Hope screamed and grabbed his arm. “What was that?” She clung to him.
“I’m guessing a little brown bat.”
“Oh. Nooo.” She shook her head, dropped her hold on his arm and did a squeamish kind of jig. “I hate bats.” She sprinted toward the B&B.
Derrick ran after her and burst from the path right as Hope toppled over a lawn chair. He rushed to her side. “Are you hurt?”
“Only my pride.” She rolled over and stood. “Bats are about the only creature on earth that I can’t handle. I was in such a hurry to get away, that I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
“It doesn’t help that one of the lights on the house burned out. It’s a little darker than usual back here.” He clasped her hand without thinking, but since she didn’t pull away he kept it fully enveloped. She trembled beneath his grasp. His heart warmed toward this multi-faceted woman. “I’m sure it was only a little brown bat,” he said in the soothing voice he used with Alyssa when she was upset. “We probably were attracting insects with our body heat, and it was looking for food.”
He quickly guided them to the front entrance and went inside, releasing her hand as they crossed the threshold.
Alyssa stood there waiting. Her eyes widened. “What happened, Hope? You have grass stains on your jeans.”
Hope shrugged. “I got a little freaked out by a bat and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. No big deal.” She turned to Derrick. Pink tinged her cheeks. “Thanks for getting me inside safely. I don’t think I’ll be taking any more after dark walks or runs.” She shivered. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a hot shower.” She darted up the stairs.
Alyssa giggled softly. “She’s really afraid of bats.”
“What gave you that idea?” He mussed up her hair.
“Dad!” she whined. “Don’t do that.”
“Oops.” He held back a grin that threatened to give away how much he enjoyed teasing her. Maybe he’d worried over nothing, and things with Alyssa would go back to normal.
“So I was talking with Gabe while you were out.”
So much for things going back to normal.
***
After her shower Hope sank into a comfy chair in her room at the Wildflower B&B with a cup of decaffeinated coffee in her hands and cradled her cell phone between her neck and shoulder. “How are you doing, Piper?” Talking to Piper should get her mind off of Derrick.
“My doctor says everything looks good.”
“That’s not what I meant. How are you doing?”
“Oh. Well, I’m bored and antsy. I can’t believe I have close to two-and-a-half more months of this.”
“Me either.” By the sound of Piper’s voice, Hope suspected her friend needed a serious diversion.
“How are things with you and Derrick?”
Now there was a loaded question if she ever heard one. A crick in her neck began to hurt. She set the coffee mug on a side table and grasped the phone in her hand. “I don’t appreciate that he looks over my work, but I blame you for that. He’s actually a sweet man.” Who she couldn’t get out of her head! “I called to talk about you. Not Derrick.”
“Too bad,” Piper said with a playful tone. “He’s nice, huh? I knew the two of you would hit it off.” She cleared her throat. “Chase heard through the grapevine at the resort that you two are friendly.”
“Oh good grief. We are polite and professional at the resort. I don’t know what people think they saw.” However, he was very friendly tonight and not the least bit professional. She still couldn’t believe he’d held her hand. Then again, she’d been slightly traumatized. He was probably only trying to make her feel better, and his taking her hand meant nothing.
“Only polite? Come on, I know you. And I know him. There must be more.”
Instead of getting annoyed like she wanted to do, Hope considered how bored her friend was and decided to show mercy. “He’s having problems with his daughter and asked me for advice.”
“You’re kidding. Derrick is such a private man. This is going better than I expected. What did you do to get him to open up to you?”
“Nothing. If you were here, he probably would have talked to you instead.”
“Not a chance. We have a strictly professional relationship and never discuss personal topics.”
Typical Piper. The walls she put up could rival the Great Wall of China. Then again, since coming to this island, she’d seen the softer side of her friend surface more often than not. “You’re his boss. He probably isn’t comfortable talking about anything not related to work.”
“I agree. So what kind of advice did you give him?”
“Nothing major. I told him a little bit of my upbringing and how I rebelled. Tossed in a few words of wisdom from a daughter’s point of view and left the rest up to him.” Piper didn’t need to know she told him about her Captain Jack tattoo. She rarely told anyone about it. If she had it to do over, she’d have done something more sedate, like a nice floral design. Yes, she had a thing for flowers, but at that time in her life she had a thing for Pirates of the Caribbean and specifically Captain Jack.
“How’d he take it?”
“My advice? Fine, I guess. It was really no big deal.” Now, his taking her hand at the end of their walk felt like a big deal, but then again, she’d been upset. He was probably trying to comfort her, like he would his daughter—not that she was young enough to be his daughter. They were probably only a few years apart in age.
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just hmm.”
“Fine. If you’re going to be like that, I’m hanging up. You can be bored by yourself.”
“I’m not by myself. Chase is here.”
Hope rolled her eyes. “Good night. Tell Chase I said hi.” She disconnected the call then padded into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Tonight had been nice up to the point of the bat and subsequently falling and embarrassing herself. Could Piper’s matchmaking skills be as good as her sense of business?
