How could she look at Rogan Matt with Oliver not barely gone two months? Rogan Matt with his quiet eyes.
Was it any wonder he appealed to her? The Southern accent molding his words, or the way he looked at his little boy had nothing to do with her.... lust. It was those slate-gray eyes, reminders of a friend who was no more.
"All right," she said. "I'll tell him my plans if he shows up on my dock again."
"Why not tell him now? Didn't we just see him through the kitchen window, sitting on the cabin porch, looking at stars? Go knock on his door."
Lee stared at her sister. "Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night."
Kat raised a brow. "it's ten after nine."
"You're crazy."
"Honey, I'm not blind. The guy is handsome.... in a rough-edged sort of way. If he makes your fingers itch, go talk to him. You know you want to." she grinned.
"look, what's he going to do? Say hi?"
"It'll seem like I'm chasing him."
"Oh, for heavens sake. Do you want the damn fare or not?"
"fine." Before she could change her mind, Lee set down her cup, got up and walked out the back door. The way her stomach roiled, a breath of cold air would do her good.
Stepping onto the back deck, she realised she should've grabbed her coat; the night chill crept under her lightweight sweater, goose-bumping her skin. Above, stars cluttered the sky, magnifying its vastness and if she had a moment she'd seek out the big and little dippers, as always. But Rogan had spotted her and was likely wondering about her intentions.
Now or never, Lee.
Starting across Kat's backyard towards the cabin's path in the woods, she watched him rise from the wicker chair and come to the edge of the steps in anticipation of her arrival.
He hadn't turn on his outside light and so stood in the dark, looming above her. Around them, night breezes whispered through the trees, bearing the tang of sea salt.
"It's Lee Tait," she said, hugging her arms around her stomach against the night's chill. Against him.
"Hello, Lee."
God,how could her name sound that husky?
"I was visiting my sister and figured I should let you know that flying you to Renton won't be a problem. But before you go jumping up and down with glee, I'll be Frank. This is a three-day tryout, Mr Matt. After that we will see where we're at."
A punch of silence, then a low chuckle." You don't beat around the bush, do you, Captain Tait? I like that."
" Good. We understand each other."
" we do."
" fine. I'll see you later."
Before she could turn back down the part, he asked, " Ms. O'BRIEN is your sister?"
"For thirty years. Argh----" Lee massaged the spot between her eyes. "she'll kill me if you reveal the details."
"I'll be sure to tape my mouth shut." Again, she heard note of humor as he glanced toward the victorian. And abruptly, a thought hit. Maybe she'd read him wrong. Maybe it wasn't her he was interested in, but Kat.
And why not?a voice whispered. Of the three sisters, Kat was the nurturer, the earth mother. The intermediary Lee and Emma always came to for advice when life's inroads got rough.
"Just for the record," Lee pointed out. "Kat doesn't gossip. Nor would she have convinced me to bother you tonight---" Now, why tell him that, Lee? "----except I bugged her with some questions." Oh, great word choice.
"About me?" his voice lowered to Vin Diesel deepness.
"For insurance purposes."
"That standard for all your passengers?"
He had her there. "look," she said, trembling from the cold breeze. "I'll be honest. Your---"
"You're cold," He interrupted, coming down the steps, shrugging from his vest. "why don't you come inside for a minute?"
Go inside that little cabin? Where his big frame will swallow every molecule of air? Where she'd wander close enough to smell the soap on his skin? No thanks.
Before Lee could think it through, he'd wrapped the vest, infused with his warmth and scent, around her shoulders.
"I'm fine," she said, back-stepping so they weren't so close, so she couldn't feel his breath on her forehead, "Besides, I need to get back to my sister."
He dropped his hand from the panels of the vest where he'd pulled them closed over her breasts. "I don't bite, Lee," he said softly.
"Maybe not," she replied, hoping to inject some clout into her tone because she wanted nothing more than to grab his face between her hands. "But you have to admit, your nightly vigil down at the docks was down-right spooky. What was I to think? No, let me rephrase that. What wer you thinking? A man with your obvious intelligence and a lawyer to boot should know better than to stand there staring at a woman three nights in a row, especially when she's by herself."
Huffing a breath, he shove his hands into the pocket of his jeans."My apologies. You're right. I wasn't thinking. All that matterd, still matters, is my son, Ms.Tait. He's my first priority. Everything else falls by the wayside."
"Well." her irritation faded upon his reference to the child. "Atleast we have that cleared up," she hesitated. "I understand you bought Eve Riley's old farm and that you're renovating the house." Kat had let that tidbit drop at dinner.
"I did and I'm." he smiled, a flash of white in the dark. "This for insurance purposes, too?"
"Absolutely," she quipped. Especially when you don't look like any farmer I know."
She thought he might chuckle, but instead his gaze took in the dark woods behind her.
"I'm a defense attorney."
Which meant he litigated for the underdog or the criminal. Yet it didn't explain why he relocated his child in the middle of the school term---and on an island----while he continued to work on the mainland, a seemingly unfair decision. More so, where was the boy's mother? Was she the second matty in the business card"Matt and Matty"?
"Is your wife a lawyer, too?"