Harlequin Superromance November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Christmas at the CoveNavy ChristmasUntil She Met Daniel

by Rachel Brimble

  “The police...”

  “They’re coming, too.”

  “Pepé.”

  He felt tension in his gut. A sure signal that he, too, needed to know how Pepé was. But he couldn’t leave Serena, and he wasn’t going to give the creep an opportunity to take off, not even with Ronald standing vigilant watch over him.

  Fortunately, the first police cruiser rounded the last bend of Serena’s driveway and Jonas didn’t have to make a choice.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  U.S. ship LST-19, Pacific Ocean

  September 1945

  “HOW ARE YOU doing today, Henry?”

  Henry opened his eyes to the familiar voice. Charles Dempsey, a Navy sailor on the ship that was taking him far away from Japan, sat on an upside-down crate next to Henry’s cot.

  “Same.”

  “I brought you some paper and a pen. I thought you’d want to write a letter to Sarah. I can mail it for you when I go back to the States.”

  “Do you really think you’ll beat me back home, Charles?”

  “I’m going to try, you bet.”

  Charles smiled at that. Henry hadn’t paid attention to people’s smiles in a long time, but Charles’s grin was so full of life. And Charles looked so healthy—his skin glowed and he had good muscle tone.

  I used to look like that.

  “I don’t think I could make it much farther than this cot, truth be told.”

  “Aw, you’ll be up and at it before you know it. It’s not going to be long now. Just keep eating the food the nurses are bringing, and as soon as you can, get out on the deck for some air. It’ll do wonders for you.”

  Henry knew it would, but his legs had grown too weak for him to walk farther than the distance to the head, the naval term for the john. “Where are we going, have we heard yet?”

  “Yes, we’re dropping you and your buddies off at the hospital in the Marianas. We’ll pick up some of the men who are ready to go home and take them to Hawaii, maybe back to the mainland.” Charles winked at him. “I’m a Waterman First Class. I’m not on the ‘need-to-know’ list, if you follow me.”

  Henry tried to smile but it took too much effort. Would his energy ever return? Now that he’d survived the war, and the war was over, he should be doing handsprings on this ship’s deck. Instead, he was practically bedridden, his bones and skin all that was left of the man he’d been.

  “The Marianas, they’ll be like Hawaii, right? Tropical?”

  “Everything out here is tropical!”

  Charles laughed from his belly and Henry envied it. He wanted to be able to laugh like that again. As if he really believed life was good, and that he had everything to look forward to.

  “Will you help me write the letter to Sarah? My hands are still shaky.”

  “Sure thing. Here, let me help you up.”

  “No, I’ll just lie on my side and we’ll do it like this.” Henry rolled to his right side and took the paper and pen that Charles offered.

  “Here’s a magazine.” Charles slid it under the letterhead stationery, giving Henry a firmer surface to write on. “You’re left-handed, are you?”

  Henry nodded. “Yes.”

  He wanted to talk more freely with Charles, and supposed that maybe he would as his strength returned. It was such a godforsaken slow process, getting better.

  “Will you help me if I can’t do the words?” He sounded like a schoolboy. Probably looked like one, too.

  “Sure thing.”

  Charles sat and whistled a jaunty melody, gazing off into space.

  Henry appreciated the attempt to give him privacy in such cramped quarters. Compared to what he’d lived through, though, his cot on the LST was like a featherbed in the Taj Mahal.

  It took a while for his hands to obey his thoughts, but eventually he was able to write his letter to Sarah.

  Whidbey Island

  Present Day, nine days before Christmas

  “YOU DID THE best you could, Mrs. Delgado. No one expects to find a stranger on their property in the middle of an arctic freeze.” Detective Cole Ramsey had sent most of his team back to Coupeville and the EMTs had left an hour ago. They were in her living room, part of the great room that included the kitchen and dining area.

  “Still, if I’d had the dog with me, none of this would have happened.”

