Harlequin Superromance January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Everywhere She Goes\A Promise for the Baby\That Summer at the Shore (62 page)

Well...it was easier to take it in stride now that her dad and uncle were retired and out of danger. She remembered being afraid a lot when she was a kid and she'd had nightmares for weeks when her uncle was injured at an embassy. It was one of the reasons she gave to organizations that supported military families and veterans.

So, if she was being honest, she was furious at the idea of Brad going back into harm's way. And she had no doubt it was exactly what he planned to do once he sufficiently recovered; he was determined to save the world.

Furious?

Kim pressed her lips together.

Make that scared.

Still, she ought to apologize. Brad was a decorated marine and a friend. He deserved respect.

Kim went to her desk and opened her calendar on the computer. If she rescheduled her appointments, she could fly to the resort again on Friday. She wouldn't mind another relaxing weekend—it had gone okay after she'd laid down the law to Zack. He was even more consumed with his goals than in college, and that was saying a lot. Back then he had barely paid attention to anything else, except in bed, and once he'd even broken off foreplay to call the hotel where he worked. That was the beginning of the end, particularly when she'd figured out he was discussing something that could easily have waited.

She hit the intercom to tell Chloe to reschedule everything for Friday...and Monday as well, in case she chose to stay longer.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A
FTER
A
SECOND
night at the fruit stand's trailer, Zack's mood was grim when he returned to Mar Vista. Nothing had happened—not even a lone deer had passed the trailer as far as he could tell.

There'd been only a pained silence between him and Jamie. They'd talked enough to make an agreement about taking turns sleeping, but that was it. He'd brought dinner from the Mar Vista kitchen again, and she'd stiffly thanked him. Strangely, the awkward silence just made him more aware of her.

During one of his spells on guard, he'd stared at Jamie while she slept. She'd looked pixieish with her fist tucked under her chin and her body curled into a sweet little ball. The memory alone made him break into a sweat, and he held on to his control with bleak determination.

He parked at the office and hurried in to begin his own workday.

“Hi, boss,” Trudy greeted him.

He signed the items she had waiting before catching sight of a pregnancy magazine sticking out from under her purse.

Trudy's gaze followed his, and she cleared her throat nervously. “Yes,” she confessed. “I'm finally having a baby at the ripe old age of thirty-seven.”

He almost let out an agonized “how can you do this to me,” but restrained himself. Jamie had suggested he'd be grumpier than usual after spending nights at the trailer, also describing his management style as grizzly-bear heavy-handed. It had offended him and he'd dismissed it at the time, but now it hit him that lately he
had
been like a bear with a sore paw.

Trudy was watching him, her posture defensive.

“Congratulations,” he said, swallowing his dismay. “You and Rick must be excited.”

Trudy relaxed. “Thanks. We're pretty over the moon. We'd given up hoping, but coming here seemed to make the difference. Don't worry. I plan to stay through to my ninth month and I'll have someone fully trained for the period I'm out. I'll be back. I want a career
and
to be a mom.”

“That's great,” he attempted to say in a natural voice. He escaped to his office and groaned.

So, Trudy was going to have a baby.

It wasn't the end of the world. There were other office managers who were efficient, though he'd appreciated working with Trudy Lopez more than anyone else he could remember. In practice she functioned as his second in command and...he
should
consider redefining her position and pay scale to assistant manager. Not that there was much point in doing it now.

She may have said she planned to come back, but he couldn't count on it. More than one of his employees had chosen full-time parenting over a job. It was a choice he'd respected, disappointing as it had been sometimes to lose a good worker.

To make things worse, when he opened his email he saw several notes from his mother that he'd missed reading. He scanned them—she wanted to know what was going on with her two sons.

Zack tapped out a reply. He was fine. The resort was doing well and was frequently filled to near capacity. No, he hadn't resolved the issue with the fruit stand yet, but was sure it wouldn't be a problem. Most important, Brad appeared to be gaining in strength and was walking a lot.

Zack reviewed the phrases he'd typed—they were terse and his mother might try to read between the lines to find a hidden meaning.

On the other hand, she
always
tried to read between the lines, and he didn't have the oomph to tinker with his language.

He finished by signing, “Love, Zack,” and hit the send button.

Months ago he'd asked Trudy to handle some of the status reports to his mother. She'd given him a what-planet-are-you-from look and told him that mothers didn't deserve to be staffed out. She was right, of course.

