Stealing a glance at Kevin, she saw that his gaze remained fixed on the road ahead and he was frowning. He didn’t say anything, which was slightly infuriating, because clearly he was thinking something.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “I probably sound like some kind of babysitter.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.” They reached the juncture to the main road that headed back into town. With a smooth spin of the wheel, he accelerated into the turn. God, it was sexy, the way he drove.
She didn’t want to find him sexy at the moment. “Okay, then maybe you should tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Why does it matter?”
She pressed her lips together. It shouldn’t matter. This was her life. Well, hers and her mother’s. And her brothers’. Kevin was new around here. What difference did it make what he thought?
But for some reason, it did matter to her. A lot. And she really didn’t want to analyze the reasons why.
“I don’t want you to think badly of my mother, that’s all,” she finally said.
“I promise you that I don’t. Shit, she knows enough to seek help when she needs it. That’s pretty damn impressive.”
“It is. That’s true.” She hadn’t thought of that point before now. A sneaky sense of hope stole into her heart. Maybe things were changing. Maybe this wasn’t a huge step backwards for her mom.
Still, her tension increased as they drew closer to the Urgent Care building. At the back of her mind, when they’d returned to Jupiter Point, had been the fact that the closest hospital with a real emergency room was forty-five minutes away. She’d worried about this exact scenario. She had to get to her mother and make sure she was okay. Could the medical community here handle Mom’s case? Maybe they should move to a bigger city. Or back to Nashville where Dr. Gold lived.
Kevin let her out of his car at the front door, murmuring something about parking and coming in behind her.
“You can go now,” she told him. “I’ll be fine from here. I see our car. I’ll stay here until Mom’s ready to go, then drive her home.”
He didn’t answer, just shot her a look that said, “I don’t think so.”
“I’m not leaving until you’re absolutely sure.”
She gave in and hurried into the Urgent Care, which was essentially a whitewashed concrete block of a building. She had to admit that it felt good knowing she wasn’t facing this entirely alone. Good…and different. She could get used to that, even though she knew better.
Inside, a few patients sat on armchairs and couches in the waiting room, while a middle-aged woman in a white nurse’s cap manned the desk.
“Hi, my name is Cassie Knight, and I’m here for my mother, Janine Knight.” Cassie spoke in a low voice, aiming for a modicum of privacy. The Knight name was well-known in Jupiter Point, after all.
“Hang on,” the attendant told her, holding up a finger.
A few minutes later, the door that led to the exam rooms opened and a woman with curly dark hair stepped out. She looked vaguely familiar, but Cassie couldn’t place her right away.
“Hi, I’m Lisa Peretti. I’m one of the nurse practitioners here.”
Right…she recognized her now. Lisa was engaged to Finn Abrams, one of the Jupiter Point Hotshots. “Hi. How’s my mother doing? Can I see her?”
“She’s fine. Let’s talk inside for a minute.” Lisa gently took her elbow and pulled her through the door into a small break room, where a refrigerator hummed, along with a microwave oven. Someone had taped a sign to the refrigerator door: Gluten-free brownies, help yourself.
Cassie’s mouth watered. She realized she hadn’t eaten anything at the party, or for a couple hours before that. In the next moment, she felt ashamed for thinking about food when her mother was suffering. “So what’s going on?”
“Your mother was feeling unsafe, as you know. She said she texted you. I was the first to see her, and I called in an excellent local psychiatrist to consult. He’s with her now.”
“I called her therapist but I haven’t heard back.”
“Yes, we got that number from your mother and put in a call to her as well. In the meantime, we’ve determined that she isn’t in any immediate danger. I’ve dealt with quite a few cases similar to hers over the years, and I’m very impressed with how she’s handling herself.”
Cassie nodded, her head moving up and down like a marionette’s. Now that her immediate fear had worn off, all she wanted was to see Mom. “So when can I go in?”
