Safe Harbor: A Cold Creek Homecoming Read online

  “You’ve known me less than twenty-four hours,” Tina reminded him. “How would you know how hard I work?”

  “Grandmother Sarah told me when I stopped by your house.”

  “When did you do that?”

  “After I dropped you off. She says you never get home before eight anymore. You don’t get enough exercise, and she thinks you’re looking peaked.”

  “She always thinks I look peaked just because I do not sit out in the sun and blister my skin to a disgusting shade of pink,” Tina grumbled. “I’m healthy as an ox.”

  “Well, you do have circles under your eyes,” Jennifer offered. “Maybe you are coming down with something.”

  “Thanks a lot.” Tina was not going to explain that the man standing there looking as though he’d just returned from a week at a seaside health spa was responsible for any circles she might have.

  “So, are you coming? I promise you it will be more fun than this watery milk shake, a couple of aspirin and a bunch of dreary paperwork.”

  She tilted her chin. “Have you forgotten that I’m mad at you?”

  “How could I? If you’d slammed the door of my car any harder, it would probably have had a concussion.”

  “I don’t think cars have concussions.”

  “Have you ever talked to an engine? They’re very sensitive.”

  Tina moaned and buried her head in her arms. She peeked up at him. “You’re not one of those, are you?”

  “One of those what?”

  “Those people who think their cars are human.”

  “My car is human,” he said indignantly. “And we’ve had a long and very rewarding relationship. I expect you’ll grow to love her too, once you’ve taken a few hairpin curves in her.”

  Tina shuddered. “I don’t do hairpin curves.”

  “So we’ll stay on the expressway today. Are you coming or not? Time’s wasting.” He leaned across her desk, just as he had Edward Grant’s earlier. Tina doubted if the caseworker’s heart had thudded quite the way hers was.

  “Go,” Jennifer urged. “I’ll cancel your appointments. Besides, if you stay here, you’ll have to deal with all those reporters.”

  “Reporters?” Drew lifted his eyebrows.

  “News gets around fast,” Tina said succinctly. Drew had no trouble interpreting her meaning.

  “I’m sorry, Tina. I really thought we could keep this quiet.”

  Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “You mean you two—”

  “No,” Tina practically shouted before Jennifer could join in Aunt Juliet’s fantasy. “It’s a long story.” She looked at Drew, thought about the reporters, and nodded. It was definitely the lesser of two evils. “I’ll go.”

  Once they were in Drew’s sleek automobile, she regarded him curiously. The man continued to amaze her. A few days ago he’d been ready to try to convict her for abusing the elderly. Now he seemed to have set himself up as a member of the family. “Why did you stop by the house?”

  “I wanted to be sure everyone had calmed down.”

  “Had they?”

  “No. They were still very upset by what happened at DCF this morning. They felt as though they’d let you down.”

  “Let me down? How? By telling the truth? It’s not their fault that Edward Grant managed to turn the truth into something ugly.”

  “That’s what I told them.”

  “Did they buy it?”

  “I’m not sure. Grandmother Sarah was crocheting like mad when I left, if that’s any indication.”

  “It is. It means she’s worried sick.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “How about Juliet and Mr. Kelly?”

  “Mr. Kelly was up to his elbows in dirt and petunias with Juliet supervising.”

  “That ought to keep them distracted for a while then. I’ll talk to them tonight.”

  Drew glanced away from the road and met her gaze. His smile was tender and filled with concern. “They’re tougher than you think, Tina. They’ll be just fine.”

  “I know that. It’s just that I hate to see them worry. I thought living with me would end their worries.”

  “A little worrying makes you grateful for what you have.”

  “I’ll remind you of that little bit of armchair philosophy the next time you try to drag me out of my office just to distract me from my problems.”

  “Ahh, but you’re a different case.”

  “Oh, really? How so?”

  “You have me to protect you from things. I could probably even give you some advice on Harrington Industries, if you wanted it. It would make Grandmother Sarah very happy if someone took some of that load off of your shoulders. She thinks you’re too young to be buried under paperwork. She also thinks you’re more worried than you’re letting on about the stockholders’ meeting.”

  “My shoulders are doing just fine. Did someone appoint you as my dragon slayer or did you volunteer for the role?” Tina said with an edge to her voice that Drew apparently missed.

  “Grandmother Sarah hinted, but I volunteered,” he said lightly. “Gladly.”

  “Then I hope you won’t feel too bad when I fire you.”

  “You can’t fire a dragon slayer,” he countered.

  “Watch me,” she said tightly. “I’ve told you before that I like to fight my own battles.”

  “And I like to look out for people I care about,” he said just as stubbornly.

  “Then I’d say we have a definite problem, don’t we?”

  “Not the way I see it.”

  “Oh?”

  “I’ll just have to make very sure to maintain a low profile, sort of like one of those bodyguards who are meant to be invisible.”

