Gypsy Heat: A Gypsy Beach Novel

by Jillian Neal

  She glanced up at him and set the pickle back on her plate. A seductive heat curled up from under her shirt and settled in her cheeks. “What?” She gave him a bashful grin.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “When I eat a pickle?”

  “Always.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  As he finished up one half of his chicken sandwich, he decided to go on with one of the dozens of discussions they needed to have. “So, tell me how the jewelry business works.”

  She grinned, and his fire ignited in her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile. If it made her that happy, he wanted to give her everything she needed to keep going, even if he still couldn’t decide who should pay for what. In his ideal world, he would be able to buy her the moon if that’s what she wanted.

  “Well, you know I always made stuff growing up. Remember, I used to wear like four-dozen thread bracelets, and when I made that ridiculous necklace out of the Coke can tabs?” She laughed hysterically, but he’d admired her work. It was quite creative, and she used what she had available to her at the time. He’d loved her resourcefulness.

  “I thought it was cool,” he admitted readily. “And I’m never taking this off.” He clutched his chest. The engraved disks she’d worked on so lovingly in the boat shop for his sixteenth birthday would forever remain next to his heart. He did hope that soon he might be able to purchase her a much nicer ring.

  She beamed at him. “Well, I started out selling stuff I made out of rocks, shells, wire, whatever I found while I travelled. Then I kind of got settled in California, this was before I met Peter.” She shuddered involuntarily as his name spat from her lips.

  “He better pray I never find him.” Grady growled.

  Her blush deepened, giving a slight color to the faded bruise on her cheek. Channeling his fury into a need to protect her, he clenched his jaw tightly.

  “Anyway, I met a few other jewelry makers and artisans. We used to hang out on Venice Beach and sell our stuff. My friend Madrid taught me how to put my jewelry on Etsy. It’s this huge website where people sell handmade goods. So, I started making the bracelets and necklaces that Ruth and Molly taught me to make, and after a year or two of that I added rings. That’s when I met Peter, unfortunately. Anyway, all of a sudden it took off. People went crazy for Bohemian pieces. I was making more money than I knew what to do with. Peter hated that I made so much more money than he did.” There was a hint of challenge in her tone, and Grady’s head lowered. In one quick sentence, she’d all but cured him of his slight sexism.

  “So, I figured out how to really start my own company. I still sell stuff on Etsy, but I try to keep my online store stocked, too. Making jewelry is the only thing I did that ever made me feel like I wasn’t suffocating. It was my only source of joy. Since everything is original, I don’t really keep an inventory. It drives the prices up, which I guess is good, but I do it because I love making different things every time.”

  Unable to help himself, Grady reached across the table and caressed her hand. “So, tell me what I need to build for you so you can keep doing what you love, angel. I can set you up something in the offices or the boat bays. I was kind of hoping you might give up your room at the Inn and take up residence at Casa-de-la-Grady’s-houseboat. You can use the galley to work, if you want.”

  “You sure we want to jump into all that so soon?”

  “My entire life was hung up for a long damn time, Nad. So, it seems like it’s been forever to me.”

  With an exhilarated breath, she nodded. “I just need a little table really. I could work in the galley. I don’t have a lot of supplies. I do need Wi-Fi.” She shrugged.

  “Done. I’ll help you move after lunch.”

  “Whoa there, cowboy. Don’t we need to check on Beau, and isn’t that police officer guy coming by?”

  Grady sighed. “Yeah, I kind of forgot about that.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything, angel. You know that.”

  “Has Beau gotten into trouble before now? You know, while I was gone?”

  Guilt troubled her eyes. She was incredible. How could she want to take responsibility for his kid brother? He was only 12 when she left. Grady set to make certain she knew that there was no need for her to add to her guilt over leaving.

  “Not really. Normal stuff I guess. He got in a fight several months back. Some idiot at school kept calling him a Gyp, said some other shit. I guess the fact that the kid’s still breathing should say something about Beau. I mean, my little brother is built like a fucking horse. He could have beaten the shit out of the kid. Guy went to the hospital, but it was nothing too bad.”

