Chapter 12
Blaine was at home for a brief dinner break when his phone rang with a call from dispatch. He was almost afraid to take it. He’d been on edge all day, worrying about Deacon and the storm and, well, everything.
Tiffany stepped up behind him and massaged his shoulders. “Aren’t you going to get that?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed the phone because he never ignored a call from work. Ever. That’d caused him some consternation with his wife, who didn’t appreciate intimate moments being interrupted by a phone call he had to take. “Taylor.”
“Chief, they found your brother.” Clara, the dispatcher, spoke so fast that Blaine had to struggle to keep up. “They hauled him onto one of the ferries. He’s safe.”
“That’s great news.” Filled with relief, he looked up at Tiffany. “They’ve got Deacon.”
“Oh, thank God,” she said.
“Everyone here is so happy to hear the news,” Clara said. “We’ve been sick with worry.”
Blaine wasn’t surprised they were celebrating at the public safety building. His brother had become very popular with their colleagues. “Any word on what happened?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure you’ll hear from him.”
“Thanks for the call. I’ll be back soon.”
“See you then.”
Blaine ended the call and exhaled a deep breath.
“Thank God,” Tiffany said again.
“You said it, baby.” The words sounded gruff, even to him, due to the emotion clogging his throat.
He and his brother had formed a deep bond in the months they’d been working together, a deeper bond than they’d ever had before, and the thought of losing him had been impossible to bear. “I need to call my mom.”
While he did that, Tiffany continued to knead his shoulders, which felt so fucking good. She knew just what he needed without him ever having to tell her. “Mom, Deacon is safe.”
She let out a sharp cry of happiness and then called to his dad with the news.
“They were taking the ferries out to sea for the storm, and they spotted him. I don’t know anything more than that yet.”
“This is the best news ever. Did someone tell Julia?”
“I assume Deacon called her, but I’ll call her to make sure.”
“I’ll call your sisters,” she said, sounding tearful. “Thank you for this news, Blaine.”
“Best call I ever made. Talk soon.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Blaine dialed Julia’s number.
“Oh, Blaine,” she said, sounding tearful. “He just called. He’s on one of the ferries.”
“I’m so glad you heard from him.”
“He said he’ll call you when he can.”
“I’ll look forward to that.”
“Thanks for all the support.”
“Of course. We both love him. See you soon.”
Blaine put down the phone and dropped his head into his hands, trying to let go of the stress and anxiety of a hellish few hours so he could enjoy the brief respite with Tiffany. “Are the girls asleep?” he asked.
“For a while now.”
“I’m sorry I missed them.”
“They know you’re busy dealing with the storm.”
“I’d rather be here with you guys.”
“We’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.”
“I’m going to do one more patrol of the island and then pack it in.
I’ve got to get some sleep at some point.
” He and Mason had worked out a schedule to provide coverage during the storm, although they’d told island residents who’d chosen to stay that they might not be able to get to them during the storm if they needed help.
“I’ll wait up for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” She kissed his neck, which was all it took to fire him up. “I’ve been missing you these last few days.”
Blaine groaned. “Why you gotta do that to me when I just said I have to go back to work?”
Her giggle only added to the pressure in his lap.
He loved her laugh. Hell, he loved every single fucking thing about her.
He reached for her hand and brought her around to sit on his lap.
With his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair and breathed in the strawberry scent that drove him wild.
“I keep thinking that one of these days, I’m going to get over this crazy fever I have for you. ”
“Please don’t ever get over it.”
His low chuckle rumbled through his chest. “No chance of that happening.”
“I worry about that sometimes.”
He pulled back so he could see her gorgeous face and tucked her dark, silky hair behind her ear. “What do you worry about?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Tell me.”
“I worry sometimes that you might fall out of love with me.”
He could only imagine that his entire expression went flat with shock. “You worry about me falling out of love with you.”
“I mean… Not really. It’s just that it happened to me before, so—”
Because he couldn’t bear to hear another word about her son of bitch first husband, he kissed her. He kissed her until she was wrapped around him, limp in his arms. “I will never, ever, ever, for the rest of my life, fall out of love with you. Not for one second.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s pregnancy hormones making me crazy. I know I have nothing to worry about where you’re concerned.”
“You don’t. I couldn’t live a minute without knowing you love me as much as I love you.
