Hope Harbor

by Jill Sanders

  After wolfing down her desert, she fell asleep to an old black-and-white murder mystery movie. The movie and the day had her dreams running wild. When she finally woke, just before sunup, she figured a quick run would clear her fuzzy brain. She used to love running in high school and had more than once run the length of the island.

  Pulling on her tennis shoes, she hit the stairs. When she noticed the fog outside the window, she turned back to grab a jacket. It wasn’t raining, but she knew it would be cool. Stepping out on the front steps, she was thankful she’d pulled on the wind jacket. The cool air bit into her as she warmed up. But by the time she hit the bottom of the drive, she had a light sheen covering her and her muscles were warmed up enough that she could easily pace herself.

  She’d just hit the main road when a voice spoke behind her.

  “Perfect morning for a run.” The sexy voice made her jump, and she almost fell flat on her face.

  “Sorry.” Dylan chuckled as he fell in step with her. He was a little winded as if he’d sprinted to catch up with her.

  She realized she’d passed his house a while back and smiled.

  “Are you following me?” She ran her eyes over his jogging shorts, worn running shoes, and windbreaker.

  He chuckled between breaths. “Nope, just saw you and though it would be rude not to say hi.” He started to run past her, but she easily caught him.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” she said playfully. “I’m very competitive when it comes to running,” she warned.

  His eyes ran over her. “Okay, prove it.” He nodded, then glanced forward. “Race to the stop sign?”

  Laughing, she nodded once, then took off.

  She heard him chuckle behind her and call out, “Cheaters never win.”

  The entire sprint, she could hear him beside her. She had to push herself harder than she had in a long time, and when they hit the stop sign, together, she was winded and had to stop to catch her breath.

  “God, I’d missed that,” she said between breaths.

  “You didn’t run in the city?”

  She glanced up through the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. “Oh, I did, I just didn’t have anyone to race or challenge me.”

  He smiled as they started jogging slowly down the lane. “What’s his name didn’t run?”

  “Brent, and no. He wasn’t a very… physical person.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized the meaning. Feeling her face heat, she turned away from him and focused on her breathing. She didn’t miss the light chuckle that followed. She decided to change gears. “I heard about your wife, Palmer’s mother. I’m very sorry,” she said, meaning every word.

  “Thanks,” he said softly. “My daughter is my joy.” He smiled suddenly.

  “Is she back at the house?” she asked.

  “She had a sleepover at my dad’s place.” He smiled. “I swear, the only person who spoils her more than I do is my father.” He chuckled.

  “It must be wonderful to live so close to a family member you love,” she said, not fully understanding the ache she felt growing in her chest.

  He surprised her by stopping in the middle of the lane. The fog had surrounded them, making it appear as if they were the only two people on the island.

  “I’m sure your parents love you,” he said.

  “Right,” she said, trying to keep her mood light. She’d had so many arguments with them and the rest of her family members in the last few days, it had eaten at her.

  “Are you really going to force them out of the inn?” he asked.

  She sighed and stretched her arms over her head. They were standing still, and she didn’t want to cool down too much. “Reggie came up with the idea. Before he passed, he’d requested they move out. They’ve lived there, rent-free, all my life.” She rolled her shoulders. “The inn can no longer support them, not without them lending a hand.”

  “Wait.” He held his hand up. “You… the inn pays them?”

  She shifted. “Not officially. But money has been trickling to them in other ways. I found a receipt where my uncle was reimbursed for his shiny new BMW.”

  “Seriously?” Dylan said with disgust. “Why? Why would Reggie allow that?”

  She shrugged. “He had a soft heart.”

  “And you don’t?” he asked, moving a step closer.

  Her eyes slowly slid up to his. The fog made it appear as if he was even closer to her. “I do, I just… can’t lose my last chance.”

  “Your last chance?” He shook his head slightly.

  “Brent has sworn to ruin me. I left Seattle… my job. My apartment.” She turned away. “Everything. This is my one shot.” She straightened and realized what she’d confessed. “It’s my chance to fix my life and my family’s legacy.”

  “That’s a lot of pressure on one person,” he suggested.

  “I’m up for the challenge.” She turned to him with a smile.

  “I bet you are.” He moved slightly closer. His hand moved to her arm as their bodies bumped against one another. She felt the zing of attraction zip up her body, bouncing around everywhere like she’d touched a live wire.

  Her eyes moved to his lips; she’d dreamed of what they would feel like against her skin.

  “Dylan,” she said as he leaned closer. Their lips were a breath away when a car horn blasted, causing them to jump apart from one another.

  Dylan pulled her out of the middle of the road as the truck maneuvered slowly around them.

  “Okay, so that news will be all over town by noon,” he said, running his hands through his hair.

  “What news?” she asked with a frown.

  He glanced at her with a smile. “That Randy Collins almost ran over us, standing in the middle of the road, almost…” His eyes moved to her lips, causing her breath to hitch.