“That’s the thing.” Lisa hesitated, then said gently, “She doesn’t want to see anyone right now. She asked me to tell you that she’s fine, and that she wants you to go back to the party and not worry about her.”
For a moment, Cassie just stared at her, trying to make those words make sense. “I just want to see her.”
“I understand. But she’s talking to the psychiatrist right now and after that, she needs to rest. She’s going to call you tomorrow.”
Even though Lisa’s smile held kindness, clearly there was no wiggle room in her instructions. Cassie actually looked behind her, with a wild thought of dashing into the corridor and hunting down Mom’s room.
Lisa caught the glance and cocked her head, one eyebrow lifting in amusement.
“I know you want to respect your mother’s wishes,” she said firmly.
“But—” Cassie felt tears fill her eyes. “What if she needs me?”
“I promise you, she’s fine.” Lisa put a comforting hand on her forearm. “I know this is a surprise, and not what you’re used to when it comes to your mother. She told me a little bit about how much you’ve done for her. She’s not intending to push you away. I think it’s possible she’s trying to free you from some of the responsibility you’ve been shouldering.”
Cassie snatched her arm away, refusing the gesture, as well-meant as it was. “You make it sound like a burden. It isn’t. It never has been.”
Lisa’s dark eyes held nothing but sympathy, not a trace of judgement. “I hear you. And the good news is, she’s really fine. My impression is that she’s trying to forge a new way for herself and she needs your support.”
“You mean by leaving,” Cassie said bitterly.
“For now.” Lisa took her elbow and steered her back toward the door. Cassie still felt numb and confused, and her legs didn’t seem to be working right.
“I’m not going to make a break for it,” she muttered.
Lisa laughed. “I didn’t think you were. You just look a little rattled, which is totally understandable. How did you get here? Do you need me to call a cab?”
“A friend drove me.”
Lisa pushed open the door to the waiting room. Kevin, who’d claimed one of the armchairs, got to his feet at the sight of them. Six feet plus of solid, compact muscle, topped off by dark green eyes filled with concern…
Cassie resisted the urge to run to him, bawling like a baby.
“That’s your friend?” Lisa whispered in her ear.
“Yes.”
“Then I definitely suggest you pass on the cab offer.” The amusement in Lisa’s voice made Cassie smile. Before they got too close to Kevin, she turned to face the nurse.
“Thank you.” She blinked, trying to get the tears to clear before she went to Kevin. “I’m sorry if I was, I don’t know…difficult.”
Lisa gave her an impulsive squeeze of the shoulder. “Not one bit. Listen, if you ever want to grab a drink at the Orbit, give me a call. There’s a group of us that go occasionally to vent about all kinds of stuff. We call it the Cone of Silence. Your sister-in-law Merry comes now and then, so you know you’d be among friends. You’re welcome anytime. I know you grew up here, but you’ve been gone so long that—”
“I’d like that.” Cassie managed a smile. “I could use some new friends.”
Lisa gave her a little hug and one last smile. “Good.” She shot another glance at Kevin. “Clearly you have good taste in friends. I’ll see you
soon. Hang in there.” She stepped to the reception desk to consult the clipboard, then beckoned to the next patient.
In a daze, Cassie walked toward Kevin, who held out his hand to take hers. She didn’t resist. In fact, the touch of his hand felt like the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears. Hand in hand, they left the Urgent Care.
13
Outside, the moon was now higher in the sky, competing with the bright light of the parking lot fluorescents. Cassie didn’t say anything as she pulled Kevin toward his Lamborghini. She wasn’t ready to drive yet, and her mother might need the car tomorrow. Besides, she had so many confusing emotions to sort through. Fear, relief, betrayal. Shock.
Never before had her mother not needed her. She didn’t know what to do with that.
“I need a drink,” she declared to Kevin as soon as they were both buckled into his sports car.
“A drink?” He frowned at her, looking so delicious and normal and healthy that she wanted to throw him down and straddle him. “How about you just tell me what’s happening?”
