by Lexi Post
She continued slowly because her undercarriage was obviously lower than his truck and the weeds in the middle of the “driveway” were a little high. When they came around a curve, a small house on a manmade hill came into view, and she slowed. “How perfect. Is it yours?”
“No, I rent it. Moving to a new station every two to three years, makes owning a house a pain, though if I find a place I really like, I hope to buy it and keep it for retirement.”
“You’re in the right state for that.” She brought the vehicle to a stop and stared. The driveway came up alongside the house. It was close to six and the sun had just started to set on the Gulf. The back of the house looked out on that wide expanse of water. “Wow.”
He exited the vehicle and opened the driver side door. “Come. I see this every night I don’t work. I rarely get to share it.” He bent his arm, and she hooked hers through it then they moved slowly as she picked her steps carefully. Her high heel pumps were not made for the jungle-like environment while his Coast Guard boots were perfect.
When they reached the back, he led her to a patio with a table and four chairs. “Have a seat. You won’t want to miss this. I’ll get us a drink. I only have the tea I bought with you the other day, but I also have beer and wine.”
A golden glow from the sun lit his hair, making it a lighter blond than it already was. It also made his eyes appear lighter. “I’ll have a beer.”
He nodded then went around to the side door.
She glanced at the area. She was definitely taking her chances. The house was incredibly isolated. But knowing what she did of Tyler, she felt oddly safe. The question was, did what Dr. Preston know about Tyler, put her in danger? Was Tyler seeing the doctor for anger management or was it something benign like the loss of a loved one? Maybe it was simply that the two had met at a function.
The sliding glass door behind her opened, so she turned.
Tyler had taken off his flight suit, leaving him in shorts and a tank. She’d never been fond of tanks on men, but on Tyler it looked amazing, showing off the muscles from his shoulders to his forearms and the man had muscles. That made sense since he was a rescue swimmer.
He handed her the beer. She smiled as he poured it in a frosty mug, though he drank from a bottle.
“Please sit and enjoy the show.” His grin was a bit less tired. The food must have helped.
She set her mug on the table and pulled out a chair. Tyler picked up one of the iron chairs with padding in one hand and brought it around to set it next to her. He held up his bottle “Cheers.”
She lifted hers. “To a beautiful sunset.”
“And a beautiful woman.” He clinked his bottle to her mug before she could protest and took a swig.”
Her cheeks filled with heat. She’d never blushed so much around a man before. It had to be that he always caught her off guard with his compliments.
The sun had hit some low-lying clouds and the color started to change. “How did you find this place?”
He shrugged, the muscles in his shoulders looking bigger as he did it. “I lucked out. I came a couple weeks early and scoped out the area. Every duty station offers different advantages. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize the best part about being in the boonies of north-central Florida is the wildlife.”
“They do call this the Nature Coast.”
He laughed. “True. But touristy slogans can’t always be trusted.”
She nodded, but didn’t look at him, her gaze riveted to the kaleidoscope of yellows, oranges and reds in the sky. “If I lived here, I’d be home before sunset every single day.” When he didn’t respond, she looked at him, raising her glasses to the top of her head.
If she thought the scenery in the sky was mesmerizing, Tyler in his relaxed state looking at her with desire darkened eyes was a whole other ballgame.
“Do you know your skin is glowing?” He stared at her lips.
She shook her head, but watched him as her breaths became shallow.
“It is. You are impossible to resist.” His hand came around her neck and he pulled her face closer to his. He held her there as if waiting for her to pull away or tell him to stop. Hell would have to freeze over for that to happen.
When she did neither, he finally pulled her in for a kiss. Her body electrified at the touch of his lips upon hers, but as he nudged her mouth open and swept his tongue inside, she melted against him.
She grasped his waist, feeling the movement of muscle beneath her hand, even as he leaned forward and wrapped his other arm around her to pull her flush against him. Her breasts were crushed against the hard planes of his chest, causing sparks to ignite inside her. She sighed as he dominated her mouth and his hand grasped her ass to pull her closer.
