Twelve Nights of Temptation

by Barbara Dunlop

  “You don’t think that was unfair to him? What if he doesn’t want to hire her? Heck, I’m not sure I’d want to hire her.”

  “Then he can say no. It was a question. He has a choice.”

  “You put him in an impossible situation.”

  “Matt, I know it was a bad divorce. Dianne might not be the greatest person in the world. But she is a person. And she is in trouble.”

  “She got herself into it.”

  “She made a mistake. She knows that.”

  Tasha set down the toolbox. It was growing heavy. “You can give her a break, Matt. Everybody deserves a break at some point.”

  “There’s such a thing as justice.”

  “It seems she’s experienced justice and then some.”

  “You don’t know her.”

  “She can’t be all bad. You married her. You must have loved her at some point, right?”

  The question seemed to give him pause. The wind whipped his short hair, and the salt spray misted over them.

  “I’m not sure I ever did,” he finally said.

  “What?” Tasha couldn’t imagine marrying anyone she didn’t love. She would never marry someone she didn’t love.

  “I didn’t see her clearly at first. It seemed like we wanted the same things out of life.”

  The admission shouldn’t have taken her by surprise. Matt had never made a secret of the fact that he wanted wealth, status and luxury.

  “Don’t be like them,” she said.

  He looked confused. “Like Dianne? I’m not like Dianne. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve earned, and I appreciate it and don’t take it for granted.”

  “I know.” She did. “What I mean is, don’t turn into one of those callous elites, forgetting about the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people.”

  “Except that Dianne is calculating.”

  “She needs a job.”

  “She does. But all she’s ever aspired to is a free ride.”

  “Desperation is a powerful motivator. And Caleb can always fire her.”

  Matt clamped his jaw. “You shouldn’t have interfered.”

  “Maybe not.” She couldn’t entirely disagree. “I felt sorry for her.”

  “Because you’re too trusting.”

  Tasha didn’t think that was true, but she wasn’t going to argue anymore. She’d done what she’d done, and he had every right to be upset. “I have to meet Alex now.”

  “Right.” He looked like he wanted to say more. “I’ll catch you later.”

  “Sure.” At this point, she had her doubts that he’d try.

  * * *

  Matt entered the Crab Shack after the lunch rush to find Caleb at the bar talking with his sister-in-law, Melissa.

  He knew he couldn’t let this morning’s argument sit. He had to address it right away.

  He stopped in front of Caleb, bracing himself. “I didn’t mean to jump down your throat this morning.”

  “Not a problem,” Caleb easily replied.

  From behind the bar, Melissa poured them each an ice water and excused herself.

  “I was shocked is all,” Matt said. “Tasha put you in an awkward situation. I should have made it clear right then that I didn’t want you to do it.”

  “It’s already done.”

  “What?”

  Caleb stirred the ice water with the straw. “Dianne has a job at the Phoenix Neo and a plane ticket to get there.”

  “You didn’t. Why would you do that? We didn’t even finish our conversation.”

  “I didn’t do it for you, Matt. I did it for Dianne. I did it for everyone.”

  “She probably won’t work out.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “She needs to face the results of her own actions. It’s not up to you to rescue her.”

  “I didn’t rescue her. I gave her a shot. She’s lost her fortune. She’s lost you. She’s lost that guy she thought was going to be her Prince Charming. It’s not up to me, you’re right. It’s up to her. She’ll make it at Neo or she won’t, just like any other employee we’ve ever hired.”

  Matt hated to admit it, but Caleb was making good points. Dianne was on her own now. And she’d have to work if she wanted to succeed. There was justice in that.

  “And she’s in Phoenix,” Caleb finished. “She’s not here.”

  “I suppose I should thank you for that,” Matt said. He took a big swallow of the water. Not having to see Dianne, frankly, was a huge relief.

  “You bet you should thank me for that. And that’s what friends do, by the way.”

  “There’s a fire!” Melissa suddenly cried from the opposite side of the restaurant. “Oh, Matt, it looks like one of your boats!”

  Matt dropped his glass on the bar and rushed across the room. Smoke billowed up from the far end of the pier. He couldn’t tell which yacht was on fire, but all he could think of was Tasha. Where was Tasha?

  “Call 911,” he yelled to Melissa as he sprinted for the door.

  He jumped into his car. Caleb clambered in beside him. Caleb barely got the door shut, and Matt was peeling from the parking lot.

  “Can you tell what’s on fire?” he asked Caleb as they sped along the spit of land that housed the Crab Shack.

  “It has to be a boat. Orca’s Run is blocking the view. But I don’t think it’s the one on fire.”

  “How the hell did he do it?” Matt gripped the steering wheel, sliding around the corner at the shoreline, heading for the pier. “If it’s a stranger, how did he get to another one? Everyone’s been on the lookout.”

  “I can see flames,” Caleb said. “It’s bad.”

  “Can you see people? Tasha?”

  “There are people running down the pier. I can’t tell who is who.”

