Rank: Lighthouse Security Investigations Series

by Maryann Jordan

  After a particularly hard tackle, Marge leaned over and patted her leg. “Don’t worry, Helena. Those boys out there know how to take care of themselves.”

  She chuckled and said, “Was I that obvious?”

  “Just occasionally—”

  “Only every time someone gets hit,” Horace said.

  “Or every time someone gets tackled,” Babs added.

  “Or when—” Horace began again.

  “Hush, you two,” Marge chided. Patting her leg again, she said, “Just shows you care about my boys…or one in particular.”

  She turned and looked at Horace’s twinkling eyes and Marge’s understanding expression and asked, “Have you known them long?”

  “Mace? Yes,” Marge answered. “The others, as they came along. We wanted to be a part of what Mace’s vision was for his company and couldn’t stand the thought of just sitting around in our retirement, twiddling our thumbs. So, taking care of this place and the Keepers was a perfect solution for all of us.”

  “They’re lucky to have you,” she said, meaning every word, before turning her attention back to the game.

  After a while, Marge and Horace said their goodbyes, citing the need to get back to their house. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Marge promised as they waved and walked away.

  Turning to Babs, she asked, “Where’s Sylvie?”

  “Her son, David, had a sleepover last night and she ran into town to pick him up at his friend’s house. David will be anxious to get here and sorry that the game has already started. He loves to watch.”

  Nodding toward the field, she asked, “Do they do this often?”

  Babs nodded and smiled. “There’s a lot of camaraderie out there. Plus, Mace is a firm believer that it’s good exercise, at the same time it builds teamwork.”

  She sat silent for a moment, watching as the men appeared to be beating on each other while cheering each other on at the same time. Sliding her eyes to the side, she caught Babs grinning widely and, following her gaze, saw Drew coming out of the middle of the pack with the ball.

  “I’ve only had the chance to meet a few of them, but Drew was really nice to me as they prepared me to speak to Frank Tercelli,” she commented, watching closely for Babs’ reaction.

  “Yeah, he’s a good guy,” Babs replied, her voice carefully blank.

  Her words gave very little away but, nonetheless, Helena discerned the wistful tone in her voice—something she felt Babs had fought to keep hidden. After a few minutes of silence, she decided to take a risk and asked, “Is it hard?”

  Babs turned and looked her way, her forehead scrunched, as she asked, “Is what hard?”

  “Loving one of the Lighthouse men?”

  Babs sucked in a quick breath through her nose, before letting it out slowly. Helena swallowed nervously, realizing she did not know the other woman at all and her question was too presumptuous. “I’m sorry, that was incredibly rude of me—”

  Babs shook her head in a jerky motion, and replied, “No.” Her gaze strayed to the field and she staunchly held it there, avoiding her eyes. “It’s not hard. They’re great guys. I love them all.”

  Nodding slowly, she accepted the evasive answer. As she discretely observed the beautiful woman, she noticed that her once clear and open eyes now appeared haunted. Wanting to say something, but not sure it was her place, she hesitated. Before she figured out what to do, Babs blinked and the sadness passed away, as if it had never been there.

  “But,” Babs continued, turning to look at her again. “To truly love one of the Keepers…I don’t think that’d be very hard. Having one of them love you in return? That’s not so easy. But I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

  Her heart lurched and she swallowed quickly. “Rank? Love me?” She laughed nervously. “I don’t know about that. I mean, he cares about me, but love?”

  Babs turned her face away and stared back at the man still grappling for the ball in the middle of the field. “Some of us aren’t suited for love. But, in a way, that makes us more able to see it in others. I’m not like Sylvie…or you, for that matter.” She turned and held her gaze again and gave a little shrug. “But it’s okay, you know. Getting to see the people you care about find that for themselves? Maybe even helping them along? That’s not such a bad way to live your life.”

  Instinctively, she reached over and placed her hand on Babs’ arm. “What makes you say that? That you aren’t suited for it, I mean.”

