Reel Trouble: Wild Women of Alaska (5 page)

Seana entered the hotel for a change of clothes. She didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for her dinner with the Real Housewives of Dutch Harbor as Morehouse had proven even more bullheaded than she’d first pegged him. But showing up for dinner, while still wearing her uniform, would probably put her and the Real Housewives on the wrong footing. Like that would really matter once Morehouse blabbed to everyone.

What the hell had she been thinking? Not thinking was more to the point. Feeling, definitely. Way too much feeling. She’d never been kissed like that before. Felt what Treat had made her feel.

She’d probably fucked up her job over it.

Sergeant Morehouse could have grounds for her dismissal. Maybe it was a good thing that she hadn’t found a place to live yet and her belongings were still MIA. It would make it easier to return to Fairbanks with her tail tucked between her legs. Legs she should have kept closed.

Good hell.
If Morehouse hadn’t arrived when he had, she might have taken Treat right there in that cell without a thought to her career, to her future, or to anyone else catching them.

Treat Devereux had lived up to his name. She’d known when she’d first laid eyes on him that he was trouble.

The alarm on her phone sounded, reminding her she was late for dinner. She wished she could cancel, but now, more than ever, it was important that she show.

In deference to the weather turning blustery, she went for a simple black sweater over black jeans. She stuffed the slim-fitted pant legs into black leather boots, forgoing the ones with heels for a more practical tread for the rain/ice/snow they were expecting later tonight. She’d been told the predicted storm would rival anything she’d experienced before, but she guessed not many of the Unalaskans had seen an Alaska interior storm where the temperatures had been known to dip into the negative seventies. She grabbed a scarf in blues and teals for color when she realized she’d unconsciously dressed more for a funeral than a night out with the girls.

She headed downstairs to the Cape Cheerful Lounge, feeling anything but cheerful. After pausing and turning around once, she stood in the lobby of the hotel pretending to appreciate the art on the walls for a few minutes, before gathering enough courage to enter the bar. Mina was already there, assembled with a group of four other women. Seana steeled herself not to turn around and walk back out.

She had work to do. A job to save. She shouldn’t be here.

“Deputy Chief!” Mina called, noticing her.

Crap. Now she was stuck. Seana planted a fake smile on her face and walked over to the table. She could do this. She’d stared down serial killers, for Pete’s sake. A bunch of housewives should be a cakewalk. They weren’t even armed.

Mina stood and introduced her. “Everyone this is Seana Brogan, our new Deputy Chief you’ve heard so much about. Deputy Chief, this is Krista, Courtney, Britann, and Greta.”

Right, Greta with the great boobs. Wow, they were impressive pushed up in the tight fuschia-colored tank. Wasn’t she cold? Yep, by the nipple indicators, she was chilly and obviously unwilling to cover up her assets in order to stay warm. That was conviction.

Britann was a little thing hiding behind large eighties-style glasses. Seana wondered if she needed them, or liked that they made her seem smarter and less doll-like. She was easily the youngest of the group, and had a bunch of textbooks sticking out of the large tote leaning against her chair. Courtney was already on her third drink, going by the two empty martini glasses on the table in front of her. She was slightly hanging off the edge of the chair with an elbow anchored on the table. Krista, on the other hand, seemed like she needed some loosening up. She was a woman strung tight as electrical cable. She hadn’t dressed for dinner, wearing sweats and a large
Deadliest Catch
sweatshirt and running shoes with her russet-colored hair falling out of its rubber band. She was sipping chocolate milk through a straw.

“Hi, everyone. Please, call me Seana.”

Mina pulled out a seat, and Seana didn’t have any choice but to sit.

“What’ll you have to drink?” Mina asked.

“Uh, how about a beer?”

“So, are the rumors true?” Greta leaned in, showing even more of her boobs. Seana looked away before she was caught ogling. Truly an impressive rack.

Since she didn’t have a clue which rumor Greta referred to—assuming Morehouse had already spilled what he’d witnessed earlier—she needed clarification. “Which rumors?”

“Are you gay?” Greta asked as if she hoped it were true. “You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have sex with a woman.”

“Greta!” Krista said. “What would Carter say?”

Greta gave a wicked laugh. “Oh, he’d be up for it. Double the breasts, double the fun.” She turned back to Seana. “We haven’t had a lesbian here in Unalaska for at least five years. Renee from the Northern Star could have been the last. Though there might be a few undeclareds, you know. So? Are you?”

