Shifting and Bewitching (Enchanted Shores Book 1)

by Carrie de Croix

  The lower level was much quieter than upstairs, and I could see why it would be a better environment for Nate. Jake led us down the hall and opened the door to Nate's room.

  He was sleeping on the bed, Regina and Theo sitting beside him on upholstered chairs.

  "Oh, Sadie!" Regina said when she saw us. "You made it!"

  "Daphne, nice to see you too," Theo added. But I could tell he didn't especially like her. None of them seemed to like Daphne. I wondered why? Although she seemed angry, who wouldn't be under similar circumstances? To find out that the man you split just a week ago is already engaged to someone else had to be tough.

  Now that they were all together, I could clear the air. It was time to set the whole family straight and tell them I wasn't Nate's girlfriend.

  "I have something to say to everyone," I announced. "Nate and I…"

  I swallowed and glanced from Regina to Theo to Jake. They looked at me with such affection, their eyes full of kindness. The pull to be a part of their lives was intense. They were exactly the kind of family I'd always longed for: caring, close. But I couldn't pretend any longer. It was wrong. "That is. Your son Nate and I aren't—"

  "Oh!" Regina cried out, clutching her chest and wobbling over. "My heart!"

  Jake and Theo and I reached out for her. Daphne took a step away.

  "What is it, Mom?"

  "Theo? Is that you?" Regina looked up at her son with a confused expression.

  "Mom! It's me, Jake!" He took her hand.

  "I'll get the nurse!" I rushed out and scurried down the hall to the station.

  "Come quick!" I said to the startled nurses, who were working behind computers. "Nate's mom is having a heart attack!"

  I had figured “heart attack” would get a quick response. I was right. A nurse jumped up and followed after me as I raced back to Nate's room.

  Theo held his wife in his arms as she leaned against him, her eyes closed with a pained expression.

  The nurse pressed a red button on the wall before strapping a cuff on Regina’s arm. She watched the dial with a concerned look. An orderly strode in.

  "Get a gurney! She's arresting," the nurse said to him. "We've got to get her up to the ER."

  He quickly returned with the gurney. The nurse and orderly helped Regina onto it and hurried her through the door.

  "Come on!" Regina said to Theo. "Don't let them take me alone!"

  Before he followed, Theo turned to Jake. With great calm, he said, "Stay here and get Nate settled. Then come upstairs, son." He took one more look at Nate, nodded to Daphne and me, and then left the room.

  Jake sighed, his breath quivering as he looked from Nate to Daphne to me. "This day just keeps getting worse. My mom's never had heart problems in her life."

  "If you want to go upstairs, I can stay here with Nate," I said, my concern for the Serrano family growing. I was less worried about my own drama and more interested in helping them through this rough day.

  Jake nodded at me and then turned to Daphne. "Will you excuse us? We're having quite the day, aren't we?"

  "You want me to leave?" She wandered over to Nate's bed and scowled down at him with a look of intense disappointment. "I just…" She burst into tears. "I don't understand."

  "I'll call you later. I promise," Jake said to Daphne, taking her arm. "As hard as it is to accept, this isn't helping."

  "I know. I just… care so much! I'll always care… so much!"

  Jake patted her arm and nodded as he led her to the door of Nate's room. "I know, Daphne. It will be okay."

  When Daphne had finally left, Jake turned to me and considered closely. "You don't know Nate at all, do you?"

  I released a giant breath of relief despite the flush of shame that spread through me.

  "No! We just met today. I called 911 when I found him in the park and the EMT assumed I was his girlfriend. I went along with it because I didn't want Nate to be alone. It seemed like a good idea to watch over him in the ambulance." It was a huge relief to have the truth out, but I also felt deeply embarrassed. "I didn't mean to deceive you. Everyone just assumed, and I let them. I'm sorry."

  "You were about to tell us just now, right? When my mother had her event?" Jake said. He didn't seem angry. In fact, he seemed almost relieved.

  "Do you think it's my fault? That she had a heart attack?" I asked, biting my lip.

  "Your fault? Absolutely not. But now that she's sick, I wonder if you could not tell her about you and Nate until she gets well. She seems to be really fond of you." He was smiling. That seemed like an odd response to his mother being ill.

