Welcome to Temptation: A Romantic Comedy (7 page)

She nodded. “Do you plan to live here for a while?” she asked, glancing around.

“I’m considering my options. I try not to stray too far because I need to be able to check in with my mom from time to time, see that she has what she needs and is okay.”

“I know what that’s like,” Michelle said. “I constantly worry about my grandmother, but after this experience I’m going to have a phone installed, even if I have to personally meet with someone from the phone company. Then I’m going to insist she wear one of those necklaces or bracelets from a monitoring company in case she has an accident.”

Gator smiled. “Something tells me she isn’t going to like it.”

“I’m not giving her a choice in the matter.”

“Sounds like a case of tough love.”

“Yup. I’m too much of a softie, but after what we just went through I’m going to insist on changes.” Michelle checked her wristwatch. “I need to head to bed. Will you be comfortable out here?”

“I’m good.”

She stood and placed her empty beer can beside the sink. “By the way, I don’t suppose you have any idea when I can get someone to pull that tree off my car.” She hadn’t wanted to bother him with it earlier, since he’d been so busy.

Gator regarded her, a half-smile playing on his lips. He wondered if she knew how sexy she looked in his shirt, with her hair hanging loose. “You in a hurry to get back to Baton Rouge, Mic?” he asked.

“Well I
do
have a job there, you know.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You’re sure it doesn’t have something to do with your old boyfriend?”

The question surprised her. “Of course not. He has a wife.”

Gator stood, and the little kitchen area grew even smaller in size. He gazed down at Michelle thoughtfully. Without thinking, he reached for a curl and rubbed it between his fingers. “If you and I were sharing the same bed, there wouldn’t be another woman carrying my baby.” He raised the curl to his mouth and brushed it across his full bottom lip. “I like to keep my sleeping arrangements simple. That way nobody gets shot.”

He knew he was totally out of line for saying such a thing, but jealousy was eating at his gut and he couldn’t help it. He had no claim on her, but the mere thought of her loving another man made him crazy. He had thought of her over the years, but the pictures he’d conjured in his mind—her leaning over a sick patient or lunching with the other nurses in the hospital cafeteria—had never included another man. It wasn’t what he truly believed, he realized now. He’d simply been fooling himself.

Michelle didn’t know what to say at first. His words had caught her off guard. She could only gaze at his eyes, which looked like glittering onyx in the dim light. Her heart was pounding so loud, she was afraid he could hear it. She pulled her hair from his grasp. “Are you trying to tell me you’re a one-woman man, Gator?” she asked once her senses had returned. She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Because if you are, let me assure you I don’t believe it. You with that … that hickey on your neck.”

He grinned. “It’s not a hickey, Mic.”

“Yeah, right.” Her voice was edged with sarcasm.

This time he chuckled softly. “It’s a bee sting, darlin’. I had an allergic reaction. But don’t get me wrong; I’m not opposed to having a woman give me a love bite. I just prefer they do it where it doesn’t show. No sense advertising what I do in bed. Know what I mean?”

She didn’t know whether to believe him or not. “You led me to believe the worst.”

“I did it because I love to see you get riled. Just like I let you believe I’d had some woman tangled up in my sheets and had to pull them off the bed before you caught something. I didn’t want to ruin your bad impression of me by letting you think I was only trying to be a good host. You see, my mama taught me a long time ago that I should have clean sheets and towels when company came; as well as a new toothbrush. But it was more fun watching your imagination run away with you.”

“You did it because you enjoy laughing at me.”

His look sobered. “I’d never laugh at you, Mic.”

Michelle swallowed. She wondered if she would ever be able to hold a conversation with him without her emotions running the full gamut. One minute he was teasing her, the next he was charming her socks off, and at a moment’s notice he would turn thoughtful and sincere. The man was full of contradictions. She couldn’t keep up with him. Perhaps that’s how he operated—he confused the woman, then made his move. She pitied the poor woman who got involved with him. A relationship with Gator would be stormy and unbalanced, filled with peaks and valleys, never smooth running.

