by Marie Force
“I’m sleepy.”
“Use my shoulder as a pillow.”
“Okay.” She snuggled into him and let out a deep sigh.
Suddenly exhausted himself, Blaine closed his eyes and rubbed her back. He could get used to this, he decided. He could definitely get used to this, but first he needed to do something about the very pretty mommy strutting around town half naked.
Tiffany chased her sister down the main pier. “Maddie, wait.”
“I need to move. If I don’t move, I’m going to lose my mind.”
When they reached the end of the pier, Maddie stopped and stared into the murkiness. “I can’t bear that he’s out there somewhere, lost in the fog, cold and scared and worried about me worrying about him.”
“They’ll find him. He won’t give up—not when he knows you’re here waiting for him.”
“It’s been a long time, and the water is still really cold.” Maddie hugged herself and shivered. “It’s really cold.”
Tiffany couldn’t think of anything comforting to say to that and was saved by the ringing of Maddie’s cell phone.
“I don’t recognize the number,” she said. “Hello?” She closed her eyes and tears leaked from the corners. “Oh, thank God it’s you. Are you okay?” She paused to listen. “I knew you were fine. I knew it. What about the others?”
Overwhelmed with relief when she realized Mac was on the phone, Tiffany waited breathlessly to hear the report.
“I’ll be here,” Maddie said. “I love you so much. So much.” She ended the call and fell into her sister’s arms, sobbing. “I was s-so scared.”
“You sure didn’t show it,” Tiffany said, clinging to her as tears rolled down her face, too.
“He said they’ve got Evan. The captain was killed on impact, and they’re still looking for Grant and Dan.”
Tiffany said a prayer for them. “Dan has been such a good friend to me. I only talked to him this morning. He told off Jim.”
“Then that makes him my friend, too.” Maddie gave Tiffany a final squeeze before she let go. “Don’t give up hope.”
“We need to tell the others that Mac called.”
“Yes,” Maddie said, wiping her face. “Thank you for propping me up today.”
“That’s what we do for each other.”
Arm-in-arm, the sisters returned to the restaurant to share the news about Mac’s call. Their announcement was met with mixed emotions. While everyone was elated to hear that Mac and Evan were safe, they wouldn’t be able to celebrate until they heard that Grant and Dan had been found, too.
Stephanie, who’d been a whirling dervish all day, seemed to wilt after hearing there was no word about Grant. Her stepfather, Charlie, put his arm around her and led her away from the group. Tiffany’s heart ached for the pain she saw on Stephanie’s face and was thankful to Charlie for taking care of her friend.
Janey and Joe were talking to Kara, who was crying again after hearing there was no news about Dan.
Tiffany went over to them.
“Hi, Tiffany,” Kara said, brushing away her tears.
To Joe and Janey, Tiffany said, “Could I talk to Kara for a minute?”
“Of course,” Janey said, giving Tiffany a hug. “Thanks for all the support today.”
Startled by Janey’s spontaneous show of affection, Tiffany returned the hug. “I know it’s been an awful day for you.”
Janey’s eyes watered as she nodded. “They’re my stupid brothers, and I love every one of them. The minute I see them, I plan to smack the crap out of them for putting me through this.”
Behind her, Joe smiled. “I’ll help you.”
They wandered off to talk to her parents, and Tiffany sat next to Kara. “How’re you holding up?”
Kara shrugged. “All I can think about is what an awful bitch I was to him this morning.”
“This morning, huh? Does that mean the date went well?”
“You could say that. He loved the dress.” Kara wiped away more tears that seemed to keep coming almost against her will. “Now all I can think about is what if I never see him again and the last thing I said to him was that I didn’t want to see him anymore when that isn’t even true? I certainly got my wish.” She dropped her head to her folded arms, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Tiffany ran her hand over Kara’s back, trying to think of something she could say.
“He’s so annoyingly persistent, you know?”
“He must really like you.”
“I think he does, and I was so mean to him because he freaks me out with how into me he is. What if he’s… God, I can’t even say it.”
“As hard as it is, try not to think the worst until we know more.”
“I’m trying, but I’m not succeeding.”
Tiffany drew Kara into a hug.
“Thank you,” Kara said when she drew back. “You’re a good friend.”
Warmed by the compliment, Tiffany said, “Will you let me know if there’s anything I can do for you?”
Kara nodded and used her sleeve to wipe her face. “I was so mean to him.”
“He’s a big boy, and he doesn’t give up easily.”
“No, he certainly doesn’t,” Kara said with a small laugh.
A quick glance around the room indicated the tension was wearing on everyone, and since Maddie had received good news, Tiffany decided it was time to take Ashleigh home.
With Ashleigh sleeping in his arms, Blaine watched Tiffany come toward them.
“Is she asleep?”
“Has been for a while.”
“I should take her home.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“That’s okay. I can get a ride.”
Blaine wanted to scream. “I said I’d drive you.”
“And I said I don’t want you to. I wouldn’t want you to find some other reason to cite me. Maybe my trash cans are too close to the neighbor’s house or something.”
