Do Not Disturb (4 page)

Oh God, now even her thoughts were strange.

Easing into the garage, she put the car in park.
Enough thinking about Brett. She didn’t have time to think about him. She
didn’t want to think about him. She wouldn’t think about him.

Allison jerked open the door of the school
gymnasium and ran over to the committee members gathered around Brett.
"Sorry I’m late. Traffic was awful.” She wiped her forehead with the back
of hand, cursing the heat. “And I was out of gas."

"We're almost done, Allison," Jodie
said. "Brett reviewed everything with us and I think we know what we need
to do next." She turned to smile at Brett. "Bill will appreciate you
helping him build the props. He'll call you tomorrow about it."

"Sounds good." Brett looked at a baffled
Allison. "Anything you want to add?"

"No. Sounds like you have everything under
control."

They didn't even need her. She let her purse drop
from her shoulder to the floor, hanging on to the strap with her fingertips.
"I guess I could’ve stayed at work."

"It was easy,” he boasted, waving a paper in the
air. “We just followed your detailed task list.” He whistled. “And wow, was it
specific.”

“Well if you’re going to make sure nothing falls
through the cracks...” Allison muttered, more to herself than the group, since
they were ignoring her.

“Bye Brett, Allison.” The voices trailed off as
the group moved away.

 "Thanks for coming by everyone," Brett
called, "I'll have my hammer and saw ready, Jodie," then turned back
to Allison, his eyebrows raised. "Another tough day, huh?" 

She wanted to argue, lie and say everything was
perfect, but wilted under the heat, exhaustion, and Brett’s sympathetic face.
"A little." One day he was going to see her when she was fresh and
pressed, not a frazzled mess. She shifted her stance, relieving the stress on
one foot and placing it on the other.

"Well I have just what you need. Caroline and
I are taking the boat out Saturday and we'd like you and Kelly to come
along."

If she could just dig a finger under her skirt
waistband and release the pressure. Maybe she needed a bigger size.

Wait. What did he say? "Boat?"

He nodded. "Just a small motor boat. Nothing
fancy."

Water? A whole day relaxing. Cool breezes. No, no.
She had to finish her thesis. No time to go running around. "Kelly would
enjoy that, Brett. But I can't go. Too much work."

"You can't work all the time, Allison. Most
of the carnival planning is done. Take a break.” He lowered his head. “We'll
have fun."

She backed away slightly. "No. I really
can't. But, if you still want Kelly to go, that'd be nice for her."

He touched her chin lightly with his thumb and
narrowed the distance between their lips. "You'll be sorry, Allison.” She
smelled breath mints. “I know it's not Paris or Rome, but I'm cooking the
lunch."

Was he going to kiss her right here in the school gym?

"I’d better get home.” She took a large step
backwards and grasped the corners of her jacket. “What time should I drop Kelly
by Saturday?"

He flashed a quick smile, then grabbed her elbow.
"We'll pick her up at nine-thirty. I want to beat the crowds at the
marina." He guided her toward the gym exit. "Come on. I'll walk you
to your car. I'm not sure you're going to make it."

"I'm fine. In fact, I was thinking about
riding my bike some tonight."

"Bike, huh?” He stopped beside her car and
shook his head, looking skeptical.

“Yes.” He didn’t need to know her bike was rusting
from lack of use. Like her thigh muscles.

He tapped the top of the car. “Better get going
then. I know you keep a tight schedule." He walked around her, moving
toward the corner of the building. "But you might consider penciling in
some time to sleep, too. With all the tasks you take on, you need your
rest."

“Pencil in sleep. Very cute,” she called to his
retreating back. Stabbing her key at the door, she missed the hole and nicked
the paint. "Drat," she muttered, fingering the scrape. "I'm not
tired, and I have time to do whatever I want."

Maybe she would get her bike down and she and
Kelly could take a ride around the neighborhood.

She sat in her hot car, sweat dripping down her
face. Seizing the steering wheel, she dropped her head on her hands.

"Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t make it out of
the driveway."

"I can't believe I'm doing this. This is not
a good idea." Allison stuffed a towel, hat and suntan lotion in a striped
cotton beach bag already crammed with Kelly’s gear. It looked like a sausage
with handles.

“I’m doing it for Kelly. To spend more time with
Kelly.” She jerked everything out.

"Sweetie, find that other bag,” she yelled
down the hall. “You're going to have to take your own stuff."

She set the re-organized bag on the floor by the
door then stopped in front of her bedroom mirror for the fourth time since
she’d dressed. She yanked up her shirt and stared at the bikini top.

"What are you doing, Mom?" Kelly
strolled into the room.

"I'm going to change bathing suits."
Allison rummaged through her dresser drawer.

"Why? You look great in that one. You always
wear that one."

Allison held up a one-piece conservative black
suit. "But this is better. It covers more than this two piece."

"Yuck." Kelly stuck out her tongue.
"That looks like something Grandma wears. Where did you get that?"

"I've worn it to some company functions. Pool
parties." She clutched it against her body. "It's a nice suit."

"Maybe if you're eighty."

"Kelly, I'm not a teenager anymore. I can't
run around half naked."

The doorbell rang and Kelly ran out of the room.
"They're here. Don't you dare change into that ugly old thing. I'll die of
embarrassment."

Allison dropped her hands to her knees, the boring
suit slapping against her bare legs.

"Come on Mom, we're ready."

She threw the black suit in the drawer, tugged her
t-shirt back down and grabbed her bag, grumbling, "I’m going to regret this."

#

Caroline and Kelly chatted non-stop during the
twenty-minute ride. The first few miles Allison faced the front window of the
Range Rover, trying to avoid looking at Brett.

But it didn’t last.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the hem of
his navy bathing suit pulled taut across his tanned, muscular thighs. Brown
hair bleached by the sun covered his legs, absent only where a white scar
sliced the side of his knee. His white t-shirt proclaimed he liked to sail in
Annapolis and a hat confirmed he’d been diving in Belize. An overnight growth
of beard brought visions of how he must look as he tumbled out of bed each
morning.

Oh god, she was hot, and they weren't even in the
sun yet.

And she should be cool, with her curls plaited
into a braid down her back and loose navy Tampa Cycling Club t-shirt over
cotton gray shorts. But sweat trickled down her sides and the backs of her legs
stuck to the leather seats. She sat very still, knowing if she moved them, they
would make that embarrassing sucking sound.

She’d be a lovely sight today. Her sensitive skin
was already slathered in sunblock, but she knew her freckles would pop out
after only a few minutes in the sun.

He looked like he'd lived all his life in Florida
and she looked like she’d never been outside. Oh well, at least she wouldn’t
wrinkle early.

"Everybody grab something and we can make it
in one trip." Brett jumped out of the Range Rover and opened the back.

After loading everyone’s arms with gear, he led
the way to a slip at the end of the dock crowded with weekend water junkies.
Brett climbed on the back of the 19-foot Grady White powerboat and set the
cooler down. He braced his leg against the rear of the craft, muscles popping
out along his calves. "Be careful, girls." He held out a hand and
helped Caroline, then Kelly, before looking at Allison. "Ready?"

She stepped on board. He kept her hand in his as
she landed next to him. The girls had moved to the front of the boat and
settled in on the cushions. Brett squeezed her fingers and spoke softly.
"Your legs are even sexier without the suit skirt."

Allison's mouth opened. If this was the way he was
going to act all day, she’d never get out of her shorts and t-shirt.

He released her and reached for the life jackets
in the side storage bins. "Here. Put these on." He threw two up to
the front of the boat.

"You can store your bag over here,” he
pointed to an empty bin, “and then sit in this chair." He motioned toward
the seat next to where he’d be driving.

"Need help launching?" She snatched her
baseball cap out of her bag and tugged it on, threading her braid through the
hole in the back.

