“The Mahoney brothers are known for causing trouble. They’re not the sharpest, but they’re big.” He cocked his head to one side and concern crossed his face. “Hey, you’re shaking. I’m sorry that happened. That’s not what this town is about. You could’ve asked anyone in here for help and they’d have given it.” He paused, reached out and squeezed her hand briefly, looking into her eyes. “I’m glad I was the first responder, though.”
“Me, too.” His warm brown eyes had little circles of amber right around the pupils. She bit her lip and he glanced down at her mouth, just for an instant.
She took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Calm down. “They gave me the creeps. Big guys looming over me...never have liked it.”
If only she knew why, what it evoked at that gut-deep level inside her.
“Makes sense.” He sat down beside her. Not too close, like those brothers, but still, she could feel the heat from his thigh.
He turned his head to look at her again. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
Nerves tightened her stomach. “Is my work okay?”
“It’s stellar. Everyone loves you.” He raised a hand to get a drink, and when the young bartender came over, Jimmy looked over at Rita. “Buy you another beer?”
“Thanks. Still working on this one.” She’d definitely lost her taste for a night of drinking.
Once he had his beer in front of him, Jimmy looked over at her. “Look,” he said, “I like you. I’m single, you’re single. I’d like to ask you out, but with you working for me, it’s awkward.”
Heat rose from her chest to her face. She’d been alone a good while, especially since T-Bone had been sick the last two years of his life. Their relationship had turned into more of a caregiver-patient one than husband and wife.
Jimmy was watching her intently as if trying to figure out how she was reacting to his words. “Not trying to be one of those creepy bosses. If you’re not interested, no harm, no foul. Your job’s safe and I won’t pout.”
Rita stared at her nearly empty beer glass, her face still hot. Inside, she admitted it: she was interested.
Jimmy seemed like a good, protective man, just as T-Bone had been. She was drawn to that kind of guy at a deep level.
She’d never regretted the opportunity to take care of T-Bone, repay him for some of what he’d done for her. But he’d been gone two years now. And looking over at Jimmy’s muscular arms, she couldn’t help imagining how it would feel to have them around her.
But how could she let that happen when she didn’t know who she was?
She was opening her mouth to regretfully decline his offer when the bar door opened. Claire came in, with a good-looking, dark-haired young guy behind her. “Rita!” Claire said, approaching the bar. “I’m so sorry to leave you stuck here alone.” She looked past Rita to Jimmy. “Although it looks like you found some higher-quality male company. What happened to the Mahoney brothers?”
Rita looked sideways toward Jimmy. “He had a word with them and they decided to leave. For which I’m very grateful,” she added.
“The pleasure was mine.” He held her gaze.
Warmth started deep in Rita’s belly and radiated outward, climbing her neck, heating her face. She couldn’t look away.
“Rita. Rita!” Claire tugged at her arm, oblivious. “This is Tony. He was my knight in shining armor tonight. That’s why I’m buying him a drink.” She fumbled in her purse and pulled out a twenty.
“Put your money away,” Tony said. “We’ll have a... What do you like, draft or bottle?”
“Yes, sir,” Claire said promptly, pocketing her money. “Long as you’re paying, I’ll have a glass of wine. Dry and white, if they’ve got it. Should we get a bottle?”
“Nah. I’m drinking Coke.”
Tony’s words made both Claire and Jimmy stare. Jimmy caught himself first. “Good man.” He pounded Tony on the back.
Tony’s face colored. “What? Can’t a man order a soda without people making a federal case of it?”
“You do what you have to do.” Claire patted his arm. “That’s just fine. I’m awful grateful you drove by when you did.”
“Looks like we’ve got trouble.” Jimmy pitched his voice low and directed the comment to Tony. He nodded toward the door and lifted a hand. “Hey, Brandi,” he said, louder.
“I’ll g-g-get Eldora,” the young bartender said, and fled.
Brandi marched toward Tony. “What are you doing with that ugly thing?” she fumed, pointing at Claire, and then grabbing Tony’s shoulder and spinning him around on the bar stool.
An older couple had gotten up from their table the moment Brandi came in, and now they came over to the bar. The woman spoke in a soothing voice to Brandi, putting an arm around her, while the man urged Tony away from the pair.
Claire’s face turned red and her fists clenched, but two men from the bar, close to her age, came right over, one begging her to join him on the dance floor, the other waving a dismissive hand at Brandi and putting an arm around Claire.
Rita was impressed; the whole town, it seemed, knew when emergency management was needed. She’d never been in a moment’s danger from those Mahoney brothers. Something tight and nervous inside her loosened.
She glanced over at Jimmy, who’d stayed at her side, watching. “His ex-girlfriend?” she asked quietly.
“Ex-wife.”
Brandi broke away from the woman who’d been talking to her and rushed at Tony again. He put out an arm, stiff, and held Brandi back as she struggled to get at him.
From the back of the bar, a woman emerged, long haired, sturdy and tall, about Rita’s age. The way she carried herself made it obvious that she was at least the bar manager, probably the owner. She put a hand on the young bartender’s arm. “Bring out a pitcher of sweet tea, honey,” she said. Then she walked around the bar to step between Tony and the angry woman. “There’ll be no fighting in this bar. One or both of you needs to leave.”
