by Carol Ross
They stayed like that for a long time and Eli knew he would have held her all night.
A long time passed before she sat up, inhaled a deep breath and tucked the hair behind her ears. “You know what? There is something you can do.”
“You got it.”
“I feel bad asking because you’ve already done so much for me—the crab feed, Santa, Nina’s move and getting her Marion... Although, I guess that was as much for her as it was for me.”
That nearly constant and really annoying stab of guilt sliced at him. He countered by reminding himself that he was doing these things for her as well as for the investigation. There was no ulterior motive for helping with Nina’s move or for being here with her right now. Why didn’t that make him feel better?
“As long as it doesn’t involve another fake beard. That thing seriously hurt when I pulled it off.”
She let out a giggle and Eli felt a burst of joy at the sound.
“Not unless you feel the need to disguise yourself at the bowling alley.”
“You want to go bowling?”
She grinned. “You know how I told you that Danny’s boyfriend, Brendan, is having issues with his dad?”
“Yes.” How could he forget? Especially when he and Gale’s suspicions had only grown regarding Brett West and his brother, Billy.
“Well, Brendan’s dad is on—was on—their bowling team. They have a big match tomorrow and he just up and quit the team. They need someone to fill in. I would do it except it has to be a guy. And I was thinking it might be a good opportunity for you to talk to Brendan. Let him know that he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Of course I’ll do it.” He wasn’t sure about the last part but he’d definitely capitalize on the opportunity to talk to the kid.
“Thank you. I will pay you back somehow, I swear. I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Make it six—you can pay me back by coming over early for dinner.”
“You’re going to cook me dinner?”
He realized that sounded an awful lot like a date, but suddenly he didn’t care. He was going to choose not to think about the investigation or the situation with their parents, which he had yet to untangle, anyway. He’d called his dad for some answers, but he hadn’t picked up. This wasn’t unusual when he was out on his charter boat. There was rarely cell phone service.
Right now, Aubrey needed him. “Yep. I’m going to drown your sorrows with some food.”
She pushed one shoulder up into a shrug, dipped her chin and grinned. “Sounds perfect. As long as there’s a lot of it.”
* * *
AND A LOT of it there would be, Eli thought as he set about cooking Aubrey one of her favorite meals. He whisked the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter, and added it to the flour mixture. He rinsed a soiled measuring cup and paused to look out the kitchen window above the sink. It was dark now, but from this spot in his and Gale’s rented house he could see the ocean and the horizon.
It had been a gorgeous day; the sky a mix of every shade of gray with splotches of blue shining through. Rain showers had drifted through on the clouds all day, interspersed with long moments of colorful sky. Now he could see stars shining brightly in what would have been those blue-sky patches.
He couldn’t help but think about Aubrey’s dad. How much he clearly loved the ocean and, as he’d suggested, Eli did understand. There was something almost mesmerizing about the Pacific Ocean and its coastline. So wild and unpredictable.
Being back here seemed to soothe something inside him, too. Throughout the years, whenever Eli pondered the future, his thoughts always brought him back to Pacific Cove. Maybe even to Aubrey, if he was being honest.
Dinner with Aubrey and the means to do some investigating about the case on the same night. He should be thrilled, and he would be if he could just squelch the guilt. Regardless, he owed it to the Coast Guard, the DEA, Gale, himself. He had to proceed. He had to follow this lead with the Wests.
Granted, it was just a suspicion at this point, but something was telling both him and Gale that Brett West’s overreaction to the loss of his boat was worth following up on. And now, with Aubrey’s connections to Danny and Brendan, Eli might have the means to get a sense of the West family.
Ultimately, he told himself, Aubrey would understand. She would, because if anyone understood the meaning of duty, it was Aubrey.
Except that he didn’t really know how she would feel. He couldn’t tell her, and he couldn’t really go out with her. Not like he wanted. Not in the all-out, no-holds-barred, heart-on-his-sleeve kind of want that was currently tearing him up inside.
