Shelter from the Storm Read online

  “How on earth do you know all that?”

  Mac turned the light on over the stove. “She picks Jamie up around the same time I pick up Sara. We’ve talked a few times.”

  Jennifer was caught off-guard by a sudden pang of jealousy. She was envious of this woman, Carmen, a woman she didn’t even know. Envious because she had easily revealed so much of herself in the space of a few casual exchanges. “I’ll call her in the morning. What time is she supposed to be there? We’ll need to get a gift.”

  “Carmen said we can drop her off at noon, pick her up around the same time Sunday. The other girls aren’t going to arrive until around four. When I mentioned I might take advantage of the opportunity to take you on a little holiday she offered to have Sara come early. I figured I’d go embarrass Rick over at the club, then stop and get some supplies on the way home. You and Sara can take care of the gift. We can all meet back here at, say, eleven thirty? After we drop Sara off, you’ll be all mine. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds good.”

  “Good?”

  “I mean, it sounds great!”

  “Be honest,” Mac said.

  “It sounds both inviting and…intimidating.”

  “I was going to go with intimate.”

  “Just you and me, no distractions.”

  “I promise I won’t bite you.”

  “Well, that’s a relief! But, hey, what if I like little, you know, light sexy bites?”

  Mac smiled at her. “That I can do. Want to split a sandwich?”

  “Sure.” Jennifer followed him into the kitchen. “Actually, I could probably eat a whole sandwich. I’m suddenly starving.”

  “Coming up!” He rummaged through the fridge.

  Jennifer climbed up onto one of the barstools. “You realize you’re spoiling me, don’t you?”

  Mac winced, then laid the sandwich supplies on the counter.

  “What?”

  “Well, seems you’ve found me out, uncovered my sinister little plan.”

  “Your plan?”

  He opened the jar of mayonnaise and scooped out a knifeful. “I intend to ruin you. I’m going to spoil you so thoroughly and completely no other man will ever want you.”

  The apartment was dark and quiet, save the dim light illuminating the area over the stove. Sometime earlier Mac had removed his shoes and socks. He was barefoot. His T-shirt, which was wrinkled and contained traces of her makeup, was sloppily untucked. He set down the knife and screwed the cover back on the jar of mayonnaise.

  “I think I love you,” Jennifer said, softly. At first she hadn’t even realized she’d said it out loud. But then his head flew up and his eyes connected with hers.

  A long moment passed.

  “Well, you be sure to let me know when you’ve decided for sure, won’t you?” Mac asked, a slow smile forming.

  Jennifer nodded.

  He stacked some turkey and cheese on top of the bread. “Do you want lettuce and tomato?”

  “No thanks.” Jennifer laid her head down on the counter and yawned.

  Mac chuckled. “Am I going to have to eat this for you?”

  “No, sorry. I’m just tired.” Jennifer lifted her head and took a bite.

  “Let’s eat and get some rest. My alarm is going to be going off in a few hours to wake me up for fencing. If you want to stay in your own room, I’ll understand.”

  Jennifer looked up at him and froze, then swallowed. “Do you want me to stay in my own room?”

  “No. I’d much prefer you sleep in my bed.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, you know, technically the bed in your room is mine, too.”

  Mac set his sandwich down. “Maybe we should start calling it our bed.”

  “Our bed,” Jennifer said out loud, trying it out. “I like the sound of that.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Come on, Mac!” Jennifer begged. “Give me a hint?”

  “No.” He walked to the back of the store, pulled a bag of ice out of the freezer and then headed for the checkout counter. “It’s a surprise. We’ll be there in ten minutes. You can wait.”

  Mac accepted the change from the cashier.

  “Jennifer? Hey, it is you!”

  Mac turned around as a tall, brown-haired man wearing a U.S. Marine Corps T-shirt approached.

  Jennifer smiled. “Eric, how are you? It’s been a long time.”

  “I’ve been great, actually. You’re looking good. What brings you to Harbor Island?” Eric asked.

