by Julie Miller
Tess tried and failed to form a smile. “Do I want relationship advice from my mother?”
“My dearest darling, I speak from experience.” Maggie crossed the kitchen and wrapped her up in a hug. “Loving a military man isn’t an easy thing. There are times when he’s gone for months and the loneliness just about eats you up inside. You worry whether or not he’s safe or fed or sheltered. Sometimes, he comes home and you’ve gotten so used to doing things on your own that you have to learn how to be a couple all over again. But if you love the right military man, it’s all worth it.”
Tess gave her mom a final squeeze before pulling away. “I didn’t say anything about love, Mom.”
“Uh-huh.”
Before she had to explain the subtle difference between a love affair and love, Amy burst through the study door. Her splotchy face showed signs of anger, sorrow and fear. But she didn’t allow Tess or their mother to utter a word of concern or offer a bit of comfort.
“Men are such…” Amy twirled about the kitchen, spotting her target “…buttheads.”
She grabbed the vase of roses, stormed out to the garage and dumped them into the trash. When she returned, she washed and dried her hands, then dabbed her eyes with the damp towel.
“I’m sorry.” The tears started to flow again. Tess took a step toward her, but Amy shooed her away. “I’m sorry. I’m going back to bed. If any men call me, tell them I’m not interested. Tell them I’m not here. I don’t care what you tell them. Just keep them away from me.”
“Amy?” Travis caught her by the arm as she stalked toward the stairs. She jerked away and he put up his hands in apology. “Can I tell her?”
Oh, God. Tell her what?
For an infinite moment, Amy stared up at Travis as though his request made no sense. Then she turned and pointed to Tess. “You know that night we were talking about the other day, back when I was waitressing at The Bounty?”
The night when something had gone terribly wrong. Something that had scared Amy. Something that made marrying Barry Friesen look like a good idea. Tess braced herself to hear the story. “I remember.”
Amy’s laugh puffed out in a sob. “It’s come back to haunt me.” She reached for Travis’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You can tell her. Just don’t let him hurt her.”
“I won’t,” Travis promised. “I won’t let him hurt any of you. I didn’t then. I won’t now.”
Amy nodded without showing much belief in his vow. She said goodnight and dragged her feet up the stairs. Maggie tightened her robe and hurried to follow.
“I’m staying here tonight.” It was a statement, not a request. “To keep an eye on things.”
As Tess’s mouth rounded in protest, Maggie smiled. “Of course, you are.” She patted Travis’s arm and whispered loudly enough for her daughter to hear. “The biggest bed is in Tess’s room. You’ll be most comfortable there.”
With a thumbs-up sign, she hurried after Amy.
Tess had never felt quite as awkward with Travis as she did alone in that kitchen at that moment. “So what’s the big secret? Did you and Amy…before you and me?”
Travis crossed the kitchen in three long strides and folded his arms around her. Tess tried to hold on to some pride, but his damp clothes only intensified how good he smelled and how much heat he generated and how close they’d gotten earlier that night. And even if he had smelled like a bucket of fish, this was Travis. And there was no place she’d rather be. Her arms snaked around his waist and she snuggled close.
Exhaling a deep breath, Travis pressed a kiss to her temple. “You are the only Bartlett who gets my shorts in a twist.”
“Yeah, right.”
Travis leaned back and tipped her chin to look him in the eye. “Yeah,” he emphasized. “Right.” He tucked her under his arm and headed for the stairs. “Now, you want to show me to your bedroom? Your mom gave me the okay.”
Tess planted her feet. “The secret first. And why did we have to wake Amy up in the middle of the night to make her cry?”
“That wasn’t my intention, believe me.” Travis sat in a chair and pulled Tess into his lap. “I promised Amy I would never say anything about the night she was nearly raped.”
Tess froze, then swallowed hard around the sudden lump in her throat. “Oh, my God.”
“About the night I punched a so-called friend’s lights out and helped her get to someplace safe. Amy can give you the details if she wants. But the gist of it is—she used to date a guy from my officer training unit.”
