HOOKED ON YOU (Paradise Cove) (18 page)

“No, thank you.” He shook his head. “Want me to tell Taylor what you’re up to?”

“Why, I’m not up to anything.” She giggled, and her knee bumped Bill’s. “Not yet, anyway. Still, a woman hopes.”

Bill chuckled and put his hand on Anna’s thigh.

Colt backed up, his hands in the air. “I’m outta here. I’ll call Taylor—but you promised to drive to Kayla’s first thing in the morning.” He looked at Bill, who looked like he’d won the lotto. “See that she does.”

He raced back to his car, thinking it was a good thing his own mother and sister lived far enough away that he couldn’t keep an eye on their shenanigans. There were certain things a son or a daughter didn’t want to see.

Taylor picked up on the first ring. “Did you find her?”

“She’s okay,” Colt said. “She’s having her happy hour at the Lorelei.”

“Why didn’t she call?”

“Dead phone battery. I think you should leave her be,” he suggested. “She’s sitting with a decent guy.” He willed himself not to think where Bill’s hand was going. “Anna seems…determined.”

“Determined about what?” Taylor asked angrily. “To be foolish?”

“To have a good time. She deserves it too. Like you, she works all the time. You know that.”

There was silence as fair-minded Taylor considered that. “I know, but why tonight?”

“I guess the opportunity presented itself and she took it.” Anna was a bit of a free spirit, like her youngest daughter. “It’s okay. She knows what she’s doing.”

“She darn well better. Hope she’s got some condoms in her purse.” Taylor spoke in a snappish tone and he could practically see fumes coming out of her pretty ears. “How embarrassing.”

He laughed, glad it wasn’t his mom. “Your mother is still young. And attractive.”

“Don’t you dare even think about dating her!”

“Me? Are you serious?” He laughed again. “She’s hot but she has a much hotter daughter.”

“Brittany’s not around.”

He frowned into the phone even though she couldn’t see his face. “No, but you are.” With that he hung up, feeling with this conversation less was better.

Colt checked in with Jamie, who told him they were on their way to Miami. Sharon got on the phone and said it was bumper-to-bumper and would take hours.

“I wish we had left last night,” she told him, “but now they’re saying it could be a Cat two and everyone’s on the road. Oh crap!”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noting the change in her voice.

“There’s an accident ahead. Now, we’ll be stuck here for God knows how long.”

“Dammit. Well, nothing you can do I guess, but wait it out. You need gas or something to eat? Pull over somewhere and take an hour’s break. Maybe the traffic will move better after that.”

“I can’t,” she said miserably. “It’ll be worse then. Everyone’s heading north it seems. You should too,” she added.

“Got to take care of the boat first. Then board up the house. Don’t worry about me. I’ll hunker down someplace and keep safe.”

“Okay. We’ll call you when we get moving again.”

“Good. Bye, Jamie. See you soon, son.”

He had called from the car, and a few minutes later he pulled into the parking lot at Coral Bay. It would take him a few hours to ready his boat for a significant storm.

First on his list was to reduce the windage by removing the bimini canvas top, doubling up all the dock lines, and adding spring lines for storm surge. He stowed away all loose objects from above, and used duct tape to protect the exposed instruments on board and seal off the hatches. He made sure he had chafe protections on all the lines, beefed up the cleats, and had plenty of fenders so the boat wouldn’t be damaged by the wharf.

Once he was satisfied that “Bait Me” was secured, he made the trip to the cottages to check on Taylor, and help out Miguel. The long day was just beginning.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Anna got home by six a.m. with dark circles under her eyes and her chin length hair wild and tousled. It was role-reversal, Taylor thought, not questioning her mom about the man she’d obviously slept with.

“Nice night?” she asked in a neutral tone.

“Very,” her mom answered without going into detail, although her smile spoke volumes. It occurred to Taylor that her mother had behaved like a naughty teen—no phone calls, sneaking in at dawn.

