by Marie Force
“Katie,” he said in the condescending tone she hated. “We both know better. When are you going to quit fighting the inevitable?”
Inevitable? That was when she knew she had to get out of there or risk being molested—or worse—by this pig of a man. The things she’d learned in the self-defense classes Owen had insisted his sisters take when they were in junior high school came rushing back to her.
Choose your moment carefully.
Though it pained her to remain passive while the doctor continued to close in on her, Katie remembered the instructor’s advice to wait until she had a clear shot. Swallowing the bile that collected in her throat and willing her limbs to cooperate, she waited until he was inches from her before she acted, jamming the heel of her hand into his nose and her knee into his groin. He went down like a felled oak tree, landing in a screaming, bleeding mess on the floor.
Katie grabbed her purse and stepped over him.
“You fucking bitch! I’ll have you charged for assault!”
“Do it, and I’ll ruin you with years of recorded come-ons and innuendos. Oh, you didn’t think I was smart enough to build a case for when this day finally arrived? Think again. Have me charged, and I’ll sue your ass off for harassment. And by the way, I quit, you miserable son of a bitch.”
She’d shaken for hours after the confrontation, sitting at home waiting for the police to show up and arrest her. Fortunately, Julia had been out for most of the night, so she didn’t have to explain her odd behavior to her sister. She’d been awake all night, but the police never came. Apparently, he’d believed her when she said she had proof of his harassment, which she did not.
After a long and sleepless night, she realized she’d called his bluff, and in the process, had quit a job she needed. It was for the best, though. God only knew what might’ve happened in the office that night if she hadn’t known how to defend herself. She couldn’t even think about it without feeling sick to her stomach.
“Katie?”
Jarred out of her thoughts, Katie discovered she’d walked quite a ways down the beach and was staring out at the ocean.
Shane McCarthy, with Holden on his shoulders, eyed her inquisitively. “Are you okay?”
Katie shook off the unpleasant memories of her now ex-colleague and forced a smile for Shane. “I’m fine, thank you. How are you guys this morning?” Shane wore plaid shorts and a white T-shirt that made him look extra tan. His feet were bare as he walked along the water’s edge. She caught a whiff of sporty cologne or maybe it was shampoo. His hair was still damp from an earlier shower, but he hadn’t shaved, and his whiskers were golden in the early morning sunlight. All in all, he was incredibly handsome, not that it mattered. He was Laura’s brother, for crying out loud.
“We’re great. Just out for a stroll on the beach before brunch.”
“How did Holden do last night?”
“Slept through the night. I’ve decided his mother is making up all this middle-of-the-night business.”
Holden let out a happy-sounding squeal that made Shane and Katie laugh.
“Be careful telling her that, or she’ll want you to stay with him every night.” As she spoke to him, Katie tried to forget that his hands had been all over her, that he’d seen her naked breasts and blown air into her mouth. It was mortifying to remember the way she’d clung to him in her panic and nearly managed to drown them both. Not to mention afterward, when he’d held her while she sobbed.
“I’d happily stay with him every night. He’s the best thing… well, ever.”
“He sure is cute.”
“You want to hold him?”
“Um, sure.”
“Go see Auntie Katie, buddy,” Shane said as he handed Holden to her.
She took the baby into her arms, noting how solid and sturdy he was at just over six months old. He had soft dark hair and eyes that looked up at her curiously as if to determine who this stranger was holding him. “He must look just like his father.”
“He does,” Shane said, his smile fading. “Don’t get me started on that guy.”
“I never heard what happened between him and Laura, not that it’s any of my business. Whatever it was brought her to Owen, which is where she belongs.”
“It sure is. Her ex never quit dating after they got married. She found out when he made a date with one of her bridesmaids who’d seen his profile online and set him up.”
“Oh my God. Seriously? When he had someone like Laura at home?”
“My thoughts exactly. It was all I could do not to kill him.”
“I bet.”
With Katie still holding the baby, they started back toward the Sand & Surf, where the post-wedding brunch would begin shortly.
“Is he too heavy for you?” Shane asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Not at all. He’s adorable.”
“No arguments here. I think he’s the cutest baby in the history of the world.”
“It’s really nice of you to stay with him so Laura and Owen could have a night alone.”
“I love being with him.”
“He smells so good. I love that baby smell.”
“We took a shower together, and I discovered he’s like a slippery eel when he’s wet. It was all I could do to hold on to him. We ended up sitting in the tub.” He laughed and shook his head. “It was a disaster, but he loved it.”
The image of Shane McCarthy, naked and wet in the shower, had Katie swallowing hard. That he was obviously smitten with his nephew only made him more attractive. What was wrong with her that she could go from reliving the horror of the near attack by the doctor she worked with to thinking Shane was attractive?
So he was good-looking as well as kind and attentive toward his nephew. That didn’t mean he was always that way. People often had two sides to them, as she knew all too well. Keeping her focus on the baby, she walked with Shane beside her.
“How long are you here?” he asked.
“I’m not sure.” Now that there was nothing to go home to in Texas, she’d thought about staying awhile, if Laura and Owen didn’t mind having her around. She’d wanted to get past the wedding before she brought that up with them. “Do you live here, or are you just here for the wedding?”
