spot came to mind and what they did before Mrs. Muttley sicced the dog on him—Maddie’s curved rump, his hands on her clit, his erection, hard and pulsing, driving into her until they both came in explosive orgasms.
“Jon.” Her voice drew his attention from memories of Spot’s backyard and her naked bottom in the moonlight, while they performed their satisfying twist on doggie-style. “Won’t you reconsider? You and Barb can bounce around ideas for increasing the island’s revenue. If you have any.” She cocked her eyebrow, giving him an out.
“Only if you insist.” He smiled, not taking it.
“I do.” She gave in at last with a faked grin. “You’re too kind to give up so much of your time.” Quick as a violet-eyed blink, she and her clunky, red sneakers made an escape, leaving him alone with her seemingly happy parents, who she claimed were anything but.
“The best time for us to get together for a chat would be mid-afternoon.” Barb put her chair in reverse. “Around three.” She dismissed the men without so much as an excuse me, thank you, or have a good morning.
“Care to join me for eighteen holes?”
For the first time, Jon noticed his host’s golf shirt with its Pinewood insignia. “No, I don’t play.”
“Why don’t you meet me at the clubhouse for lunch, say at noon?” He glanced at his wristwatch and hustled to his feet. “Don’t want to miss my tee time.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to make a call and leave this number with my brother-in-law.” Jon followed him out into the hallway.
“Would he be the father of the new baby?” The mayor’s face lit up with a wide smile when Jon nodded. “Of course, use the phone in my office.” He scurried ahead, opening a door, and shoving papers from his desktop into his file cabinet.
After the mayor breezed past him in the doorway, Jon stepped inside the den, which was crammed with old books and antiques and smelled like a museum. He dialed Craig.
“Hey,” his brother-in-law said, “your beautiful niece just puked all over my favorite shirt.”
“What did you do to upset her?” he accused with a laugh.
“You on the road?”
“No, I had a change in plans.” He recited Tidewater’s phone number for his brother-in-law. “The old Bain doll wants me to stay the weekend to work on the account.”
“Old Bain doll? Does that mean there’s a young Bain doll? You never mentioned her.”
“She’s a long story.”
“Tell me one thing. Is she blonde?”
“Yes, but she’s different.”
“Has a brain, huh?” He was still chuckling when Jon hung up the receiver.
Chapter Twenty
When Jon caught up to Rodger at the Harbor Inn, he was in the parking lot hand-polishing his Porsche. Jon almost heard the Jag moan with envy when he cut its engine and hopped out.
“Nice shine, Rodger.” Dull circles of wax quickly shone like a mirror beneath the man’s buffing cloth. “How do you think the meeting went last night?”
“As well as could be expected.” He and Jon peered down into their reflections in the glossy black paint.
“Got any mindshare on additional revenue for the island?”
“Now that you mention it, I do. The buzzwords are peace and quiet. Tourists aren’t all that quiet, but do you know who is?”
He shook his head. “You got me.”
“The dead, of course.” The innkeeper looked toward the south. “That end of the island is unpopulated. We can put in a cemetery for the surrounding small islands. Give them their own dock. Visitors can come, mourn, and leave. Real quiet and respectful.”
“Quiet as a clam.”
“Maybe you should run that by Barbra while you’re staying out at the Bain place.”
“I’ll do that.” Word sure spread fast around the isle. Less than an hour ago he’d agreed to stay the weekend. “I was wondering about CC Consulting. Did Charles Chambers come up with a viable plan? Did you see his proposal?”
“Never met him. We gave Barbra free rein on the project. Seemed logical with her over in Portland where the consultant was based.”
“Is Barb the one who referred Chambers to the board?”
“I’m not sure. But the mayor’s the one who mentioned him to me.”
“I see.” But he didn’t. Jon scratched the back of his head. The mayor had business savvy. Why did he take a chance on the inexperienced newcomer?
“Heard you’re meeting the mayor for lunch at Pinewood.” Rodger’s knees cracked as he bent, smearing meticulous circles of Simoniz near the wheel well.
“Like to join us? You can ride over with me.”
“No, thanks. I’ll be out that way Sunday for lunch and golf. Two days a week keeps me par. Besides, I’m not that fond of their food. Prefer my own cooking.” He flashed Jon a thin-lipped grin.
Next, Jon headed over to the clinic. When he entered, Lyndsey covered the receiver of the phone with her freckled hand. “You’ll have a twenty minute wait to see Maddie.”
He sat down on a green vinyl chair in the waiting room. When he said, “Hi,” the woman seated near the TV hushed him and upped the volume. Seemed Women Talk was discussing Russell Crowe. Jon stuck his nose into the ragged pages of a year-old newsmagazine, which now technically made it history, he supposed.
After a few minutes, Lyndsey called him over. “You can go on back. Last door on the left.” As he walked away, she said, “I didn’t really think you were a stalker.”
