About That Kiss

HAD SHE LOST all her good sense? Why on earth had she caved to Willa’s pleas?

She knew why. It wasn’t as big of a mystery as she tried to make herself believe. Willa’s happiness, the desire to stretch out her daughter’s carefree childhood for as long as she could. That was why. And, she admitted only to herself, Nathan connected with Willa. And Willa responded to that connection in such a positive way. Those big blue eyes lit up when Nathan came around, or when he passed their dock on his pirate ship. Despite the knowledge that, at some point, she and Willa would have to leave Cassabaw, Sean just didn’t feel like disappointing a five-year-old. Of depriving her of a little bit of normalcy, like a backyard barbecue with nice people. The fact that facing a handful of strangers clawed at her stomach in familiar way that usually meant back off, keep your distance.

Yet here she was with her daughter, sitting in an old pickup truck heading to supper. Not backing off. Not keeping her distance. With strangers.

Sean listened to Willa’s nonstop chatter with Nathan as he maneuvered down the crushed-shell-and-dirt path of their drive. At the end, he turned left onto the little coastal road, shrouded in oaks and Spanish moss, and shifted, metal grating and the truck giving a good jolt each and every time it went into a higher gear. Willa laughed, thinking it hugely hilarious. Sean’s head banged twice against the window.

Quietly, she observed.

Looked. Listened. And observed.

Classic rock played on the radio. The interior of the truck held an aged smell, but was clean. From the corner of her eye, Sean noticed the black T-shirt Nathan wore snugged tightly around his biceps as he held the truck’s wheel. Thick veins snaked over his hands, around his golden-skinned arms. She also noticed that around his neck he wore a leather cord with a medallion of...something. Made of silver. And his hair, bleached and weathered by the sun, pulled snuggly back from his face in a ponytail. Dark shades covered his unusual green eyes. Cautiously, she turned her head, ever so slightly, to get a better view of his profile, and when she did she noticed a silver scar jutting through his top lip.

Suddenly, those lips turned up at the corners, and on closer inspection she noticed Nathan had glanced her way.

“Taking inventory?” he asked.

“What’s inventory?” Willa echoed.

Nathan’s grin widened. “It means your mama was studying me,” he said.

Embarrassment heated Sean’s cheeks. “I was not.”

That only made Nathan chuckle.

“My mama studies everybody,” Willa said. “To make sure they’re not serial killers or anything.” Willa glanced at her. “Right, Mama?”

“Willa,” Sean scolded softly. “You don’t have to tell everyone our secrets, do you?”

Willa squinted as she gave that some thought. “Nope. I guess not. Just Captain Nathan.”

Sean’s gaze darted toward Nathan, whose attention was fixed straight ahead on the road, but his lips twitched.

He might be amused by Willa, but her exuberance and openness presented a real issue for Sean. Her mind raced. No doubt Nathan’s family—Nathan himself, more than likely—would ask questions. She’d become quite good at firing off appropriate answers without looking like she was totally making them up. But the older Willa got, the harder it was to bat off personal questions. Her daughter had eyes like a hawk and a sharp mind that missed absolutely nothing. Just like she had with Nathan, Willa would call Sean out on anything she believed to be untrue. Despite Sean’s attempts at coaching and teaching, her daughter seemed to be without filter. One never knew what would emerge from the little girl’s too-mature-for-her-age mind and mouth.

Sean needed to be extra careful. Despite the challenge presented by Willa’s increasing awareness, Sean could not afford to relax her vigilance. Which brought her mind back to the question: Why on earth had she agreed to accompany Nathan to a strange place with strange people and a million innocent yet detrimental questions?

Sean glanced at Willa, who chattered about the fireflies that came out at night. Her daughter looked up suddenly, her blue eyes soft as she grinned. Sean smiled back.

That’s why. Her precious daughter. It was the one thing Sean had done right in her life. She wanted to somehow, someway keep a shred of balance alive in Willa. To allow her gracious memories of a magical childhood that she could look back on later in life, fond recollections that could bring a smile or make her heart feel glad. Things Sean could only imagine.

She prayed she could keep it up.

Nathan slowed the truck and turned into a long drive that led back to the river—much like at her and Willa’s place. It made sense, she thought, seeing how they were river neighbors. A large, stilted river house with a wide wraparound porch sat within an opening among the trees.

“Whoa,” Willa said in a low voice. “You live here?”

“Yep. Grew up here,” Nathan answered. “Come on,” he continued, and climbed out of the truck. “Let’s go meet everyone.”

“Come on, Mama!” Willa yelled, and followed Nathan out of his side of the truck.