  Tina suddenly relaxed and laughed. “Drew Landry, you couldn’t stay quietly behind the scenes if you tried.”

  “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” he said, staring straight at the road. Tina still caught the twinkle in his eyes and knew that the battle was far from over. Drew was a very determined man, who most likely always got what he went after. If he made up his mind that he was going to slay a few dragons for her, she had an awful feeling there wouldn’t be much she could do about it. She decided to change the subject instead.

  “When are you planning to talk to Billy?”

  “I already have.”

  She regarded him with astonishment. “When on earth did you have time for that?”

  “I stopped by his school after I left the house. I was just in time for his study hall.”

  Tina sighed in exasperation. “Drew, it could have waited. He was supposed to use that study hall to do his English assignment.”

  “Judging from the conversation you two had this morning, that assignment was best left undone.”

  The thought of Drew explaining the facts of life to Billy sent a tingling awareness scampering over her flesh. “So, umm, what exactly did you two talk about?”

  “Oh, love and sex and stuff,” he said, mimicking Billy. “He seemed to think he had the sex part down pretty good.”

  Tina’s eyes widened. “Did he?”

  “Let’s just say that for his age he had a better than average understanding of the mechanics of it.”

  “Oh, my God. Has he...?”

  “I don’t think so,” Drew said with a definitely wicked sparkle in his eyes. “I decided to concentrate on the emotions in the hope that he might stop and think before he does. The boy is only thirteen, after all.”

  “Do you think he got the message?”

  “Well, judging from his reaction, I think he’s going to be keeping a close eye on you and me.”

  Tina had an awful sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “
Well, I sort of used us for comparative purposes.”

  “You what!”

  “Come on, Tina. You have to admit that you and I are attracted to each other. More than attracted, in fact.”

  “I do not have to admit any such thing,” she said, despite a traitorous racing of her pulse.

  “You will, if you’re honest.”

  “Humph!”

  “At any rate, my point was that you and I are not hopping in the sack just because of a mutual attraction.”

  “You told a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in my house that? Are you crazy?”

  Drew feigned hurt. “I thought I was setting a good example. When you and I go to bed, it will be because of the way we feel about each other.”

  “When you and I go to bed, there will have to be an ice storm in hell,” she snapped.

  “Will you feel better if I tell you that it worked? Billy understood exactly what I meant.”

  “He did?”

  “I’d say offhand that he now expects to see a marriage license before he gets the first clue that you and I are sharing more than a chaste kiss good-night. Otherwise, I’m likely to be hammered over the head with his baseball bat,” Drew said ruefully. “Talk about protective. That kid has the instincts of a mother hen.”

  Laughter bubbled forth. “I love it,” Tina said. “You built the trap, and it snared you.”

  He glowered at her. “You don’t have to enjoy it quite so much. You’re going to wind up just as frustrated as I am.”

  “Wanna bet?” she retorted. Before she could discover who was actually likely to have the last laugh, she decided she’d better retreat to a safer topic. “How do you manage to have all this free time on your hands to run around and offer advice and consolation? Don’t you have a company to run?”

  There was a wicked gleam in Drew’s eyes as he answered. He obviously saw straight through her ploy. “Yes, but technically I’m on vacation. I’ve left some very good people in charge of things. They call when they need me, and I touch base a couple of times a day.”

  “What if they need you while we’re out gallivanting?”

  “Oh, I think they can spare me for an afternoon. Besides, we are not gallivanting. This trip is business, too.”

  “Terrific! You’re taking me along to a business meeting.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Am I dressed properly?”

  “If you were dressed any more properly, you could teach in a convent.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Let’s just say, if you don’t think what you’re wearing is suitable, you can always take it off.”

  “Drew!”

  His low chuckle sent a wave of heat scampering straight down her abdomen. The memory of her rotten morning fled, and the fact that he never did answer her question sent her imagination soaring in all sorts of wicked and thoroughly inappropriate directions.

  She moaned softly as she realized what was happening. It hadn’t been ten minutes since Drew had dared her to remain immune to his charms and already she was succumbing. Infuriatingly enough, frustration was apparently not very far away after all.

  Chapter Six

  With Drew flirting outrageously during the ninety-minute drive to Miami, Tina’s traitorous mind explored a whole assortment of interesting possibilities for the afternoon. Although she breathed an outward sigh of relief, she realized she was almost disappointed when he turned into the palm-lined driveway at Hialeah Park. As lovely as the place was, with its lagoons and flamingos and lush tropical plants, it was not a secluded setting for a lovers’ rendezvous. There were already thousands of people yelling their heads off as a pack of gleaming Thoroughbreds turned into the homestretch.

  “We’re going to the races?” she asked thoroughly baffled and trying not to reveal her disappointment. It would make Drew too smug. “I thought you said this was business.”

  “Actually there’s a little stand here that sells great pizza,” Drew retorted innocently. “I thought we’d have lunch before I get to work.”

  She shook her head. “Nobody goes to a racetrack for lunch. You’re nuts.”

