Murder by the Seaside (24 page)

My face heated with pleasure.

“Now, you didn’t answer me about the sidekick opening.”

“No.” I smiled. “Adrian?”

He sipped the tea and frowned. “Is that whiskey?”

When I nodded, he took my cup away, shooting a meaningful eye at my IV. Hmph.

“Boathouse?” I croaked.

“Sticks. They’ll have to rebuild, I think.” Anger flashed over his beautiful eyes. His lips pressed into a thin white line. “Murray’s lucky to be behind bars right now after what he did to you. He’s safer where I can’t reach him.”

From the look on Sebastian’s face, I didn’t doubt that.

I adjusted the awkward sling my aching arm was stuffed into. My beautiful office was gone. Everyone worked so hard and made it perfect. I’d never be able to afford insurance again in Virginia. After three claims in two weeks, who’d be dumb enough to insure me?

“Don’t worry about that now. Rest.”

My mind craved information. I needed a pen and paper. Before I could stifle the yawn, it stretched my face.

Sebastian smiled as if to say he told me so. “I’m going to stay with you until you’re fully recovered.” It was a statement, not a question. As an afterthought, he threw in, “I hope that’s alright.” His deep brown eyes smoldered. Emotion played beneath the words.

“I’m safe now,” I managed, pressing a hand to my throat. “You don’t have to.”

He raised his palms to me. “Just until I can find a place.”

My expression must’ve said what I was thinking. “A place?”

“My place in Norfolk’s not safe. The department’s working on a new assignment for me. Meanwhile, I’ll adjust to the commute from a town half of the state’s never heard of.”

“Hey.” I clamped a hand over my neck, ending my protest. People had heard of Chincoteague.

“Until you get a new sheriff, Deputy Fargas is in charge. I’m a little concerned.”

I nodded. Yep, he should stay. I didn’t bother hiding the crazy smile edging across my face. Sebastian was staying. Frankie the receptionist’s interpretation of how he looked at me came to mind. Could there be truth in her observation?

Sebastian brushed bangs off my forehead, and my heart thrummed manically in my chest. He leaned over the bed’s railing, bringing his eyes in alignment with mine. “Everything I want to protect is right here.”

Featherlight lips dusted my forehead. His warm, spicy scent beat the heck out of the bleach and antiseptic of the hospital.

“Get some rest. I’ll be right over there when you wake up.” He motioned to the chair, but I clamped a hand over his.

“Thank you.” I mouthed the words, unable to voice the emotion building in my heart.

He lifted my hand and kissed my fingers before retreating to the window across the room.

I had every intention of waiting to see my mom and dad return from the cafeteria, but exhaustion, meds and Dad’s secret ingredient pulled me under. I took the image of Sebastian’s strong frame leaning against the hospital window with me.

Whoosh
,
whoosh
,
beep.

* * *

“I can’t believe this is your life.” Claire smoothed sunscreen over her arms, leaving the warm scent of coconut caught in the air between us. “I have to go back to Norfolk tomorrow, don a suit and sit in meetings. You get to work here.” She lifted her giant red sunglasses to give me a pointed glare.

A warm breeze kicked up, tossing sand and curling the corner of our blanket. She moved our tiny cooler to hold the blanket in place without missing a beat. “You live on an island, get to work on the beach...”

“I don’t always work on the beach. Only when I meet with moms.” I nodded toward the crowd of kids burying someone neck-deep at the edge of the water. “They can talk privately and their kids get to play.”

“Mm-mm-mm.” She settled onto her back. “I could get used to this, is all I’m saying.”

“It took some adjusting.”

“Concierge counseling. So, what happens in the winter?”

“I don’t know yet. The whole idea of counseling on the go irritated the snot out of me before. Having the boathouse blown back to the mainland helped motivate me to be more flexible. Hopefully the insurance case will settle soon and I’ll find another spot for my office.”

“How about the empty studio under your apartment? No one’s breaking down doors to rent that place. Think of how easy your commute will be.”

I tugged on the sling holding my shoulder in place. The skin inside the material itched and burned. “I always forget to put lotion on my arm before the sling.”

“How much longer do you have to wear that thing?”

“A week. The surgery was a breeze. Wearing this thing stinks.” Considering how things almost turned out, I counted myself lucky to get off with only a sling.

“So what do you think about the art studio for your office? It has the secret entrance and everything.”

“I love the idea. In fact, I bet I could get it as cheap as I get my apartment.” The more the idea settled in, the more I wanted to call my landlord immediately to secure it.

“Let’s do it! I can reorder everything from Crate and Barrel. I have the receipt in my e-mail.” She pulled out her phone and began to work. Like everything else about Claire, her phone sparkled in the sunlight. Tiny crystals in various colors covered every inch of the protective cover.

I checked my watch. I had another half hour before my next appointment. Plenty of time to get a little sun while it lasted. Fall would come to steal it soon enough. I laid my head on the rolled towel behind me and let the sun heat my skin through. With eyes closed, I listened to all my favorite sounds—children laughing, the waves crashing, Claire humming. In that moment, it was hard to remember why I ever left.

