Читать книгу Evening Stars - Susan Mallery, Susan Mallery - Страница 11

Chapter Five

“I’LL STILL WRITE ARTICLES,” Averil said, wondering if she looked as guilty as she felt.

Maya, her boss, waved her hand. “Of course I want to keep getting articles from you, Averil. You’re one of my best, but we’re talking about your novel! I’m so excited.” Maya, a petite brunette with brown eyes and an easy smile, leaned forward. “OMG, I can’t believe it. You’re going to go away and write. I’m so envious. You’re from Blackberry Island, right?”

Averil did her best not to squirm. She had asked for an indefinite leave of absence on the pretext that she needed time to finish her novel. Not a total lie, if one ignored the fact that before she finished, she needed to actually start it.

“I grew up there.”

Maya sighed. “Returning to the family home. You’ll be able to take long walks on the beach and write and just be in your head. I envy you. Not that I have any plans to write a book. Dear God, do you know how long they are? I have trouble with a three-part essay.” She smiled. “We’ll keep in touch via email, of course. And when you’re famous, I can say I knew you when.”

Averil tried to smile, but she was feeling too much like a fraud. Still, she needed the time away to figure out what was wrong with her. Kevin was a great guy, she loved her job, so why wasn’t she happy? And why didn’t she want to start a family?

Questions to explore over the next few weeks, she told herself as she rose.

“I appreciate this,” she said. “You’ve been so good to me.”

Maya dismissed the compliment with a shake of her head. “You’re talented, Averil. This is a great opportunity. I know you’ll use it to the fullest. We can always use your freelance articles. You know that.”

Averil nodded. “And when I come back?”

Maya hesitated only a second. “You’ll be a famous novelist.”

“Right,” Averil said, ignoring the sinking sensation in her stomach. Because while her articles would always be welcome, her job was less secure. In this business, there was always someone talented waiting in the wings. Something she worried about, but knew in the end she didn’t have a choice.

Averil thanked her again and left. As she walked to her small office to pack up a few things, she thought how Nina would have rolled her eyes to hear that kind of praise. Her sister knew the truth. That any opportunity handed to Averil had a fifty-fifty chance of being tossed aside and wasted and that what others saw as determination was merely a smoke screen to hide the truth. That Averil was simply one bad decision away from disaster.

What she couldn’t help but wonder was if the decision to go home was going to make things better or worse.

* * *

Nina sat in the car in her driveway. After a very long day at work she was tired and cranky. Steady rain danced on the windshield. It wasn’t the best time to be on the phone with Deputy Sam Payton.

“Seriously?” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “She was wanted?”

“Uh-huh. In Spokane, mostly. An assault, passing bad checks and, of course, stealing. We’re looking at four or five felonies. She was being held on half a million in bail, and then was released due to a clerical error. Now that we’ve got her back in custody, we’re sending her over to Spokane, assuming you don’t want to press charges.”

“She’s going away for a long time?”

“My guess is close to ten years.”

“I can put the stuff she tried to sell back in inventory?”

“You can.”

“Sold.” Nina opened her eyes. “Please, don’t let her escape again.”

“I didn’t let her escape the first time. She’ll be driven to Spokane tonight, in custody.” Amusement crept into his voice. “You might want to run a background check on your next new hire. You can do it online for a few bucks.”

Nina thought about Cindy, happily pricing and cleaning. There was no way she would believe the woman was other than what she said, but still...

“Any sites you recommend?”

“Sure.” He gave her a couple of names.

Nina wrote down the info, thanked him and hung up. As soon as she got inside and changed, she was going to check Cindy Yoo and confirm she wasn’t a secret serial killer. Or wanted by any law-enforcement agency.

She grabbed her bag and then dashed toward the porch. She was congratulating herself on not getting too wet when she stepped into the living room, only to be confronted by a steady drip in the corner.

“No!”

Nina dropped her bag on the floor and kicked out of her shoes. She crossed the carpet in sock-covered feet, stopping only when she felt the dampness seeping across the floor.

The roof leak. The one her mother had sworn she’d had fixed. The one Nina had forgotten about because of the shock of seeing Dylan. First, her car and now, the roof. This was not her week.

She detoured into the kitchen and pulled a card off the refrigerator. She used the landline to dial.

“Buffet.”

“Hey, Tim, it’s Nina Wentworth. I have a roof leak. Did my mom call you about it a couple of weeks ago?”

“Lemme look here.” Paper rustled. Tim was old-school and had not embraced the electronic age. He kept all the info on his customers in a ratty notebook that fit into his shirt pocket. “She called and left a message, but didn’t say what it was. I called her back and never heard from her again.”

Nina leaned against the wall and sighed. “Right. I’m not even surprised. We have a leak. It’s pretty serious. A steady dripping that looks like it’s getting worse.”

