Authors: Layne Macadam
“Like a baby, how about you?” she said picking up the puppy for a cuddle.
“Not so good, in fact Cindy and I had quite an eventful night.”
“Whatever do you mean? I didn’t hear a thing.”
“I’m not surprised Liz, I always said you could sleep through a bomb going off!”
Liz listened as Kathy recounted the early morning events. “You wouldn’t believe that such a tiny speck could create such a ruckus as to rouse the neighbors, but that’s just what Cindy did. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he started banging on the wall and shouting obscenities. He was real angry not that I could blame him, it was three forty-five in the morning.”
“Gee Kath, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too, nothing for it now but to apologize and pray he doesn’t make a formal complaint and have me evicted.”
“This is my fault. I’ll make the apology and if any groveling has to be done then I’ll do it, and on my knees if I have too.”
“It’s not your fault, there was no choice so don’t sweat it. I’ll do it when I get back from my run, on a full stomach of course,” Kathy said as she walked out the front door.
Chapter 2
Ice knuckled the sleep from his eyes, still tired but not exhausted. After his early morning outburst nothing disturbed the stillness of the night, and he was able to snatch a few more hours sleep. When his fingers found the egg-shaped swelling on his forehead he winced, then cursed remembering how he’d come by it. His reaction to the ruckus left a lot to be desired. Sure, the dog had no business being there, but hey, no excuses, his behavior had been deplorable, and he’d probably scared the wits out of the old biddy, so now he’d have to make it right.
Flat on his back staring at the ceiling, he let his thoughts drift back to the previous evening and to the woman he’d spied at Shenanigans. Just thinking about her gave him a boner. But what really had his dander up was in all likelihood she was a visitor to the island, and he’d never set eyes on her again. Ice kicked back the sheet and padded to the bathroom for another cold shower.
Twenty minutes later, shaved and dressed in uniform, he picked up his briefcase and keys and pulled the apartment door closed behind him. Breakfast at the base seemed like a good idea. As he approached Miss Bellamy’s door, he fleetingly wondered if it was too early to call. He decided to give a soft tap so as not to disturb her if she was still asleep. The quicker he sorted this out the better.
No sooner had his knuckles grazed the timber when the door was yanked open by a young redheaded woman who looked vaguely familiar. The fact that she was young took him by surprise as he was expecting a much older lady.
“Miss Bellamy?” he inquired perplexed.
“Ah no, Elizabeth Ellis actually, can I help you?”
“Shane Jackson, I live next door.” He saw the immediate tension spring across her face, but she made a quick recovery and masked her disquiet with a smile.
“I know it’s early, but before heading off to work I wanted to apologize for my rudeness last night, and can only say I’m sorry if my behavior frightened you or Miss Bellamy.”
*
Liz thanked God he was cool about Cindy. “I slept through the whole episode,” she said.
“But you did scare the wits out of her. She filled me in this morning. As for an apology, it’s not necessary—this whole fiasco’s my fault.”
As she spoke Liz’s mind flipped into top gear, the perfect opportunity to arrange a social evening had just knocked on the door. Although not at all Kathy’s type, Shane was too macho for that, but living next door he could make a good friend and he was thoughtful, otherwise why would he care if he’d frightened them or not?
“I hope Cindy didn’t keep you and your wife awake too long?” Her voice sounded honey coated even to her ears.
“No, not long Elizabeth, there’s just me, I live alone.”
“Call me Liz,” she invited. “Come on in and let me make you coffee as a peace offering.”
“Thanks, but I’m due at the base,” he explained checking his watch.
“Dinner then?”
“It’s not necessary…”
“I won’t take no for an answer. I’m a fair cook, I promise I won’t poison you.” She grinned seeing victory in sight. “And it’s high time you two met, so how does seven suit?”
“Seven’s fine.”
“Great, see you then.” Liz closed the door before he could change his mind.
*
Ice lobbed down the stairs two at a time to the basement where his vehicle was garaged. His face puckered in a scowl at how easily Liz had railroaded him into accepting dinner. It was the last thing he wanted to do, he wasn’t feeling at all neighborly, but short of rudeness he’d had no choice. What the heck, he told himself, just eat, exchange a few pleasantries, and then get the hell out of Dodge. The evening wouldn’t have to be a total loss, he could cruise Shenanigans afterward to see if Doe Eyes turned up. Decision made, he climbed into his vehicle, turned on the ignition and steered the new black pickup out of the undercover parking lot.
