Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (14 page)

By the time the sun rose at seven, Theo had made it to the cliffs. The tide was coming in and he didn’t want to risk getting trapped between the water and the cliff face, so he stopped. He was about to head back when something odd caught his eye.

Some snow at the edge of the tidal line was pushed up, as if someone had recently been walking there. But that was insane. There was no way anyone could have accessed that area except by boat, and he hadn’t seen one since reaching the beach. He glanced around. No tracks led up the beach to the dunes. Theo didn’t know exactly when it had stopped snowing, but he seriously doubted anyone would have come out here after the storm passed through last night.

An uneasy sensation came over him, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was bothering him. So, someone had come out here by boat in the middle of the night, walked around on the sand, and then taken off again? It was weird, but it was hardly a crime.

He walked back down the beach, following the path of his own footprints. By the time he reached his Jeep, he was once again completely focused on his book. He couldn’t wait to get back to the Inn to put his thoughts down on paper.

At ten, Theo’s stomach growled. He’d been writing for two hours and he hadn’t even realized that he’d forgotten breakfast. A trip to the LMK for a fresh muffin would solve his problem, so he grabbed his coat and headed out. The foyer of the Inn was empty—no Avery and
no Kate. Wondering where they were, he walked down Main, enjoying the chilly air racing through his lungs.

Despite the mid-morning hour, the Kitchen was busy when he arrived. Most folks looked like they were taking coffee breaks, but a few people were finishing up breakfast. He saw Emma and Jimmy Bishop sitting in a booth and went to join them.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said, realizing they were holding hands across the table.

“No, man,” Jimmy said, glancing at his new wife. “We were just getting some coffee. Have a seat. That okay with you, Emma?” he asked. Emma nodded and blushed, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

Theo took off his coat and slid into the booth next to Emma, keeping a respectful distance between them. “What are you up to today, Jimmy?”

“More work on the barn. Been at it since six. But Emma told me she’d take me out for coffee during her break, so it was worth it.” He smiled at the tiny woman and she smiled back. “What about you?”

“I was up early doing some research on the
Siren Lorelei
for my new book. Scouted out Minamessett Beach and walked all the way down to Star Harbor Point.”

“How’d that go?” Jimmy asked.

“Fine,” he said.

“But not perfectly?” Emma asked.

He turned to look at her. She was studying him closely and he realized that she was just as sharp as her sister. “That’s right,” he said slowly. “I saw some weird tracks in the snow on the beach. They could only have been made by someone who landed by boat. No one I know is crazy enough to go out in such bad weather.”

“It could have been a fisherman.”

“Fishermen know the weather well, babe,” Jimmy said. “No one would want to risk their boat by going out in weather like that.”

“And I can’t imagine any fisherman would try for a landing at the Point, right?” Theo asked.

Jimmy nodded and laughed. “Yeah. Only crazies and delinquents would do something that stupid. Man, back in the day we did some pretty dumb stuff, right, Theo?”

“Tell me about it,” he agreed. “By the way, where’s Avery?” he asked. “I’ve barely seen her at the Inn over the past two days.”

Emma glanced at Jimmy. “She’s been busy.”

“Really?” Theo questioned.

“Yes,” she said, blinking quickly. “She, ah, had some business to attend to.”

“What business? I thought she was taking a break from it all.”

“Oh, just some stuff.” Emma waved her free hand in the air. “I’m really not at liberty to say. James,” she said, giving him a significant look, “I need to go freshen up. I’ll be back soon. Excuse me.”

Theo took her cue and slid out of the booth so she could get out. As soon as she was gone, he sat back down and faced Jimmy. “Well?” he demanded.

Jimmy cleared his throat and glanced around, as if trying to make sure that no one could overhear their conversation. Then he ducked his head to whisper. “Emma told me Avery’s meeting with her old boss at the Back Bay Recovery Center on Wednesday morning. She likes to eat at Charlie’s on Columbus. If you tell her I told you this—”

“You’ll kill me?” Theo interjected.

Jimmy cracked the knuckles on his big hands. “You got it.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for the information. I have one more question for you. Would you take me out on your boat to check out the wreckage site? I’d appreciate seeing it by sea as well as by land.”

Jimmy nodded. “Just name the time and the place.”

“Maybe sometime this weekend if the weather’s good.”

When Emma returned to the table, she said, “I hope you gentlemen had a nice conversation.”

“That we did.” Theo rose and gave her a grin before throwing on his coat.

“Well, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the lecture series tomorrow night. Be prepared for questions. Many, many questions.”

There were a number of history buffs in the area, including a group from a neighboring town whose sole purpose was to research and discuss pirate lore. “Let me guess. The Falmouth crew is coming?”

“That’s right. And, of course, our own Branford Weld.”

“I’ll be ready for them all.”

Emma smiled and sat down across from Jimmy. “I know you will.”

Before he could say goodbye, Lexie stopped by their table. “You’re leaving already? But you haven’t ordered yet.”

“I’ll take one of your pumpkin muffins to go.” He gave Emma and Jimmy a big wink. “Catch you later.”

CHAPTER 11

“Remind me how I let you talk me into this, again?” Avery whispered to her sister as she sat in the back row of the chairs set up in the Star Harbor Library for the lecture series. It seemed as if all of Star Harbor had come out for the latest Tuesday-night session of Evening with an Author. Aunt Kate was sitting next to her, and she recognized many faces in the crowd, including Julie Kensington, Lexie Meyers, and Buster Quigley. Her friends from the chamber music group were all there, too—Karen with her husband, Max; John and Andy; Royce, front and center with his wife, and Luke. There were also a number of people she didn’t recognize, including a whole group of elderly men who’d come dressed to the nines in full pirate garb.

