by Carol Ross
“And the entertainment,” Gabby added. “Eli’s friend is a hoot.”
All three of them turned to see Gale sashaying across the room, wearing a crab suit and throwing objects into the air.
“He’s juggling,” Camile said appreciatively. “That is awesome.”
Gabby went on. “Eli called and said you told him about the event. He asked if there was anything they could do to help. Originally they were just going to help with the setup, but then Hailey got sick. And his friend Gale... I don’t know how that happened exactly.”
Gabby, Nina and Camile continued chatting while Aubrey looked at Eli again. Their gazes connected and she took a second to enjoy the sensation before shaking her head as if to ask What in the world?
He gave her a warm smile, lifting his arms into a wide shrug. That’s when she noticed his apron with a big red crab on the front. Above that it read Don’t Pinch the Chef. Amusement and affection stole over her as she returned the smile with one of her own.
Eyes still trained on Eli, she tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear Gabby ask, “As sweet as Eli is, don’t you think?”
“I think he’s perfect, Gabby.”
Nina snorted while Camile let out a yelp of laughter. Aubrey felt her cheeks grow hot and knew they were probably as red as the crab on the front of Eli’s apron.
“I meant it’s perfect. Everything is perfect.”
“Yeah, well...” Camile added. “The way it’s looking at you? I’m thinking it might agree that all of this—” she gestured at Aubrey “—is pretty perfect from his end, too.”
Aubrey couldn’t help but laugh herself. He’d asked if he could help, but this was so far above and beyond what she’d been expecting she didn’t even know how to begin to thank him.
Just then Gabby made her way to the front of the room. She picked up a microphone, thanked the crowd and announced it was time for the crab races.
* * *
“HOW YOU DOING?” Gale asked Eli a short time later, wedging himself and his bulky crab suit into the space between the stove and the giant vat of live Dungeness crabs. “Did you see my crab take first place? I knew I picked a winner. There was determination in his tiny, beady eyes. He gets to go free now. It’s a little strange when you think about it, though, right? Like hunger games for crustaceans.”
“A little,” Eli agreed. The winning crab was slated to be turned loose, back into the ocean. “You’ll forget about it when you start cracking and eating, though. This is hands-down the best crab in the world.”
“I cannot wait. I am so hungry.”
“This one is done.” With a pair of giant tongs, Eli fished a steaming crab out of the boiling pot. He dunked it into a tub of ice water beside him to stop the cooking process.
“You’re like a pro.”
“This is not my first crab boil, Kohen. But look who’s talking...” Eli nodded at the bean bags Gale had been juggling. “With the mad skills I know nothing about.”
“I got these in the gift shop. It seemed weird to just walk around in this crab suit and not do something.”
“Yeah, that’s the weird part.”
Gale chuckled. “Amazing how approachable this suit makes me, though. I’ve met all kinds of people already. Bill Baxter owns the hardware store. Randy Noonan is the janitor at the school—that seems like the kind of job where you might hear things, huh? Al Cutler is an attorney. And June Tempe owns that new place, Bakery-by-the-Sea. She’s a sweetie. I think she likes me. She offered me a free blueberry fritter if I stop by. But I think my biggest score is Lyle Smithers.”
“Reverend Smithers?”
“Yep. He invited me over for dinner next week.”
“He can’t tell you anything. There’s like a pastor-congregant confidentiality thing.”
“He’s not a priest, Eli. Besides, I don’t expect to hear a confession. I’m just trying to get a feel for the town.”
“That makes sense. Have you met Aubrey’s sister Nina, yet? She might be a good source of information, too.”
He scanned the room, searching for her, but his eyes landed on Aubrey for about the hundred and eightieth time. She definitely didn’t need a crab suit to be approachable, he thought as he watched her charm her way around the room. She just was. Of course, he knew how determined and relentless she could be when she wanted to win.
“I don’t see her, but she looks a lot like Aubrey. Same blond hair, a little thinner, but you can tell they’re sisters. They have a younger sister, too. Camile. But she looks different—smaller and really...cute.”
“I’ll find her. How much longer till you’re done with these?”
“Another half hour or so.”
“I’m going to go find Nina, and then introduce myself to the mayor and his wife,” Gale said. “We’ll plan on hitting the buffet when you’re through.”
Tons of people stopped by to chat and Eli enjoyed catching up with old friends. He was amazed by how many of them were married, and a little jealous of the ones who had families. He couldn’t help but wonder if he and Aubrey would have had kids by now if they’d stayed together.
He looked up to find her watching him. Her smile went straight to his heart. He watched her walk toward him, keeping his eyes on her the entire time.
“Hey, you,” she said when she approached.
“Hi. Looks like this is a huge success. Congratulations.”
Her smile could rival the Christmas star for sheer brightness. “Thank you. Gabby did an amazing job. I helped her plan it, but I was just one of the support people on this one. I have to say, so far I’ve attended a pizza feed with Alex in Remington—no contest.