With a backhanded wave, he strolled down the industrial-gray painted hallway to the physical therapy room. He stopped in the doorway to admire Maddie in her white coat. “Nice jacket. You could make a few of my fantasies come true wearing that.”
“My next appointment is in a few minutes,” she said, hurrying him along.
He wriggled his eyebrows to show he’d settle for a quickie.
And why was that? Did absence make the dick grow harder, faster? It seemed the limitations she put on their being together only revved his testosterone into overdrive.
“I stopped by to clear it with you about my staying at Tidewater. I know you were coerced into inviting me this morning. I can still catch a ferry off the island.”
“That’s not necessary.” Her violet eyes flashed with sincerity.
He ignored the throb of sexual awareness in his lower gut for a more honorable impulse. “In the past, I’ve enjoyed riling you.” He smiled, she didn’t. “Until I found out about your local celebrity yesterday. My intention isn’t to make you unhappy or jeopardize anything we’ve shared. Including secrets or insecurities.”
“Fair enough.”
Maddie always tried to be fair.
Time to lighten up on the heavy conversation. “Your mother may just give me the fast track into what in the heck the islanders want.
Their ‘don’t want’ list is extensive.”
“The islanders don’t want change of any kind. They’d like to retain their present lifestyle at no additional expense to them personally or any cost to the island’s natural beauty or resources.”
“Hell, that package is going to be tough, if not impossible, to implement.”
“If Barb can help you out, and feel productive again by voicing her opinions, I’m certainly not going to stand in her way. Professionally, she’s all yours.” She stretched out her arms to make her point.
They were tempting. Stepping into the room, he kicked the door shut and leaned his back against it to bar any unexpected visitors. “I’ll take her off your hands for a kiss.”
She moved near enough to touch her lips to his. “No more sealing deals with a kiss after this.” Her words vibrated against his mouth in an enticing rhythm. “No hanky-panky in my parents’ home, either.” She stuffed her hands into his pockets and pulled his hips into hers. The soft curve of her body cupped his groin. Her mouth pressed against his, hard and hot. After slipping her tongue in to swipe across his, she sent him on his way, horny but happy.
On his ride over to Pinewood Golf Course, with the air-conditioner on high to cool down his overheated libido, he knew her hands-off rule wasn’t going to fly, not with her two bedrooms down the hall.
Maddie’s father greeted him on entering the clubhouse bar. Ordering a lemonade he waited to see what direction the mayor wanted to take their conversation.
“Having you at the house will be good for Barbra. So much of the time she feels isolated on the island. But the daily grind of her legal duties is too taxing for her delicate physical condition right now.”
“Her ideas will be a tremendous help, I’m sure.”
The mayor clapped him on the back. “Did you get through to your brother-in-law and sister? How’s that baby girl doing today?”
“Aside from an upchuck problem which my brother-in-law mopped up with his shirt, Gracie’s fine.”
“Maddie spit up on me a few times when she was a baby. It goes with the territory.” The mayor chuckled. “Still, Gracie’s parents and grandparents must be thrilled.” The look in his eye showed genuine interest.
“Yes, sir.”
Grandma Grace had been happy to learn about the baby, even though she knew she wouldn’t live to hold her. Grandpa, the drunk, didn’t deserve to know.
They ordered bacon cheeseburgers for lunch with the mayor swearing Jon to secrecy. “Don’t tell Maddie. She’ll lecture me about my cholesterol and my heart.”
While they ate, the mayor was interrupted constantly by people coming over to greet him, gab about golf, local politics, gossip, or seek his opinion on everything from wholesale lobster to refinancing a home. He was obviously a knowledgeable and popular fixture around the island, making Jon wonder how the adroit businessman could’ve been taken in by an unknown like Chambers.
Taking his leave during an intense discussion about the condition of the fourteenth green, he called Craig.
“I didn’t want to take a chance on someone picking up at the Bain household earlier. Did you find out anything new about CC?”
“A little more about the theft. Charles Chambers took a big retainer upfront and later closed his doors forever. Tolliver & Partners are suing him in civil and criminal court on behalf of the island, if they can find him. Chambers took off about the time Barbra Bain had her accident. Until she was released from the hospital several weeks later, no one even realized he’d split. Between the car crash and the lawsuits, she has to feel lousy. But you’d know more about that than I would.”
“She doesn’t seem to have any feeling.” Not with her legs paralyzed since the accident and her heart chilled to the core even before that, to hear Maddie tell it.
“I’ll keep digging,” Craig promised.
Jon returned to Tidewater in time for his three o’clock appointment. When he rapped on the living room door, he overheard Barbra, say, “I love you, too,” before she called out, “Come in,” clattering the phone into its cradle as he entered.
Was Maddie ever off base when it came to her loving parents. Last night they’d spent until the wee hours together in her mother’s bedroom and now they were exchanging words of love mid-afternoon.
“I hope your lunch was enjoyable. My nap was.” Barbra smiled, her rose lipstick flawlessly applied.