  “That’s why I fit in so well at your place. Now stop wasting time and let’s get moving. I’m starved.”

  She stared at him. “You really did come here for lunch?”

  He shrugged, his grin sending Tina’s heart slamming against her ribs again. “Well, I suppose we could watch the races, as long as we’re here.”

  “Gee, what a novel idea!”

  Tina had never been closer to the races than her television screen and then only for the Triple Crown events, which Gerald had watched avidly. As soon as Drew had grabbed a couple of slices of pizza, they found seats and within moments Tina became fascinated by the spectacle around them. She insisted that Drew explain every bit of the Racing Form to her. He pointed out the horses’ breeding, the rundown of top trainers, the owners, the current listing of winning jockeys, the speed ratings and the past-performance listings for each horse. She listened intently to every word, asked several questions, then nodded in satisfaction when she’d heard his answers.

  “Got it,” she said, reaching into her purse for the calculator on her phone.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It all seems pretty scientific. I’ll just work out a quick formula based on past performance and speed rating and I should be able to calculate the winners,” she said confidently, punching numbers into the calculator for the horses in the third race. She pointedly ignored Drew’s expression of amused tolerance.

  Oblivious to the smudges of newsprint on her fingers, she concentrated on what she was doing until, ten minutes later, she looked up and announced, “I’m betting on number seven.”

  “That horse hasn’t won a race in the last year,” Drew argued. “Don’t waste your money.”

  “But he had one of those dots beside his last workout. You said that was important. And the number-two jockey is riding him. The top jockey isn’t even in the race,” she countered, airily waving off his obvious intention to argue further.

  “Besides,” she said with finality, “I saw him when he came on the track and I liked the color of the jockey’s shirt. That shade of emerald green is one of my favorites.”

  “So much for scientific analysis. How much are you wagering on this sure thing?”

  “I’ll bet two dollars to show,” she said decisively and handed him the money.

  Drew’s lips twitched. “It’s nice to see that you have the courage of your convictions.”

  Tina scowled at him. “Which horse are you betting on, Mr. Know-it-all?”

  “I think I’ll sit this race out.”

  “Coward.”

  “A smart bettor picks his races carefully. He does not bother with a race when the favorite is a sure thing and has such low odds, he’ll barely get his money back.”

  “Forget the favorite. I’m telling you, you should put some money on this horse of mine.”

  “Tina, the odds are forty-five to one. That horse will be lucky to come in by the end of the afternoon.”

  “Oh, go place the bet,” she muttered in disgust.

  Fifteen minutes later she was cashing in her ticket. The horse had cruised across the finish line three lengths ahead of the favorite.

  “Don’t gloat,” Drew growled. “It was beginner’s luck.”

  Tina ignored him. She was already punching numbers into her calculator again.

  It wasn’t until the ninth race, when her throat was already practically raw from screaming and her pocketbook stuffed with crumpled bills, that she discovered Drew owned a horse running in the day’s feature race. Somehow she’d forgotten all about his cl
aim that he had come to the track for business. This was the last thing she’d expected.

  Listening to the enthusiastic comments from the crowd around them, she discovered that his stable was reputedly one of the best in the country. Drew’s Serendipity Sal was going in as the favorite.

  “And I thought you were just a staid old businessman. How did you get into this?” Tina asked as they walked to the paddock area for the saddling. She’d reluctantly put her phone away. She couldn’t very well bet against Drew, anyway.

  “I grew up riding,” he said, a reflective expression on his face for just an instant. Clearly he was back in Iowa, reliving a time of which Tina knew far too little.

  “I’ve always loved horses,” he went on. “But there’s something about a Thoroughbred that is almost mystical. These magnificent creatures go faster than the wind. If I weren’t so big, I think I’d like to be a jockey. What a thrill it must be to skim over the ground, feeling the muscles of the horse stretch to the limit and knowing that your slightest touch is in control of all that energy.”

  Tina’s eyes were wide and lit with amber fire. “You make it sound incredible.”

  He regarded her with astonishment. “Haven’t you ever ridden?”

  “Never. The only horse I’ve been on was on a merry-go-round in an amusement park.”

  “I’ll take you riding someday, and you’ll see for yourself. It won’t be the same as this, but it will give you some idea.”

  “I’d like that.” She regarded him quizzically. “I’m still not sure how you wound up as an owner. Did you just go out one day and buy a racehorse?”

  Drew chuckled. “It wasn’t quite that simple. With the amount of money involved, you don’t go into this lightly. I found a trainer who agreed to work with me. As soon as the rest of my business was financially sound, we went to the sales and bought my first racehorse, a two-year-old colt.”

  His eyes were filled with distant nostalgia. “He was only mediocre on the track, but was he spectacular to watch. After that, I was hooked. I knew, though, that I had to either make a commitment to go with it all the way or drop out. I wouldn’t have been satisfied to run a one-horse stable.”