  “I’m afraid I’ve kidnapped the lady.” Mac extended his hand.

  “Eric.”

  “Mac.”

  The door chime sounded and in walked a very pregnant dark-haired woman. “Honey, can you get some mint chocolate chip, too?”

  Eric waved her over. “Hey, Angie, come and meet someone. Jennifer, this is my wife, Angie.” He wrapped his hand around her waist and rubbed her swollen belly. “The rest of the family will be popping out in just about a week or so.”

  “Congratulations,” Mac said, spontaneously.

  Eric nodded “Thanks! Angie, Jennifer Jones and Mac…”

  “Moore.” There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Mac realized Jennifer hadn’t said anything, her gaze seemed fixed on Angie’s protruding belly. “So, is this going to be your first?”

  “First and second actually.”

  “Twins?” Mac asked.

  “Yup! Can you believe it? Both boys. Angie here has weathered pregnancy like a champ. Fortunately, we both wanted a big family.”

  “That’s…great, really great,” replied Jennifer.

  “You two have any kids?”

  “Us? No. Well, there’s my sister. She lives with us now.”

  “Jennifer’s mum passed away recently.”

  “Sorry to hear that. I didn’t even know you had a sister. Did I?” Eric asked.

  Jennifer reached for Mac’s hand and bent down to check the time on his watch. “I’m sure at some point I must have mentioned it.”

  “Eric made Captain last month,” Angie announced, oblivious to the awkwardness of the moment.

  “Captain? Wow. We kind of have to get going. Don’t we have to get going, honey?”

  Mac checked the time himself. “You’re right, it’s getting late. It was nice to meet you.”

  Jennifer was already halfway out the door. She made a beeline for Mac’s car. As soon as he unlocked it, she slid inside. “Talk about awkward.”

  Mac closed the door, dropped the ice he’d purchased in the trunk, and then climbed in himself. “Seat belt, blondie.”

  “What? Oh!” Jennifer fastened her seatbelt and resumed looking out the window. A moment or two passed as Mac drove on. “He looked happy, didn’t he? Eric looked happy.”

  “Seems he’s got a lot to be thankful for, recent promotion, lovely wife, two children on the way. I’d say happiness is an understatement.”

  “Yeah.” She sounded a bit wistful.

  Mac pulled into the parking lot of the Marina, quickly found a parking space, and cut the car’s engine. “You were in love with him once?” he asked. “Maybe you still are?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “No, I wasn’t in love with Eric. But, I wanted to be. He seemed…normal. For a long time I thought he was my chance to have the kind of life I always dreamed of having. He was the reason I started seeing Arlene the first time.”

  “The first time?”

  “I saw I was losing him. I went to Arlene so she could fix me.” She lifted her hands in the air and placed quotes around the word fix.

  “What happened?”

  “We had been seeing one another for a year and a half. It was Eric’s birthday. I got up early and made muffins, blueberry, they were his favorite. I drove over to his apartment at the crack of dawn and parked across the street. Before I got out of the car, the front door to his house opened to reveal he and…and Angie. I didn’t know her name then but, she’d obviously spent the night.”

 
“Did you confront him?”

  “No. Well, not directly. Not like Arlene suggested. I asked if everything was all right between us. He told me…” Jennifer paused and began to play nervously with the hem of her top. “He told me something was missing. He didn’t believe I loved him. He…needed more. I wasn’t good enough. I should be happy for him and Angie.”

  “Feel whatever is true.” Mac opened the car door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “We’re here. Get on out.”

  “We’re here?” Jennifer looked out at the sea of sailboats in front of her. “I thought we pulled in to talk.”

  “Nope!” Mac slammed the door shut and walked around to the trunk. “Did you ever stop to think the reason it didn’t work out with Eric wasn’t about you? Maybe the right chemistry wasn’t there.”

  “Envy.” Jennifer joined him at the rear of the car. “I guess I feel a tad envious.”

  Mac lifted an eyebrow. “Just a tad?”

  “Remember how I told you when my father left, I decided right then and there I would never get married and have children?”