  "Not tell her? Really?"

  "Just let her keep believing that you're his fiancée. Until she's back on her feet. Or Nate wakes up."

  "How'd we get to fiancée anyway?" I shook my head. This was so not happening.

  "I don't know. I think my parents are hopeful. Will you do it?"

  "Lie to your mother? No. Despite today, and what you must think, I'm not a liar."

  "We can't shock her, Sadie. Not now." Jake took me by the arms. "It won't be more than what you've already done. And then afterwards, I'll tell her that it wasn't your fault. That I talked you into it. So she would get well more quickly."

  "You will? I adore your parents; I don't want them to hate me." At this point, I'd do anything to keep this wonderful family in my life. "You promise?"

  "I will. I promise."

  I threw my arms around Jake. He hugged me back, and I felt a sudden lightness. He was so kind.

  "Will you come up to the ER with me? To check on her?" he asked.

  "Are you sure? What about Nate?" We turned to look at Nate. He still had that little smile as he slumbered on.

  "Look at him. Sleeping like a baby." Jake nodded and smiled at his brother.

  Jake was right. Nate looked fine. "Okay," I said.

  "It isn't a good idea to ignore my mom's needs at a time like this." His face was full of love and concern for his mother. How could I say no?

  I nodded.

  We headed for the elevators.

  Upstairs, Regina was lying comfortably in a bed. She looked very content, not at all like a woman who had possibly just had a heart attack. A nurse was monitoring her heart, the machine blipped with regularity.

  "Oh, I'm fine," Regina said, gesturing toward the machines. "I don’t need any of this." She didn't look unhappy.

  "Mom, we need you to follow the doctor's orders," Jake said. "Let the medical professionals do their jobs."

  She shook her head. "Nate is the one we should be worrying over. Not me."

  Theo took her hand. "We don't know what happened. But something did." He looked more upset than his wife. "Just let Dr. Rex take a look. Let's make sure you're healthy. For me?"

  She nodded and let him kiss her cheek.

  A doctor came into the room with a file, took one look at me and said, "This must be the famous Sadie. Hello, I'm Dr. Rex Harris."

  I shook his hand. He was tall, with a professional air about him.

  "The Serrano family is keeping me busy today!" he said.

  "We're glad you're here, doctor," Jake said, as if they were old friends.

  Dr. Rex smiled and looked at the file in his hands as he sat on a stool. "You're looking fine, Mrs. Serrano, but we're going to keep you overnight for observation."

  "Overnight? No!" Regina cried out. "I've got to take care of Nate."

  Theo patted her hand and frowned. "We've got to take care of you, darling," he said.

  "I'm assigning you a room downstairs next to Nate," Dr. Rex said. "That way you'll all be together."

  She nodded. "Okay, then. But don't keep me strapped to a machine. I need to finish my knitting."

  "We'll put the machine on you for five minutes every hour for twenty-four hours, and then you'll be free to go, as long as we don't find any abnormalities. Deal?"

  "Deal." She nodded, then turned to me. "Sadie, dear, we didn't introduce you to Dr. Rex Harris. He went to college with Nate
. Rex, Sadie Summer is Nate's fiancée. But we haven't gotten all the details yet."

  Now I was lying to even more people? My stomach knotted, and I glanced at Jake. He smiled and nodded at me.

  I shook Dr. Rex's hand. "It's nice to meet you," I said. "But I have to get to work. I'm a hairstylist and I have an appointment."

  The only way I could keep up the deception was to stay away from this family until they knew the truth.

  "Oh, Sadie," Regina said. "Just one thing."

  We all turned back to her.

  "Jake here is going to have to spend his days at the office until Nate gets better."

  "What?" Jake said, his jaw dropping. "Who says?"

  "I do," Regina said.

  "We both do," Theo said. "It's nearly time anyway, son. You promised to retire from the ships next summer to work in the headquarters, and you might as well do it now, since we need you. Your brother needs you."

  Jake looked at his parents with a clenched jaw but just nodded. "I can start going into the office tomorrow, but I'll need to go out with the trawler next week. I can't replace myself at the drop of the hat."

