Dangerous: A Seaside Cove Romance (12 page)

Heading straight to City Hall after leaving Claire's, Eli sat in the parking lot. Adrenaline surging through him, he was unable to concentrate on anything else but the front doors of the building, waiting for Ben.

He sat for almost an hour before he called Jack's brother-in-law, Ken. He could not afford to mess this up; Eli needed to talk to a lawyer, come clean about everything, and find his next step. He had to do right by Claire.

Now, almost three hours since he left Claire's house, Eli drummed his fingers on the waiting room chair's arm. If Ben did not come out soon, Eli would bypass the secretary and push his way into the office. He pushed his flannel sleeves up and crossed his arms.

Tina, Ben's secretary, peered at him from over her computer screen. He plastered a strained smile on his face, and she shifted in her seat, typing.

When the office phone rang Tina quickly lifted it and murmured. "Yes, he's still here. No, he didn't say. Just that he needs to talk to you." She looked at Eli as though she was concentrating, studying his face. "No, I don't think so, but it's hard to tell. Okay."

She replaced the phone and addressed Eli. "Mr. Tomlin will see you now."

Eli nodded, standing and peering down at her. "What's hard to tell?"

She fidgeted with a few pens on her desk. "If you have a weapon."

Eli laughed, then noticed the serious expression on Tina's face. "There're metal detectors at the front door."

Tina ignored him, and Eli shook his head, walking into Ben's office.

Ben sat behind a large wooden desk covered with papers and a closed laptop. He leaned on his desk, his chin resting in his hand. Eli took the seat across from him. Ben leaned back and folded his hands.

"Come to apologize?" Ben asked.

"Why the hell would I apologize?" Eli asked.

"For attacking me, at your place of business. I should have gotten the police involved. But I have such a kind heart."

Eli snorted.

"Right," Ben said. "Why are you here?"

Eli took a deep breath. Ken told him they needed to handle all of this in court, but when it became evident that Eli would not leave until he talked to Ben, Ken told him what to say to Ben while his cell phone recorded the conversation.

If nothing else, he would make sure Ben paid for everything he had done, even if Eli had to pay too. "I want all ties between us severed. I do not want you coming at me one day with a piece of information to bite me in the ass."

"What gives you the impression that I would blackmail you? I'm a businessman, just like you, Eli."

"One. We both know that's not true. Two. You went after Jones. You threatened his family and forced him to contribute to your campaign."

"I do not threaten; I simply complimented him on having a beautiful family. If he took it to mean something else, well..." Ben said. "Not that it's any of your business, but he owed me money. More than he paid, and I was kind enough to forget the rest." Ben sighed. "I'm a nice person, Eli."

Eli folded his hands in his lap, his fingernails digging into his skin. If he squeezed any harder, he would draw blood. If he relaxed his hands, he would strangle Ben.

What had Ken told him to say? The anger filled him, erasing all of his thoughts. His temper would be the end of him.

Ben leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "Do you think I'd come after you all these years later?"

Eli did not answer. They both knew the answer.

"Eli, I'm running for mayor. If anyone's holding cards here, it's you." Ben drummed his fingers on the desk. "We're both to blame."

They both carried blame, which was true, but for different reasons.

"Why are you coming to me now? The brewery? If I wanted part of your business, I'd have it already."

"I told you before," Eli kept a stone-face, "I only work there."

"You might've tried to bury the paperwork, but you're an amateur." Ben squinted. "No, that's not it, is it? Oh." Ben smiled. "It's the woman. Claire?"

Rage pulled Eli to his feet. Ben raised his hands in surrender, but smiled. Ben had the upper-hand, they both knew it. He always had.

Eli leaned over the desk, his hands fisted, forgetting about the cell phone recording their conversation. "Ben, I swear to God, if you threaten her-"

Ben stood. "You're not afraid I'll hurt her, are you? You're afraid she'll find out what you did."

"It wasn't my fault," Eli said, louder than he meant. Not sure who he needed to convince; he gave up on convincing himself a long time ago.

