Bad Karma (2 page)

Chloe Palmer had returned home, an unwed mother with a young daughter. She’d fallen back into the arms of Rafael Solis, her high-school love and the man whom she’d married shortly after the series of murders had been solved. Now Chloe Solis was pregnant with her second child and Rafael was bursting with pride.

The happy couple often invited him to their home for dinner. Chloe’s three-year-old daughter called him, ‘Unka Zach’.

Chloe kept hinting that she planned to find a suitable female companion for him when the next crop of summer visitors hit the beach.

He was less than enthusiastic. The summer girls came looking for a fling. He wanted what Rafael had.
That forever thing.

He stumbled, but didn’t fall when the top of his foot caught on a piece of driftwood. He picked it up and flung it into the dunes.
Pay attention idiot, or you’re going to break your neck.

It was the thought of having someone to love that had tripped him up, not the driftwood. Someone who would love him and make babies with him and be as tight as his parents. The Bailey marriages lasted forever. Forever was all he wanted.

Today, Zach was going to help Mack out on the shrimp boat and visit the pod of dolphins he was studying. He’d tagged them all and was deep into the process of recording their movements and social interactions. That was his plan, at least.

When he jogged back to his home, he saw a truck backed up to the steps of the house next door. It was a rental truck used for self-moves.

Perhaps the renters were planning to stay through the summer. He saw a young woman skip down the stairs. She looked as though she could be in her late teens or early twenties, a fresh young face topped by a bouncy, honey blonde pony tail.

Zach paused half way up his own steps to stare at the young woman. Too young, but a visual treat by any standards.

The girl disappeared into the back of the truck.

He shook his head.
Better not to get involved with summer people.

~*~

Skyler tried to rest her injured leg. Her new job would start in three days. Not much time to relax after the strenuous move.

Cassidy was trying her best to unload everything by herself, but the furniture was too heavy for one woman to carry alone. Even one as strong and healthy as her younger sister.

Cassie had rented a dolly along with the truck, but she hadn’t realized that the house she leased over the internet had the beach for a front yard. Even if the dolly could be persuaded to bump up the steep flight of wooden steps that led to their new front door, it would be useless, sinking into the soft sand.

“
I’m coming, Cass. Just hold on.” Sky clung to the railing and tried to hurry as she took the stairs one at a time, stepping down with her injured leg and then transferring her weight to the good leg. Slow and steady.

Sky glanced around, blushing when she realized that a tall man was watching her labored descent from his vantage point atop the deck of the neighboring house.

Another quick glance confirmed her first impression. He was great looking, tanned with auburn hair and wide shoulders. He raised his hand and grinned.

Oh, great! Hot guy next door and I’m gimping down the stairs.

“
Can I give you a hand?” the hot guy called out.

Cassie poked her head out of the truck. “A hand? We don’t need your applause. We need your muscles.” She flashed the man her wide, infectious grin.

“
I’ll be right over.” The tall man loped downstairs with an athletic ease.

Sky reached the bottom step by the time the hottie neighbor arrived. He stood grinning down at her. Dark auburn lashes tipped in gold shaded his green eyes.

“
I’m Zachary Bailey. Call me Zach. I own the house next door.” He held out his hand.

Sky offered her hand and it was wrapped in a warm, freckled grasp. A sensation she had not recently experienced swirled through her chest and seized her stomach. She felt flustered under his scrutiny and pulled her hand from his. “I’m Skyler Danforth and this is my sister, Cassidy.”

Cass waved from the open back of the truck.

“
Looks like you’re going to need more than one Bailey to get this furniture off the truck.” Zach flicked his cell phone open and pushed a button. He spoke to someone on the other end and snapped the phone closed. “We should have some help in a few minutes.”

Sky raised her brows. “Just like that? You can call forth your minions?”

He laughed. “My minions? I’m a Bailey. We Baileys can call on each other for help, anytime.”

“
Must be nice.” Cassie swung down from the truck with a lamp in her hands. “There are just two Danforth daughters and you’re looking at both of them.”

“
Where are you moving from?”

Cassie shot a somber look at Sky.

Sky met her gaze. “Ah, originally we’re from Austin.”

“
And what brings you to the island?”

The girls glanced at each other again. Sky took a deep breath and blew it out. She smiled at Cassie, hating to share their business with anyone, but this man was probably harmless. “My brilliant sister just graduated from the university with a Master of Science degree in microbiology and a teaching certificate. In the fall, she’ll be teaching Biology at the high school and hopes to start work on her doctorate soon.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Feel free to talk about me while I’m gone.” She stomped up the stairs carrying the lamp.

Zach gave Sky an appraising look. “And you? Why did you come to the island?” His green eyes seemed to be dissecting her.

