by Tracy Brogan
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Chloe’s big blue eyes went round, her voice squeaky as she looked past Ryan.
“Oh good Lord!” Emily exclaimed, looking in the same direction just as Lilly started shouting, “No! No! No!” and waving her arms. Periwinkle made another noise, this one not so much a friendly nicker as an insistent whinny, and Ryan turned around to see what everyone seemed to be staring at. And there they were, in all their horsey glory. Periwinkle, fresh from the lake, being thoroughly romanced by Duke. If Ryan had felt insufficient from the cold water, he felt doubly so after seeing what Duke had to offer, and Periwinkle seemed a pleased and willing participant.
“Holy shit,” he heard his father say, but Ryan couldn’t say anything at all. He just watched, fascinated and oddly intrigued. Was that weird? And gross? It seemed weird and gross, so he tucked those thoughts away and tried to adult for the moment. But nonetheless, it was pretty fascinating, and there was certainly no stopping it now. The whole thing only lasted for a few minutes anyway, and at least in that area Ryan felt superior. He had far more stamina than Duke did, and he left his partners with a little more to smile about. So . . . there was that.
Duke hopped off Periwinkle, his long, horsey face looking neither smug nor abashed. In fact, all the horses looked chill and relaxed. Nothing to see here. Just move along.
Not so much the humans. They were all standing there looking as if they were waiting for a bomb to be defused.
“What the hell do we do now?” Lilly finally said.
“Light them cigarettes?” Tag said.
Ryan chuckled, but the women didn’t.
“That was legit crazy. Did I just see what I think I just saw, Mom?” Chloe asked.
Emily’s voice was hesitant. “Um, what do you think you saw?”
“I think I just saw Duke hittin’ that with Periwinkle.”
Ryan chuckled again, but he probably wasn’t supposed to.
“Okay,” Emily said calmly. “Okay, well, then, yes. You did see what you thought you saw, and we are very much going to discuss all the aspects of that very soon, but now is not really the best time.”
Chloe nodded, still staring at the horses as if one of them might sprout wings. “I’m good with that.”
“I think maybe I should call Percy,” Emily said.
Chapter 17
“So, that was your big plan? To have my horse violate my dad’s horse?”
It was Saturday morning, and Emily and Ryan were back at Joe’s Cuppa Joe to debrief about yesterday’s horse-riding/orgy debacle. “No, of course that wasn’t the plan! Percy swears he didn’t know that mare was in season.”
“How could he not know?”
“I guess she didn’t tell him? I don’t know. Percy’s not that bright. Anyway, he said she was notorious for walking into the lake, but she hardly ever rolls anyone off, and he had no idea that Duke would . . . take advantage. Percy seemed genuinely surprised.”
“I think we were all genuinely surprised, including Periwinkle. Talk about associations. I’m not sure if that one was negative, positive, or just . . . educational.”
“It ended up being pretty educational for Chloe. We had quite the conversation last night when we got back to Gigi’s.”
Ryan chuckled. “I’ll bet. I think the thing that surprised me even more, though, was how good of a sport my dad was about the whole thing. Actually, what he said to me last night was, ‘Now that’s what I call horsing around.’ He seemed to think it was all pretty funny, so as far as negative associations go? Yeah, we failed.”
Emily sighed and moved her chair slightly so the sun wasn’t shining right in her face, and then she pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head. “Lilly didn’t seem that upset, either. She was annoyed with Percy, and I’m pretty sure she thinks I put him up to it, which, of course, I did, but she sure wasn’t angry. I think in spite of everything, Tag and Lilly still had a great day. So I agree with you. We failed at that whole negative association thing.”
Ryan shook his head sadly. “My brother says it’s the chemicals in their brains and they can’t help it.”
Speaking of brains, her own was turning to mush because Ryan had on a white golf shirt that made his tanned skin look downright sinful, and she now found herself staring at the fingers he had wrapped around his coffee cup. She’d hardly slept a wink last night because every time she closed her eyes, she could see him standing near the lake with rivulets of water trailing all over him. If men had wet T-shirt contests, Ryan Taggert would surely win.