"If you could push the blame onto anyone, it would be your father. He was the one who dragged your family's business through the mud, not me," Ben said.

"I wasn't even there when-"

"Eli." Ben stood and walked towards office door. He held the doorknob, turning to face Eli. "The most important thing to remember here is, if you ever were to tell anyone... if you thought you wanted to go to the authorities all these years later, simply to clear your conscience... remember who is a respected lawyer in this town, and soon to be the mayor. Remember who you are, a grease monkey who sleeps over a bar."

Claire's eyes shot open as if pulled by a string. She was uncomfortable; her back sore and her shoulders burning. Where was she? A metal bed frame, beeping sounds, an old box television mounted on the wall. She rolled over and the searing pain from her shoulders ran down her back.

Rachel stood in the doorway, chatting with a nurse. A hospital? How? She remembered the kitchen. The wall. The ceiling.
Shit.
Claire cleared her throat.

"Claire!" Rachel rushed to Claire's bedside, her eyeliner blurred and smudged by her eyes. "Oh, Claire!"

Rachel wrapped her arms around Claire. Pain beat at her shoulders as she twisted to return her sister's hug. "Ouch."

Rachel pulled away. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Where are the kids?" Claire asked, blinking as the nurse shined a light in her eyes.

"At Mom's." Rachel pulled a chair to the side of Claire's bed. "The schools called me when you didn't show up. The nun at the preschool, by the way, is a lot nicer than Ella's principal."

"Thank you," Claire said, her eyes misting, thinking about her children waiting for her. 

An older man with gray hair entered the room. "Claire? I'm Doctor Johnson. How're you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess, just sore," Claire said. Doctor Johnson took her wrist, his eyes on the wall-clock. "Did the roof cave in on me?"

"The ceiling." Rachel said. "One of the EMT guys said you took out a load-bearing wall, you idiot."

"What?" She remembered the term
load-bearing
from a home remodeling show, but somehow she had not thought the term applied to her old home. "They fall down that fast?"

"I don't know. But there was a lot of water damage in the attic. I guess Grandpa wasn’t the amazing architect we thought?" Rachel snorted.

"Ugh, the cabinets." Claire moaned. "They looked weird in the back, like they were water logged. I should have known something was wrong."

"How were you supposed to know?"

"Oh my, God," Claire moaned. "My kids. I let my kids live in a house that was falling apart."

"They're fine," Rachel said. "It's you, ding-dong. You're the one who got hurt. You're lucky you didn't break anything."

"I broke my house!" Claire swallowed back the lump in her throat.

"Okay. So what? You're lucky to be alive."

Doctor Johnson cleared his throat. "I need to ask you a few questions."

Claire sat, patient and only a little annoyed as she answered his questions during his poking and prodding session. When he seemed satisfied, he promised Claire she could be released - after a night of monitoring.

Claire let out a sob as soon as the doctor left, and Rachel wrapped an arm around her.

"Where are we going to live?"

"Doug said you can borrow his hunting trailer until you figure something out." Rachel picked at the frayed edge of Claire's blanket.

"Doug? Doug the bait and tackle guy?" Claire asked, confused. "How does he even know about this?"

"Um, because I had to call and tell him I wouldn't be able to go out tonight?" Rachel's voice grew higher with each word.

"You're going out with bait shop Doug?"

"We're just friends. But, we've been hanging out." Rachel's cheeks turned pink. "And don't call him bait shop Doug; it makes him sound like a worm, and he isn't. He's crazy hot."

"Yeah, he is." Claire laughed, glad for the distraction. "But even if you guys are dating, I can't just... borrow his trailer. I'll stay with mom or something."

"Ew," Rachel said, screwing up her face. "You can stay at my place."

"Thanks, but me, you and the kids? It would be super cramped; you'd lose your mind." Claire shifted, pain coursing through her shoulders again. "Ow."

"Yeah, you are messed up." Rachel tugged on a strand of Claire's hair. "What were you thinking?"

"Ugh, I was thinking I wanted a kitchen," Claire said. "Then
Whole Lotta Love
came on the radio."