  Babs smiled sadly and shook her head. “That’s a story for another day, Helena.”

  The tenor of Babs’ voice gutted her and as she listened not only to the words, but the emotion behind them, her throat tightened and she desperately fought the urge to gather the woman up and tell her it would all be okay.

  As the men shouted louder, Babs drew her arm away and stood. “Hey, come with me,” she said, a smile now on her face, as though the heartfelt conversation had never taken place.

  Standing also, she followed as Babs walked away from the game to a separate area of the green field. Uncertain, what they were doing, she turned to scan the open field, then looked at the woman, confused.

  “I get the feeling you’ve probably never had to really take care of yourself,” Babs suggested. “Every woman should know a few things, so I’ll teach you.”

  Surprised at the turn of events, her smile was hesitant. “Okay. What should I know?”

  Babs grabbed her and turned her to the side so that they were facing the same way, right next to each other. Sticking out her arm, Babs slapped the heel of her hand, and said, “This is one of the best parts of your body to use, especially around someone’s head. With the heel of your hand, you can put some real hurt on someone’s face. Nose, eyes, throat. You can get a lot of power with this part of your hand, without hurting yourself as much.”

  They practiced back and forth, just a little, until she got the feel of jabbing her hands straight up, using the heel of her palm as the focal point.

  “And of course, a groin hit. Get someone, man or woman, at one of their most vulnerable points and you’ve got a chance. You can kick, knee, or punch.”

  They spent the next fifteen minutes going through several different scenarios as Babs gave her instruction.

  The Keepers’ game ended and as they were walking off the field, Rank looked over to where Babs and Helena had been sitting. Not seeing them, he searched the area and finally caught sight of them not far, in an empty part of the field.

  “What do you think they’re up to?” Drew asked, coming up beside him.

  “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

  As they headed over, Babs grabbed Helena from behind and wrapped her arm around her neck, instructing her on how to break loose.

  “Fuckin’ hell,” Drew said, his eyes never leaving Babs. “Nothing sexier than seeing a woman practicing fight moves.”

  Rank barked out a laugh and slapped him on the back. “Hate to break this to you, but as sexy is that is, there’s a hell of a lot more fun to have with a woman than have her knee you in the nads. And if you get off your duff and get in there with Babs, you’ll find that out.” Drew scowled, but he ignored him and jogged on toward the women. He hoped Drew manned the fuck up and got in there with Babs, before someone else did.

  Noticing Rank heading over, Helena turned and, much to Babs’ surprise judging by the stricken look on her face, hugged her tightly. Whispering in her ear, she said, “Don’t give up. Not on love…not on him.”

  23

  Rank grinned as Helena jogged to meet him half way, throwing her hands around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips. “Love the way you cheer me on, babe,” he said, “but I’m sweaty and need a shower.”

  “We can go back to the cabin,” she suggested, waggling her brows.

  The sound of a car coming down the land drew their attention and he looked up to see Sylvie’s SUV pulling to stop. “Looks like Sylvie is here with her son, David. I can run into the house here and ta
ke a shower real quick while you chat with them if you want. Rain check on the plans?”

  Helena smiled her agreement and Rank disappeared into the house with the others. She turned and watched as Mace, so stoic and controlled, galantly opened the door for his wife. Sylvie greeted him by lifting on her toes and moving in for a kiss. The passenger door opened and a young boy hopped down. Running over, he high-fived Mace while exclaiming how he could not believe he missed their game.

  Sylvie saw Helena standing nearby and guided her son over to meet her, while Mace went inside.

  “You must be David,” she said. Helena grinned as he stuck his hand out for a very adult handshake.

  “That’s me,” he grinned back. “I hear you’ve got some cats and one of them is gonna have kittens soon.”

  Smiling widely, she said, “That’s right. Would you like to meet them?”

