Book 21 Trouble After Dark #4
“Thank you.” She squeezes his hand. “For believing me and trying to help. Even if nothing comes of it, I appreciate you trying.”
“Something will come of it. I’ll make sure of that.”
Julia asks what he gets out of helping her.
He hates bullies and people who take advantage of others.
His ferocity makes her smile and say she wouldn’t want to cross him.
When he says she has nothing to fear from him, she realizes someone told him about how she grew up.
Is he helping her because he feels sorry for her?
Deacon thinks she’s awesome and a good person who risked her own safety to save a puppy.
He lists other qualities he likes about her, not mentioning her physical appearance, which is the only thing most men notice about her.
Since he doesn’t mention it, he earns more points with her.
Deacon wants to be more than friends with her, but understands he has to earn her trust after what she’s been through.
He writes up the report that he’ll submit on her behalf.
He tells her to call him when the puppy is ready to be picked up and to email him the pictures and information he needs for the report.
“Get some rest. I’ll be back.” He stands and seems reluctant to leave her. At the door, he turns back to her. “I’m sorry about the men who hurt you, Julia. I promise I won’t be one of them.”
Sarah comes to check on Julia. She’s worried about Julia after she left both Katie’s wedding and hers, and that she hasn’t eaten anything. Julia tells her mom that after a bad breakup, the wedding joy was too much for her. She’s done with men because they bring only heartbreak.
“If you close your heart off to the possibility of love, you could miss out on the greatest thing ever to happen to you,” Sarah says.
“I’m thankful all the time that I had the courage to try again with Charlie.
At first, I was resistant because I expected him to be just like your father, but he’s nothing like him.
He’s your father’s polar opposite. Since I’ve been here on Gansett, I’ve met so many good men. They’ve restored my faith in humanity.”
Sarah asks Julia to give Deacon a chance to show her what it’s like to be with a good man.
Sarah shares something Charlie taught her.
“When we let the past define our present and future, we prove that we haven’t learned anything from what we’ve been through.
What happened with your father and the other men who’ve disappointed you is in the past. If you let them hold you back from the chance to be truly happy, then what have you learned? ”
Julia appreciates what her mother is trying to tell her, but it’s not in the cards for her.
“I can’t bear to hear you say that, Julia.
Of course, it’s in the cards for you. You’re a smart, talented, beautiful woman with so much love to give.
Please don’t miss out on what could be the greatest thing ever to happen to you by allowing bitterness to cloud your judgment.
” She invited Deacon to her wedding because she saw the way he looked at Julia, as if he was seeing something precious.
Julia promises to think about it. She also reassures her mother that Katie is monitoring her health and has made appointments for Julia to be seen.
Deacon writes up the report and calls the police in Texas.
The officer promises to pick up Julia’s ex, Mike, for a chat.
He showers, changes and goes to tell Julia the news.
He runs into Sarah coming out of the hotel.
She tells Deacon that she encouraged Julia to give him a chance.
Sarah asks him not to disappoint her. Deacon promises her he’d never intentionally do anything to hurt Julia.
As he walks into the hotel, he realizes he’s heading toward something bigger than he’s ever been involved in.
A day after meeting Julia, he already knows she’s special, and he wants more with her.
Deacon tells Julia about his call with the local police and how he learned that this isn’t the first time Mike has done something like this.
Julia is embarrassed that she didn’t check him out before she got involved.
He reminds her that she’s a good person who had the misfortune of caring for someone who doesn’t deserve her.
Hearing that he’s succeeded in getting the cops to go after Mike, she begins to feel something new and fragile and hopeful.
It’s been a very long time since someone has stepped up for her the way he has, and she’s known him for only two days.
She gazes up at him, hoping he’ll take the hint that she wants him to kiss her.
He moves his hands from her hips to her face, cradling it like he’s holding something special.
Then he tips his head, and keeping his eyes open and fixed on hers, he kisses her with a tenderness that makes her knees go weak.
She, who has been kissing boys since she was fourteen, has never been kissed quite like this, as if she is precious to him. She’d never been precious to anyone.
As they’re walking to the vet to pick up the puppy, Julia lets go of Deacon’s hand.