“I’m in Seattle, Nina. I can be there in the morning, but not before. Any way you can get somebody to cover it?”

This was when the concept of female equality and independence really sucked, she thought. “Sure. I’ll get a tarp on it. The back door will be open, if you need to get inside.”

“Sure thing. Then I’ll leave the invoice on the kitchen table.”

“Thanks, Tim. You’re the best.”

Ten minutes later, Nina had changed into jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She pulled on a waterproof jacket, then went to the garage where she collected a tarp and four bricks. She’d done this drill before.

After dropping her supplies into a bucket for easy carrying, she leaned a ladder up against the house, close to the leak. She held the bucket in one hand and used the other as she climbed.

The rain was steady and damned cold. It got in her eyes and trickled down the back of her neck. As she reached the roof, her left foot slipped, and for a second, she nearly lost her balance.

She hung on and regained her footing. She pushed the bucket onto the roof, then scrambled up next to it.

The second she sat, water seeped into her jeans. Pine needles poked her fingers and covered much of the roof. They were going to have to be removed, Nina thought, thinking it was a job for another day. The shingles themselves were wet and slick. Nothing about this was very much fun.

It was also desperately unfair, she thought grimly. Bonnie had sworn she’d arranged to get the roof fixed, but hadn’t. Nina knew that when she complained to her mother about that, Bonnie would have a good excuse, or get so wounded that Nina would end up feeling like the biggest, baddest bitch in the West. If she didn’t complain, then once again her mother got away with being irresponsible while Nina took care of business. There seemed to be no win and in the end, the roof was still leaking.

Rain continued to pour onto her. She shifted to her hands and knees and moved slowly to the leaking corner. She pushed the bucket in front of her as she went. As she got closer, she tested the boards below her, not wanting to plunge through to the living room. About three feet from the actual leak, she pulled the tarp from the bucket and threw it over the shingles. She settled bricks into place and hoped it would hold until Tim arrived. Then she turned to make her way back to the ladder.

Later, she would try to figure out what had gone wrong. Maybe there was an extra coating of needles. Maybe patches of moss made the surface even more slick than usual. Maybe it was simply bad luck. But as she turned to crawl back to the ladder, her hand slipped, then her knee. Before she knew what was happening, she was sliding toward the edge of the roof, with nothing between her and hard ground but about ten or twelve feet.

Not enough to kill her, she thought as she screamed, but enough to—

“Got you.”

She landed hard but not on the ground. Instead she was caught by a man she’d never seen before. He held her in his arms and smiled down at her with an expression that made no sense. If she had to guess, she would say he was thinking he’d just won some kind of prize. And not just any prize. He looked as if he’d won a PGA tournament, NASCAR race and Quarter Finals all in one.

He was tall and strong enough to save her ass. His eyes were blue, and he looked good when wet.

“Hey, Nina.”

The voice was low and sexy, but not the least bit familiar. “Who are you?”

“You don’t remember?”

No, she didn’t, and he was still holding her.

She struggled a bit, and he quickly set her on her feet. She swayed as she found her balance and was about to take a step back when he put his hands on her waist, drew her against him and kissed her. Just like that.

She was so shocked, she didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. His lips were warm and gentle, the kiss was brief and then he released her and moved back. She stood there, in the rain, unable to feel anything. Not the kiss, not the dripping, not the cold.

“You kissed me!”

His grin was unrepentant. “I know. I couldn’t help myself.” He studied her for a second, still way happier than the situation warranted. “You still don’t know who I am, do you?”

“No. That’s why I asked the question.” She had asked the question, hadn’t she? Maybe she really had fallen. Like on her head and now she was in a coma, imagining all this.

“I’m Kyle Eastland. The last time I saw you, I was twelve years old. It was August. A Tuesday. You were so beautiful.”

Kyle Eastland? “I used to babysit for the Eastland family,” she said slowly, as the memories returned. “There was a little girl and a son from a previous marriage—” She stared harder, suddenly remembering that preteen son. The one who had followed her around like a puppy, telling everyone who would listen that he was madly in love with her.

Her mother had said his devotion was sweet and that she should be flattered. Nina remembered being completely humiliated by the attentions of a very determined kid.

“You’re Kyle?”

“I knew you’d remember me.”

“That was years ago.”

“You’re more beautiful than I remember.”

Maybe he was the one who’d hit his head, she thought, aware of her wet hair plastered to her face and the dripping clothes. Or he was insane. A crazy stalker who had, until recently, been locked away.

He flashed her an amused smile. “Don’t be scared. I’m a normal guy.”

“I’m sure all serial killers say that.”

He chuckled. “I have proof.” He pulled out his wallet and showed her his military ID. Kyle was in the Navy and he was an officer. She was pretty sure the Navy would do a mental evaluation.

