Safe Harbor: A Cold Creek Homecoming Read online

  “Not tonight, dear. You and Mr. Landry go out on the terrace and enjoy the breeze. There’s a full moon tonight,” Sarah added pointedly.

  Juliet sighed and gazed wistfully at Mr. Kelly. “Oh, my, yes. It’s very romantic.”

  Tina tried one last time. “Why don’t all of you go on outside then? Billy will help me with the dishes.”

  Billy groaned, but it didn’t matter anyway. She might as well have been talking into the wind for all the attention they paid her as they scurried off to the kitchen carrying plates and glasses.

  Drew stood up and offered her his hand, an all-too-enticing gleam in his eyes. “Come on, Mrs. Harrington,” he said in a low, provocative voice that sent a flurry of sparks cascading down her spine. “Let’s not disappoint them.”

  Disappoint them? She wanted to strangle them.

  Chapter Three

  Tina reluctantly led the way out to the terrace, where a strong ocean breeze had swept in at sunset to make the palm trees sway and whisper. The black velvet of the sky was scattered with diamond sparkles. The air smelled of salt spray and the sweetness of tropical flowers. It was a night for romance, which made it about as dangerous for her to be out here alone with Drew Landry as it had been for Adam to be in the Garden of Eden with Eve. She had one edge on Adam, though. She was aware of the potential dangers.

  “Let’s take a walk,” Drew suggested.

  “Where?” Tina’s immediate caution brought an amused smile to his lips.

  “Your tone’s not very flattering,” he taunted. “You sound as though you think I might be planning to skip the review by DCF and take you straight to the gallows myself.”

  Tina was not worried about the gallows. She was concerned about something far worse. In fact, by comparison, the gallows would have been a quick and easy way to go. Spending secluded time with Drew Landry in an atmosphere as ripe for seduction as this one seemed like torture.

  “You haven’t exactly done a lot to encourage my trust,” she responded.

  He gazed down at her with his blue eyes. A tanned finger reached over and gently followed the curve of her cheek, leaving behind a path of fire. She was as much startled by the touch’s tenderness as by the sensation it aroused.

  “Let’s see if we can’t change all that,” he said softly. “Tonight I’ve discovered that I want very much for you to trust me.”

  Her breath caught in her throat and she asked in a choked whisper, “Why?”

  “Because you intrigue me, Tina Harrington. You’re not what I expected at all. You’re not like any woman I’ve ever known. You’re like fire and ice, scratchy wool and soft satin, a prickly cactus and a delicate orchid. The contradictions are fascinating.”

  “Is that your poetic way of saying that after the women who fall all over you, I’m a challenge?”

  Her spirited response drew another high-voltage smile. “Perhaps. Couldn’t we start over?”

  As the promise of his words whispered over her, Tina felt an aching tug deep inside. She couldn’t draw her eyes away from his gaze, though she wanted to desperately. She felt as though she were losing her will, as though she were watching her hard-won independence slip away. But when a smile revealed his wicked dimple and he added questioningly, “Deal?” she could only nod and fight the urge to kiss that dimple.

  “Then let’s start by taking that walk.”

  Silently, they walked around the house and crossed the narrow road to the beach, where the ocean pounded against the shore with the same wild turbulence that stirred Tina’s blood. The wind whipped her hair about her face and teased her flesh in a way that hinted strongly at the effect Drew’s deft touches might have. They went down the wooden stairs, and at the bottom, Tina braced herself on the weathered railing, slipping off her shoes before she and Drew set off across the soft, damp sand.

  Their way was lit by a spectacular full moon hanging low on the horizon, reminding her once more that it was, indeed, a night made for lovers. And here she was with an attractive, surprisingly charming man who—just as surprisingly—made her blood sizzle.

  Despite the pounding of her heart and the responsiveness of her reawakening body, she couldn’t forget that the real reason they were together had nothing to do with love or even physical attraction. They had been brought together by his intention to force Sarah, Juliet and the rest out of her house. How could she and Drew start over with that between them?

  They began walking hand in hand—she wasn’t quite sure how that had happened—their silence a counterpoint to the crashing waves. Suddenly, Tina stopped in her tracks, determined to make him see what he was setting out to destroy. Surely there was some compassion in him, some sense of decency that would respond to her pleas. But when she looked up at him, ready to fight for her friends and her way of life, the expression in his eyes captured her and held her silent.

  “Tina,” he said quietly, her name floating away on a gust of wind just as his mouth came down to meet hers. His mouth was oh-so-soft yet commanding as he took gentle possession, waiting for her to relax into the kiss, persuading her lips to part. His tongue teased against her mouth until her body screamed for him to claim her more intimately. As if he’d read her mind, the moist velvet of his tongue darted inside, taunting her with yet another suggestion of the powerful, shattering intimacies that could rise between them.

  From the moment that he’d taken her in his arms, Tina had sensed an inevitability that had shaken her. This man was a danger to her happiness, her serenity. Yet her body had responded to him in a way that spoke of acceptance and yearning and a desire so intense, so all-consuming it was like nothing she had ever known before, not even with Gerald. With Gerald she had felt respected, even loved, but she had never experienced this shattering femininity.

