18. Margot
EIGHTEEN
Margot
It had been two days since Caleb told me what happened during the attack. For two days I had coped by blocking it from my mind then doing the exact opposite and replaying every word he said. It had been an excruciating two days.
Caleb was stir crazy since Guthrie wouldn’t let him work. Instead of resting, he had tackled every project he could find at the marina.
Now that I had funds in the back account and the back taxes were paid, I could buy nails and screws. Planks for the pier. Paint for the signs. Buckets and mops. Caleb was happy to use his truck to make hardware supply runs for me.
He had been excited when I told him about the anonymous donor check to preserve the marina. It was one more anchor to keep me on Marshoak Island.
I didn’t know what else to do but let him do it. I couldn’t convince him to rest.
I sat on the screened porch with my laptop. Caleb was on the pier nailing boards down.
Movies on the Marina was finally going to happen. I had ordered the projector and screen that would hang on the outside of the boathouse. While part of me felt like I was in an underwater experience, grasping to understand what happened to Caleb, the other part of me was looking ahead to my life here. That meant I needed Movies on the Marina to be a success.
There was only one month of summer left. I still had time to pull off a profit.
I opened an email from one of the local jet ski companies. I had asked Josie if she had any contacts there and she had given me the name of the owner. It was a risk, but I wanted to rent ten jet skis for opening night and offer them as seating for anyone who didn’t have a boat. I had reached out to the owner to see if she would give me a bulk discount.
I blinked. I couldn’t believe it. Frankie Taylor had offered to give me the first night free. I jumped up, trying not to knock my laptop to the floor, and headed out to the pier to tell Caleb.
He was hammering. I don’t think he’d ever put a shirt on this morning. His back muscles glistened in the sun with each stroke of his bicep. I bit my lip. I thought about watching a few more seconds. He had no idea I was behind him, admiring the view of every connection of muscle.
“Ummm, hey.” I finally interrupted.
He stopped and turned toward me. “Hey.”
He had removed the bandage this morning, annoyed by having to reattach it every morning. The stitches looked less angry and menacing.
“I just got some really good news.”
“Oh yeah?” He bit down on a nail—the next one in line to be hammered in. Did he know how sexy he looked right now?
“Frankie Taylor, she owns Wave Rentals.”
“Yeah, I know Frankie.”
Of course. He knew everyone. “Anyone, she emailed and said I can have ten jet skis for opening night at no cost.”
“Really?” He raised his eyebrows. “That’s awesome.”
“She wants to do some cross-promo and of course I’m going to do that with her. It’s perfect.”
“It’s coming together.”
I nodded. “It is. This is actually happening. Movies on the Marina is going to happen.”
“And after today, you don’t have to worry about anyone tripping.”
I laughed. “It’s too bad tomorrow is your last day off. I could use a muscled handyman. At least for the eye candy.” I winked.
He chuckled. “Oh, that’s why I’m here? For your pleasure?”
“Isn’t it?” I teased.
“I’m about to put down this hammer and box of nails. You realize that.”
The thing was that even though we knew we were processing and making it thought, we hadn’t stopped the endless fucking. It wasn’t out of our systems. There was no boundaries on it. No limits. No rules. We had given in and accepted that it was exactly what we needed right now.
He rose to his feet. My heart hammered inside my chest. Now I had a full view of his body. His chest. His abs. The athletic build of his shoulders and biceps. He made my mouth water.
I didn’t care about the sweat and sunscreen. He stepped over the toolbox planted on the pier.
His hands slid to my face. “Come here.”
I pushed up on my tiptoes as he crushed my mouth with his. The kiss was bruising and wicked. Blistering under the heat of the sun and the reflection of light off the water. I tasted the beer on his tongue and the salt on his lips. He nipped at my lips and his tongue repeated the same motion. I moaned, knowing we were seconds from undressing each other. It started this way and ended up with him inside me, wildly taking me every way we could think of. Sometimes I knew my favorite was when I was on my back and I could study him. Gaze into the depths of his onyx eyes. Let him bore into my soul the way I pierced his.
His hands roamed my back and gripped my ass. “Inside. Now,” he grunted.
“Yes.” I breathed hard.
As we hurried to the cottage his phone started to ring.
I waited for him at the door. “I’ll get it later,” he announced. The phone began to ring again.
“You should get it. It might be important.”
Phone calls weren’t something we could ignore right now. Everything was heightened since the attack.
He stared at his phone. “Holy shit. It’s Gabe.”
“Answer it!”
“Hello?”
I watched his facial expression change over from fear to relief. “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” he joked.
I swallowed hard. I was dying to know what Gabe said. How he was, but I had to wait to hear only half of the conversation.
“Yeah. Yeah. I can do that. You have no idea how glad I am you’re awake.” There was another long pause. Caleb nodded. He looked at the sky. Our fingers intertwined and our palms touched. He never let go of me. “Okay. Give me half an hour, maybe more depending on the ferry. Okay, man.”
He hung up and looked at me. “Gabe’s awake. And he’s okay.”
I threw my arms around his neck and held him. “I’m so glad.” I pushed back. “And you’re going over?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I know we were about to?—”
“Stop. Go see your friend. We can do that again later.” I winked. It was a guarantee we would have sex at least once more today. I was not going to stop him from seeing his best friend out of a coma.
He kissed me slowly this time. “I love you.”
I nodded. “I love you too. Maybe you should jump in the shower though?”
He laughed. “All right.”
I returned to the porch and picked up my laptop while Caleb showered upstairs. Gabe waking up was the best news he could have gotten. The best news any of us could have received today.
Ten minutes later, Caleb appeared on the porch with damp hair and wearing clean clothes. His truck keys were in his hand.
“Tell Gabe I’m so happy he’s awake. And if he needs anything, you know, just tell him to ask.”
“Yeah. I will.” He leaned down to kiss me. “What do you think about having dinner with my parents tonight?”
I blinked. “Where did that come from?”
“They called when I was upstairs. I think they want to lay eyes on me.”
“Makes sense. You went through something. They did too. Are you sure you want me to go? Maybe it should be a family night.”
Caleb shook his head. “No, they want to meet you. I want you to meet them.”
He shoved his wallet in his back pocket. I knew he had to get to the hospital in Pointe Harbor. Normally, I’d want to talk through all the points and details in meeting the parents, but under the circumstances I didn’t have that luxury.
“Yes, I’d love to have dinner with your family.”
He grinned. “It will be great. I’ll text you from the hospital.”
He jogged down the stairs and climbed into his truck. I watched him drive away.
What had I just agreed to do?