  It felt like an eternity before Matt hit the parking lot. He slammed on the brakes, but it was still a run to get to the pier. The gate was open, and he sprinted through. “Grab the hoses,” he called to the deckhands and maintenance crews. Could it be one of them? Was it possible that someone on the inside had actually set a boat on fire? “Start the pumps!”

  The staff drilled for fires. At full deployment, their equipment could pump over a hundred gallons a minute from the ocean.

  It was the fifty-foot Crystal Zone that was on fire. The entire cabin was engulfed in flames, and they were threatening the smaller craft, Never Fear, that was moored directly behind on a floater jutting out from the pier.

  He looked behind him to see three crew members lugging lengths of fire hose. Caleb was helping them. But Matt didn’t see Tasha. Where was Tasha?

  And then he saw her. She was climbing onto the deck of Salty Sea, which was in the berth next to Crystal Zone. It was barely ten feet away from the flames. There were clients on that boat, two families due to leave port in a couple of hours. The smoke was thick, and she quickly disappeared into it.

  Matt increased his speed, running up the gangway to the deck of Salty Sea.

  “Tasha!” His lungs filled with smoke, and he quickly ducked to breathe cleaner air.

  And then he saw her. She was shepherding a mother and two children toward the gangway.

  “Five more,” she called out harshly as she passed him.

  He wanted to grab her. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to reassure himself that she was okay. But he knew it would have to wait. The passengers needed his help.

  Eyes watering, he pressed on toward the cabin.

  There he met one of the dads, the other mother and the remaining two children.

  “Follow me,” he rasped, picking up the smallest child.

  They made it quickly to the gangway, where the air was clear.

  “We’re missing one,” Tasha said, starting b
ack.

  “Stay here!” he told her.

  She ignored him, pushing back into the smoke.

  Together, they found the last man. He was on the top deck, and Matt guided him to a ladder. They quickly got him to the gangway, and he made his way down.

  Matt took a second to survey the disastrous scene.

  Neither he nor Tasha said a word.

  Caleb and the workers were connecting the lengths of hose.

  Alex was preparing the pump.

  His gaze went to Crystal Zone. She was a complete loss, and Never Fear was next. It was too far away from the pier. The spray wouldn’t reach it.

  Then Matt heard it or smelled it or felt it.

  “Get down!” he shouted, grabbing Tasha and throwing her to the deck, covering her body with his and closing his eyes tight.

  Never Fear’s gasoline tanks exploded. The boom echoing in his ears, the shock wave and heat rushed over him. People on the dock roared in fear.

  While debris rained down on him and Tasha, and his ears rang from the boom, Matt gave a frantic look to the people on the pier.

  Some had been knocked down, but Crystal Zone had blocked most of the blast. He and Tasha had taken the brunt.

  “We’re good,” Caleb called out to him, rushing from person to person. “We’re all good.”

  Matt watched a moment longer before looking to Tasha beneath him.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. Then she coughed. When she spoke, her voice was strangled. “I’m fine.” She paused. “Oh, Matt.”

  “I know,” he said.

  “I don’t understand. Who would do this? People could have been killed.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, coughing himself. He eased off her. “Can you move?”

  “Yes.” She came to her knees.

  He did the same.

  She looked around. “You’ve lost two boats.”

  “Maybe three.” Salty Sea was also damaged, its windows blown out from the blast.

  Sirens sounded in the distance as the fire department made its way down the cliff road.

  Matt took Tasha’s hand. “We need to get off here. It’s going to catch, too.”

  She came shakily to her feet.

  Caleb met them at the bottom of the gangway.

  Alex had the pumps running, and the crew was spraying water on the flames.

  The fire engine stopped in the parking lot, and the firefighters geared up, heading down the pier on foot.

  Matt turned Tasha to face him, taking in every inch of her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “You’re hurt,” she said, pointing to his shoulder.

  “You’re bleeding,” Caleb told him.

  “It feels fine.” Matt didn’t feel a thing.

  “You’ll need stitches,” she said.

  “There’ll be a medic here in a few minutes. They can bandage me up.”

  Looking around, it seemed Matt’s was the only injury. He’d have plenty of attention. And his shoulder didn’t hurt yet.

  “Thank you.” Tasha’s low voice was shaking.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You probably saved their lives.” If she hadn’t got everyone out of the cabin, they would have been caught in the blast.

  “You, too.”

  He drew a deep breath and coughed some more.

  “The media is here,” Caleb said.

  Matt realized publicity was inevitable. “I’ll talk to them in a minute.”

  “Are you going to tell them about the sabotage?” Tasha asked.

  “No. It’s better that we keep that quiet for now.”

  “I checked Crystal Zone this morning. There was no reason in the world for it to catch fire.” A funny expression came over her face.

  “What is it?”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “Tasha?”

  “You’re going to think I’m nuts.”

  “Whatever it is, tell me.”

  “When I came up from the engine room, I got this creepy feeling, a sixth-sense thing. It felt like somebody was watching me. But then Caleb showed up, and I thought he was the reason.”