Her father’s boats weren’t as fancy as Brett’s,
but were more than adequate to carry her family fishing most Sunday afternoons.
She’d loved being on the water, but hated the gooey worms her brothers used for
bait. She swore she’d never go fishing again when she moved away...and had
stuck with it.

But even if she’d cringed at every worm her
brothers stabbed with a hook, she appreciated learning to handle a boat and had
wonderful memories of being with her family.

"I can do it.” He grinned. “You just sit
there and look pretty."

"Stop." She nudged her shoulder toward
the front. "They'll hear you."

He shrugged. "I don't mind." He looked
over her head. "But I don't think they're paying any attention to us
anyway. Look."

She turned around. Kelly and Caroline had their
heads together and their eyes on a gangly teenage boy walking down the dock to
a boat two slips over.

"Oh no." Allison clapped her hand over
her mouth. "I can't handle that yet."

"I know what you mean. I don't think I'll let
Caro date until she's twenty.” He shook his head slowly. “Know any good all
girls' schools we can send them to in Tampa? Or maybe we could take up home
schooling.”

Allison laughed and Brett looked at her, one hand
on his hip. “I think we’re going to have a great day.”

#

The sun toasted Allison's legs as she stretched
them out past the edge of the boat’s canopy. The noise of the engine made
conversation difficult, so she relaxed and let the world whirl by. Brett tapped
her arms a few times during the ride, pointing out some dolphins, a nude
sunbather on a yacht and a massive house being constructed by the bay.

When he leaned over to give his approval for her
to try sun bathing topless, she rolled her eyes and looked away.

Her mind raced from the excitement of having a
handsome man flirt with her to her fear of what she was doing in a situation
she was so unfamiliar with.

What was Brett expecting?

She watched him confidently drive around a boat
pulling a group of children on a rubber raft, his strong masculine hands gripping
the steering wheel.

What was she expecting?

Closing her eyes, she decided not to think about
it. For one day, she was just going to have fun. Surely she could manage one
day of fun without obsessing.

After an hour of riding, a small island came into
view.

"I thought we'd stop here and eat."
Brett cut the engine as the boat drifted to the edge of the beach. He threw an
anchor off the back and lowered a ladder into the water before turning to
Allison. "Can you handle the cooler if I hand it down to you from
here?"

She peered over the edge of the boat. They were
docked in a few feet of water. "Sure. First let's get the girls off."

Brett brought the basket of food with him after
Allison carted the drinks to the beach. The girls spread out a large blanket and
put their beach bags at the edges to hold it in place.

He kneeled down, setting out plastic plates and
containers of food while she spooned out the contents.  The girls found an
empty log several feet away, leaving Allison and Brett to share the blanket.

#

"That was an unbelievable picnic."
Allison popped the last bite of her chicken salad pita sandwich in her mouth
and lay back on the blanket, flopping her arms by her side. It was impossible
not to relax after that meal. "Where did you learn to cook?"

Brett sat cross-legged across from her grinning
with satisfaction. "I'm glad you approve."

"So, spill it," she prodded.
"Where?"

"I took lessons."

Allison leaned up on her elbows. "You took
cooking lessons?"

Brett lay down beside her, resting his head on his
palm. "My best friend and I complained all during college about how we
hated the food at the fraternity house, so we decided to take lessons the
summer after we graduated." He dragged his knee up the blanket, at an
angle to his body. "We knew we were going to share an apartment the next
fall and we didn't want to starve." He grinned. "I guess the lessons
worked."

She stared at him.

Who are you, Brett Tyler? College, fraternity,
cooking lessons? A daughter in his custody and no evidence of a job.

"Did someone die and leave you a lot of
money?"

He fell back on the blanket laughing. "No.
Not that they've told me. Why?"

"Dad, can we go swimming?"

He lifted his head at Caroline’s voice. "Just
walk in the edge of the water for a few more minutes and then we'll come out
with you." He rolled over, rose up on his knees and started packing the
food.

He never seemed to give her a straight answer.
Allison eyed him curiously. But she’d get the truth out of him yet. He couldn't
be that mysterious.

