After the Kiss (25 page)

Before he got too far down that road, Val cut in. “You’re off duty now, right?”

“Until tomorrow morning.”

“So what are you planning to do today?”

“Thought I’d help out with some repairs on the boat. Anything you want taken care of?”

Val grinned. “Oh yeah, I have some stuff for you to do.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll make sure I finish it up at a decent hour. Don’t forget that we’re meeting Theo at the Rusty Nail tonight.” Theo was a bestselling novelist who had also returned to Star Harbor. He seldom spent an evening apart from his fiancée, Avery Newbridge, a compassionate social worker with fiery red hair. But Avery was currently in Boston at some conference, and Theo was stuck with them for company for the next few nights.

“Mmm,” Val said. “She’s a good match for him, though I have to admit I thought you were going to be the next Grayson man down.”

“I don’t give it up that easy.”
Not anymore
.

“That’s not what Zee told me,” Val said, giving him an even look.

“Zee doesn’t talk,” Cole said, calling his brother’s bluff about his old partner from the Boston precinct.

“I know how to read between the lines.”

Cole was happy that Val and his team of federal agents had been assigned to interface with the Sheriff’s Department to investigate the drug issue plaguing Star Harbor. That meant his insightful older brother was around a lot. Yet he deliberately kept quiet about the relationships he’d had since returning from deployment. After the first few had gone south, he’d all but given up trying. Olivia had been a fluke—and the final straw. Things had been all right for a while, but once she’d asked him to move in with her, the relationship had gone downhill, fast.

Cole cleared his throat. “It’ll feel fine to do some real work again,” he said.

“Beats doing paperwork behind a desk.”

“I’m doing more than that,” Cole snorted, relieved that Val had moved on from talking about his love life.

“Mmm,” Val said. “Coffee’s fresh in the galley. Go grab some and then we’ll discuss what you can do for me today.”

Cole nodded. “I’ll be back in a few.” He turned and ducked back into the cabin. It
would
feel good to flex his muscles. He hadn’t done much physical labor since returning to town late last summer. Today, he’d skip his usual morning run and his weight-lifting session at the gym and put in a hard day of work on the boat. Life on the water was freeing, but it sure wasn’t easy, and Val could use all the help he could get.

Besides, it was the perfect way to get any lingering demons out of his head.

“Okay, Billy, I’m almost finished. You’ve been a very brave boy,” Julie Kensington murmured as she finished making the last tiny stitch in Billy’s leg. The neat pattern ran two inches down the side of his right calf. The wound was red and puffy, but it would heal well. Expertly, she knotted the thread and began to put her instruments away. “All done,” she said, giving a nod to Billy’s parents, Pru and Harry Miller. “You can look now.”

The six-year-old waited a few seconds and then turned his tear-streaked face away from the shelter of his mother’s arms. After examining the stitches for a few moments, Billy spoke. “It looks like Frankenstein’s leg. It’s kinda cool.” He gave a little sniffle and wiped his nose on his mother’s expensive blouse. Pru didn’t look at all as if she minded.

“I’m going to bandage it up now, okay?” Julie took some gauze and arranged it over the wound, taping it down on unharmed tissue. “Billy had a tetanus shot recently, right?” she asked Pru, continuing to tidy up her work area. Her nurse, Lisa, would kill her if she left everything a shambles.

“Yes. He had his booster last year,” the petite woman confirmed, her brown bob swaying as she tipped her head up to her husband. “Right, Harry?”

Harry, a tall, square-jawed man, cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said, picking the little boy up in his arms. As soon as Billy was situated with his hurt leg carefully cradled, he placed his head in the crook between his father’s neck and shoulder and closed his eyes.

Julie smiled at the tender moment but got back to business right away. “One more thing,” she said. “I didn’t get a chance to see if the jungle gym was rusted. Do you remember?”

“I don’t think so,” Harry said. Pru just shrugged.

“Hmm. Why don’t I go by to take a look this evening? With these kinds of injuries, sometimes we do an extra booster, just in case, but it’ll depend on what I find.”

“Should we get one now to be safe?” Pru asked, standing.

