by Jillian Neal
She stretched her arms outward against the mattress. The tiny pills that had formed on the old sheets from years of use abraded her skin. They reminded her of the way his stubble felt when he brushed kisses along the sensitive skin of inner thighs, and she grinned again. Grabbing the pillow he’d slept on, she hugged it to her bare chest and inhaled deeply of his scent. Sea salt, citrus like a bright summer day, and a juxtaposing dark, potent musk that was all Grady filled her lungs and calmed her.
You’ll be fine. He’ll be back later this afternoon. Her own reassurances did little to make her want to get out of that bed. Staying in bed all day would indicate a much more serious level of depression than she could allow herself to admit to, so she stood from the bed and stretched her arms over her head. She tried to order herself to stop being so afraid of everything when she was alone. Do you really want Grady to doubt you? Do you want him to believe for one moment that the only reason you’re going to make this work is so you don’t have to be alone? Do you want to be weak? This, at least, did stiffen her spine and make her pretend that she wasn’t nervous about spending the day without him.
Her body adjusted to the slight sway of the houseboat as she made her way to the coffee maker. Grady had perked a full pot before he’d headed out. Locating a mug in the cabinet, she poured out the beverage that usually fortified her.
Deciding that she didn’t want to use the shower in the office alone, she located some fresh clothes in her suitcases and imagined joining Grady in the shower that afternoon.
After his trip tomorrow, they were going to have dinner at Pop’s house. She hadn’t been there in so long. She was a little nervous. Grady and Nate explained that Pops wasn’t doing well, but she hoped it wasn’t as bad as it sounded.
She poured a bowl of cereal and carried the lackluster breakfast back to the bed since Grady had so sweetly given up his kitchen table so she could have a workspace. She wished he had a television. Sometimes, the background noise helped. Grabbing her cellphone, she scrolled to the lengthy list of Aerosmith she had stored and hit shuffle.
The heat of the sun warmed the boat readily. When she finished her breakfast, Nadya cranked open the marine windows to allow the sea breeze access to her.
Determined to go on with her plans for the day, she extracted the sheets of copper she planned to work on, and drew a deep breath as she gathered the bottles she would need to fill with ocean water. She’d planned on making a few saltwater engraved bracelets and seeing if Mystic Mermaids might want to sell them in the shop since they were locally crafted.
Her determination was making a slow reappearance. She tried to believe that if she gave herself time, she would continue to improve. A smile even formed on her features as she let her feet sink into the sands of Gypsy Beach. Why had she ever left this? How could she have gone so far away from the only place she’d ever been at home? How could she have ever reached a place so low she could have left Grady? It seemed like such an impossibility now that she was back in his loving arms.
Giving herself a long moment to enjoy the shoreline, she squinted her eyes and shaded her face with her hand to try and see Gemini in the distance. He was beyond the islands now, though, and she had no hope of seeing the boat that had carried him away.
Seating herself in the warm sand, she drew deep breaths of the salt-soaked air. Suddenly, the breeze shifted to a stronger gale, whipping her hair across her face. She gathered it in her hands and forced it behind her shoulders as another chill shivered up her spine. Nadya, get it together. She commanded herself, but couldn’t shake the sudden feeling that something was off. Searching up and down the shoreline, her eyes landed on a little girl a little older than Evie that was staring at her. Her heart regained a slightly slower cadence. That’s why she’d felt like she was being watched.
Unable to soothe herself beyond that discovery, she paced forward, knelt down, and let the mighty waters of the Atlantic swirl inside the bottles she’d carried with her. Securing the caps, she headed back to the houseboat to throw herself into her work. That would make the time go by faster.
Grady checked his cell phone one last time before he sailed out of range. Nadya hadn’t called or texted. He hoped she’d fallen back asleep, but somehow doubted that. She still wasn’t secure in herself, in them, or even in him. They still had a lot of work to do, and he tried not to be annoyed that he was here guiding Gemini away from her instead of being able to rebuild their fledgling relationship. He had to figure out a way to make it stronger this time. He would never let her fall far enough to leave him again.
