by Hope Ramsay
Man, he was nice to look at. Especially today, wearing his team shirt and a pair of board shorts that showed off his tanned and toned legs. Was it weird for a woman to like the look of a guy’s legs? Maybe so. But Grant’s legs turned her on.
Shoot. Everything about Grant was a turn-on. Who was she kidding?
“Why’d you do it?” he asked.
The sea breeze had blown the morning clouds away, and now the July sun beat down on them. It was blistering hot on the sidewalk now that she’d stopped walking. “Do what?” she asked, a trickle of sweat inching down her back.
“Throw that pitch.”
She smiled and shrugged. “Everyone makes a mistake.”
“That wasn’t a mistake.”
“Yeah, well, please don’t thank me.”
“I wasn’t going to. I just wanted to let you know how much I admired what you did. I’m assuming you did it for your brother. Who has to take a lot of crap from the Chief.”
“Yeah, well, he dishes a lot of that crap on me.” She paused a moment. “You know, I think maybe I did it more for Noah than Ethan. I think Noah is tired of always being the golden boy who’s thrown in Ethan’s face. Sometimes it’s easier to be the girl, you know?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m an only child.” A smile touched his lips.
“Lucky you. So, if you admired what I did, then why did you ignore me on the field at the end of the game?”
He jammed his hands into the pockets of his shorts and broke eye contact. “I was surprised when you came over. I thought you wanted to keep what we’re doing quiet.”
Well, he kind of had her there. Both of them had been trying to keep it under wraps. That’s why they’d gone off to the mainland the other night.
Except she didn’t want that now.
Was this what had happened to Momma? Had she gone out for a fling with Daddy and ended up with him for life—until the divorce? Still, the marriage had lasted fourteen years and produced three kids. So…
She examined her heart. Did she want to be able to love him out loud and in plain sight?
Yeah. Kind of. And maybe that was stupid.
He took a step forward, lifted his hand, and stroked her cheek. The touch went right to every one of her erogenous zones. The truth was, she didn’t want to end this thing or this fling or whatever it was. And she didn’t want to go sneaking around about it either.
And she, for sure, didn’t want or need Daddy or Ethan trying to intimidate him. Or Noah trying to talk him out of it.
“I don’t want to sneak around,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Neither do I.”
Damn.
“I followed you because I thought you might like to go out with me on Dragonfly.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “The Buccaneers are out there now.” He turned and looked over his shoulder down toward the harbor, which was dotted with the colorful spinnakers of the racing boats. “And then maybe you could join the sailors for dinner afterward.”
“At Rafferty’s?”
He shrugged. “It’s the hangout. I know you work there so maybe we could just go—”
She shook her head. “No. To be honest, I’ve always wanted to hang out with the sailors instead of serving them.”
“Well, this is your chance.”
He held out his hand, and she took it. It was a weird, exhilarating, and slightly terrifying feeling to walk down the street holding Grant Ackerman’s hand in public.
* * *
When Lia, Kerri, and Kate didn’t show up at Rafferty’s an hour later, Noah’s concern reached critical mass, especially since he’d sent Lia half a dozen texts and gotten no responses. That just wasn’t like her. She was always responsive.
He needed to find them. Because he had a very bad feeling about their absence. And he didn’t need to stay here at Rafferty’s celebrating Team First Responders’ victory. In fact, he ought to leave just so Ethan could enjoy his moment of glory all by himself. Abby and Ackerman had already left, earning a disapproving glare from Daddy.
He was going to have to take Daddy aside and explain to him that Grant was younger than he looked, had a stable occupation, seemed entirely honest, and had asked permission to date Abby. So he didn’t need to worry about Abby. She was in good hands.
Noah didn’t even have to worry about Prince because Jackie had begged to take the dog home. He’d promised not to let Prince dig up any of Howland House’s famous roses or otherwise mess up the public spaces at the inn. Clearly Ashley had never had a puppy if she believed this was possible. But in any event, the dog was in good hands too.