“It’s not necessary. Billy’s been through enough today, and if he needs a booster, he’ll be fine as long as he gets one within forty-eight hours. Why don’t you give me the name of your Boston pediatrician so I can call tomorrow morning for a brief chat?” The Millers owned houses in both Star Harbor and Boston. That meant they had two sets of everything, including doctors.

“Ruth Walsham,” Pru said, scribbling on the back of a business card. “Here’s her number. We’d intended to head back to Boston tonight because Billy has school tomorrow, but if you think we need to stay—”

“Go. I’ll figure everything out and I’ll give you a call early tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Pru said, gratitude written all over her face. “We’ll go see Dr. Walsham if we have to.”

“I’ll call you before nine.” Julie shook her head. “I just can’t believe the jungle gym broke like that.”

“We were just getting in some play time before hitting the road. We didn’t think something like this was going to happen.” Pru reached up to the boy and began to stroke his hair. “Okay, honey, we’re going home. Would you like that?” Eyes still closed, Billy nodded, obviously overwhelmed by all the action.

“Take care,” Julie said as she saw the Millers out the front door of her office. She waited until they’d rounded the corner and then gently shut the door. She’d trained hard for emergencies like these, and though it was unfortunate that Billy had gotten hurt, she was glad to have a chance to demonstrate her expertise. That New England work ethic she’d inherited from her parents clearly ran deep.

Julie finished tidying up and then went to wash her hands with antiseptic soap one last time. Her long, straight hair was caught up in a high ponytail, but during all the excitement, wayward wisps had escaped and now framed her face. With still-damp hands, she smoothed back the stray strands. Then she dried her hands and gathered up her keys.

She stepped out into the cool early-evening air and locked the front door to her office and skimmed her hand over the Historical Landmark Registry plaque to the right of the door frame, just over the sign that said “Julia Kensington, MD.” She’d worked so hard to get here—incurring tens of thousands of dollars of debt to pay her way through school, pulling exhausting all-nighters to make sure she knew her coursework, and of course, giving up any semblance of a social life. She’d poured her soul into her education, and she’d finally done what she’d set out to do: make her parents proud by becoming a respected doctor.

Of course, they’d never gotten to see her success. She’d been in her second year of medical school when they’d been killed, struck down in the prime of their lives by a drunk driver. She’d done her grieving eight years ago when they’d died, and then had thrown herself back into her studies. It was what they would have wanted. She missed them terribly, but knowing she was on her own had made her work that much harder.

Julie turned around to face Front Street. The shops closed early since it was a Sunday night and the few seasonal tourists were gone. With about an hour to go until sunset, the faux gas lamps lining the historic downtown area were not yet lit. Usually her street was bustling with people, but for now she had the luxury of solitude.

Briskly, Julie walked through town. Whom could she call to get the jungle gym repaired? The town would take weeks, unless she pestered Royce Hogan to get the Parks and Rec Department to do a rush job. Maybe Luke Bedwin at the hardware store could come out to smooth off the rough edges so no one else would get hurt while she worked her magic on the mayor.

A light wind blew, raising goose bumps on her bare arms. Damn, she was freezing! When she’d found Billy, she’d been out running. Anticipating a brisk loop around the town and back to
her house, she hadn’t dressed for the weather. Her leggings, T-shirt, and running shoes weren’t warm enough this late in the afternoon. To warm up quickly, she broke into a trot.

Too bad she couldn’t cut across the piers to get home—it would have been much faster. But she’d promised the Millers she’d look at the play structure and she always kept her promises. As she turned into the park, for the briefest of moments, she had the uneasy feeling of being watched.

Brushing off the prickle of unease, Julie picked up her pace. Tall trees surrounding the entrance to the park loomed over her, causing the dusky gloom to close in. Soon, she reached the children’s playground in a small clearing. At the jungle gym, she saw a sharp piece of metal poking out the side about two feet off the ground. There was no obvious rust, but she’d call Dr. Walsham all the same to determine whether Billy should get a booster. Gingerly, she bent over and touched it with one hand. It moved slightly. Maybe she could break it off. Grasping it with both hands, she strained for a few moments against the metal, trying to work the piece free.