  When the kiss ended at last—far too soon, yet not nearly soon enough—only his hands on her arms stilled her trembling. Nothing short of an explosive joining, however, could ease the throbbing ache she felt and she knew it. Dear Lord, how well she knew it! The realization terrified her and made her more skittish than ever.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, then shook his head, unable to keep the sparkle out of his eyes. “No, I’m not. I’ve wanted to do that from the minute I saw you this afternoon.”

  He paused thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, I think I even wanted to do it weeks ago, when you came over and stood there valiantly defending Billy in front of my shattered window, then demanded that I return his baseball. I’m fascinated by women with spirit.”

  The solemnity of his words reached in and captured a tiny part of Tina’s heart, but still she was puzzled. “If you felt that way, then why did you stir up all this fuss over the way I live? You had to know it would infuriate me.” She tilted her head to study him more closely. “Or were you one of those kids who showed affection by pulling a girl’s hair?”

  He winced. “I hope my approach has always been much smoother than that. I gave my first love a bouquet of dandelions. We were seven. I’ve graduated to roses now.”

  “I’d have settled for dandelions,” Tina retorted. “It would have been a whole lot better than a letter from DCF. That was not the best way you could have demonstrated your interest.”

  “Actually one thing has nothing to do with the other.”

  “It certainly does. You can’t reject part of me and want the rest.”

  “Oh, can’t I?” he said dryly. Then he sighed. “Okay. On a rational level, you’re probably right. But I didn’t understand before.”

  “Understand what?”

  “What was really going on at your house. The way it was presented to me, it all sounded sinister.”

  Tina couldn’t restrain the grin that spread over her face and lit her eyes. “Like in some gothic novel?”

  “Not quite that dark and mysterious, perhaps,” he admitted. “Right
after I moved in, I got a couple of anonymous letters, a phone call or two. I started asking around, and a few of your other neighbors confirmed that you’d been taking in all these strange people since your husband died, giving them the run of the place. They implied they were worried about you, but now it’s evident they were more concerned about what it might do to the neighborhood, if somebody didn’t put a stop to it. You’re a powerful lady. They weren’t willing to risk your wrath. They figured I’d have nothing to lose.” His expression turned grim. “I also have something of a reputation for dealing with situations like this.”

  “So you decided to take my lifestyle on as your own personal crusade without even talking to me?”

  “Well, the evidence did seem to be pretty clear-cut. The people were living here and the zoning laws are very specific about these being single family dwellings, not some sort of glorified rooming houses.”

  “Except for the servants’ quarters, of course,” she countered.

  He caught the dry note in her voice. “Of course.”

  “What about the state? Why did you have to drag them into it?”

  “You may not believe this, but I was actually concerned about the people you have staying here. I kept thinking how I’d feel if it were my father living in some unlicensed place that nobody’d checked out.”

  “What?” Tina couldn’t have been more shocked by his unspoken innuendo. It was as if he’d flat-out accused her of being a mass murderer. She missed the odd, faraway look that came into his eyes and shadowed their usual brightness. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Did you think I was holding them prisoner and starving them all to death, for heaven’s sakes?”

  He had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Well, I had no way of knowing what kind of crazy crank you might be, or whether they were old and rich and senile. Nobody bothered to tell me you were a feisty, sophisticated lady with a quirky sense of humor. They said you were a widow, that you’d been a little odd since your husband’s death. For all I knew, you could have been getting senile, as well.”

  “At my age?”

  “They didn’t mention your age either, and Gerald, after all, was quite a bit older.”

  “He wasn’t that old.” She stared innocently up at him. “He was about your age, as a matter of fact.”

  “Touché.”

  “Of course, you saw no need to check any of this for yourself? You’d make a terrific journalist,” she said sarcastically.

  He winced as her shot hit its mark. “I knew that senility wasn’t the problem when you came over to defend Billy. Still, you could have been bilking a bunch of sweet old folks for every penny they had. You wouldn’t be the first person to do something like that. Some of the best con artists look absolutely harmless, but they prey on the helpless.”

  “Does Grandmother Sarah strike you as helpless? Or Mr. Kelly?”

  “No. Of course not.” His eyes sparkled wickedly. “Then, again, there is Aunt Juliet...”

  “I am not bilking Aunt Juliet. She doesn’t have anything to steal. And don’t you kid yourself, she’s not as helpless as she may seem. You saw what happened when you tried to cheat at Scrabble.”

  “I know that now,” he said softly. “And I’ve seen you with those people. I know that you really do love them and that they love you.”

  “If you’d taken the time to find that out first before going off half-cocked, it could have kept me out of this mess.” She stared up at him with eyes that were suddenly tear-filled. She hated showing him even this tiny sign of weakness, but she was angry and frustrated and scared. Her life had been lonely for so long after Gerald died and now, just when she’d found happiness again, it was threatened.

  “Now you’ve gone and ruined everything,” she murmured.

  He brushed away the single tear that rolled down her cheek. “Come now. There’s no real harm done.”