Not that it mattered since Derrick had shown no sign of being interested in her as anything more than a friend. Besides, he probably was one of those one-woman kind of men who married once and never again. Otherwise he’d have re-married by now. Wouldn’t he? Four years was a long time to stay single if he didn’t want to.
Or perhaps he hadn’t met the right woman.
CHAPTER SIX
Friday evening after work, Derrick meandered through the hall leading to the north wing that Hope had been working in. They’d completed work yesterday, but he hadn’t had a chance to check it out yet. He nodded to an older couple dressed for a night out. Wildflower Fresh, the resort’s signature restaurant, hosted a concert from seven to nine on Friday evenings. This week a popular Jazz band from Seattle was performing.
He’d love to stay and listen, but Gabe was coming over tonight. Alyssa had agreed to the compromise, since he’d explained he wanted to get to know her boyfriend before he considered letting her date him.
He stopped in front of the room and heard arguing inside. That was odd. No one should be in there. He slid the keycard in the slot and pushed inside.
A man who looked to be in his early twenties held Hope’s arm in a vise grip. Derrick fisted his hands. “Hey!” His adrenaline spiked, and he strode toward them. “What’s going on in here?”
“None of your business,” the man said through clenched teeth.
Derrick stepped closer, causing the guy to shift back a step. “This is very much my business. I’m the manager here, and you’re not supposed to be in this room. Who are you, and what do you think you’re doing?” He looked pointedly at the man’s hand still wrapped around Hope’s arm. “Let her go.”
The man looked uncertain and loosened his grip. Derrick outweighed him by at least fifty pounds of muscle and could easily take him on if necessary, but he’d prefer to avoid a physical confrontation.
“Joshua is a former employee.” Hope yanked her arm from the ma
n’s grasp. Her skin was white where his grip had been. She pulled the sleeve of her shirt lower to cover the spot. “He seems to think I owe him something.”
“I didn’t deserve to be fired for one mistake.” Joshua crossed his arms and glared at Hope.
“It wasn’t one mistake. Do you really want to do this?” Hope asked.
Joshua nodded.
“I kept records. You were late to work every day for a month. On top of that, you didn’t show up every Friday. You are lucky I didn’t fire you sooner.”
He waved a piece of paper that looked like a check. “My paycheck is short.”
“No, it’s probably too high. When you take company property, it’s docked from your pay. That’s how it works.”
The dude stole from her?
“I didn’t take nothin’.”
Derrick cringed inside. He was no grammarian, but even he was bothered by Joshua’s slaughter of the English language. He took a step closer in case Joshua tried to get physical again with Hope. No way would he lay a finger on her on his watch.
Hope crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I have a witness. Now you can either leave quietly, or I’ll press charges and have you arrested for theft and assault.”
Based on the track marks on his arm, the police would also find drugs in his possession.
“You’re gonna regret this!” Joshua cursed and stormed from the room.
Hope let out a long breath. “Thanks. If you hadn’t come along when you did . . .” All her bravado deflated, and her shoulders slumped. “I know how to take care of myself, but I’m so glad I didn’t have to hurt him.”
He doubted she could have inflicted any harm on the man. “Speaking of being hurt. Are you all right?”
She held up her arm, which shook. “I’ll have a bruise, but I’m okay.”
“Good. Because if he had hurt you . . .” He didn’t know what he’d have done and was thankful he wouldn’t need to find out.
Hope still trembled. He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Do you have to deal with that kind of thing often?”
“Thankfully, no.”
Relief shot through him, and he pulled her into a hug. He suddenly realized his heart was pounding uncharacteristically hard and quickly ended the hug. When had he come to care so much for this woman? They barely knew each other, yet he was drawn to her in a way he didn’t expect he’d ever feel again. He strode to the balcony sliding door to check the lock. “How’d he get in here anyway?”
“I was missing a tool today when I was working out at the cabins and thought I may have left it in here. I’d propped the door open while I was looking for it. When I came out of the restroom he was standing there. He had closed the door.” She shuddered. “I should go.”
“Gabe is coming over for dinner and a movie tonight. How about you join us? After all, inviting him over was your idea.” He grinned, hoping to help her relax and put what happened behind her. “Jill is helping Alyssa make the meal. I’m sure there’s plenty for all of us.”
“Will your sister be there too?”
He shrugged and made his way back to her side. “It’s hard to say. Sometimes she sticks around to eat, and other times she doesn’t. What do you say?”
“I don’t know.”
“You should be with friends tonight. Not holed up in your room at the B&B.” Besides he was afraid Joshua might try something, and he’d feel better if she was with him.
“Spending the evening someplace other than my room does sound nice,” she murmured, seeming to be deep in thought. Her face cleared, and she met his gaze. “Why are you here anyway?”
His neck heated. “I stopped in to make sure everything looked okay.”
“Good. I’ll need you to sign off on the work we did anyway, but I don’t have the contract with me at the moment.”
He nodded once. “Tell you what. I’ll look at the work later. We’re already late. Alyssa is probably wondering where I am.” He could come in early Monday morning to check on things. Or maybe he’d do it tomorrow since he had to put in a few hours in the afternoon.
Her face relaxed. “That sounds good. I need to stop by the kitchen first and tell Zoe I won’t need dinner tonight.”