  He looked up at his mom, bouncing on his toes with excitement. Sylvie laughed and nodded. “You two can go on to the cabin and I’ll tell Rank where you are when he comes out.”

  Walking back down the lane with David at her side, Helena was surprised at the energy from the little boy as he bounced along and talked nonstop. Once they got to the cabin, she opened the front door and, the moment they walked in, Oscar, asserting his need to be fed, walked out and yowled loudly.

  “Good golly! That’s a big cat,” David said. He kneeled and held his hand out, waiting for the large cat to wander over to him to get patted.

  “I can see you’re used to being around cats,” she commented.

  He turned his head up toward her and nodded. “Marge and Horace have several cats at the main house that they feed. The older one died last month, so they just have two right now.” He turned his head back around and smiled again as Grover walked out from the back bedroom, stretching and yawning as he came.

  “The big guy is Oscar and the other one is Grover.”

  David laughed. “Sesame Street names?” Looking around, he asked, “Where’s the one that’s going to have kittens?”

  She glanced around, but did not see Prairie. “Maybe she’s still sleeping in the bedroom, We can go see.” She started to walk toward the smaller bedroom, when an ungodly meow sounded from inside. She hurried, rushing through the room toward the large closet, where she found Prairie, lying on her side in the bed that she made, her body heaving.

  Forgetting that a child was present, she cried out, “Oh, my God! She’s in labor! She’s having the kittens now!”

  David ran up beside her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “What should we do?”

  Trying to think of everything she had read, she forced herself to remain calm. “She should be fine, this is just nature.” Suddenly another piercing yowl came from Prairie and she lost her nerve. “I can’t believe Rank’s not here!” Turning to David, she said, “He told me that someone named Tate grew up on a ranch and knows about these things. Do you know who that is?”

  “Yeah! I’ll go get them!” David yelled, and before she could stop him, he darted out of the house and down the path.

  Rank was just coming out of the main house, when he heard a small yell. His eyes darted down the lane, where he saw David running toward him, screaming and waving his arms above his head. His heart in his throat, he took off running toward him, fear of something having happened to Helena clawing at him.

  Reaching David, he dropped to the ground, and asked, “What is it? What’s wrong? Where’s Helena?”

  “Cat,” David managed to get out between gasps. “She’s having kittens! I’m supposed to get you and Tate!”

  Barely aware that the pounding footsteps of the others were behind him, he yelled for Tate to follow him and took off running down the lane toward the cabin. Entering, he rushed to the back bedroom and observed Helena kneeling at the edge of the closet, the sound of fierce cat cries filling his ears.

  Willing his heartbeat to slow, he knelt next to her, seeing tears in her eyes.

  She looked up at him, and said, “I feel so helpless. I watched YouTube videos and talked to my vet, but I don’t know what to do.”

  Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked over to see Tate there and he let out a sigh of relief. “Helena, this is Tate. He’s going to take care of Prairie, okay?”

  “Don’t you worry,” Tate said, with a wink. “Just let mother nature take its course, and you’ll have a few little kittens when this is all over.”

  Two hours later, three little kittens had been delivered, thoroughly licked, and were all nursing. Prairie looked regal as she lay in her bed with her kittens tucked up next to her. Helena, on the other hand, felt like a wreck.

  As Tate left, she threw her arms around him, giving him a grateful hug. “I know Prairie did all the work, but thank you so much for being here.”

  He patted her back and smiled at Rank over her shoulder. “Looks like Prairie’s going to be a good mother. And, don’t thank me. Us Keepers have all kinds of uses.” With a flick of his hand, he waved goodbye and was out the door.

  Sylvie had come over to sit with David, who had not wanted to leave Prairie’s side either. Finally able to nudge her son out the door, now that they knew everything was okay, she thanked her for letting him stay. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Sylvie said as they left as well.

  The sun had set over the edge of the trees, casting shadows all about the small cabin. Rank stood and leaned down, assisting her from the floor. Giving her a hug, he said, “Let’s let Prairie have some time alone with her kittens.” Kissing her forehead, he commented, “You look exhausted.”

