Tidal Wave (3 page)

Perhaps this dream would be different. She rested her head on his smooth chest and relaxed as his arms wrapped her close and she faded off to sleep.

The shutters slamming made her sit up with a start. She raced to the window and closed it tightly, forcing it against the harsh wind that rocked the house. The storm was in full swing, the waves churned to harsh whitecaps and the crash on the shore deafening in its volume. Alexia leaned into the window to stare at the madcap ocean, surging like a live creature struggling for freedom.

It was cold in the room. She glanced down to see she stood naked and barefoot on the hard wooden floorboards. Alexia puzzled for a minute. She was sure she’d thrown on a long nightgown before bed in case she needed to rise and comfort her grandmother.

She turned to where her suitcase rested in the corner of the room, and spotted the gown. It hung from the wardrobe, the shimmery material draped over a hanger.

A trace of memory flitted past. She reached and touched the fabric. It was damp to her fingers, and when she sniffed, the scent of salt water was strong. A trace of strawberries lingered as well.

Alexia turned back to the bed and took a slow careful look over the whole room. There was a faint trail of sand and water leading from the French doors to her bed. She had gone to the shore tonight, hadn’t she?

She couldn’t remember.

She pulled a dry gown from her suitcase, dressing quickly before crawling back under the covers and snuggling deep beneath the quilt. The familiar sound of the storm was reassuring in spite of feeling there was something she needed to do.

The last thing she remembered seeing was the glow of St. Elmo’s fire dancing on the railing outside the house.

It made her smile.

“I don’t want to sell, you know.”

Alexia nodded. Again. Gram had started at the breakfast table, insisting that even though she wanted to move out, there was no reason Alexia couldn’t simply take over the house.

“I don’t need to sell, either. I can afford to give you the house.”

Alexia rubbed her fingers along her forehead and pulled into the nearest available parking spot. “Yes, you’ve told me that. But I don’t have a job here, and even if you did give me the house, I would need a way to support myself.”

“Tosh. You could arrange to do massage therapy at the clinic in Jaffrey’s Cove, or you can sell the things Unca stashed all over the place. There’s more than enough for any girl to live on for a good long time.” Gram was out of the car awfully fast for an old-timer and Alexia raced to catch up.

“But they’re your things, Gram, and if we sell anything, it goes to paying your expenses. Where are you hauling me? And what’s the hurry?”

Gram dodged through another group of tourists, pulling Alexia by the hand at breakneck speed. It obviously wasn’t because she’d grown too frail that grandmother wanted to abandon the house. Alexia was led up a short set of stairs and dragged through a beautiful metal lattice gate into a refined business-like setting.

“We have an appointment with Mr. Marley to complete some estate forms that are due. Tell him Victoria and Alexia Colten are here. We’ll wait in the parlor.” Alexia goggled to hear her soft-spoken Gram issue a statement with such command. The old woman seated herself comfortably and thumbed through a magazine as she waited, and Alexia looked her over with a critical eye. This didn’t seem like the same frail, broken woman who called in a tizzy crying for help with settling into a new home. Not even the same woman as the one who had shuffled around the house the previous evening and gone to bed early.

“What are you up to?” Alexia asked, sitting in the plush chair facing her.

Her grandmother peeked around the edge of the magazine, her gray eyes twinkling. “Hmmm? What’s that, love? Oh, I meant to ask you before we left. Are you wearing the necklace I gave you?”

Alexia pulled it from under her blouse and Gram gave a satisfied nod. “Very good.” When Alexia started to put it away she got a hurried response. “Just leave it out, dear, I like seeing it on you.”

Okay. Maybe this was why Gram needed to move. She was acting far stranger than Alexia could ever remember.

“Mrs. Colten? Miss Colten? Mr. Marley will see you now.”

Alexia rose and turned to help her grandmother to her feet but found Gram’s nose still buried in her magazine. “Gram, the lawyer is ready for us.”

Gram lifted her head and glanced around the room. “I don’t see him.”

Alexia shook her head. “No, we have to go to his office. He’s waiting for us there.”

Gram snorted. “Whippersnapper. He can come here and be polite enough to greet us properly.” She turned back to her reading, muttering something about young people and manners, and Alexia exchanged helpless looks with the receptionist.

“Victoria?” The rich sound of a dark-chocolate voice brushed Alexia’s skin and she shivered.

Gram rose on the arm of a rather dashing man in an exquisite three-piece suit. “Michael. Good to see you. Do you remember my granddaughter, Alexia?”