Shifting through the gears, Ice accelerated down the street. He’d never been one to indulge in material possessions, but at thirty-four he was feeling the need for creature comforts, and the pickup appealed to his outdoorsy nature.
Ice automatically adjusted the stick shift and slowed to a halt at the red traffic lights. His fingers drummed an impatient tattoo on the steering wheel. As he waited for them to change, his eyes skipped over the pedestrians and locked on the figure jogging across the road in front of him.
He bolted upright. “Holy shit.” Doe Eyes was even sexier than he remembered. He craned his neck to gauge the direction she took but she disappeared into the crowd of early morning shoppers and was lost from view.
He drove to the base on auto pilot, his head filled with visions of shapely legs, cute ass, narrow waist, ponytail swishing and best of all, those beautiful bouncing breasts. He adjusted his crotch. Damn, it was going to be a long day.
Ice parked and cut across the grass to the chow hall, his head still in the clouds. He noticed Frosty sitting in the corner reading the newspaper and sauntered across to join him.
“Hey man, what are you doing here?” Dumping his breakfast tray on the table, he took a seat opposite his friend and tucked in.
“Sarah wanted to visit her mother, so I dropped her and the girls off there.”
“How did you manage to escape?” Knowing Sarah as he did and her desire for a tight knit family, Ice was surprised Frosty wasn’t with her.
“I told her I had some paperwork to catch up on.”
“And reading the newspaper is your idea of paperwork?”
“Strictly speaking it’s not a lie.” Frosty shifted in his seat, folded the paper, and placed it on the table before him.
“Yeah sure, you sound like George Costanza—‘It’s not a lie if you believe it.’ Out last night and then again today, Sarah must be slipping.” He chuckled.
“She figures I won’t have time for anything after the baby’s born, so she’s letting me have some liberty now. By the way, where did you disappear to last night? One minute you were ogling the girl with the sexy figure and looking like you were ready to pounce, the next minute, you’d disappeared. Hawk said you looked murderous. What gives?”
“Nothing man, just been a long week.”
It was a lame excuse. Frosty eyed him speculatively but being a diplomat said nothing. Ice ignored the look, picked up his coffee, and downed the dregs. “See you later buddy, got a meeting to attend,” he said getting to his feet.
“Don’t forget Meredith’s birthday party on Sunday, we’ll kick off about one.”
“Who’s going?”
“Just the family and about half a dozen six year olds.”
“That many kids, hmm, sounds delightful. Are the guys going?”
“When have you ever known them to turn down a free feed?”
“Point taken.”
“Oh yeah, I told Sarah you volunteered for the party games, wouldn’t take no for an answer I said. As the Godfather, claimed it as your right.” Frosty laughed.
“You’re so full of it.” Ice rolled his eyes and walked away. It was hard to know whether Frosty was joking or not, but knowing him as he did, he wouldn’t put it past him.
* * * *
Liz congratulated herself on the smooth way she had maneuvered Shane into accepting the dinner invitation. Her excitement was brewing, and when she heard Kathy’s key in the lock she dropped the recipe book she’d been flipping through onto the kitchen counter and rushed to greet her.
“You’ll never guess what’s happened?” she blurted out as Kathy, flushed from her morning exercise, came through the door.
“So don’t keep me in suspense, spit it out,” Kathy invited taking a seat at the dining table and unlacing her shoes.
“Your neighbor knocked after you left. To tell the truth I thought you’d forgotten something, so imagine my shock when I opened the door to be confronted by this mountain of a man in uniform asking for Miss Bellamy.”
“Oh my God no,” Kathy wailed. “Was he very angry? Is he going to make an official complaint?” Her words tumbled out in a panic.
“Simmer down, it’s all good. And to answer your questions, no and no.” Her reply was smug. “And get this, he’s coming to dinner, so what do you think about that?”
“You’ve asked him here, to dinner, are you crazy?”
“No, I’m not crazy. Actually it was a pretty slick maneuver if I do say so myself. And anyway, he didn’t come to complain; he came to apologize. Besides, it’s about time you got to know some of your neighbors. You’ve lived here for two months and haven’t met a soul.”