With a deep breath to steady her nerves, Sean climbed out. Giant oaks laden with long Spanish moss formed a canopy over the house and yard. A large metal building stood off to one side farther back. And an arbor of some sorts sat to the left of the porch. Big blooms of hydrangea graced each side of the porch steps. On the porch an old man was sitting in a rocking chair, then stood slowly.

Like some Norman Rockwell picture.

Walking around the front of the truck, Sean joined Nathan and Willa. He watched her closely. Crickets and cicadas chirped, filling the air with bug-song. Somewhere close, the saw grass rustled as a breeze rushed through the salt marsh. In the distance, oyster shoals bubbled in the low-tide mud.

Noises that, only recently, had become familiar to her.

Oddly, Sean found she liked it.

“Will you all quit lingering around the yard and get over here?” the old man called. “I’m tired of waitin’.”

“Who is that?” Willa asked.

“That’s the king,” Nathan said with a grin. “He’s been dying to meet you both.”

With that, Nathan inclined his head to Sean, a motion to follow, and Willa bound ahead of them both, wings flapping, her skinny legs eating up the ground as she headed for the elderly stranger. This was a side of Willa that Sean admired and also feared: she didn’t meet a stranger. Ever.

Sean glanced at Nathan. “Sure hope your grandpa is up for Willa’s energy.”

Nathan grinned. “I have a feeling they’re going to get along pretty good.”

As they made their way to the porch, even though Nathan walked beside her, he definitely kept his distance. She had to admit that the rugged shrimp boat captain made her curious. While his looks appeared a bit rough—even his walk had a certain swagger to it—Sean felt there was something solid in Nathan. Safety, perhaps? No, not that. Maybe she simply recognized the same reserve she had. He’d been polite but never pushy. He seemed to respect her boundaries. Maybe his reserve was personally motivated. In a way, he seemed to want to keep distance between them, the very same as she did.

Nathan cleared his throat, and a sheepish grin stretched the scar in his lip. “I’m going to apologize right now for anything uncouth my grandfather says. He is sort of lacking a filter. There’s no stopping him, I’m afraid.”

A nervous laugh escaped Sean. Strangely enough, Nathan’s hesitancy put her at ease. Somewhat, anyway. “It’s okay. He may have met his match in my daughter. Also filterless.”

Nathan gave a soft laugh. “So I’ve noticed.”

By the time they reached the porch, Willa and the older man were already deep in conversation, which worried Sean. But as they joined them, their banter eased her mind.

“They aren’t real wings,” Willa said. “See? I put my arms through here.” She demonstrated the removal of her costume wings while the old man watched intently.

His bushy white eyebrows lifted, raising the bill of his USCG cap. “Huh.” Then he rose from his bent-at-the-waist stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “I ain’t buyin’ it. Fairies are known to be pranksters. You might be pullin’ my leg right now.”

Willa’s brow scrunched up. “What’s a prankster, King Jep?”

“Well, you know, child,” Jep remarked, “a trickster. A mischief-maker. Someone who tries to play tricks on old folk.”

Willa’s already-wide eyes stretched even wider at the accusation. “I wouldn’t do that!”

A smile tipped Jep’s mouth. “Well, that’s good to know, Willa.” His glance moved to Sean, and his brow furrowed as he gave her a thorough and silent inspection.

“This is Sean Jacobs, Willa’s mom. This is, uh—” Nathan chuckled “—King Jep.”

“Yeah, Mama, he’s the King of Sea Diamonds, he told me so,” Willa added.

“Nice to meet you, darlin’,” King Jep said, offering his hand. Sean took it and he squeezed, not too hard but firm. She did the same. “Sean, eh? Good, stout Irish name.” He threw Sean a curious glance. “Usually reserved for the menfolk. No matter. Welcome to our home, darlin’.”

“Thank you for inviting us for dinner,” Sean said, trying not to sound nervous. “Sea diamonds?”

Jep dropped his hand. “Shrimp, darlin’. Shrimp! The most perfect creature God created, just ahead of the chicken.” His head cocked sideways as he considered her, giving her a head-to-toe glance. “You’re a skinny thing. You ain’t got worms, do you?” He winked. “I’ll put some meat on your bones.”

“Jeez, Jep,” Nathan chided, then shrugged and looked at Sean. “See? No filter. Sorry.”

“Hey, why do your blue pants go all the way up to your neck?” Willa asked Jep.

Nathan laughed, and Sean gave him and Jep a sheepish grin as she felt her cheeks turn red. “I’m kinda used to no filter, as you can see.”

“Filters are overrated anyway,” Jep stated bluntly, then looked at Willa. “Well, I imagine it’s because I don’t like wearin’ a belt, and these stay up.” He grasped one strap, showing it to Willa. “Overalls, darlin’. Keeps my britches up!”