When he asks what’s wrong, she says she’s doing it again, getting silly and hopeful about a man.
“Just about every guy I’ve ever dated has been like him in one way or another.
Maybe they weren’t physically abusive, but they lied and cheated and stole and deceived. ”
“I can only stand here, look you in the eye and swear on the lives of everyone I love that I’ll never do any of those things to you. I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you or disappoint you, because I’m only human, but I’ll never lie to you or cheat on you or steal from you or otherwise deceive you.”
He brings her hand to his lips and sets her on fire when he sprinkles soft kisses over her skin.
“I understand that you have no way to know for sure that I mean what I say, so all I ask is that you let me show you. Give me a chance to show you that not all men are untrustworthy dicks.” Deacon tucks her hand into the crook of his arm and continues toward the vet clinic. “Hang on to me. I won’t let you down.”
Deeply moved by what he said, Julia wants so badly to believe him, badly enough that she does as he asks and holds on to him even when her better judgment is telling her to let go and stick to the man diet despite the significant temptation he represents.
They pick up the puppy, go to the store to get what they need for him and are walking back to the hotel when they pass Tiffany’s store, Naughty & Nice.
Deacon stops in to tell Tiffany that Blaine apologized to him.
She reminds him he’s welcome anytime to see her and the girls.
They want to get to know their Uncle Deacon.
Julia tells Deacon he looks like Blaine, which he takes exception to. They bicker back and forth, Deacon telling her they’re in the biggest fight ever. Julia has never had so much fun with a man and is happy to be spending time with him.
The next morning, Owen drives Julia to the marina to meet with Mac about the job she’s interested in. He introduces her to Big Mac McCarthy, his brother Frank, his best friend Ned Saunders and his son Mac.
After getting coffee and doughnuts for Julia, Mac sits down with her.
“So, let me tell you about the job. A couple of years ago, when I moved back to the island, I started a small construction company that’s grown to the point that I just can’t manage it all on my own, especially in the summer when I’m helping run this place, too.
My wife, Maddie, is expecting twin girls in September, and they’ll be our fourth and fifth children. The oldest is in kindergarten.”
“Holy cow.”
“Right? I need help, and I need it now.”
“I need a job, and I need it now.”
Mac laughs. “I’d say that makes us a perfect match. Owen says you’ve been an office manager for years in Texas?”
“Yes, I worked for a manufacturing company most recently. I loved the job until we got a new boss. We weren’t a good fit.”
Mac winces. “I hate when that happens.”
“Me, too.”
“Well, I’m the only boss you’d ever have on this job, and I’d like to think I’m pretty easy to work for. We have a lot going on all the time, so it’s really busy.”
“I like to be busy, and I’d do anything I could to make life easier for you. I’m not the kind of employee who can’t be asked to do anything outside of her job description. If something needs to be done, tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“That’d be so awesome, and there’s no job description. We’d be making it up as we go.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Are you here only for the summer?”
“For right now, but I’m open to staying if the job is working out for both of us. I’m a little worried about being here in the winter. I’ve never done a winter on Gansett.”
“I was the same way when I first moved back here, but I’ve come to really appreciate the slower pace of winter after the insanity of summer.”
“Running two businesses that are booming in the summer, I can see why you love winter.” The puppy chooses that moment to wake up, whining and growling. “Stop it. Be nice. We’re at an interview, and we want Mac to hire us.”
“You’re already hired, and so is he. Our office needs a dog to keep an eye on things.”
They agree she’ll start the next day, and he invites her to the party at the Wayfarer that night to meet everyone. Mac leaves to meet Maddie at the clinic for a checkup.
After parking, he jogs into the clinic and stops short at the sight of his gorgeous wife being supported by Victoria and another woman he doesn’t recognize.
For a brief second, Mac’s heart stops when he wonders what could be wrong.
His chest starts to seriously hurt, and his jaw…
Wow, that hurts, too. He takes a step forward, and then he’s falling, hitting the floor hard, but he doesn’t feel anything other than the searing pain in his chest.
Maddie…
She needs him. He has to get up and go to her.