"Oh, no. That Led Zeppelin song?
Woman, you need me,
" Rachel sang. Claire laughed. "Yeah, I do stupid shit when I hear that line, but more like, take too many shots stupid. Not tear down my house stupid."

"Ow. Ow. Don't make me laugh!" Claire wiped a tear from her cheek.

Rachel stayed an hour before she left to let Claire rest. Claire needed sleep, but no matter how long she lay with her eyes closed, sleep did not come. Her mind ran at full speed; too busy and too worried.

What would they do for a home? She would not borrow Doug's trailer, but they could not stay in their house with part of the attic in the living room. The only real solution would be to stay at her mother's house.

Claire's relationship with her mother was strained. Her mother had always felt more like a cranky older sister than a mother during her childhood, and when Rachel was born, Claire might as well have become a six-year-old mother. The girls stayed home by themselves by time Claire was eight, Rachel two. And when Claire got married and left for the Air Force at twenty-one, she felt guilty leaving her fifteen-year-old sister alone. But Robert convinced her it was the best thing for everyone. Her mother would have to grow up and accept responsibility. But she never did.

Not until Ella was a baby. Something happened the day she met her granddaughter; she had settled and calmed in a way she never could while Rachel and Claire were growing up. When Claire and Rachel spent time with their mother, it was like they were spending time with a woman they had never met, but always missed. 

Claire's mouth was dry and she opened her eyes to reach for a glass of water. Eli sat in a chair by the door, his eyes closed, his shoulders slumped.

"Holy shit!" she whispered, grabbing at her chest.

"I'm sorry," Eli said, jumping to his feet. "I wanted to let you sleep."

"I couldn't sleep. How long have you been there?"

"Just two minutes, I swear." He pulled the chair next to her bed. He looked at her; his eyes sad and distant. 

"Why do you look like that?" Claire fumbled for the bed's remote, pushing the button to sit up.

"I went by your house to talk to you earlier, I saw..." He took a breath. "How did you make it out alive?"

"My back's all bruised and cut." Claire leaned forward to show him. Eli's fingers undid the tie at the back of her gown, and he took in a quick breath. 

"It's bad, right? I haven't seen it yet, but it feels like hell," Claire said.

Eli closed her gown. "How long were you under the rubble?"

"They said a couple of hours."

Eli lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingertips.

"How'd you find out I was here?" Claire asked.

"Your mom's boyfriend was at your house when I stopped by, packing up the kids' stuff. He seems like a nice guy."

Claire smiled. "He is."

Eli's thumb stroked the back of her hand. "What the hell were you doing?"

"I was trying to give the kitchen a clean slate." Claire swallowed around the lump in her throat. "Every time I walk in the kitchen, I see its half-ripped apart state and think about Robert and how our marriage fell apart. How I fell apart."

Claire took a deep breath. "I never planned on being with anyone again. Or, at least not for a long time. Then you came along, and I thought we were just having fun. You snuck up on me. And every time I walk in that kitchen, I see all the reasons not to trust anyone. I don't want to feel like that anymore."

"I don't want you to feel like that either."

"I don't feel like that with you. It's scary." Claire smiled. Eli's grasped her hand, fitting just right, as though he had been made to touch her.

"You scare me, too," Eli said.

Claire smiled. "And now that I moved past my weird moment where I needed to yank the roof off from over my head, I'm ready. This morning, you said you were falling for me. I'm falling, too."

Eli's eyes were sad. "We need to talk about something. That's why I went by your house earlier."

Claire's smile faltered. "What is it?"

Eli stood and shut the door. He looked towards the ground as he walked back to her.

"Eli, if you changed your mind-"

"No, that's not it." Eli shook his head. He walked over to her, grabbing her hand. "If there's anything I'm certain of, it's how I feel about you. You're like the method to all the fucking madness." He sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm just not sure if you'll still be ready after what I tell you. After you learn about the man I really am."

"Try me," Claire said, certain there was nothing he could tell her that could scare her away.