Dangerous: A Seaside Cove Romance (11 page)

Eli woke, his arm asleep. He moved to roll over, but Claire's head lay on his shoulder. To wake her or not to wake her? That was the question.

The month since Valentine's Day had been the happiest Eli could remember in many years. Every free moment on the weekends, he had spent at Claire's. Their days outside exploring the paths through the forest around her home, their evenings by a bonfire, and the rest of the hours in Claire's bedroom.

They still avoided conversations about the big stuff. What were they doing? Did she want to be serious? Did she want to tell her kids?

Eli should not have gotten involved with Claire. The thought hit him every time he left her house. But as long as they kept their relationship casual and to themselves, Ben would not be a problem. But every time he saw her, he forgot all the reasons they should not be together, and only thought of the reasons they should.

The problem was, as each day brought new memories, Eli was further convinced he did not want to keep their relationship quiet. He wanted her to bring the kids up to the brewery for dinner a few nights a week. He wanted to dance with her at Jack's wedding. He wanted to rebuild her damn kitchen.

They discussed everything else in the world. They talked about their childhoods, school, their ambitions in life. About ex-lovers. Claire's four years in the Air Force.

"I thought about joining the Marines when I got my GED," Eli had told her one night by the fire. "But it would have been about me getting away from my dad - not doing something for the greater good."

"I joined for a fresh start," Claire said. "Sure, I love my country - I would have found another way to get a fresh start if I didn't - but I joined for me. For my marriage."

Claire always seemed uncomfortable when she spoke about her marriage. Eli did not push, and he did not mention what he already knew.

One night while they lay in bed, Eli talked to her about moving to Seaside Cove and running a garage with his father -- leaving out all the illegal details.

"My dad's partner screwed him over in Johnsonburg and we lost everything," Eli said. "We moved here because he thought he had a good deal on the garage."

"Did you like working with your dad?" Claire asked.

Eli sighed. "He was a difficult man."

"What about your mother?" Claire kissed his chest.

"Once she was gone, she was gone."

He glanced at her alarm clock, four in the morning. He slid her head off his shoulder. She rolled over, and he waited to see if she woke. Claire breathed heavily again within seconds.

He moved his arm, wincing as the blood rushed to his fingertips. He should drive home and go back to sleep until his shift started that afternoon. But the bed was too warm. Claire's body too soft.

He placed his arm over her, and she snuggled into him. He drifted to sleep.

A pounding noise from outside the room woke Eli. He sat up, looking at the clock. Almost six, he heard the shower running through the cracked door. The early morning fog cleared from his head, and he recognized the pounding as knocking.

"Claire," he said, stepping into the bathroom and pulling his shirt on, "someone's at the door."

"What?" She peeked around the shower curtain. "Right now?"

Claire shut the water off, then she threw the curtain open. She put her short robe on and wrapped her wet hair in a towel. They walked into living room.

Claire peeked out the blinds. "It's Robert and the kids." She looked back at Eli, indecision in her eyes.

"Should I disappear?" he asked reluctantly. He did not want to leave. He wanted to stand next to her and announce his presence to Robert.

"It might be confusing for my kids."

"Yeah," Eli said. About her kids, not the ex. Her children came first, as he wished he had come first for his mother. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

He stepped into the kitchen, closing the swinging door behind him. He leaned against the remaining counter and crossed his arms, listening.

"Claire Bear," a man said.

Claire Bear?
Eli glowered. Robert. Eli had an urge to walk out there and stand at Claire's side, turn it into a pissing contest. He wanted to show Robert who was there now, taking care of Claire. But without Claire's permission, he stayed rooted to his spot.

"Whose truck is that?" Robert asked.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked. "Hey sweetie, are you in your jammies? Do you want to go back to bed till we have to leave for school?"

A child's voice answered, too quiet for Eli to understand.

"I got called in," Robert said. "I've been texting you."

"My phone must be dead."

Eli listened to the shuffling sounds, doors opening and closing. Claire's voice was hushed; Eli could not make out the words.

"See?" Robert said. "No harm, they can go back to sleep for a few hours till you take them to school. So, you got a guy in here, Claire Bear?"

"A friend." A flutter of unwarranted irritation passed through Eli at her statement. "Where are you going, Robert?"

The kitchen door opened and a lanky man with light brown hair stepped into the room. Robert looked familiar as he walked straight to Eli, hand extended. "Robert Smith."

"Eli Dunlan." Eli begrudgingly shook Robert's hand.  

"Eli Dunlan," Robert said, dropping Eli's hand, his brow furrowing in concentration. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Bridget," Eli said, remembering the night he had shown up at Bridget's house to surprise her. Recognition slammed over Robert's face.