But they were twisted, and no matter how much they wanted it, they would have to move.
He lifted his mouth away from hers and kissed her neck once before leaning his forehead against hers. “You’re missing the sunset.”
“I’ve seen sunsets before. I’ve never felt quite like this before though.”
He sighed and let her go.
Crap, what did she say? Come back.
He ran his hand through his hair. “I need to shower and to get some sleep. I have an early shift tomorrow and as much as I would love to spend the evening with you, I’ve been up over twenty-four hours and doubt I could stay awake.”
Of course. What an idiot she was. “That’s right. You’ve had a rough couple of days.” She stood, suddenly embarrassed by her lack of observation. She was usually more attuned to others than that. She’d been selfish. “I should head home.”
He stood and opened his arm toward the driveway. “We’re still on for tomorrow night, right?”
She smiled. “Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”
He opened the car door for her and she slipped inside.
“Wait, how will you get to the station tomorrow?”
He pointed to a detached garage. “My Harley. I’ll just roll it up into the bed of the truck and bring it home when I get off.”
A part of her was hoping he’d need a ride, but that would be pushing herself on him.
He handed her his phone. “Mind putting your number and address in here. My eyes are so blurry I’m pretty sure I’d mess it up.”
Her heart fluttered which was silly. It was just a number and address. Nothing more. Still, she double checked to make sure she’d entered everything correctly. “Here you go.”
He took his phone back and stuffed it in his pocket. “How’s 18:00? I can pick you up then.”
She counted in her head. Six o’clock. “That’s perfect.”
“Great.” He leaned over and kissed her again. Just a good night kiss on the lips. Then he closed her door and backed away from the car.
She waved, then backed her sedan around, turned on her headlights, and headed back toward civilization, feeling more excited than she had since getting her first kiss when she was fifteen.
Tyler was one in a million. She couldn’t believe some lucky lady hadn’t claimed him yet. Her spirits lowered as she turned onto a paved road again. Did the reason Tyler wasn’t taken have something to do with him knowing Dr. Preston?
* * * * *
Tyler pulled up to his house to find Ryan’s white pick-up in front. Jumping out, he strode around back to see if Ryan was waiting on the patio, but he wasn’t there. If Ryan was here, it meant he’d been able to call in another favor.
Striding around to the side door, he felt adrenaline pumping at their potential success. He unlocked his door and stopped. “How did you get in here?”
Ryan looked up from the dining room table and grinned. “Good to see you, too. As for getting in, your slider was unlocked.”
Shit, he really had been tired last night if he’d forgotten to lock that. He was slipping. His father would be up one side of him and down the other if he ever heard of such a stupid move. “I’m glad to see you. Does this mean you have some more info?”
; Ryan faced him, leaning his ass against the table. “I do. It’s not enough to figure out who is behind everything, but it will help.”
Tyler threw his keys on the end table in the living room and strode toward Ryan. “What did you get?”
Ryan picked up a packet of papers. “The preliminary findings on Alix’s accident.”
Tyler grabbed them out of Ryan’s hand and pulled out a chair. Scanning the single-spaced document, he finally looked up. “Put this in laymen’s terms for me, will you?”
Ryan sat too. “Sure. It was really simple. It was a loose bolt in the tail shaft that caused the tail rotor to stop working.”
“How could there be a loose bolt?”
Ryan shook his head. “There can’t. Someone glued it to the side. It didn’t take long for the glue to let go and bang, dead tail rotor.”
Tyler found himself crunching the papers in his hand and he quickly dropped them on the table. “How long would it take. I mean, was this something that might last a few flights, or would it only last through a partial flight.”
“With the spin of that rotor, I’m surprised it didn’t let go before the Dolphin cleared the base.”