“Chemicals in their brains,” she repeated back. “Is he a doctor?”
“No. But he watched a TED Talk once,” Ryan teased.
“Ah.” She nodded. “So now he’s an expert, right?” She tore her eyes away from his hands, only to lock her gaze with his, and that didn’t help either. She pulled her sunglasses back down.
“Exactly. I talked to Bryce last night, and according his extensive research—meaning twenty minutes on the Internet—when people fall in love it releases all sorts of chemicals, like dopamine, and it makes them do crazy, irresponsible shit because they can’t anticipate the consequences. And Bryce should know about this. He’s been married three times so far, and he’s also the biggest dope I’ve ever met.”
Ryan grinned again. She needed him to stop doing that because whatever was going on in her brain was not helpful. All the tingling and rippling and fluttering that was going on in the rest of her body wasn’t helpful either.
“Dopamine, huh? Is there an antidote?” she asked hopefully. She could use a shot if there was.
“Just time and distraction, but my dad should already be distracted. He should be solidly preoccupied with that hotel project, but obviously it hasn’t been enough to keep his mind off her.”
“Or his hands.” Tag was very touchy-feely with her sister. Even Chloe noticed.
“No kidding. I saw them say goodbye yesterday. Romeo and Juliet had an easier time parting ways. If my dad had to fall for someone, why couldn’t it have been someone in Sacramento?”
“I know, right? Why couldn’t Lilly fall for someone here? I’m trying to hook her up with one of the guys from my work crew. If we’re lucky, maybe she’ll transfer all that chemically induced haze onto someone else. Someone her age.”
“Her age? You mean sixteen?”
“You’re hilarious,” Emily said blandly. “You know she’s twenty-six. I think Matt is twenty-five, and I heard him telling the rest of my crew that he was an underwear model for a while but all the focus on his external body left him spiritually empty, so he started doing yoga and traveling, and he wound up here.”
“You have a traveling yogi on your work crew who used to be an underwear model?” Ryan did not sound happy about that, which for some reason made Emily feel more happy. Sure, his seemingly jealous reaction could be nothing more than pride and male ego, but the fact that he cared that there was at least one other attractive male in her life? Well. Yeah. It made her more happy.
“Yes, and he’s very charming and, oh my gosh, handsome as hell.” She said that just to poke at him a little more. That was for her pride and her ego.
He rolled his eyes and fanned his face with one hand. “Charming and handsome. Oh, stop. You’re getting me all dewy over here. He sounds dreamy.”
Awesome. She had a guy on her work crew who used to be a model. An underwear model? A charming, handsome underwear model? He did not like that at all. But what business was that of his? She could have fifteen underwear models waiting at her beck and call back in San Antonio for all he knew. But somehow, he didn’t think she did.
Ryan had his doubts about some of the stuff his brother said. In fact, he had his doubts about virtually everything Bryce said, but his brother might be onto something with this brain chemical nonsense. In fact, what he’d said over the phone last evening had made alarmingly good sense because whatever Ryan had going on his own brain these days, there had to be a reason for it. His attraction to Emily was a little o
verwhelming and a lot out of character for him. So to learn there was some scientific, biological reason for his state of mind was a bit of a relief. Now that he knew that, he could face it head-on and tackle it. He was smart enough to understand that as soon as he left this island, he’d forget all about her. In the meantime, he just had to stay on the alert and not listen to the dope inside of his brain. Which was always a good policy.
Unfortunately, she had on a little pair of denim shorts, and damn he loved a little pair of denim shorts.
“You can meet him if you want,” she said. “You said you wanted to come see the cottage I’m working on. Want to stop over on Monday? Do some of that pro bonnnno work you mentioned?” She drew out the word, teasing him into thinking she might say boner. Not that he was thirteen and the kind of guy who got a funky kick out of hearing a girl say quasi-naughty words, but the reality was, at that very moment, he and Emily Chambers were both thinking about erections. Which, naturally, made him think about his own. And so he blushed, just as if she’d shouted the word to the table next to them.