“It seems I live here now.”
“It seems?”
“I hadn’t planned to move here, but Laura asked me to come help with the hotel renovations. Then our cousin Mac asked me to stay through the summer to work on a project of his. Next thing you know, I’ve been here eight months with no end in sight to the work.”
“Where do you normally live?”
“I used to live in Providence.”
“Do you like it here?”
“I love it. I came here as a kid to visit my cousins in the summer. Those were the best times. With Laura here and now our dad out here year-round, too, it’s begun to feel like home.”
“We used to come in the summers to visit our grandparents. I loved it then, and it’s hardly changed at all since the last time I was here.”
“I wonder if we were ever here at the same time when we were kids.”
“The last time I was here in the summer was when I was seventeen. So fifteen years ago.”
“You’re thirty-two?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“Yeah, so?”
“You don’t look it. I would’ve guessed twenty-three or -four.”
“Oh come on! No way.”
“Yes, way! I’m not kidding. I never would’ve guessed you’re older than me.”
She glanced at him out of the side of her eye. “By how much?”
“Only two years. Don’t worry.”
“That’s a relief,” she said teasingly.
“Speaking of relief, let me take him.” He reached for Holden. “He gets heavy after a while.”
While Katie had enjoyed holding the baby, her arms tingled as blood flowed through them after she was relieved of his weight.
Holden squealed when Shane plop
ped him back on his shoulders, keeping a firm grip on the baby’s tiny body. He grasped a tight handful of Shane’s hair, making his uncle wince.
“Easy, buddy. You’ll give me a bald spot.” He extricated his hair from Holden’s grip without losing a beat in their walk. “I think we might’ve been here at the same time. Maybe we met way back then.”
“Maybe.”
“So what do you do down there in Texas?”
“I’m a nurse practitioner.”
“Oh, really? That’s cool. In a hospital?”
She shook her head. “For a doctor. Until recently anyway.” The words popped out before she remembered no one knew she’d quit her job. “I’ll be job hunting eventually, but do me a favor and don’t mention that to my family. I haven’t told them I quit my job.”
“I won’t say anything.”
“Thanks.”
“So why’d you leave your job?”
Katie was astounded to realize she wanted to tell him. He was so nice and easy to talk to. It would be such a relief to unburden herself, but she couldn’t do that. Not when she hadn’t even told Julia. “It’s a long story.” As they were close to the stairs that led up to the hotel, the generic response was an easy out.
“Some other time, then.”
“Sure.”
He stopped walking and turned to her. “I was wondering…”
“About?”
“Since you’re going to be here awhile, could I take you to dinner some night? Maybe tonight?”
After a lifetime of avoiding men, brushing off their unwelcome attention and generally dodging situations like this one, she had no idea how to respond to him. She’d become adept at blowing off the advances of men who didn’t matter to her. But this situation called for an unusual amount of finesse.
“Katie?”
“I… It’s very nice of you to ask, Shane, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Oh. Okay. Sorry if I was out of line by asking.”
“You weren’t.” God, could this be any more awkward? Because their siblings were married, she needed to keep things friendly with him. Their families were tied to each other forever now, and their paths would cross frequently. “Not at all.”
He gestured for her to go up the stairs ahead of him.
As she went, she figured her heart was racing from the exertion of climbing the stairs. It couldn’t be because a handsome, sexy, seemingly nice guy had asked her out. It wasn’t that at all.
Chapter 4
Following Katie up the stairs, Shane couldn’t figure out what had possessed him to ask Owen’s sister to dinner the way he had. He hadn’t asked a woman to have so much as a cup of coffee with him in two years. So why now? Why her?
He couldn’t say exactly, except there was something so sweet and peaceful about her, and he couldn’t deny he was drawn to those qualities. But obviously the attraction was one-sided. At least the spontaneous gesture had proven he wasn’t totally dead inside, which was progress.
Asking her out was a big deal for him, not that she could possibly know that. It was probably just as well she’d declined. With their siblings now married and babies on the way who’d be their shared nieces or nephews, it was better not to let things get weird or complicated with Katie. They’d see each other at family events, and the last thing either of them needed was that kind of awkwardness every time they got together.
At the top of the stairs, the family gathered at a big, long table for brunch. Shane carried Holden toward the table, where Adele and Russ were holding court. Katie was surrounded by her siblings, several of them blond and athletic-looking, like her and Owen. Her twin, Julia, and two of their brothers had darker hair.
Katie smiled and laughed as she interacted with her brothers and sisters, each of whom hugged their mother, Sarah, when she and Charlie joined the party.
When Shane’s dad, Frank, came in with his girlfriend, Betsy, Shane walked over to say hello to them. Holden let out a happy squeal at the sight of his grandfather, who took him from Shane.
“Hey, guys.” Frank peppered the baby’s chubby cheeks with noisy kisses that made him laugh. “How was boys’ night?”
“Perfectly uneventful.”
“Your sister won’t be happy to hear that.”