He was so stuck it wasn’t even funny.
After preheating the griddle, he began spooning the batter into place. He’d just flipped the steaming pancakes and was removing the last pieces of bacon from the frying pan when a knock sounded on the front door. His palms were sweating and he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this kind of nervous buzz. He opened the door and the smile on her face propelled him back in time, dissolving much of the tension he’d been battling.
“Your feast awaits, milady.” He gestured toward the kitchen.
She walked in and let out a happy gasp. “Eli! Buttermilk pancakes? Your dad’s recipe? I’m so excited.”
“Yep.” He met her joyous smile with his own, relishing in the fact that he’d already managed to cheer her up.
Wielding a spatula, he removed the perfectly browned pancakes from the griddle. He handed her a plate with a fluffy, steaming stack. He dipped out a scoop of whipped butter and plopped it on the top.
Scooting two dishes toward her, he added, “I warmed up some peanut butter and sliced your bananas.”
“I can’t believe you remembered.”
“Really?” he asked dryly. He turned to face her with one quirked brow. “You honestly can’t believe that I remember how you like your pancakes?”
She swallowed nervously as she set her plate down and Eli couldn’t help but enjoy that, too, because she was so cute when she was flustered. “Um, well...it’s been a long time.”
He leaned a hip against the counter, so close to her now that they were almost touching. “Aside from swimming, baseball is your favorite sport to play, football is your favorite sport to watch—although I would say speed skating is a close second, it’s just not on television that much. You drink your coffee black, but you like your tea with cream. Broccoli is your vegetable of choice, and the only ones you won’t eat are brussels sprouts and water chestnuts. Your foot is a size nine. Your favorite color is pink and you’re afraid of frogs. The last two I always thought were slightly odd because you’re such a tomboy, and frogs are amphibious. Like you.” He lifted one shoulder. “But, hey, when I got to go swimming with you in that pink bikini, it was my favorite color, too.”
* * *
OH. WOW.
That was all she had. Those were the only words Aubrey could seem to form in her brain. She was incredibly grateful they didn’t escape from her lips as she stared into the dense ocean of blue that she always associated with Eli’s eyes. His lips were curling at the corners and all she could think about was the way they used to feel pressed against hers. What was going on here? Whatever it was, she needed to halt it in its tracks.
“Ha, ha, ha.” She squawked out something that sort of resembled laughter as a mix of nerves and confusion and desire churned inside her. “Remember that time you and Alex put the frogs in my rubber boots?”
His lips formed an official grin but his eyes remained glued to her face. “You have no proof that we did that.”
“All these years later and you still can’t admit it? You know, I still can’t put on my boots without shaking them out first?”
“All I know is that you screamed so loud Mrs. Frampton called the cops.”
They laughed together and this time it was genuine on her part. This was true. The Framptons had lived next door to the Wynns and the woman had indeed called the police upon hearing Aubrey
’s screams. Even now, she shivered as she recalled the feeling of sliding her sockless foot into her rubber boots while those frogs jumped and twitched and crawled on her bare skin.
He turned serious again, his expression searching.
“I’m sorry.”
He softly uttered the two words Aubrey had longed to hear for so many years. And even though he was apologizing for a childhood prank, she knew they meant more. She couldn’t stop them from sneaking right past the guard she’d so carefully constructed around her heart.
He reached out a hand and cupped her jaw, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb. Tilting his head forward, his warm breath swirled around the shell of her ear, and she felt herself melting like the pat of butter on the pancakes before her. She started to grip the counter to keep from losing her balance, but he slid an arm around her and pulled her close.
“You smell so good,” he whispered. “Like vanilla and chlorine. For so long after I left, even a hint of vanilla and I could stake my life on the fact that I would dream about you that night. It was pure torture...”
She watched his mouth descend toward hers. The movement was both too fast and too slow at the same time as fear and desire waged a quick battle inside of her. As soon as his lips touched hers, it was all over. Champion desire, she thought, as she returned the kiss with everything she had.