“The man with the black hair?” Tess guessed.
He nodded. “Kyle Black. He’s a good officer. A good Marine. He and I have competed for a lot of things over the years—I’m not proud of all of them. Promotions, assignments, who had the studliest reputation with the ladies.”
She could imagine who won that one. Tess absently plucked at Travis’s sleeve. “Don’t tell me Amy was a casualty of your competition.”
“She and Kyle dated for a while. He was pretty serious. More than she was.”
Tess’s fingers stilled. A sudden chill drained her of warmth from head to toe. “Wait a minute. You mean like creepy serious? Like stand out in the rain and stalk somebody serious?”
Travis’s silence gave her her answer. “He didn’t handle rejection very well.”
“Poor Amy.” Guilt replaced the jealousy she’d felt. “How did you get involved?”
“I helped her walk away. It was like lookin’ out for my sister. There was a fight. The cops came. Kyle spent the night in jail and got fined for drunk and disorderly. I drove her home. He claims I took her from him. He’s been trying to even the score ever since.”
“How awful.” Winding her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight. “You’ll keep her safe now, won’t you?” she whispered against the stubble on his neck. “Until the police catch him or he wises up and goes away on his own?”
“Tess.” He called to her in a low, rumbly voice that conveyed more meaning than a simple name. When he pushed her away to look into her eyes, his gaze was saying something more, as well. “If Kyle wants payback with me, Amy isn’t the woman he’d try to hurt.”
SO THIS WAS what it felt like to have a bodyguard.
But did that mean Travis really cared? Or was he just being a good friend and creature of duty?
This afternoon at the concession stand was proving to be much busier than Monday had been. It might be due to the natural influx of tourists that increased with each day of the festival, or it might have more to do with the gorgeous six-foot-two Marine who was working behind the counter with her, serving up drinks and bagging popcorn. Maybe it was her imagination, but it certainly seemed as if she’d had a lot more female customers than in years past.
Travis had held her through the remainder of the night. He’d called the police and arranged for periodic patrols of the neighborhood. He’d called Morty Camden to shadow Amy’s activities throughout the day, which basically meant sitting in a car out in front of the house since she refused to have any interaction with males of any ilk for an indefinite length of time.
Travis had even driven Tess to the hospital that morning and gone through a session of physical therapy with her. They’d worked on weights and mobility without venturing anywhere near the massage table.
If Kyle Black tried to send more flowers and pay a visit, Travis intended to be on hand to greet him in person.
“Yo, Tess.”
Tess looked up from the tray of nachos she was prepping to find PFC Thibideux smiling through the screen at her. “Hey, there, boys.” Her greeting took in his shorter friend at his side, Corporal Jaynes, as well. “You’re here early today.”
“It’s our last night of leave,” Thibideux complained. “So we wanted to get an early start.”
Travis stood up from behind the display rack and leaned one hip against it in a relaxed pose. “Boys.”
“Sir.”
“Sir.”
Tess rolled her eyes as the tw
o young noncoms snapped to attention. “Travis, they’re on vacation. Give it a rest.”
“It’s called leave, T-bone. And these men are following protocol.” But he was grinning by the time he reached the counter. “At ease, gentlemen. What’ll you have?”
In the middle of placing orders and taking money, Travis’s cell phone rang. Assuring him she could handle the booth on her own for a few minutes, he took the call.
“McCormick.”
Tess tried not to eavesdrop, but Travis’s suddenly rigid posture and clipped answers were hard to ignore. She confronted his grim expression when he hung up. “Is it Kyle Black?”
“Harbor Master. They lost contact with the Helena II about an hour ago.” He pinched his thumb and fore finger together over the bridge of his nose, fighting the combination of too little sleep and too much stress. “I expected Dad to be home by now. I hope to God it’s just the radio giving him fits again.”
