Authors: Kimberly Lang
The door immediately swung back open as Helena rushed in. “So?”
“We’re good.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” She put a hand on her heart. “I couldn’t take much more of it.”
“Yes, you were truly the one suffering over this.” He patted her shoulder. “You poor thing.”
Helena leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. The relief on her face turned to triumph. “I told you so.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just wanted to get that out there. I called it, you know. I told you that you and Molly would be great together.”
He’d spent enough time blaming her lately for her interference, but he was feeling magnanimous right now. “Fine, fine, whatever.”
Helena wasn’t going to give up her moment just yet. “I’m so proud of me,” she crowed. He tried to walk away, but Helena followed him out of the kitchen. “You owe me big.”
He stopped to give Molly a quick kiss on his way out. A small cheer went up from the customers, causing Molly to blush. “You didn’t actually do all that much—you do realize that, right?” he tossed over his shoulder at her.
Helena caught up. “I nudged. I encouraged. And look, here you two are. Exactly where I wanted y’all to be.” At the door, she poked a finger into his chest. “You owe me. Remember that.”
He looked back at Molly, who was laughing with a customer. She looked up, saw him, and smiled. He looked down at Helena. “Thanks.”
Epilogue
M
olly blinked against the bright sunlight as she emerged from Adam’s office. Nearly blinded, she dug one-handed into her purse for her sunglasses. Then she looked up at the sky and let out her breath.
It was over. Done.
She was free.
Funny, it didn’t feel all that different. She’d felt more divorced than married for years now. But
knowing
it was true—really, honestly, true—was damn nice nonetheless.
Turning to go back to Latte Dah, she saw Tate leaning against a streetlight. “You’re supposed to be at work.”
He shrugged that off. “How’d it go?”
He’d offered to come with her today, even offered to sign as her witness. It would have been a very nice poke in the eye to Mark to have Tate’s name on their divorce papers, but very juvenile. She hadn’t wanted him to come, though. She’d wanted—needed—to do it by herself, and Tate had understood. “It went very well actually.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “I’m not seeing much excitement and jubilation. I was expecting a happy dance, at least.”
“Oh, I’m jubilant. It was just a little anticlimactic after three years of nonsense and fighting. I always figured we’d end up in a courtroom shouting at each other, forcing me to literally claw my way out of that marriage by my fingernails. Instead, I went and signed a few papers.” She shrugged.
“I would think that’s the better scenario.”
“It is. That doesn’t make it less anticlimactic, though,” she grumped.
“But you’re now divorced, right? It’s over?”
She nodded. “Adam notarized the papers and will send them to the judge, who will sit on them for thirty days—in case I change my mind, I guess.” She snorted.
Like that would happen.
“It’s not officially final until then, but yeah. It’s done.”
“Congratulations.” He opened his arms and she walked into them without hesitation. “I thought I’d take you out to dinner tonight to celebrate. How about Bodine’s?”
“Helena promised me an evening of drinking and carousing to celebrate my first night as a single woman.” Tate raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve denied myself a lot over the years, you know,” she said in her defense.
“I’m not saying you haven’t. And I’m not even bothered if you’d rather go party with Helena tonight.
I’m
concerned by your use of the word ‘single.’”
“You’re right. I’m not single until it’s final,” she teased.
He frowned. “Still not the point.”
She wiggled out of his arms and grinned as she stepped away. “You’re not forbidden fruit anymore. I’m worried it won’t still be as hot and exciting now that we’re not breaking any rules.”
Tate growled as he pushed out of his lean and grabbed for her. “I’ll show you hot and exciting.” He swept her into a dangerously deep dip and kissed her
soundly, the blood rush to her head and the hunger in his kiss making her equally dizzy. He broke the kiss but didn’t set her back upright immediately. She could hear hoots and shouts of encouragement from a group of teenagers across the street—upside-down teenagers, due to the view from her rather precarious position. “That was definitely exciting,” she confessed, fanning her face. “Pity we have an audience.”