“I’ve just been talking to Kayla. She wants you, Juanita and the kids to go and stay with her.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I was thinking about going to Miami to see Brittany, but I couldn’t face that long, long drive.”

“Sean can’t leave the hospital or his patients, so Kayla won’t leave either. And it’s away from the ocean, and she has hurricane impact windows, so it’ll be good for all of you to hang out there.”

“Yes, that is best.” Anna gave an elaborate yawn.

“You should take a shower and head on over,” Kayla suggested. “I have some food for you to take.”

“Oh, honey, her home is only about twenty miles away. I think I’ll just nap for awhile and go after lunch.”

“No, you won’t. The traffic going north is crazy now. Everyone’s panicking since it might be a Hurricane Two. Haven’t you been listening?”

“Hurricane Two? Oh dear! I didn’t know. Sorry.” She gave a mischievous smile and a shrug of her shoulders. “Guess I had better things to do.”

“I don’t want to know about them. Just go. Take your shower. You should leave as soon as you can. Pick up Juanita and Meri, they will be waiting for you. Miguel wants Raul to stay and help here. If we get it all done by tonight, Colt, myself and Miguel will join you at Kayla’s.”

“Oh, that would be a good idea.” She sauntered to the bathroom. “I wonder what I should wear.”

“Put on your best Hurricane clothes, and your party boots.”

Anna stopped in her tracks. “What party boots?” She shook her head and laughed. “Are you giving your mother a hard time?”

“Maybe just a little.” Taylor smiled. “But you know I love you. Now go get cleaned up and pack enough for a couple of days.”

“Okay, dear. This is kind of exciting. We can have a hurricane party at Kayla’s. She does have a lovely home.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. Her mother lived in a different dimension. Clearly. Thinking of a hurricane as a form of amusement was just wrong. During her conversation with Kayla, they had discussed the repercussions in great depth, remembering the devastation that Hurricane Sandy had wrought to the New Jersey shore.

They hadn’t seen it firsthand as they lived inland and were spared, but they’d never forget the television coverage. The faces of the victims as they looked upon what was left of their homes. The streets were flooded, leaving them cut off from everything. The boardwalk disappeared. Their whole way of life destroyed in an instant. It was heartbreaking, and anyone who lived through it would tell it so.

Miguel and Raul arrived while Anna was having breakfast. He accepted an offer of a cup of coffee, but refused to take the time to eat. After he downed his coffee, and Raul ate a warmed cinnamon roll, the two headed for the pool to secure the patio furniture and store the loose pottery.

About an hour later Colt showed up.

“Morning, Taylor. How’s your mom?”

“She made it back safe and sound.”

Anna strolled out of the bedroom wearing a pair of canary yellow Capris and a flowered loose top. Her hair was freshly washed, and fell in soft curls around her flushed cheeks. “Hi Colt. How’re things?”

“Things are good. Jamie and my ex are safe in Miami with my mother and sister. And my boat’s snug as a bug in a rug.” He grabbed a cup of coffee, leaned against the counter and gave her an appraising look. “You look all bushy-tailed this morning. Looking forward to the hurricane, are you?”

“Well it does add a certain excitement in the air, that’s for sure. Long as no one gets hurt, and the property is not damaged, then I’d say it livened up things around here.”

“Oh, Mom! Really? Do you know what it’s like to go through something like this? Have you any idea?”

“No, and neither do you.” Anna didn’t take any offense, just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for the ride to Key Largo. “We were very fortunate not to have been hit by Sandy. Those poor, poor people. I swear it broke my heart seeing what they had to live through. I’m not callous. I just try to make the best of a bad situation. I’m worried as much as the rest of you.”

Somehow Taylor doubted that. “Fine. I’m glad to see you have common sense. But please—let’s wait until this storm is over before we start celebrating, shall we?”

“Yes, dear. Well, I’m off to pick up Juanita and Meri. I’ll call you when we get to Kayla’s.” She kissed Taylor’s cheek, then put a hand on Colt’s arm. “Take care of my daughter, won’t you?”

