Winds of Danger

by Christy Barritt

  He ran a hand over his face, feeling the tension there.

  What was he going to do? Was he reading too much into this?

  A knock sounded behind him, and Wes nearly jumped out of his chair. He turned and saw his best friend’s face through the glass pane at the top of his door.

  Ty Chambers was a former Navy SEAL, husband of the town’s police chief, and director of the Hope House, a nonprofit organization that served veterans. He’d also been Wes’s most trusted confidante since Wes had moved to Lantern Beach.

  But even Ty didn’t know about Jennifer. Wes had only wanted to forget about the woman. Maybe that had been his first mistake.

  He’d let down his guard.

  Ty’s timing was good—Wes could use a sounding board right now. He swung open the door.

  “Hey, man.” Wes ran a hand over his shaved head, feeling more out of sorts than he would like.

  “I figured you’d be hanging out with Paige again.”

  After shaking the rain from his jacket, Ty stepped into the entry. That storm on the horizon now raged outside. Wes had been right to get off the water when he did. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

  “I saw your truck here, so I decided to swing by,” Ty continued. “I was hoping to borrow that nail gun. Mine stopped working.”

  “Yeah, I can definitely get that for you.” But he made no effort to move.

  “So, where’s Paige?” Ty glanced behind Wes, into the living room. “You two have been inseparable lately.”

  His stomach clenched. “We went paddleboarding earlier, but with the storm coming our way, we called it quits.”

  Ty studied him a moment and crossed his arms, an air of suspicion around him. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, man. Why?” Wes took a step back, giving one more glance at his computer screen. Jennifer’s face still smiled at him from the monitor. Just seeing it caused dread to drip down his spine.

  “You just have that look, like something is bothering you.”

  He contemplated his response for a moment before sitting down a little too hard in his computer chair. He was having second thoughts about sharing too much. “I’d tell you, but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “Try me.” Ty lowered himself into a nearby armchair. “I know all about crazy.”

  After the ordeal Ty had been through recently, Wes knew his friend told the truth. A cult had been taken down on the island, but not without collateral damage. Damage that included Ty being abducted and . . .

  Wes paused his thoughts. He still couldn’t stomach the idea of everything that had happened in this peaceful little community or how close his friend had come to dying. In the end, the ordeal had made them all stronger. Pulled them closer together. Solidified them as islanders.

  “There are a few things you don’t know about my life before I came here to Lantern Beach.” Wes felt his gaze cloud over as memories filled his mind.

  “Like what?”

  He drew in a deep breath. “Well, you know I was in Virginia Beach prior to coming here.”

  “That’s right. You’ve mentioned that a few times.”

  “The truth is I was in a toxic relationship with a woman who . . . well, I don’t know a nice way to say this except to put it out there. She was crazy. Certifiably.”

  Ty narrowed his eyes. “Define ‘crazy.’ Did she try to kill you or something?”

  “To kill me? No. But she tried to hurt anyone she perceived as a threat. Any women.” Wes felt like he’d been punched in the gut as he said the words, as memories filled him. He’d feared for the safety of those women—innocent women who did nothing more than go on a date with him.

  Their lives had been turned upside down as a result. One had become the recipient of a string of nasty text messages. Another had gotten sick when someone put eyedrops in her water. Another had been stalked, which scared her to the point of sleeping with a gun at night. Each incident had escalated.

  Paige’s sweet image flashed through his mind. She was better off if Wes stayed away. His absence was the best thing he could do for her.

  Even if it killed him.

  Because anything was better than Paige being hurt . . . at least until he knew for sure what was going on.

  But he prayed that Jennifer hadn’t found him. Because his whole life would be turned inside out if she had.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, Paige stared at the phone in front of her, willing it to ring. Willing work to drop in her lap. Nothing was worse than doing nothing.

  Doing nothing left her alone with her thoughts. Her regrets. Her insecurities. That was only one of the reasons she tried so hard to stay busy. She needed to ease the ache in her heart.

  She’d taken this job here at the Lantern Beach Police Department when she came into town a month ago. Since she’d worked as a dispatcher for Fish and Wildlife down in Florida, she was well-qualified.

  When she’d arrived, the island had been in the middle of a crisis and the action nonstop. In the month since everything blew up, the calls had slowed to a crawl. Which she should welcome. That meant crime had dissipated. That was good, right?

  But as a receptionist and dispatcher, that also meant long, boring days.

  At least she’d had Wes to distract her. He’d been a very nice distraction—one that she’d dreamed about having in her future for a long time.

  Wes . . . she leaned back in her seat as his face filled her mind. The edges of her lips pulled down in a frown.

  From the moment Paige had met Wes, she’d known something was different about him. The man had a killer smile and eyes that were always laced with a mischievous glint. He’d fascinated her and pulled her heart in directions she hadn’t anticipated.

  However, she hadn’t come here looking for romance. No, she’d come here to beat herself up for her past mistakes. To figure out where she’d gone so wrong in life. To wade through the murky waters of her soul and figure out if she could forgive herself.

  Wes hadn’t been part of the plan.

  She frowned as she remembered how yesterday had ended. Wes had gotten all weird. What had happened to cause his change of heart?