God, she could be infuriating. “You didn’t give me any choice.”
“We all have choices.”
He glowered at her, holding back a retort that would only make things worse.
“Thank you for watching Ashleigh.” She held out her arms. “Could I please have my daughter?”
“Not unless I can drive you both home.”
“Fine, but you’re not coming in.”
“Who said I wanted to?” Keeping a tight grip on Ashleigh, he stood and gestured for Tiffany to lead the way. She let Maddie know they were going, and as they went through the door, Tiffany stopped short. “What’re you doing here?”
Blaine glanced around her to see Jim staring daggers at him.
“I came to get my daughter,” he said.
“Why?” Tiffany asked. “It’s my night with her.”
“I figured you might be preoccupied with your precious sister and her latest crisis.”
“Watch your mouth, Sturgil,” Blaine said.
“What’s it to you, Chief?”
Before Blaine could fire off a reply, Tiffany said, “Ashleigh is fine. We’re taking her home to bed now.”
“We’re taking her home? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Blaine and I are taking Ashleigh home.”
Jim looked from Tiffany to Blaine and then back to her, his expression stormy. “You two are together?”
“What’s it to you?” Blaine asked, throwing Jim’s words back at him.
“That didn’t take long,” Jim said.
“We’d been waiting,” Tiffany said.
Blaine bit back a laugh and wanted to give her a high five for her audaciousness. She was truly magnificent.
“Waiting for what?” Jim asked.
“Waiting for my divorce—one of the best things to ever happen to me, by the way. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you leaving me and giving me the chance to discover what a real relationship ought to be like.”
Blaine felt like he’d been electrocuted. He wishe
d he knew if she was just saying that to piss off Jim or because it was true.
“Not to mention,” Tiffany added, lowering her voice, “discovering what I was missing in the bedroom.”
Jim’s eyes bugged, and his face turned a worrisome shade of red. For a brief second, Blaine feared he might strike his ex-wife. Time to get her out of there.
“Come on, Tiff,” Blaine said. “Let’s get Ashleigh home to bed.”
Jim grabbed Blaine’s arm. “Wait just a minute!”
Blaine looked down at Jim’s hand on his arm and then at Jim’s face, using his most intimidating cop glare. “You have one second to get your hand off me.”
Jim wisely pulled back his hand. “You can’t leave with my family—”
“Tiffany’s not your family anymore,” Blaine said. “You saw to that. You got exactly what you wanted, and now I’ve got exactly what I want. I’d encourage you to keep your distance from her unless you want to deal with me.”
“That’s my daughter you’ve got in your arms.”
“And tonight is her mother’s night with her, which means you’ve got no business here.”
Jim glared at Tiffany for a charged moment before he turned and stormed off.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Blaine’s heart ached at the defeat he heard in her tone. Only because Ashleigh had slept through the ugly encounter, Blaine said, “I don’t know what you ever saw in that guy.”
“I don’t know anymore, either.”
“Everything all right, you guys?” Maddie asked.
“It is now,” Tiffany said, smiling up at Blaine. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Give Mac and the others our love.”
“I will.”
Keeping one arm around Ashleigh, Blaine put a hand on Tiffany’s back and guided her to his truck. “Shit,” he said.
“What?”
“I don’t have a car seat.” He’d have to rectify that soon. He wanted to be able to drive Tiffany and her daughter anywhere they needed to go.
“I’ll borrow Maddie’s. Be right back.”
Blaine leaned against the truck and stared into the relentless fog until Tiffany returned with the seat.
On the way to her house, Blaine took a call from Linc. “What’ve you got, Cap?”
“We found the other two—hypothermic but alive. Torrington broke his arm and a couple of ribs. Apparently, Grant McCarthy saved his life by keeping him conscious and alert all day while they clung to seat cushions from the boat.”
“Wow, that’s incredible,” Blaine said. He held the phone to the side and filled in Tiffany.
“Oh, thank God,” she said.
“Can you help me round up some EMS support to meet us at the town pier?” Linc asked. “We’re on our way in. Mac and Evan seem fine, but Grant and Dan were in the water a lot longer and need a doctor.”
“Will do. See you shortly.” Blaine hung up, pulled over and placed a call to the marina to share the news with the euphoric McCarthys and then called dispatch to request ambulances. When he was done with the calls, he pulled the truck back on to the road and continued to Tiffany’s house.
Once they arrived, she removed Ashleigh from the seat and carried her into the dark house.
Blaine retrieved the seat, took it inside and waited for her to get Ashleigh settled.
A few minutes later, Tiffany came downstairs and seemed surprised to find him still there. “I thought you had to leave.”
“I do.”
“Do you want to come back later?”
Yes, he wanted to come back. He wanted to come back and never leave, but they had to get some things straight first and now wasn’t the time. “Not tonight.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I need some time to think.”
Her expression was achingly vulnerable as she looked up at him. “About what?”
“About things.”
“About me.”
“Partially.”
