Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (24 page)

Avery sighed. “I love her so much. I don’t want anything else to happen to her. She’s been through too much already.”

“Kate couldn’t ask for a better niece,” Julie said warmly. “Emma, too, of course.”

“Your help made the difference,” Avery said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I’m just doing my job. And you did all the groundwork.” She cocked her head. “From what I understand, you’re quite good at setting game plans and helping people follow through on their goals.”

“If you’re talking about my social-work practice, that’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.” Or trying to.

“I happen to know that Barnstable County is looking to hire a licensed social worker with a focus on substance abuse to join the Falmouth Family and Children Services treatment center. I think you’d be perfect for the job. Would you be interested in talking to them?”

“I … I hadn’t even thought about joining another practice,” Avery said, unable to hide her surprise. “To be honest, I’m still trying to work through my issues with the Back Bay Recovery Center.” She paused. “Why do you think I’d be perfect?”

Julie smiled. “I have my sources.” Avery put her hands on her hips. “Okay, okay,” Julie said, laughing. “Yvonne Parsons is the cousin of one of my good friends from medical school, a woman named Shawna Sawyer. When I figured out who you were, I put in a call to Yvonne. She speaks very highly of you, and while it isn’t my intent to poach, it seems that you might benefit from being just a bit closer to your family.”

“I don’t know,” Avery said, fingers rubbing her eyes. “It’s been a crazy day so far. This is a lot for me to process.”

“You don’t have to decide now. But if you’re considering FFCS, even a little bit, you might want to give them a call or stop by. The woman who runs the center, Theresa Vasquez, is great and I’m sure she’d be happy to answer any questions you have.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Julie said with a smile. “That’s all I was hoping for.” She glanced toward the treatment room where Kate was resting quietly. “Your aunt is in very good hands here. Go home. Get some sleep. You look like you could use it.”

Julie had that right. “Thanks again. For everything.”

By five-twenty, Avery was back at Kate’s house and curled up in her warm bed. Despite the early hour, she immediately fell asleep.

It was dark outside when Avery finally woke up. Disoriented, she blinked several times before peering at the clock on her bedside table. Midnight. Good grief, she’d slept the entire evening away! Yawning, she stretched and pulled on a shirt and a pair of jeans. The wooden floorboards creaked when she slid out of the bed to get her socks and shoes.

The house seemed empty without Kate. Her doctors had estimated that she’d need to stay in the hospital for six days. Almost a week without her aunt. Sighing, Avery made her way downstairs to grab her coat. There was so much she had to do at the Inn now that Kate was out of commission. The holidays were fast approaching and new guests would be arriving tomorrow. Thank goodness Carla was coming. There’d be a steady stream of visitors through New Year’s. After the first week in January, the Inn would once again become quiet.

Unless Theo decided to stay on.
Theo
.

Right now, he would undoubtedly be sleeping, and she’d be free and clear to work without any awkward glances or heated touches. Exactly what she needed.

Ashumet Avenue was quiet and still, snow falling softly. Using her trick, Avery tromped carefully just to the side of the sidewalk where the snow was thicker. It was a black night, illuminated only by gas lamps and twinkling holiday lights.

Avery let herself in through the back door, shucked off her coat, and made her way to the large linen closet. She’d checked the registry yesterday and three groups of guests would be arriving tomorrow—all couples. Taking enough extra towels for each of the rooms, she climbed upstairs to the second floor. She placed the towels in the Sam Bellamy Room and the Blackbeard
Room, and she was just leaving the last of them in the Captain Kidd Room when she heard footsteps in the hall.

Whirling around, she was relieved, and then annoyed, to see Theo Grayson standing in the open doorway. When he saw her, he pushed his glasses up on his nose and grinned, but Avery didn’t bite.

“What are you doing up so late? And why are you wearing your coat inside?” she demanded.

“And a very good evening to you, too, Avery,” he said, a big smile on his handsome face. “I might ask you the same question. About being up so late. Not about the coat.”

She might as well tell him. “Kate’s sick. Pneumonia and bronchitis. I spent all day with her at Cape Cod Hospital and I wasn’t able to get stuff done around the Inn. We have guests checking in tomorrow and Kate’s out of commission for nearly the whole week. There’s still a lot that needs to get done.”

His smile faded fast. “I’m sorry Kate’s not well. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” she said, waving her hands around. “I’m doing it.”

“At least tell me what needs to be done.”

“Towels, which I just did, tidying up, preparing the check-in paperwork, and ordering the sweets for tea. Obviously, I can’t do much about that right now since the LMK is long closed. But I’ll do it first thing in the morning.”

“All right. Since I haven’t messed up the Inn at all, you don’t need to do much tidying. It sounds like the only thing that really needs to get done is the paperwork. Can’t you do it tomorrow morning?”

“I don’t know. I took a nap and I can’t get back to sleep because I’m too keyed up about Kate. And I can’t see her until visiting hours in the morning, and I don’t even know if I’ll have time then because the guests are coming and I have rehearsal and I’m all alone at the Inn and—”

“Avery,” he said, cutting her off, “relax. I’m here and I can help you in any way you need.”

“You’re a guest, too,” she huffed.

He shook his head. “No. I’m a friend. And I can help you, especially at night.” She looked at him dubiously. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Once I get all my work done during the day, I’m free to assist.”