“There’s nothing to tell. Mom’s fine. I need a drink. You can just drop me off at Barstow’s. I can take a cab back.”
“You don’t need a drink at Barstow’s,” he said calmly, starting up the engine.
His confidence infuriated her. “You don’t know what I need.”
“You need to let off some steam.” He put the car in gear and they accelerated out of the parking lot. “Am I right?”
Actually, yes, he was, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She still felt kind of crazed, unpredictable, prickly as an oncoming lightning storm. “Yeah well, you won’t have sex with me, so that’s out.”
He laughed. “No sex, no drinking, you must think I’m a real downer.”
She didn’t think that. Not at all. “Anyway, like I said, this has nothing to do with you. I can handle my own problems and my own letting off of steam. So just drop me anywhere and I’ll figure it out from there.”
He reached over and took her hand, the roughness of his palm grounding her enough so she no longer felt like she wanted to jump out of her skin. “Look, Cassie, I know you’re an independent, self-sufficient, completely smart and capable woman. But the look on your face when you walked into that waiting room nearly ripped my heart out. Is it too much to ask for you to let me hang around for a little bit? I swear I won’t ask you any questions. You can let off all the steam you want without killing off any brain cells. Think of me as a guardrail.”
“A guardrail?”
“Yes, to make sure you don’t drive off a cliff. Metaphorically.”
“I’ve been driving myself around for lots of years and never came close to driving off a cliff.”
“You mean metaphorically?”
“Any kind of cliff! And would you stop saying metaphorically? It’s very annoying.” She realized that she’d been so caught up in their ridiculous conversation that she’d lost track of where they were going. “This isn’t the road to Barstow’s.”
“Nope.”
She peered at their surroundings—darkened buildings and glimpses of moonlit ocean beyond. “This is the waterfront.”
“Yup.”
“Are we going to your place? Because there’s that whole no-sex thing, and—”
“Yeah, that would be really hard to stick to if we went to my place.” Well, at least they were in agreement about that. “No, I have something else in mind. I think you’re going to love it. Will you just give it a chance? Trust me for the next,” he checked the clock on his dashboard, “fifteen minutes?”
“I think I can handle that.” She slid her hand out from under his and fiddled with her hair. All that time she’d spent with a curling iron, trying to get pretty for the party, seemed like such a waste now. “But I really can’t imagine what you have in mind. There’s nothing out this way.”
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. Can it be that I know something about Jupiter Point that you don’t? Who’s playing tour guide now?” His gently teasing tone made her smile.
They passed the last loading dock, where the fishermen offloaded their catch, though all was quiet and empty this late at night. South of the waterfront, as far as she knew, there was nothing but rocky coastline. Kevin was scanning the side of the road closely, looking for some landmark. Finally he put the brakes on and steered to the shoulder.
“Before we leave this vehicle, I must extract a sacred promise from you to never reveal what I’m about to show you. As far as I know, only me and Holly know about this spot.”
“That seems unlikely,” she pointed out, even though her curiosity was going wild. “There are people who know every inch of this coastline.”
“I said, as far as I know. Please don’t burst my bubble.”
“Sorry.”
He looked at her pointedly. “Well?”
“Oh, you’re serious?” She laughed at him, then in the next moment was amazed that she still had the capacity to laugh. “I give you my sacred promise that I will never reveal what I’m about to see to anyone else ever.”
“Not even your brothers?”
“Especially my brothers.” She made a face at him. “But this better be worth all the drama.”
“The pressure’s on. Okay, let’s go.” He swung out of the car, and she followed suit. The unseasonably warm air embraced her. The scent of saltwater filled her nostrils and a light sea spray misted her face. Waves murmured and seethed against the rocks, as if they were telling a story.
A guardrail separated the road from the rocky downslope that led to the water. Kevin stepped over it onto a barely visible foot trail.
