Charmed by His Love (3 page)

Peg closed her eyes to count to ten, but only made it to five. “You try being a single parent without being bossy.” She grabbed the plunger, turned it around, and slapped it back in his hand. “That’s the business end.”

He blinked at her. “But it’s too big to fit down the hole,” he said, utterly sincere as he held it up for her to see.

Really? Honest to God
really
? Peg took hold of his hand and guided the plunger down into the bowl. “Speaking of children,”
she said, keeping her tone neutral, “I bet when you were a kid you were fascinated by little submarines, weren’t you? And some nice scientist must have showed you all around one, and you got so excited that you decided you were going to drive them when you grew up.” She stopped plunging to give him another brilliant smile. “And because of that nice man, now you do.”

The guy straightened, getting a faraway look in his eyes. “I was eight when my dad took me down to the pier where they were loading a four-man submersible onto a ship. One of the crew snuck us onboard and even let me climb inside it. That is, until Claude caught us.” He shrugged. “But we left with a snorkel and mask, and the crewman told me to come back when I got out of college.” He smiled, nodding toward the window. “I’ve been interning with Claude for over a year now.”

“So if you were to see a little kid admiring your little submarine out there,” she said conversationally, “would you show him around and feed his enthusiasm, or would you scare the bejeezus out of him by threatening to use him for shark bait?”

The guy’s smile disappeared, replaced by confusion. “Oh, you must have met Claude,” he said with a shrug. “He hasn’t got much use for kids. And the submersible has some pretty expensive equipment and delicate instruments. Why? You mentioned being a single mom; you want me to give your kid a tour?” His gaze lowered and then lingered a tad too long on her chest before he shot her an utterly male grin. “If you let me take you to dinner tonight, I could give
you
an in-depth tour of the equipment.”

Wow; she hadn’t seen that one coming.

“I … um … I don’t date.” Peg swiped the plunger from him and drove it into the toilet bowl. “Mostly because I can’t find anyone to babysit my
four
kids.”

He took a step back, although Peg didn’t know if it was because she was splashing water all over the place or because
she
had just scared the bejeezus out of
him
. “Four?” he choked out, taking another step back.

“Yup. All under the age of nine. There, that took care of that little problem,” she said over the sucking sound of the toilet unclogging. She set the plunger beside the tank and washed her hands in the sink, but not seeing any towels, she wiped
them on her pants as she turned to face him. “Now, if you can find out where all the towels are hiding, I’ll give you an in-depth tour of our laundry facility,” she said on her way past him. She stopped in the doorway. “What’s Claude look like, anyway?”

“Hey, you aren’t going to tattle on me, are you? I mean, jeeze, I was only asking you out to dinner.”

“And I thank you for that.” She shrugged. “I just want to keep all you guys straight, since you’re going to be here all summer exploring Spellbound Falls’s freaky new tourist attraction. Is Claude the boss of your little operation?”

He nodded, looking relieved—which told Peg that
Claude
was her target.

“He’s fortyish,” Mr. Romeo said, “a good three inches taller than me, athletic build, short dark hair.” He shook his head. “You might want to leave your bossy-mama attitude at home when you’re around him, though. Not only is Claude not into kids, but on a good day he barely tolerates women. And on a bad day I’ve actually seen him throw them overboard.”

“Thanks for the heads-up,” Peg said, picking her way through the cluttered cabin.

“Wait. About Bottomless,” he said, making her stop at the door. “Have you lived around here long?”

“All my life.”

“So you were here when the earthquake hit last week?”

“Yup.”

“It must have been pretty scary when those mountains split apart,” he said, pointing toward the window. He shook his head as he looked around the cabin. “The fiord the earthquake created is twelve miles long and over two thousand feet deep, but after talking to the geologists staying in cabin seven, none of us can figure out why nothing was damaged. Hell, we arrived within two days of the event and we didn’t even see a broken window. All the buildings in Spellbound Falls and here at Inglenook seem to be perfectly intact.”

