Low Country Hero

by Lee Tobin McClain

  Rita and Claire headed toward the last table—featuring the women’s shelter, which had a small library linked to Safe Haven’s main branch—but Claire gripped Rita’s arm. “Uh-oh.” She nodded toward the entrance.

  Brandi had just walked in. She stood, flipping back big hair, looking around speculatively.

  “I have to go hide,” Claire said, her tone half joking, half alarmed.

  “You have every bit as much right to be here as she does, and a lot more to offer,” Rita reminded her.

  “Yeah, tell that to the hospital that stitches me together after she rips me apart.”

  “You can take her. Plus, I have to warn you, hiding in that dress isn’t really an option.”

  “Thanks a lot.” Claire frowned, but for all that, Rita was pretty sure she felt good in her dress—almost as good as she looked.

  “Hold your head high,” she reminded the younger woman as she disappeared into the crowd.

  That left Rita standing alone at the table staffed by Yasmin, the woman who ran the women’s shelter.

  “You have any books to donate, let us know,” Yasmin said, going into a practiced spiel about the value of books as escape. “We focus a lot on children’s books, since we work with a lot of kids. But we also have books for women.”

  “Escapist or self-help?” Rita asked.

  “A little of both.” Yasmin looked out at the crowd. “I’m hoping to get some of these folks to make a donation. Even if it’s just to improve the library, that would free up our funds for other things. We’re hurting.”

  “I’m sorry to hear it.” Rita picked up one of the brochures. “I’m not exactly flush, since I just moved, but I’d like to donate something.”

  “Every little bit helps.” Yasmin indicated the donation jar, which stood in front of a poster showing the history of the women’s shelter.

  Rita dug in her purse while perusing the old pictures. Did they look familiar, or was it her imagination? “You used to have a bigger building?”

  Yasmin nodded. “The shelter used to actually house women and families, but there was some big incident and they stopped. The place became just a resource spot to visit after that, and it went downhill. Women in trouble don’t want to talk about their options until they feel safe and have a place for them and their kids to go.”

  “Makes sense.” Rita was holding herself still, listening hard, trying to understand the tug she felt toward this place and this conversation.

  “After all, protecting women and kids is what a shelter is supposed to do.” Yasmin sighed. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll stay open, and I don’t know how hard to work at it. Seems like we don’t do a whole lot of good these days.” She pulled up a stool and sat down, frowning at her own display. “I threw this stuff together when Miss Vi asked me, but I don’t seem to be attracting a lot of interest here. It’s probably me.”

  The discouragement in Yasmin’s tone tugged at Rita’s heart. “Do you work alone there? Do you have any support?”

  Yasmin shook her head. “No money for another employee, and I’m only part-time.”

  “Volunteers?”

  “We have a few, but our program’s kind of limping along. I can’t find the time to organize it, what with my family issues.” She sighed. “Honestly, I love what the shelter does, but I’m burned out. I’d really rather do something else.”

  “Like what?”

  Yasmin looked embarrassed. “If I could, I’d work with teenagers. Teaching, coaching, whatever. But I don’t have the background for it.”

  “God love you if you’re willing to deal with kids that age,” Rita said. “I can’t imagine.” Inside, the question nagged at her: Would she have been a good mother to a teenager, if she’d managed to stay near her child?

  “Thanks for listening, anyway.” Yasmin’s shoulders sagged, just a little.

  “Listening I can do. If you’d like to go get a drink or coffee sometime, give me a call.” Rita took one of the shelter’s cards and scribbled her name and number on the back of it.

  “That’s nice of you!” Yasmin offered up a small smile. “It’s not that often somebody thinks about how it’s all affecting me.”

  “Gotta take care of yourself before you can take care of other people,” Rita said.

  Other visitors approached then, and Rita wandered off into the crowd. She felt a little out of place. For one thing, she was new in town, and had only been invited because she’d been waiting on Miss Vi the other night and the older woman had insisted. Then, when Claire had been vacillating about whether to come, Rita had agreed to come with her.

  Which left her not knowing many people.

  Besides that, this wasn’t the type of gathering she and T-Bone had frequented. They’d tended toward backyard gatherings of a different sort, where everyone wore jeans and there was a keg instead of a nice bar.

  Whatever. People were people, she reminded herself, and sure enough, when she eased into a couple of conversations, she found them friendly. She even ended up with an invite to a book group that met once a month and was, the woman who’d invited her promised, very casual and fun.

  The smell of barbecue was getting stronger, and Rita’s stomach growled. She looked toward the grills and sucked in a breath.

  There was Jimmy, manning the grills along with a couple of other guys, but clearly in charge. He wore a chef’s jacket. The diner must be catering the event, or else Jimmy—like most everyone else in town, it seemed—was a friend of the library.

  He scanned the gathering with a practiced eye. Rita’s gaze must have drawn his attention, because he smiled and beckoned her over. Warmth spread over her.

  Young people might think romance ended when you hit forty or so, but Rita could make a strong case that it wasn’t so. She felt as breathless as a teenager.

