by Evie Nichole
“People still calling?”
“No, they’ve shifted to texting now,” Harbour said without looking up.
The next one she read was not appropriate to say over the phone. Actually, the second-grade teacher was remarkably graphic in what she was offering to do to Derek. Harbour blushed and quickly skipped to the next message.
“I was reading that,” Piper giggled.
“Who would send a message like that when they know it has to go through a third party?”
Piper hummed. “Well, I’m sure the details aren’t more than what they used to do.”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember? Derek was kind of a dog in high school. He dated most of the population, if you count groping in the back seat of his father’s car dating.”
Harbour frowned. “Actually, I had kind of forgotten about that.”
Piper instantly broke into a fit of giggles. “How is that possible? There was a literal fight over him at least once a week. The boy lived and breathed drama and damage.”
They both looked over to Derek. He was still surrounded by people, just as Harbour always remembered him to be. People just naturally gravitated towards him. Back in school, she had likened him to a Venus fly trap, all alluring and pretty, but the closer you got, the worse it got. She had vague memories of how he had preened under the attention. How it had fuelled his behaviour and inflated his ego to insufferable degrees. He was handsome; he was charming; he could have whatever he wanted.
“I’ve always thought that the whole potential kidnapping thing was because of a bad break-up,” Piper mused. “Like an angry father or a cheated-on boyfriend trying to scare the life out of him.”
“You don’t think that they really wanted to hurt him?” Harbour asked.
“There are no roads that connect us to any other town. Where would they have taken him?”
“Hunting lodges, campsites, abandoned cabins. Basically a whole host of creepy locations.”
Piper shrugged and drew her attention back to Harbour’s cell phone. “Doesn’t matter anymore, right? It’s been ten years.”
Harbour didn’t offer any resistance as Piper plucked the phone out of her hand, too focused on Derek and his gathered admirers. Their eyes met and he offered an easy, lazy smile before turning back to the man taking his order. The whole time, the women closest to him never stopped running their fingertips over his arms.
She snatched back her phone with a gruff snort and began to scroll through the messages once more. It turned out that more than one person had taken Derek’s lack of response as an invitation to be more forward. And graphically. Really, even if they did have a relationship with him, way back when, why did they think it was okay to do this now? Surely there was a statute of limitations that applied to sexting.
Littered throughout, there were a lot of texts that were blatant attempts to lure him to their houses. Like asking him to pick them up or help move some furniture. Harbour took to just reading the first sentences. They were generally enough to get the idea.
The laughter grew louder. She clenched her jaw. He got to have fun with his little gaggle and she was here playing his security? She scrolled faster. More stupid propositions and thinly disguised come hither ones. Flirtatious giggling rose over the other noises of the diner. There were eight texts in a row that looked like they came from the Kama Sutra.
Somewhere off to her right, Harbour actually heard someone sigh out an ‘oh, Derek’. Harbour opened a new text.
“He doesn’t have a car!”
Everyone snapped around to her sudden outburst, but it didn’t quell any of her anger.
“Okay, everyone, just a little announcement. Derek does not have a damn car, so it is impossible for him to pick you up. Stop asking!”
As the haze of anger simmered out, Harbour realized that at some point along the way, she had actually stood up. The diner hung in an awkward silence. Everyone was watching her. And without her anger to distract her, she felt it all weighing heavily against her chest. Stammering for something else to say, her cheeks burning, she chanced a glance at Derek. His mouth had been reduced to a thin line as he struggled to keep from laughing and his eyes crinkled with the effort.
Left with no other option, Harbour released a strained sigh and sank back down into her seat, avoiding all eye contact. After a few tense moments, the air lightened and conversations started back up. Piper patted her shoulder as she took the phone away again.
“Maybe you should stop reading these.”
Harbour shifted awkwardly. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Sure, sugar,” Piper soothed. “Whatever you say.”
“He doesn’t have a car.”
“I don’t think they want that kind of ride.”
She thumped her head against the table as a slew of images flashed in her mind’s eye, all unbidden and completely inappropriate. What the hell was wrong with her? Why didn’t she just leave? The burgers here were amazing, but they might not be worth it.
Chapter Ten
Without Harbour’s annoyed glances, the constant attention quickly lost its appeal. The touches ground on Derek’s nerves and their willingness to invade his personal space set sparks of anger crackling through him. Derek smothered a sigh of relief when his order was called.
With a plate in each hand, he extracted himself from the crowd and headed straight for the table in the corner. Only Piper lifted her head to acknowledge his arrival. The plate clattered as he placed it in front of her. With her forehead still pressed to the table, Harbour reached out, groped blindly for a fry, and began to slowly munch on it.
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad,” Derek said.
Harbour reached for another fry. “It was utterly humiliating. You win. People don’t care about you beyond your super-ripped abs.”
“That sounds hurtful.”
“I’m not being your secretary anymore.”
Finally, she lifted her head. Her narrow face still carried a pink hue and she managed to frown even as she continued to eat the chips. After all these years, she still hadn’t learned how to hide any of her emotions. They played across her face so obviously that she might as well have yelled every thought she had.