Peg snorted. “The ground did a lot of shaking, and when Bottomless split open and the ice covering it caved in, it made one heck of a deafening
boom
. It’s a miracle none of the structures were damaged. As for that new fiord, it cut right along my eastern property line and flooded a large part of my old
gravel pit. So tell me, have you guys been able to come up with an explanation for what happened? Because honestly, people in town are really rattled and are calling it
magic
.” She snorted. “And some are afraid to even go in a boat now, claiming Bottomless is cursed or something.”

“Sorry, we’re as baffled as anyone.” He picked up his laptop and followed her out of the cabin. “The geologists can’t figure it out, either, swearing there wasn’t one warning sign of an impending earthquake. But what has us oceanographers really baffled is that the subterranean river actually became a navigable passageway from the Gulf of Maine to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The underground river surfaced in seven lakes; six here in Maine and one in Canada.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs to face her. “Each of them appearing almost deliberately spaced so that ocean mammals can come up for air.”

“Does that mean there really could be whales in Bottomless?”

He nodded, gesturing toward the lake. “One of our crew swears he spotted the biggest sperm whale he’s ever seen the very first day we were here, and yesterday a pod of harbor porpoises thought our submersible was a fun little toy to play with. A wide variety of saltwater creatures are already calling Bottomless home, including crustaceans that got sucked in with the river’s initial surge.” He grinned. “Tell your kids to keep an eye on that new fiord running past your house and they’ll probably spot anything from whales to harbor seals to sharks, and your flooded pit will probably become a sheltered cove for all sorts of tiny sea creatures.”

“Sharks! Does that mean we can’t swim in Bottomless anymore?”

He shrugged away her concern. “They shouldn’t bother you any more than they would ocean swimmers. But I’d keep your kids in the protected coves.”

Peg turned away to hide her shudder. “Thanks for the heads-up,” she said with a wave over her shoulder.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

She turned and walked back to him with a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that. It’s Peg.” She held out her hand. “But I also answer to Peggy or Margaret or
Mommm
.”

“Steve,” he said, shaking her hand. He looked toward the beach then back at her. “So, Peg, how about I give your kids a tour of the submersible the next time Claude goes to town … say, in exchange for more towels?” he added with a grin.

“Deal. And as an added bonus for being such a nice guy, I’ll even steal some towels from the geologists for you.”

He stepped closer. “Hell, for more towels I’ll sneak your kids a
ride
. Claude said something about driving down to Turtleback Station this afternoon.”

“Sorry,” Peg said with a shake of her head. “I’m making sure my friend gets married this afternoon.” She waved toward the main lodge. “I don’t know if you happened to notice all of the fuss, but there’s a wedding going on here today.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I heard something about the new owners getting married. Don’t worry, then. Claude’s supposed to meet some oceanographers at the airport in Bangor on Tuesday, and I’ll round up a couple of buddies and we’ll at least get your kids out on our boat. They can watch the screen of our unmanned rover as it follows the subterranean river north.” Steve paused, canting his head. “You sure you don’t date? Because it just so happens I like kids.”

Peg laughed and started walking backward. “Are you trying to get me arrested for compromising a minor?”

“Hey, I swear I’m legal.” He sighed and waved her away. “Never mind. I just finally moved out of my parents’ house, so I’m really not up to dealing with another bossy mother. I’ll see you around, then,” he ended, turning and jogging down the path toward the beach.

Peg headed for Olivia’s cottage, a tad disturbed at how bummed she was that Steve had given up so easily.

Peg rounded a curve in the peninsula’s winding lane and gasped in surprise when she spotted the strange man striding across the parking lot with Jacob thrown over his shoulder. Even from this distance she could see the sheer terror in her son’s eyes as Isabel skipped backward in front of them, trying to get the man to stop. Peg started running even as she sized up her adversary: tall, athletic build, short dark hair. Yeah, well, instead of traumatizing defenseless little children, Claude the mad scientist was about to find himself on the receiving end of a healthy dose of fear.