  She took her time getting there, admiring the view. Jimmy was good-looking in just the way she liked. Well-groomed, but a little rough around the edges, with muscles from real work, not from working out.

  She wondered what his tattoos represented. Kind of wanted to trace one with her finger and ask, but that would be totally inappropriate.

  When she reached the grill, she saw that the cooks were removing ribs and chicken pieces and loading them up on plates. “Anything I can do?” she asked.

  “You look more like a guest than a waitress today,” Jimmy said, “and believe me, that’s not a complaint. Why don’t you just keep me company?”

  “I can do that.” She climbed up the single step to the grill platform and leaned back against the wooden railing, facing him.

  “You having fun?” he asked as he laid out a row of burgers on the grill.

  “Sure,” she said, “considering that I don’t really know anybody. It’s a nice group. High-end, but not too snobby.”

  “That’s Miss Vi’s influence.” Jimmy added long strips of zucchini and eggplant to the grill. “She gets everyone involved, whether they’re rich folks from Safe Haven’s founding families or poor families who come to use the library’s computers.”

  “Good for her. I like to read, and I’ve had times when I was too poor to afford books.” More like T-Bone hadn’t valued them, but whatever. “Libraries are important.”

  Jimmy nodded. “To kids, too.”

  “Do you have any kids?” she asked, suddenly curious. She’d been working with Jimmy a few weeks, but hadn’t heard him mention them.

  “Two,” he said. “One’s an engineer out in California. The other...” He sighed. “We don’t see eye to eye. I have a hard time reconciling his lifestyle choices.”

  Rita lifted an eyebrow. “Is that code for he’s gay?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “That, I have no problems with. No. He’s a real womanizer and a bit of a scam artist. I wouldn’t want him around my daughters, if I had any.” He studied her. “How about you
? Do you have kids?”

  The question froze her. What was she supposed to say? Yeah, I think so? Yeah, but I don’t know what happened to him...or her...or them?

  If she were to get involved with Jimmy, she’d have to tell him that truth. But what would he say? What would he think of her, let alone anyone else?

  “Hey, Rita!” Claire hurried toward them and stepped up on the platform. “You were right! I am getting so many compliments on this dress.”

  Saved. For the moment.

  “Let me add to the pile. You look great,” Jimmy said. “And that’s as a guy who’s old enough to be your dad, but still appreciates a pretty woman.”

  “I told you,” Rita said to Claire. “And the good news is, you’re a great person inside, too. Any problems with Brandi?”

  “No, ma’am.” Claire shook her head. “I’m avoiding her, and for now, she seems to be avoiding me.”

  “Smart move.”

  One of the younger guys manning the grill took the opportunity to chat to Claire, his interest obvious, and Jimmy winked at Rita. “Come on. Let’s carry some of this food over to the tables. Give them a little privacy.”

  “Good idea.” She picked up a couple of platters and he took two more, and they moved through the crowds to the tables.

  At which point they saw Sean, sitting in front of a group of middle-school-aged boys, looking miserable.

  The boys looked as miserable as Sean did, and nobody was talking. “Wonder what’s going on there?” Rita mused.

  Jimmy chuckled. “Miss Vi, again. She got Sean and his brothers to do a program encouraging boys to read, since they’re a demographic that doesn’t do enough of it. Apparently they’re supposed to be role models, but Sean doesn’t look too happy about it.”

  As they watched, two more young men came over and took the chairs on either side of Sean. One wore a police uniform—Liam, whom she’d seen around town a lot as well as in the diner. The other man wore an expensive-looking, up-to-the-minute suit and fancy shoes.

  The sight of the trio gave her an odd chill.

  “Pretty strong family resemblance, eh?” Jimmy said as the two newcomers started joking around with the boys, clearly defusing the tension. “I hear they all three came through the foster care system in Safe Haven, and Miss Vi was instrumental in keeping them off the streets. In return, she extracts her pound of flesh every few months. She’s intent on getting them to help the community, specifically young boys.”

  “Miss Vi is a force of nature,” Rita murmured, studying the three men.

  Jimmy put a hand on her neck from behind. Gentle but so very sexy, and the feel of his hand pushed other thoughts from her mind. “We’re not at work now,” he said, “so what would you think about going out with me one of these days? Totally no obligation, your job is safe, et cetera, et cetera,” he added.

  Her skin heated under his touch and she longed to lean into it. Even started to. But she stopped herself.

  She wasn’t looking for a one-and-done, which was about the only thing she could have, until she’d figured out her past.

  Reluctantly, she stepped away from his touch and drew in a breath. “Jimmy, I like you, but there are things standing in my way.”

  “What kind of things?” The low growl danced along her nerve endings. His eyes were intense on her face.

  She shook her head a little. “Can’t talk about them, not really. Not yet,” she added, because, God forgive her, she didn’t want to close the door entirely on this man.

  He studied her. “You brushing me off?”

  “No.” She looked steadily into his dark eyes, awareness of him speeding up her breathing. “I’m interested. But I need to figure stuff out first, so...” She leaned forward and planted a featherlight kiss on his cheek. “Don’t feel like you have to wait for me, honey, but I’d like it if you did.”