But where the hell was Lia? He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to find out how she’d figured out what was needed today in the top of the seventh inning. He wanted to talk it out with her because, when Ethan’s ball sailed over the outfield fence, Noah had this weird, almost out-of-body sensation that he’d finally come home.
As he’d rounded the bases, he thought that it might be possible to forgive himself for Duke, and maybe forgive Daddy too.
And now it struck him, hard, that the only reason he’d felt that way was because of Lia DiPalma. She had managed to read his mind, or his emotions, or whatever, and convince his baby sister to do something pretty terrific for their brother.
He needed to find her.
But when he slid behind the wheel of his car, he realized that he had no idea where to look for her. She couldn’t have gone far. She was new in town so there would be a finite list of places to search, starting with Howland House.
But when he reached the B&B, there was no trace of Lia or her Trailblazer. He left a message with Ashley and then knocked on the rectory door across the street. There was no one home so he headed off to the clinic. But Lia wasn’t there either. Finally he drove out to the Church of the Heavenly Rest and found it deserted.
Damn.
Was it possible that she’d ended up out at Bud Joyner’s place? A dread settled in his gut like lead. He had a very bad feeling about that. He peeled out of the church parking lot and headed out of town on Magnolia Boulevard to the Joyners’ place. He turned into the drive but there was no Trailblazer parked there, only Bud’s Dodge with the seal of the MHFD on the side.
He killed the engine and headed up to the front door, which opened before he reached it. Bud came lumbering out onto the porch, limping heavily and holding a bag of frozen peas to his chin. He looked like he’d been in a fistfight.
“You okay?” Noah asked.
“No, I’m not. I been trying to reach your daddy for the last half hour. I want him to swear out a warrant for that woman.”
“Which woman?”
“The one who’s been working at the clinic. She’s a troublemaker. Attacked me right here in my own yard. Convinced my wife to leave me.” Bud’s eyes were bloodshot, and his voice carried a menace inconsistent with his jolly face and round belly.
“She assaulted you?” Noah had a hard time believing that.
“Yeah. Turned her military hand-to-hand on me. Can you imagine? Me with a bum knee and everything. She won’t get away with it.”
Lia taking on a man who was at least six inches taller and a hundred pounds heavier didn’t sound right. And if she’d taken on Bud, it would have been for a good reason. A few days ago, Noah had dismissed Lia’s suspicions about Bud Joyner. Today he wasn’t so sure. Momma, Abby, Lia, Kerri, and maybe even Kate herself, all seemed to think that Bud was involved in something bad. And Noah had to admit that Napoleon’s injuries were consistent with someone kicking the dog or taking a baseball bat to him.
Maybe they were all right about this guy.
“You got any idea where Lia went?” Noah asked, struggling to keep his tone calm and neutral.
“Yeah, she took my wife off to stay with some black woman living out in ‘Gullah Town.’ You tell your daddy to get his butt down there and bring Kate back. You tell him to answer his goddamn phone.”
“Yes, sir,”
Noah said, backpedaling a few steps before turning and jogging to his car. Should he call Daddy? Based on what Ethan had said a few days ago, it might be a hard sell trying to convince Daddy that Bud Joyner was taking bribes and beating his wife.
No, he did not want to get his father involved. Unfortunately, he had no idea where Kerri lived. But maybe he knew someone who did.
He fired up his Lexus and headed out on Magnolia while simultaneously calling his momma using the car’s hands-free feature.
“Hey, honey,” she said. “I’m sorry I missed the game. But I heard Ethan hit a home run.”
“Yes, he did. Won the game.”
“Well, isn’t that something? I’m sure Abby will be disappointed in herself.”
“Maybe not.” Noah stifled a smile as he continued. “I didn’t call about the game. I need a favor.”