“Hey, Peepee.”

I cracked open one eye. Adrian smiled down at me.

Now I remembered.

“Enjoying the sun?” he asked.

“I was.”

“I liked you better when I was in jail.”

“Ditto.” Despite my best effort, my lips turned up. “What’s with the suit? This is the beach. Are you lost again?”

He flopped onto his bottom in the sand beside my blanket. “I wore a suit to meet with my Realtor.”

“Moving?”

“No.” He chuckled. “I need office space. As it turns out, you were right. The islanders don’t care that I was wrongly accused, and they petitioned me to run against Beau Thompson in the mayoral election.” He winked, looking pleased with himself to no end.

“Great. Mayor Davis.” I let the words sit on my tongue. “It does have a certain ring to it.” I studied him.

As he looked back with stormy gray eyes, his infuriating dimple caved in, pulling a couple days’ worth of stubble with it.

Captivated, I leaned in a fraction of an inch. Not enough for him to notice, I hoped. He smelled like soap and mint and...Adrian. Familiar. Obnoxious. I pulled back. “So, where’s the new office? I’ll be sure to steer clear.”

“Oh, I don’t think you have a chance in that endeavor.”

“Great.” Claire startled me. I’d forgotten she was there. “The empty studio isn’t listed on the Realtor site. We should just head over there and talk to him. They probably don’t keep the site current.”

“It’s current. I have plans for the space, actually. I rented it for my campaign office.” Adrian stretched a hand over me toward Claire to introduce himself. “Adrian.”

“Claire.” She looked between us. “How does it feel to be a free man?”

“Exquisite. I can thank my girl here for it, too.”

A perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose from behind Claire’s glasses. “So I hear.”

“In fact, I hoped to invite her to dinner.” His eyes locked on mine.

“Is that the going rate for saving your heinie these days?” My heart thumped at the invitation. Old habits and all that. I had no intention of accepting.

I didn’t think.

“Actually, when I’m mayor, I was hoping to make you first lady, but let’s start with dinner.”

“Uh-oh.” Claire looked across the sand.

“Wow. This guy has impeccable timing.” Adrian stood to shake Sebastian’s hand as he arrived in black board shorts and Ray-Bans. “Mr. Bond,” Adrian taunted.

“Hello, Fugitive.” Sebastian accepted Adrian’s hand.

“That’s soon to be Mayor Fugitive,” I pointed out.

“Oh yeah? Congratulations.” Sebastian’s expression was flat and guarded. I could only imagine what was going on inside Adrian’s head.

Sebastian had rented a room at the bed-and-breakfast on my street while I recovered in the hospital. Half his stuff was in a storage unit near the marsh. Widow Moore gave him a rate he couldn’t pass up when he’d promised her several months of occupancy while he looked for something permanent. I told him to check for peepholes in the shower.

“Adrian rented the art studio downstairs for his campaign office. Right when I planned to rent it for my new office,” I tattled.

“I don’t think you need an office. I think this is your office.” Sebastian tipped his chin skyward.

“Patience?” Melinda Crown approached me with a warm smile. A gaggle of children at her feet, she stopped in her tracks to look at my friends.

“Hi, Melinda. You know Adrian. This is my friend Claire.” They exchanged hellos.

Claire stood and brushed sand from her legs. “This is Sebastian Clark, the next special agent to be schooled in my volleyball smackdown.”

Sebastian shook her hand. Sun glistened off his perfect bronze skin. His washboard stomach put ideas in my head. I pulled my eyes up to meet his.

When he noticed, he knelt beside me and whispered in my ear. “After your appointment, I’d like to buy you dinner.”

My toes curled into the sand.

Every sound on the beach stopped for a moment. Then he was gone. Righted. Clapping Adrian on the back and looking at Claire.

“You ready?”

“To teach you how it’s done? Darn skippy.” Claire pulled a volleyball from her beach bag and smiled at me. “See you in a few.”

Adrian watched the pair walk away. “I don’t like that guy.”

“Shocker.”

“See you around.” He winked, and a posse of butterflies took off in my stomach. I needed a pill for that.

He slipped out of his suit jacket and threw it over one shoulder before making his way back through the sand.

Melinda had set up her umbrella and beach chairs around a number of towels and buckets. Her children splashed in the water ten feet away.

“How’s summer break going?” I asked.

She handed me a juice box and melded into her chair. “I can’t wait for school to start. Does that make me an awful mother?”

“That—” I watched the children push and shove in the surf, “—sounds very human.”

Relaxing into an easy pattern of conversation and encouragement, I embraced my new identity: Patience Price, Counselor at Large.

* * * * *

About the Author

Julie Anne Lindsey is a mother of three, wife to a sane person and ringmaster at the Lindsey Circus. She lives with her husband and three small children in rural Ohio where she was born and raised. You can find her online day or night, amped up on coffee and wielding a book.

Find more information about Julie at
julieannelindsey.com
.

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ISBN-13: 9781426896460

MURDER BY THE SEASIDE

Copyright © 2013 by Julie Anne Lindsey

Edited by Elizabeth Bass

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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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