by Terry Spear
“That’s a bummer.”
She looked up at Scott as he concentrated on his salad, his black lashes framing his deep brown eyes. He looked up from his salad and he smiled at her. Something deep inside niggled at her. It hadn’t been that long ago that she’d dumped Tom, and yet already she was intrigued with another guy. What was the matter with her? Stay away from men for a while. That’s what she had told herself. Her brain had gone on vacation. Mostly, she figured it was because he was a hot cougar.
She tried not to keep looking at the wall that hid the restroom. She caught Scott’s curious gaze.
He was gorgeous. A trim, lean, fighting machine. She imagined him doing pushups on top of her body in heated rhythm with not an ounce of baby fat marring that perfect physique.
After the waitress served their steaks, Nicole carved off a piece, so tender it was like slicing a knife through whipped butter. “I guess we’ll need to drop back by our rooms to change into something a little more casual for the gardens.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that. Shorts?”
She nodded. “I’ll take a rain jacket in case, also.”
After finishing their meals, Nicole grabbed her purse and offered to pay for hers. He shook his head and pulled out his wallet.
“Thanks for the lovely meal,” she said, liking Scott more by the minute.
He paid for the meal, then walked her back to the hotel.
She managed to look over her shoulder once, but when Scott tightened his grip on her arm, she relaxed and let him take care of her.
When they walked into the hotel, he said, “I’ll meet you in half an hour in the lobby then?”
“That’d be fine.”
It wouldn’t take her but a minute to change, but she had to pack and move. That would take a bit longer.
She motioned to the check-in counter. “I have to have a word with the clerk.”
“Any trouble?”
“No.”
“Okay, see you in a little while.”
She strode to the hotel counter and retrieved the key for Room 205 when Scott took the elevator up. With the new key in her pocket, she hastened to the elevator. Or should she take the stairs? She glanced at the fire door to the stairs. No, the elevator would be quicker. She punched the button. The elevator grumbled its descent, then the doors opened with a slight squeal. Empty. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
She entered the elevator and pushed three. The doors began to shut, then a man’s hairy hand shoved between the narrow slot. Fear tugged at her heart as the doors opened again.
The raven-haired man wore a black shirt and trousers and gave her the once over as he walked into the elevator. A large crooked nose, probably from having been broken, stood out prominently from a haggard face and black beady eyes caught her observing him. The blood pulsed through her veins at a rush. The doors began to close. She darted through them and strode to the fire stairs.
He’s just a guest.
Inside the stairwell, she ran up the steps two at a time, praying the man wouldn’t follow her. She dashed up to the third floor, slammed the fire door against the wall and bolted for her old room. With key in the slot, she heard the elevator doors slide open down the hall. He might have gotten off on the second floor, she reminded herself. She had pushed the button for the third floor!
She tugged at the handle of her door before the green light appeared. The red light flashed. She tried again, attempting to quell her anxiety. And then the green light shown. She shoved the door open, then banged it shut behind her.
She grabbed her makeup from the desk, shoved it into her makeup pouch, then threw it in her suitcase lying open on the bed. Returning to the desk, she picked up her curling iron and wrapped the cord around it. When she approached her bag, she stared at it as a twist of panic set in.
Hadn’t she closed it before she’d left the room? Her heart raced with worry as she considered what she’d done prior to leaving for lunch. She’d been in a hurry when she had cleaned herself after the mud bath in the Gulf. But she always zippered her suitcase closed before she left a motel room.
After throwing the curling iron into the bag, she made another sweep through the room looking for anything she might have left behind. Then she zipped her suitcase closed. She shouldered her purse and pulled her suitcase along by the retractable handle out into the hall. After shutting the door, she hurried to the elevator.
When she reached room 205, she sighed with a big sense of relief. If it was just her overwrought imagination, no harm done in changing rooms. If she truly had to fear someone was out to get her, she felt a little safer.
She entered her new room and opened the suitcase. She changed into a pair of white shorts, a blue and white spandex top, and rubber-soled white sandals. Nice and casual.
When it was nearly time to return to the lobby, she grabbed her purse and headed to the door. She opened it, gasped, and her heart nearly quit beating.
A swarthy man dressed in a natty gray suit stood with his fist raised at the door, ready to knock, then smiled as he dropped his hand to his side. “Miss Welsh? I’m the day manager, Frank Constantino, and I wondered if your accommodations suited you better here.”
Her hand clung to her purse with a knuckle-whitening grasp as she tried to slow her quickened heartbeat. “Uh, yes…yes.”
“Have you vacated the other room?”
“Yes, here’s the key.” She pulled it out of her purse, then handed it to him.
“One of my clerks said you experienced some kind of harassment.”
“A man in a peach suit, blond-haired. I don’t know what he wants, and I didn’t recognize him. Anyway, he came to my room, then followed me to a restaurant later. I thought it might be a good idea for me to change rooms.”
“I assure you my clerks wouldn’t give out room numbers. I’ll alert them to the problem and have them watch for the man you’ve described. If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to call on me. Can I tell the maid to straighten up your old room?”