“From me?” She sounded so surprised. And that made him stop and think. He rarely asked anything of his mother. He’d forgotten the way she’d once been, before the MS sapped her strength. Maybe in his rush to take care of her, he’d forgotten that she needed her independence. Maybe he needed to rethink things. Momma was sick, but she wasn’t helpless. Not by a long shot.
“Do you have any idea where Kerri Eaton lives?” he asked.
“I don’t, but I bet Annie Robinson would know. Why?”
“Momma, Kerri and Lia have convinced Kate to leave Bud. Bud’s on the warpath, and I think they took Kate to Kerri’s place. I’m worried about all of them.”
“Oh my word,” she said. “I don’t know whether to be scared or overjoyed. You hold on one minute. Let me make a few calls and I’ll get back to you.”
Five minutes later, Momma did just that. Noah pulled to the side of the road and plugged the address into his iPhone. He didn’t really know his way around “Gullah Town.” “So tell me what you know,” Momma demanded. “I can get help over to Kerri’s in a New York minute.”
“Um, maybe not a good idea until I figure out what’s going on. Apparently Lia kicked Bud Joyner’s ass and hustled his wife away from him to Kerri’s place.”
“Well, good for her.”
“Momma?”
“I know. But I never did like that man much. Your daddy and I had many arguments about their friendship. The truth is, it took me way too many years to realize that your daddy liked Bud more than he liked me. I tell you what, that man has fooled a lot of people with his white beard and big jolly cheeks.”
“Thanks. I gotta go.”
“Don’t you let that man hurt Lia, you hear? I like that girl. And you call me when you find her or if you need any help.”
He hung up, vaguely aware that his mother had just given the woman he cared about her seal of approval.
* * *
Lia fell in love with Kerri’s house the moment she laid eyes on it. It was painted a vibrant shade of blue with pristine white shutters and porch railings, and sat way outside the town limits in a thicket of live oaks draped with Spanish moss.
The house was centuries old, but not in the grand way of the many antebellum mansions in the area. It was small but had been recently restored. The front room had comfortable furniture, and the second bedroom, where Lia and Kerri took Kate’s suitcases, had a spindle bed with a handmade crazy quilt.
It was comfortable and quiet out here. And the back screened porch provided a spectacular view of the salt marsh that ran along most of the island’s western shore.
“I don’t know what to say,” Kate said as she sank into one of the rockers on the back porch. Napoleon jumped up into her lap and made himself comfortable. Both the dog and the woman had stopped trembling.
“You don’t have to say a thing,” Kerri said, handing her a glass of sweet tea. “You can stay out here for as long as you like. I been where you are, honey, and I know what it’s like when a man just drives you so low that you don’t even think you are capable of getting back up again. It takes time to find your way.”
They lapsed into silence for a long while. “I’m going to have to call Brandon,” Kate said.
“Brandon?” Lia asked.
“He’s my son. He lives in Columbia. I need to call him before his daddy does.”
“You don’t have to call anyone you don’t want to call. And if your son is the kind of man who would believe your husband instead of you, then you don’t need him.” Kerri folded her arms across her chest and looked out over the bay. Clearly she’d had more than her share of bad relationships.
Lia rocked forward and took Kate’s hand. “You do whatever you think is right for you, okay? But my advice would be to spend time away from Bud and then talk to a counselor. I can do some research for you. I’ll need to put together a list of counselors if I get the job working at Heavenly Rest in any case.”
Kate rolled her head to look in Lia’s direction. “I can’t believe what you did today. What possessed you to go after Bud when he had that shotgun in his hands?”
Lia shrugged. “I don’t really know, to tell you the truth. I guess it was training. I mean, I could see he wasn’t serious. He didn’t have his finger on the trigger. And I knew I could take him because his knee is bad. So it’s not like it was an act of bravery. It was just…” Her voice faded.
What the hell had it been? Back in Afghanistan she’d frozen when the first shot was fired. Today had been altogether different.