“Assuming she’s already boxed it up, she can’t sell it now. Why not take the meal and save it for tomorrow?”
“Great idea.”
He held the door for Hope and walked her to the kitchen, then to her car. “Follow me.” He’d driven his SUV rather than his motorcycle since there’d been a chance of rain in the forecast.
A short time later, they pulled into his driveway. It looked like Jill had already left. He slid out and waited for Hope.
She held up the bag as she approached. “Mind if I stash this in your fridge?”
“Not at all.” He led the way inside. “I’m home,” he called out.
“Finally! You’re late,” Alyssa said from the kitchen. “Gabe will be here any minute. I need help setting the table.” She walked into the entry. Her face brightened. “Oh! Hi, Hope. I didn’t know you were coming.”
She raised the bag. “I have my own food, if there’s not enough.”
Alyssa giggled. “I made spaghetti. There’s more than enough. Come with me.”
It looked like things were getting off to a great start. He went to his room and quickly changed into jeans, forgoing his usual sweatshirt for a casual button up. The doorbell resonated through the house. “I’ll get it.” He rushed out and toward the entryway, but Alyssa had beaten him there.
Gabe stepped inside and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Hi, beautiful,” he said softly.
Alyssa’s face turned bright pink. Derrick’s stomach knotted at Gabe’s show of affection, but then he noticed Alyssa’s pink face and relaxed. He wanted to be angry at the clean cut young man, but his daughter’s obvious embarrassment was too funny—it was only a peck on the cheek. He laughed, but turned it into a cough when Hope stepped into view and gave him a warning look. He held his hand out to the young man. “I’m Derrick, Alyssa’s dad, and this is our friend Hope.”
Gabe gripped his hand firmly. “It’s nice to meet you sir, and you too, Hope.” He released Derrick’s hand and sniffed the air. “Smells like spaghetti sauce.”
“Uh-huh,” Alyssa said. A dreamy look covered her face.
Oh boy. His daughter had it bad for this guy. “How about we move this party to the kitchen. I’m starving.”
That seemed to draw Alyssa from her trance. “Right. I have bread in the oven.”
They moseyed into the kitchen and sat at the round table. A huge bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce rested in the center along with a green salad and dressing. Alyssa placed a basket with a loaf of bread wrapped inside a towel on the table. Dinner passed uneventfully, and they soon moved into the family room to watch the original Star Wars movie.
Alyssa plopped onto the loveseat, and after one look in Derrick’s direction, Gabe sat on the floor beneath where he could have sat. He appreciated the gesture. Gabe had been respectful through dinner and had even cleared his own plate. Something Derrick often forgot to do.
“I’ve seen this movie a dozen times,” Derrick said. “I’ll do dishes tonight.”
“I’ll help.” Hope popped up from the easy chair she’d sat in.
“That’s okay.”
“I insist.” She gave him a look he suspected meant don’t argue. She followed him into the kitchen and pushed up her sleeves. The spot on her arm where Joshua had held her already showed a bruise. “I’ll wash, and you can dry since you know where everything goes.”
“Or I can rinse and you can load the dishwasher.”
She chuckled. “Deal.” She leaned in close. “Good call on the dishes. It shows you trust them.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t thinking of that, but now that you mention it, Gabe seems like a nice guy. I didn’t want to like him, but I see why she does.” At about five foot nine the kid had an all American boy look. Derrick flipped up the faucet lever
. “You want to talk about earlier?”
“Not particularly.”
Too bad. He’d tried not to let on how bothered he was by her former employee, but he was concerned for her safety. What if that dude came around when no one was there to stop him from doing whatever he wanted? “Do you think he’s dangerous?”
“It’s possible. I noticed track marks on his arms. I suspected he might be using, but until this evening when he got in my space, I didn’t know for sure.”
“You don’t require drug tests for your employees?”
“I do before they start on the job, but that’s it. I may need to change that policy. I have my crews divided into two-man teams for jobs like this and never worked directly with him, so I didn’t know.”
Derrick frowned. It’d be hard to make sure she was safe now that she was working at the cabins rather than inside the resort hotel.
“What’cha thinking?”
“Nothing.” He didn’t care to annoy her by being overly protective. She looked like she could handle herself, but if he hadn’t walked in when he had . . .
“You’re worried.”
He stopped rinsing dishes and looked at her. “What?” How could she possibly know that?
She shrugged. “The question is, are you worried about me or your daughter? Considering Gabe appears to be a gentleman, I’m guessing it’s me. But you don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
He shut off the water, glanced toward the family room and drew her into his office, a small room off the kitchen, and closed the door. “You said yourself if I hadn’t come in when I did . . .”
“I would have taken him down, and probably injured him. I didn’t want to do that.”
He laughed. “Seriously? You’re fit, but I don’t think you could have defended yourself against a physical attack.”
With the speed of a viper, she grasped his arm and twisted it behind his back then knocked him to the floor landing a knee into his back. He winced. “What was that?” Pain sliced through his arm and back.
Island Hope (Wildflower B&B Romance Book 4) Page 5
