by Lexi Post
She’d never thought of that. Most of her neighbors were retired, so she hadn’t been concerned about them, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t come into the area and take advantage of what they thought was all elderly residents. “Thank you. I think I will. Do you always think about safety?”
He grinned sheepishly. “Can’t help it. It’s in my blood.”
He opened his truck passenger door and helped her in. She noticed his gaze flick to her thigh as her dress rode up a bit as she sat down. Knowing he was interested, helped her to relax. She didn’t want a one-way relationship like her last one.
As he drove them to the restaurant, she learned that he’d never been there either, which made her feel special. He’d only been in town for eight months and was scheduled for a two-year stint. He could pick his preferred next stops, but he didn’t always get them. He’d have better luck if he got the promotion he put in for.
She told him about her move to Florida and how excited her parents were that they would have a place to come in the winter, and had availed themselves of her home every year. It was why she bought a two-bedroom house.
When they arrived at the restaurant, he led her to the door, his hand on the small of her back, which sent tingles racing up her spine. He was seriously more than she’d dreamed of in a man. As they walked in, she wasn’t oblivious to the looks Tyler received from the women, young and old alike. She was so proud to be with him.
After being seated and ordering, she smiled at him, anxious to learn more about him. “You said you used to fight with your brothers. How many do you have?”
“I have three. One’s a Maine Game Warden, another is a State Trooper, and the other is still deciding what he wants to be when he grows up. We are hoping he’ll get into law enforcement or the military, but I don’t think that will happen.”
“Why?”
Tyler smirked. “Let’s just say, he’s different. He never hunts or fishes like ninety-percent of the population and he loves school.” Tyler grimaced.
As an excellent student, she had loved school too. “How old is he?”
“He’s twenty. We’re all four years apart. My mom said it took her that long to get us trained right.”
“I think I like your mom.” She smiled. Anyone who could produce such a gentleman had to be special.
He studied her for a moment. “I think she’d like you too. She’s anxious to have daughters-in-law. None of us are married. Not even my older brother.”
She nodded. “That’s to be expected. In my studies, I learned a lot about birth-order and parents of single sex children. It helped me understand my own mother.”
“Don’t tell me there are more beautiful Haskell women running around out there.”
“You are certainly laying on the charm.” She smiled to be sure he knew she enjoyed it.
“Is it working?”
She pretended to ponder. “I think it is.”
The waitress returned with their meal. He’d ordered the trout and she had the shrimp. All seafood served at Ruby’s was caught that day in the rivers that ran into the Gulf or in the Gulf itself. There were many places to eat that boasted the same freshness, but most were t-shirt and short places, where people stopped for food after or during a day on the water.
She took a bite and closed her eyes. It was that good. When she opened them, she found Tyler staring at her, his fork halfway to his mouth, his eyes dark.
“When you do that, you make me want to kiss you.” His voice was low and husky.
Her heart skipped over a beat. “I like that.”
He gave her a devilish grin that had her whole body revving. “I mean kiss you all over.”
She grabbed her glass of wine and gulped. He wasn’t usually so bold. It made her want to skip dinner all together and go back to her place. She took a deep breath before responding. “What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander.”
He stopped chewing. His gaze went from her eyes to her breasts and back. “I agree.”
She coughed and quickly looked away. She’d never get through the meal if they kept that up. She already knew what she wanted for dessert. Him.
“You said you have sisters?”
Thank you. She needed to get her mind out of bed and talking about Jessie would do it. “Only one. She’s younger and lives here in Florida too, but she’s staying with a friend. She was wounded in Afghanistan.”
Tyler dropped his grin immediately and gave her his total attention. “I’m sorry, but glad she made it out alive. I lost a number of friends over there. The problem with that country is that it can happen anytime. There’s no front, per se. My friend Ryan, who you met, is a mechanic and he caught a bullet in the hip while working on an Abrams tank.”
She stilled. “You served over there?”
He nodded. “Most civilians don’t realize that the Coast Guard does work overseas. We have particular specialties that other branches don’t. That’s how I met Ryan.”
“He’s the man you brought over to the hangar that day, right? My sister is staying at a Ryan’s farm. This man is going to use a horse farm to help rehabilitate veterans who have physical and emotional scars.”
He put down his fork. “That’s my friend. Your sister is living there? Is her name Jessie?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice. To have another connection with Tyler had to mean this was right.
“I met a Jessie there, but her last name wasn’t Haskell.”
She shook her head. “Reynolds was her married name.”
“Was?”
“She had one of those two month marriages. Luckily, she realized the guy wasn’t right for her and got out before they bought a house or had kids. She’s a lot more spontaneous than I am.”
Tyler wiped his mouth with his napkin and picked up his wine glass. “I propose a toast to the Haskell sisters.”
She raised her glass, curious.
“To their success in life.”
She clinked her glass with his and smiled. If she had any doubts, even those about him possibly seeing Dr. Preston, they were washed away. This man was the real deal.