  “I…” She shook her head. She hadn’t come back here for complications. She had enough on her plate already. There was no way she was going to add a sexy alpha male and his adorable orphaned daughter to the mix. “I have to go,” she finished, glancing around, avoiding his eyes. Then she took off back up the hill at a fast sprint.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he called after her.

  “You didn’t,” she threw over her shoulder. “Work calls.”

  “I’ll see you in a couple hours,” he replied somewhere from deep in the fog behind her.

  “Sure,” she called back.

  She thought she heard him add, “I’ll still want to kiss you,” but the fog and how it fuzzed up her mind could have been playing tricks on her.

  She focused on her breathing and made it back to the inn in record time.

  Showering, she added time on her schedule to hit the local grocery store in town for some basics. She hated getting her period without being fully stocked and knew that the small shampoo and conditioner bottles they had in each room would annoy her by the end of the week.

  Besides, she wanted nightly snacks without having to bother the kitchen staff each time.

  Less than an hour later, her office was packed with yelling family members. Her father and her uncles were once again going at it. She was already tired of playing peacekeeper. She hadn’t even been home for a full week.

  “Enough!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was no longer worried that guests would hear them, since she was pretty sure everyone on the island could hear the two men arguing about who was going to get her grandfather’s van.

  “For now, the van stays put,” she said, standing up. “It’s part of my inheritance and belongs to the inn. The inn’s logo is even painted on the side of the thing. It stays put.”

  The men turned on her as a new string of arguments were aimed in her direction. Throwing up her hands, she sat back down behind her desk and rested her head in her hands. Once again, the headache was threatening to overwhelm her.

  The run that morning had been the first time she’d felt free, felt like she’d returned home, felt alive. Thoughts of Dylan surfaced
, and she pushed them to the back of her mind.

  “Enough,” she said again, this time in a lower tone that had everyone shutting up. “Out.” She pointed to her door. “I have actual work to do. So, unless you’re going to roll up your sleeves and help, leave.”

  Her office cleared quickly enough, leaving only her mother and father occupying the two chairs across from her desk.

  She arched her brows in question as to why they had remained.

  “Sweetie.” Her father had dropped all the anger and indignation from his tone. “Your mother and I were wondering… That is…”

  Her mother leaned forward slightly. “Are you really going to kick us out of our home?”

  She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I’m not kicking you out. You have the option of paying for your rooms, like everyone else.”

  “You know we can’t afford it, not at these prices.” Her mother waved her hand as if the rent payment amount was written on the walls.

  “Maybe you could cut our rent in half?” her father suggested, causing Eve’s eyebrows to shoot up.

  “I’m already giving you the family rate,” she informed them. “That’s three times less than guests pay.”

  “I know, it’s just… well, you see, your father and I…” Her mother glanced over to her husband.

  “We haven’t worked in years.” He shook his head.

  “Okay, how about working around here? Brandon informed me that Ed was accepted to UW. He leaves in less than a week. You could—”

  “Work in the gardens?” Her father balked.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “I’m more of an… indoor kind of man,” he suggested.

  “Okay, Timothy could always use—”

  “Handle baggage?” Her father shook his head.

  She thought as she rubbed her forehead even harder. “Patrick—”

  “Really?” Her father rolled his eyes.

  “Then maybe you’d like to tell me just what the two of you would like to do around here?” she asked.

  “Two of us?” Her mother leaned forward. “Me? Work? I’ve… never.” She shook her head.

  Eve was saved by a light knock on the office door.

  “Come in,” she called out, wanting to scratch out the pain from behind her eyes with her fingernails.

  Seeing Dylan standing in her office door was like seeing the sun after a long dark winter.

  “Dylan.” She stood up, a little breathless at the possibility of escaping her parents. Turning to her folks, she added. “We’ll have to finish this later. Maybe you can come up with a list of ideas that I can look over later tonight?”

  Her folks glanced between her and Dylan, then shuffled out of the office without another word, shutting the door behind them.

  “Everything okay?” Dylan asked, a frown on his lips as he ran his eyes over her face.

  “Yes,” she sighed.

  “It’s just…” He moved closer until she could feel the heat of his body next to hers. “You have these…” His fingertips brushed against her skin where she’d scratched her nails across her forehead seconds before. “…marks here. It looks like you got in a fight with a cat.” The side of his mouth twitched.

  “Headache. Dealing with my family will do it every time.” She leaned back against the front of her desk. “Everyone wants…” She shook her head. “No, every one of them expects a free ride. Every job I offer them, they balk at.” She closed her eyes. “The truth is, I just can’t see anything any of them can do around here. Not that they aren’t capable…” She opened her eyes and met his green ones. “Okay, they aren’t, but they certainly could be with a little determination.”

  “Is that how you got this far?” he asked, sitting down in the chair in front of her. His eyes ran over her as he listened, almost as if he was a skilled psychiatrist instead of a sexy handyman.

  “I suppose.” She shrugged. “My grandfather always told me I had something no one else in my family had.” She smiled. “A brain,” she added with a laugh. “And a desire to succeed.”

  “I can see that.” Dylan nodded in agreement. “You know, if any of them are handy with a hammer, I could…” Her laughter stopped him. “Okay, it was worth a shot.” He shrugged.