“I would enjoy that very much,” he said, as neutrally as possible, but she laughed anyway. “But it can’t be Monday. Tag is insisting I take a flight lesson with him on Monday.”
“A flight lesson? Is he a pilot? Oh, wait. Let me guess. He watched a TED Talk on it once.” She wrapped her lips around the straw of her iced tea and took a drink.
Was she flirting with him? It seemed like she was flirting with him. He usually had pretty good radar for stuff like this, but maybe on this remote island, like the spotty Wi-Fi in his hotel, his radar just wasn’t working. Stupid brain chemicals.
“Fortunately, there have been actual lessons involved this time,” Ryan answered. “And we’ll be going with an instructor. I’ll just be observing, but I should probably get my affairs in order before I go, just in case. If I show up on Tuesday with two broken legs, you can guess how it went.”
“Well, hey, Peach. Fancy seeing you here.” A swirl of colors appeared in Ryan’s peripheral vision before he turned and saw a woman in a tie-dyed jumper and lime-green high-top tennis shoes.
“Hi, Gloria,” Emily said, a look of concern coming to her face. “How are you?”
The woman gave a sigh that included a frowny face, a flop of her hands, and even a little stomp of one foot.
“I’ll tell you, Peach. Do you ever have one of those days when you’re in a bad mood but you’re not sure why so you just keep looking around for someone to argue with? That’s the kind of day I’m having.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Gloria. Have you met my friend Ryan?”
The woman extended a white-gloved hand. “Pleased to meet you. Do you have any issues you feel strongly about that you might want to pick a fight with me over?”
“Um, no?” This coffee shop attracted the strangest patrons.
She sighed again. “Oh, fine. I’ll keep looking. By the way, Peach, Bethany Markum is hosting drunk puzzle night tonight if you want to come. Seven o’clock. Sorry, mister. No dudes allowed.”
The tie-dye slowly faded from his view. He looked back at Emily. “Drunk puzzle night?
She smiled. “I didn’t realize they were still doing them.”
“What the hell is drunk puzzle night?” he asked.
“Pretty much like it sounds. You sit around a table working on a puzzle, and if you find a piece that fits, you make somebody drink a shot. In all the times I’ve done it, we’ve yet to finish a puzzle.”
“Sounds pretty fun. Sounds like something I would have done in college. What else did you used to do for fun around here?”
She pushed her sunglasses back up on her head, and he was glad. He liked to see her eyes, even though they left him feeling a little breathless and not quite in charge of himself.
“We did lots of stuff, most of which my dad was not happy about. There are reasons I’m his least favorite daughter.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true.” She seemed earnest and yet oddly matter-of-fact about this statement. He couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if he thought he was Tag’s least favorite. Clearly that was Bryce.
“No, it’s true. I was a pain in the ass. My friends and I were always drinking out in the woods and stealing candy from the fudge shops.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I’ve done worse.”
“Yes, but he was the chief of police, so it was always extra embarrassing for him when I got busted for something.” She looked at him for a moment, as if weighing her words. “And once he caught me skinny-dipping with a boy in the pool at the Imperial Hotel.”
Not that shocking. He’d like to skinny-dip with her. “Hmm. How old were you?”
“Nineteen.”
“Technically a legal adult.”
“Sure, but it still wasn’t legal to be naked in a hotel pool at midnight. Dad was pretty pissed.”
Ryan picked up his own iced tea. “I guess I can understand that, him being your father and all. Although in the scheme of things, it’s not that bad.”
She paused for another moment before adding, “He told me I couldn’t date that boy anymore. So I ran away and married him. If Dad wasn’t my biggest fan before, that pretty much sealed the deal. I can count the number of decent conversations we’ve had since then on one finger. We are an Irish people on Wenniway Island. Slights are not easily forgotten.” She said this conversationally, too. Like she was reporting the weather instead of telling him something that would seem momentous in his family.