“I have to go to bed now,” she said, feeling the need to put some distance between them. She felt vulnerable with him, and it made her uncomfortable. Although he held up his end of the conversation as well as the next person, she was constantly aware that just below that thin line of conventionality, there was a very potent man who exuded raw masculinity and knew precisely what buttons to push when dealing with a female. She missed the easygoing, uncomplicated relationship she’d had with Jeffrey.

“G’night, Mic,” he said softly.

Michelle turned for the bedroom, but she could feel his gaze on her. She didn’t feel safe until she was inside the room with the door closed behind her. But sleep was a long time coming. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Gator’s face. He was dangerous, she told herself. He had promised to protect her from the storm, but who was going to protect her from him and these feelings she had every time he was near?

The Red Cross arrived two days later with tents and donated items, most of which were used for those families who’d lived in the mobile-home park that had been virtually destroyed. Water bottles and ice and various other food supplies began coming in on trucks, so that people’s immediate needs were met. Gator and the town’s other officials had combed the area, sifting through debris, while Michelle had divided her time between the clinic and shelters. Gator had also checked on Reba’s cats, putting out bags of food and fresh water and performing what he called the “god-awful task” of changing their kitty litter. Although the water had gone down somewhat, he cautioned Reba about returning too soon.

When Michelle was finally able to get through on a landline phone to the hospital, she found her co-workers frantic, but more than understanding that she could not return right away, especially when her car was still buried under a tree. The hospital was understaffed since they’d sent medical personnel to New Orleans, and when Michelle spoke with Jeffrey, she learned he’d been pulling double shifts right along with everyone else. He sounded exhausted and a bit irritated that she hadn’t called sooner.

“We’ve tried to find out about you several times, Michelle,” he said. “All they told us was there had been no casualties. Nobody knew if you were injured, and you didn’t tell any of us your grandmother’s name.”

“I’m sorry, Jeffrey,” she said, feeling guilty for making everyone worry so. Heaven knew Jeffrey had enough to deal with at the moment, what with a new wife who was pregnant. “The cell phone tower was down and what little bandwidth there was made personal calls a luxury this town couldn’t afford. And in the beginning I was more concerned with taking care of the emergencies. This landline phone has only been working since this morning, and the whole town is using it.” She paused. “You sound dead on your feet.”

“I am. I’ve been sleeping at the hospital every night, and you know what that’s like. But it beats the heck out of going home. It’s not working out, Michelle. I made a mistake. I don’t know how long I can take it.”

She was genuinely sorry for him. The man had tried to do the right thing by marrying the woman, and she knew he was paying emotionally. “Just hang in there, Jeffrey,” she said. “I’ll be home in a couple of days and we’ll talk.”

“What kind of life is this, Michelle?” he said, sounding on the verge of tears. “All I do is work. My patients don’t appreciate me—they want more. They’re takers, Michelle. And then I have to go home to a wife who does not like me and is sick all the time. There’s no payoff, no joy in my existence. I can’t take much more.”

Michelle was growing irritated with his whining. “Don’t talk like that, Jeffrey,” she said firmly, wondering when he’d first started acting like a cry baby. He was a grown man—a doctor, for heaven’s sake! Perhaps his work in the emergency room was taking its toll. “You’re stronger than you think. This has been a bad time for you, but you’ll get through it.” She glanced over her shoulder to where a group of people had congregated at the door, each of them anxious to use the landline telephone. “Look, Jeffrey, I have to get off. People are waiting to use the phone.”

“When are you coming home?”

“As soon as I can. I promise. Good-bye, Jeffrey.” She hung up the telephone, shaking her head, wondering if life would ever return to normal.

“Everything okay?” Gator asked, noting the worried expression on her face.

Michelle didn’t speak until she was out of hearing distance from the others. “I need to go home, Gator,” she said as soon as he’d joined her.

“Let the guy work out his own problems, Mic.”

“I don’t expect you to understand.”

“I understand a man has to take responsibility for his own actions. Stand on his own two feet. You’re not his mother.”

She didn’t appreciate him sticking his nose in her business. “I happen to be his friend.”

“His problems are between him and his wife. Besides, he had his chance with you and blew it.”