“Yes, and thank you.” She shut the door and put her hand on her heart. The blond guy hadn’t given her as much of a scare as the day manager had.
With purse slung over her shoulder, she opened the door and hurried down the hall to the fire escape. While running down the stairs, footsteps followed behind her. Whoever it was still couldn’t see her, nor could she see him. And she wasn’t waiting to find out who it was. She yanked open the fire door and bolted for the lobby.
Scott spied Nicole coming out of the stairwell and immediately wondered why her pretty blue eyes were wild with fear. He hurried to join her. As the fire door opened again, she looked back. A petite woman walked out of the stairwell.
Nicole grabbed Scott’s hand to his surprise. “Your car?” she quickly asked.
“Sure.” He glanced again at the other woman. Nicole couldn’t have been afraid of the woman. Yet she gripped his hand as if she was terrified. He assumed she thought whoever followed her was someone else. But who? And why wouldn’t she let him in on the secret?
She didn’t trust anyone. She seemed too scared. What was going on? He just had to get to know her better, gain her trust and then, maybe she’d feel safe enough to level with him.
Her icy fingers squeezed his tightly. The memory of her sliding across his chest, their skin slippery and heated by the sun, came to mind. But he had to take this business that bothered her seriously.
His trip to Galveston was no longer a vacation, but a mission, to protect a damsel in distress.
Chapter 5
Scott walked Nicole outside to the parking lot and pointed to a bright red Mustang. She showed a distinct spark of interest in the shiny new vehicle parked at the back of the lot. Actually, she seemed to be concentrating on something about the car—the front windshield. Why?
Was his safety inspection sticker and car registration up to date?
No, her gaze rested on the bare spot—the spot where his blue officer’s sticker should hav
e been but wasn’t. He’d just had time to pick up his new car and gone on vacation and hadn’t had time to register it on post. When he returned home from his trip, it would be his priority.
The way she seemed so interested in the bare spot, did that mean she was in the service after all?
“Nice car,” she said.
“Thanks.” Again, he wondered where she lived and now, what she did for a living. She had to have some income, or she wouldn’t stay in one of the nicer hotels in Galveston. And she’d offered to pay for her own meal, so she had to have money. Moody Gardens wasn’t cheap either.
He opened the car door for her and enjoyed the view as she slid onto the white leather seat. She had running legs, firm and well-sculpted and wearing short shorts showed them off to perfection. She glanced up to see what took him so long to close the car door. His ears had to be bright red with embarrassment, the way they felt sunburned suddenly. He smiled and shut the door.
When he climbed into the car, he took a deep breath. “Okay, off to Moody Gardens.” He handed her a brochure. “Do you want to navigate?”
“Sure. If I have a map and street signs, I’m fine. But orienteering—”
He had already started the engine and backed out of his parking space, but when she paused, he looked over to see what made her hesitate. Her gaze rested on the map. Her cheeks grew rosy like when she had wriggled over his oiled body.
Orienteering? Everyone in the army was familiar with finding their way across open terrain using a compass and map to guide them by land features. Was she in the military then too?
“Orienteering?” he prompted.
She changed the subject. “Turn left at this street and at the signal, turn right onto the highway.”
He nodded and did as she advised. He’d give her a little longer to explain the orienteering comment. Maybe she’d been in the service, had a bad experience and got out. Or perhaps, she belonged to an orienteering club. Not everyone who did orienteering had to be in the military.
She directed him down a couple of more streets. The brown signs of Moody Gardens pointed them to a landscaped paradise. Nicole smiled. “I love gardens.”
He could tell. Her face cheered and her body perked up at the sight of them. Three different colored glass pyramids poked their sharp peaks into the now partially cloudy sky. One was blue, another clear and the third, pink, adding to the colorful gardens surrounding the surreal sight.
After they parked, she hopped out of the car before he could get her door for her. When they headed for the gardens, he slipped his fingers between hers and she frowned. Now what?
“Shoot, I forgot my rain jacket at the hotel.”
He looked back at his car for a moment. “Me too.”
She considered the partially cloudy sky. “I guess the bad weather will hold off for a while.”
“We’ll be inside the pyramids, for the most part, if it begins to rain.”
They walked into the first of the pyramids to the ticket area and he pulled out his credit card.
“I’ll pay for mine, Scott. It’s too expensive to—”
“It’s my treat. Where I’m from, if a guy asks a gal out, he pays.”
She smiled. “So where are you from originally?”
“Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas.”
“Ahhh, I’ve heard they’re some of the friendliest folks you’d ever want to meet.”
“We try to be.”
“All right. Then I’m buying dinner. Your choice of place.”
Yep, he’d made the right move that time in offering to pay for her ticket. He’d intended on staying close to her to make sure no one bothered her. But this cinched it. Man, this was going to be the best vacation ever.
He paid for their tickets as she unfolded the map of Moody Gardens. “Okay, where to first?”
“Do you want to wander through the outdoor gardens, in case it gets stormy later?”
“Smart idea. In fact, this might be a good time to take the Colonial Paddle Wheel for a ride too.”