Ryan and his brothers had gotten into their own share of trouble, but no matter what it was or how bad they’d been, Ryan never doubted that his parents always loved them.
“That’s . . . I can’t imagine that. I’m sorry.”
She brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “It’s all right. Chloe and I are here now, and we’re having a pretty nice visit. I actually think my dad might be starting to thaw, so as long as I don’t screw anything up while I’m here, maybe we’ll start to get along better. And speaking of not screwing things up, I’d better get to Gigi’s cottage. When I left yesterday, there were light fixtures dangling from wires, and we’re still trying to figure out where a particularly odoriferous aroma is coming from. Even the fudge can’t cover it up.”
Ryan nodded and stood up when she did. “I suppose I should get over to the Clairmont, too. Dad’s got some blueprints he wants me to look over.”
“The Clairmont? Is that who you’re consulting for?”
Technically? No. But he couldn’t tell her anything about those Mahoney women because there was a very strict confidentiality clause in the contract they’d signed yesterday morning. He was doing a few things at the Clairmont for his father, but as soon as possible, he planned to head over to old Bridget O’Malley’s place to try to woo her into selling him her property.
“Um, yes. The Clairmont.”
“Oh, you’re working for the enemy then.” Emily tucked the chair in under the table, and her smile was easygoing.
“The enemy?”
“Oh yeah. Big feud. Herb Mahoney owns the Clairmont, and the Callaghans and Mahoneys haven’t seen eye-to-eye since, well, since forever. Not sure why.” She chuckled and started walking. “It’s silly, really, but Gigi and June Mahoney are determined to keep it going. Right now we’re having rental wars. It’s partly why I’m here.”
He fell into step beside her. “Because of a feud?”
She nodded. “Gigi is convinced the Mahoney sisters are trying to lure away her summer tenants, and they probably are. That’s why this renovation I’m working on is so important. Gigi wants her cottages to be nicer than the Mahoneys’ cottages.”
Ryan’s step faltered. Because. Shit. If what Emily said was true, then he really was working for the enemy. “I’m sure there are enough tourists and visitors to keep all the cottages rented.”
“I’m sure there are. It’s really just the principle of it. Like I said, it’s a silly feud.”
It was. Certainly
it was, and yet Ryan couldn’t help but feel a little bit awkward knowing he was about to go buy more property for June Mahoney. That wasn’t going to sit very well with Gigi, and possibly not with Emily, but the contract was signed. Nothing he could do about that now. Business was business, after all.
Chapter 18
Sunday morning, back at Saint Bart’s, and Emily had a headache. Not a terrible headache. Just the dull kind that made her feel sleepy and kind of stupid. Drunk puzzle night had been a little too much fun. Seeing a cluster of her old friends, reminiscing about good times and past antics was just what Emily needed. Somewhere in Texas, she’d forgotten who she was. Being back at Trillium Bay, being with friends and family, was helping her to remember. That girl she’d been in the past? She wasn’t so bad. Unruly? Very much so, but other than her friction with Harlan, life on Wenniway had been pretty good.
It didn’t feel quite so good this morning, though. She had a teensy hangover, and Gigi was muttering something about the Mahoney sisters. She was on a roll, though, and didn’t require much response, so Emily just nodded at regular intervals and made sympathetic sounds when it seemed appropriate.
“There’s Grandpa,” Chloe said. She waved at him as he approached, and he almost, very nearly smiled as he sat down next to her.
“Good morning, ladies. How is everyone?”
“I’m fine, Grandpa. Happy Father’s Day.”
Shit. It was Father’s Day? No wonder Harlan didn’t like her. She didn’t even know what day it was! Some of the other guys had rosebuds pinned to the lapel of their jackets, but Harlan wasn’t wearing a jacket. In fact, he was wearing his uniform. Probably because he figured no one had planned a party for him. Someone should have reminded her. Where the hell was Brooke? She was usually in charge of this kind of thing, wasn’t she?