“I didn’t mind,” Derek said. She narrowed her eyes. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” she snapped and glanced to Piper. “I’m not.”
“I believe you,” Piper said as she stole one of her fries.
Harbour huffed and shook her head. “Whatever. I wasn’t and you guys suck, but whatever.”
“Glad to see you’re over it,” Derek noted.
She glared at him again. Or at least tried to. She was actually rather bad at it.
“Give me your pickle.”
Derek smiled. “That’s forward. Maybe we could start with some foreplay?” Really, how could she lowball them in like that and not expect him to swing?
“The pickle on your burger, jerk.”
“How can I resist when you sweet-talk me like that?” he said as he pushed his plate towards her.
She quickly took the thick pickle slices and added them to her burger. It made the meal too tall for her hands to get around, so she squished it with a solid push. His impression of her looking like a greedy child was shattered when she took her first bite.
Her body sagged, her eyes fluttered shut, and a sinful moan escaped her on a feathery breath. For a moment he was sure she was playing it up, trying to provoke some kind of reaction. But she just kept eating, apparently content to ignore all the rest of humanity. Derek swallowed thickly and only looked away when Piper gave a soft chuckle.
Piper proceeded to throw him an all-too-knowing look and Derek deliberately fixed his attention on his meal. For all the ways Nowhere set out to murder tastebuds, they did have great seafood. He only managed to eat three mouthfuls of the grilled fish before someone dropped down into the seat next to him.
“Derek, hi,” the woman purred as s
he placed a hand on his upper arm.
He glared at the point of contact but she didn’t get the hint to remove it.
“Hi, Megan,” Piper beamed with forced cheerfulness. “We’re here too.”
“Right, sorry. Piper, Harbour.” Harbour grunted a welcome and devoured another bite. “I didn’t mean to be rude, but I see you guys every day. I haven’t see Der in years.”
Derek tried not to smile as Harbour swallowed and mouthed ‘Der’ with a large amount of confusion. Unfortunately, Megan was all too keen to capture his focus again. She leaned against his arm until he could feel the soft mounds of her breasts.
“I haven’t heard from you. I guess Harbour didn’t tell you that I called.”
Harbour rolled her eyes.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if she did,” Derek said as he glared at her with renewed venom. “I’m not looking to talk to anyone.”
“Well,” Megan brushed her fingertips over the side of his head, taking special care to trace the shell of his ear. It took all his strength not to jerk away. “We don’t have to talk.”
He glanced at Harbour, who once again had taken more interest in her burger than helping him. Grinding his teeth at her abandonment, Derek forced a warm smile and turned to Megan.
“Oh, if only you had mentioned that earlier. But I proposed to Harbour last night, so sadly, I am spoken for.”
Harbour choked on her mouthful. Served her right. She gripped her glass of water and downed half of it before she managed to stop sputtering.
“What?”
“I know we said we’d keep in quite for now,” Derek said, “But, Booboo, I’m just so happy. I want to tell the world.”
“Never call me Booboo again.”
“Whatever you say Love Puddin’.”
Harbour put up a hand to shut him up and turned to Megan. “We’re not engaged.”
“Cutie Patootie.”
She smacked the table. “Stop.”
Derek twisted to face Megan and let a sickly sweet smile curl his lips. “We stayed up to the early morning discussing baby names. We managed to agree on Logan for a boy, but she’s fighting me on Emily for a girl. She insists on Abigail, after her grandmother, and if I’m honest I’m probably going to give in. I can never say no to my sweet little jujube.”
“We are not! Wait. You know my grandmother’s name?”
“I’m your fiancé of course I do. Plus, it came up during a delightful conversation with your parents last night.”
“Stop talking to my parents.”
“But, honeybun, the kids are going to need their grandparents.”
“Derek,” she growled, her cheeks flushed in a rather adorable way. “He’s just trying to annoy me. Ignore him.”
“Remember our deal. Every time you’re mean to me, you owe me another baby.”
“I will jump this table and hit you.”
“Now we have three kids.”
“You’re a jackass.”
“And a set of twins.”
She smacked the table again. “Delusional is not charming.”
“And a German Shepard named Buster.”
Harbour released her rage on a slow breath and set her jaw. “I don’t like you.”
He smirked. “And now we have a goldfish.” His smile grew as Harbour’s face turned a darker shade of red. She was just so easy to provoke. “But let’s not name it. Odds are the kids will be a little rough with it anyway. I guess we should discuss if we’re going to be a ‘flush it down the toilet’ or a ‘little fish funeral’ kind of family.”
After a moment in which he could actually see her struggling to keep from inflicting physical injury, Harbour threw up both hands and went back to her burger. He was able to poke at her again when Megan squeezed his arm.
“Leave her alone, Der.” Megan smiled and curled closer. “You’re such a tease.”
A spike of anger flashed through him at the interruption. He was having fun, for once actually enjoying the company he found himself surrounded with, and Megan just had to interject. His annoyance made it harder to keep the malice out of his voice.
“Why are you touching me?”
