Chapter 42
JONAH
‘Jonah?’
‘Mm?’
‘Is that you?’
‘Is that me, what?’
She rolled over in bed. ‘Making all that noise.’
‘No. I thought it was you.’
With difficulty, I pried my eyes open to look at her. Her hair was spread all over the pillow as she blinked at me with sleepy eyes.
‘What time is it?’ she mumbled.
I checked my watch. ‘Seven.’
She groaned. ‘Too early.’
Knock knock.
‘I think someone’s at the door,’ I told her, going to prop myself up on my elbows, a jolt of pain reminding me that my shoulder was still tender.
She lifted her head and frowned. ‘Who?’
‘No idea. But if it’s Santa, he’s a day early.’
She leaned over and playfully bit me. ‘Go and see who it is then.’
‘It’s your house. Whoever it is, they’re not here to see me.’
‘Fine,’ she sighed. ‘I’ll go. But only because you’ve been injured.’
She threw on some track pants and a sweater and disappeared. I heard the murmur of voices, and then the sound of the door shutting.
‘Who was it?’ I called.
She came back into the bedroom carrying a parcel, her eyes reading the label. ‘Courier. Someone sent me a parcel.’
I sat bolt upright. ‘It’s not your birthday, is it?’
‘Relax, that’s in November.’
‘Oh good. I was worried then.’ I stuffed a few pillows behind me and sat back, propped upright, just as my phone rang. I fumbled for my jeans on the bedroom floor and fished the phone from the pocket. The name Jim flashed on the screen. ‘Do you mind if I get this?’
Her attention was transfixed on the package. ‘Go for it.’
‘Hey Jim, what’s up?’
‘How’s your shoulder?’
‘It’s fine. I have an expert taking great care of me.’
‘Good. Hey, I just got word about the other boat, the Golden Pearl.’
I stiffened, bracing myself. ‘Yeah?’
‘They’re on their way home. Ended up sheltering somewhere up the coast. Boat took a bit of damage, but the guys are OK.’
I exhaled, feeling the tension drain out of me. ‘Thank God.’
‘I thought you’d want to know.’
‘Of course.’
‘Drinks tonight at The Cozy Catch?’
I clicked my teeth regretfully. ‘Can’t. It’s the winter formal at the hotel. Wasn’t sure if it was going to go ahead, with the boat missing. But now we know that they’re safe it’ll be business as usual.’
He snorted. ‘Good luck. Wouldn’t catch me all gussied up like a turkey in a suit, that’s for sure.’
‘You’re just jealous you can’t pull it off as well as I can.’
He laughed. ‘Whatever you have to tell yourself, bud.’
I disconnected the call and sagged back against the pillows, dropping the phone onto the bedside table.
‘Everything OK?’ Mae asked.
‘It is now.’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘The other boat that was caught out in the storm is on its way home.’
She clapped a hand to her chest. ‘Oh, thank God. That’s the best news.’
I stared at her, feeling emotions flood through me. Relief, mostly. But also, a deep sense of community.
‘Pine Harbor lives and breathes the sea,’ I told her. ‘It’s in our blood, our bones, our lungs. When we lose someone out there, the whole town feels it to their core. Believe me when I say that everyone will sleep easier tonight knowing those guys will be home, safe in their beds.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know how they can do what they do. How you can. Go out there again and again, knowing the dangers you all face.’
I shrugged. ‘For me, it’s a job. But for these guys, it’s a calling. A family legacy, in a lot of cases. They can’t not do it. It’s hard work, sure. And risky as hell. But they have an unbreakable bond with the ocean.’
She stared down at her hands, her face solemn. I knew what she was thinking. Knew what I’d put her through. She was questioning whether she was strong enough to be the one waiting on the dock, watching the horizon. I reached over and gently tilted her chin so she was looking at me.
‘It’s all going to be OK, I promise.’
She nodded, forcing a smile. ‘I know.’
‘So, who’s the parcel from?’ I asked, deliberately changing the subject.
She flipped it over and checked the back. ‘Oh,’ she exclaimed, and for a second, I thought she was going to cry. But they were happy tears. ‘It’s from my best friend back in Chicago, Holly.’
‘Nice. What is it?’
‘I left my X-ray goggles in my other pants,’ she said, poking out her tongue.
I reached for her. ‘Touché.’
She laughed, ducking out of reach.
‘No fair,’ I protested, pouting. ‘You know I’m hurt.’
‘Do you need me to kiss it better?’
I grinned wickedly. ‘Only if you want to. I mean, I’m no doctor, but I’m sure it would help.’
She put the box down on the floor and crawled up the bed, lifting one leg to straddle me.
‘You have to tell me if I hurt you,’ she cautioned.
I reached for the hem of her sweater and lifted it over her head, admiring her. ‘Depends how exquisite the pain is.’