  Jonas knew she’d beat herself up for this, but it wasn’t her fault. Pepé was still sound asleep in his room—Jonas had checked on him and made sure his window was locked tight before he came back downstairs to stay with Serena.

  Serena sat on her couch after being looked at by the EMTs and Jonas. She’d promised to go see a doctor on base tomorrow but Jonas didn’t think she had more than a broken nose.

  The loser was locked up and would spend his holiday behind bars. He was a known troublemaker on the island and Detective Ramsey had made it clear that he would not bother Serena or anyone else again.

  Jonas wished he’d been comforted by the fact that the pipes under the kitchen sink would have burst if he hadn’t arrived and put the space heater in place next to the counter.

  No matter what he told himself, his unease and his instincts had been all about Serena and Pepé, as well. They’d had nothing to do with the condition of the house or its fate during the storm. The house had been his way back to her.

  Thank God.

  “In all the time we lived out here, we only had one transient. Dottie found him on the property down by the stream and had the police out here before the guy woke up.”

  Detective Ramsey from the Island County Sheriff’s Department chuckled.

  “Yes, I remember hearing about that when we were still in high school.”

  Jonas and Cole Ramsey had played on the school basketball team together, before they’d gone their separate ways after graduation.

  “You’re back after deployment, aren’t you?”

  Jonas nodded. “Yes. It’s great to be home.”

  “How long will you be here?”

  “For the duration, I hope. I’m planning on finishing out my Navy years here, then settling down.”

  “You’ll work after you’re done with the Navy?”

  “Of course—I’ll only be forty-two. Not too old, at any rate.”

  Ramsey laughed. “If you need a contact at the hospital in Coupeville, let me know. My wife is a nurse there.”

  “Thanks, Cole. Will do.”

  Ramsey turned back to Serena. “Are you okay, Mrs. Delgado?”

  “Serena. It’s Serena. And yes, I’m fine.”

  “Do you have a family member or friend who can come and stay with you? It’s never easy to go alone right after someone’s trespassed on your property, not to mention the fact that you’ve been assaulted.”

  “I’m staying. She won’t be alone.” Jonas spoke up, ignoring the glare Serena shot him. Even with cotton shoved up her nose she was beautiful.

  “That’s not necessary.”

  Cole Ramsey sized up Serena. Jonas knew he was thinking what any man would. She was a beautiful woman. The possessiveness that sprang up in him didn’t surprise Jonas but it didn’t make him feel any better.

  “I’d take him up on it, Serena. Besides, with this cold weather, it’s going to be rocky for the next few days. The power’s out in town, too.” Cole didn’t miss a thing. He’d observed Serena’s house while the police went through to confirm that the intruder hadn’t made it that far.

  Jonas sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Serena would heal in a week or so. Her swelling and the fact that she hadn’t blacked out indicated she didn’t have a concussion. If anything had happened to Pepé, they’d be dealing with something far worse.

  “We’re done here.” Cole turned to Jonas. “Want to walk me out?”

&n
bsp; “Sure.” He squeezed Serena’s hand. “I’ll be back in a minute. Sit tight and don’t get up until I’m with you. Got it?”

  “Since when are Navy guys meaner than Marines?” She watched him with her steady gaze.

  “It’s not mean, it’s for your safety. You need to take it easy. Otherwise, I’ll have Cole drop you off at the base clinic while I stay here with Pepé.”

  As her eyes filled with tears, his gut tightened. He’d spoken without thought, and yet he meant every word. He’d been worried about Pepé, too.

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I’ll wait here.”

  Jonas walked out to Cole’s small car with him. The last squad car was driving away, its red taillights growing smaller as it wound through the woods toward the road.

  “Good seeing you again, Jonas. It’s none of my business, but are you involved with her?”

  “In a way. As you know, she inherited my stepmom Dottie’s house. Dottie was her biological aunt. Why do you ask?”