“Fuck.” Tyler stood, his blood pumping too hard to sit. “That means whoever did this wasn’t on Alix’s flight. That leaves my crew. Great. I’m back on regular duty in two days. In the meantime, our sister station down south is going to cover us.”
“What about your other rescue swimmer?”
“We had another ‘accident’.”
“Damn, he isn’t…?”
“No, but he’ll be laid up for months.”
“Actually, that might help us.” Ryan pulled a pad from next to a winch and flipped the top page over, which had a sketch of what looked like a tail rotor. “Tell me what happened.”
He explained Emilio’s fall and answered all Ryan’s questions. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the traitor is getting pretty bold.”
He nodded. He’d thought that as well. “I was hoping to pin this on Drew as he’s a mechanic, but with the stairs, the ceiling joist and the stored equipment, it doesn’t take a mechanic to figure out how to make those events happen. Besides, Drew was hurt in one of those.”
“Let me get this straight. Your crew is you, Kolbe, Sam and Drew, correct?”
“Yes.” He watched as Ryan wrote down the names.
“If we get rid of Drew and yourself. That leaves Sam and Kolbe.”
Ryan ran his hand through his hair. “But to cut my cable with a ratcheting cable cutter, they would have to climb out of the pilot seat. There’s no way to do that without Drew seeing something.”
Ryan pondered that. “Well, the answer to that is not good.”
He sat back down, defeated despite all the evidence. “Yeah, either someone set up my cable ahead of time and got lucky, or we have two people working together and if that’s the case then Drew is back in the mix.”
Ryan nodded.
He wanted to hit something, anything. “The only consolation is that the investigators know someone is causing these mishaps.”
“No, all they know is that yours and Alix’s were caused by someone. The other injuries will probably be deemed as caused by accidents.”
He stared at the table as Ryan doodled on his pad. His return to duty put all the crews in jeopardy if he and Ryan couldn’t find the culprit. “Hey, thanks for helping out on this. I know I’m taking you away from what you love to work on.”
Ryan grinned. “You mean horses and engines?”
He nodded.
“It’s not a problem. Neither my horses nor my machines are in yet, so the only work I’m missing out on is carpentry and paint. I hate that. Really, glad Lynzie is handling the house stuff.”
“And your two buddies there are filling in for you?”
“Yup. Jessie Reynolds and Cooper Maddox. You met them when I gave you the tour.”
“Right.” He got up and strode to the fridge. “You need anything?”
“No, I helped myself earlier.”
Tyler grabbed a can of iced tea and leaned against the door way. “At least I can bring this to the chief. Right now, he thinks I’m as crazy as Kolbe with his voodoo stuff.”
Ryan shook his head. “No, you can’t. This hasn’t been released yet. It probably won’t hit your station for another week.”
He swallowed the tea in his mouth quickly. “We could all be dead by then.”
Ryan frowned. “You still have three possibles, Kolbe, Sam and Drew. Drew was hurt, but that could be a good cover. Maybe you can get your psychologist friend to talk.”
At the thought of Meghan, he looked at his watch. He needed to shower soon. “I tried that already. Didn’t get anywhere.”
“What about taking her into your confidence?”
Just going to dinner was risking a lot. At least by choosing Ruby’s, he knew they wouldn’t be high up. The place was right at ground level. He took another swig of tea then answered. “I guess I have to. We have no other leads. I’m taking her out to dinner tonight.”
“Hah! I was right. You do like her.” Ryan grinned. Since the man had finally married his high school sweetheart, he seemed to think every man needed a ‘good woman by his side’, as he put it.
“What’s not to like? She’s smart, thoughtful, kind and beautiful. Can’t blame me for trying.” Can only blame me for hiding my stupid fear.
“Okay, you tackle that end,” Ryan winked at his double entendre, “and if you want, I can come to the station with you tomorrow and take a look at that railing. Have they replaced it yet?”
“No, but they are supposed to tomorrow afternoon. I work in the morning.”