“She’ll be all right,” Beau offered him when he shoved his cellphone in his pocket. Grady stared at his baby brother, assuming his worry was etched in the tense set of his jaw.
“Yeah, I hope you’re right.”
He’d already given his canned instructions on catching snook. It wasn’t difficult. Snook were just like bass. They liked to be around bluffs, massive rocks, and reefs. The only difficulty came in boating around structures like that, but he was one hell of a captain, and he wouldn’t let paying customers leave unimpressed.
“I just miss her,” he admitted as he adjusted the wheel and slowed down to drop anchor.
“You’re welcome for her, by the way,” Beau huffed.
“Yeah, okay, thank you for your little stunt at the full moon fire. I don’t guess I realized how badly I wanted to see her again. And for what it’s worth,” Grady reached behind his little brother and slid the door to the bridge closed, “thank you for cleaning out the hulls. That was brilliant.”
“Yeah well, I figured that Sinclair idiot wasn’t gonna let it go, so maybe you’ll actually start listening to me occasionally. I still think we should work towards expanding to a full blown marina. Jet skis, Sea-Doos, paddle boards, small boats, stuff like that. We could double our season profits and then buy a bigger boat so we can take big parties out and charge a ton more money.”
“Not this again, Beau. How about if we try to keep you the hell out of jail for this season? Maybe next year we’ll talk about jet skis.” Grady rolled his eyes.
“At some point, Grady, you’re gonna realize that you don’t know everything,” Beau huffed as he slammed the bridge door and made a quick escape.
“Ugh,” Nadya ground her teeth. She couldn’t keep the soldering iron running off the generator. There wasn’t enough steady power. Stopping again, she went to reset the generator, but gasped and dropped the iron on the table. “Dammit!” She clutched the tip of the index finger on her left hand where the iron had brushed against it.
She tried to hear over the sound of her own racing heart as she brought her finger to her mouth to suck away the pain. Tears stung her eyes from the burn and from fear. Why did it sound like someone was walking on the dock? Were those footsteps?
She tried to tell herself she was being paranoid again, but she swore she heard the customary creak that the dock had always given when someone’s foot made contact. Both of the big boats were gone. There was nothing there to see. Grady had pulled Wind Dancer into the small boathouse at the other end of the dock, the only one that would house a boat while in the water.
Taking two silent steps to the nearest open window she listened intently, but could only hear the lap of the water against the moorings.
Restless, Grady tried to tap into the steadying roll of the Atlantic beneath his beloved ship. Nothing helped. He checked his watch again. Fuck, how could it only be eleven o’clock? At least when he’d been able to fish for Ms. Cinderson it had given him something to do. Now that the hull compartments had been discovered he could no longer store anything in them. Instead of fishing, he listened to the group of men harass the bachelor about his upcoming wedding night while they pulled in an endless number of snook.
They were polite and had thanked him profusely for his expertise, but he wanted to get back to Nadya. Trying to focus on anything but the beat of the relentless sun on his tanned shoulders, the sweat tracking down his back, and the way the sa
lty air scratched at his nasal passages, he tried to envision himself a groom. Would she want to get married, eventually? He suspected that she would, but she wouldn’t want any kind of stuffy, traditional ceremony. Not his lucky angel. She’d want to make it all their own.
Having convinced herself that she was completely paranoid and probably did need to seek more counseling just like Grady had hesitantly asked about the evening before, Nadya ordered her mind to concentrate on the auburn glow of the copper and the way the saltwater gave it a beautiful patina as she carefully painted it over the engraving of the mermaid she’d finally managed to craft after she’d bandaged her fingertip. If she weren’t so jumpy, she wouldn’t have burned herself. Deciding to go for a swim in the ocean when she finished the bracelet, she hoped the saltwater would heal the slight burn before Grady returned and fussed over her. He already had enough to worry about. She didn’t want to give him anything else.