  She smiled and touched his shoulder, enjoying the play of muscles she felt under his shirt. “Thank you for trying.”

  “Any time,” he said, under his breath.

  God, why couldn’t she stop daydreaming about him? Why did her eyes have to keep wandering back to his lips? Why did she find herself constantly lost in those sexy sea-green eyes of his?

  Sex starved. That’s all it was. That’s all it could be.

  “I’d better get started.” He stood up suddenly, his body bumping into hers as they crowded in the small space between the chairs and the desk. “Is there someplace you’d like me to start?” he asked, his voice husky and low.

  Yes, she thought, start at my lips, travel down my neck with slow hot kisses, then pull my shirt aside and push my bra away until those sexy lips cover my nipples… take me into your mouth, sucking until I… burst.

  “Um.” She swallowed the thoughts and tried to clear her head. “I suppose you could start at the top…” Her voice squeaked, and she had to clear it before she finished. “And go floor by floor.”

  He nodded slowly. His smile told her that he knew exactly what she’d dreamed of him doing. His eyes even traveled to her shirt, where her nipples poked out from under the silk top she’d pulled on that morning after her shower. “Good idea. Is there anywhere I’m not allowed to go?”

  She had to hold in a moan as more thoughts caused her to push her knees together, holding in her desire. “Um, no. If you need specific room keys, you can coordinate with Patrick or Genie at the front desk.”

  Instead of moving, he lifted a hand again and let the tips of his fingers run over her forehead. “Take something for the pain, don’t scar yourself. Your skin is too pretty; I’d hate to see you mark it up,” he whispered, as his eyes moved down to her lips. “I’ll let you know what I find.” He turned to go.

  She remained where she was for almost a full minute after he’d left her alone in her office.

  Damn. How was she supposed to get any work done after that?

  7

  It’s all fun and games…

  For the next two hours, Dylan focused his mind on the task at hand. He’d started at the very top floor, the attic, a space he doubted anyone had stepped foot in in the past twenty years. Jotting down a few notes to add some fresh insulation and repair a couple of rotted beams, he checked all the wiring and rafters before moving down to the next floor.

  Here, where her family was currently occupying ninety percent of the space, he had to coordinate with her family members to get into each room. It took him a lot longer to complete his notes here since the family members argued about why he needed access to their private rooms.

  He had the beginnings of his own headache by the time he made it to the next level. Working around the half dozen guests currently housed on the floor was a whole lot easier than the mess he’d had to endure upstairs.

  By the time he hit the main floor, he had three full pages of items to work on. Most were small items like new light switches or new toilet seats. Some items were as big as re-wallpapering an entire hallway. Not to mention the place could use fresh carpet and paint, and furniture that was from this century.

  Here, on the main floor, he inspected every chair, every outlet and plug, writing everything down as he went.

  There was a small gift store just off the main lobby area that was locked up. He wrote a note about the possibility of reopening it, after a refurbishing, since he knew the small gift shop in town was successful. He wondered if Eve had already thought of it and scratched the item from his list. After all, it wasn’t his place to run her business.

  The tile on the inside pool needed replacing and patching, while the outside pool needed a fresh coat of paint. Both pools would have
to be drained for repairs.

  The walls inside the pool house were cracked and could use a fresh coat of plaster and paint. He found the mustard yellow walls almost offensive. Kendra would have known just how to decorate the entire place to make it shine.

  He took a lunch break before heading down to the bottom two floors. Stepping into the dining hall, he found Eve sitting in a corner booth, her eyes glued to her laptop.

  “Is this spot taken?” he asked, sliding into the seat across from her.

  She glanced up and smiled at him. “How’s it going?” she asked, shutting her laptop.

  “Good,” he added and pulled out the sandwich he’d packed earlier that morning.

  “You’re not going to eat that here are you?” She frowned.

  “Why?” He glanced around. “Don’t they allow outside food?” he joked.

  She smiled. “It’s just, well, Kathrine’s one of the best cooks I know.” She leaned forward. “And I’m having a double cheeseburger with crispy spicy fries.” She leaned back and shrugged. “I’d hate for you to get lunch jealous.”

  He laughed. “I’ll be…” He was interrupted when her lunch was delivered. His mouth watered instantly.

  “I’ll have what she’s having.” He motioned to her plate and tucked his lunch in the seat beside him.

  “I thought so,” she said with a smile. She gasped as he snatched up one of her fries. “So, tell me,” she said after her first bite, “how bad is it?”

  He shrugged, not really wanting to spoil her happy mood. “I’ll get the list to—”

  “Dylan.” His name on her lips caused him to still. God, it sounded so good. He could just imagine her moaning his name as he plunged into her. Pleased her. Lapped her up. Wow, where had that come from?

  “How bad is it? Really?” she asked, setting her burger down.

  “Not bad,” he said. “It really depends on how far you are willing to go.” Damn, there he was again, giving her a double entendre.

  Her eyes darkened and, just like before, her eyes snapped to his lips. His food was delivered, and they ate for a few minutes in silence.