  Cole paused. “I found myself involved with a widow not too long ago.”

  “Are you warning me to stay away, Cole?”

  Cole shook his head. “More like the opposite. There’s been a series of break-ins in this area over the past two months. They seem to be escalating in violence. Serena’s lucky you showed up.”

  “She was halfway to the house and had kneed the bastard in the nuts. She was doing just fine on her own.” Jonas’s fists still itched to strike out.

  “Hmph. It seems that this jerk likes to break into homes and steal prescription narcotics. Vicodin, OxyContin and other painkillers. They sell them to the local high school kids and use the money to buy heroin.”

  “I’m sure that’s not unique to Whidbey, is it, Cole?”

  “No, it isn’t. But I like to keep Whidbey as safe as it was when we were kids—the place our parents and grandparents made it when they settled here. At any rate, keep an eye on her if you can. This guy’s going to be locked up for a long time with the assault-and-battery charge the district attorney will slap on him, but it won’t keep him from telling his buds that she’s out here alone.”

  “Should she move into town for a while?”

  “No, as long as you or another friend is with her, and she keeps her dog close, she’ll be fine. These aren’t hardened criminals with weapons on them—yet. The only reason the dirtbag targeted her house in the first place is because he’s in heroin withdrawal. It’s an ugly symptom of a devastating disease. Anyway, they normally hit houses that are empty, when the owners are out and about. But if she’s here alone with her kid, she appears vulnerable. I’d hate to see her bothered again.”

  “I’ll see to it that she’s safe, Cole.”

  “Good. I’ll send patrol cars out regularly. And we’ll get this group of troublemakers rounded up by Christmas.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  They clasped hands in a brief but friendly handshake.

  “Thanks for everything, man,” Jonas said. “Hey, Cole?”

  “Yes?”

  “What happened to the widow you got involved with?”

  Cole laughed. “I’m married to her.”

  Cole climbed into his car and drove off as Jonas watched. How the hell would he convince Serena that he was going to stay with her and Pepé as a friend, without any ulterior motive?

  * * *

  SERENA WOKE WITH Pepé’s face next to hers.

  “Mom, they’ve canceled school!”

  Her head throbbing, she looked at her clock radio and groaned. She never slept in this late.

  “How do you know, Pepé? Just because there’s snow doesn’t mean there aren’t any classes.”

  “The school left a message on your cell phone, and I checked online. Pepé’s right.”

  “Mom, what happened to your face?”

  Two male voices, one sweet and high, and one low and reassuring.

  “You stayed,” she murmured.

  “Jonas said he came to help us with the iced pipes in the kitchen.”

  Jonas chuckled, and the warmth of such a masculine expression of humor caught her off guard. Her lips tilted up in a smile.

  “Ouch.”

  “You’ve got quite the swollen lip. How do you feel?”

  “Fine.” She looked at Pepé, who stared at her with unabashed fascination. “I slipped outside, honey, and hit my face on the ground.” She was strategic in her reply. A six-year-old boy didn’t need to know everything.

  “When were you outside?”

  “Last night, when the wind started howling, right before the big snowflakes fell. I was checking on the alpacas.” She ruffled his hair. “Is it the sticky kind of snow that will make a good snowman?”

  “I want to make an igloo.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Pepé, why don’t you go get your mom one of the muffins I baked, and bring it in here?”

  “Sure!” He shot off her bed and down the hall before she could blink.

  “You baked muffins?”

  Jonas shrugged. “I do have some hidden talents.”

  Sore bones, aching muscles, a pounding head and a swollen lip couldn’t keep her from reacting to his comment, even though he’d meant it in the most platonic way.

  Didn’t he?

  “That’s very nice of you.” She slowly sat farther up in bed.

  “I’m much better than we thought—it was more the emotional shake-up than anything. You can go home now.”

  Jonas smiled before he sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Nice try. Let me take a look at you.”

  She sat while he checked her face, asking her how many fingers he held up and the usual vision questions.