Willa giggled then followed Jep as he shuffled down the steps. “Come on, then,” he called over his shoulder. “Supper won’t cook itself now, will it?”

“King Jep, is your kitchen outside?” Willa asked.

“One of them is,” he replied.

Nathan inclined his head. “After you.”

Sean gave another hesitant smile as she watched her young daughter bounce up and down as she accompanied a man almost a century old. “Willa has found a new buddy, so it seems.”

Nathan shoved his hands into his shorts pockets. “Might be a recipe for disaster.”

“It might,” she said as they followed Jep and Willa.

Just then, the breeze brought with it the sound of very old music, like maybe from the World War II era, or older.

“Jep, my middle brother and his wife all love the old tunes,” he stated. “From the twenties and thirties, mostly. My little brother is in love with seventies classic rock. The result is a cluster of strange and great music. You’ll get used to it.” He nodded before she could reply. “Speak of the devil.”

A pregnant woman rounded the corner of the stilt house, making her way toward them. Tall and lanky, she had only a delicate baby bump. With long reddish-brown hair piled atop her head, a wide, genuine smile exposed white teeth. A natural beauty—even from a distance Sean could tell that.

“Um, warning, she’s a hugger,” Nathan said softly moments before the woman pulled Sean into a tight embrace.

“Hi! I’m Emily!” the pregnant woman exclaimed. “I’m Nathan’s sister-in-law, married to the middle Malone boy. It’s so nice to meet you!” She pulled back, her hands still gripping Sean’s upper arms, and inspected her. “I really love your eyes. They remind me of extra-big almonds.”

“Oh,” Sean said with surprise. “Thank you.”

Another filter-less soul.

Yet...Sean found she liked her. She sensed a sincerity in her that oftentimes wasn’t present in others. Emily didn’t seem shy, either—qualities that Willa had, Sean noted. Maybe that was why she immediately liked Emily.

Emily slipped her arm through Sean’s and pulled her along. “Is this gruff-looking guy behaving himself?” she asked Sean.

“Sis, I’m not that bad,” Nathan said, and gave Sean a raised-eyebrow, innocent look. “Besides, I’m a pirate. Just ask Willa. I have to look gruff. It’s in the Pirates Handbook of Rules.”

Emily snorted. “Good Lord! I’ll just bet it is.” She gave her head a shake at Sean, a gesture that seemed to link them as conspirators. “Now he thinks he’s a pirate. And your little girl is absolutely adorable.”

“Thank you.” Sean just smiled. She didn’t know what else to say. She was in Friendly Overload with Emily. Never had she met such...nice people.

When they rounded the corner of the house, the yard opened up, with a dock leading to the river. Across the river, a lone white water bird stood in the muck edging the marsh, its long orange beak stark against the green-and-brown reeds. The sharp, pungent scent of salt hung in the air. Nathan’s shrimp boat sat at the end of the dock, the outriggers jutting skyward.

A small red-tin-roofed house was farther down the dock. And where the grass ended and the river bank began, beneath looming oak trees, several white Adirondack chairs sat facing the water. There were two occupants—a handsome dark-haired guy and a lovely blonde woman. Behind them was a picnic table covered with a checkered tablecloth. Close by, a small enclave stood, apparently the outdoor kitchen. Jep, Willa and another man—Nathan’s father, perhaps—stood over a large cooler, peering inside. Emily led Sean to the couple in the chairs.

“I’ll just go help Dad, Jep and Willa,” Nathan said, and left Sean to Emily’s caretaking.

“Hey, guys,” Emily said to the couple. The dark-haired guy leaped to his feet and grasped Sean’s hand in a firm shake.

He smiled wide, and the very same green eyes that Nathan had twinkled. “I’m Eric Malone, the baby of the family and obviously the better-looking one.” He dropped his hand and moved to stand behind the other chair, enveloping the young woman who sat in it. “This is my gorgeous fiancée, and Emily’s baby sister, Reagan.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Nice to meet you both,” Sean answered. “I’m...Sean Jacobs. My daughter, Willa—” she glanced over to where her daughter was helping the men “—has found a new friend. We live just up the river.” Sean noticed Reagan wasn’t exactly meeting her gaze. Not precisely, anyway. It was then she saw the walking stick propped against the chair.

Wow. Blind. At such a young age.

She briefly wondered how it happened.

“I was an airman once upon a time,” Reagan offered with eerie intuition, as though she’d seen the question in Sean’s eyes. “An explosion on the tarmac and...voilà! Now I’m a blind artist engaged to a crazy rescue swimmer.”