“Ma’am, are you aware you’re defacing public property?”

Julie was so surprised at the firm male voice behind her that she let go. She would have fallen back onto the wood chips, but instead she fell backwards into something much more solid.

Strong hands grabbed her under her rib cage and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Julie gasped as those same strong hands landed on her shoulders, spinning her around. She tried to see the man’s face, but the shadows hid his features. All of her senses immediately went on high alert, attuned to the danger of standing in a deserted, darkened park with an unknown man.

“Are
you
aware you nearly scared me half to death?” she retorted, backing away from him. Maybe not the wisest thing to say when standing in the dark with a stranger, but it was either give him some smart-ass retort or scream her head off.

“Julia, Julia, Julia,” the man said. His voice was like whisky, deep and smooth, with just a hint of mirth. “I’m sure you’re doing something Good Samaritan–like, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on and we can call it a night?”

There was only one person she knew who could sound that authoritative and
commanding without even trying. Her eyes narrowed. “Cole Grayson?”

Slowly, the man moved out of the shadows, and when she saw his face, Julie’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been right.

It
was
Cole, the boy who’d haunted her dreams since high school.

Her track teammates had gushed over the Grayson boys—Seb mostly, due to his looks and charm. But Seb’s smooth, entitled attitude had always rubbed her the wrong way. She had been tempted to write all of the Graysons off, but as much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it, there was something about Cole that got to her.

With his rakish grin, deep blue eyes, and tousled black hair, Cole had epitomized everything that was sexy about a boy on the verge of manhood. Back then, he’d been lean and sinewy, a stripling yet to have filled out, but oh so desirable. Since he’d returned to Star Harbor, the ante had been upped. He wasn’t just desirable anymore—he was smoking hot.

Standing well over six feet tall, he looked like something out of a magazine. Beneath his black leather jacket and slim jeans it was obvious he was in impeccable shape. Time had fine-tuned the planes of his face from boyish sexiness to full-blown sensuality. His hair was still a glossy black and was slightly too long to be considered clean cut. A swath of it fell across his broad forehead, nearly dangling into his eyes. Those hooded blue eyes promised excitement—and danger—if one were stupid enough to get too close. He had a slight scar high on his right cheekbone that Julie didn’t remember him having back then.

And his lips were luscious—ripe and full of promise. The first lips she’d ever tasted.

Julie dragged her gaze away and glanced back to his eyes, just catching the tail end of the once-over he’d given her. Now, he gave her a long, deep stare. The change hadn’t all been physical. He had a hardness to him that hadn’t been there when he was younger. My God, the man was sizzling! And dangerous. Very, very dangerous.

“Cole Grayson in the flesh,” he said, as if he knew exactly what was going through her mind.

Like it always did when she was around Cole, a familiar warmth began to build, low and
insistent, in her core. She nearly groaned aloud. Cole was the distraction she really didn’t need. Not now. Not when she could almost taste the sweetness of a successful year of practice. Unlike last year—a financial disaster due to startup costs and time-management issues—this year, she was in the black. And she wanted to keep it that way. She couldn’t let up. With the busy summer season coming up in a few short months, she should be financially solvent by the end of this calendar year. Besides, getting involved with a man like Cole Grayson would practically guarantee heartbreak.

“You completely freaked me out!” she accused, happier to be on the offensive when it came to Cole.

“Sorry. That definitely wasn’t my intent.” He crossed his arms over his wide chest and eyed her speculatively. “As long as we’re here now, maybe you’d like to tell me why you’ve been dodging me.”

“I’ve been working,” she said.

“So have I. But I still manage to have some fun.”

“I get out.”
Sometimes
.

“Sure. To the obligatory events. You came to Halloween on the Green, but left as soon as night fell.”

“I needed a good night’s sleep.” She’d been exhausted from her full patient load.

“And at Seb and Lexie’s wedding, you skipped out as soon as dinner was over.”

She shrugged, thinking it was
interesting
that he’d noticed. “I had clinic the next day.”

“I was saving a slow dance for you. Dancing is—you know—fun.” His lips curled up at the edges.