Trying to find her rhythm again, she drew a deep breath and went back to the mermaid. She wondered what Grady was doing and if he was missing her half as much as she missed him.
Shaking her head over how abruptly her entire world had changed with one quick dance at a full moon fire, she grinned when I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing swelled from her phone. Having opened all of the windows on the boat, she heard two small children laugh on the beach just beyond the pier. She grinned as she allowed the memory to compose in her mind. There is magic in the shoreline, my sweet Nady. You can hear it when the little children laugh, when lovers sigh, and when the ocean rushes in to kiss the shore. Her eyes glanced towards the heavens above her. I hear it, Nana Cooper. I’m sorry I couldn’t hear it for so long, but I promise I won’t lose it ever again. Could you maybe thank God for me for giving us a second chance?
When she returned her eyes to her work, another round of panic shot through her. This time she was certain that a form had obscured the blazing sunlight outside the window near her workstation for a split second.
She swallowed down another round of terror. The plank wood dock gave several disconcerting creaks.
Beau was still pouting and ate lunch with the deckhands instead of Grady. Had Grady not been so lonely, he wouldn’t have cared, but he was desperate for something to help him pass the time. Tension taunted his gut, and dammit, if he wasn’t horny again. He’d gone fourteen stupid years getting by with a casual lay every few months and extended showers, but two days with Nadya back in his life and in his bed and his cock wanted her constant affection. He needed to see her delectable little body under his as he worked her into a frenzy. The way her sweet little pussy nursed his cock was the closest thing to heaven on earth he’d ever experienced. He stifled an ardent groan when his mind offered him stunning imagery of easing inside of her. He told himself that as soon as he showered, he’d scoop her up and spend all afternoon and evening catering to her every desire.
The doorknob jangled, and Nadya’s hand landed on the pepper-spray she kept in her bag. She watched the metal knob shake as the tumblers fell. Forcing herself not to cry, she debated screaming, but there wasn’t time for anyone else to get to her. Anyone that would have helped her was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. She thought about phoning Uncle Mac at the coffee shop, but there just wasn’t time.
The door bowed with the weight of someone’s shoulder pressing against it. She lifted the pepper-spray and took aim.
She heard someone curse in exasperation. Somehow, she thought she recognized the voice, but the door was no longer under duress. Had they stopped? It didn’t matter. This was Grady’s boat, and she wasn’t going to let someone break in and steal their things.
Clenching her jaw and summoning more bravery than she was certain she really had, she flung open the door, screamed, and drowned the would-be intruder with half a bottle of the spray.
It took her mind several long moments to allow the recognition. Out of uniform, she didn’t recognize him immediately. Tossing the can to the side, she reared her leg back and landed her foot against Officer Sinclair’s groin. He doubled over and hit the dock with a sickly groan, landing in a crumpled heap of broken man.
Nadya lifted the pepper-spray can again and resumed her aim. “What are you doing? You’re a sheriff’s deputy! You were breaking in our house! I’m calling the real cops!”
It took Sinclair several long minutes to be able to speak. Nadya felt no guilt, but she was afraid to turn her back on him to retrieve her phone.
“No … don’t … I’m sorry,” he managed in a choked gasp.
“Why?”
“I wasn’t. I wasn’t breaking in. Water … please.”
In a moment of spite driven fury, Nadya grabbed a bottle of water from a pack on the floor and poured in on Sinclair’s stupid face. “You want water? There you go!” Much to her chagrin, it seemed to help him.
He managed to sit up, but kept his legs spread as if his tiny cock could possibly have swollen that much. “I … just …” he sighed and helped himself to another bottle of water that he could reach just inside the door.
“You’re paying Grady back for that.”
“Okay, okay.” He gasped for a few breaths before continuing. “I didn’t know you were here. I saw you and Grady bringing in cases and boxes last night. I thought you’d hidden the merchandise somewhere off site and were bringing it back.”