After strolling through half a mile of the colorful floral gardens with oleander flowers planted in great abundance, they found a memorial for soldiers from Galveston who had died during Viet Nam. Nicole ran her finger over the engraved names. “So many young men lost.”
He was really tempted to bring up the orienteering notion again, but she grabbed his hand and with her other pointed toward the pyramids. “Over there is the paddle boat ride. Are you ready?”
“Sure.”
They wandered through the floral-lined path and finally caught sight of the boat dock. The last of the passengers were boarding.
“Come on!” Scott pulled Nicole at a sprint toward the boat dock.
Laughing and partly winded, they climbed aboard the boat. He pointed to the sign. “It doesn’t go out for another three hours and that’s only if the weather remains good. So that was perfect timing.”
“I’d say.” She squeezed his hand, and he sighed with relief. Not once had she looked for someone who might have followed her. On the other hand, she may have been doing just that when he thought she was observing the beauty of the gardens instead.
They walked along the deck as the paddle boat pulled away from the dock. “Oh! Look at the pelicans on the posts over there!”
He chuckled under his breath. She sure got tickled by things easily.
She leaned over the railing and took a concentrated breath of the sea air. “I haven’t seen anything like that since I visited southern Florida as a kid.”
He studied her lightly tanned legs. Not an inch of fat, nicely muscled, but not overdone. She was in great shape. She had to be in the service, running two miles to keep in shape for the Physical Fitness Training Test. Was she stationed at Fort Hood too? Was that why she choked on her water when he mentioned it? Not because he was in the military, but because they both were in the military stationed at the same place? Maybe she had a boyfriend there and didn’t want to tell him so.
“I’ve never been to Florida. But I’ve always thought I’d like to see the white sand beaches, and maybe even run over to Disney World and Epcot,” he said.
Somehow, he had to get back to the subject of Fort Hood. If she was stationed there, he could keep the dating game going, if she wasn’t already seeing someone. Wouldn’t the other guys be flabbergasted when he showed her off to them?
He leaned over the railing as her blond hair flew in the breeze, tickling his chin. He was dying to know more about her.
“So what made you choose to come here for your vacation?”
“Actually, my girlfriend was dying to come here. She made all the arrangements, talked me into coming, then like I said, backed out. I was really surprised too because we had everything okayed with our boss, and then all a sudden, she had a family emergency. I’d already had my leave approved and had packed, so I was determined to go.”
“You don’t know how glad I am, either.”
She smiled.
Yeah, she probably guessed how glad he was. If she hadn’t been so slippery and rolled off him on the beach earlier, he would have enjoyed feeling her against him an awfully lot longer. “So what job does your girlfriend have?” He tried to make it sound innocent enough. Since they had the same boss, they undoubtedly worked in the same office.
Nicole took too long to respond. He figured she was trying to turn a military occupation into a civilian one as her mind worked over the dilemma. He was dying to pin her down on the subject, but he didn’t want to scare her away either. And he loved the challenge. She was like one of the mystery games he liked to play—the kind where the heroine tried to solve all the clues, but he had to help her along the way.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “She’s a personnel manager.”
“And you?”
She nodded.
He smiled. They were probably personnel officers. Then he frowned. Or personnel sergeants. He glanced back at her. She studied a pelican and he took a deep breath. If she was a se
rgeant, he couldn’t have anything further to do with her, once he returned to Fort Hood. His stomach knotted in annoyance. Damn regulations. Too often he’d heard of an officer’s career ruined when he or she fraternized with an enlisted service member. He wasn’t about to give up his career.
After the hour and half boat ride, they arrived dockside. He guided her to the clear glass, ten-story pyramid housing the tropical gardens. They first stopped by the butterfly-hatching hut where a man released new butterflies into the rainforest pyramid. Two thousand more fluttered about freely in the humid atmosphere.
She smiled and pointed at a monarch butterfly flying within inches of her nose. Her head riveted as she observed butterfly after butterfly, taking every one of them. Her blue eyes glittered with enthusiasm.
She was as much a draw to him as the butterflies were to her. He took her hand and left the butterfly exhibit and walked her across bridges and through stone paths into the Asian Rainforest. Ferns and colorful orchids clustered together in the shelter of banana trees. Hundreds of brightly colored birds nested amongst the plantings.
Nicole smiled and pointed at one sitting almost hidden next to orchids. “This is so beautiful.”
She was beautiful. His former girlfriend would have rushed through, not looking at half of the plants or animals. In fact, he imagined she would have been yawning through the whole exhibit as disinterested as she was in anything other than shopping malls and sun-tanning beds.
Nicole got her full money’s worth when she explored the gardens, seeming to appreciate every bit of life and even the stone bridges and other manmade structures they came to, covered in coats of green moss.
“Beautiful,” she said again. He couldn’t agree more, though he was certain if it hadn’t been for Nicole loving all the sights so much, he wouldn’t have seen half of the wildlife hidden in the shrubbery or enjoyed it half as much either.
They walked into the African Rainforest where large ficus, mahogany and ebony trees, orchids and African violets grew along the walkways. Plants producing coffee beans, castor bean, oil palm and vanilla also were grown here. And rosy periwinkle dotted the greenery.