The waitress came back to clear their plates and offer dessert. They both turned it down. Tyler’s wink made it clear they were thinking the same thing.
He leaned forward and took her hand. “I have an important question for you.”
“Ask away.”
His face said it was serious. “Do you think Alix might have a fear of heights after her accident?”
Huh, where did that come from? “Why would she have that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because her Dolphin went down?”
She pulled her hand away as her libido cooled and her professional thoughts took over. “I couldn’t say either way. She’s one of my patients and that entitles her to doctor-patient confidentiality.”
He frowned and warning bells started to sound. Did he like Alix too?
“That means you can’t tell me anything about Drew or Leo or Steve either because of this confidentiality?”
Her heart slowed down considerably. She didn’t like where this was going or where her thoughts were headed. “No. It’s against the law, not to mention unethical. Any psychologist is bound by that. Only a court subpoena could make me turn over my notes or make me reveal anything about any of my patients. Why do you ask?”
Tyler ran his hand through his hair for the first time that night, which put her further on edge. “I need your help, your insight.”
He paused. Clearly, whatever he wanted to say, he didn’t like revealing to her.
That in itself upset her. “Okay. About what?”
His gaze, which had wandered away from her, came back. “About the accidents at the Air Station. I’ve discovered that they all haven’t been accidental.”
She tensed. “What do you mean? That someone caused them?”
He nodded. “If I can’t figure out who it is by 07:00 on Thursday, someone may
get hurt.”
She tried to wrap her brain around what he said, but it was almost too horrible to contemplate. “Why would someone want to hurt the air crews of Crystal Waters?”
“I don’t have a clue. I thought maybe you could help.”
“How could I help? I haven’t even met them all.” He wasn’t making sense.
He leaned forward. “We are pretty sure that it’s one of the crew members from my crew, so Sam, Kolbe or Drew. You’ve seen Drew, so maybe you could let us know if it’s possible.”
Oh God, he did want her to break the law. “You said ‘we.’ Who’s ‘we’?” Maybe the Coast Guard had asked him to ask for her help. She could explain it to them.
“Ryan and myself. If you think it could be Drew based on what you’ve seen, then we can find a way to keep him off the Dolphin until we can prove it. If you don’t think it’s him then we can focus on Kolbe and Sam.”
She opened her mouth, but couldn’t get her vocal chords to work. She was stunned. She should have known Tyler was too perfect. How could he ask her to do this? Wait, was this his motivation for asking her out?
Her heart felt like it shrunk inside her chest as a burn started in the pit of her stomach. “What does the Coast Guard say about all this.”
“The investigators think that only the Dolphin accidents were sabotage, but I know the hangar accidents were too.” Tyler scowled. “You have to help us or someone could get killed.”
She’d heard enough. Standing, she kept her composure despite the hurt inside. “I can’t help you. Please take me home now.”
Tyler’s gaze left her and scanned the room before he rose. “Of course.” As he walked behind her, she hoped he wouldn’t touch her. She wanted to vomit and that might just put her over the edge. She’d been a fool and now she would pay for it.
The moment Meghan stood, Tyler’s stomach fell. Fuck. He’d been so focused on saving his crew, he stepped over the line with the woman he was falling for.
As they walked out, she appeared calm, but he could see the tension in her beautiful neck and in the grasp she had on her purse. Not only had he failed to figure out if Drew should be a suspect, but he’d pissed her off and he couldn’t blame her. He’d be pissed too if someone asked him to break the law.
He opened the truck door for her and she climbed in. She remained poised but he could practically feel the anger radiating from her.
Once he joined her and headed down the road, he tried to find something to say that might ease her tension. It all sounded dumb to him, but he had to try. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t aware of the restrictions on your profession.”
She didn’t say a word.
“I can’t stand to see my fellow crew members in danger. We are grounded for one more day then we go up again and all of us, except the person responsible will be in danger of losing our lives. I got carried away because of that. I hope you will forgive me.”
She still didn’t say anything.
He’d really screwed up this time. Even at the idea that she may not want to see him again, his heart constricted. Shit, he had it worse for Meghan than he realized. He had to find a way to make it right.
He pulled up to her house and got out to open her door, but she had already jumped down and pulled her dress lower. That was not a good sign. He walked her to the door, but didn’t touch her. Everything about her shouted for him to keep his distance. He could do that for now, but he wanted Meghan Haskell in his life…however long that might be.
“Thank you, for dinner.” Her words were polite and said without feeling.
Frustrated, he moved his hand through his hair. “I know you’re mad at me. I understand, but I hope you will forgive my stupidity. I’d really like to see you again.”
She didn’t say anything. Instead, she opened her purse and took out her keys.
He placed his hand on her arm as she put the key in the lock. “After tomorrow, my life will be in danger. My hope is that I will live long enough to figure this out and see you again.”
The only sign she gave that she heard him was her quick intake of breath. Then she turned the knob and walked into her home, turning the lock in the door as soon as it was shut.