“No. I’m not gay.”

“That’s going to really relieve Treat,” Courtney said with a wicked smile. “I heard he’s sweet on you.”

Seana choked on her beer. “He’s not sweet on me. He’s just trouble.”

“Oh, yes, he is,” Britann said. “Reel trouble as in R-E-E-L. That’s the best kind there is.”

All the housewives laughed together, and a few clinked their glasses.

“I don’t get it,” Seana said, which made them laugh harder.

“Fishing village equals fishing puns,” Mina explained. “Treat’s a fisherman always casting out his line to catch the next big fish. Someday he’s going to catch one he can’t reel in. We think someday is here, and the big fish is you.” She pointed her glass at Seana.

“Uh, no.” Did they know about the kiss earlier then?

“Oh, yes.” Courtney, Britann, and Greta said together and then dissolved in laughter. Krista nursed her chocolate milk, bubbles blowing up from the straw as she giggled.

“Krista, just what are you drinking?” Mina asked.

“It’s called a mudslide. I luuuuuv it.” She giggled again.

“A mudslide? Girl, do you know how much alcohol is in that?”

“Not enough. Definitely gonna need another.”

“Hon, what’s wrong?” Mina patted Krista’s hand and explained to Seana. “She never drinks.”

“Eugene is coming home after months at sea, and it’s that time of the month.”

The women all looked at each other and then Mina gasped. “Oh no.”

“Yep, I’m ovulating again. We’ve tried everything not to conceive. He comes home this weekend. No way we’ll be able to keep our hands off each other, and I’ll be knocked up by Monday. Just wait and see.”She looked at them, eyes wide with tears. “Hide me, please.”

“Can’t you just tell him no?” Seana asked.

“That’s her problem,” Courtney said. “Krista’s never been able to tell Eugene no, which is why she has five kids.”

“Six.” Krista lifted her mudslide and finished it with a slurping sound. She held her glass up and hollered for the bartender. “Another, Mike, and keep ‘em comin’.”

“There are other ways to have sex that won’t get you pregnant,” Seana said before she thought it through, and then blushed when all the eyes centered on her.

“You don’t understand,” Krista mourned. “Eugene has this way of…rubbing up against me that turns me into butter. I can’t tell him no. Especially when he’s been at sea for so long.”

“I know, I know.” Greta bounced in her chair, her boobs taking longer to settle than most. “Let’s get Seana to arrest him. You know, until your cycle is over.”

“That won’t guarantee that I won’t get pregnant.”

“And I don’t arrest just anyone. They have to be breaking the law.”

“I’ve told you to get your tubes tied,” Britann pointed out, as if they’d had this discussion too many times.

“I know, but when am I going to find the time to travel to Anchorage for surgery?” Krista said. “Besides, who would watch the boys?”

There was silence around the table.

Krista laughed. “They are demons, but I do love them. Most of the time. I just can’t add another to the bunch. I’m barely holding it together with the five I have.”

“Six,” Mina corrected.

“Right. Six. Oh, God.” Krista covered her face in her hands and expressed a sound that was part sob and part hysterical laughter.

“There isn’t a doctor here who can do the surgery?” Seana asked.

“Nope. Anchorage is the closest for that kind of procedure,” Mina said. “The way I see it, we have two problems then.”

“Two?” Seana asked.

“Treat and Eugene,” Greta said, looking at Mina. “You sure she can keep up?”

“Oh, yes, she can keep up. You should see her and Treat together. It’s like the air is charged with electricity. The kind that snaps and crackles before a big storm.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Seana asked, not liking the direction the conversation had taken even though Krista’s plight was no fun either.

“We’ve been looking for a woman to take care of Treat for a long while, and we think you’re the one.”

“The hell I am.”

“He needs a strong woman,” Mina continued. “He’s a slippery man. The women are fighting each other with dead fish over him. Something has to be done. Not any woman would work, but you come armed with a badge, gun, and your own cuffs.”

“They’ve already come in handy, I’ve heard,” Courtney said, finishing off her third martini. “I’d love to be cuffed by him. Say, let me have a turn with him first before you turn him over to her.”

“No,” Mina said. “We’re still working on your problem.”

“My problem is almost wrapped up. As soon as those divorce papers are signed, Aaron and I will be finished.” She didn’t seem completely thrilled at the prospect. In fact, she looked like she was going to cry at any minute.

“Wait?” Seana asked. “You’re married to Sergeant Morehouse?” Morehouse was married? Why hadn’t she known that?