  “Yeah, I wonder who he gets that from,” Nadya laughed.

  Grady shook his head. He supposed that was true. The Havens boys were tall and stocked with ample muscle. It was how he’d gotten away with doing things like driving when he was fourteen. He looked five years older than his age.

  “Anyway, as far as I know, that was it. Nate caught him with some pot a few years ago, but I don’t think he smoked much. Made him sick to his stomach.”

  Nadya gave him that mischievous smirk that always spoke directly to his groin. They’d shared more than one joint in their day.

  Molly narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Mac Montgomery, you better not be doing what I think you’re doing right now!”

  “What?” he grumped. Made her madder than a Junebug in August when he was both stubborn and grumpy.

  “You are not making a ticket out for Grady’s lunch but not Nady’s.”

  “And why shouldn’t he pay for his lunch?”

  “Because very, very soon, dear, he’s going to be your nephew.” She arched her left eyebrow upwards in challenge.

  “You don’t know that.”

  She cackled hysterically at that preposterous notion, but Mac went on ringing up Grady’s sandwich plate and coffee.

  Molly tossed the washrag she’d been using down on the counter. “You know I think I might just run home for a minute. I’m feeling generous, so I’ll throw some sheets on the couch for ya.” She narrowed her eyes.

  Clenching his jaw, he voided the sale and huffed audibly.

  Thirteen

  Nate was sporting quite a smirk when Grady and Nadya’s feet hit the Havens’ dock. He was scrubbing out coolers while staring Grady down. Whatever remark he planned to make, he was debating saying it in from of Nadya.

  She laughed at him outright. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just gonna say that based on the noises I heard coming from the houseboat earlier, you should at least thank me, maybe name a kid after me, or something.”

  Grady rolled his eyes. “Beau at home?”

  “Yeah, he’s with Pops. Told me what happened.” Nate dried his hands. “If I find out he took that stuff, whatever the sheriff does to him will be a fucking vacation compared to what I’ll do to him.”

  “He didn’t do it. I just know.” Nadya defended Beau adamantly.

  “How do you know?” Grady studied her.

  “I don’t know how exactly. I just know he didn’t.”

  Nate gave her a kind smile. “First of all, I’ve missed you.” He wrapped her up in his arms and gave her a gentle squeeze. “And that whole ‘I know, but I don’t know how I know’ thing’s probably not gonna stand up in court, but for what it’s worth, I believe you.”

  Nadya seemed very pleased with Nate’s warm reception.

  “There’s Bevins.” Grady saw the patrol car pull up.

  “Yeah, and we got a late booking, both boats tomorrow and the next day. Early morning excursion. They want snook. Big wedding party getting married on the beach this weekend, but the bride’s family won’t be in until late tomorrow and the groom wants to take his family out without them. Hence the double day booking.”

  Grady didn’t hear much past ‘late booking, both boats, tomorrow and the next day.’ For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to go out on the water
for fishing, or money, or anything else. He wanted to stay with Nadya. He wanted to be in her presence constantly. He’d been without her for so long.

  Her onyx eyes swirled with a mass of confusion. He tried to navigate her emotions. “I can send Beau. I don’t have to go.”

  “Uh, Beau’s coming too, man. Sorry. This is a big crowd. We’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

  Nadya swallowed harshly. “It’s okay. You have to work. I’ll just try to get some stuff done, too. I’ve been working on these really intricate bracelets. They’re still at the Inn, actually. I’ll be fine.” She tugged on the worn fringe of her purse.

  “You can come with me, angel.” Grady wrapped his right hand around her waist and drew her closer. She turned her head away from Nate and laid it gently on his chest. Nate’s brow furrowed. Grady wrapped her up in his arms. Her ex had done a real number on her. Another irritating doubt pricked at his mind, but with the fierce clench of his jaw, he refused to believe that she’d returned to him only because she was afraid to be alone. They were meant to be. He’d get her through what her ex had done to her. If she needed to see a counselor, he’d go with her. He would do whatever he needed to do to help her heal.