“Nina and I went to a salmon bake last week in Lewis Point. There was a decorated tree in the corner where you chose a souvenir Christmas ornament to take home, which I thought was a nice touch. But it did not compare to this. The mayor went to a clam chowder feed in Tiramundi on Wednesday night. The chowder made him and fifty-three other people sick. Of course, I wouldn’t wish food poisoning on my worst enemy, but my point is—this is going to be tough to beat.”
“I think you’re right about that.”
She reached out and laid a hand on his forearm. “Thank you so much, Eli. When you said you wanted to help, I didn’t expect this... This is above and beyond what I expected.”
One look at the expression on her face and Eli was pretty sure he’d do anything she asked of him. Their eyes met and held, twelve years falling away as spark-filled affection crackled between them. He’d always liked looking at her face. Especially when her moss-green eyes were brimming with happiness the way they were now. The sound of laughter broke into their bubble. They both looked up to see Gale in his crab suit standing off to one side of the ballroom juggling for a group of kids.
“Even I didn’t expect that,” Eli quipped and they chuckled together.
“Seriously, Eli, the fact that you’d do this for me... I mean, I know the pool is a good cause and everything, but I can’t help think that...” She paused, a touch of pink tingeing her cheeks. “That you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me.”
“You’re right about that,” he said, a cold blast of guilt immediately following. He didn’t like the way it swamped the warmth that had only seconds ago been flooding through him. His answer was the truth, he reassured himself. He just wished it was the only truth that mattered.
* * *
AUBREY HOPPED OUT of her Jeep and raised a shielding hand to her forehead. Even with sunglasses, she found the need to shade her eyes from the dazzling sun. She’d slept for seven hours the night before and had woken up feeling great. The crab feed had been an unqualified success. She was ready to bring it with her “Visit with Santa” this weekend.
She took a moment to revel in the sight of the deep-green, tree-covered mountains. Winters in the Pacific Northwest meant days at a time where the sky was so utterly gray it could produce an almost physical yearning for the sun. So days like today kind of made her want to
twirl or something. Like a ballerina. She might if she had any idea how to do that. The thought of one of the guys seeing her twirl made her smile. She circled around the edge of the tarmac toward the maintenance offices that were housed on one side of the building.
Wanting to chat with Senior Chief Nivens while he was in his office, she took a shortcut and noticed that the door to the records room was ajar. She stopped in her tracks. Why would someone be inside the records room, and why would the normally locked door be left open? She went inside and was surprised to find Gale standing in front of a file cabinet reading from an open file he held in his hands.
“This says the helo spotted two fishing boats headed south, thirty miles off the coast. Why would they be out that far this time of year when...?”
His voice trailed off as he looked up and saw her. His lips stretched into a long, slow smile. “Hi, there.”
“Hello, Lieutenant Commander Kohen.”
Movement caught her eye. She swiveled to see Eli standing in front of the window, a scowl creasing his brow. “Good morning, Petty Officer Wynn,” he said, his tone low and not unfriendly but not exactly warm, either. His thick arms were crossed over his muscled chest. He looked annoyed but maybe not with her.
The question spilled out before she could stop it. “What are you guys doing in here?”
“Don’t worry. We have authorization to access some of the files.” Eli’s tight smile alerted her to her mistake. She probably shouldn’t be questioning her superior officers.
“About SAR training procedures?” she asked anyway because she thought she might be able to save them some time and effort.
“Yes,” Gale answered quickly.
She gave her head a gentle shake, confusion knitting her brow. “Well, you’re in the wrong place then.”
“How’s that?”
“There’s nothing along those lines in that file cabinet, Lieutenant Commander. Those are all copies of reports called in to our station and followed up on by our teams—you know, like shooting stars mistaken for flares, UFO sightings, a whale in distress or ‘there’s a boat speeding in the marina, but I don’t really remember what it looks like.’ That kind of thing.” She pointed across the room toward a bank of file cabinets. “And those are maps and maintenance records.”
“Uh, we are...we were just...”
“Looking at maps and reports?” she offered calmly.
He lifted one shoulder into a shrug as his lips curled into a sheepish smile. She thought the reaction seemed odd. Like she’d found him reading her diary or caught him in a lie. But why would he lie about this? And why did Eli look funny, too?
Eli’s response came out clipped, a little impatient. “We realize that, Petty Officer Wynn. I can assure you there is a reason for our presence here.”
His rank called for the attitude and normally she wouldn’t mind. Except this was Eli and she could tell when he was uncomfortable and edgy. None of this information was top secret or anything, except for the locked cabinets in the far corner containing old personnel records. They weren’t anywhere near those. Like she’d mentioned, this room didn’t contain any records relating to training procedures. So why would they be in here?
She paused, thinking. Something felt...off.
Eli’s blue eyes bored into hers as she waited for him to expound on said reason. This was her domain, after all. When she wasn’t swimming through frigid water to rescue people, or practicing how to rescue people, her duties included aviation and survival gear inspection and maintenance. Because she liked to stay busy, she also handled odd jobs and did the scheduling for Senior Chief Nivens. And because of her penchant for organization, she was unofficially in charge of this place, which was unofficially called the records room.
She lifted one curious brow. “Are you going to explain what that is, Lieutenant Commander Pelletier?”