She blinked and regarded him with suspicion. “Is this some sort of ploy to get me back into bed?”

Deep laughter filled the air. “Hardly.” He crossed the threshold and walked toward her, his body seeming to take up all the space in the room. “It’ll be obvious when I’m trying to get you back into bed, Avery,” he said, his voice roughening. “But you can do me a big favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Put on your coat and come down to the beach with me.”

“I thought you were joking before.”

“Nope. It’s research. It’ll help me visualize the conditions the characters might have faced. An extra set of eyes would be really useful. Besides, it sounds like you need to clear your mind.”

Avery cocked her head. He didn’t seem to be teasing her. In fact, he appeared to be genuinely interested in doing research for his book. It might be neat to say that she’d helped T. R. Grayson gather information for his next bestseller. And it would certainly help her stop obsessing about Kate and everything that was coming down the pipeline at the Inn. “All right,” she found herself saying. “I’ll get my coat.”

“Great,” he said. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”

A few minutes later, they were driving on the back roads of Star Harbor. Theo steered his Jeep expertly around tight corners, zooming wickedly fast down darkened straightaways. Avery dug her feet into the floor mat and clutched the seat cushion with both hands. “You’re like a man with a mission,” she muttered.

“In more ways than one,” he responded, eyes on the road in front of him. For a minute, the tension heightened between them. Then he grinned and it was gone. “But I grew up here. I know these roads like the back of my hand. So do my brothers.”

She didn’t doubt him. “It’s hard for me to imagine you growing up here.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because now that I know you’re such a famous author, it seems like you should have grown up somewhere a bit more cosmopolitan.”

Theo laughed. “The best years of my life were spent hacking around this little town. Sure, I learned a lot about myself when I left and branched out on my own, but Star Harbor made me who I am. You can see it in my writing. There’s adventure, friendship, and family. That’s this town in a nutshell.”

“I guess I can see that.” He turned a corner and she held on more tightly.

In a few moments, Theo pulled over and parked behind a large sand dune. Unclenching the cushion, she opened the door and hopped down from the Jeep. He flicked on a large high-beam flashlight and helped her walk down the snowy path to the water. The snow was still falling lightly, but if the way the wind had picked up was any indication, it would start snowing more heavily any minute.

“Wow, it’s really dark out here with Star Harbor Point between us and the town,” Avery remarked. “You can’t see any lights for miles.”

“Yeah. You can just imagine how it would be for a ship in a storm. The pitch-black sky, the boat rocking wildly in the huge waves, the wind battering the sails, the only light from occasional flashes of lightning.”

“The sailors were probably afraid of the lightning. After all, it could easily hit the mast of a tall ship.”

He glanced over at her. “You’re right. It was something they feared.”

They walked down to the edge of the water where there was less snow, then started down the beach toward the Point. They’d walked only about two hundred yards when Avery spotted something.

“Look,” she said, grabbing Theo’s coat sleeve. “Lights in the water.”

“What the—” He took out a small pair of binoculars from one of his pockets, flipped them open, and scanned the water. “There
are
lights out there. Who’s crazy enough to be out on the water on a night like tonight? And especially near the Point. Here.” He handed her the binoculars. She took them and squinted until they were adjusted for her eyes. The lights bobbed up and down, indicating that they were attached to a boat.

“I saw snow pushed up on shore the last time I was walking here. Come on. We’re going to get closer to try to figure this out,” he said. “This way.” He grabbed her hand and led her back to the dunes. They walked for a few hundred more yards until they were closer to the Point, and then Theo showed her another path that led down to the beach. Just where the dunes ended, Theo crouched down and indicated she should do the same. Avery could barely make out the lights through the heavy snowfall, but they looked like they were bobbing near the beach now. Theo had his binoculars out again and he was watching them intently.

“I don’t think we should get any closer,” he said softly. She was on board with that. If Theo thought something was amiss, she trusted his judgment. “It looks like they’re actually attempting to land on shore.”

Now that she wasn’t moving, she began to freeze. Her fingers were numb and her mouth and nose were starting to lose feeling, too. After what seemed like a long wait, Theo rose and held out a hand to her. “Let’s get out of here. We can’t see anything and there’s no way I’m leaving you alone to get a better look.”

“O-okay,” Avery said, teeth chattering.

They walked back to the Jeep, and Theo immediately started the engine and flicked on the lights. Avery was grateful to be out of the wind, but she was still freezing. She clenched her fingers to try to warm them up, but it wasn’t working. Not even her coat was doing much to keep her warm.

They drove back in silence, and by the time they reached the Inn, she was chilled through and through. As soon as they got inside, he noticed that she was shaking.

“Oh, wow, Avery,” he said. “Your face is so white it’s almost blue!”

She tried to get out the word “blanket,” but ended up just sputtering because her lips had also gone numb.

“Come on,” he said, leading her up the stairs to the third floor.

She didn’t have to ask to know where he was taking her. His room. At that point, she was so cold she didn’t even care. He quickly stripped off her coat. Before she could protest, the rest of her clothes followed until she was wearing only her bra and panties. Shaking and shuddering, she just stood there and let him do it. Then he tucked her into the bed, shucked off most of his own clothes, and slid in next to her, pulling her into a spooning position.