“You are completely insane. We are not thieves. We were bringing my stuff in last night. I’m calling that Officer Bevins and telling him what you did.” She was rather impressed with her ability to sound so thoroughly pissed off when she’d been scared out of her mind just moments before.
“Please don’t. I’ll lose my job.”
“Serves you right, douchebag.” She sneered.
“Look, if you won’t call Bevins, I swear I’ll drop the whole thing. I’ll stay off the beach, and leave Grady and Nate alone. Just … please.”
Nadya narrowed her eyes and debated. “And you’ll drop the charges against Beau.” She knew a thing or two about bargaining.
“I can’t do that, but I’ll leave Beau alone, too. I’ll stay off the boats and the trucks. I’ll let Bevins handle the case. And … and … uh,” Sinclair glanced around as if another bargaining chip might wash up onto shore at that moment. “Uh … I saw some guy stalking around trying to see in the houseboat. I thought he was Grady’s partner, but I might’ve saved your life.” His own excuse seemed to ease the fact that he’d been caught red handed by Nadya.
“Oh, right. That’s rich. How far up your own ass did you have to dig to locate that?”
“No, I swear, I’m telling the truth.” He continued to spew forth blatant lies.
“You stay away from Grady, and Nate, and the boats, and everything else they legally own. And you leave Beau alone. And you stay away from me. If I see you on this beach again, I’m calling Bevins. Do you get that?”
Finally managing to stand, Sinclair nodded vehemently. “I get it. I swear. I’ll leave them alone. Thank you.” He held the pier railing and stumbled bow-legged away from the houseboat as Nadya slammed the door.
Her jaw clenched, and she wiped away the tears that had burned in light of her fury. Her heart echoed against the metal door. At least she had something on Sinclair. Now, he would have to leave Grady alone. She’d done something to help. Feeling her worth return slowly, she paced back and forth from the front door to the bed in an effort to calm herself.
Refusing to give Sinclair the satisfaction of ruining her day completely, she ordered herself back to the bracelet, but her mind was frantic now. And damn Sinclair for planting that ridiculous lie in her head. As if she wasn’t trying to recover from enough trauma as of late.
She tried to order her afternoon in her mind. She’d work on the engraving for another hour and attach the chain, then have a late lunch, then just a little while after that Grady would be back. She could do this. She’d just proven that she could take care of herself, hadn’t she? But she just couldn’t calm. Her mind chose to hear nothing b
ut Sinclair’s lies that someone else had been on the dock. When the boards creaked yet again and the houseboat shifted against its moorings as if someone had pushed it away from its ties, she leapt from her seat. She’d have lunch with Uncle Mac and Aunt Molly then she’d go see Sienna at the Inn. No one would question that.
With a quick nod, she slipped into her flip-flops, forced herself to pause long enough to lock the houseboat back up, and raced towards the coffee shop. As she fled, she told herself that she hadn’t seen another shadow on the dock behind the boat. That was just her imagination.
Sixteen
Grady stared at his cell phone as he pushed Gemini through its paces anxious to get home. Right about here. He smiled as he came back into cell range. His phone displayed a voice message. He quickly lifted it to his ear and steered with one hand. A second later his heart ached and guilt set up shop in his gut.
“Hey, Grady, it’s Ryan McNamara. Look, I know you probably already know this. Sienna would kill me if she knew I’d called you. I was just worried about her. Anyway, Nadya’s up here at the Inn with Sienna and Evie. They’re having fun, but, man, she’s just not okay. I don’t know if something happened today or if it’s how she got those bruises. Anyway, if it were Sienna, I’d want someone to tell me, so, for what that’s worth, when she got here she’d been crying, and she jumps at the slightest sound. I know you have to make a living, but maybe if she went with you on trips just until she’s a little more stable, that would be good. I don’t know. I just thought I should call you. Like I said, I’d want someone to tell me if it was Sienna. I just thought I should let you know.”
Gemini lurched forward and several of his passengers gripped the rails to keep from falling. “Dude, what the hell?” Beau called from the bow.