  Things had gone from playful with talks of spending more time together to as freezing cold as that ice cream they were supposed to get.

  Had Paige said something? Done something?

  Men . . . would she ever figure them out?

  No. Definitely, no.

  It was probably just as well. She had terrible taste in men. As memories of the mistakes she’d made in her last relationship filled her mind, Paige held back her tears. If only she could go back . . . she’d change things. She wouldn’t have fallen under Owen’s spell. Wouldn’t have made the same life-changing choices.

  But she couldn’t go back. She only knew she could never make those same mistakes again. No man was worth what she’d lost.

  She straightened her posture as she snapped back to reality.

  She had work to do.

  Paige glanced at her desk. She’d already straightened the papers in all her files. She’d lined up the paperclips so they were all facing the same direction. She’d tested every ink pen and gotten rid of any that didn’t work.

  If only she could order her life as easily as she organized office supplies.

  “Hey, Paige.”

  She looked up and saw the police chief step through the front door. Since Paige had worked here, she’d found Chief Cassidy Chambers to be refreshing and kind—but Paige also knew she didn’t want to cross the woman. Chief Chambers had been a strong, tough leader here on the island, the type of woman little girls wanted to be like when they grew up.

  “Morning, Chief Chambers.” Paige plastered on a pleasant smile, forgetting her personal struggles in an effort to be professional. More than anything, she wanted to do a good job. To make someone proud. To undo the damage she’d done back home in Florida.

  The chief paused and leaned against the counter. Her wavy blonde hair cascaded over her
shoulders. Paige knew that before her boss took any calls, the woman would pull her hair into a neat, professional bun. Until then, she looked relaxed, like a lifeguard in a police uniform.

  “Any calls this morning?” Chief Chambers grabbed a mint from the little glass bowl on the counter and began unwrapping it.

  Paige shook her head and stared at her blank notepad. “No, nothing. Not even a cat up a tree. No fender benders. No missing beach equipment.”

  “Well, I’d say that was good.” She popped the peppermint into her mouth. The chief had told her one time that talking to people with coffee breath should be a crime within itself, revealing a humorous side.

  “Me too.”

  “Everything good to go for the beach cleanup efforts at the end of the week?”

  It was a project Chief Chambers had asked Paige to oversee, which was perfect since she was passionate about keeping the ocean clean. Wes had also volunteered to help her.

  Her gut twisted. Would he still do that? She wasn’t sure.

  Paige remembered the chief’s question and cleared her throat. “Everything is great for the Lantern Beach Scrub a Dub Dub. Now we just need to hope for good weather.”

  Paige had come up with the name and game plan for the event. On Friday, volunteers would gather to clean the shoreline around the island, all the way from the public beaches to the lesser-known shorelines on the sound.

  “So far, one hundred people have signed up to help,” Paige continued. “A couple have volunteered to come out with scuba gear, so we’ll actually be in the water as well. By the time peak season hits, this place will be pristine.”

  “Perfect.” The chief lingered near the reception desk. “Look, I’m having some people over to my place tonight. Do you want to come?”

  Paige felt her chest well with excitement—and then quickly deflate. The thought of hanging out with the chief and her friends sounded so nice. But Paige felt like things were strained between her and Wes. Certainly, he would be there. After all, Wes was best friends with the chief’s husband, Ty.

  Paige frowned, knowing what her answer needed to be. “I would, but I don’t think that’s a great idea.”

  The chief tilted her head in confusion. “Why’s that?”

  How much should she say? After all, the chief was her boss, not a friend. Yet, Paige desperately wanted someone to talk to. She hadn’t really formed any female friendships since she’d moved here—she had no one to blame for that but herself. She’d struggled with deep relationships over the past couple years.

  “Wes and I . . . I don’t know.” Paige shrugged. “I’m not sure what happened yesterday, but he cut our plans short, dropped me off, and I haven’t heard from him since. I don’t want to read too much into things but . . . I just feel like something has changed. Call it women’s intuition.”

  The chief let out a soft, curious grunt. “Really? Nothing happened before that?”

  “No. We had a great time paddleboarding. Then we got out of the water, talked about getting ice cream. He looked into the distance like he saw a ghost, and then it was like he turned into a different person. He mumbled some kind of excuse and dropped me off at home.” Paige clamped her mouth shut. She hadn’t intended on saying so much.

  A knot formed between Chief Chambers’ eyes. “That doesn’t sound like Wes.”

  Paige shrugged. She’d gotten too close too fast. She shouldn’t be feeling this defeated at this point in their undefined relationship.

  “Easy come, easy go, right?” She tried to sound like she wasn’t bothered, when, in truth, she was. Very bothered.

  Chief Chambers twisted her head in a quick shake. “You don’t understand. Wes . . . well, I don’t think anything about his connection with you has been easy for him. For as long as I’ve known him, no one has ever turned his head.”

  Paige’s heart lifted—even though she willed it not to. She didn’t want the chief’s words to thrill her like they did. “Is that right?”

  “Women here on the island—the single ones—they fake plumbing emergencies just so Wes will come out to their place.”