“It will be my pleasure.” Colt winked at Taylor. “She’s in good hands.”

“I know that. And once you get all your work done, we hope to see you at Kayla’s. If not, stay tucked in here and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

With that last comment and a saucy grin, she was off. Taylor was happy to see her go. She turned to Colt, with an embarrassed look. “She’s really something, isn’t she?”

He moved slowly to her, and put his arms around her waist, drawing her near. “She has her own way of coping. Her life hasn’t been easy, and if this helps her keep her sanity, then who are we to judge? It’s you I’m worried about. You take too much on. You should have left with her. Let Miguel and me, and Raul do what we need to do.”

“This is my home. My responsibility. My livelihood. I need to be here.”

“I won’t argue. As long as you’re here, I intend to keep you safe.”

Her insides warmed at the thought. If she needed anybody by her side, it was Colt.

For several hours Taylor joined the men boarding up the cottages that faced the beach and would be most affected by the storm. They boarded up Birds of Paradise, but they couldn’t protect all twelve units though they did their best. The cafe had a generator so the industrial refrigerator would keep most of their food from spoiling. How long they’d be without power was anyone’s guess. But not losing it at all would take some kind of miracle.

Colt and Miguel left for a few hours to board up their own homes, then Colt returned alone. He brought half a dozen good size lanterns, and a radio with a package of batteries.

“Miguel’s on his way to Kayla’s.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke. He put the new batteries in the radio, then walked around the cabin, placing a lantern in every room. “Thought you and I might sit it out. Unless you want to join the others?”

She knew what he was asking, and her heart thundered in response.

“I’m staying. I couldn’t leave.”

“I hoped you’d feel the same way.” He went to the wine rack and picked up a good bottle of red. Without asking, he opened it.

“You hungry?” he asked. “I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

Her mouth watered. “Neither have I.” She felt a little tongue-tied, wondering how she could eat with Colt so close, so dear, so near.

“Let’s finish up some of those leftovers. Then hunker down.”

Her pulse raced. Not for the food, but the thought of hunkering down with Colt—alone for a whole night with no one to answer to, no one to think about. There was no one she’d rather ride out a storm with.

Taylor poured two glasses of wine, and gave him one. “Sounds like a plan.” She took a sip then put the glass down. She kissed him, her lips tasting like the full-bodied wine.

Colt seemed eager to get the food out of the way, and so was she. They pulled out containers from the fridge and nuked it in the microwave. They turned on the radio to listen to the news. They kept their spirits up, ignoring the sound of the wind howling around them, the cracks of lightning overhead, and the very real threat of danger they faced.

They polished off the wine, sitting on the sofa together. It had been a physically demanding day, and she snuggled into him, loving the warmth of him, the sexy smell of his aftershave.

“Are you worried?” she asked him, her head resting on his chest.

“Not really. We’ve prepared the best we can. Now it’s all up to nature.”

She lifted her head and gave him a weak smile, her hand on his chest. “I’ve never had so much to lose before.”

He kissed her forehead. “Believe me, I understand. It’s the same with me. I have everything sunk into that boat, and my home. They might not be much, but it’s all I’ve got. Your resort and cafe is a whole ’nother story. It’s an enormous responsibility and investment. And I know how much you love it.”

“If anything happens…” tears welled in her eyes and she couldn’t go on.

He lifted her chin, and kissed away her tears. “Paradise Cove has been around for at least twenty years, right? This place has weathered many storms, probably a whole lot worse than this.”

Her mouth trembled. “You’re right. Of course we’ll be fine. I just couldn’t bear it…you know?” Her voice broke and she buried her face in his neck.

* * *

Colt held her for a long, long time. He let her cry it out, knowing that she’d been so strong for so long, and that the floodgate had finally broken. Wet tears slid down his shirt melting something inside of him. Everything about this woman was precious, and he wanted to protect her, hold her, comfort her as he would a child. No, not like a child. He needed to be honest about his feelings. He wanted to comfort her—as a woman. A very desirable woman.