  Fear flashed through Matt. “Somebody else was on the boat with you? Did you see who?”

  “I didn’t. I mean, besides Caleb. But now...”

  “Mr. Emerson?” A reporter shoved a microphone in front of him.

  Someone else snapped a picture.

  He nudged Tasha to leave. She didn’t need to face this.

  He’d get it over with, answer their questions, get the fire out and then sit down and figure out what on earth was going on.

  Nine

  For the first time, Tasha wished her room in the staff quarters had a bathtub. She was usually content with a quick shower. Getting clean was her objective, not soaking in foamy or scented water.

  But tonight, she’d have given a lot for the huge soaker tub from her old bathroom in Boston. She shampooed her hair a second time, trying to remove the smoke smell. She scrubbed her skin, finding bumps and bruises. And when she started to shake, she reminded herself that she was fine, Matt was fine, everybody was thankfully fine.

  The police were getting involved now, so surely they’d get to the bottom of the inexplicable sabotage. Matt had said, and she agreed, this went far beyond what any of his competitors would do to gain a business advantage. So unless something had gone catastrophically wrong in an unplanned way today, they were looking for a much more sinister motive.

  The firefighters had said the blaze had started in the engine room, identifying it as the source of the fire. They expected to know more specifics in the next few days.

  She shut off the taps, wrapped a towel around her hair, dried her skin and shrugged into her terry-cloth robe. It was only eight in the evening, but she was going to bed. Maybe she’d read a while to calm her mind. But she was exhausted. And tomorrow was going to be another overwhelming day.

  A knock sounded on her door, startling her. Adrenaline rushed her system, and her heart thudded in her chest. It was silly to be frightened. She was not going to be frightened.

  “Tasha?” It was Matt.

  “Yes?”

  He waited a moment. “Can you open the door?”

  She almost said she wasn’t dressed. But the man had already seen her naked. The bathrobe, by comparison, was overdressed. She tightened the sash and unlocked the door, pulling it open.

  “Hey,” he said, his blue eyes gentle.

  She fought an urge to walk into his arms. “Hi.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I didn’t ask what you’d be. I asked how you are.” He looked solid and strong, like a hug from him would be exactly the reassurance she needed right now.

  But she had to be strong herself. “Sore.” It was a truthful answer without going into her state of mind. “You?”

  “Yeah. Pretty sore.” He gestured into the room.

  She stepped aside. It felt reassuring to have him here. It was good to have his company.

  He closed the door and leaned back against it. “I don’t think you’re safe.”

  She was jumpy. But she knew it was a natural reaction to being so close to an explosion. She’d be fine after a good night’s sleep.

  “I’m okay,” she said.

  He eased a little closer. “We agree this wasn’t a competitor. And if it’s not Whiskey Bay Marina—and it’s likely not Whiskey Bay Marina—then the next logical guess is you.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.” She couldn’t wrap her mind around someone, anyone, targeting her.

  “I’m afraid for you, Tasha.”

  “We don�
�t know—”

  He moved closer still. “I don’t care what we know and don’t know.”

  “Matt.”

  He took her hands in his. “Listen to me.”

  “This is wild speculation.”

  She tried to ignore his touch. But it felt good. It felt right. It felt more comforting than made sense. She prided herself on her independence, and here she was wishing she could lean on Matt.

  “Somebody’s targeted you,” he said. “Somebody who’s willing to commit arson and harm people.”

  “Why would they do that to me? Who would do that to me?”

  “I don’t know. All I do know is that it’s happening, and you need protection. I want to do that, Tasha. I want to protect you.” He squeezed her hands. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”

  “You’re blowing this out of proportion, Matt.”

  He crossed the last inches between them, and his arms brushed hers. “They set a boat on fire.”

  She didn’t have a response for that.

  “I want you to stay at the main house.”

  “You mean your house.” That was a dangerous idea. It was a frightening idea. Just standing so close to him now, her emotions were swinging off-kilter.

  “I have an alarm system. I have good locks on my doors. And I’m there. I’m there if anything goes wrong.”

  “It’s nice of you to offer,” she said, her logical self at odds with the roller coaster of her emotions.

  She couldn’t stay under the same roof as Matt, not with her feelings about him so confused, not with her attraction to him so strong, and certainly not right out there in front of the entire staff and crew of the marina.

  “I am your boss, and as a condition of your employment, you need to stay safe, Tasha.”

  “You know what people will think.” She grasped at a perfectly logical argument. No way, no how was she going to admit she didn’t trust herself with him.

  “I couldn’t care less what people will think.”

  “I do. I care.”

  “Do you want a chaperone? Should we ask someone to come stay there with us?”

  “That would make it look even worse.”

  He drew back a little and gently let her hands go, seeming to give her some space.

  “I have a guest room. This is about security and nothing more. Everybody here knows you. If you don’t make a big deal about the arrangement, neither will they. The police are involved. There’s a serious criminal out there, and it has something to do with you.”