  She turned regretfully away from him, ignoring the raised eyebrows that meant at least some of the guests had seen her bold, unwise move and would no doubt talk about it.

  But Jimmy put a hand on her arm and leaned in. “I can wait,” he said, “but not patiently. If I know you’re interested, I’m following up.”

  It felt like a promise, and Rita couldn’t help the tiny smile that curved her lips as she walked away.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ANNA WATCHED SEAN scowl while his two brothers hammed it up in front of a group of kids.

  What was his problem?

  She’d had no contact with him since he’d basically dumped her outside the café. He’d left her notes about what work needed to be done, and then spent his time in whatever part of the Sea Pine Cottages she wasn’t in.

  Which was fine, because she had no desire to be around him. None at all, thank you very much. A morose, difficult, hot-and-cold man was exactly what she didn’t need, and if she’d forgotten that for a little while, well, that was her mistake.

  Thanks to the way he’d acted the last time they’d seen him, the girls were mostly resigned to staying away from him, too.

  She could have forgiven him being cold to her, pulling away. She knew she wasn’t the most sophisticated woman around, nor the most gorgeous, and she came with two kids and plenty of baggage, as well. If he’d had second thoughts about getting close, that was his right. Not even very surprising, really.

  But when he’d turned away Hope’s careful, tentative hug, that had pretty much sealed the deal. She wanted nothing to do with a man who would hurt her girls.

  “What’s going on inside your head?” Rafael asked her. “You’ve been preoccupied this whole time we’ve been working this table.”

  “I’m sorry.” She adjusted the tablecloth and straightened a stack of brochures. “I volunteered to do it and I want to do my part. I’ll focus better.”

  “Go out and socialize if you want. I’ll hold down the fort. You don’t have to do this.”

  “No, I’ll stay.” She looked out at the growing crowd, getting louder as people sucked down the pretty pink concoctions that waiters were carrying around on trays. Not really her kind of thing. “You’ve done so much for me. I’m just thinking about all I have to do. Looking for a job and a new place to live, taking the GED exam...making sure my girls are doing okay...the normal racing thoughts of a poor single mom.” She smiled when she said that last, so she wouldn’t sound so pitiful.

  “Speaking of the little ladies, where are they?” Rafael had been nothing but kind to the twins, but they were still wary of him. Wary of any man, really.

  Except for Sean.

  Or at least, they hadn’t been wary until he’d gone cold on them.

  “They’re having a playdate with one of the kids from the library program,” she said. “It always worries me, because they won’t communicate with other adults besides me. What happens if they need something?”

  “What does happen?” he asked. “I’ve read about selective mutism before but I’ve never seen it in person.”

  She pursed her lips. “They usually manage to get their message across. Hayley, especially, is a great little mime. But anything complicated, they just have to wait until they have me to translate for them.”

  “Did you ever think you might be too overprotective? Being away from you might motivate them to communicate more.”

  She stiffened at the implied criticism. “Pressure seems to make them more anxious, not less.”

  He put a quick arm around her shoulder and squeezed it. Impersonally, like he’d do for any student.

  At least, she thought it was impersonal.

  “I for one am very impressed with your mothering skills. I didn’t mean you were doing something wrong.” He was looking at her warmly.

  Very warmly. Her face heated. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said, and walked to the end of the table to adjust the tablecloth where it had blown out of place.

&n
bsp; She’d never been exactly a hot commodity, so what was going on with her and men in Safe Haven? If Rafael was actually interested in her, that made two men in the space of two months.

  Too bad the one she really liked had decided she wasn’t for him.

  A shadow fell across the table. “I guess you weren’t lying,” Sean said quietly.

  His gravelly voice woke up everything inside her even as his tone made her wary. “About what?”

  “That what happened between us meant nothing to you.”

  She had been lying, of course, but his tone made her bristle. “What’s your point?”

  He frowned toward Rafael. “Just...be careful, okay? Sometimes men are out for one thing.”

  Her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. “Are you seriously telling me how to handle my personal life with men?”

  She felt rather than saw Rafael stepping toward them. He put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay, Anna?”

  Sean’s eyes narrowed and he straightened. In a big man like him, it felt threatening.

  Rafael straightened, too, and glared.

  “I’m fine,” she said, stepping out from under Rafael’s hand. “I think I will go do a little socializing, after all. It feels kind of oppressive in here.” She unfastened her name tag, practically flung it down on the table and marched past Sean and into the crowd. Then, because she didn’t see anyone she knew, she circled back to Yasmin’s table.

  The other woman raised an eyebrow. “You don’t look happy. What’s wrong?”

  Anna glanced back toward the table she’d just left. Sean and Rafael were having a heated conversation. “Nothing that living in a convent wouldn’t solve,” she muttered.

  “Come on back here,” Yasmin said with a chuckle. “This isn’t a convent, but you won’t find many males approaching this table.”

  “Fine with me.” Anna stepped behind the table. “You need help? I’m done working with Rafael for the day, and I don’t really feel like mingling.”

  “Matter of fact, I do need help.” Yasmin smiled at her. “I was just mentioning to Rita that I’m having trouble finding volunteers.”