One hand slipped around the back of his neck while the other gripped the rounded muscle of his shoulder. Eli let out a groan as she pressed herself closer. She melded to him like water on dry sand. His hands and lips seemed to be everywhere at once but she still couldn’t get enough.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer. He found her lips for another kiss, deeper this time, and Aubrey thought she might explode from wanting this. Him. So much.
Eventually he pulled away, leaving her completely breathless. That morning’s set of fifty-meter freestyle sprints was nothing compared to this. She could hear his ragged breathing, too, as he kept her close and kissed his way across her cheek until his lips were nibbling on her neck.
“I have missed you every single day for twelve years,” he whispered against her skin.
His words caused the sweetest rush, like a plunge from a high dive. She’d missed him, too. He’d taken a huge chunk of her soul with him when he’d left and it felt so good to have a taste of that again. But it also reminded her that once upon a time they’d shared these same kinds of moments and had dared to plan many more. Fear and regret followed, asking her why she had allowed this moment to happen because where in the world could it possibly lead? This was all too confusing.
“Eli, I, um... I’m not sure...”
“I know,” he said. His sigh sounded completely contented and the crooked grin that accompanied it had Aubrey wanting to throw herself right back into his arms. “I’m sorry. That was moving a little fast, huh?”
And with those words Aubrey regained her senses, or enough of them that she was able to step away. Was it? she asked silently. She had no idea. Was too fast and too slow a possibility?
“Maybe a little,” she managed to squeak out.
He reached out and gave her fingertips a gentle squeeze, which reverberated throughout her entire body, all the way to the tips of her toes. But it wasn’t her toes she was worried about. Her toes she could protect.
It was her heart. It was her stupid, untrustworthy, mind-of-its-own heart that was the problem.
* * *
EXTREMELY CONTENT FROM the time he’d spent with Aubrey, Eli bowled his third strike in a row.
Accepting enthusiastic congratulations from his teammates, he took a seat next to Brendan and continued to analyze the encounter. He’d kissed Aubrey. Did he regret it? No. Did this complicate matters for him? Absolutely. He’d seen the desire in her eyes, felt it in her body language. Somehow he needed to figure out a way to make this work. Problem was, she wasn’t a woman he could have a casual romance with. With Aubrey, he needed to be all-in. He glanced over, across a few lanes, to where Jay Johnston was standing in front of her and Danny, awaiting his turn to bowl.
Aubrey hadn’t mentioned that he was a member of the team. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her laugh at something he said. They seemed to have such a natural and easy friendship. Was there something more going on between them? Were his feelings irrational and born of jealousy? Probably. He’d neither seen nor heard any real indication of romantic feelings. Jay was exactly the kind of guy Aubrey should be with and yet...
One of his teammates called out, “Hey, Johnston, quit flirting with the ladies. You’re up next.”
With a few parting words, he moved off to take his turn. Eli watched him bowl a split. The next effort resulted in his ball sailing directly down the middle of the lane, leaving the remaining pins untouched. He knew it was juvenile, yet he couldn’t help but relish the surge of satisfaction; no question about who was the better bowler here. He hoped Aubrey was taking note of that, as well.
Beside him Brendan was talking to his friend and fellow teammate Tyler.
“You should see the new boat my dad just got, man. It is sweet.”
The words new boat managed to shift his attention. Eli tuned fully into the conversation as Brendan, in an awe-filled tone, described the Savannah Bound, the fifty-foot Mikelson Luxury Sportfisher with a 1000-gallon fuel capacity.
“Awesome. Major upgrade.”
“Yeah, really major.”
“What are the chances he’d let us take it out?”
Brendan shook his head. “I doubt it. He’s gotten really weird lately...”
He and Gale had learned that the Respite had indeed been fully insured, but Eli knew there was no way the insurance money had come through yet. Not to mention the amount wouldn’t even come close to covering a boat that nice. He knew because it was nearly identical to the boat his dad had purchased three years ago.