"Oh, so what? Claire's like a payback fuck?" Robert chuckled.

Eli's hands fisted at his sides. He pushed the anger aside. Children slept in the next room. 

"Excuse me?" Claire stepped in front of Robert, her hands on her hips. "What the hell's your problem?"

"Do you know?" Robert asked, smirking at Claire.

"How's the wrist?" Eli asked. He avoided Claire's gaze.

Robert took Claire's hand and she pulled it away. Eli stepped beside her.

"I was dating a woman last fall; do you remember?" Robert asked and Claire shrugged. "It turned out she had a boyfriend. He was a little on the poor side, real slow. Bridget was just using him for a good time, until I came along."

Robert could say whatever he wanted about Eli, he heard it all before. Robert's opinion, whatever Bridget might have said about him, none of that mattered.

"When I got to Bridget's house that night, Robert was sneaking out of her bedroom window. He fell off the roof, and broke his wrist," Eli said. He forced out a laugh. Of all the damned stupid coincidences.

"Wait, what?" Claire stepped away from both of them, backing into the refrigerator. Robert moved towards her, and she raised her hand. "You. Go. You brought the kids over so you could go to work. Go."

"Claire Bear," Robert said, reaching for her hand again, and Claire jerked it away.

Eli stepped in front of Claire. "She said go."

Robert shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. Eli did not move until they heard Robert's truck speed out of the driveway.

"So, Bridget," Claire said. She looked angry with her lips pursed and brows pulled together. 

"Claire," Eli said, "I didn't know he was your ex-husband."

"Eli-" she said, sounding tired.

"I'm not some sadistic fuck, Claire," he whispered. She needed to trust him. She touched his arm, then dropped her hand.

"I know you aren't," Claire said, pinching her brow between her fingers. "I'm not mad at you, Eli. It's this town. This town is too small. First Ben, now Bridget."

"They're other people. They aren't us," he said, tipping her chin so she looked at him.

"Eli, don't say
us
."

"Why?"

Claire sighed.

Eli pressed a light kiss on her mouth. "It's me and you. No one else matters."

"Mommy?" The kitchen door opened and Claire's daughter, Ella, stepped into the room. Claire pulled away from Eli and walked over to her. Ella stared at Eli with big brown eyes. "Who's that?"

"Go back to bed, sweetie. I'll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in, okay?" Claire bent down and kissed Ella on the forehead.

"Okay, Mommy." Ella smiled at Claire before pushing the door open and walking into the living room.

"Other people matter," Claire said, turning back to Eli. "My children matter."

"I didn't mean your children," Eli said, grabbing her hand. He was messing everything up.

"Eli, we're moving too fast-"

"I like you," he said. He pulled Claire against him, and she sighed, hugging him back. He was falling for her - faster than he thought it possible to fall. Not even that. He realized, he accepted a long time ago he might never fall in love.

Fear ruled Eli's life. Fear of his heart breaking. Fear of Ben popping up and taking away everything he worked so hard for. He needed to tell her about Ben. Eli had resided in this happy little bubble for weeks, pretending like the outside world was not there waiting to rip them apart.

"I need to talk to you about something," Eli said.

"Me first." Claire pulled away. "I need to push pause on this."

"You don't want to be together?" Eli asked.

"That's not it. I just need to figure stuff out." Claire shook her head. "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's not important if you're done with me. If you don't want to be with me," Eli said. He was nauseous and needed to leave.

"It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is giving my children stability," Claire said. "I need to clear my head."

"Is this about Bridget?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know. No. Ugh! I didn't want other people... I need to make sure I can do this."

"What do you mean,
can
?" Eli squinted. Maybe he had fallen, but Claire stood still, unmoved. "Forget
can
or
should
. What do you
want
?"

"What do you want, Eli?" Claire asked, her voice rising. "Because you act all hot and like you can't get enough of me when we're alone, but the minute anyone is around, I might as well just be one of your buddies. If I'm even that lucky."

"I know what I want." His hands grabbed Claire's hips and backed her against the refrigerator, pressing his body against her. His hand went to her hair, pulling her face close to his, he leaned in, kissing her. He felt the possessiveness in his kiss, the danger. She trembled, and he broke away. "I want you, Claire. I'm falling in love with you."

Claire stared at him with large unblinking eyes.

"Mommy!" Ella yelled.

"You'd better go, okay? I'll see you Thursday."

"See you Thursday." But Eli spoke to thin air; Claire was already gone.

Claire stood in the middle of her kitchen in steel-toed boots, ratty old jeans and a threadbare t-shirt. After dropping the kids off at school, Claire came home to a happy realization; she had a full day, free from responsibilities until three o'clock.

