What Tomorrow Brings (Florida Keys Series) (7 page)

Maggie noticed how haggard Jake’s brother looked. It was almost dusk and Jon was just leaving his practice. “I just want you to know how grateful I am to have you checking in on Jake. I’m certain you work very hard and to come by here every night like this, well, I just wanted to thank you.”

“He’s my brother. I don’t need thanks, but it’s nice of you to say that. Now it’s my turn to ask some questions?”

Maggie shifted in her chair, realizing she opened the door and the tables just turned.

“Jake usually doesn’t rent out his little bungalow. How did you happen to get in his little world here?” Jon circled the air with his hand. “I’m just curious, not judging.”

She laughed. “You can thank my Mother. She’s also my manager. I just needed to get away from the daily grind and spend time trying to get back my writing capabilities, which I had lost for some reason.”

His eyebrow shot up, just like Jakes. “Who is your Mother?”

“Maggie McCoy, international speaker and woman of a million other things, like running my business also. She’s like a tornado when she becomes determined. I’m not sure how she got me this bungalow, but if she wanted it, you better believe she probably strong armed poor Jake into giving it up.”

Jon burst out in laughter, a disarming, deep sound. “I doubt anyone could strong arm Jake. I think there is more to this story than meets the eye,” Jon said. “I remember my Father talking about a Katie McCoy. If I’m not mistaken, she was his first love, before our Mom. I’m just wondering if perhaps my Dad didn’t have something to do with this arrangement.”

Maggie propped her elbows on the outside table and leaned forward. “My Mom and your Dad, very interesting,” she said slowly, drawing out the last word. “Hmmm, my Mother mentioned that she had a past here in the keys.”

“That could explain a lot then,” Jon said, nodding his head. “I think my Dad more like strong armed Jake, not the other way around. Dad can be very convincing when he wants to be. Jake will do anything for him.”

Maggie tapped her nails on the table. She was already conjuring up more dramatic stories in her head. The two talked politely for a few more minutes, then Jon went in to check on his twin. Maggie went right back to her laptop while the two brothers spent time together. She could hear them talking, Jon raising his voice a few times until he exited out the screen door a little while later.

Maggie looked up. “How is he?”

Jon shrugged. “Grumpy, like usual. Nothing new there,” he mumbled. “I brought him something to help relax a bit. He should be up and about in the next day or two, but I told him if he continues to get headaches, I’m taking him to get an MRI myself.”

“Good. He needs a big brother to keep him straight. That is one stubborn man inside,” Maggie mentioned, but smiled. She had listened to him cuss and complain every time she woke him up to take his meds. He would wink at her after she put them in his mouth and get him to swallow them, nibbling on her fingers that touched his bottom lip, then he would roll over and fall asleep.

“He should be able to go back to his house tomorrow, but it is nice if you could keep an eye on him. Maybe we’ll just keep him here a few more days, just to be sure.”

“Is that a doctor’s order or brotherly concern?” Maggie asked?

“Both. I know Jake, he’s stubborn and thinks he can defy anything. But those gashes were deep and if it weren’t for you applying pressure when you did to his wounds, he’d be a lot worse off.”

“So I can use the line, I saved your life with accuracy?”

“Absolutely and I’ll back you.” Jon reached over and gave Maggie a hug. “You are good for him, I think. I don’t know you at all except what I’ve seen here but I tell the honest truth and I see you must care about him to put up with a man like my brother.”

She blushed. “Jon, we aren’t anything but neighbors.”

He laughed out loud. “Yeah right!” and turned on his heels and went through the gate, slamming it behind him.

Maggie shook her head, trying to focus on her writing. She needed a distraction. Thinking about Jake always made her crazy, because her emotions were off the wall when it came to him. She had one objective here and that was to finish a book. Falling for the guy in her bed was not a good choice, not at all.