“I told you I was going to be your guardrail.” He winked as he offered his hand to help her over it. She kicked off her strappy sandals and stepped barefoot onto the path.
“I’m not sure you’re doing such a good job. I seem to be walking onto a cliff. Didn’t we start this evening on a cliff?”
“Yes, but this one has something you won’t see at the Seaview.” He led the way down the narrow trail between jagged rocks and scrub grass. The moon had risen, like a kindly lantern lighting their way. Otherwise they would have been stumbling and stubbing their toes on the winding path.
When they reached the end of the trail and stepped onto sand, Cassie’s breath caught in amazement. The moon spilled its silver light onto a tiny hidden cove, a little jewel nestled inside a protective ring of rocks. Gentle wavelets caressed the coarse sand, leaving behind creamy moonlit lines of foam.
“Wow.” She gazed in awe at the secret little spot. “How did you ever find this?”
“Pure luck.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers and surveyed the cove with a satisfied grin. “And Holly’s sharp eyes. We were exploring on our bikes, and she noticed the footpath. She spotted a mouse scurrying that direction. She loves mice, by the way. She used to beg me to keep one as a pet.”
She shook her head, still marveling at their discovery. The surrounding rocks cast shadows across the sand. The soft ocean mist felt like wet kisses on her cheeks. For a moment, a sense of pure joy filled her up, like light poured straight from the moon.
In the next instant, she remembered her mother.
“Hey,” Kevin said gently, nudging her with his elbow. “I saw that.”
“What?”
“Just when you were looking happy, you got that ‘I want to hit someone’ expression again.”
“Not someone,” she corrected. “Maybe something. If there was something soft and non-breakable.”
Correction: she didn’t want to hit something, exactly. She really just wanted to scream and cry, and maybe throw things. Channel her inner toddler, that was what she wanted. Throw a tantrum that had been building for years.
“Well, then there’s only one thing to do,” said Kevin. He propped himself against a rock and untied his shoelaces. One by one, he pulled off his socks and stuffed them inside his shoes, which he wedged behind a rock.
“Wh
at are you doing?”
“Going swimming, of course.”
“Swimming?”
“Sure.” He smiled, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “The only question is how many clothes I should wear into the water.”
Oh ho. If he was leaving that up to her… “Why would you wear any clothes in the water? They’d just get wet,” she said reasonably. Her breath quickened. This all felt like a dream, with the moon and the ocean whispering magical secrets in her ear.
“Good point. I was hoping you’d say that.” His hands went to the buckle of his leather belt. “Especially because these are my nice clothes. And I only have one set that qualifies.” He loosened the belt enough to untuck his shirt.
Her mouth went dry as she watched him undo each button. Underneath, he wore a white t-shirt that molded to the solid musculature of his chest.
“I barely recognize you without the grease stains.” She cleared her throat, her voice a little breathier than usual.
“Right? And you without your coveralls. It’s like we’re strangers. As much as I like your mechanic clothes, this works too.” He gestured at her dress. “But I guess I said that already. A few times.”
“You did.”
They smiled at each other, a vibrant tension rising between them. She imagined long strands of moonlight stretching from her to Kevin, linking them to each other, weaving them together. How was it possible that she felt so connected to this man? Especially her, someone who felt truly, solidly connected to so few people. Really, just her mother.
Who had just refused to see her.
That furious, helpless feeling churned inside her again—echoed by the restless swirl of the ocean against the rocks. They spoke to her, those waves. As if they understood exactly what was going on inside her.
On impulse, she pushed one of her shoulder straps off, then the other, then shimmied out of her dress. The camisole slip she wore underneath didn’t cover much, but hey, it was dark outside and Kevin was half-naked already, and the ocean beckoned.
Leaving her dress in a silky pile on the sand, she skipped toward the water’s edge. At the first touch of the ocean swirling around her feet and ankles, energy surged through her.
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