Michael turned and his eyes lit up. Alexia remembered him. He was one of the Golden Boys of Summer on whom she’d had a mad, insane crush year after year.

“I certainly do. Alexia, welcome. It’s good to see you again.”

“Thank you.” She took his extended hand and shook it briefly, the warmth of his fingers rushing up her arm. He raised an eyebrow at her and Alexia realized she’d been staring. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I didn’t realize you were a lawyer. I was expecting your father or uncle.”

Michael gestured for her to lead down the hallway as he escorted Gram on his arm. “No problem. I can imagine it was a surprise. You haven’t spent a summer at home for almost four years now.”

Alexia held her tongue but wondered at his wording. While she’d always felt like the beach house was her home, it was only feelings. Her real home was hundreds of miles away in the middle of the prairies.

Finally settled in the office, Michael pulled out various forms for Gram to sign. He simplified all the legal jargon, handling everything with such competence Alexia relaxed and her mind wandered. She found herself staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the beautiful view of the ocean across the beach.

“Invigorating, isn’t it?” Michael asked.

Alexia shook her head and tried to remember where she was. For a minute she’d been daydreaming about dolphins and riding the waves far from the shore. She turned to give him her full attention, and there was a flash as sunlight hit the medallion around her neck.

Michael froze, his skin flushing. His gaze flickered between her and her grandmother before a huge smile broke across his face. He bowed his head slightly to Alexia before facing Gram.

“Victoria, I had no idea you planned on this so soon.” Although he spoke to Gram, his gaze kept returning to the medallion and Alexia herself.

Gram made an imperial hand motion. “It was time and you know it.”

“When do you think—?”

“It’ll happen when she’s ready. Now hush, and finish with the silly papers you said I needed to sign.”

Alexia sat back in her chair, narrowing her eyes at her grandmother who was noticeably avoiding her gaze. By the time they were finished, Alexia was ready to shake someone. Anyone.

Except when Michael took her hand in farewell and kissed her knuckles, a flash of desire shot through her that removed the need to find answers.

She simply needed.

“It’s been good to see you again.” He squeezed her fingers smoothly before letting them go, his deep blue eyes staring into hers. “I would be honored if you would join me for a drink. A chance to catch up?”

Alexia stuttered like the blushing teenager she’d been all those summers ago. “I’d like that, but…”

“I’ll pick you up at eight and we’ll go to the Beachshore Inn. There’s live music tonight.”

Alexia was ready to decline. She was here to care for Gram, not gallivant around the neighborhood—

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, Michael. I planned on visiting with your mother tonight. I’ll stay over and then Alexia won’t have to fuss with me for the evening.” Gram used her bossy tone of voice and Michael snapped up straight.

“Mother will be pleased to see you, and you know you are always welcome in any of our homes.” Michael nodded politely again as he took Gram’s arm deferentially and guided her to the main doors.

They were halfway down the boardwalk before Alexia finally found her tongue and could speak again. “I don’t believe what just happened.”

“Hmmm, love? What’s wrong?” Gram pulled her into another building, this one a restaurant. Alexia waited until they’d been seated, rather quickly, on the deck before she voiced her concerns.

“Gram, I’m here to take care of you, not to let you stay with neighbors while I go dancing with someone I’m never going to see again after this holiday is over.”

“Meh.” Gram leaned forward and patted her cheek. “I told you all the boys were going to be after you.” She gave a contented smile as she turned her chair to better see the ocean. “He won’t be the only one, I guarantee it.”

The morning passed in a blur, and Alexia grew more and more confused. Gram hauled her from location to location, insisting there was something she needed at each stop.

Yet Gram purchased nothing but coffee and cake at the restaurant, and even that had been “on the house” once the manager, another of the Marley brothers, came to the table to give his personal greetings. By the end of the morning, Alexia had been reintroduced to at least a dozen of the playmates she’d gained over summers past. Now they were all sensual men who watched her with their bright eyes and more than a passing interest. Alexia felt the heat of their stares as they examined the necklace hanging between her breasts, their gazes lingering on her body.

They all found an opportunity to touch her casually in passing, her arm, her shoulder or they kissed her knuckles as they bent low over her hand. Part of her rebelled and wondered why she was being fawned over. Part of her grew hot and bothered and wondered what she could do to make them never stop. A low buzz of anticipation grew throughout her body and by lunchtime it was enough.

“Time to go home, Gram.”

“But there’s a couple more—”

“No.” Alexia rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “They will have to wait until tomorrow. Since you insist I go out tonight, I suggest we spend some time at home this afternoon. We can go through some of the things you want put aside for the research fellow who’s supposed to contact us soon.” She glanced at her grandmother to see Gram staring back with a great deal of surprise on her lined face.