And far less dangerous. A shotgun was a whole different animal than an M4. Still, down deep, where she’d been carrying a load of guilt and self-doubt, she felt lighter somehow. She’d protected these women the way she’d been trained to protect the unarmed chaplains of the United States Navy. And equally important, she’d set that a-hole back by giving him a good pop in the face with the stock of his own gun.
She didn’t think of herself as vicious or mean. But it had felt good to deal that man a little bit of his own medicine.
They stayed on the porch for a long while, not saying a whole lot. Just letting the tension of the day unwind, until the sound of tires on the gravel drive reached them.
“Uh-oh,” Kerri said. “I knew we weren’t going to be left alone for long.”
“I’ll see who it is,” Lia said, getting up.
“I think I’ll let you,” Kerri said, leaning back in her rocker.
Lia made her way to the front porch by way of the living room, where she’d stashed the shotgun with the safety on. She picked up the weapon and thumbed the safety off.
Nothing had been said within Kate’s hearing, but Lia and Kerri both knew it was only a matter of time before Bud showed up, probably with a bunch of his first responder buddies.
Lia squared her shoulders. She could handle this. She was not going to screw up again.
She brought the stock of the weapon up against her shoulder, opened the door, and came face to face with the man she loved.
“Oh,” they both said at the same moment.
Noah raised his hands. Lia flipped the safety back on and lowered the muzzle.
“Jeeze,” Noah said, taking a step back. “What the hell?”
“Sorry. I was expecting Bud Joyner and maybe some of his a-hole buddies.”
“I just came from there. He says you attacked him. He’s been trying to reach my daddy. If he succeeds, it’s not going to be good. We need to go, now.”
“What? No. I’m not leaving. And besides, I didn’t do anything but defend myself. Bud took a shot at us.”
“He what?”
“It was probably a warning shot. I didn’t see where he aimed because my back was turned, which makes it even worse. We hit the deck and he said he was going to shoot Nappy if Kate didn’t turn around and come back home. Kate had decided to leave him, and he didn’t like that idea.”
“I just came from over there. Bud looks like he was knocked upside the head.”
“He was, with the stock of his own gun. I just used the standard technique for disarming someone holding a twelve-gauge shotgun. You know it’s easier to take a long gun away fr
om someone than a handgun. Although I would never have tried it if he’d been aiming an M4 rifle at us.”
Noah blinked. “I thought you were a religious specialist, not a Seal.”
“I was. And we go through basic and combat training because it’s our mission to protect the unarmed chaplains. And then I got some extra training from a group of bored marines aboard the USS George H.W. Bush. Come on back and have some iced tea. I think it’s way too sweet, but apparently it’s the drink of the South.” She turned away from him, not wanting to look him in the face, suddenly. Why was he here?
She leaned the gun, a very nice Browning as it turned out, against the wall and headed toward the back of the house. But she didn’t get far because Noah snagged her by the arm. “I was worried about you,” he said, turning her to face him. “Why didn’t you answer my texts?”
“Oh, crap. I’m sorry. I left my cell phone at the inn this morning. You sent me texts?”
“You went off to confront a bad guy without a cell phone?”
Bad guy? Did he say “bad guy”? She smiled in spite of the situation. “Does that mean you believe me about Bud Joyner?”
He grabbed her by the shoulders. “I don’t know what to believe, but the idea of you going up against a big guy with a shotgun makes me crazy. Don’t do that again, okay? You’re not in the navy anymore.”
He pulled her to him and lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was savage and a little desperate and hot enough to melt her right on the spot. She wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed the hell out of it.
He’d been worried about her. He’d come searching for her. Had that ever happened before? Had anyone ever come looking for her because they were worried about her?
No. Not once. Not ever.
* * *
The damn bun at the back of her neck frustrated the hell out of Noah. He wanted to take out every hairpin and let all that glorious dark hair spill through his hands. He wanted to back her up until she fell onto the couch in the front room. He wanted to pull that blue merchant softball T-shirt right over her head so he could get his hands on her breasts.