I couldn’t bear to come home and not have you here making everything better just by breathing the same air as me.
I can’t sleep unless you’re next to me. I don’t care what I’m doing, I’m always thinking of you and wishing I was with you and counting the minutes until I can come home to you.
” He kissed her again and then once more for good measure.
“Don’t ever be worried about me falling out of love with you. ”
“Okay.” She laughed as she wiped away tears. “I’m sorry I even said that. I know better.”
“Yes, you do, but don’t be sorry. I get where it’s coming from.” He nuzzled her cheek. “That was so then, and this… this is now and forever.”
She hugged him tightly. “I love you so, so much.”
“That’s all I need, baby. You and our girls and this little one you’re cooking up… You guys are everything to me.”
They held each other until another call interrupted the moment.
“Sometimes I fucking hate my job.”
“I hate it a lot of the time.”
Smiling, he reached around her for the phone on the table. Goddamned dispatch. Again. “Taylor.”
“We’ve got a big tree down on the west side,” Clara said. “I’m sending some officers, but you wanted me to keep you in the loop.”
“I’ll head out there. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Blaine put down the phone. “Duty calls, but I’ll be home in an hour or two to continue this conversation.”
“I’ll look forward to that.”
He kissed her as tenderly as he possibly could because she deserved all the love and tenderness he could give her. “So will I.”
At the Beachcomber, Jace Carson had a big crowd, mostly made up of the employees from the massage and tattoo studios, which had closed early due to the storm.
The employees from both establishments had decamped to his bar.
He’d expected a slow night, but thanks to them, he’d been hopping for hours.
When his girlfriend, Cindy Lawry, came in and took the seat he held for her every night he worked at the bar, he used his chin to say hello as he typed food orders into the computer.
The management had decided to stay open while they could since no one knew what to expect after the storm.
He’d heard from Seamus that the boys and Carolina were with Big Mac and Linda while Seamus took the ferries to sea with Joe.
The thought of that made Jace sick to his stomach, but he assumed Seamus and Joe knew what the hell they were doing.
At least he hoped so. Jace had become rather fond of the crazy Irishman who was raising his sons and appreciated that Seamus and Carolina had made him part of their family.
After learning his ex-wife, Lisa, had died of cancer while he was in prison, Jace had come to the island to figure out what’d become of their sons.
Things on Gansett had worked out way better than Jace ever could’ve hoped for, and the woman at the center of his new life had quickly become an essential part of his days and nights.
He brought her an ice water with a lemon and placed it on a Beachcomber cocktail napkin in front of her.
Because of the migraines that plagued her, she avoided alcohol.
“Evening, pretty lady. You come here often?”
“Every chance I get. The bartender is hot.”
Jace narrowed his gaze. “You’d better be talking about me and not Casey over there.”
“Haha, you know exactly who I’m talking about.”
Smiling the way he did any time she was nearby, he said, “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat a little something. Surprise me.”
“I love to surprise you. Stand by.” He went to the computer and typed in an order for the clam chowder she loved and the baked cod dinner that others had been raving about all night, putting her meal on his tab.
When he returned to her, she was laughing at something Duke, the owner of the tattoo studio, had said. He’d been trying to talk her into some ink for a while now.
“I see gorgeous flowers on that pretty arm,” Duke said, subtly flirting with her the way he always did.
“I’ve told you a hundred times,” Cindy said, “I’m scared of needles.”
“You won’t feel a thing.”
“Right.”
“I mean it. I’m so smooth that you won’t even know what’s happening.”
“If it sounds too good to be true,” Jace said, “it probably is.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Duke said. “What does he know?”
“Um, he has a ton of ink, so he knows what it feels like,” Cindy said.
“And it hurts like a mother effer,” Jace said.
“There you have it,” Cindy said. “Tattoos are not for me.”
“You break my heart with this constant rejection,” Duke said mournfully.
“She loves our stuff,” Sierra, owner of the massage studio, said to taunt Duke. She had spikey dark hair and brown eyes and a killer body that had the guys in the bar flocking around her whenever she came in. “She lets me put my hands all over her.”
“As often as I can,” Cindy added.
“Can I watch sometime?” Duke asked, teasing.
“Absolutely not,” Jace said, leaving no room for further debate.