She would spend the day finishing the kitchen demo. Eli offered to tear it down for her the weekend before, but they barely left the bedroom for days.

She spent the morning dragging old cabinets outside and dropping them in her driveway. Then she went to work disconnecting the cabinets and countertops still attached. Most of them came down easier than she expected, worn and waterlogged. She would have to call in a professional to look at the water stains on the wall before she hung the new cabinets.

Others were not as easy to remove, but she got to use the sledgehammer. Ripping the kitchen to shreds relieved a surprising amount of stress from her shoulders.

Now, she stood in middle of it all, dust and dirt, splinters and nails, to be swept away.

"See? You don't need a man," Claire said, addressing her reflection in the window. "You can want one, and you can have one, but you can't need one. Got it?"

She pointed the sledgehammer at the window, waiting for an answer. She nodded once. "Good."

She grabbed the broom. "You won't reach the point where you need a man, and he leaves. You won't go back there."

I needed someone, and I was all alone.

The morning had been too overwhelming. Her real life had smashed into her fantasy one. Then, worst of all, he said he was falling for her, and the scary truth hit Claire; she was falling too.

Claire emptied the dustpan into the trash. She did not want to fall; tired not having control; sideswiped with the information that Bridget cheated on Eli with Robert. Bridget was beautiful and had the whole town to pick from, why did she have to pick Eli and Robert?

She leaned the broom against the refrigerator, grabbed the sledgehammer, and walked out to the driveway.

The scraps sat scattered outside, and she set the sledgehammer down, pulling her work gloves out of her pocket. She collected the smaller pieces, tossing them into a pile. She made her way to the larger pieces, smashing them with the sledgehammer until she could toss them on the pile. The kids would enjoy the bonfire that evening. She would invite Rachel over for dinner, too. It had been a few weeks since she had spent any time with her sister.

It felt good to tear it all down, breaking it into a million pieces. Maybe she should work in demolition instead of becoming a preschool teacher.

Claire walked back inside, looking around, impressed with herself. All the countertops - gone. The old, musty kitchen pieces sat in her driveway.

She had accomplished it all by herself.

"I'm bad ass," she said. The stove, sink and refrigerator were the only reminders of the kitchen that had once stood.

She glanced at her bedroom door. A bedroom she only slept in when her children were at Robert's house, because she could not hear them from her room at night. "Who puts a master-bedroom off the kitchen? Seriously..."

Stepping through the swinging door, Claire came to a halt. She had an idea.

She always wanted an open floor plan. Why not make one? She could hear the children from her bed at night if it was not for the wall separating the two halves of the house. The only thing to worry about was electricity, right?

The cabin was built without power; her grandfather and his brother added electricity to the house years later. The lines ran along the outside of the walls, held on by clips and layers of paint. She searched both sides of the wall. No lines. Perfect.

She trotted back to her sledgehammer, and hoisting it over her shoulder. She felt strong as hell. She would add accomplished renovator to her list of titles today.

Claire pried the old picture-frames from the wall, then grabbed sheets from the linen closet, tossing them over furniture.

She flipped on the radio, and classic rock flooded the house as she cranked the volume all the way up. A Motorhead song ended and Led Zeppelin started as she lifted the sledgehammer again.

Hefting with all of her might, she threw the tool into the middle of the wall. Dead center. She created a dent. "I can do better than that."

Slamming against the ancient plaster again, this time the wall shook and split. One more whack and the sledgehammer went straight through. She pulled it back and peered into the hole. The wall was thinner than she realized. It was one of those times, she wondered if she should not just tear the whole house down and start from scratch. "Maybe next year."

Whack!

She pulled a large chunk of wall down.

"Woman, you need me!" belted from the speaker, and Claire snorted.

"I think I got it."

Claire beat the offending wall to smithereens. Soon, the only things left were wooden beams, looking like they had seen better days. Much better days. Claire gathered up the larger pieces of the wall from the floor and carried them through the living room to the front door. The living room a cloud of dust. She smirked. She really did look like Pigpen now.

By the time she finished dragging all the fragments out, she glanced at the clock. She had an hour until she had to get Robbie and Ella from school. Plenty of time to tear out the beams.

She told Robert when they moved in she wanted to make the living area an open space. He said he would have to hire a contractor to remove the wall. If they could. If. But she had taken it out just fine.

She hoisted the sledgehammer again. Only two beams left standing. Last thing would be the door.

Whack!

One post left. She picked up the hammer, slamming it into the wood. She swung again, her body tiring, her muscles not working as hard.

She glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes until she had to pick up the kids. She wanted to finish before she left and have something to show them when they got home.

Whack.

Sweet victory flooded through her as the beam fell. "Ha!"

Claire heard a creaking sound, looking up just as the ceiling tumbled onto her.