Emma looked around, clearly pleased with the turnout. “I didn’t have to talk you into this, remember,” she whispered back. “I asked and you said yes.”

“Right,” Avery muttered. “But that was before I got the call from Yvonne.”

“This is the perfect thing to get your mind off of your work,” Emma retorted. “Okay, I’m up. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Avery said as Emma walked to the front of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of black hair, and with a start, she realized that Theo Grayson was standing just off to the side, near some tall bookshelves. The last time he’d kissed her—make that the last time she’d kissed him—it had been a toe-curling experience. Would she have ended up naked on the parlor floor if that stupid clock hadn’t rung and he hadn’t pulled away?

She didn’t have to think hard to know the answer was yes.

She couldn’t deny her attraction to him. Not to herself. But if anyone asked, she was closed for business, trying to get her affairs in order. Weird, it seemed like everyone—Kate, Emma, even Luke—had their own agenda for how she should run her life. Well, she needed to
manage things the way she thought best. And at present, getting involved with Theo would derail her plans. Anytime they were around each other, she had trouble controlling herself. She needed to stay away from him. The only problem was that while she was working at the Inn there was no way to avoid him. She felt guilty asking Kate to work more, but maybe it was time. Yvonne’s phone call had been a strong signal that she should get her head back in the game.

Emma stood before the crowd, just in front of a comfortable-looking armchair. Next to the chair was a small table with a reading lamp. A single hardcover book was lying on the table, and an easel with a veiled poster stood off to the right.

Theo was still standing. For a split second, Avery wondered why he hadn’t taken a seat, just before a dawning awareness came over her.
He
was the speaker! Before she could rise to leave, Emma started talking, making escape impossible—she couldn’t just cut out while her own sister was speaking.

“Good evening, and welcome to the latest Evening with an Author lecture sponsored by the Star Harbor Library. I’m so pleased you were able to join us tonight.”

Emma picked up the book and held it in front of her. “The
Pirate’s Sextant
, a swashbuckling tale set in the eighteenth century, reads like one of the great historical naval classics. Yet unlike C. S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower or Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey, Captain Alexander Crowley, the hero of
The Pirate’s Sextant
, is not a brave officer of the Queen, but a privateer, a for-hire mercenary. Still, he is morally upright, and his code of ethics cannot be cracked.”

Emma looked around the room and smiled. “
The Pirate’s Sextant
is an example of American literature at its finest. Tonight we are fortunate to have one of Star Harbor’s own come read from his latest bestseller. T. R. Grayson is here, though you might know him as Theo.”

Theo gave Avery a stunning smile, which she didn’t return. Emma went on.

“Born and raised in Star Harbor, T. R. Grayson received his undergraduate degree in history, summa cum laude, from the University of California at Berkeley. He went on to get a
master’s degree in American history, also from Berkeley. For the past decade he’s made his home in San Francisco, but we’re pleased that instead of being on set for the miniseries that PBS is making of the first two Captain Crowley novels, he’s back in Star Harbor doing research for his next book. Please give him a warm welcome.”

As the crowd politely applauded, Theo stepped forward and gave Emma a hug. She hugged him back, then pulled the cover off the poster, revealing a picture of the book cover. Dark handwriting was scrawled across the bottom—his autograph, Avery presumed. More applause sounded as Emma handed him the book and moved away.

“Thank you for having me here tonight,” Theo said, a broad smile on his face. “I’m glad to see so many history buffs.” He nodded at the pirates. “I thought I’d read the first chapter and then answer any questions afterward. I look forward to hearing your comments and,” he paused dramatically, “to finding out if I got any of the history wrong.” There was gentle laughter from the group. Theo settled into the chair and, slipping on his glasses, he leaned forward and began to read.

Emma slid into the seat next to Avery’s. Giving her sister a dirty look, Avery whispered, “I can’t believe you did this to me.”

“Did what?” Emma whispered back, her eyes wide.

“Why didn’t you
tell
me that Theo was famous?”

“I just assumed you knew,” she said coolly, blinking a little too fast.

“I didn’t, and you
knew
it!”

“Oh, really? How about that.” Refusing to make eye contact, Emma stared straight ahead.

Avery suspected she had only herself to blame, but she couldn’t let Emma off the hook so easily. “Just wait until—”

“Girls!” Kate whispered.

“Shhh.” An elderly woman sitting in front of Avery turned around, an angry look on her face.

“Sorry,” Avery mouthed. The woman turned back with a sniff. Avery tried to recapture her sister’s attention, but Emma was resolutely staring at Theo. Now that the reading had begun, it would be impossible for her to leave without making a scene. Sighing, Avery resigned herself to the fact that she was trapped. So she did the only thing she could; she leaned back in her seat and carefully studied the man in the chair.

He didn’t have to look so good, wearing a light-blue French-cuff shirt and slim-cut black slacks, a lock of black hair artfully falling across his forehead. His large body filled the sizeable chair and he looked at ease, graceful even, as he read. And extremely intelligent, wearing those glasses. Could he be any more handsome? Then he looked up, just for an instant, and his gaze met hers. When he lowered his eyes, she saw it—the hint of a smile on his lips. Was it her imagination, or was he teasing her? At the next pause, he did it again. Ire growing by the moment, she vowed to ignore him, a difficult prospect given the fact that she was, in essence, a captive audience.

But as she began to listen to him, really listen, her attitude shifted. His deep voice filled the room and perfectly fit the words he was reading. His sentences were spare, evocative, and utterly masculine. It was a work of men’s fiction, steeped in history, lore, and morality, and she found herself drawn in by the story. Funny, her tastes ran more toward nonfiction psychology tomes, but the way he masterfully wove the truth with fiction was thrilling. She could see how Theo—make that T. R. Grayson—had gotten his reputation as an expert storyteller.