“Okay, then,” she murmured. “We’re getting soaked. Come inside.”

As he followed her into the house, she had the strangest sensation of déjà vu. In the past couple of weeks, she’d gotten drenched twice and been rescued by two men she hadn’t seen in forever. Was this a horoscope thing? Cosmic humor?

She checked the ceiling as she entered the living room and was pleased to see the dripping had stopped.

“Stay there,” she said, pointing to the small tiled foyer. “I’ll be right back.”

He gave her the kind of slow, sexy grin that had, for centuries, caused women to make very bad choices. “Now that I’ve found you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You think statements like that are comforting?” she asked.

“I’m telling the truth.”

“Yeah, not good news.”

She hurried to her bedroom where she locked her door before changing for the second time in fewer than thirty minutes. She left her hair wet, which was exactly what had happened with Dylan. Was it the rain? Should she move to Phoenix?

Still perplexed by the bizarreness that was her life, she returned to the living room and found Kyle exactly where she’d left him. Only he’d removed his jacket and hung it on the coatrack. Which meant he was wearing a thin sweater that illustrated the man enjoyed working out.

Even damp he was pretty, she thought, taking in the square jaw, dark blond hair and blue eyes. He was about six feet, maybe six one, lean, but strong. She knew the latter because he’d caught her without gasping for air.

“Why are you here?” she asked pointing to the sofa. “Everything okay with your family?”

He looked up, scanning her face. “I’m not here for help, Nina. I’m here for you.”

“Yeah. Okay, then. Have a seat.”

When they were sitting across from each other, she drew in a breath. First things, first, she thought. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I doubt the fall would have actually killed me, but I would have been hurt.”

“That’s true.”

He was staring at her as if trying to memorize her features. The intensity wasn’t scary, it was just strange.

“So, what brings you to Blackberry Island?” she asked.

“You.”

“You keep saying stuff like that. What does it mean? I haven’t seen you in forever. Kyle, you did get over your crush, didn’t you?”

“If I say yes, will that make you feel better?”

“A little.”

He leaned back against the sofa and stretched his arm along the back cushions. The relaxed, open posture of a man who was supremely confident.

“I got over you, but I never forgot you,” he told her. “I remember everything about you, Nina. You were my dream girl.”

“You were twelve.” He’d also been persistent, she thought, remembering him re-creating the scene from Say Anything, and standing outside of her house with a boom box. Only it had been about six in the morning, on a Sunday. The neighbors hadn’t been amused.

“Making you the older woman.” The grin returned. “You were so hot. You used to wear these really short shorts and when you bent over to pick up my sister—”

She held up her hand. “You were twelve,” she repeated, wondering if anything about this conversation was illegal.

Back then she’d done her best to ignore him, while taking care of his baby sister. Kyle had been a friendly kid. When he wasn’t trying to convince her to run off with him, he’d been busy hanging out in his room or having friends over. Normal stuff.

“How long ago was that? How old are you now?”

“Twenty-six.”

“So, fourteen years ago. I was sixteen. I was saving money for college.”

“I know. I kept telling you to wait for me, but you didn’t listen.”

“Do you blame me?”

“No. Back then the age difference was too big. I figured that out eventually. After we moved away, I really missed you. But then I got to high school and discovered girls my own age.” Humor brightened his eyes.

“Uh-huh. So much for me being ‘the one.’”

“You were, but I thought it best to practice so that I would be—” he coughed “—ready for you.”

“How generous.”

“I’m that kind of guy.”

A player, she thought. Not that it mattered to her. He was still too young. “I know you’re not really here on Blackberry Island because of me. Is your family still in the area?”

“No. We moved years ago, and they’ve never been back. I’m stationed in Everett.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “I’m a fighter pilot.”

She felt her eyes widen. “What?”

That grin was back. “F18s. I’m doing training. Part of a joint task force. I’m good at what I do. I’m on track to join the Blue Angels.”

With five simple sentences, he’d started her head spinning. She knew about the Blue Angels. They were stars at air shows all over the country, maybe around the world. Their precision flying was practically the stuff of legends. “You’re a fighter pilot?”

“Yes. I was offered a couple of different assignments. I picked Everett because of the location. I thought it would be fun to check out the island and see if you were still here.”

She ignored that. “You fly multimillion-dollar planes?”

“That’s me. And if the government is willing to trust me with that kind of equipment, you can trust me, too.”

She chuckled. “Right. Does that line usually work?”

“All the time.”

“I apologize for women everywhere.”

“No need. So, what about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a nurse.”

He raised his eyebrows. “So, if I’m hurt, you can take care of me.”

Which was just like a guy, she thought humorously. “Not everything is about you.”

“Sure it is. Have dinner with me.”