“I just wish you’d checked with me first.” Kathy groaned.
“Why, so you could say no? It was just a spur of the moment thing, and anyway his name’s Shane Jackson and aren’t you the least bit curious as to what he’s like?”
“No. Not in the least. You invited him so tell me Liz, what are you going to cook for dinner?”
Liz couldn’t help but blush, she knew she was widely acknowledged by her family and friends back home as being the worst cook in the State of Louisiana. “Well,” she wheedled. “I was skimming through one of your recipe books but everything looks so darn complicated. What do you think?”
“I know what I think, but I’m too much of a lady to say it. Besides, I know when I’ve been had.”
“I knew you’d come through,” she said relieved.
“You needn’t think you’re getting out of it that easy, you’re going to help; he is your guest after all.”
“Whatever you say,” Liz agreed, glad Kathy had been so obliging although a little disappointed at her lack of curiosity. She was aching to describe him. He could easily have been one of those guys from the club last night, and she could hardly wait until tonight when he’d arrive. Kathy was in for a shock. She’d be sorry then that she pretended not to be interested. “So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?” She switched topics.
“Apart from finding somewhere for Cindy to stay and buying groceries for tonight, I thought some retail therapy was called for. I know you’ll agree that my wardrobe is in desperate need of an overhaul.”
“Excellent, I’m always up for shopping,” Liz exclaimed with enthusiasm as she began flicking through the recipe book again.
“I’m going to give Anne a call. She has a dog, so perhaps she can recommend some doggie boarding place or some such thing.” Kathy picked up the phone and dialed Anne’s number. Five minutes later she replaced the receiver. “All sorted. Anne’s offered to take Cindy until I can work something out. She convinced me it wasn’t an imposition so I accepted.”
“That’s wonderful. Did you hear that Cindy? You’re off to a friend’s house.” Liz picked up the puppy and gave her a cuddle.
“Yes well, I suppose so.”
“Of course it is, now stop worrying and go and get changed so we can shop till we drop.”
“Okay, just give me ten to shower.”
* * * *
Retail therapy was good for the morale, and Kathy hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Encouraged by Liz, she’d spent a wicked amount on some trendy new outfits, new shoes, and sexy underwear. She chuckled, thinking about the shop they’d just left. It was an up-market shoe store, and she must have slipped her foot into every style they had before settling on a pair Liz proclaimed were perfect to go with the new cocktail dress she’d just purchased. Kathy had never spent that amount of money on an outfit in her entire life. It was positively obscene, but she had to admit she did feel like a million bucks in it.
“How about we grab a coffee and a bite to eat?” Liz asked. “All this shopping has sharpened my appetite.”
“There’s a yummy French bakery just outside the mall. They make the most delicious pastries and we could pick up something rich and decadent for tonight’s dessert as well. I’ve been so indulgent today, why stop now?”
“Ooh, I just love rich and decadent. Lead the way.”
Kathy did just that, and after a leisurely lunch the girls headed home with a rich gateau for dessert.
* * * *
Ice’s meeting was straightforward and held no surprises. He’d handed in his report on the students, so the rest of the day was his own. He’d made plans the previous evening to go water skiing with the guys. Wolf had a new speedboat and was anxious to give it a run, so they’d organized to meet around twelve.
Ice turned into the marina parking lot just on midday. Spotting Hawk leap out of his pickup, he pulled into the vacant spot alongside and cut the engine.
“Welcome to pickup central.” Hawk laughed, indicating the bevy of pickups gracing the parking lot.
Ice did a three sixty, the kid was spot on. “Must be the flavor of the month.” He chortled back.
Hawk lifted his eyes skyward. “It’s a good day for it.”
Ice nodded in agreement. Removing his skis from the back of the truck he fell into step beside Hawk, and both headed to where Wolf moored his boat.
The conditions were ideal for skiing. The water was calm and the wind was at a minimum. When they arrived at the pier, Wolf was stowing his skis on board. This was the saucy red speedboat’s maiden voyage, and he’d even had the name
Red-Hot
emblazoned in large black lettering on the side.
“Sweet,” Ice remarked on seeing it, though he had to wonder whether it was the boat or the owner that was red-hot. He suspected the latter.