* * *
IN THE END the Beach Bowlers crushed the Chinook Hooks, landing them the district championships. Eli had managed to rack up the second highest score on the team. He and Aubrey stayed briefly for the celebratory round of beer and pizza. They were both still full of pancakes, so they didn’t eat. But Aubrey had fun watching as Eli was inundated with congratulations, thanks and extracted promises to fill in again in the future.
Finally, Aubrey drove him home. Thick, misty beach rain had begun falling. She pulled up to the curb outside his house, but kept the car on to prevent the windows from fogging.
“Thanks again, Eli. This was really nice of you.”
“No problem. It was fun.” He reached over and played with a lock of her hair. “Anything to spend time with you.” His eyes seemed to be searching hers, asking something...? She wasn’t sure what, but what she did know was that she wasn’t one to live in a state of not knowing.
“Eli, what’s going on here?”
“I’m not sorry I kissed you,” he said. “If that’s what you’re wondering.” And the way he was looking at her now, like he was about to do it again, certainly confirmed that assertion.
“I’m not sorry, either,” she said. “I wanted you to. And I feel like an idiot for saying this, but it meant something to me. I can’t have you going around plying me with pancakes and kissing me while I’m weak. I think we need to...”
He let out a chuckle and when he spoke his voice was low and soft and so utterly sincere she found herself holding a breath.
“Aubrey, I’m pretty sure you’ve never suffered from a moment’s weakness in your entire life. But I know what you mean. We need to resolve some things between us before this goes further. Before I ply you with pancakes and kiss you again, which I very much want to do, I need to prove to you that I won’t leave you again. You need to forgive me for leaving the first time, and I need to earn your trust.”
Wow, she thought, that was really good. Except... “Eli, I don’t know if it’s possible—”
“Aubrey,” he interrupted, “just let me try, okay?” He leaned over and kis
sed her cheek.
Before she had a chance to think about it, and because she wanted it so very badly, she found herself agreeing with a simple, “Okay.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I THINK WE can safely assume that Brett West could not afford the boat now parked in his slip at the marina.”
Eli couldn’t shake the sensation that they were missing something. He and Gale had spent the morning reviewing the case. They were doing their best to cover every base, reviewing all Coast Guard drug seizures in the past two years, following up on every string of suspicion, while eliminating the ones they could. Gale steered his pickup onto the well-kept gravel road while Eli filled him in on the details of his bowling excursion, minus the parts about Aubrey.
Those parts he kept to himself as he plotted how to proceed where she was concerned. Should he get her a Christmas gift? Jewelry might be too much. Candy was out. He’d considered flowers, but he really wanted something more Aubrey-specific. And, he wanted to kiss her by the Christmas tree at the St. Johns’ Christmas Eve party, just like he had all those years ago.
“Eli? Hello? Did you check out on me?”
“Sorry, just thinking. How does he afford a boat like that? By all accounts the guy likes to spend his spare time at the casinos. Unless we missed him on the world poker tour, I’m guessing he doesn’t have a huge savings account to supplement that insurance money he will be getting from the loss of the Respite.”
“Hardly,” Gale said.
Gale had done some investigating of his own. “His ex-girlfriend says he was always broke. Could never even manage to save enough to take her out for dinner. She claims she saw his bank statements when they lived together.”
“How long ago was that?”
“They broke up right around the time school started. She moved out at the end of summer. She also confirmed that Brett has two hobbies—fishing and gambling. Said when Brett wasn’t working, he was either at the casino or on his boat. ‘I was not a priority. He never made time for me.’ That last part is a quote.”
“Huh.”
“But get this—she also said that things seemed to improve for him financially after he started delivering parts with his boat. For cash. And remember Danny Cruz said the same thing—that Brendan told her they were delivering parts. I think we’ve stumbled onto a drug courier here, Eli.”
