Somewhere With You (Windswept Bay Book 2) (5 page)

Hot, in more ways than one, Shar decided she might very well hurt the plumber when she found him. First, he’d entered her home without permission, but the worst was he’d let her puppy escape. Yep, Meeks better stay hidden just as good as Rufus was if he knew what was good for him.

Pushing her anger aside, Shar headed toward the last home on the stretch of sand and prayed Rufus was there.

Gage was unloading groceries from his car when he heard a whimper from the bushes just outside the garage. He’d spent an hour at the grocery store after coming to his senses and discontinuing chasing Shar down in his car. Deciding he needed to act like a sane person and not some infatuated lunatic had been a good move.

The whimper came again. Gage set the bag of groceries on the hood of the car and went to investigate. Crouching down, he peered into the hedge. Two big, dark eyes blinked back at him.

“Well, hello there, little guy.” Gage wasn’t sure whether he’d ever seen such an ugly puppy but the poor thing shivered, he was so scared, and Gage’s heart melted. “Come on, come out,” he coaxed. When the pup made no move to do as he was asked, Gage eased his hands in and hoped he didn’t get bitten. There was a lot of hair but as his hand wrapped around the body, the pooch was more fluff than meat and bone. Looking at the name tag attached to the collar, Gage smiled. “Okay, Rufus. Let’s get you inside and call your owner.”

Remembering his groceries and the cold stuff that needed to be refrigerated, Gage grabbed the bag off the hood and one-armed it into the kitchen as Rufus snuggled into the crook of the other arm.

He set the bag on the counter, and then opened the refrigerator and pulled milk, butter, and a few other cold items out of the bag and placed them on the shelf. Then he went back for the next bag. Rufus was content where he was and wasn’t trembling as much as he had been, so Gage decided he’d get the groceries unloaded first and then he’d call the number on the collar. A few minutes later, he closed the fridge’s door and then looked down to find Rufus asleep with his scruffy head propped on Gage’s arm.

Grabbing the phone, he walked out onto the deck and sank into a chair. The now snoring dog rolled over in the crook of his arm and passed out, legs sprawled in all directions, belly up.

Gage laughed. “Why don’t you relax, little buddy, and make yourself at home.”

He was dialing the number when he heard someone yelling. He paused pushing numbers on the keypad and looked around; Shar was coming down the beach.

“Rufus,” she called. The word broke up in the breeze.

Gage shot out of the chair in instant reaction to seeing her. The movement woke Rufus; the pup jerked awake and barked as it scrambled to roll over in Gage’s arms. Barely able to hang onto the suddenly overactive animal, Gage was laughing when Shar spotted him. She stopped in the sand and they stared across the expanse between them. His pulse was scrambling more than Rufus had been and instantly, he moved down the steps toward her. She took his breath away.

Rufus barked again and started to wiggle the moment he spotted her. And maybe it had been the wind, but it was apparent that until that moment Shar hadn’t realized that Gage was holding her dog.

Now she noticed him and her eyes widened when she spotted Rufus. Instantly, joy bloomed over her face and she sprinted the last little stretch of sand between them. Gage had never in his life believed he could envy a puppy but in this moment he did. He wanted Shar to see him, just him, and react with that much joy.

“You found Rufus!” Tears sprang to her eyes as she took the now squirming and barking pup from Gage’s arms. “Sweet boy, you must have been so scared.” She hugged the pup close and then lifted him up so she and Rufus were eye to eye. “I won’t ever let that happen again. I promise.” And then she hugged him close again.

Gage had been in many boardrooms and tough negotiation situations in his life and always had been able to take control of the situations with ease. But right then, in that moment, he was at a loss. He swallowed the lump lodged in his throat just as she lifted her misty green eyes to his.

“Where did you find him? I’ve been looking for over an hour.”

“He was in the bushes beside the garage. I just got home and found him. I was dialing the number on his collar when you showed up.”

“I’m just so grateful. I had a plumber coming today and I got here late but the plumber went inside my house without me and left the door open.” Her eyes flashed that fire that he’d seen when she’d been trying to free the turtle. “Rufus is a rescue dog and as you can tell, he’s very nervous. He ran and probably never looked back until he found just the right bush to hide in.”

Gage smiled. “I’m glad it was at my house.”

“Me too. But Mr. Meeks the plumber is not going to be so glad about anything after I pay him a visit tomorrow.”

She had a temper but then, he didn’t blame her for being mad. Rufus had been through a lot and something could have happened to him. “He let himself inside?”

“Yes. He found my back patio door unlocked but he left me a note and a few dirty footprints before he left.”

Gage frowned. He didn’t like the sound of Mr. Meeks at all. “I think you need to come inside or sit here on the deck and relax for a few minutes. I’ll get you a drink. What would you like?”

She tapped her toe on the deck and snuggled Rufus against her neck—instantly Gage was thinking about placing kisses along her neck. He held back a groan. He was really in deep here.

“Coffee would be great if you have it.”

He grinned. “A woman after my own heart. Sit right there and I’ll bring it out. Or come in, if you’d like.”

She looked thoughtful and then she nodded toward his house. “Actually, I’ve never been inside the Glass Castle. I’d love to see it.”

“The what?”

She laughed. “The Glass Castle. That’s what the locals have always called this place. There are so many levels and so much glass.”

He looked up at the three different floors with an abundance of huge windows. “You’re right. I can see what you mean. My assistant rented it for me.” He held the door for her. “After you and Rufus.” He scratched the pup’s head as Shar brushed past him. It was all he could do to not take a strand of her dark hair in his fingers.
Okay, so he had officially lost his senses.
The woman was driving him crazy and she was doing nothing but being near him.