  Rex and I glanced at each other and smiled, witnessing the family dynamic. The Serranos were clearly demanding as well as loving.

  I wouldn't know how to handle family obligations. No one tried to make me do anything I didn't want to do. Not anymore.

  "You'll need to try," Theo said. "Jake, it's time to accept your destiny leading our company with your brother. You can't be a fisherman forever. Not when there's a fleet of fishing and import ships to be managed. Your mom and I can't do it forever, you know."

  "Oh, Jakey. You're so talented. You're the only one who can keep the fishing business afloat after your father and I retire. We've been waiting for you. But we can't wait anymore."

  "Mom, just get well. We'll talk about this when everyone is back on their feet, okay? You and Nate."

  Regina nodded and turned back to me. "Well, my point for Sadie was that since you'll be going in the office, Jake, you will need a proper haircut. And she's a hairstylist. So I was hoping she could cut your hair. Tonight."

  "Mom! She doesn't want to do that."

  "No, it's fine!" I said. "I'd be happy to cut Jake's hair." I didn't understand why this was so important, but if it meant something to Regina, I was happy to help. Especially if I could leave right now. I was worried that I would blurt out the truth, and I didn't want to give Regina another heart attack.

  "See?" Regina said to Jake. "She'd be happy to cut your hair."

  "When can you make it?" I asked.

  He looked at his watch. "Where is your salon?"

  I gave him the address of the Shaggy Puppy. "We're closed tonight, but I have the key. We can go in for your haircut."

  "Okay," he said. "I'll be there in an hour?"

  "Sounds good." I made my way to the door.

  "Come see me tomorrow, Sadie?" Regina asked. "Please?"

  "Of course. Just get well," I said to Regina, kissing her cheek.

  An hour gave me just enough time to drive Pudgie to my house and feed him and then get to the salon. I wanted to tidy up the salon a little too. I was getting used to having Pudgie with me and he was being such a sweet little kitten, but it couldn't be good for him to be tucked in my backpack all day.

  When I finally got Pudgie home, he curled up on the rug and fell asleep and I headed out to meet Jake.

  Chapter 9

  Sadie

  "Let's make a deal," Jake said once I got him in the Labrador chair. "You trim just the tiniest fraction of an inch off the bottom and I won't tell my parents you aren't engaged to my brother."

  I wasn't falling for it. Jake had asked me to keep quiet. "No can do. Your mom says you need a haircut."

  "Why do I need a haircut, Sadie? My hair is fine." He folded his arms across his chest and looked at me in the mirror.

  I couldn't argue. His hair wasn’t shaggy or unkempt. It was well-brushed and wasn't really that long, just to his collar, which was just a little longer than the other men in their family. It was fine hair, wavy and golden.

  Still. Regina had asked me to do this. I had to give it a shot.

  I reached over and lifted his hair away from his neck. It was silky and thick. "You have a very nice neck. You could let it get some air. You could let everyone see it once in a while."

  "I'd rather not."

  "All over the world, people are getting their haircuts. It's a human ritual. And yet you refuse. Why is that?"

  "I guess I'm a rebel," Jake suggested, shrugging.

  I shook my head. "I don't see it. Try again," I said.

  "The truth, Sadie, is that I'm afraid. I had a bad haircutting experience when I was a kid. A barber named Mikey nicked my ear and accused me of being too squirmy." He grinned. Clearly he was making this up.

  "I don't believe you." I ran a comb through his hair. No snarls. "Your mom wants it cut. Why is it so important to her? It's not that long."

  "Yes. Thank you. She says it's holding me back. That when I get a haircut, I'll be able to work in the office with my brother and father and be more their kind of man."

  Now we were getting somewhere. I kept combing. "What's wrong with your kind of man? A man who works on a ship?"

  "She wants me to grow up. I think that's how she would put it. With privilege comes responsibility. We have hundreds of people working for us and they need strong leadership. She does love me. She wants the best for me. And she wants to get me off the ships."

  "Maybe she thinks you're not safe out there on a ship," I suggested.