  Leading her into the living room, he pushed her gently down on the sofa, and said, “There’s plenty of food in here, that Marge provided. I’ll heat something up for dinner.”

  She started to protest, saying that she would do it, but receiving a stern look from him, she kept her mouth shut. Leaning her head back on the sofa, she realized how tired she really was. Turning her head toward the kitchen, she could not help but smile at the sight of Rank. Unable to stay seated, she stood and walked behind him, wrapping her hands around his waist and resting her cheek against his powerful back.

  He reached behind him and gently shifted her body around so that it was tucked close to his front. “You really should rest, babe.”

  She smiled up into his face, her hands sliding through his long, thick hair. “I can’t seem to be near you without wanting to touch you.”

  Rank’s nostrils flared and his eyes darkened with lust. Pulling Helena tighter, he kissed her, plunging his tongue deep into her mouth. He had intended to keep the kiss light, but the taste of her was intoxicating and he could not get enough. Lucky for him, she reciprocated in kind. Their tongues began a dance, twisting and tangling together.

  Finally pulling back, he sucked in much-needed oxygen and murmured, “We gotta stop, babe.”

  She pouted, her breathing rapid, and asked, “Why, when this feel so good?”

  “Because you’re tired and hungry. And I want to fuck you, but I don’t want to fuck you when you’re tired and hungry, so you’re gonna rest, eat—”

  “And then you’ll fuck me?”

  Grinning widely as he stared into her sparkling green eyes, he said, “No, I don’t think I will.” Chuckling as he saw her look of disappointment, he said, “Tonight…I’m gonna make love to you.”

  She melted against him, his arms holding her upright. After a moment, she stepped back so he could finish dinner. As she made her way back to couch, she turned over her shoulder and said, “Looking forward to dessert.”

  Groaning, he thought to himself, God, I love this woman.

  The forest around the cabin was too thick for the moonlight to penetrate through the windows, but Helena did not need it. She had the body next to her memorized. Rank was right. What they had just done was making love. Slow and soft. He had linked fingers with hers and had them planted on the bed by her head the entire time that his hips were thrusting, gently rocking into her body. And when they came, they
came together. Eyes on each other, each whispering the other’s name.

  She had never had anyone make love to her like that and, if they did not work out, she knew he had ruined her for all other men. She also believed with all her heart, that he had never experienced that with anyone before either.

  Now, face-to-face, chest to chest, with legs tangled, she gently rubbed her hand over his bearded jaw, her thumb moving over his lips. Concentrating so hard on the face in front of her, she almost missed his whispered words.

  “I love you, Helena.”

  As his words penetrated, her eyes widened and she sucked in a quick breath. She pulled his face to just a whisper away from hers, and murmured against his lips, “I love you, too.”

  With no words left to say, she tucked her head under his chin, and nestled her cheek on his chest. Hearing his steady heartbeat against her ear, she fell asleep, safe and secure in his arms.

  “Rank, I’m not sure about this anymore.”

  He turned and looked down at Helena, whose eyes were wide. “I thought you wanted to see the view from the top of the lighthouse?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t know we were going to have to take the stairway to heaven to get there,” she quipped, trying to catch her breath. “I’m not athletic like you!”

  He barked out a laugh and turned his back to her, squatting. “Hop on.”

  “No way am I going to piggyback on you all the way up.”

  He looked over his shoulder, and said, “Babe.”

  She huffed. “How is it that you have the ability to say that one word, but mean so many different things?”

  “And what did that particular one mean?” he asked.

  She contemplated for just a few seconds, and then said, “It means climb on up.” She leaned forward and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

  He stood easily and made it up the last twenty steps to the top of the lighthouse, then squatted again so that she could slide off next to the lights. He pointed to them and said, “Obviously, this lighthouse is no longer in use, but these are the original Fresnel lenses.”