She shrugged. “I’m a nurse. I can find a job anywhere.”

“
So, you came to keep your little sister company?”

Her stomach clenched when she was faced with so many seemingly innocent questions. She nodded. “In a way, yes.”

“
Your sister looks young to be a college graduate.”

Sky chuckled, glad to get the spotlight off her recent past. “I wasn’t kidding when I said she was brilliant. She graduated from high school at fifteen and just earned her Master’s degree at twenty. She’s a super geek.”

“
I’m impressed.”

“
Me, too.”

He smiled. His voice, deep and rich, seemed to wrap around her. “Welcome to the island, Skyler Danforth. I hope you find what you’re looking for here.”

An icy finger traced a path down Sky’s spine. She shivered, rubbing her arms as Zach gave her a questioning glance. “I hope so too.”

A bright yellow, four-wheel drive truck appeared in the distance. It rolled down the beach toward them at a steady speed. Zach stepped away from the house and waved his arms.

Sky watched as the truck pulled up and three men got out. All three were tall and had the same red hair as Zach. The driver, a barrel-chested man with tattooed ‘sleeves’ embraced Zach in a bear hug, lifting him off his feet. After a fair amount of back-slapping and grunting the four men approached her.

“
These are three of my six brothers, Skyler. Calvin is the big guy and the twins are Warren and Woodrow.”

Sky’s hand was enthusiastically pumped by all three.

Zach then directed them into the truck and they began unloading the furniture.

“
You’ll have to show us where you want everything.”

She grinned. “You guys are a godsend. It will take me a few minutes to get back up the stairs.”

Zack gave her a one-sided smile. “Let me help you with that.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs to the deck fronting the first level of the stilt house.

A tingling sensation started low in her gut and swirled up through her chest. Being swept into Zach’s strong arms and held against the warmth of his muscular chest was playing havoc with her hormones. She couldn’t recall having a man carry her as though she weighed nothing.

Zach placed her feet on the deck and stepped back.

Sky felt her cheeks flaming, as they always did when she felt uncomfortable. Shyness was her cross to bear.

“
Oh, my!” Cassie appeared in the doorway. “Nice ride!”

Zach introduced his brothers to Cassie and the women were relegated to the task of directing furniture placement.

When all their belongings had been unloaded from the truck, Skyler thanked the Bailey men. “I don’t know what we would have done without your help.”

“
No probs,” Calvin said. “We were glad to help.” He motioned the twins into his truck. “Come by the Bait Camp later and your first drink is on the house.”

A sick feeling roiled in Sky’s stomach. “No, uh, thank you, but we don’t drink alcohol.” She bit her lower lip.

“
Come and have a soft drink, then.” Calvin gestured toward Zach. “Take a tip from Mister health-nut here. He always has the water.”

Zach winked at her, causing a wave of heat to rise from her core.

Calvin and the twins took their leave and he drove away with Warren waving out the window.

Zach leaned back against the deck railing. “You don’t drink at all?”

Sky shook her head, fighting down a sudden surge of fear “No…I don’t seem to be able to handle anything alcoholic.”

He gave her a cute, one-sided grin. “No loss. I don’t need to alter my reality. But I can take you girls over later for a soft drink.”

Cassie came out onto the deck. “My sister is tired. She needs to rest.” Her voice sounded terse, a harsh way to speak to someone who had gone out of his way to help them.

Sky held up her hand. “I’m fine, Cass.” She drew a breath and turned to Zach with a smile. “But we do need to unload boxes and make beds.”

He shrugged. “There’s food too. Why don’t you relax and I’ll take you to dinner later.”

“
Thanks anyway,” Cassie snapped. “We can manage.”

Skyler met Cassie’s dark gaze. “Yes, thank you for everything, Zach. We appreciate your help, but we’d better take it easy tonight.”

“
Suit yourself.” Zach looked a little puzzled, but turned and loped down the stairs. He stopped once he reached the sand. “If you need anything, let me know.”

Sky raised her hand in farewell, but he’d already headed for his own home. She felt a strange since of loss, as though in a void, but a fresh Gulf breeze reminded her that she was anywhere but a void. She drew in a healthy lungful and glanced back toward the house next door.

He’d said he owned his home. It appeared to be well-maintained. She noticed a jet-ski chained to one of the concrete pilings supporting the two story structure and an olive-green four-wheel drive Jeep parked in front.

“
Cute guy,” Cassie said. “I’m sorry I was a little snippy, but I was feeling protective. I think he must be the consummate Island Boy.”

“
They were all very nice.” Sky turned to the house. “We need to get organized.”

Cassie rubbed both palms over her stomach. “We need food and we need to drop off the rental truck.”

“
The refrigerator’s empty. We’ll have to shop.”

“
Let’s do it then before we get bogged down in something else.”