“Guess you don’t plan on a late night then. Too bad.” Ryan’s fake frown was too much.
Tyler shook his head. “I need to shower. Feel free to let yourself out.”
“Sure. I let myself in, didn’t I?” Ryan’s chuckle followed him all the way to the bathroom.
Ryan’s cheery outlook could get on his nerves, but he couldn’t have discovered this much without him. Maybe he could get a tune up for his bike when Ryan was done at the station tomorrow. After all, the guy seemed to miss his engines.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Meghan took off the short black dress and rehung it. It looked great, but it was so typical. She was always conservative. She wanted Tyler Adams in her life. She just needed to encourage him a bit more.
His kisses were to die for and his body had her hearing angels, but his personality made her heart fill with happiness. She could see a real relationship with him. Now she wanted to take it further.
Returning to her walk-in closet, she ignored her suits and focused on her dresses. Her sundresses were pretty pastels, but she’d heard about Ruby’s on the River, and it was expensive. She still couldn’t believe Tyler wanted to take her there. That had to be a good thing. A red spaghetti strap cling dress caught her eye, but it was just a little too bold for her.
Pushing that one aside, she found one. It was purple, tight but instead of spaghetti straps it had a halter with a collar look and fell just above her knees. Perfect. Slipping into it, she decided on lavender strappy high heels, amethyst earrings and a lavender clutch purse.
Glancing at the clock, she pulled out a lavender shawl with pansies printed on it and headed for her living room. Her two-bedroom house on two acres was the opposite direction of Tyler’s. She was much farther inland on high and dry land. No alligators. Just lawn, tall grasses and the neighbor’s house not too far away.
The sound of a truck pulling into her driveway sent her heart into double time. She checked her hair one more time. She arranged it in a loose bun with a few wisps out to frame her face. Would he like how she looked? Crap, she was acting like a teenager. She had her doctorate degree for crying out loud. Grow up.
Yeah, she could be calm and collected, but the butterflies in her stomach felt good. She didn’t remember the last time she was this excited to se
e a man. She waited at the archway between her kitchen and living room for the inevitable knock. Throwing the door open before Tyler even made it to the steps, would make her appear over anxious, which she was.
At the sound of his footsteps on her porch, she started across the room. His knock sounded as she reached the door. She should count to twenty, but she only made it to ten before she opened it.
Wow. Tyler wore a navy-blue suit that fit him perfectly, making his broad shoulders stand out. His blue shirt and red and blue patterned tie completed his look.
She finally smiled and released her breath. “You clean up beautifully.”
“Me? You look amazing. Of course, you always do.” His admiration was obvious, and she felt her cheeks heat.
“Just let me get my shawl and purse.” She turned around, and walked back into her kitchen where she’d laid both items down. When she turned back to face him, she caught him looking at her butt. Her whole body heated at his look.
Polite as always, he raised his gaze quickly. “Is this your house?”
“Yes. I bought it about a year ago. I didn’t want to be too far from town, but I did want a little space in case I decided to do some gardening.”
“And have you?”
She laughed. “Not yet. Maybe when I retire I’ll have the time.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Retire? You sound like me, planning for the future. Actually, this is exactly what I was thinking. If I could find a place like this, I’d buy it.”
That he liked her house so much, or what he saw of it, pleased her. How silly. This was only their first official date, though to be fair, they’d had a couple others and she’d spoken with him many other times.
“Are you ready?” He held out his arm.
“I am. I’ve never been to Ruby’s. I can’t wait to try it.” She hooked her arm in his, and he walked her to her door, before stepping back and allowing her to exit first. Then he locked the door from inside and pulled it shut. “Do you have a dead bolt?”
She shook her head. “Do you think I need one?”
He examined the surrounding area. “In the daylight, you are in view of your neighbors, but at night there is less chance of them seeing anyone in your yard. It couldn’t hurt to have one installed.”