Book 21 Trouble After Dark #7
The Martinez brothers have moved their mother, Marion, home to Gansett Island to live at the facility run by Dr. Quinn James and Mallory Vaughn.
After another long day at work, Julia and Puppy walk to meet Daddy at the dock. She sees a woman sitting on the equipment box where Julia usually waits for Deacon. She tells Julia she’s visiting her boyfriend, Deacon. She decides to wait for him to get there and explain everything.
When Deacon gets close enough to see her and Puppy waiting for him, his face lights up with the smile that had become so familiar to her, complete with that damned dimple that gets to her every time it appears.
She’s watching him so closely that she notices the exact moment when he sees who else is waiting for him.
He can’t hide the shock or the nervous reaction he has to seeing both women there. Time seems to stand still as he brings the boat into the dock and ties one line at the center of the boat. “Julia,” he says, looking at her with fierce determination. “Do not move. Stay right there. Do. Not. Move.”
Only because she doesn’t trust her legs to carry her up the ramp and away from that dock, she does what he asked her to and stays put.
He gets off the boat and approaches the other woman, who lit up with delight at the sight of him. Julia wants to claw her eyes out. “Sherri, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, silly.” She throws herself at him, but Deacon doesn’t react. He keeps his hands by his sides. “I missed you so much!” She kisses his cheek. “Say something, will you?”
He takes a step back from her and moves toward Julia. “Sherri, this is my girlfriend, Julia. Julia, this is my friend, Sherri, from Harwich.”
Sherri looks from him to Julia and then back to him again. “You… You have…”
Deacon puts his arm around Julia. “A girlfriend. A very serious girlfriend who I love more than anything.”
Once Deacon sets her straight, Sherri returns to her hotel for the night.
Deacon turns to Julia and apologizes for the scene, recognizing it had to be upsetting for her.
“It was a little shocking when she told me she was waiting for her boyfriend, Deacon, but since I knew there was no possible way you could be her boyfriend when you spend every minute you aren’t working with me, I decided to breathe and stay calm and wait to hear what you had to say about it. ”
His gorgeous eyes sparkle with amusement, happiness and so much love that’s all for her. “That’s highly evolved of you.”
“I got a lot more than I bargained for when I set out to meet you after work tonight.”
“I got a lot more than I bargained for when my brother made me come to Gansett for the summer. I’ve got my own little family now, and I love you both with my whole heart. I’m sorry you had to hear that for the first time when I was talking to someone else.”
“It’s okay.”
Deacon stops walking and turns so he’s facing her. “It’s not all right. I should’ve told you that weeks ago, because I’ve felt it for a long time. The only reason I didn’t tell you was that I didn’t want to freak you out with too much too soon.”
Julia flattens her hands on the ridiculously sexy uniform shirt and gazes up at him. “In case you were wondering, I love you, too.”
“You do? Really?”
“You honestly have to ask?”
“I was hoping…”
“Deacon, my God, I’m so crazy in love with you, I can’t see straight—and I definitely can’t walk straight, thanks to you.”
His cocky grin lights up his face. “Is that right?”
“You know it is. I love you. I love everything about you, especially the way I feel when I’m with you and even when I’m not.”
He cups her ass and brings her in tight against his erection. “How do you feel?”
“Happy, healthy, joyful, amused, aroused, entertained, hopeful.”
“All those things?” he asks in the gruff, sexy tone that gets to her the same way it has from the start.
“All those things and so much more.”
The party at the Wayfarer is rescheduled for the week after the Fourth of July.
While talking to her stepsister, Stephanie, about the baby boom they’re about to have, Tiffany tells them she’s pregnant, too.
“When are you due?” Steph asks Tiffany.
“February. What about you?”
“Late December. Grace is due in mid-January, Abby in late January.”
“It’s gonna be one hell of a winter for the McCarthy family,” Julia says.
Deacon and Blaine join them. Blaine told Deacon that a boat he’s been watching was apprehended by the DEA and Coast Guard. “The DEA agent in charge asked me to let you know that your work was instrumental, and I couldn’t agree more. Congrats, bro.”
“Thanks.”
Knowing how much his brother’s approval means to Deacon, Julia is thrilled for him.
“We have a full-time, year-round position coming open at the end of the summer if you’re interested.”
“Seriously?” Deacon asks.
“Dead serious. You’re a great cop. You’d be an asset to our department. I discussed it with the mayor earlier today, and he agrees.”
While dancing at the party, Julia puts her hands around his neck, and he flinches, telling her he hurt his back at work.
When they get home later, Julia asks what he did to his back.
He takes off his shirt to show her the new tattoo on his back.
When she realizes what it is, she gasps and blinks back tears.
A turtle shell.
“Deacon…”
“It’s supposed to match yours.” He gazes at her over his shoulder. “What do you think?”
Julia goes to him, puts her hands on his shoulders and places kisses to the left and right of the tattoo.
His skin is red and angry-looking, and knowing he’s endured that kind of pain for her is almost more than she can process.
“I think,” she says slowly, “that you’re the best thing to ever happen to me, and I love you more than you’ll ever know. ”
He turns to face her, gathering her in close to him and kissing her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it, and I love what it stands for.”
“I’m your shell, darlin’. Come what may, I’ll protect you from the storm.”
“And I’ll do the same for you.”