“What? No. You’re too young.”

“It’s only four years and you know you’re curious. We’ll catch up.”

“We were never friends, Kyle. There’s nothing to catch up on.”

“Then we’ll get to know each other. I meant what I said. You’re the girl I fantasized about, Nina.” There was that smile. “You’re even better than I remember.”

She thought about the extra twenty pounds, the wet hair, the lack of makeup. “Are you sure they’re checking your vision regularly?”

He stood up and crossed to her, then pulled her to her feet. His large hands held hers. His skin was warm, and although she didn’t want to admit it, there was a distinct tingle low in her belly.

“Nina Wentworth, I have wanted you and been waiting for you for fourteen years. The least you can do is have dinner with me.”

Her breath actually caught in her throat. She could say with certainty that had never happened before. Not even once. She’d been nervous and interested and aroused, but never...fluttery.

Suddenly Kyle seemed like a man, in the best possible sense of the word. Gone was the preteen who had stalked her. This new and improved version got her attention in a big way. His gaze never left her face as he dropped her hands, cupped her cheeks and kissed her again.

This time she was warm and dry and had the wherewithal to notice the gentle warmth of his mouth on hers. He didn’t push, didn’t move, but he lingered, as if he wanted this moment to last forever.

Or maybe that was her.

He raised his head. “Dinner,” he murmured. “Say yes.”

“Yes.”

“Day after tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be here at six. We’ll have dinner. You’ll have a good time.”

“You know that for sure?”

That sexy smile returned. “I do.”

“You’re a player.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Your tone says you don’t mean that as a compliment.”

“I don’t. You enjoy women, and for some reason, now you want to enjoy me.” She winced, wishing she’d chosen another phrase.

“I do,” he said easily. “Very much. All of you.”

Because he’d had a crush on her years ago.

“Reality never lives up to the fantasy,” she said.

“You’re right. Sometimes it’s better.”

Oh, he was good. Way out of her league. He hadn’t denied her charge. Given the chance, he would seduce her before she’d had a chance to catch her breath.

Instead of being dismayed by the thought, she had to admit to a little tingle of anticipation. She hadn’t ever been with anyone like Kyle. He was easy to look at, funny and charming. So what if she would be one among no doubt many notches on his bed post? If she knew what she was getting from the outset, then she wouldn’t get emotionally involved and she wouldn’t get hurt. Didn’t she deserve a little “me” time?

“Dinner,” she said firmly. “At six.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he told her as he crossed to the door.

“I am, too.”

He paused to study her. “For real?”

“Yes, Kyle. For real.”

The smile turned boyish. For a second, she could see the kid he’d been. Then the man returned and winked at her.

“Good,” he said, before he disappeared into the rain.

She shut the door behind him, then leaned against it. “What have I done?” she asked aloud.

Fortunately, there was no answer.

She wandered toward the kitchen thinking that dinner would be nice. She could use a man adoring her. It would perk up her spirits and brighten her complexion.

Her cell phone rang. She answered it without checking who it was.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Nina, it’s Dylan.”

Dylan? Her nose wrinkled. Hearing his voice was a bit like taking a bite of broccoli after tasting a hot fudge sundae. Because that’s what Kyle was, she thought humorously. A forbidden dessert.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“What? No. Sorry. I just got home from work and I’m still figuring out my evening. How are you? How are you settling back into island life?”

Guilt, she thought with disgust. She always babbled when she felt guilty. Not that she owed Dylan anything, but here she was, talk, talk, talking.

“It’s smaller than I remember,” he admitted. “My parents are closer.”

“And you’re the favorite son.”

“The only son. It’s intense.”

“I bet.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I have to go to Seattle this weekend,” he said. “But I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner next week, after I’m back.”

Nina knew for a fact she hadn’t been on a date in nearly eighteen months. Now she’d been asked out twice in one day. Why couldn’t this have been better coordinated? One date last year, one date this year?

Dinner with Dylan. Although she hadn’t recognized Kyle, she knew everything about Dylan. While she was over him, she was still the tiniest bit bitter about the way things had ended. Which brought the guilt back again, which annoyed her.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a hard question,” he said quietly.

Ack! “Sorry, sorry. Sure. Dinner would be great.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely. Give me a call when you’re back and we’ll set up a night. I’ll bring you up to date on all you’ve missed since you’ve been gone. That will take at least fifteen minutes.”

He chuckled. “I look forward to it. Talk to you soon.”

“Sure. Have fun in Seattle.”

She hung up and tossed her phone on the counter.

If ever there was a time to have wine with dinner, tonight was the night, she thought, heading for the open bottle on the counter. But she would pass on the cookies she’d bought. And go to Pilates at least one more time a week.

Not that Kyle was ever going to see her naked. But still. A girl could dream.