“You need to go,” she stated simply. “Go down to the dock. Take the Helena out if you need to. Go find him.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Tess pointed to the line forming behind Jaynes and Thibideux. “There’s a big crowd at the festival today—it’s not like I’ll be alone.” She reached for the tie at the back of Travis’s carpenter apron and pulled. “You’ve got one, maybe two, hours of daylight left.” She pushed him toward the door. “Go. Find your father.”
He planted his feet at the door and turned. “Kyle’s smart. He’s tricky. This isn’t any practical joke he’s trying to pull.”
“Your dad needs you, Travis.”
“Come with me.”
“I can’t. I might not be saving the planet or defending my country or even the girl next door. But I have responsibilities, too. Yours is to your dad right now.” She tried another push. No budging. “You’d better stop by the house and grab his extra bottle of pills, just in case he’s lost his. Go. Time’s wasting.”
“Jaynes. Thibideux.”
“Sir.”
“Sir.”
Even Tess snapped to at that commanding voice. “What are you doing?” she asked.
But her question fell on deaf ears. Travis had already circled outside and was handing down orders to the two off-duty Marines. “You are not to let her out of your sight. Do you understand?” There was no protest, no mention of leave or the fact he wasn’t their commanding officer. Captain McCormick spoke, and these young men fell into line. “If she gets in her car and goes home, you go with her. If she takes a coffee break and leaves the stand, you’re by her side.”
“Yes, sir.”
He turned to bark an order at her. “You see Kyle, you call the cops. And then you get on the phone and call me. I do not want you alone with that man. Understand?”
Tess refused to snap a “yes, sir,” but she had no problem throwing her arms around his neck and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “I understand. Go.”
His arms snaked around her waist and he lifted her off the floor, turning a simple peck on the lips into a heartbreaking, soul-stealing kiss. “Be here when I get back,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I will.” Her feet returned to earth and she bravely pushed him toward the door. “Say hi to Hal for me.”
He pointed one last, stern finger at the noncoms. “You watch her.”
“Yes, sir.”
“DAD?”
A crackle of static was Travis’s only answer.
With his wraparound sunglasses as the only shield to block the wind in his face, he kicked the light trawler up another 10 mph and steered around Beamon’s Promontory toward the next fishing cove. Longbow Island in the Atlantic was a good four-hour trip by speedboat, and he’d hit nightfall in half that time, rendering him nearly useless in finding his father without a radio contact to guide him. The Coast Guard would prove a more effective rescue team after dark.
Still, Travis knew more about his father’s fishing habits and favorite haunts than the Coast Guard. And until that last bit of sun lit the sky, he could trace his father’s meandering path through all the inlets and coves of Chesapeake Bay, where the fishing was best. If the Helena II had faulty equipment, his father wouldn’t risk open water on the trip home, anyway. He’d find the nearest port and make repairs, and if that wasn’t feasible, then he’d limp along home at a safer route closer to shore.
That’s where Travis would find his father. He hoped.
“C’mon, Dad.” He went through the radio frequencies one more time. “Helena to Helena II. Dad, if you copy this, send up a flare. We’re looking for you. We want you home.”
He needed to get home. Kyle Black might not have anything in mind beyond watching and waiting and playing the game. But Travis doubted it. He was the injured man down now. Vulnerable to attack. If Black was smart—and the son of a bitch was—he’d target Travis now, while his future role in the Corps was uncertain. While he was home on leave—alone, without family or platoon-mates to back him up. While he was distracted with his father’s disappearance.
Kyle claimed that Travis had stolen Amy from him. She’d been more of a status symbol than a girlfriend, a possession rather than a partner. The prettiest girl in Ashton, the one all the men from OTS had wanted that summer. But Kyle had snagged her with his money and charm and handsome face. He’d been the victor.
But when Amy Bartlett had decided that ownership wasn’t to her liking, she’d tried to leave. Kyle had gotten verbally and physically abusive that night in the parking lot. Travis had sucker punched him and driven Amy away to a hotel to hide until Kyle had been returned to Quantico. Amy had slept on the bed; Travis had slept on the floor.