Tate grinned at her, then stole one last quick kiss before setting her back on her feet. He held her around her waist as she wobbled momentarily, both from the head rush and the kiss, and waited for her equilibrium to return. “I’d take you home and really show you how single you aren’t, but I’ve got back-to-back appointments all afternoon.”
“Jane’s waiting for me to get back, too.” She sighed. “See? I told you it was rather anticlimactic. Coffee and critters. Nothing has changed.”
Tate pulled her close again, and the look in those blue eyes made her light-headed and swoony. “
Everything
has changed, Molly. Give me a chance, and I’ll prove it to you.”
She’d never quit believing in happily-ever-afters.
And it seemed she was going to get one.
At last.
Read on for a sneak peek at the next book in Kimberly Lang’s charming Magnolia Beach series.
Available from Berkley Sensation in December 2016.
P
hone calls after midnight never brought good news.
Shelby Tanner knew that, which made being woken out of a sound sleep—and a really good dream—even worse. She groped for her phone on the nightstand, but the phone was dark and silent, confusing her. She stared at it blankly until she heard another ring, then rolled out of bed cursing, and ran downstairs to the office to answer the landline.
“Marina. This is Shelby.”
And this better be important.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes to clear them as she turned on the big desk lamp and peered at the caller ID. It wasn’t a local number, and she didn’t recognize the area code.
“This is Declan Hyde and I need some assistance. I’m . . . um . . . Well, I seem to be . . . floating. Out on the water.”
This guy sounded a little too old to be making crank calls, but not everyone outgrew their adolescence. “It’s the middle of the night, and I’m really not in the mood for pranks, so—”
“This is not a prank,” the man said quickly. “I’m
supposed to be at the dock, yet I’m . . . not.” There was a frustrated sigh. “I’ve been staying on a boat in slip seven. I woke up a few minutes ago, and I’m not in slip seven anymore.”
That
got her attention. Balancing the phone on her shoulder, she raised the blinds on the window and looked out, scanning the boats below. Sure enough, slip seven was empty. The
Lady Jane
hadn’t moved from that spot in more than six weeks, so the absence was glaring. She didn’t see the
Lady Jane
anywhere. “Well, where
are
you?”
“As I said, I seem to be adrift.”
Okay, now I’m awake.
While the man seemed to be frustrated, he did not sound afraid or freaked-out, so that was good. Whatever had happened to the
Lady Jane
—and she’d riddle that out later—it couldn’t have been more than a few hours ago, so there was a good chance he wouldn’t be more than a couple of miles offshore, max. That was good news; it would make the search easier.
But she could tell by the way he talked that he wasn’t a very experienced sailor—which wasn’t all that uncommon in Magnolia Beach. They had a lot of tourists with an overestimation of their skills coming to town, and a dark night and unfamiliar waters could easily lead to disaster, even close to land. Adrenaline rushed through her. “Don’t hang up. I’m going to get the Coast Guard on the radio—”
“I was assuming you could just come get me.”
“What?”
“It shouldn’t take you long,” he said in the most ridiculously reasonable-sounding voice she’d ever heard. “I mean, I can almost make you out in the window, so I’ve not made it all that far out yet.”
She nearly dropped the phone. “You can
see
me?”
“Well, not clearly, no. But I assume that’s you.
The light in that building did come on about the time you answered.”
Last time, she’d only looked to see that the
Lady Jane
was actually out of her slip. This time, Shelby looked out toward the bay. A cloudy sky shrouded everything beyond the marina’s entrance in darkness, but, sure enough, there were lights bobbing just beyond. It would be unbelievable without confirmation. “Can you flash your lights for me?”
“Um, sure. Hang on.”
Suspicions growing and her irritation barely held in check, she drummed her fingers against the windowsill as she waited. A moment later, those lights in the not-very-far-at-all distance flashed off and back on again.
“Do you see me now?”
“Oh, I see you.” That probably sounded snarky, but
jeez.
Thank goodness she hadn’t called the Coast Guard. She’d have never heard the end of it. Reminding herself that Mr. Declan Hyde was a paying customer and shouting at him would not be good for business, she took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Sir, is there something wrong with your boat?”
“No, not that I know of.”