“I swear I’ll kick you if you don’t put him down, mister,” Peg heard Isabel threaten. “He wasn’t hurting your stupid machine none. He’s just a baby!” And then the six-year-old actually did kick out when the guy didn’t stop, only to stumble backward as he merely sidestepped around her. “Charlotte! Peter!” Isabel screamed as she scrambled in front of him again. “Come help me save Jacob from the scary man!”

Alarmed that the guy would go after her daughter when she saw him hesitate, Peg didn’t even stop to think and lunged onto his back. “Put him down!” she shouted, wrapping her arm around the bastard’s neck as she tried to pull Jacob off
his shoulder with her other hand. “Or I swear I’ll rip out your eyes!”

The guy gave his own shout of surprise and suddenly dropped like a stone when Peter slammed into his right knee. “You leave my brother alone, you scary bastard!” Peter shouted as he rolled out of the way, dragging Jacob with him.

Peg reared up to avoid Charlotte’s foot swinging toward the guy’s ribs, although she didn’t dare loosen her grip or take her weight off him, fearing he’d lash out at her children. He suddenly curled into the fetal position with a grunt when Peter landed on him beside her.

“Get away from him!” she screamed over her shouting children, trying to push them off when they all started pummeling him. “Run to the—” Peg gave a startled yelp when an arm came around her waist and suddenly lifted her away.

“Sweet Zeus,” Mac muttered, dragging her up against his chest as he took several steps back. “You will calm down, Peg, and control your children,” he quietly commanded even as he tightened his grip against her struggles.

“Ohmigod, Jacob, come here!” she cried, holding out her arms. Jacob and Isabel threw themselves at her, actually making Mac step back when he didn’t let her go. “You’re okay, Jacob. You’re safe now,” she whispered, squeezing both trembling children. “You’re a brave girl, Isabel, and a good sister.”

Charlotte called out, and Peg saw the girl pull away from Mac’s father just as he also released Peter. Both children ran to her, giving the bastard rising to his hands and knees a wide berth. Peg took a shuddering breath, trying to get her emotions under control. “You can let me go,” she told Mac over the pounding in her chest. Holy hell, she couldn’t believe they’d all just attacked the giant!

Mac hesitated, then relaxed his hold, letting her slip free to protectively hug all four of her children. “Mind telling me what incited this little riot?” he asked the man who was now standing and wiping his bleeding cheek with the back of his hand.

The guy gestured toward the lower parking lot. “I was taking the boy to find his parents, because I caught him inside my excavator not five minutes after I’d just pulled him off it and
told him to go play someplace else.” He shrugged. “I figured his mother or father could explain how dangerous earth-moving equipment is, since he didn’t seem to want to listen to me.” He suddenly stiffened, his gaze darting from Jacob to Peter and then to Peg. “They’re twins.” His eyes narrowed on the boys again. “Identical.”

Pushing her children behind her, Peg stepped toward him. “I don’t care if they’re sextuplets and were
driving
your excavator or stupid submarine.” She pointed an unsteady finger at him. “You have no business manhandling my kids. And if you ever touch one of them again, I swear to God I’ll—”

“Take it easy, mama bear,” Mac said, dragging her back against him again. “He was only concerned for Jacob’s safety. As well as yours, apparently,” Mac said quietly next to her ear. “Did you not notice he didn’t defend himself when you and your children were attacking him? Duncan’s intentions were good.”

Peg stilled, a feeling of dread clenching her stomach. “D-Duncan?” she whispered, craning to look at Mac. “He … he’s not Claude, the scientist?” She lifted her hands to cover her face. “Ohmigod, I thought he was the guy who scolded Jacob for climbing on the submarine yesterday.”

She peeked through her fingers at the man she and her kids had just attacked, horror washing through her when she saw the blood on his cheek and scratches on his neck. “Ohmigod, I’m
sorry
,” she cried, jerking away from Mac and rushing to her children. Even though he was over half as tall as she was, Peg picked up Jacob and set him on her hip as she herded the others ahead of her, wanting to flee the scene of their crime before she burst into tears. “C-come on, guys,” she whispered roughly, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. “Let’s go to the van.”