"Ready to go swimming?" Tossing his hat
on the blanket, he tugged his t-shirt over his head.

Allison slowly removed her shorts, remembering her
bikini and desperately wishing she'd opted for the one-piece suit. "I
think I need to put on more block." She reached for her bag, locating the
lotion. "Go on out. I'll be there in a minute."

"Need me to put it on your back?"

Her heart skittered as she looked up. Brown hair,
some bleached by the sun, covered his toned chest. A bit in the middle of his
chest and more below his navel, increasing as it led into his swimming trunks.

Sure, that’s just what she needed, his warm
fingers rubbing her bare skin. She shook her head as her hands began to
tremble. "I can manage," she said, dropping her eyes to the bottle in
her palm.

"OK. Yell if you need me." He ran into
the water. "Come on girls."

Sneaking her eyes up, she watched his back. Wide
shoulders and muscles and...

Stop torturing yourself, Allison.

She tore her t-shirt over her head, slapped lotion
on her already protected body and raced into the water before Brett could turn
around.

#

"That felt wonderful," Allison grabbed
her towel off the blanket. "It's been so long since I've been to the
beach."

He watched her rub the salt water off her arms as
he casually dried his chest. "Caroline and I have been to the beach or
boating at least once a week all summer. I don't know how you can live here and
not enjoy it."

Leaning her head sideways, she squeezed the water
from her hair. "I guess I’ve taken it for granted lately. The weather here
and all." She slung her braid to her back and attacked her legs with the
towel.

"I'll never do that," Brett said slowly.
"That's one of the reasons we moved."

Allison stopped and looked at him. He stood still,
staring at her, his towel in his hands at his waist, his gray eyes darkening.

"Oh?" Suddenly self-conscious, Allison
sank down on the blanket and picked up her t-shirt.

Sitting sat down next to her, he stopped her hand.
"Don't." He took the t-shirt out of her hands and lay it beside her.
"You look nice, don't cover up yet."

Brett drew his knees up and slung his arms over
them loosely, leaving his towel in his lap.

She blushed under his scrutiny, looking down at
her pale skin. "Nice? I looked nice when I was eighteen. Thin and toned.
Now I'm just a bony, out of shape thirty-two year old woman with stretch
marks."

He tipped her chin up and smiled. "I'm a
thirty-six year old man and I don’t want to look at an eighteen year-old
body." He ran his eyes over her breasts, stomach and legs, returning to
focus on her face. "I've seen my share of bodies this summer and
yours...it’s very nice." He nodded as he leaned back and rested his
forearms on his knees. "Suits me just fine."

Her lips parted. "I...uh...I think you're
trying to embarrass me, Brett."

"Just telling you the truth again." He
nodded. "And enjoying the view."

"I never know what you're going to say
next."

She looked down the small beach, not sure where
this was heading. Maybe time for a neutral topic.

 "I've never been here before. Want to walk
around the corner and see what it looks like?"

"Maybe in a little while. Let’s just
relax." 

"Why did you decide to move to Tampa?"
Laying down flat on the blanket, she reduced his view to only her back.

"Want to change the subject, huh?" Brett
quickly shifted his body and lay next to her.  "All right. You remember
the friend I told you about? The one I took cooking lessons with?"

"Yes."

"He grew up around here."

She turned her head to look directly at Brett.
Laying on his side facing her, his head rested even with hers a few feet away.
"In Tampa?"

"Yes. He was here until he went away to
college." He looked over her shoulder, down the beach. His eyes distant.
"He talked about it all the time, so I came down and visited him and his
parents. I knew what he meant after one time here." He stopped talking for
a minute, then continued, his voice softening. "We promised we'd come here
after we graduated and work together."

His jaw trembled.

"Dad, look what we found." He swallowed,
looked briefly into Allison's eyes before flopping on his stomach and raising
his face to his daughter.

"What have you girls been doing?" He
bent his elbows to hold his head as they kneeled on the blanket and spread
their shells.