“I’m told I shouldn’t tell her or run the risk of getting ‘stuck’ with him every night, which I wouldn’t mind.” If nothing else kept him on the island after the latest job he was doing for Mac ended, remaining close to his nephew would be a major incentive to figuring out a way to stay on Gansett.
That his father and sister were here, too, was also great, but Holden… He was more than enough on his own to have his Uncle Shane thinking about putting down some roots. Shane didn’t want to miss a thing with Holden or the babies his sister was expecting. If he wasn’t destined to have a family of his own, at least he’d have Laura’s kids to love and spoil.
It was probably time to talk to Mac about a permanent job on the island, if his cousin was amenable to keeping Shane on the payroll.
“Your sister is lucky to have such a hands-on brother to help out with the baby,” Betsy said as Holden wrapped his pudgy hand around her index finger.
At first it had been odd to see his dad with another woman. He’d been single for more than twenty years, since his wife—and Shane’s mother—died of cancer when Shane was seven and Laura nine. Betsy was the first woman Frank had been serious about since then, and Shane couldn’t be happier for them.
“I love him,” Shane said in response to her comment. “It’s certainly no hardship to help out with him.”
“You’re going to be a wonderful father someday,” Betsy said.
The comment, which he knew Betsy meant as a compliment, hit him like a spike to the heart. He should’ve had kids of his own by now and would have if his wife hadn’t lied to him about everything. They’d wanted to be young parents so they could enjoy raising their kids and then fully enjoy the years they’d have to themselves afterward.
But none of that had happened, and now, as he approached his thirtieth birthday, it seemed like it never would. Fortunately, Laura and Owen’s arrival saved Shane from having to reply to Betsy’s well-meaning statement.
Holden let out a shriek at the sight of his mother, who lit up with joy as she scooped her son out of his grandfather’s arms and swung him around.
“There’s my big boy! How was your night with Uncle Shane?” She rained kisses down on the baby’s face, making him chortle with baby laughter. “Did you keep him up all night?”
Shane smiled at his sister. “Um, no, not exactly…”
“If you tell me he slept through the night, I’ll… I don’t know what I’ll do, but it won’t be pretty.”
“All right then, I won’t tell you that.”
“Are you kidding me?” She stared into Holden’s big brown eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“Are we kidding her, buddy?” Shane asked his nephew, who replied with a big gummy grin. “He got a little wasted on champagne at the wedding. That might explain it.”
“Explain what?” Owen asked as he joined them, putting his arm around Laura and leaning in to kiss Holden.
“How our son managed to sleep through the night, for the first time, when we were elsewhere.”
“What?” Owen said. “No way.”
“Way,” Shane said with a smile for his brother-in-law.
“I say we go away more often,” Laura said to her husband.
“You got that right.”
“Without sharing details that’ll scar me for life,” Frank said, “did you have a nice evening?”
“It was all right,” Laura said with a shrug. “Nothing special.”
Owen poked her gently in the ribs, making her laugh. “Nothing special, my ass.”
Frank put his hands over his ears. “Don’t say one more word, or I’ll have you arrested.”
“She’s my wife.”
Frank scowled at his new son-in-law. “She’s my little
girl.”
“He’s got you there, Owen,” Betsy said, patting Frank on the back.
“Now, boys,” Laura said, “there’s plenty of me to go around.” She placed a hand over her growing baby bump. “And getting more plentiful all the time.”
Adele touched a knife to a crystal goblet and summoned them all to brunch. The table had been set with the festive china that Shane recognized from a hutch in the hotel’s sitting room where he’d hung out with Laura, Owen, Holden, Sarah and Charlie on many a winter night.
“I thought the whole crew was coming to brunch,” Frank said.
“I bet they’re all hung over,” Owen replied with a droll smile. “Which is indication of a successful wedding.”
“Indeed,” Laura said proudly.
Shane found his name on a card next to a plate and took a seat as the others did the same. He glanced at the plate to his right and saw Katie’s name on the card. He hoped it wouldn’t be awkward to sit with her after he’d asked her out and been turned down.
She took her seat a minute later and offered him a shy smile. “We meet again.”
“So it seems. I’m Shane. Laura’s brother.” He extended his hand, hoping she’d get that he was going for a clean slate.
Eyeing him curiously, she shook his hand. “Katie. Owen’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you, Katie.”
“You, too.” She laughed at the little game they were playing, as if the uncomfortable exchange on the beach had never happened.
Julia sat across from them with their brothers Jeff, the youngest of the seven Lawrys, and Josh as well as their sister Cindy. If Katie was quiet and somewhat reserved, Julia was bubbly and chatty. The fraternal twins bore a slight resemblance to each other. Katie had blue eyes while Julia’s were grayer, and her hair was darker than Katie’s. Their smiles were similar, but Julia was much freer with hers than Katie was.
“What’s up with Mom?” Julia asked the others. “She’s all glowy looking.”
“Um, that would be called happiness,” Jeff said. “Something we’ve never seen on her before.”
“What do we know about this guy?” Josh asked. “We should get John to check him out for us.” John was a cop in Tennessee and had been unable to get away from work to attend the wedding.