Chapter 24 #3
“Will do. See you shortly.” Blaine hung up, pulled over and placed a call to the marina to share the news with the euphoric McCarthys and then called dispatch to request ambulances. When he was done with the calls, he pulled the truck back on to the road and continued to Tiffany’s house.
Once they arrived, she removed Ashleigh from the seat and carried her into the dark house.
Blaine retrieved the seat, took it inside and waited for her to get Ashleigh settled.
A few minutes later, Tiffany came downstairs and seemed surprised to find him still there. “I thought you had to leave.”
“I do.”
“Do you want to come back later?”
Yes, he wanted to come back. He wanted to come back and never leave, but they had to get some things straight first and now wasn’t the time. “Not tonight.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I need some time to think.”
Her expression was achingly vulnerable as she looked up at him. “About what?”
“About things.”
“About me.”
“Partially.”
“If you’ve changed your mind about wanting to be with me, I wish you’d say so.”
Blaine couldn’t resist the powerful need to touch her, cupping her face in a gentle caress. “I haven’t changed my mind about wanting to be with you. If anything, I want you too much.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I need to think.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, I talked to Royal about the council meeting and got him to see that the town stands to gain some good tax revenue if the store is a success. He seemed swayed by that, but it’s too late to take it off the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
He did mention that you have to stop prancing about in the all-together if you want his support on Monday. ”
Her brows narrowed, and her hands landed on her hips. “He said that or you did?”
“He did!”
“Sure.”
“Tiffany, I swear—”
She held up a hand to stop him. “It’s good to know how far you’ll go to get what you want.”
His ringing cell phone interrupted what would’ve been a world-class comeback.
Blaine took the call from Mason, the fire chief, who had a question about the estimated time of arrival for the coast guard boat.
While he handled the call, he watched Tiffany go into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.
He jammed his cell phone into his pocket. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk about this later.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Tiffany—”
“Just go. Please.”
Blaine had never been more torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do. Reluctantly, he headed for the door. Right now, he had to take care of his job. He’d take care of her later.
The night passed in a whirl of tearful reunions between loved ones, paperwork, reports and other details.
Blaine assisted the coast guard in taking statements from each of the injured men and helping to track down the friends and family of the man who’d been killed.
By the time they finished, the sun was rising on a new day.
David Lawrence caught Blaine as he was leaving. “Do you know a Kara Ballard?” David asked.
“Yes, what about her?”
“Dan Torrington is asking for her. Could you find her and bring her in for me?”
Since Blaine was already running on fumes, what was another hour? “Sure. No problem.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s everyone doing?”
“Mac and Evan are fine—bitching to go home. We’re still working on getting Grant and Dan warmed up, and Dan broke an arm and two ribs. Apparently, Grant is the only reason he’s still alive.”
“They’re all lucky to be alive.”
“And they know it. Sobering, to say the least. I’d better get back to them.”
“I’ll go get Kara.” On an earlier routine patrol, he’d noticed the Ballard Boat Builders truck outside the house that abutted the marina.
A few minutes later, he pulled up to her house and left his truck running when he went to knock on the door.
When she answered, her red eyes and nose told the story of a very long day and a night without sleep.
“Chief Taylor? Is everything okay? Is Dan—”
“He’s fine and asking for you. Dr. Lawrence asked me to bring you in to see him, if you’re willing.”
“He’s asking for me?” Her ravaged eyes filled. “Really?”
“Really,” Blaine said with a smile.
“Let me get my bag.”
They drove to the clinic in silence. Her tension was palpable as she sat rigidly straight in the passenger seat, staring out the window. “Is he… Is he okay?” she asked, breaking the silence as Blaine pulled into the clinic parking lot.
“He broke his arm and a couple of ribs,” Blaine said. “He also has hypothermia from being in the water so long.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He brought the truck to a stop outside the clinic’s main door. “Do you want me to stick around to take you home?”
She shook her head. “I’ll probably be here awhile, and I can walk home later.”
Blaine reached for one of the business cards he kept in the ashtray and wrote his cell number on the back. “Call me if you need a ride. Don’t walk after the upsetting day and night you had.”
Kara took the card from him. “Thank you. You’ve been very nice.”
“Happy to help.”
She hesitated for a second and then was out the door like a shot, rushing into the clinic.
Smiling, Blaine shifted the truck into drive and headed home. He was more than ready for some sleep, and he needed to figure out what he was going to do about Tiffany.