“What? I —”
“Get off.” He emphasized each sound of the words with a low growl.
Megan pulled back, her eyes narrowing, “I was just being nice. You don’t have to be so sensitive.”
Derek turned from her and stabbed at his salad with enough force to make the fork screech across the plate. The rest of the meal was conducted in complete, awkward, silence.
***
Harbour glanced towards Derek for what felt like the thousandth time, only to find anger still solid upon his brow. His whole face was clenched with barely restrained rage. It was wrong that he made murderous intent look attractive, and it was a skill that probably added to his problems. Even when he downright growled, hopeful people still ventured over. Megan at least had given up, but her defeat had just left an empty seat next to him that now had a seemingly endless rotation of guests.
She didn’t understand what had started his mood, but she could see that the unrelenting attention only fuelled it. Especially when the interactions held any hint of flirtation. Every touch, every batteed eye, every sly smile, only made Derek grind his teeth and hunch his shoulders like a trapped animal.
Harbour wanted to help improve his mood, but she didn’t know what to say. All she could think to do was scarf down her food as quickly as possible so they could get out of there.
Still, Derek finished before her and waited under his cloud of aggravation. Weirdly enough, even as every inch of his being clearly screamed that he wanted to leave this very instant, he was actually rather patient. He didn’t glare at her, didn’t comment, didn’t even fidget as Harbour hurriedly devoured the last few mouthfuls. All she had to do was meet his gaze and he got to his feet. He quickly slipped past the newest person next to him and headed to the front door without a comment.
“Derek.” He turned around just in time to catch the truck keys as she tossed them. “Could you heat it up? I’ll be out in a tick.”
He nodded and left, still clinging to his silence. She quickly said goodbye to Piper, gave into the impulse to apologize on his behalf, and grabbed a few things from the front counter. The rain was still pouring down when she staggered out of the heavy doors. By the time she reached her truck, her hair was soaked once again. The cabin was comfortably warm as she lurched inside.
Jareth was on her in an instant, torn between licking her and sniffing at the bag in her hand. She tossed the bag to Derek, placed the wine on the bench seat, and used both hands to scratch Jareth’s neck. Derek peeked into the bag with a curious frown.
“They’re bear claws,” she told him. “They always cheer me up.”
“I need to cheer up?”
“Look, I don’t understand what happened in there, but you seemed like you could use some sugar.”
A familiar hint of mischief came into his eyes. “You gonna give me some sugar?”
“Wow, you have mood swings.”
He chuckled, a gentle rumble that seemed to shake the tension from his shoulders.
“Maybe I’m not that great with crowds.”
“That’s different from high school,” Harbour said as she turned the key and brought the engine to life.
“A lot of things have changed since high school.”
Harbour hesitated at the melancholy in his voice. She didn’t know what to do but before she could stumble over something Derek continued in a far happier tone.
“Ever thought I just like your company?”
“No.”
He smirked. “We need to work on your self-esteem.”
“That’s going to be hard. My fiancé is kind of a jerk.”
“You poor, simple-minded thing.”
“He hasn’t even gotten me a ring, if you can believe it.”
Derek clicked his tongue. “The uncouth monster.”
“I really should leave him
.”
“Make sure to do it at the altar,” Derek suggested. “It’s far more dramatic.”
“You’re kind of a drama queen, aren’t you?”
His smile spread smoothly across his face as he lowered his voice to a menacing whisper, “And no one will ever believe you.”
“You’re an evil man of adequate intelligence.”
A soft chuckle left him as he practically melted into the car seat, his feet statically missing the hole in the floor. Once again he rested his arm along the back, his fingertips gently pressing against the back of Harbour’s shoulders. It was a slight touch but still enough to make heat pour through the layers of her clothes and caress her flesh. She shivered but didn’t pull away.
“So, do you want me to drop you off at the house?”
He turned to her. “Where are you going? The boats are in.”
“Yeah, but the staff accommodation still isn’t packed up.”
“Shouldn’t those actually using staff accommodation do that?”
“They’re gone already.”
“So what is there left to do?”
Harbour looked at him for a moment before she tilted her head. “You are aware that you don’t own the buildings used for staff accommodation, right?”
He offered her an odd look but didn’t comment.
“Okay, so your business rents out a few buildings for the tourist season only. And since the seasonal staff gets out of here as quickly as they can, they leave things like the furniture and kitchenware still in place. So, it’s up to someone else to haul it out and into the storage area.”
“That sounds irritating.”
“Oh, it is. But I get paid either way,” she shrugged.
“I can help.”
She frowned. “You know that means moving beds and other heavy items, right? In the rain.”
His eyes drifted to the ceiling as he contemplated his options. “Do I get the wine?”
“I was going to have that tonight.”
“And, how do you plan on moving everything on your own again?”
“I did it last season.”
He met her gaze in a silent challenge and her mind was flooded with a thousand different memories of lugging items through a similar downpour. It had ended with her tossing items into the truck without much care over what got broken. She hadn’t gotten home until well after dark, hence the wine, to ease her aching muscles.