“Oh, I’m...sorry,” Sean stammered. “I mean, I didn’t intend to stare.”

“I stare all the time,” Eric stated with a smirk.

Reagan nodded. “He does.” She grinned, and Sean noticed how much she looked like Emily. Yet different. Beautiful in a different way. “And it’s fine. Life is good,” she said, and slipped a hand up and grasped Eric by the neck, caressing his cheek.

The look on his face was absolute and pure love.

“Mama! Come over here and look at these sea diamonds!” Willa hollered from the cookery.

“Ha! Old Jep’s pulling that sea diamond stuff with the kid,” Eric exclaimed. “He did the same to us when we were growing up.”

Emily laughed. “I remember.” She shook her head. “The years have left that old sea biscuit unchanged.”

As a group, they made their way to the cookery, and Sean stood back and noticed what a large, grand cluster of family they were. Never had she been around such engaging people. They all seemed so close. So fond of one another. The brothers teased each other, and King Jep seemed to be the instigator of most of it. She’d gathered that Emily and Reagan had grown up with the boys, and the sense of family bond was strong. Stronger than Sean had ever seen in her life. And the way Eric looked at Reagan? The protective arm he had around her?

She briefly wondered what that would be like to have.

* * *

FOR THE FIFTH TIME, Nathan turned his gaze toward Sean and his brother and sisters-in-law. What were they talking about? Now that they were all walking to the dock kitchen, he busied himself, making sure he didn’t appear to be the least interested in what they had been discussing.

“Hey, Captain Nathan, whatcha keep lookin’ at my mama for?” Willa said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Just that quickly Nathan learned how perceptive and intuitive Willa Jane Jacobs was.

Eric, that irritating jackass, threw back his head and laughed. “Dang, brother.” He clapped Nathan on the back. “That was a clear bust-out.” Eric held up his hand to Willa, who, without hesitation, gave him a high five.

Nathan had no reply. There was no getting out of a Willa observation. That was a fact he’d come to realize, just as clearly as Sean knew she couldn’t pull one over on her daughter. So, the fact he’d been staring at Sean had been flatly called out by a five-year-old. Hell, he couldn’t help it. But now he’d make a conscious effort not to. The last thing he needed was to be the butt of his brothers’ ribbing. That would only make him want to punch them in the face.

Besides, he didn’t want to make Sean more uncomfortable than she probably already was. He briefly wondered what she thought. Her expression seemed closed, so he didn’t even try to guess what might be going through her mind. He merely turned around and continued deveining the pile of shrimp he’d been working on. Hoped it wasn’t obvious that he wanted to knock Eric on his ass.

“Ah, the mysterious girl on the dock,” Owen said to Sean as she joined them. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Sean gave a shy nod. “You, too, sir.”

“Young lady.” Jep inclined his head, beckoning Sean to join him. She did. “Know how to make hush puppies?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan watched Sean peer over Jep’s ingredients. Then she looked at his grandfather with those enormous hazel eyes.

“Teach me?” she said.

Was it the way she said it? Or the sincerity in her quiet voice that caught Nathan so completely off guard? Whatever it was, it had affected poor Jep, as well. The old man’s cheeks turned red and splotchy and he sputtered, cleared his throat, then gave Sean an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

“Of course, gal,” he said, and she stepped closer to him, and so began Jep’s lesson in the art of making hush puppies.

Nathan watched the interaction further, and found it more than curious. He was astounded to find himself almost mesmerized by the way Sean’s innocent acceptance of Jep had not only made the old man stammer, but slip into his Irish accent. Jep Malone did that only when he was absolutely furious, or completely enamored.

The way Sean responded to Jep touched Nathan’s heart in a way he wasn’t expecting. It made him sit up, take notice. Not just the fact that she was beautiful. She was and, despite Nathan’s determination not to notice, he had. He’d been unable to help it. No, his attention went beyond the recognition of the beauty that resided beneath her bewitching eyes or the love he saw in those very same eyes whenever she looked at her daughter. It was something about those two small words, teach me, that Nathan found so humbling. So damned enchanting. It made his earlier determination not to get close to her just that much more difficult.

He watched her now, seemingly at ease with his grandfather, allowing the old man to show her how to combine the ingredients for his secret hush puppy recipe. Whatever clever thing Jep was saying to her was rewarded with a smile—one that was entirely different from any Nathan had seen on her yet. It was intriguing. It was baffling.

He suddenly realized it wouldn’t be quite so bad being the one who coaxed such a smile from Sean Jacobs.

When Nathan looked away, it was his father’s eye he caught.

And Owen simply smiled.

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