God, he was bushed, and spending nights with Jamie at the trailer didn't help. Hiring someone to go in his place was an option, but it didn't seem right.

He put his head against his leather executive's chair. It wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes for a while.

* * *

A
KNOCK
AT
the door took Brad away from the breakfast he'd assembled from bits and pieces in Zack's kitchen. His brother didn't cook much. He relied on the Clam Shell or Sunfish Grotto for most of his meals.

Brad answered and saw it was one of the resort employees.

“Mr. Brad Denning?”

“That's me.”

“A guest asked me to deliver a note to you.”

“Uh, thanks. Let me...” He groped in his pocket for a tip, but the employee stepped backward.

“The guest was quite generous, sir. Have a good day.”

Brad sat at the table and took the note from the Mar Vista stationery envelope.

Brad, just arrived for another weekend. Any chance we can get together? Kim
.

Odd.

Prior to flying in to meet with Jamie Conroe, Zack said Kim had visited once, for Mar Vista's official opening. Yet now that Zack's legal needs were decreasing, she was visiting more often. Why? She was beautiful and talented with her own successful law firm, so it was hard to believe that a minivacation at Mar Vista was the sole reason, especially as she was coming to this
particular
resort.

Back when she and Zack had been a couple, Kim was the one who ended the relationship. Maybe she was rethinking her old decision and hoping Zack was ready to settle down now that he'd accomplished the goal he'd worked toward for so long.

Brad hadn't detected any romantic feelings for Zack on Kim's part, but he was better at spotting enemy patrols than amorous intentions. The biggest question was his brother's interest in Jamie Conroe—the woman knew how to punch Zack's buttons in a way Brad hadn't seen before. Not that he and Zack had spent much time together in the past ten years, but they'd regularly corresponded by email and there'd never been a hint of a woman who rattled Zack the way Jamie did.

So, what
did
his brother feel for Jamie?

Zack had vehemently insisted on taking over sentry duty at the trailer, his ego prodded by the idea that employees from the resort might be involved with the vandalism. Brad also suspected it was partly to keep
him
from a potential hazard...which was hardly necessary. Injured or not, his training as a marine would beat out Zack easily. Yet was there another reason Zack wanted to go? Lust?

Brad deliberately focused on his eggs, rather than Kim. The situation bothered him. He liked Jamie, but he'd hate for Kim to be disappointed by his brother again.

* * *

O
N
F
RIDAY
J
AMIE
'
S
energy flagged more than ever from the lack of sleep, but coffee and willpower kept her going. In a midday lull she contemplated another night in the trailer with Zack Denning. It was bad enough to spend the hours listening for possible intruders—spending them confined with Zack in a small space was worse. If only she could convince him not to come.

Inspiration struck and a surge of adrenaline shot through her. Jamie snatched her BlackBerry and a slip of paper where Zack had written his cell number. Quickly she typed a message.
Thx 4 coming but tired & think it's over so won't go 2nite.
For good measure she sent the same note to Brad's cell phone. It was a harmless white lie. Besides, the vandalism likely wasn't linked to Mar Vista, so it wasn't Zack's problem.

Since she'd opened the stand for the summer, she had seen a steady increase in the number of customers who came shortly after 3:00 p.m.—Mar Vista employees getting off their shift. It was something different from Granddad's experiences, and she was learning to adjust how she stocked the stand. But it was uncomfortable because she couldn't help overhearing their conversations about Mar Vista. One woman was particularly vocal whenever she came, and was even more fervent that afternoon.

“I'm surprised Mr. Denning doesn't check every table in the restaurant after we've set it,” she griped. “So he can be sure we got the folds in his precious napkins right. One of these days we'll see him out there with a ruler, measuring how far the plate is from the edge and if the silverware is aligned in a precise ninety-degree angle.”

“The pay is decent,” her companion offered.

“Sure, but we'll never get into management.”

“Why not?” Jamie said without thinking, then kicked herself. It wasn't her concern and she didn't want to get drawn into Zack's business.

“Mar Vista management always comes from outside the area,” the second woman explained. “When they replaced the maintenance supervisor, they went clear to Atlanta, Georgia.”

“Oh.”

Jamie didn't know what to say, so decided it was safest to say nothing. “Did you want anything else?” she asked instead.

“No, this is it for today.”