Brandi started cursing at the bar owner.
“Okay, how ’bout we make it you.” She took the woman’s arm and started moving her toward the door, seemingly oblivious to her screeches and flailing fists.
Around the bar, people started to clap. “We love you, Eldora!” someone called.
The angry woman cursed, then shoved her way out the door.
“Show’s over, people,” Eldora said. “Eat, drink and be merry.”
Somehow, during the argument, Rita had backed closer to Jimmy, and she now found herself standing pressed to his side, his protective arm around her. Which felt good. Way too good. He was strong, broad chested and just tall enough that he could tuck her beneath his arm. She felt safe. Just the way she had with T-Bone, maybe more.
His hand played a little with her hair, and it made her yearn for closeness, as if her whole body wanted to lean in.
But it wasn’t right. Not until she knew who she was. Gently, she extracted herself from Jimmy’s grasp under the guise of going to Claire. “Come on. Let’s sit down and get us some good greasy food,” she suggested, and nodded toward the table Jimmy had grabbed for them.
Eldora poured a glass of sweet tea for herself and one for Tony. She clinked his glass with hers.
Tony downed his entire glass of sweet tea in one gulp, and then talked quietly to the bar owner.
“Never a dull moment,” Claire said with a sigh as she followed Rita toward the corner booth. “Brandi and I used to be friends, when we were small, but in middle school she dumped me for the cool girls.”
“She seems volatile,” Rita said.
“She has a drinking problem, and when she’s drunk, it’s best to stay out of her line of sight. Guess I’m in it now.”
“Jealous lady,” Jimmy commented, letting both of them slide into the booth, and then sliding in himself, beside Rita.
As Tony came over, slid into the booth and started apologizing to Claire, Jimmy leaned close enough to speak in Rita’s ear, his warm breath sending a bolt of awareness through her body. “We never finished that conversation,” he said. “I’m not letting this go.”
Rita closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to gather the strength to slide out of the booth and go home.
When the truth was, she’d far rather stay here and melt into Jimmy’s arms.
CHAPTER TEN
ANNA WAS TALKING to the GED instructor at the library when she looked up to see Sean striding toward them.
Feelings rushed through her like a movie on fast forward. Simple happiness to see him, so broad shouldered and caring. Worry, because with her past, she knew better than to let down her guard.
And, oh no, he was going to find out why she was here. She stepped away from the Never too late to get your high school diploma! sign, heat suffusing her face. She’d thought she was safe from detection, safe from anyone she knew finding out her embarrassing secret.
It was one thing to talk to the GED teacher. He was accustomed to adult learners, and for him to know that she’d never finished high school was fine.
For Sean to figure it out was simply mortifying. “What are you doing here?” she asked as he approached.
“Tony had a setback, so I offered to pick you up. Did I interrupt something?” His tone was speculative as he looked from Anna to Rafael, the instructor.
But no time to figure it out. More important to hide the mortifying truth. She half turned away from Sean and stuffed her GED study guide into her backpack.
“Not at all,” Rafael said affably. “Can I help you?”
“What’s your business with Anna?”
Anna stopped what she was doing, staring up at him. “Sean, why in the world would you ask that question?”
Color climbed his face. “I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me, and I just want to know what’s going on,” he said, half apologetically, half not. “Make sure you’re safe.”
“We’re talking about a class I teach.” Rafael gestured toward the sign and then looked over at Anna, his expression concerned.
“GED classes?” Sean looked from Rafael to Anna, and his eyes fell to the guide she hadn’t succeeded in stuffing completely into her pack.
“Anna,” Rafael said, “are you okay here? Do you want me to call someone or stick around?”
“No. No, thank you. I’m fine.” She smiled at Rafael and then glared at Sean.
“All right. It was nice to meet you. Hope we’ll see you in a class soon.” Rafael headed toward the exit.
Eyes down, Anna tried again to zip her backpack. She couldn’t look at Sean.
His hand came over hers, stopping her movements. “Anna.”
She didn’t answer, but she went still as a difficult part of her past came rushing back at her. Young, pregnant and uneducated—she remembered all too well the looks her classmates had given her, the principal who’d refused her request for extra time on assignments when her morning sickness had gotten so bad, the teacher who’d lectured her on the importance of self-control. Dropping out had been a relief. And a huge mistake.
Being here with Sean, having him know that she didn’t have a degree, brought that helpless sense of failure back.
“You didn’t graduate?” he asked quietly.
She looked away. “No.”
He touched her chin, forcing her to face him. “Why not?”
“Because of the twins,” she said, gesturing in the direction of the children’s program.
“You love your girls and you’re trying your best to care for them,” he said. “What’s more, I admire that you’re working toward your GED now.”
She took a quick look at his face then, wondering if he was telling the truth. How could going to a GED class be admirable?
“Sometimes we can’t help what happens to us,” he said, “but we can choose how to deal with it. You’re choosing to improve your life.”
His gaze was approving, warm, caring. It felt like a healing balm.