And now, ten years later, Kyle was going to finally take from Travis what he perceived Travis had taken from him.
The woman he loved.
Tess.
“C’mon, Dad,” he yelled into the radio. “Tess needs me.” He switched off the mike and admitted a truth that scared him even more. “I need her.”
How was the Action Man going to settle down with one woman? How was he going to make a relationship work with Tess? How could he be the hero she deserved if he couldn’t even track down his own father?
Travis slowed the Helena as he entered the next cove. A human-made jetty of boulders and steel helped control tidal washouts of the rocky beach, and also provided a mammoth feeding ground for a variety of fish, making it a popular destination for fishers with time to travel to the remote location.
He bounced over the waves and turned toward shore. The sun was half a red-orange ball just peeking over the horizon behind him. This would be his last stop before he had to call the Harbor Master and notify the Coast Guard.
The first thing he saw was Eileen Ward’s long auburn hair, flying loose in the breeze and flapping like a signal banner. She wore a fluorescent orange life vest at the helm of the Helena II. The trawler rode low in the water and plodded at a minimal speed—not a good sign. Then he saw Walter and Millie Craddock, dumping buckets of water over the sides of the ship.
“Dad?” he whispered. No silver-haired man in sight.
“Dad!” Travis shouted, adrenaline firing through his body. He gunned the engine and set the radio on bullhorn mode. “Helena to Helena II. Do you need assistance? Repeat. Do you need assistance?”
“That’s my boy!” Travis heard the shout before he saw his father climbing up from the engine room. “That’s my boy!”
The familiar face needed a shave, but the heart seemed fine—and the spirits were far more buoyant than the boat. Travis pulled alongside as the Craddocks and Mrs. Ward exchanged hugs and handshakes with his father.
Hal McCormick’s report was brief. “We hit the rocks on Longbow during the storm. Cracked the hull and busted the radio.”
General Craddock’s report was even briefer. “Get us the hell off this boat.”
Travis tossed them a line and helped the ladies cross over to the Helena. “You want me to rig a tow-line, Dad?”
“Nah. I’ll a
nchor it and come back for it with the trailer.”
“If we’re lucky, it’ll sink,” was General Craddock’s opinion.
Millie pulled him down beside her on a seat in the stern. “Quit complaining, Walter. That was the grandest adventure we’ve had in years. Personally, I had fun sharing a pup tent with you.”
The two kissed and Travis politely looked away to wrap his dad up in a hug once he got him on board. “Good to see you, old man. You had me worried.”
“Good to see you, son.” Hal patted him on the back and grinned at Eileen when he stepped away. “We’re a little worse for wear, but nothing serious. And there was no chance of starving because Eileen here caught so many fish that we threw one back. I tell you that woman’s got a knack.”
Eileen’s answering smile softened her taut features.
Well, whaddaya know? Travis put the boat in gear, turned on the headlight and bent his head to whisper to his father. “Dad, you sound as if you’re lusting after that woman’s ability to catch fish.”
“I’m lusting after that woman, period,” Hal whispered.
“Dad!”
Hal winked a smiling blue eye. “I’m sixty, son. I’m not dead.”
Hmm. The stodgy worrywart he loved so well was laughing, flirting, wrapping himself in the same blanket he draped around Eileen’s shoulders.
“How are you feeling, son?” Hal asked, once he had Eileen settled at his side.
“Good. Strong. I found you, didn’t I?”
“That you did.”
Travis picked up speed and headed for deeper water.
Funny how a man could change in just a few short days.
And he wasn’t talking about his father.
13
“HEY, BOYS. You ready?”
Tess’s two bodyguards, so eager to please a superior officer, flanked her on either side as she locked the concession stand and headed for the parking lot. Jaynes and Thibideux had not only given her a sense of security while Travis was gone, but they’d been good company. Once Jaynes had lightened up and Thibideux had gotten a little more serious, they’d volunteered to work beside her in the stand. When they weren’t flush with customers, they’d talked about everything from hometowns to cars to future goals and dreams.