Well, that wasn’t how he’d expected the evening to end. Fuck.
* * * * *
Meghan poured hot water over her ginger-lemon tea before walking back to her desk to check her next appointment.
9:00 DREW LINDEN.
Quickly, she glanced outside. It was sunny, so no chance she’d run into Tyler. She hadn’t heard from him since their date. She didn’t want to either. She’d cried herself to sleep that night calling herself all kinds of fools.
She was more sure than ever that the only reason he had asked her to dinner was to get her to help him. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t think about it, but she couldn’t help it.
And the thought of Kolbe or Drew wanting to harm their own crew members, made her sick. She didn’t know Samantha, but if she was anything like Alix then she wasn’t responsible either. How did Tyler know it was a crew member? Maybe someone from outside had done it or even one of the boat crew members. She could think of all kinds of motivation from that angle.
What she couldn’t understand is why Tyler went to so much trouble to get her to violate her code of ethics after he learned her clients were entitled to confidentiality? What kept her anger going was that he had taken her out on false pretenses and then even after hearing that it was illegal for her to divulge anything about any of her clients, he kept pressing her.
She moved back to her cabinet and took her teabag out. Adding some sugar, she stirred before taking her tea cup and going back to her desk. Though his apologies on the way home sounded sincere, if she meant anything to him, he would have contacted her by now. His lack of contact proved he had no real interest, unless…
She paused, about to take a sip of tea. Unless he died in an accident yesterday. Her heart froze. What if he had, or did, and she didn’t do anything to help prevent it? Could she live with herself? Crap.
The receptionist’s laugh outside clued her in to the fact that Drew must have arrived. That young woman loved to talk about Drew, but so far, he hadn’t asked her out. Meghan took a sip of tea then set her cup down and strode to her door. She couldn’t help her need to know that Tyler was all right.
When she opened the door, Drew looked up as if caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I’m not late yet.”
She smiled. “No, you aren’t. I was just checking to see which man was making my receptionist giggle so much.”
Drew bowed. “Me, of course.” He looked at the receptionist and winked before walking toward her. “I’m ready if you are.”
She backed into her office and let him come in. After closing the door, she took her tea cup from the desk to the winged back chair she always sat in and took her glasses off.
Drew was already lying on the couch she had opposite the two large chairs. He was the only man who availed himself of that piece of furniture.
“You must have ridden your bike over since it’s sunny.”
He squinted his eyes at her. “Yes, I did. Why bother Tyler if I don’t have to? Heard you two went on a date the other night.”
She waved her hand, relieved to know that Tyler must still be alive based on how Drew phrased the question. “We did, but we’re here to talk about you. I’m completely focused on you. How was your week since I last saw you?”
“The usual. They keep calling me ‘kid’ and giving me the crap jobs. Did Tyler talk about me on your date?”
She frowned, ignoring his question. “Giving you the ‘crap’ jobs doesn’t seem fair unless you are the low man on the totem pole, so to speak. Do they all out-rank you?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help out with the boring stuff. I have to keep those helicopters in the air.”
The investigators think that only the Dolphin accidents were sabotage… Tyler’s words fl
itted through her head. Now she wished he’d never told her. Besides, Drew had been hurt as well. “Doesn’t Steve help with that. He’s another mechanic, right?”
“Yeah, he helps, but I’m a much better mechanic. I know what makes those birds tick. Did Tyler say Steve was a better mechanic?”
She gave Drew her best school-teacher look. “Drew, I was on a date. When I’m on a date, I talk about the person I’m with. We were getting to know each other.”
“Sorry.” He appeared sincere, so she continued.
“Maybe they make you do the ‘crap’ jobs because when they were your rank, they had to do them. I’m sure once you’ve been in longer, you’ll have the chance to assign those tasks to the newbies.”
He shook his head, his frown deepening. “I wish. I was up for promotion between my last assignment and this one. They totally screwed me.” He looked slyly at her. “Not like your boyfriend who got a promotion before he came here and is now already up for another one. He’ll probably get it too, despite being useless for four months.”
There was so much resentment in Drew’s voice that she cringed inwardly. While he didn’t actually like any of his fellow Coast Guardsmen, she’d never heard him have that much animosity toward one. She didn’t encourage it. “He’s not my boyfriend. We just went on one date.”
Drew sat up, his gaze never leaving her face. “But you like him, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. But I like you, too. Now let’s keep the focus on you. Are the helicopters back in the air now? What was the last mission like?”
Luckily, that redirected Drew nicely as he complained about every slight, real or imagined.
“You say you’re here for another eight months and it doesn’t sound like the crew’s attitude toward you is going to change, though I still believe they wouldn’t joke with you if they didn’t like you.”
“They don’t like me, except when I’m sweeping out the hangar.”
She reminded herself of how young Drew was and kept the mothering tone out of her voice. “Whichever way it is, it is time for us to come up with another way for you to react toward the treatment.”