Alexia gave her a gentle smile. “You’re not used to anyone telling you ‘no’, are you?”

Gram turned her face away to stare out the window but not before Alexia caught the small pout on the older woman’s lips. It was clear from the morning outing everyone in the small beachside community went out of their way to spoil her grandmother. She reached across the car seat and squeezed Gram’s hand for a moment. Alexia wasn’t displeased with the knowledge, but she was in dire need of a cold shower before attempting to accomplish anything of value in the afternoon. Her whole body was edgy and raw. Tight. Like she was being drawn thin and taut, and needed to be poured into before she could find release.

Joshua glanced up from his workbench to see a group of his brothers marching rapidly down the boardwalk, heads close together as if they shared some great secret. He fought the impulse to call out and instead waited to see if they planned to include him. A flash of pain shot through him as they passed the window with barely a nod and a wave in acknowledgement.

Why it had become okay to ignore him, Joshua never understood. The “when” had started the first summer he’d been sent away, but as to the “why”, there was no rhyme or reason he could see. As the youngest he had a lot in common with the mob, even though he had chosen a more artistic line of work.

He wiped his fingers on his apron, removing a trace of the glue that clung from his latest project. The mirror surrounded by an intricate mosaic made of shell fragments was nearly ready for shipping, and he admired it once more before being distracted by passersby.

Joshua puzzled over what he saw. There were more people than usual headed to the Beachshore Inn this evening. More of his relatives. The male relatives.

He wiped his hands carefully and removed his work apron. He ran upstairs and as quickly as possible showered and changed into a clean shirt and jeans. He deliberated whether he should place his hair in its usual ponytail but decided to let it swing loose over his shoulders, like Alexia had seen him most recently. The memory brought a smile to his lips and an ache to his body. It was past time for this to all shake down.

The music of a band playing at the inn carried over the water toward him as he approached. So. There was dancing to be had tonight. Joshua was never sure when the social events were taking place, preferring to spend his time creating his art.

He wasn’t lonely.

He already knew he would share his life with Alexia. Last night had confirmed it. He just needed her to claim him publicly and the rest of the family to acknowledge it.

Entering the building, Joshua stuck to the shadows and let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. Alexia sat perched on a tall stool surrounded by a crowd of his siblings. Michael leaned on the bar counter beside her, his hand casually draped over her shoulder, and Joshua fought the urge to slam his fist into his oldest brother’s face.

“I’m glad you’re here, Joshua.” Anthony spoke quietly in his ear, his nearest cousin in age and his closest friend of the bunch. “Although I didn’t expect to see you. I thought you were banned from any event that included the new Keeper.”

Anthony was the only one of the family who had ever made him feel welcome and Joshua was glad of his company now. He let his gaze wander the room as he counted relatives. Damn, he
was
the last of the boys to arrive. Anger flared as he thought of how they tried to cut him out. Any remorse he might have felt at blocking the call and making love alone with Alexia washed away.

“Never been officially banned that I’ve been informed.” Joshua leaned closer and asked quietly, “Has she shown any favorites? Michael looks like he’s trying to make some kind of point already.”

Anthony snorted. “You know Mike. Dashing and in charge. He spotted the medallion and immediately made his move. Thinks he can influence her decision since he was the one who brought her out tonight.”

His cousin looked flushed and Joshua laughed softly. “You excited about the thought of the call? Looking forward to trying to convince Alexia you should be one of her lovers?”

Anthony shook his head violently. “It was one thing to be involved in group activities when we were teens, but it’s another altogether to become a consort to the matriarch of the pod. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy her company. She’s got a mischievous sense of humor, and a wicked temper when she thinks someone’s being mistreated. Making love with her would be amazing, but she’s going to be leading the people for the next fifty some years. I’m not cut out for leadership, or to support leadership. I’m content to teach in the winters and take part of my summer holidays to play in the Mediterranean Sea.”

Joshua smiled and clasped a loose arm around Anthony’s shoulders. It was good to know there was one less obstacle in his quest for Alexia.

Loud laughter broke across the room, and he saw Alexia shrug off Michael’s hand and take to the dance floor with the oldest of the cousins. Braden held her a tad too close for a moment, and Joshua readied to defend her when he realized there was no need. She spoke firmly and the space between the dancers opened to a polite hand’s span.

Joshua grinned and bought Anthony a beer. It was going to be a great show tonight, watching Alexia in action. He expected nothing less of the new Keeper, the soon-to-be-leader of their merfolk pod.