Her anger flared. “You have no right to pry into my personal life, and you certainly have no right to pass judgment on a man like Jeffrey. What do you know about honor and obligation? You can’t wait to dump your own responsibilities into somebody else’s lap and go on with your life. Jeffrey doesn’t have that freedom.”

“So are you thinking maybe the woman tricked him?”

Michelle blinked several times. “I never said that.”

“Maybe not in so many words, but you keep putting him in the victim’s role.”

“Let’s just drop it, okay,” she said, feeling a bit emotional over the whole thing. Gator had a way of making it all sound even worse, cheap and tawdry were two words that came to mind. She wondered why Gator was getting involved in the first place. She had come to terms with the broken relationship with Jeffrey a long time ago; in fact, there were times she wondered what she had even seen in Jeffrey. But Gator had no right to rub her nose in her mistakes.

“I’m not going to discuss this with you,” she said, holding her hand up to halt the conversation. “But I really need to get back home. If you won’t help me find someone to get that tree off my car, I’ll do it myself. “

Gator realized now that he’d been too rough on her. Once again he’d let his emotions get the best of him. He wanted to apologize for hurting her feelings, kiss away the pain, but it wasn’t the place. “The heavy equipment is needed elsewhere at the moment, Mic, you know that. And what are you going to do about your grandmother? Somebody has to help her get her place in order. She’s too old to do it alone.”

Michelle buried her face in her hands. She was so tired. She was tired of living on stale hot dogs and black coffee. She was tired of wearing the same clothes and of washing her bra and panties out every night in the bathroom sink. But she knew he spoke the truth; somebody had to help Reba. With her parents out of the country till the end of the month, she was the only one Reba had to rely on. But that was the story of her life. Her parents had never been around, not for her or anyone else.

Michelle dropped her hands to her side. “Can you take me out to Reba’s place tomorrow?” she asked. “I’d like to get started right away.”

“Okay, Mic. Lord knows, I wouldn’t want you to hang around any longer than necessary.” He gave a grunt of disgust and turned around to arrange his bedding. Jealousy, he decided, was truly the monster it was reported to be. He hoped for his sake this was his first and last brush with it.

Reba’s place was a disaster. Gator and Michelle arrived early the next morning in his boat. Although Reba’s house could be reached by car, the distance was much longer that way, and many of the back roads were still impossible to navigate without a chainsaw and bulldozer. Reba had lost two outbuildings, and the screens on her back porch flapped in the breeze like laundry on a clothesline. A number of windows had been shattered, and tree limbs and various other debris littered the yard, giving it a shabby, unkempt appearance that was alien to Reba’s way of life. Her boat dock and part of the backyard were still covered with water. For the most part, the water had subsided, but mud and debris was everywhere.

The inside of the house wasn’t much better, and Michelle was thankful that Gator had convinced Reba to stay at his mother’s house for a couple of days. The woman had not seemed to mind Reba’s pets, and Michelle thought it was high time Reba reacquainted herself with old friends instead of keeping to herself as she had since the death of her husband.

“I don’t know where to begin,” Michelle said, taking in her surroundings. The large braided rug in the living room was soggy, as were the numerous throw rugs scattered across the plank floors. She faced Gator. “You don’t need to be here,” she said. “I appreciate it, but I know you have more important things to do in town.” She didn’t know how she would manage without his help, but she felt guilty for taking up so much of his time already.

“Don’t worry about it, Mic. I’ve deputized half the town. They can spare me for a day or two.”

“Why are you doing this?” she finally asked. Gator didn’t seem the type to go out of his way for another human being unless he was motivated by guilt or obligation. He owed her nothing. Although he’d worked nonstop the past few days since the storm had hit, she knew that he really didn’t want to be there, he was merely biding his time.

Gator shrugged. “It’s the least I can do. The people in this town looked after my mother when I moved away. I’d come back to check on her from time to time and find someone had chopped wood or weeded her garden and flower beds for her. I reckon it wouldn’t kill me to return the favor. “He pressed the toe of his boot against the large rug, and water streamed across the floor. “First thing we need to do is get this rug out of here so the floor can dry.”