Sean jerked his head sideways, in the direction Rafael had disappeared. “Sorry to act like a jerk around your teacher,” he said. “I thought he was bothering you.”
She shook her head. “No, he was helping me.”
He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, audibly. “Good. I got a little...jealous.”
She tilted her head to one side, surprised at the admission. “But you don’t... You’re not...”
“I don’t have any claim on you. But still.” He hadn’t taken his eyes off hers.
Anna sucked in her breath as every cell inside her came alive. He was being vulnerable. Almost admitting he cared.
The sound of children’s voices and feet tramping down the stairs indicated that their moment together was over. The twins ran to her, flinging their arms around her. Having Sean here didn’t seem to faze them.
They waved their craft of the day, paper bag puppets with googly eyes that made Anna laugh. Sean knelt to look, too, and Hayley boldly made her puppet grab his arm. He played along, feigning fear, making the girls giggle.
“Mr. Sean’s going to take us home, because our car isn’t ready yet,” she explained. Even as she said it, she thought about how the little cabin had become home so quickly.
The girls whispered in the back seat while they drove, the radio playing softly.
“Have dinner plans?” Sean asked.
She frowned. “Um...not sure. We might have sandwiches, fruit. I don’t feel like cooking.” Was he hinting for an invite?
“I have an idea.” He pulled over in front of a dilapidated wooden building with several hand-painted signs posted: Boiled Peanuts and Fresh Shrimp and Strawberries caught her eye.
A black man with white hair emerged behind another customer who was loaded with bags. When Sean jumped out of the truck, the man’s face broke into a wide smile. “You come for my fishies?”
“Depends if you’ll give me a fair price, old man.” Sean grinned. “I have some girls need to try boiled peanuts for the first time.”
“Bring ’em on, bring ’em on.”
Anna expected the girls to hang back, but they were both unfastening their seat belts. Moments later, they were in the fish shack, watching Sean pick out large fresh shrimp and lush strawberries. Once Sean had several big bags, the old man—Ernest—fished some boiled peanuts out of a bin and showed the girls how to open them.
Hayley boldly took a bite and smiled, and then Hope did the same, more hesitantly. They both held out their hands for seconds.
Anna glanced over at Sean and caught him smiling just as she was. She felt a tug in her gut. This was so normal: a woman and a man, smiling over the cuteness of two great kids.
She looked down at the twins and saw that they were about to beg for more. “Goodness, we’d better get a big bag of them,” Anna decided, and moments later they were back on the road, crunching on the salty, delicious snacks.
A few minutes later, from the back seat, Hayley’s high, clear voice spoke up: “These are so good!”
She’d spoken in front of Sean. Joy exploded inside Anna, so intense that she didn’t dare express it. She just gripped the seat tighter and looked over her shoulder in time to see Hope nudge Hayley’s arm and point to Sean.
Hayley shrugged. “I don’t care. Can I have some strawberries, too, Mom?”
It hadn’t been just a fluke. Anna’s heart pounded. Hayley had spoken in front of Sean, and it wasn’t an accident, and she’d done it again. Now it was full-on fireworks inside.
And he’d noticed, because he was glancing over at her, one eyebrow lifted.
She was fumbling for strawberries—good heavens, whatever the child wanted—when Hope spoke up. “Can I have some, too, Mommy?”
Her throat tightened
and tears pressed the backs of her eyes. Sweeter sounds she’d never heard. “Of course,” she choked out, and handed the whole box back to the twins.
She reached for Sean’s hand, and he turned it over to clasp hers, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile.
She was unprepared for the strength of his grasp, the size of his hand, the joy still dancing inside her. Her girls had spoken in front of a nonfamily member. That said such good things about Sean. They’d come to trust him.
It also said that their stress level was coming down.
Clearly, her girls were healing. She had to make it work here in Safe Haven.
* * *
SEAN HAD TO hand it to himself. He’d pulled off something nice for Anna and her girls.
Their dinner had been simple, just shrimp cooked over a fire on the beach.
But it was good to see the lines of tension fade from Anna’s face, replaced by laughter. And to hear those sweet little-girl voices. He felt touched and honored that the twins had spoken, quite a bit, in front of him.
It was easy to make the little family happy. Seemed like no one had ever really tried. So when the air got cool, on a run up to the cabins for blankets and sweaters, he got an idea: s’mores. He dug around and found the supplies—Lord knew why he had chocolate bars and marshmallows in his cupboards, probably stuff Ma Dixie had bagged up to send home with him the last time they’d had a bonfire at her place. In Anna’s cupboards, he found graham crackers to complete the snack.
As he approached them on the dark beach, three faces looked up at him, illuminated in the fire’s golden light. Longing tugged painfully inside his chest. I want this.
He’d known this little family only a couple of weeks, but they’d become so quickly intertwined in his life, his thoughts, his heart.
“Mr. Sean!” Hayley jumped up and ran to him, hugging his leg, and the strings around his heart wrapped tighter.
“Hayley,” Anna called. “Let go of Mr. Sean so he can walk.”
The sweet child let loose of his leg and looked up at him, her little forehead wrinkled. “I’m sorry.”
Low Country Hero Page 13