“So, is this beach always so deserted?” he asked to distract himself from focusing on Shar. He walked around the bar into the kitchen.

Shar moved to stand in the living room. Late afternoon sunbeams highlighted her through the window behind her.

“You rented a house in a very exclusive spot. The only reason I live in the neighborhood is because I live in the pool house of one of the homes. The older couple who own the house only come down ‘sometimes’ in the summers.” She did air quotations with her fingers around sometimes. “They were looking for someone to watch over the place for them. They’re donators for the sea turtle hospital, so when they mentioned it to me, I jumped at the opportunity.”

“Sounds like a great arrangement.” And lucky him—he really liked the arrangement. If he hadn’t been at the grocery store, he might have seen her on the beach sooner.

“It is for me. Most of the people who own these homes visit every once in a while, so this stretch of sand is probably the quietest on the island. I can tell you that there is no one else staying in any of the homes right now. I’ve just spent time in all the shrubbery. It’s a wonder someone’s burglary detection system didn’t rat me out.”

He chuckled. “You’re probably lucky.”

“My brother would have been surprised to arrive with sirens blazing to find me in the bushes.”

He paused putting coffee grounds in the coffee maker. “Your brother is a cop?”

“One of my brothers, Levi, is police chief.” She set Rufus on the ground and the puppy eagerly raced around the room sniffing and checking things out. “I have five brothers.”

He coughed. “Five. You have five brothers?”

She laughed and sank onto the barstool. “Oh yes, I do. And I have three sisters.”

“Wow.”

She laughed. “I’m used to that reaction. I love my big family.”

“I’m an only child so my upbringing was probably a lot more sedate than yours.”

She snorted. “Oh, believe me, it was wild. Cam, our cowboy, was always roping someone and Jake, the daredevil turned scuba diver among other things, was always scaring my mom to death with his antics. And then there was Levi, now the chief of police, always pushing limits growing up and my other two brothers Trent and Max—so yes, it was very active. Plus me and my three sisters.”

He digested the size of her family. “Let’s give us a chance for a few minutes before calling them in.
Eight,”
he said as the number sank in. “You have eight brothers and sisters.”

“Yes I do,” she said with an emphatic nod of her head. “You don’t have something against the number eight, do you? Or nine if you count me.”

“No, I was an only kid so that’s a big number to me. You must have had huge family gatherings.”

She laughed. “Oh, we still do. I’m sure if you were the only kid then they were way louder than yours.”

“An understatement, I’m sure. I was actually going into the office with my dad pretty early on. My mother died while giving birth to me. A string of nannies raised me. At least they did until I was ten and drove the last one away. At that point, my dad started taking me to the office with him.”

She looked sad. “I’m sorry about your mother. I can’t imagine not having my mom.”

“We made it work.”

“After you ran off no telling how many poor nannies.” She laughed. “I bet you were a terror.”

“Hey, I take offense to that. I was a curious kid who wanted to spend more time with my dad, who tended to work all the time.”

“So you knew what you were doing.”

“I hoped I knew what I was doing. All I know is that when we were between nannies, I’d get to go to the office. It was like a magical place to me. I’d get to see my dad and the secretaries would get me anything I wanted. It couldn’t be beat.”

She studied him. “You were going to the office at the age of ten. You’re going to have to tell me more about that. It sounds awful. I’m twenty-six and if it wasn’t for the fact that I was in an office with my sisters and they tend to let me do my own thing when I want to, I’d straight up go bonkers. Full-time office life is not for me.”

He grinned at her and instantly her eyes narrowed. “What’s so funny about that?”

“I think I’d already figured that out.” She was not only gorgeous, spunky, and passionate…she was cute. It was irresistible. “I think you like running around wearing your superhero cape better.”

She looked confused. “My what?” She then laughed.

The sound swirled in his chest and he was helpless against the force of it.

Chapter Six

“I think you’re the local superhero. After talking to the guys at the hospital earlier today, I realized you didn’t find Don Juan by accident. You were out turtle hunting, like you do often.”

Shar swirled in his chest like a song playing over in his head.

“You were the hero on that one.” She got a picture of him coming out of the surf and her mouth went dry.

“Hey, I just helped. You were the hero and from what Alex and John told me today, you make searching for and protecting sea turtles a daily endeavor. And it looks like you rescue pups too.”

Feeling uncomfortable with the high praise, Shar stood. “I just want to help them.”

He held her gaze and she was warmed by his praise. “I think I’ll take my pup and head home now.”

“But what about coffee?” Gage came around the bar. “I wish you’d stay. I was about to make dinner. And you haven’t looked at the house. I sound desperate,” he said and looked a little sheepish. “I actually am. I know earlier you said you had other plans but, I don’t know anyone in town and I thought, now that you know me a little better, that maybe your plans could be changed.”

Oh, how they can be
. Shar tried not to listen to the wistfulness of her inner voice. “Well, to be honest, the plumber was my big date. And he blew me off
and
let my dog out, so the date hasn’t exactly been all I had hoped for.”

He laughed at her humor. “I guess not.”

“And dinner was going to be a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of water, if you must know.”

So it hadn’t been with a boyfriend.
Gage’s mood hefted up a major mountain. “Then let me save you from the sandwich and hope we can salvage your day. What do you say?”

“You’ve already done that because you found Rufus.”

“Then reward me with your company for dinner.”

“Ha! I don’t know how much of a reward that will be, but you’re on.”

“Perfect. I have to warn you that I’m not the best cook but I can manage a few things. However, there are no guarantees that we might not have to resort to peanut butter—except that I don’t have any in the house.”

She smiled broadly. “We’ll manage. And I’ll fess up that my skills aren’t great but I bet we can figure it out between the two of us.”