Courtney sniffed and ordered another drink. “Not for long.”

Mina shook her head at Mike the bartender and he nodded, pouring Courtney a cup of coffee instead. Courtney dropped her head onto Britann’s shoulder.

“Make that three problems we need to fix,” Britann said as she wrapped her arm around Courtney and held her, offering her some comfort.

“What is this group really?” Seana asked, suspiciously.

Mina handed her another beer. “We’re the Real Housewives of Dutch Harbor and we keep this town running.”

“By meddling in other people’s affairs?”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“If you plan on meddling in mine, that’s how I’m going to look at it. I’m also going to tell you to butt the hell out.”

“You ever live in a small town, Deputy Chief?” Mina asked.

“Fairbanks isn’t a huge metropolis.”

“Compared to Unalaska, it might as well be New York,” Greta said.

That was stretching it a bit.

“We take care of our own,” Mina continued. “There isn’t anyone else we can depend on. The men outnumber the women ten to one. Most of the time they’re out fishing, and there isn’t anyone to take care of us but each other. We’re a close knit community.”

“That’s all fine and good, and I commend you for watching out for each other, but that doesn’t mean you’re saddling me with Treat Devereux.”

“Not saddling,” Mina stressed.

“Though I’d like to ride him,” Courtney added, straightening and taking a sip of her coffee. Greta and Britann gave a nod in agreement.

“Hooking you up,” Mina said. “Big difference.”

“Not the way I see it. And I don’t need hooked up or saddled with anyone. My life is fine just the way it is.”

The housewives shared a disbelieving look.

“I mean it.”

“We hear you,” Mina said.

But she didn’t think they did.

“I do have something you can help me with,” Seana said, almost laughing as all eyes brightened with expectation. Wow, a town with no entertainment, and these women had found something to keep them occupied. “I need a place to live. The hotel isn’t working out.”

“Oooh.” Mina frowned and shook her head. “Not a lot of properties available.”

“Like none,” Courtney added. “Just trying to get Aaron in a new place has been impossible.”

“Most of the properties are privately owned,” Britann said. “Processors stay in the bunk houses. Just how picky are you?”

“I need plumbing, heat, and a roof.” Was that too much to ask for? By the tilting and shaking of their heads it seemed as if it was. “Seriously? It’s that bad?”

“The last newcomer to town had to live in the Grand Aleutian for six months until ol’ man Gerritsen died and the family rented his house out,” Mina said. “Charged him more than it was worth too.”

Seana imagined the newcomer had been happy to pay it, too, as the hotel was driving her crazy. “I need a quiet place to sleep. I’ll give up plumbing if I have to. I can shower at the station.”

“Hmm, I might have a place in mind.” Mina tapped her lips with her finger. “Give me a couple of days.”

“A boat?” Seana regarded the sailboat moored next to the dock with interest.

“You didn’t say anything about it having to be on land,” Mina said. “The guy who owns this is restoring it. He has other boats and is willing to let you live here for a reasonable amount until something else opens up.”

“How reasonable?”

Mina named a price that seemed more than fair. Cheaper than the hotel, and as Seana stood there on the deserted dock, she embraced the quiet. Seagulls squawked overhead, and eagles perched regally on the cliffs north of the dock.

This wasn’t an industrial area with a lot of boat traffic. The Bobby Storrs Small Boat Harbor Dock was more set up for smaller fishing boats and pleasure craft. Dutch Harbor seemed to have as many docks as it did city streets. The water was still and glass-like as it cradled the boats.

“It’s definitely thinking outside the box. Let’s take a look.” Seana motioned for Mina to lead the way. The outside of the boat was scarred and rusted. The sails were gone and the deck was dangerous with a few missing boards. From first impressions she wasn’t holding her breath.

Mina stepped down and opened the door to the living quarters, dragging Seana inside. It was like she’d entered another realm. Red teak gleamed with a high-gloss finish that someone must have spent hours refinishing. Crisp white curtains covered the small long windows. When Mina opened a few, brass glowed in the filtered light.

“Wow,” Seana whispered. “This is stunning.”

“Isn’t it?”

“This is too pretty to rent out.” What if she spilled or scratched something? “What’s the story here? Why is the owner willing to rent his boat to me?”

Mina shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he needs the money to help finish it. Looks pretty awful on the outside. Come on, you have to see the berth and head.” When Seana looked at her puzzled she explained, “Nautical terms for bed and bath.”