  "Ever hear of carpal tunnel syndrome? Offices are just as dangerous."

  As I ran my fingers through his hair, I could sense him relaxing. It was as if he were a wild animal and I was soothing him. "Let's take it one step at a time, okay? The first step in a proper haircut is a vigorous hair wash. Think you can handle that?"

  "A hair wash I can handle." He nodded reluctantly.

  I took his hand and led him back to the sinks, walking past the little-kid sinks to the one big-kid sink by the window. He might barely fit, but his legs would splay halfway across the room.

  "Time for a hair wash, then. Okay, Jake?" I realized I was talking to him like a reluctant child, but I knew how to do this. "You ready?"

  I let go of his hand and he sat down.

  "Lean back here," I said, pressing his chest as I released the chair until it leaned against the basin. I turned on the faucet and tested the water until it was the perfect warm temperature.

  "You know," Jake said, "I like the Shaggy Puppy. When you're married to my brother, you can be my regular hairdresser."

  "You can really stop teasing me about your brother. I have hot water and I'm not afraid to use it."

  "Okay, I'll stop." He gripped the armrests.

  "Thank you."

  I ran the water over his hair and chose my favorite shampoo. It smelled like sage. I squirted a bit into my palms and rubbed them together. When I massaged my fingers into his scalp, Jake closed his eyes. I was good at shampooing. Everyone said that.

  I let him just enjoy it and soon found myself enjoying it more than usual too. Jake was an interesting man. He was kind and compassionate but also funny and smart. I felt so at ease with him. I rubbed a bit of foam off his cheek and then massaged the back of his head, deeply pressing my fingertips into the muscles at the top of his neck.

  He settled more deeply into the chair as I began weaving my fingers in a circular motion, working my way up to the crown of his head. When I looked back at Jake’s face, his eyes were open and he was watching me intently.

  "What?" I froze.

  "This feels really good."

  "It's supposed to," I said.

  Jake shut his eyes again and smiled. "Well, it does."

  While his eyes were closed, I went on autopilot with the hair wash, and watched his face. He looked so different from his brother and father. You'd never even know he was especially wealthy; he just seemed
like a working man, a lumberjack, maybe, or a fireman. His skin was tanned from being outdoors. Every time he sighed as I pressed into his scalp, I felt a tiny thrill. I realized my fingers were slowing down, my massage becoming less about invigorating his scalp and more about giving him pleasure. Then I leaned over deeply and accidentally lost my balance, falling onto his chest. Jake caught me, lifting his hands to my waist. He left them there while I steadied myself, and I felt my cheeks flush. I'd never wanted to kiss someone so much in my life. "Sorry," I said.

  "Don't be." He stared up at me. As our eyes locked, we had a moment. I knew he felt it too.

  "I'll just…" I shook my head as if to clear it and reached for the hand spigot.

  He smiled, but he didn't let go of me. His hands were a steady presence, but waves of delight washed over me.

  "Let me know if this gets too cold," I said, and although I intended the water to wrap up the washing and change the mood, I watched the water squirt out of the hand spigot and wrap luxuriously around his neck and into his scalp, giving him even more pleasure.

  My feelings were guiding the water!

  Stop it! I thought, and quickly shut off the water, briskly wrapping a towel around his head.

  "Whoa," he said as he pulled his hands away and stood up. "That was simply amazing."

  "You've been missing out, see? Every haircut comes with a hair wash and a head massage."

  "Mikey never massaged my head."

  "Maybe he should have. You might not have wriggled so much."

  "If I ever see him again, I'll let him know."

  Although I tried to joke, while walking him back to the cutting station everything felt different, as if the air was charged between us.

  He sat down on the puppy chair and we both laughed. With all the bright colors and cartoons, the Shaggy Puppy had to be the least romantic setting in the world. And yet, Jake and I were attracted to each other. It was obvious.

  "It's haircut time!" I wrapped a dry towel around his shoulders and pulled the wet towel off his head.

  I combed his hair with my fingers and pulled out my sharpest scissors. It was nice to work on Jake. He wasn't in danger of springing out of his chair like Mr. G, or getting wriggly like a child. Also, his hair was thick and soft and wavy.