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Maggie was trying to work on her laptop after Jon left but her head kept thinking about the man inside in her bed. Dare she try to continue this relationship they had? Whenever she was around him she not only had a great time, he made her laugh and knew how to have fun. Being sexy, hot and ripped were a plus too. But, did it mean anything? Was he just having a good time in the land of paradise or was there something more? He had tried to get back to her when she was on the island, but it was mostly because he left her there and felt responsible, wasn’t it? Of course, he could have sent someone else and got the medical attention right away. Like he said about the people he saved, anyone would have done it. Is that how he felt about coming back to the island for her? She shouldn’t be thinking this way, sometimes her head just went in too many directions. She was confused, so she decided to consult her fans.

Maggie went on line, found her author face book page and started writing, “OK fans, here’s a good one for you....Let’s say out of the blue, you had one date with a guy and had a good time. Then this guy gets hurts and winds up in your bed and you have to nurse him back to health. Things are starting to change, you are developing feelings for him. Do you take advantage of him while he’s ill and in your bed or wait until he’s feeling better and talk to him about it?” She hit send and closed her laptop. She trusted her readers, they would tell her the truth. After listening to the sounds of the night, Maggie finally went inside to spend another night on her couch. At least it was comfy, even if she would rather be in her own bed.

Chapter Eight

The next day brought on more of the same routine. Maggie got up and took her shower, grabbed coffee and went outside to the patio to start working on her book after checking on a sleeping Jake. She opened her laptop and then remembered what she had asked her fans the night before. She searched her Face book page to see if anyone responded. If there was one thing she knew, her readers could have some pretty wild imaginations, even disturbingly so at times. She would on occasion ask them a question or two about something she was writing and they would respond immediately. She was right on the mark, there were already answers waiting for her.

Maggie had to laugh aloud at some of the banter going on. Two of the readers were fighting over the answer. Someone named Pboo answered, ‘Oh yes, I would take advantage. Maybe pretend you forgot he is in your bed and slip in beside him at night. Then act surprised when he wakes up to see you there. Of course by then you got yourself all wrapped up around him.’

RomancingBetty said, ‘Pboo, your a slut! Just be honest and tell him that you like him.’

PBoo answered back, ‘RB, suck it! I ain’t no slut. Your answer is boring. He’d probably laugh at you, you jerk.’

Along comes another reader, one of her faithful followers who has read every book of Maggies and gives her excellent reviews every single time. Barblovesbooks told them both off, probably knowing she’d get plenty of back lash but actually sounding like the only adult there.

Barblovesbooks said, ‘Both of you, PBoo and RomancingBetty have no class. This is an author’s page with some serious stuff going on. We either talk nice and answer the intended questions or we keep our mouths shut and don’t be rude to others. If you want to fight, go meet somewhere and duke it out. We have better things to do here, now let’s get back on track and respect each others answers..’

Of course, Maggie knew that when Barblovesbooks got on a subject, she could talk and talk. She was right, there was another entry right under that one, this time in detail.

Barblovesbooks said, ‘If I had a man in my bed that I nursed back to health, while he was ill I wouldn’t bother him with any nonsense. Now, if he started feeling better, I’d probably be really nice to him and show him what kind of a lady I am. I think that I would not try to make out with him while he was in my bed, although it may be hard to do. Like, if he had a really hot body with ripped muscles that made you drool every time you gazed at him, perhaps then it would be OK to maybe rub your hands over his chest and arms just to get a feel of those muscles. I don’t know, what does everyone else think?’

Maggie was laughing out loud. She didn’t notice that Jake was standing in the doorway watching her, smiling at her through the screen. She looked up and waved him out. “Good morning Jake. Want a cup of coffee?”

He came outside and made his way to the patio, then sat down across from her on the one empty chair. He set his coffee down. “I already got a cup. I doubt you ever heard me with all that laughing going on. What’s so funny?” He nodded towards her laptop.

“Oh, nothing Jake. Just a bunch of fans on face book. You know how some people bring their drama to these places. Are you hungry? I was just thinking eggs and toast. Want some?”

He nodded and gave her his sexy morning smile, smoky eyes staring into her big brown ones. “Oh I want some alright.” She shivered and got up, too quickly, not sure if he meant eggs or her!

“You’re obviously feeling better,” she stated, grinning to herself. Maggie pushed her laptop to the center of the table, a habit she had because the one time when she didn’t, it fell from the edge, shattering her screen. It was before she made any money and so she had to rent a laptop to keep writing. Lesson learned!