  Mac stepped away to retrieve one of the dock carts. “Yeah.” He pulled it back over to the car and started to unload the contents of the trunk. “Let me guess. The truth is there is a part of you that wants it all, the house, the husband, the two-point-five kids.”

  “And the dog.” Jennifer sighed. “I always wanted a golden retriever.”

  “Maybe someday it’ll happen. You might stumble upon Mr. Right yet.” Mac slammed the trunk closed and pulled the cart toward the metal gate that led to the docks.

  “Do you think?”

  He inserted his key in the lock and opened the door. “Maybe you already have.”

  “I don’t know.” Jennifer proceeded down the ramp to the dock. “Sometimes I feel like I’m running out of time. I’m getting pretty old.”

  “You are not old.” Mac said staring appreciatively at her behind. “And you’ve got a great ass.”

  Jennifer turned and looked at him over her shoulder, a brilliant smile on her face. “You think so?”

  “Oh, yeah!” Mac chuckled. “It’s the kind of ass that inspires men to write poetry.”

  “Stop it!”

  “It’s completely true, I swear it. Perhaps I’ll surprise you later with a bit of verse.” He pointed to the left. “Ours is the fourth boat on the right.”

  “Thunder ’n Raine.” Jennifer stopped to read the gold script painted across the red transom of the forty-two-foot boat. “With an E?”

  “Yup! This would be it.” Mac effortlessly leapt over the cabled rail surrounding the perimeter of the boat. “Hand me the stuff, will you?”

  “Sure. Whose boat?”

  Mac accepted the last of the bags. “My father’s. Raine is his last name.”

  “Your father’s? I didn’t realize you had a father.”

  Mac extended his hand. “’Course I have a father. I wasn’t hatched, you know. Hop on.”

  Jennifer took Mac’s hand and climbed on board the boat, stepping over the line and down onto the fiberglass bench where he was standing.

  “Does he live in San Diego?”

  Mac jumped off of the bench onto the deck then lifted her down.

  “He spends most of his time in London. He’s got a place in L.A., but he’s rarely there anymore. When I moved down here, he told me to take the boat with me.” Mac unlocked the cabin cover and removed it.

  “You’ve never talked about him. He and your mom never married?”

  “She would never agree. Hand me down the supplies.”

  “Why not?”

  “Nathan’s got a bit of a reputation with the ladies. He loved Mum, asked her many times, but she knew how he was, the kind of life he led. She wanted something quieter, simpler. So, when she found out she was pregnant she moved here to the States to join Henry. He was living in L.A. back then.”

  “So you were born here?”

  Mac nodded. “It took until I was around three for Nathan to talk her into returning to England. We moved back and forth across the pond several times over the years. I probably spent as much of my childhood in London as I did here in Southern California,” Mac explained. “That’s the last of it. Need a hand?”

  “I’m good.” Jennifer turned around and climbed down the ladder into the main cabin.

  It was surprisingly spacious. To the left was a galley, which held a refrigerator, stove, sink and oven. There was a table on the right. In front of it was a sitting area containing a red suede loveseat, chair and television.

  “Wow!” She looked around. “Who knew? Mac, your dad’s rich! Can I peek in the bedroom?”

  “Explore to your little heart’s content. I’ll put away the groceries, then we’ll be off.”

  Jennifer opened the door to the bathroom. “Everything looks brand new.”

  “It’s not, nine years old in fact. But Nathan never uses it and I take good care of her. She’s my baby.” He placed the bottled beer he’d brought into the fridge.

  Jennifer opened the door to the forward cabin. “I thought the Harley was your best girl.

  Mac walked up behind her, slipped his hands around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “No, you’re my best girl. And you’re much more fun to have around than a bloody boat or bike. Why don’t you unpack? I’ll go throw your empty suitcase back in the trunk, it’ll give us a bit more room.”

  “Okay.”

  Mac returned to the kitchen, put away the last of the groceries and was about to go up top to check the lines when he heard her gasp.

  “Oh my God!”