  “No, it’s okay.” She lifted her head and spoke with more confidence this time. “I’ll be fine. I have to get rid of the idea that bad things happen when I’m alone. It’s ridiculous, and it’s because Peter was so weird the last few months before I got the hell out of there.”

  “You want to talk to someone about this? I’ll go with you. I’ll do anything you need me to do.”

  She gave him the grin she reserved for only him. He was delighted to see its return. “I’ll get through this, and I did see someone in Cali. They wanted to put me on medication, and I’m not going on one more moment feeling like I’m drugged. I spent fourteen years like that.”

  Nate grimaced as Grady nodded his understanding, pleased to see a little of her fire return. “Well, why don’t you come with me? I’d love to have you onboard, just until you feel okay on your own for a little while. I don’t plan on ever leaving you alone for too long.”

  “I’m gonna go walk towards Bevins and away from this conversation. Nady, you know you’re welcome to hang here any time. If Grady’s gotta go somewhere, I’ll keep you company. I know you’d vastly prefer the man,” he gestured his head to Grady, “but we used to have fun together.” Nate seemed anxious to make sure Nadya healed from her ordeal as well, something Grady appreciated immensely.

  Smiling, Nadya turned from Grady and gave Nate another hug. “Thank you, but I’m ready to feel normal now.” She turned back to Grady. “I want to put this back together, just like we keep saying. I need to feel normal again to do that. Proving to myself that I’m safe alone seems like the only way back.”

  “One day at a time, okay? If you need me for anything, promise you’ll tell me, no matter what it is,” Grady soothed as they followed Nate towards the office.

  “I promise, and thank you for everything. Thank you for understanding and wanting me back after all of these years.” She leaned and brushed a kiss along his jaw.

  “I never stopped wanting you, angel, or loving you.”

  His confession seemed to bring her up short, and Bevins was upon them before she could respond.

  “Where’s Beau?” was Bevin’s greeting.

  “I made him take Pops to his doctor’s appointment, so you can tell us what’s up and we can deal with it,” Nate supplied readily.

  “You ever think Beau might need to be the one to deal with this?” Bevins challenged.

  “Why don’t you let us take care of Beau, and you just tell us what you found out about this whole debacle,” Grady huffed.

  Shrugging, Bevins accepted the Coke Nate handed him. “All I can tell you, is that what we have is circumstantial, but it’s not good, that’s for damn sure. It’s gonna take a lawyer with a whole lot more skill than any court-appointed attorney to get him out of this unscathed. Not to mention that the jury is not likely to view your bloodline as an asset to the community, as shitty and ridiculous as that is. You know prejudice runs strong around here. So, man, I’ll give you both everything I can out of my paycheck to help feed Ms. Cinderson’s kids, but until this whole thing dies down, for me, keep the hulls empty. I don’t want any of you going down for something you didn’t do.”

  Before Grady could process all of that, three police cruisers with lights flashing pulled into the Haven’s parking lot. Nadya grasped Grady’s hand tightly. They shared a panicked glance before preparing to handle whatever was coming next.

  Sinclair, the patron saint of sanctimonious bigotry, marched inside the office. Before he could blow whatever trumpet he’d come to play, his brow furrowed. “Bevins, what are you doing here? Sheriff just gave me the orders to come search the boats again. This looks a lot like misconduct to me.” He swelled up like a blowfish that had swallowed half the Atlantic.

  Grady huffed audibly. “Misconduct! I’ll say. Asshole’s out here interrogating me and Nate about Beau. We sure as hell don’t have anything to do with any of this. Why is it every damn cop on the force hell-bent on arresting Havens today?” Bevins had saved Grady’s ass on more than one occasion, and Grady Havens always repaid his debts.

  “I keep telling all of you that we didn’t do anything. He won’t believe us.” In a performance worthy an Academy award, Nadya immediately leapt in to help. She threw her hands out towards Bevins and scowled in one hell of an act.

  “Oh,” Sinclair took a few steps down from his pillar of superiority. “Well … good job, Bevins.”