Maggie made them some eggs and toast that she picked up when she first came here, humming in the kitchen as she worked. She hardly ever cooked, always grabbing a salad or throwing something together from the deli, so this was a nice change. She was feeling a bit domestic and liked the fact that she could do a bit of cooking now and then. Did Jake bring these feelings out? Maggie was feeling really confused, she was sure they would just remain friends, wouldn’t they? After all, he would soon go back to his place and she would finish her book and move on.

She took the two plates out to the table and then went back in to refill the coffee cups. She set them down on the patio table and then went to sit down when she noticed her laptop close to the edge of the table. “Oh my!” She closed it and took it in the house, almost certain that she had pushed it to the center of the table earlier. Maggie shook her head and sighed. I could’ve sworn I did, but that would mean that Jake would have been snooping on my computer or else he has me in such a frenzy these days that I totally forgot!

Maggie commenced to dipping her toast in the soft yoke of her egg and as she was getting ready to bite into it, she stole a glance at Jake. He was looking down at his plate with the biggest grin on his face. “Do eggs make you that happy Jake?” she mumbled, curious.

He laughed out loud, a big, boisterous laugh and then shook his head. “I’m sorry Maggie, I was deep in thought. Jon told me that I could go back upstairs in a day or two. I argued with him and told him that I’d go today, but now that I think about it, perhaps I should stay another day, that’s if your OK with me sleeping in your bed one more night.”

Maggie was almost certain she remembered Jon saying that Jake could probably go home today but she wasn’t going to argue with Jake. Jon did say it would be better if she watched out for him for awhile. She was getting used to him being around. “I don’t mind at all, Jake.”

“Just don’t take advantage of a healing man, Maggie.” Jake sat back in his chair and grinned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maggie’s guard was up. Did he snoop on her face book page?

Then she knew it was true when he asked her to go up to his place and get his laptop. “I want to do some work on it myself, Maggie. If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Not at all, Jake,” Maggie said, sceptical he wanted to do any such thing. “What kind of work do you do?”

“I buy and sell buildings and such,” Jake mentioned. “I need to check in on a few things. Would you mind going up to my desk and bringing my laptop down?”

As Maggie made her way up the steps, she thought maybe she jumped to conclusions. Perhaps he hadn’t seen her face book page, although she could have sworn she pushed that laptop to the center of the table. She always did that but lately things were not normal. She bit down on her lower lip, wondering if things were about to change for the better or worse.

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After getting Jake settled in on the couch with his own computer, she went back outside and sat in the sun for awhile working. Anxious to read more of her reader’s remarks, she switched tabs back to her page on Face book to see if there were any new suggestions. Now that Jake was busy doing his thing, she could enjoy her readers banter once again. Sure enough, there they were, with new readers chiming in.

Pboo:“What do you know, Romancing Betty? I know this is an author page and blah, blah, blah, but the author was asking us what we thought and I was just telling the truth of what I’d do! You mean to tell me if there was this hunk in your bed, so hot you couldn’t stand it, you wouldn’t feign a memory loss and crawl in that bed? Ha, then your not normal is all I can say!”

Cherrypie : I know I’m normal and oh yummy I’d jump right in!!!!!

ILOVEBooks: Oooooooooooooooooohhhhh yeah, I’d def jump in yeah!

There were about forty other remarks as well, keeping Maggie entertained until REDJH popped up. The smile left Maggie’s face the moment she saw the entry.

REDJH: Hi ladies, would you like to hear what a man really would want?

There were about 13 replies instantaneously with a resounding YES!!! Maggie puckered her lips, she was suddenly highly suspicious. She clicked on the link for REDJH, her face turning red when she saw his page. It read Real Estate Developer Jake Hatfield, LLC. He had seen her page earlier, she knew it! Did he honestly think she wouldn’t figure out who he was? Did he even care? Let’s just see what you got, Jake Hatfield!

AuthorChristinaDey: Ladies, thank you for all of your entries. I think we all would love to hear a man’s point of view. Have at it REDJH.