Chapter 15
Ethan stoodup from his desk. “I’ve answered the emails I could. There were a couple of tricky ones though.”
I smiled up at him. “Thanks. I’ll do them before I head to the boat.”
“I’ll head out to the campground, do the cleaning and meet you there.” He strode down the stairs, and I watched him until he was out of sight. I found myself watching him more and more. Since that first day two months ago, he’d become helpful at work and at home. He never complained if we had to put ranger duties before his research. It was a relief to have someone I could rely on.
He wouldn’t be moving into the house next door before Christmas. The tiler would be finished in time, but not the painter or carpet layer. In a way, I would miss his presence when he left. But next door wasn’t the other side of the world.
I answered the remaining emails and headed out to the boat. Our guests would start arriving soon and needed to be sized up for their wetsuits before going into the change rooms. Even though we were heading into summer, the water was still a little cold for swimming in normal swim gear.
Ethan arrived soon after and prepped his wetsuit. While I did a safety check of the boat, he separated the wetsuits into piles by size. As the guests arrived, we started handing them out.
Next came what I had begun to refer to as the best start to a tour, ever. Ethan stripped down to his bike shorts and guided the guests through the process of putting on a wetsuit. He started with his back to me, so I got to watch his butt and back muscles flex as he pulled the wetsuit up. When he got it to his waist, he turned to show everyone where it sat.
And that’s when I got to stare at his broad shoulders that led down to a narrow waist, not like He-Man, better, real. Then there was his smooth chest. I licked my lips. Would it be rock hard or soft to the touch? What the hell was I even thinking? I did not want to touch Ethan.
I sighed. His body was better than in the photos. Tanned, toned, divine. It was better than a morning coffee. And that was saying something because I couldn’t go without one in the morning, even if it was just an instant one like I had before the magic coffee machine arrived.
I forced myself to turn away. It was completely inappropriate for me to ogle my co-worker. It didn’t stop the two twenty-somethings on the tour from doing the same. I clenched my teeth. After he finished his presentation, Ethan joined me. I’d stowed his tablet in the waterproof box beside the helm. As much as he wanted to, it was unlikely that he’d have time to do any work while on the tour. He always brought it anyway.
Ethan looked at the horizon. Dark grey clouds had formed. “Do you think the storm will hit us?”
“Yes, this afternoon sometime.”
“Is there anything special we need to do to prepare?”
“We’ll need to make sure there is no loose debris at the campground, put some storm safety signs up, make sure the campers are aware and secure, and check all the windows at the office and at home are shut tight.”
“Easy. I’m sure we can do all that before it hits.”
“I’ll need to leave early to pick up the kids. I don’t want to drive home from the bus stop in the middle of it.”
Storms could be gnarly out here, the wind so strong it would push the car sideways and the rain so heavy you couldn’t see through the windshield.
“I can do the other jobs while you get them.”
My shoulders relaxed and I smiled up at him. I’d been concerned I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in. I still couldn’t bring myself to ask for help. Ethan probably wouldn’t say no. But that wasn’t the point. The children were my responsibility. No one else’s. If someone offered help, like he just had, that was a different story.
“Excuse me, Ethan,” one of the twenty-somethings said as she approached. “Can you zip my wetsuit up, please?”
I stepped forward with a fake sweet smile before Ethan had a chance to reply. “I’ll do that for you.”
Her face dropped but she turned around anyway. Me zipping her up was better for all of us. No mixed messages involved. And I knew Ethan hated the attention. When I finished, her friend joined her and they started talking to Ethan, giggling and flipping their long locks. Seriously, he was at least ten years older than them and not interested. Couldn’t they see he was only being polite?
I let out a harsh breath. I needed to survive them before I survived the storm tonight.
A woman in her forties approached me. She squirmed in her wetsuit in an attempt to get comfortable I assumed. She glanced at Ethan who was making his way to the next group and gave me a smile.
“Must be hard watching young women fawn all over your husband.” She said it loud enough for the young women to hear.
I let out a harsh breath. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”
“From the look on your face, I’d say not.” She patted my arm and walked back to the man she was with.
The two young women spoke animatedly to each other. I spun around and faced the opposite direction, my eyes wide. Why on earth had I just played along? To save Ethan, that’s why.
It’s not like I was jealous. Ethan was a nice guy and if I could save him from being uncomfortable, I would. I was sure he’d do the same for me. Not that I’d have men fawning over me. And if they showed the faintest interest I’d stay away. Far away. So far, they’d forget I even existed.
I glanced at Ethan. He gave me a lopsided smile, and I couldn’t help but return it. I loved the way the upward curve of his lips changed his face, making it softer and happier than he usually seemed. He needed to smile more. Why? I didn’t know. The stupid whirlpool of feelings had me thinking crazy things.
We all made our way to the boat and as we headed off, Ethan talked about sea lions.
“Does anyone know the difference between seals and sea lions?”
When he received no answer, he continued, “Two differences are that sea lions have larger flippers than seals, which means they can walk on land rather than wiggle on their bellies. They also have visible ear flaps.” He continued, his animated voice keeping the attention of our guests. Even though I was driving, he always kept my attention too.
* * *
Ethan was doingsome work at the table when we got home. His laptop was open in front of him, and he was referring to his iPad as well as shuffling through one of his many piles of paper.
“How did you go with getting everything prepared for the storm?” I asked.
“All sorted. Was the drive home OK?”
“Yes. A bit windy but nothing dramatic.”
I passed him as I walked into the kitchen with the kids’ lunch boxes and noticed the back of his neck was pink. “Did you forget to put your sunscreen on today?”
He shook his head. “I put it on this morning.”
Rose stopped beside him. “Your face is a bit pink and your neck. Did you forget to reapply? I forget to reapply all the time, but Mum reminds me. She also tells me that the UV rays don’t hide when it’s cloudy.”
Ethan touched the back of his neck. “I must have forgotten.”
I wonder what he was doing that had him so absent-minded. Probably thinking about the sea lions as he did the things on our storm prep list. “Rose, can you go cut an aloe vera leaf for me and then go and get changed?”
She rushed to the front yard and soon returned with a leaf.
“The aloe vera will help soothe the burn and hopefully it won’t worsen,” I said to Ethan. “Take your shirt off and I’ll apply it.”
Ethan stood and peeled his shirt off. His shoulders were broad up close. Broader than I thought they were, and his waist was slim in comparison. I directed my eyes to the problem area. His neck and shoulders had a pink tinge. Not bad in the scheme of things, probably because he was already tanned.
I squeezed some aloe vera onto his smooth skin. He tensed when it hit and small goose bumps erupted on his flesh. As I rubbed it in, the bumps disappeared. There was a splattering of light freckles on his shoulders that I’d never noticed before. My fingers trailed along the pattern.
“That feels better already,” he said.
What was I doing? Not the task I set out to perform. I blushed and finished massaging the aloe in, grateful Ethan had no idea I’d enjoyed touching his skin.
“All done.” I stepped away, bumping into the bench. Nothing like drawing attention to myself.
He swung his head in my direction, cocking it. I smiled. At least I hoped it was a smile and not a grimace.
“Thanks.” He pulled his t-shirt back on.
I busied myself to give distance between us. Anyone would think I’d never seen a male body up close. He was my co-worker and housemate. I needed to keep my hands to myself. And my thoughts. And everything else.