“Lunch was tasty.” First red meat he’d had in over a week.
“I find the menu rather restrictive.” She waved her wrist, her wide-banded, diamond bracelet flashing blinding rays of light. “So what’s your vision for Bain Island?” She got straight to the point.
“To be truthful, I don’t have one at this time.”
“Come on, Mr. Matthews—”
“Jon.”
“Jon, you don’t expect me to believe you have no first impression.”
“With the elimination of the obvious supply chains, tourism, industry, and taxes,” he rattled off, “I have little left to work with.”
“I know how limiting the island is.” With a flip of the joystick, she maneuvered her wheelchair over to a sunny spot near a window overlooking the water.
The roar of a motorboat engine rumbled close to the shore, catching her attention. When the sound waned as it sped out to sea, she turned his way again.
He asked, “What did Charles Chambers envision?”
Barbra coughed. “Could you pour me a glass of water?” She pointed toward a scrolled iron credenza and a pitcher.
He poured water and handed her the crystal goblet. Her fingers were surprisingly warm, despite her cool demeanor.
“It would be rather unethical to disclose his recommendation.” She raised a carefully penciled eyebrow. He got the impression everything she did was well drawn out.
He called her bluff. “Not when you plop down a hefty fee for his services.”
Her eyes widened. “His disappearance coincided with my car accident and makes it painful to bring to mind.” She massaged her temples. Her eyes glittered with pain. Or maybe not.
Just then, Maddie bopped through the door in her red high-top sneakers. “Am I interrupting?”
Or snooping?
Her eyes flickered from Jon to her mother. Tension crackled the air in the living room like static electricity.
Her mother spoke first. “I have a piercing headache.”
“Can I get you anything?” She rushed to her side, bumping the glass Barb held and tipping it over. Water splashed onto her mother’s lap.
She could swear Barb flinched, as if she’d felt the cold water. She eyed her, confused.
“Here.” In a flash, Jon was at her side, holding out his handkerchief.
She began to dab Barb’s lap when her mother snatched the cloth from her hand. “Don’t touch me. You’ve done enough damage.”
She backed up a step…onto his toes. He’d maneuvered himself closer. For what? Protection? The man was really hopeless. She was dead right in trying to keep him away.
“It was an accident,” he said, coming to Maddie’s aid.
She tossed Jon a quick scowl, wanting to elbow him. She didn’t need him making her excuses to her mother.
“My silk slacks are ruined.” Barb blotted her lap with his hanky while tossing Maddie an annoyed look.
Her mother was pissed off about the watermarked silk. How typical. Seemed she’d been mistaken about Barb’s reaction to the spilled, cold water. Just wishful thinking on her part for her mother to regain the feeling in her legs. If she had, Barb certainly would’ve shouted out the good news to the world.
“I’m sorry,” he butted in again, “if I said anything to upset you—”
“Don’t be silly.” Barb cut him off. “I get recurring headaches since my car accident. We’ll talk another time.” She rolled past them, motoring from the room in high gear.
“Do you get the impression I chase her off?” Maddie crinkled her brow.
“I think you have a comp
lex where she’s involved.” Concern narrowed his dark eyes.
“When I mentioned my suspicion to Dad, he didn’t believe me either. But I swear she either dismisses me or finds a reason to leave if I get too close.”
He touched his warm hands to her shoulders. Tingles radiated on contact, flooding her body. “I find I have the opposite problem. Whenever you get too close, I want to stay.” He sounded serious, and that worried her more than Barb did right now.
Her palms went sweaty and her heart picked up extra beats. If Jon stayed on the island much longer, he’d stir up more complications than his minor interference just now. He’d proven he couldn’t help himself. “We’d better take a walk and discuss your predicament.”
“I had something more indoorsy in mind.” Hands still on her shoulders, he flicked his thumb along the side of her neck. Her flesh responded with licks of fire.
“Fresh air and exercise are good for what ails you.” And her. She tugged free before logic became engulfed by the heat converging between her thighs from the mere touch of his persistent finger.
“You’re good for what ails me.” His voice was tantalizing. She fled for the door.
“I didn’t know horniness was an ailment,” she said as he caught up to her.
“A very treatable one.” He linked arms with her. “Requires the help of a physical therapist who knows my range of motion.”
“But that particular treatment program is given once a year and only on Rose Island.”
Now, if she could only stick to the program.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Nice place. A lot like a private resort,” Jon said to Maddie as they picked their way single-file along the rocky path fragrant with wild roses.
“Tidewater’s not private enough for what you have in mind,” she teased, unable to turn and bask in his humorous smile and brown eyes while she maneuvered the narrow walkway. “But you’re right. It’s not exactly the party Mecca of the island.” Her friends had never chosen to hang out here. “Although, Barb throws an occasional summer soiree for the Portlanders.”
“And saves her tantrums for us non-Portlanders.”