  “What?” He ran back to the cabin, alarmed.

  “Nathan Raine!” Jennifer was pointing at the family portrait which had minutes ago been obscured by the open closet. “Your father is Sir Nathan Raine? How is it you never mentioned this?”

  Mac placed his hands in his pockets and struck a casual pose, leaning against the doorjamb. “I guess it just never came up?”

  She tilted her head to the side and studied him. “Bull. I can totally see the resemblance now. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He picked up Jennifer’s now-empty suitcase and pushed it under the bed. “I tend to avoid the subject. At least until I get to know someone, really know him or her, and even then, sometimes I keep it to myself. There. Doesn’t look like I’ll need to put it back in the trunk after all.”

  “Why?” Jennifer followed Mac back into the galley.

  He pulled out a beer. “It wasn’t easy, growing up the bastard son of a famous actor. People can be cruel, the press can be cruel, and other children, especially, can be cruel. He did his best to shield us from it. It was hardest on Mum.” He tossed the beer cap into the trash, then took a swallow. “Shall I open some wine?”

  “I think I’ll wait until later for that.”

  He opened the fridge. “Soda?”

  She snatched one out of the door. “Thanks.”

  Jennifer followed Mac topside.

  “It was her choice, to stay in the shadows, in the background. But there were times she resented him deeply for it. There were times I resented him deeply for it,” Mac explained as he checked the lines.

  “I didn’t even know Nathan Raine had a son.”

  “He never used to talk about his personal life in interviews. Although now…”

  “Now?”

  “See these?” He held up one of the bumpers hanging off the side of the boat. “When I push off, I want you to pull these up.”

  “Okay.”

  He hopped off the boat, back down onto the dock.

  “So, do you ever see him or talk to him?” Jennifer asked.

  Mac made short order of untying the two lines that secured the boat. “Yeah, seems even more so now that Mum is gone. He stopped working for a while and crawled into the bottle. But he’s back on track now, doing rehearsals for Macbeth.” Mac pushed them off and then jumped back on. “They open in London next month.”

 
; “I’ve never been to London.”

  “Want to go?”

  Jennifer laughed. “That wasn’t a hint.” She pulled the bumpers up.

  “I didn’t think it was. Sara will be off for spring break in a couple months.”

  “You’re serious? Would the County let me take her?”

  “We won’t know if we don’t ask.” Within a few minutes, Mac had managed to maneuver the boat out of the slip.

  The day was glorious. Jennifer sat down on the bench, closed her eyes and tilted her head back. The warmth of the sun bathed her body in its glow. Mac smiled. The rocking of the boat as it made its way across the water appeared to be lulling her to sleep.

  “Am I losing you?” he asked, quietly.

  Her eyes flew open. “Huh? Sorry. It was a long week and a long night.”

  “It’s all right. It’s actually nice to see you so relaxed. Can I get you to steer her into the wind while I unfurl the sails?”

  Gone were the black boots Mac normally wore. He had traded them in for a pair of rubber-soled tennis shoes. His long-sleeved white shirt was casually untucked from his blue jeans and it billowed in the wind as he stood at the wheel of the boat.

  Jennifer presented herself with a smart salute. “I am at your disposal, Captain Moore. Ready to follow orders, sir!”

  Mac grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind for later.” He moved so she could join him at the helm. “See the point over there?”

  “Point. Check.”

  “Keep the bow lined up with it. Turning the wheel to the right makes it go—”

  “Right? And, left for left? Now, where’s the brake?” Jennifer asked, looking on and around the console.

  “Ha-ha.” Mac left her in charge while he took the cover off and hoisted the mainsail.

  “What about the other one?” Jennifer asked pointing to the front of the boat.

  “Let’s go with simple, for now.” Mac took control of the wheel, placing his hands directly on top of hers. “Thought we’d sail over toward the Coronado Bridge, drop anchor, throw dinner in the crock pot and relax.”

  “Sounds wonderful.” Jennifer leaned back into him. “Thanks for thinking of this.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  A few minutes passed.