  Paige resisted a smile. She could easily see that. Wes had this rugged kind of manliness about him. Plus he was playful and hardworking. He liked keeping up with current events, and he was surprisingly perceptive. He made an intriguing package.

  “How does Wes handle that?” Paige asked, honestly curious.

  “Like a gentleman. He does his work and gets out. That doesn’t stop some women from continuing to call him.” Chief Chambers let out a chuckle before turning serious again. “All that said, Wes isn’t someone who uses women . . . I don’t know. He’s seemed very content being single for as long as I’ve known him.”

  “I see.” Paige wished she had more to say, but words failed her. Maybe Wes had just changed his mind about her . . . for no apparent reason. Or maybe he loved his singleness so much that he’d decided to stay with that status. It shouldn’t matter this much to Paige. It wasn’t like the two of them were official. They’d never even kissed. Why couldn’t she just shrug it off instead of feeling so torn?

  “Just give him some time. I don’t know what’s going on, but that doesn’t sound like the Wes I know.”

  Maybe Paige shouldn’t give up on him yet. Besides, she’d just come from one bad relationship. The last thing she wanted was to jump into another. Some space and distance would be good.

  Just as the thought entered Paige’s head, her phone buzzed. She looked down and saw it was a message from Wes. Her heart lifted before crashing again.

  She read the words there again.

  I’m sorry, Paige. I’m not going to be able to help with the beach cleanup project this weekend. Sorry to let you know this way, but something has come up that can’t be changed.

  Her intuition was correct. Something had definitely changed between them, leaving her reeling with confusion and disappointment.

  Wes pulled his trailer of kayaks and paddleboards up to the sandy beach. He’d finished a long day of plumbing jobs, and now he wanted to do his fun job and act as a tour guide.

  He had a full schedule tonight, and he looked forward to staying busy—mostly so he could keep his mind occupied.

  As he put his truck in park, he frowned. He’d hated sending Paige that text earlier today. He knew if he saw her face-to-face, he wouldn’t be able to call it off. One look from her, and Wes would be back where he started—totally infatuated.

  The best thing he could do right now was to keep his distance and encourage her to do the same.

  He frowned as he climbed out of his truck. The only thing he could do right now was get to work.

  He grabbed a clipboard to review who’d signed up for tonight’s expedition. He expected people would start arriving in about thirty minutes. He’d need that time to pull the kayaks out, organize the lifejackets, and make sure everyone had signed their waivers.

  He normally hired some college kids to help him, but he had another week before they would arrive. In the meantime, his friend Austin was giving him a hand today.

  As if on cue, Austin pulled in behind him and hopped from his truck, wearing board shorts and a water shirt.

  “Hey, hey, man!” Austin gave him a high five. “What’s happening?”

  “Just getting everything ready. Thanks for helping me out.”

  “Any time.”

  Austin walked with him to the trailer.

  “Let’s start by unloading these,” Wes said. “We have twelve people signed up tonight.”

  “Excellent. Based on the clouds I’m seeing, it’s going to be a beautiful sunset. You’ll have some happy customers.”

  “That’s what I want.” Wes released one of the straps that kept the kayaks in place. “Happy customers mean happy reviews. Happy reviews keep me in business.”

  They chatted as they unloaded. Austin was a contractor, and, in his free time, he and his fiancé, Skye, had been working on flipping a house. The place was nearly completed, and Wes couldn’t
wait to see how it looked. The normal conversation was a welcoming, albeit temporary, distraction.

  “By the way, you and Skye set a date yet?” Wes asked.

  Austin grinned. “We’re working on it. We’d like to finish this house first.”

  “You better hurry up then.”

  Austin laughed. “I’m trying. Believe me.”

  Finally, all the kayaks were lined up on the shore and ready to go.

  As Wes started back toward his truck to grab the life jackets, he paused and glanced down.

  He leaned closer to one of the kayaks. Was that a . . . ?

  “What is it, man?” Austin peered down beside him.

  Wes ran his finger across the molded plastic. “It looks like there’s a hole in the side of my kayak.”

  Austin squinted as he inspected it “Man, you’re right. Almost like someone took a drill and put it there on purpose.”

  A bad feeling began brewing in Wes’s gut.

  He hadn’t seen Jennifer since he thought he’d spied her yesterday. He’d hoped he made the whole thing up, that he hadn’t really seen her at all. But that was looking less like the case.

  Silently, he walked to another kayak and inspected it also.

  Sure enough, a hole had been drilled in this one also.

  He straightened and ran a hand over his face as he squeezed his eyes shut.

  This couldn’t be happening. Without his kayaks, he had no tours. He had no side business.

  Austin continued down the line and checked each of the kayaks. When he came back over, a grim look lined his face.

  “They all have holes,” he said.

  His words didn’t surprise Wes. That was what he’d suspected.

  Jennifer must have done this. It was the only thing that made sense.

  She’d sabotaged his equipment. Was it an act of revenge for rejecting her? For coming here to Lantern Beach and giving attention to another woman?

  The thought of it caused unease to jostle inside him.

  So much for those happy customer reviews. Wes was going to have to cancel tonight’s trip and refund everyone’s money.