* * *
Afterwards, when she collapsed on the sheets beside me, both of us panting and dripping with sweat, I pulled her into the crook of my good side and she lay there, her head on my chest, her breath warm on my skin.
‘Imagine if I hadn’t walked over to you at the pier that day,’ I said. ‘I almost didn’t. I was on a mission to have a drink and something to eat when I saw you. Mostly drink, courtesy of my mother. I could just as easily have minded my own business and left you there.’
‘You? Mind your own business?’ she teased, then yelped when I tickled her on the ribs.
‘You know what I mean. We might never have met.’
‘In this town? Come on. We’d have met at some time or other. In fact, we’d have meet later that week when I started making home visits to your dad.’
‘True. But if we had met for the first time then, when you were working, would we be here together, right now, in this bed? Having, FYI, the most mind-blowingly incredible sex of my life?’
She was quiet for a while. ‘I don’t know. Where are you going with this?’
‘I’m just thinking about how it’s all the little actions, the little decisions we make that can shape our whole lives.’
‘Sliding-door moments.’
‘What are they?’
‘It’s a movie. I’ll show you one day.’
‘I’ve been thinking,’ I went on, ‘about what my mom said yesterday, down at the dock.’
‘You’ll have to be more specific. Your mother had a lot to say.’
‘About how you can never know what’s just around the corner.’
‘She said that?’
‘Yeah, in a roundabout way. She talked about the men the memorial is dedicated to. How none of them went to sea expecting not to come home again. Leaving behind families, wives, children.’
‘I’m still lost. What are you saying, you don’t want to go to sea any more? Because no one would blame you, after what happened. It would have been terrifying.’
I held her tighter. ‘All I could think about was you. When I thought I was going to die, my only regret was that I hadn’t had more time with you.’
She pressed her lips against my skin. ‘I don’t think like to think about what could have happened.’
‘I’m not going to give up doing things that I enjoy on the off chance that something might go wrong,’ I told her. ‘If I did that, I’d have to give up crossing the street too. There’s an element of danger with everything.’
‘But?’
‘But I don’t want to waste any more time doing something I’m mainly just doing for the hell of it.
Being a lobsterman has been great, it’s paid my bills, filled my days, brought me a new appreciation for the ocean and how hard those men work.
But it’s time for me to chase my own dreams. Starting tonight. ’
‘Tonight?’
‘The winter formal.’
‘I didn’t think you’d be up for it with your shoulder.’
I shrugged. ‘I once got caught in a rip on my paddleboard and got swept two miles off the coast. Lost my paddle to a wave and had to use my hands to row myself the whole way back in. Took me eleven hours. I think I can handle a dance or two with a sore shoulder.’
She glared at me, exasperated. ‘I’m beginning to understand why your mother wants to wrap you up in cotton wool.’
I grinned. ‘So what was in the box?’
She yelped, diving for the side of the bed where she dropped it. ‘I forgot all about that, thanks to a certain someone distracting me. And before you ask, yes, it was worth it.’
After tearing the parcel open, she read the little card inside, and I was worried to see her eyes glass over with tears.
‘Bad news?’
She shook her head, holding it out for me to read. ‘No.’
Mae,
I couldn’t have Cinderella going to the ball in rags, so here’s a little something I picked out for you. I know it might not be your usual style, but trust me, you CAN pull this off. Knock ’em dead, my gorgeous friend. If they can’t see just how wonderful you truly are, they’re not worth it.
Holly
Xxx
‘She sounds like a good friend.’
‘She is. The best. I miss her.’ She wiped a tear off her cheek. ‘She did say she might come and visit me here one day.’
‘I look forward to meeting her.’
She lifted the lid off the box and folded back tissue paper, revealing black material. ‘I guess I have something to wear now.’
I reached for it. ‘Do I get a sneak preview?’
She smacked my hand lightly. ‘No. You can see when you pick me up tonight and not a moment earlier.’
I sighed. ‘I guess I can wait if I have to.’
The sheet she’d had tucked under her armpits for modesty dropped away and at the sight of the swell of her breast I felt myself stir again.
It was insane to me, how much I wanted her.
I wanted to spend every damn day of the rest of my life with her, if she’d let me.
I reached out a hand and traced the bones of her spine, enjoying the tiny gasp she gave when I touched her.
‘I have a few brilliant ideas for how we could fill the hours between now and tonight,’ I teased. ‘That’s if you’re not sick of me already, of course.’
She placed the box carefully on the floor and lay down beside me, her fingers lightly stroking my beard, her eyes on mine. ‘I honestly don’t think I could ever be sick of you.’
‘You say that now, but what about when I’m hogging the covers, or commandeering the TV remote.’
‘Aw.’ She pouted. ‘It’s cute that you think you could do that.’
I pulled her towards me, and she squealed.
‘I’ll give you cute,’ I growled.