  “I’m over you, Sinclair. It is not now nor will it ever be appropriate to congratulate me!” Bevins bellowed furiously. “Now, what the hell are you doing out here?”

  “I still think they’re all in on the burglaries. We have warrants to search all of their boats, including the houseboat, and the office.”

  “The boats have been in their slips all damn day. We didn’t have them out. What the hell would we have on there?” Nate scoffed.

  “How did you manage these warrants, Sinclair?” Bevins seemed shocked.

  “We found the laptops and cell phones in a Havens’ Charter Company truck. The sheriff and I agree that the entire company may be a front.”

  “A front for what?” Nadya demanded hatefully.

  As furious as he was, Grady still loved seeing Nadya come to life. Fire from deep in her soul blazed from her eyes in defense of him.

  “Most anything. Selling stolen property out on the open seas, some kind of modern day pirates, I’d say.” Sinclair continued to spew forth his own insanity.

  Grady was stunned, but Nate choked back laughter. “Yeah, I thought about taking up pirating, but I’m not much for a peg leg, and I look ridiculous in an eye patch. If you want to check the boats, moron, go for it, but do it quickly. We have to work tomorrow, and I called a lawyer friend of mine. You’re not allowed to keep us from earning money unless you’d like to arrest Grady and me as well.”

  “I’m the police officer, Mr. Havens. I’m well aware of the laws,” Sinclair huffed.

  Certain there was nothing on any of the boats that was illegal, Grady gestured to the bays and the dock beyond. “Then get to it, Officer.”

  Truthfully, it was Nadya that had him worried. This couldn’t be good for her already-battered psyche. She’d been through enough. He sure as hell didn’t want to drag her through more shit on his account. Just as he’d suspected, when the officers climbed onboard Orion, Nadya turned and buried her head in his chest again.

  He wrapped her up in his arms and buffeted her from the winds and the world around them. “I’ve got you, angel. This will be over soon. We’ll go get your stuff from the Inn and chill out. I’ll take care of you and of this. I won’t let you down again,” he whispered softly in her ear as he swayed her rhythmically.

  Nate offered him another sorrowful glance and shook his head in mutual disbelief. This was beyond ridiculous.

/>   “I know,” she murmured into the fabric of his t-shirt.

  Clenching his jaw, Grady kept a watchful eye on the officers who’d entered Nate’s bridge, but they seemed bored with the task at hand. One was admiring the knives and hooks locked in there.

  Drawing measured breaths, he tried to remind himself of his own vow. He would take care of her. He wouldn’t lose his temper. He wouldn’t let her down again, and this time they were going to make this work. Slow and steady, Grady. If you want something, work for it every day for the rest of your life. Work hard, boy, but don’t rush it. The wisdom of his grandfather rang in his ears, but his heart broke out into a frantic sprint and his ample musculature seized when Sinclair knelt down by the hidden storage compartment in the hull.

  Nate’s eyes flashed, and Nadya’s entire body tensed against Grady’s. She lifted her head and stared up at him in terror. Shaking his head minutely, he continued to rub his hands up and down her back and guided her head back to his shoulder as if nothing had him concerned.

  Bevins stalked to Sinclair, but couldn’t say much that wouldn’t implicate himself. Whipping and beating in lashes of protest, the winds slapped against the men on the boat. Only furthering Grady’s adamant ire, Nadya was shivering again. Her body had been calm since he’d taken her to bed the evening before, and, dammit, he wasn’t going to let Sinclair undo his work.

  Nadya squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to dam back tears. She didn’t want to add to what was about to happen, but the thought that Grady might go to jail for feeding hungry children was so horribly unfair. She couldn’t stand it. It hadn’t been so many years ago that she and Grady had been cared for by Ms. Cinderson. He wanted desperately to repay her for what she’d done when they were far too young to look after themselves.

  Grady’s mother was never around, and her own mother worked the nightshift at a gas station in town. That was back when Ms. Cinderson got help from the community, when she could get food stamps, but now … What was going to happen to Grady and to the kids? She’d learned two very important things in the last fourteen years: she could not survive without Grady by her side, and the world was so very unfair.