“No, Petty Office Wynn,” he drawled. “I am not.”
“Oh,” she said, looking around absently and noticing that they’d made a bit of a mess. Papers and files were stacked here and there and drawers had been left open. She couldn’t help it—she stuck out a foot and nudged a wayward drawer shut. “Well, do you need help? I know where everything is in here.”
“We’ve got it handled, but thank you for the offer.”
Gale jumped in, “Don’t worry about any of this. We’ll restore order before we’re through. Petty Officer Johnston informed us that you are kind of in charge of this place. And, uh, maybe a little particular about things being kept neat? Nice work, by the way, everything is immaculate.”
She knew she’d been gently invited to leave, but she remained where she was, something nibbling on the edge of her thoughts.
“Thank you, but—”
“We’re fine, Wynn,” Eli cut her off rather sharply. He added a gentle smile but something in his eyes told her not to argue. “You’re not on shift right now. What are you doing here?”
Why would he be keeping track of her shifts? Why did she feel like he was trying to distract her? She bit her tongue to keep from asking.
“No, I’m not. But because of the rescue there are some things I didn’t get to that I wanted to take care of.” Her normal schedule consisted of four to six twenty-four-hour shifts a month, which is how she managed to schedule other projects like swimming lessons and the Christmas contest.
“Right, uh, go ahead and get to that, then.”
She opened her mouth to say something but she wasn’t sure what.
“You’re dismissed, Petty Officer Wynn.”
Her jaw snapped shut. She nodded curtly and headed across the room toward her destination. It wasn’t the first time in her Coast Guard life she’d had to bite her tongue at an officer’s order, but it was the first time she made it bleed by doing so.
* * *
ELI BLEW OUT a pent-up breath as he watched Aubrey stride across the room and exit out the door. He wanted to laugh at the fire he’d seen in her eyes. He could tell she’d wanted to argue with him, but her training and discipline had won out. He could have fun with this superior officer thing, he realized. Of course, he wouldn’t torture her in that way. He only realized Gale was watching him after he’d been staring at the door for too long after she’d gone.
He looked at Gale, who was wearing a goofy grin.
“She just has the whole package, huh? She seems friendlier than her sister, too. She’s—”
“Off-limits,” he snapped.
“What?”
“She’s off-limits, Gale.”
His friend let out a chuckle. “Last time I checked we were the same rank, Lieutenant Commander Pelletier. Now, granted, I may not have the admiral’s ear like you do, but when it comes to women you can’t give me orders. I think—”
“If you’re thinking I will pummel you if you so much as touch her swim fins, then you’re thinking is spot-on.” Acid boiled in his stomach as he thought about seeing Aubrey anywhere near his unabashedly and unapologetically womanizing friend. Which was ridiculous. Aubrey was free to date whoever she wanted.
Gale laughed. “Her swim fins are off-limits, huh? What about her snorkel?”
Maybe not whoever she wanted, and definitely not Gale, but someone else. He didn’t want to think about that right now. Or ever. And right now he had bigger things to worry about; he’d seen the look on Aubrey’s face, the questions dancing in her eyes. He knew her. They’d grown up together solving mysteries that didn’t need solving and executing missions that existed only in their fantasies. His tense tone had probably given her even more of a reason to wonder why they were in here.
He glared at his friend, who clearly wanted to argue his own case. He shouldn’t want to punch his best friend, should he?
Gale lifted his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “All right. Okay. I get it. I’ll stay away from all of her, um, swim gear.”
“Yes, you will.”
“Although...being the detective that I’ve recently become, I’m going to deduce... From the
way you were acting and the way she was acting? I’m guessing you two have a history that involves something more than friendship?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I thought so. That explains you bailing out of the helo after her, huh?”
Eli shrugged a shoulder. He’d been waiting for Gale to bring it up.
He was surprised when his friend didn’t push it. He didn’t really need to, his smirk said enough.
“Go ahead. I know you want to say something.”
“Not much to say that you haven’t thought, I’m sure. Although, I could point out that she was staring at you like my sister used to stare at her poster of that one guy from that British boy band with the goofy name.”
Even though they weren’t finished, Gale was already tidying up the mess they’d made. Aubrey had that effect on people. She made you want to do better—be better. And right now, Eli wasn’t living up to that. He didn’t like the feeling.
“What are you—?”
“She likes you, big guy.”
For some reason those words were both welcome and not. Bittersweet. He’d never really understood that word. Never been able to describe a situation like that before. Until now.
“It doesn’t matter if she likes me, Gale. I can’t like her back.”
“You can’t?” He glanced up from studying the label on another file.
“No.”
“Is she married?”
“No.”
“Lesbian?” He said it doubtfully. Gale prided himself on his instincts in this area. “Obviously not. I can only assume you must have a really, really good reason not to pursue this?” He tucked the file away and picked up another.
Eli found himself shaking his head slowly, back and forth, just like he had the day his father had told him they were leaving Pacific Cove. He was in love with Susannah Wynn, he’d said, and he couldn’t destroy her life by allowing the truth to leak out. At Brian’s insistence, he was going to take a transfer, even knowing it would drastically set his career back.