There were several more customers before Jamie closed. She wanted to get back while it was light, and had barely enough time to deposit the receipts and return with a sack of food. Admittedly, she was a bit nervous about being there alone, but she refused to give in to fear. She'd lock the trailer door and could contact the authorities on her cell phone if someone showed up. In any case, she was keeping a low profile, so nobody would know she was there; she'd parked even farther away, behind a grove of trees.

She pulled out the sandwich she'd made at the house and sat at the table to work on jewelry ideas. Lately her imagination had been running wild with concepts that ranged from natural subjects to fantasy figures. One gallery had advised her to specialize in a single motif, such as the ocean. But Jamie didn't want to be limited; she'd rather be identified by the quality of her designs and execution.

It wasn't quite dark when tires crunched quietly past the trailer. She frowned. A vandal wouldn't come so early. A few minutes later, there was a soft rap on the door; she held her breath and stayed absolutely still. Zack was being anal, double-checking to make sure she hadn't come to the trailer. Couldn't the guy accept a text message as final?

“Jamie Conroe,” a voice said outside. “I'm not leaving, so if you want pictures of destructive scumbags doing their thing tonight, let me in.”

She waited mutely, only to hear loud music begin to play. “I'll have to amuse myself,” he called. “Ella Fitzgerald is my favorite.”

Jamie lunged to the door and jerked it open. “Turn it off,” she ordered. “I'm supposed to be undercover.”

His grin was triumphant. “I knew that would work, though I hate to stifle Ella.”

“Brother,” she exclaimed. “Why are you here? I sent you a text.”

“Yeah, but it's strange,” he answered. “I could swear your message said you
weren't
coming to the trailer, yet here you are.”

“I was being polite,” she countered. “This isn't your problem and I don't need a man to take care of me.” She stomped to her seat and swept the drawings into her portfolio.

Zack eyed her sandwich lying on a napkin. “Is that your dinner?”

“I haven't had a chance to go shopping since this started. It'll be fine and you can have half.”

He raised a hand. From his forefinger dangled a bag. “I've got sandwiches, too. Grilled garlic chicken with portobello mushrooms and Gordon's wine and Fontina cheese sauce, on freshly baked sourdough rolls. Are you
sure
you prefer a slice of lunch meat slapped between two dry heels of bread?”

The scents emanating from the bag were tantalizing, and Zack looked at her with the same challenge she'd employed when offering him strawberries. The glint in his eyes was lazy and sexy and made her gulp.

“Sounds appetizing,” she said.

He handed her a paper box, and inside she found a crusty roll piled thick with chicken. Portobello mushrooms stuck out from the edges and a drip of sauce hung ready to drop, so Jamie gave it a swipe. Zack stared as she licked her finger, and she felt like saying she hadn't meant anything provocative, but kept her mouth shut. It was safer.

Jamie set out a plastic container of strawberries after they'd eaten the sandwiches, and Zack smiled faintly as he swallowed a juicy berry. Unwilling to work on her designs with him nearby, she doodled until he suggested another round of Scrabble.

They set up the board and Jamie tried to form words from the letters she'd drawn, yet playing a game with Zack was almost as tense as ignoring him. It was crazy to let him disturb her this way. At most he wanted a quick tumble under the sheets. She wasn't his type and she was glad of it, no matter how attractive he might be. And it wasn't as if sex was that important; with her ex-husband it had been second-rate at best, so she didn't miss it any more than she missed the rest of her marriage.

If only she could stop remembering Zack's kiss on the sand dune. However brief, it had...curled her toes.

Jamie gazed at the Scrabble board without really seeing it. She had to get hold of herself. Even if Zack denied it, he must wonder if an intimate association could help him get rid of the produce stand. He was wrong. Nothing could make her sell, especially to a man wanting to build exclusive guest rooms over the soil where her grandparents had met and courted. Granddad had trusted her to take care of the land, or he wouldn't have left it to her.

Zack took the first watch, so she climbed into the bunk at midnight and closed her eyes, but sleep didn't interest her. Questions ran wildly through her head, such as did Zack do certain
other
things as well as he kissed?

After a couple of hours she pretended to wake up so he could get some rest. Maybe he wasn't fooled, but he didn't say anything as he lay on the narrow mattress and turned his face away.

Jamie leaned against the wall and concentrated on the sounds outside the trailer. Ocean waves murmured; a gentle breeze rippled the canvas awning; an owl hooted in the distance. But then she bolted upright at a soft pattering on the roof. Zack sat up, too.