She swiped the phone off and tossed it on the passenger seat. First, she needed to pick up some more cleaning supplies and a few fans to keep the paint smell from getting too strong. Sleeping in her room over the next couple days wouldn’t be pleasant with the odor. However, if she played her cards right, perhaps she could be sleeping in Theo’s bed.
With the car in drive, she steered down the street, the ocean a brilliant shade of blue. God, she loved this place. Relaxing on her porch, watching the waves roll in, and hearing the crash of the surf on the rocks was her idea of heaven.
Theo’s arms were heaven, too. A different kind of heaven. If they managed to get together and stay together, and she could keep her head straight and her mind in the here and now, could they make their marriage work? Would Theo want to move into her grandmother’s cottage? It was certainly big enough for all of them. Not that his cute little house didn’t fit them all, but she had much more room. And the view.
Jordan had mentioned coming to stay here by the ocean. Years ago, when they’d first gotten married, it had been the plan to live in her grandmother’s house once all the red tape had been cleared and they could clean and fix it up. Would Theo still want to go along with that plan, or had he gotten so comfortable living in his house that he wouldn’t want to leave? Did he trust her enough to give up his house to live in hers?
As she turned onto Route 3 and headed toward Bar Harbor, the custody papers Theo sent came to mind. What if she put the deed to the house in both their names? Would that convince him she was serious about staying married to him?
Do you want him if he doesn’t trust you?
Good question. She still hadn’t figured out if she trusted herself. She was beginning to feel much more confident in many areas, but Jordan’s breakdown at her birthday party had frazzled her more than she’d thought it would. That was stuff she could learn, wasn’t it? It had barely been two months since she’d begun actively parenting. Even then, she figured Jordan had been on her best behavior, because it was still so new to have a mom in her life.
The car sped up as she passed the Otter Creek Market, and she tapped the brakes. Preoccupied, she hadn’t noticed how fast the SUV was moving. She tapped again, then pushed down harder on the brake pedal. Nothing. The brakes had felt sluggish when she’d taken the last turn, but she’d put it down to Theo’s car being an older model.
The gradual downward slope of the road had her picking up even more speed. Crap. How did she slow this thing down? Was she forgetting something? Did his car have some other method she didn’t know about? God, she should have had Theo take her out driving for practice on this before she’d agreed to take it.
The car in front of her was too close. Swerving, she swung into the oncoming lane, but two cars approached. Their horns blared. What else could she do? She tugged the steering wheel to the right and almost smashed the rear bumper of the car in front, so she kept turning right. There was a driveway coming up. Could she glide into that?
The SUV shuddered as it careened over the grassy strip on the right, and she continued jamming her foot on the brake. Nothing. Too late. The grass dipped low, and the SUV followed right along. A large pine loomed closer as the vehicle bounced along the ground. Chelsea covered her head with her arms and screamed.
Hopefully, this meeting would be quick. Knowing Norma, and the fact so many new summer staff had just started, it wouldn’t be. Theo shoved the last of the granola bar into his mouth, wondering when he’d be able to put something more substantial in it. It was well after lunch time, and he certainly didn’t want to wait until he got home for dinner.
God, he couldn’t wait to get Chelsea in his arms again. It usually ended up with him needing a cold shower by the end of the night, but however long she needed to feel comfortable with him again, he’d give it to her.
Dina sat like a queen at her desk outside Norma’s office and watched him approach. It had been harder and harder to avoid her lately.
“Theo.” Her greeting was like a cat purring, ready to pounce on its next meal.
“Hey, Dina.” Glancing down at his watch, he saw it was still ten minutes until the meeting started. “Want to get a good seat.”
“I made sure to get those papers over to your ex-wife this morning,” she said before he could cruise past.
“Chelsea is my wife, not my ex-wife.”
One slender shoulder moved up and down as Dina’s bright red mouth twisted in a pout. “Your wife for now, but I assume those were divorce papers. It’s about time you cleaned up your life, Theo. Got rid of the excess baggage. Now, you can start over with someone more substantial.”
Divorce papers? What? Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Not that it’s any business of yours, but those weren’t divorce papers, Dina. I have no intention of divorcing Chelsea. I’m glad she’s around.”
Rising, Dina skirted her desk and rested a round hip on the side. “Theo, let’s be honest. She’s still staying at her own house. That can’t besatisfyingfor you.”
Leaning closer, she placed her hand on his arm. “I could make sure you’re completely satisfied.”
“Appreciate the offer, but it’s unnecessary.” When several other rangers arrived, he seized the chance to escape. “Can’t be late for the meeting.” He scooted down the hall to the conference room and claimed a seat by the door. A minute later, Rico dropped into the chair next to him.
When Norma marched in, all business and professional, everyone sat up and paid attention. The woman was petite but solid and wore her uniform like a badge of honor. She’d been a ranger at least fifteen years longer than Theo and had worked in a number of the National Parks throughout the country. Pushing a dark curl off the light brown skin of her forehead, she got down to business. It was the middle of June, and school was letting out soon. That meant the tourists wouldn’t only be showing up on weekends anymore. The busy season had started.
Twenty minutes into the meeting, Theo’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Luckily, he’d remembered to silence it before coming in here. If it weren’t for Jordan, he wouldn’t even look, but if it was the school and something had happened, he needed to know. Slyly sliding the device from his pocket, he glanced down and swiped the screen.
Aiden Cavanaugh?
Why would the police chief be calling him? No way he wanted to answer if the man was merely asking to get a beer after work. In the few seconds it took to decide, the call went to voice mail. A second later, a text popped up. From Aiden.
—URGENT. Call me.—
Crap. Pushing his chair back, he swallowed and held up his phone in apology to Norma. “The Police Chief. I’ll be quick.”
Once he was out in the hall, he pressed the button to call back his friend.