“If you’ve changed your mind about wanting to be with me, I wish you’d say so.”
Blaine couldn’t resist the powerful need to touch her, cupping her face in a gentle caress. “I haven’t changed my mind about wanting to be with you. If anything, I want you too much.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I need to think.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, I talked to Royal about the council meeting and got him to see that the town stands to gain some good tax revenue if the store is a success. He seemed swayed by that, but it’s too late to take it off the agenda for Monday’s meeting. He did mention that you have to stop prancing about in the all-together if you want his support on Monday.”
Her brows narrowed, and her hands landed on her hips. “He said that or you did?”
“He did!”
“Sure.”
“Tiffany, I swear—”
She held up a hand to stop him. “It’s good to know how far you’ll go to get what you want.”
His ringing cell phone interrupted what would’ve been a world-class come back. Blaine took the call from Mason, the fire chief, who had a question about the estimated time of arrival for the coast guard boat. While he handled the call, he watched Tiffany go into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.
He jammed his cell phone into his pocket. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk about this later.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Tiffany—”
“Just go. Please.”
Blaine had never been more torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do. Reluctantly, he headed for the door. Right now, he had to take care of his job. He’d take care of her later.
The night passed in a whirl of tearful reunions between loved ones, paperwork, reports and other details. Blaine assisted the coast guard in taking statements from each of the injured men and helping to track down the friends and family of the man who’d been killed. By the time they finished, the sun was rising on a new day.
David Lawrence caught Blaine as he was leaving. “Do you know a Kara Ballard?” David asked.
“Yes, what about her?”
“Dan Torrington is asking for her. Could you find her and bring her in for me?”
Since Blaine was already running on fumes, what was another hour? “Sure. No problem.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s everyone doing?”
“Mac and Evan are fine—bitching to go home. We’re still working on getting Grant and Dan warmed up, and Dan broke an arm and two ribs. Apparently, Grant is the only reason he’s still alive.”
“They’re all lucky to be alive.”
“And they know it. Sobering, to say the least. I’d better get back to them.”
“I’ll go get Kara.” On an earlier routine patrol, he’d noticed the Ballard Boat Works truck outside the house that abutted the marina. A few minutes later, he pulled up to her house and left his truck running when he went to knock on the door. When she answered, her red eyes and nose told the story of a very long day and a night without sleep.
“Chief Taylor? Is everything okay? Is Dan—”
“He’s fine and asking for you. Dr. Lawrence asked me to bring you in to see him, if you’re willing.”
“He’s asking for me?” Her ravaged eyes filled. “Really?”
“Really,” Blaine said with a smile.
“Let me get my bag.”
They drove to the clinic in silence. Her tension was palpable as she sat rigidly straight in the passenger seat, staring out the window. “Is he… Is he okay?” she asked, breaking the silence as Blaine pulled into the clinic parking lot.
“He broke his arm and a couple of ribs,” Blaine said. “He also has hypothermia from being in the water so long.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He brought the truck to a stop outside the clinic’s main door. “Do you want me to stick around to take you home?”
She s
hook her head. “I’ll probably be here awhile, and I can walk home later.”
Blaine reached for one of the business cards he kept in the ashtray and wrote his cell number on the back. “Call me if you need a ride. Don’t walk after the upsetting day and night you had.”
Kara took the card from him. “Thank you. You’ve been very nice.”
“Happy to help.”
She hesitated for a second and then was out the door like a shot, rushing into the clinic.
Smiling, Blaine shifted the truck into drive and headed home. He was more than ready for some sleep, and he needed to figure out what he was going to do about Tiffany.
Chapter 25
Kara’s heart beat so hard she worried she’d end up a patient at the clinic before she got to see Dan. No one was around in the reception area, so she headed for the treatment rooms, passing Mac asleep with Maddie next to him, Evan curled up to Grace, and Stephanie standing beside Grant’s bed, staring down at him. The men were attached to IVs and other machines that beeped and blinked.
Stephanie looked up when she saw Kara.
“Is he okay?” Kara whispered.
Stephanie nodded.
“Are you?”
Stephanie shook her head and began to cry.
Kara went into the room to hug her. They’d all bonded during the long, difficult day, and each of the women already felt like a close friend to Kara. “It’s okay now. Everything is okay.”
“I keep telling myself that, but I’m having a hard time believing it.”
Grant stirred and let out a moan. “Steph.”
She pulled back from Kara and wiped her face. “I’m here, babe. I’m right here.”
“Closer. I’m cold. So cold.”
As Stephanie slid into bed with her fiancé, Kara backed out of the room and found Dan sleeping next door. Dr. Lawrence was standing watch over him, writing something on a chart.
“Are you Kara?” he asked when she appeared in the doorway.
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off Dan. He was pale, and his face was battered with bruises. His hair was standing on end, and his lips were dry and cracked, but he was alive. Thank God he was alive, and she had another chance to tell him… She wasn’t sure what she’d tell him, but the word “nothing” wouldn’t be mentioned ever again.