“There’s running water?” Seana took in the open room with its built-in cream leather sofa, rich wooden table, and galley kitchen that shined with loving care.

“Yes. The dock provides potable water, shore-power, and refuse removal. There are also batteries and solar power wired into the power system. No need to shower at the station.”

“That’s a relief.” And so much more than she’d hoped for. With what she’d looked at so far, she’d given up hope of leaving the hotel. There had been a shed with a community outhouse. An ice box above a garage, again with a glorified outhouse. And then the extra room in Greta’s house. After meeting her husband, Carter, and the way the two of them eyed her breasts, that was a no thank you. She was not into multiple partners. Hell, it had been years since she’d even had one partner. The closest she had come to sex was the kiss she’d shared with Treat the other day.

No, don’t think about it.

Morehouse hadn’t said anything either, which worried her. What was his agenda?

If the town wasn’t so small, with everyone waiting to see if she failed or passed as the new Deputy Chief, she’d be tempted to treat herself to a night with Treat. Oh good hell, she hadn’t just thought that had she? She had to quit thinking about him. He was nothing but trouble.

Maybe a few nights of actual sleep would clear her mind and body of Treat Devereux. “I’ll take it.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Mina beamed.

“What’s not to like?” Treat asked from the doorway.

“Wait. This is your boat?” Seana’s excitement about moving into this sweet, quiet sailboat turned to something darker, more tempting, and definitely more dangerous.

“One of them.” He ran his hand down the length of trim around the doorway, and it took everything Seana had not to shiver in reaction. She wanted those rough hands caressing her like that. Those lips on hers again. And this time her hands wouldn’t be around bars, but buried in his thick mane of coffee-colored hair. She shook her head. So not what she should be thinking about.

“I’ve spent a long time restoring her. Still have a ways to go, but she’s getting there.”

“Why would you be willing to let someone stay here?” she asked.

He met her eyes. “She needs life inside her again. She’s been left abandoned, unloved, for a long time.”

“Then why don’t you live here?”

“I’m not ready.” He straightened and walked inside the cabin, the space getting much smaller with his large frame filling it. “But she is.”

“You talk like this boat’s a real person.”

“To me she is. All boats have a spirit about them. A soul. The way they ride the waves, take the wind in their sails, slice through the water. Much like a woman, she can nurture you, thrill you, or scare you senseless.”

“Wow,” Mina breathed. “I…uh…need to get going. I’ll let the two of you work out the details.” She scampered off the boat, leaving them alone.

Seana didn’t want to be alone with Treat. The last time that had happened she’d given in and tasted him. It hadn’t been enough. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“Why not? Do I worry you, Deputy Chief?” He inched closer and she planted her feet. No way would he intimidate her.

“This is a small town. I have enough problems without adding rumors to the mill by living on your boat.” Especially when Morehouse opened his mouth. She had no doubt he would. He was just biding his time, waiting to have the biggest impact.

“I didn’t think you were the type to let gossip rule your decisions.”

Oh, he was good. No, no he was bad. What had Britann said? Reel trouble. She saw it clearly now. She’d always thought of fishing as a relaxing sport. Those who fished with a rod and reel, maybe. But with Treat there was nothing relaxing about the bait he cast her way.

She wanted to move onto this boat, sleep in that big captain’s bed with the water cradling her as she slept. No Hollywood partying in a hotel packed with people. But she’d owe Treat. He’d be her landlord. And the last thing she needed with Morehouse breathing down her neck and the town’s people watching her every move, was to connect her name with Treat Devereux. Didn’t matter the reason.

Who was she kidding? It wasn’t just the town’s folk, or Morehouse. It was Treat. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to resist him. She had a weakness for his kind. And she didn’t need that in her life right now.

She looked around the boat with an ache in her heart. “I can’t take it. But thank you for letting me see her. She’s beautiful.”

“I sure didn’t take you for a coward.”

Her eyes flew to his. He was pulling out all the stops. “There’s nothing cowardly about this decision.”

“Sure there isn’t.” His words mirrored her thoughts.

“Thank you, Devereux, but no thanks.” She moved to walk past him. He stayed rooted in his spot for a moment as if he wanted to do or say something, then he finally stepped aside.

“Later, DC,” he murmured behind her in that sexy deep drawl of his. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and she resisted rubbing them.

“Goodbye, Devereux.” She climbed off the boat onto the dock, and with each step toward the car she called herself all kinds of stupid.