  “No real harm?” She regarded him disbelievingly. “For one thing, do you have any idea what this kind of publicity could do to Harrington Industries? The board will think I’m off my rocker and try to yank the chairmanship away from me. There are a few of them who’ve already got a candidate in mind and have been looking for any excuse to push him forward. You’ve just given them a dandy one.”

  “They don’t know a thing about this. It hasn’t been in the papers yet.”

  Tina regarded him as if he’d lost his mind. “How long do you think it will take for some ambitious reporter to discover that the state thinks I’m operating an unregulated foster home for wayward kids and stray adults?”

  “I’ll go in tomorrow and withdraw the complaint. That should be the end of it.”

  “You really did grow up on some piddly little farm in Iowa, didn’t you?”

  “Actually, it was a pretty big farm. With hundreds of acres of corn,” he retorted with that beguiling twinkle back in his eye. Tina glowered at him. He was not making her feel one bit better.

  “My point is that you’re naive if you believe the state will simply say thanks for telling us about the mistake and go on to something else. They’ve been under a lot of pressure lately for not being too thorough in the past. I’m a well-known lady. It will be a terrific publicity coup. They can show they weren’t afraid to take on a big shot. Just to be safe, they’re going to have a whole crew of inspectors crawling all over the place to be sure I’m not a raving lunatic and that the estate meets a zillion dumb sanitation requirements...”

  He grinned at her rantings and, despite herself, her anger faded just a bit. “No problem. I’ll vouch for your sanity and you must have half a dozen bathrooms in that place,” he said encouragingly.

  “Ten, actually, but that won’t stop them from sending inspectors down here from Tallahassee to count them. What if they make Sarah and Juliet and the rest of them leave? They don’t have any place to go.”

  “Tina, that’s not going to happen. I’m sure once you explain it to them, they’ll understand. I do.”

  She gazed at him with renewed hope. If she could convince Drew Landry then maybe she could convince the state. “You do?”

  “Well, I’m not exactly sure how they all landed on your doorstep, but I understand that there’s nothing illegal about what you’re doing. I doubt if you’re even violating the zoning code. I’ll back you up one hundred percent.”

  “Thanks. Will that keep me out of jail?” she asked sarcastically.

  He patted her arm and, if it hadn’t felt so good, she’d have hit him for being so patronizing. “Don’t go getting hysterical,” he soothed. “Nobody’s going to jail.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you. Palm Beach has some mighty peculiar laws.”

  “And I’m sure you have some bright lawyers on staff at Harrington Industries. If you don’t, I have a few myself, but,” he said emphatically, tilting her chin until her gaze met his, “it is not going to come to that. I won’t let it.”

  Tina sighed and wondered exactly when Drew Landry had set himself up as her protector. She wasn’t sure she liked him in that role any better than she’d liked him as the enemy. “You won’t let it? Did they hold an election and name you governor?”

  “I may not be governor, but I do have a certain amount of clout.”

  “And you’re planning to rush in and save my hide, a hide which wouldn’t be in danger in the first place if you’d kept your nose on your side of the hedge?”

  “You don’t sound appreciative.”

  “I prefer to fight my own battles.”

  “Independence can get pretty lonely.”

  “Maybe so, but then you have no one to blame but yourself for the outcome.”

  “Do you object to letting me help at least?”

  “I suppose not,” she said so reluctantly that it brought yet another grin to his lips.

&nbs
p; He drew her to the stairs leading up to the road and pulled her beside him on the bottom step. “If I’m going to help, I need to know everything. Tell me, how did they all come to be living with you? I mean they don’t seem to be the kind of people you’d meet at a charity gala or on a cruise.”

  Tina explained about her meeting on the beach with Grandmother Sarah. “We got to talking and one thing led to another and she moved in the next day.”

  “You invited her home just like that? Without doing a security check?” He sounded horrified. “She could have been an ax murderer.”

  Tina glowered at him. “Does that sweet little old lady who just baked you a cherry pie strike you as an ax murderer?”

  “Well, no,” he admitted. “But in your position you can’t be too careful.”

  Tina threw up her hands. “You’re prejudging again. I thought you said you liked my friends now that you’ve gotten to know them.”

  “Well, I do, but it’s because I’ve gotten to know them.”

  “You’ve talked to them for exactly two hours,” she pointed out. “Are your instincts supposed to be better than mine?”

  “No, but...”

  Her eyes flashed dangerously. “If you say anything about your being a man and my being a woman, I will dump sand down your trousers.”

  “You are a woman,” he noted dryly. “As for your threat, it raises some interesting possibilities.”

  “Never mind.”

  “Okay, let’s forget about our respective abilities to judge character for the moment. Where did you meet up with Mr. Kelly?”

  “He was my neighbor when I was growing up. He was always like a surrogate grandfather to me. His wife died a few months ago, and all of his kids have moved away. I couldn’t bear the thought of him in that tumbledown old house all by himself. He put up quite a fuss, said he’d lived there all his life and, by golly, he wasn’t going to move out now.” She mimicked Mr. Kelly’s grumpy tone perfectly.

  Drew chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I was just trying to imagine how you talked him into it.”