  It wasn’t more than a few minutes but for Serena it felt like an hour with his fingers on her cheekbones, her temples, her jaw.

  Dressed in a white T-shirt under a wool pullover, Jonas looked rugged yet approachable—with his nurse persona well in place.

  “Do you feel dizzy at all? What about a headache?”

  “My head’s pounding, but it’s the kind of headache I usually get when a large weather system comes in. You know, sinus stuff. My lip feels more stiff than painful. Honestly, I’m okay. Pepé and I will be fine. Next time I’ll make sure I take Ronald with me if I have to go out at night.”

  “No, you won’t—that would leave Pepé vulnerable. You can’t kid a kidder, Serena.”

  “Don’t you feel a little awkward being here? We hardly know each other.”

  He stared at her and to his credit didn’t bring up their kisses.

  “What finer way to spend time together during a storm? We both have a vested interest in the house and the property. We’re going to have to get to know each other better at some point.”

  “I’ve already explained that Pepé doesn’t need this, Jonas. It’ll be too much for him when...when...”

  “Pepé needs positive male role models. Our families are permanently intertwined thanks to Dottie, no matter how you and I feel about each other and the house. It’s in Pepé’s interest for all of us to get to know one another. My family is his family, and if he grows up here, my nieces will be an immeasurable support to him at school. They’ll be his safety net.”

  He had a point. Or maybe her head was too fuzzy to argue with him.

  “Mom, you’re going to love this muffin.”

  Pepé squeezed in front of Jonas on the side of the bed and deposited a large berry muffin on Serena’s chest. Ronald came over to sniff the treat and Jonas stood up.

  At least he didn’t try to clean the crumbs from where they’d landed on her breasts.

  “I think you need a napkin, and I’ll get you some coffee.”

  “Coffee sounds like heaven.”
>
  “How do you take yours?” She met his eyes, which radiated concern. And interest.

  In her.

  “A splash of light cream, that’s it.”

  “A gal after my own heart.”

  She couldn’t help it; her eyes wandered past his shoulders, his waist and down to his butt as he walked out of the room.

  “Try the muffin, Mom.”

  “Mmm, this is very good. You’re right, mi hijo.”

  Who knew the nurse could bake, too?

  * * *

  JONAS WAS HAPPY to help Serena and Pepé as the storm raged outside and their power flickered on and off. Dottie had put in gas heat several years ago, but the draft from the gale kept blowing the pilot light out, so Jonas turned the gas off and had the woodstove cranking out blessed warmth.

  He’d forgotten how cold it got when the polar air currents dipped low into Puget Sound.

  Serena sat in a recliner with the footrest up, her long fingers moving rhythmically as she knitted what looked like some type of ski hat. He caught her dozing every now and again. He felt a sense of satisfaction from knowing that she was relaxed enough with him to rest. It was the beginning of trust.

  Trust.

  “I’ve got you, dog!”

  Pepé wrestled with Ronald on the living room rug in front of the stove.

  “Watch yourself there, buddy. The stove will burn you if you touch it.”

  “It’s never burned me before.”

  “Have you used it before?” He hid a grin at the puzzled look on Pepé’s face.

  “No. That’s Mom’s knitting space.”

  “I had to move that big basket of yarn to the corner of the room or it would’ve caught fire. The woodstove is filled with logs and sticks, burning to keep us warm.”

  “So the pipes won’t ice?”

  “You mean ‘freeze.’ Yes, so the water in the pipes doesn’t freeze and make the pipes crack.”

  “Oh.” Pepé looked at Jonas, the woodstove and the kitchen sink. Then he went back to playing tug of war with Ronald.

  Jonas’s amusement kept him watching the two of them for a few more minutes. Pepé had asked myriad questions as Jonas hooked up the space heater and set it in front of the open cabinets under the sink. He’d listened as Jonas explained why it was so important to keep the pipes warm.