“Then why don’t you just come back?” she said carefully.
He laughed. He actually laughed, causing Shelby’s hand to curl into a fist. “That would make sense, except I don’t know how. I’ve never driven a boat before. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
The number of wrong things in those few sentences made Shelby’s head hurt. He’d been living on that boat for six freakin’ weeks. That boat cost more than some people’s houses.
And he didn’t know how to operate it.
Who the hell lives on a boat when they don’t know how—
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Even if she walked him through it, step by step, he’d probably ram the thing into something on his way back. Maneuvering space was limited in the marina, and there was no telling how much damage he could do—both to the
Lady Jane
and to every other boat in the place. And, not to mention, it would be illegal if he didn’t have a boating license. It would just be quicker, safer, and involve fewer insurance claims to just go get him.
Oh Lord, deliver me from idiots.
“Miss? Are you still there?”
She sighed. “Yes. I’m on my way. Just sit tight.”
And try not to fall overboard.
Grumbling, Shelby headed back up the stairs to her tiny apartment. It had just been a storage room until she’d converted it three years ago—shortly after she’d pretty much taken over the day-to-day running of the marina. Her parents hadn’t liked the idea at all, claiming worry about her safety being there alone at night, but Magnolia Beach wasn’t exactly a hot spot for crime—or for anything else, for that matter.
She’d always wanted to live near the water, but since Magnolia Beach was a tourist location, all the waterfront property was either too expensive for her to purchase or was designed for tourists to rent. Living here at the marina was both convenient and cheap, allowing her to save money for later. The apartment was small but cozy and, thanks to her cousin Ryan’s handyman skills, comfortable and perfect for her needs—which weren’t all that many.
A glance at the clock told her it was close to three, and that only made her grumpier as she pulled on shorts and a sweatshirt and slipped into
her shoes. She took a minute to pull her hair back and braid the ponytail to keep it out of her face—Mr. Hyde wasn’t going to drift out to sea or anything in that extra minute; hell, he was still in the No Wake area, for goodness’ sake—then grabbed the keys to the dinghy and stomped down the stairs. There was even an eighty percent chance that he’d end up on the sandbar in another hour or so, where he could safely wait until a reasonable hour to be fetched back. But she couldn’t ignore that twenty percent chance he wouldn’t.
Cupid woofed at her questioningly as she got off her doggie bed and followed Shelby outside. Shelby patted the shaggy head. “I know. It’s crazy to be up at this hour.”
Crazy or not, it was a beautiful night. The clouds blocked the stars, but they also kept the temperature from dropping too much, making the October air a little warmer than usual. Everything was quiet—only the wind making the rigging on the sailboats sing—and mostly still except for the gentle movement of the boats. And while she would much rather be asleep in her bed, at least going out wasn’t going to suck.
Cupid sat on the wooden dock, a little miffed she wasn’t going as well, as Shelby untied the dinghy and started the small motor, which sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet.
This wasn’t the first time she’d had to go help a tourist out of a jam. It just came with the territory, and normally she didn’t mind. People came to Magnolia Beach to enjoy the water that surrounded the town on three sides—Mobile Bay to the east, Heron Bay to the south, and Heron Bayou to the west. It was a quiet, almost-stereotypical small town and very family friendly, perfect for water-centric vacations.
She was quite used to people with more enthusiasm for boats than with skill at operating them, but never in her life had she heard of someone living on a boat when he had no idea what to do with it. Aside from it being just
wrong
, it didn’t seem safe, either. It simply hadn’t occurred to her to check that the inhabitant of the boat possessed that minimum level of skill.
The
Lady Jane
belonged to Mr. Farley’s cousin’s nephew—or something like that—and was normally docked in a marina over near Laguna Beach. But that marina didn’t allow live-aboards, so Mr. Farley had asked if the
Lady Jane
could dock at their marina for a few months. Had it been summer, Shelby would have had to turn down the request, but she’d figured it would be okay this time of year. It wasn’t something they allowed often, as live-aboards often turned out to be sketchy and dubious situations, but Mr. Farley had given his personal guarantee that Declan Hyde wouldn’t be a problem.