Everything was quiet, too. The remaining residents had retreated to their rooms to clean, rest, pack, and prepare. Or sleep, in the case of poor Atlas, who never did get a nap that day.
But Eli’s door had been open when Kate walked by, his bedroom dim and quiet. He certainly wasn’t down here, so she walked to the front door, mysteriously aching to see him.
Well, no, there was no real mystery, was there? Watching him work all day, she’d practically fallen in love with him all over again. Calm, strong, tireless, with a quick smile and ahelping hand…yeah. She still loved him the way she did all those summers ago.
Outside, the remaining light surprised her, since the house had been so dark. But it wasn’t yet eight-thirty, so twilight painted the Destin sky in lavender, and a strong breeze blew all the palm fronds in one direction.
Norman was knocking at the door.
She heard some movement at the side of the house—had they left furniture or lawn equipment? Something blowing in the wind?
She rounded the long garage to the grassy area, stopping short at the sight of Eli working in the shadows, no doubt on a task on his seemingly endless checklist.
She looked down the narrow yard, remembering how she’d arrived here only six months ago and found Eli planting those very shrubs and palm trees, almost as dirty and sweaty as he was right now.
She’d thought he was the landscaper, only to have him take off his hat and sunglasses, give her that indescribably adorable smile, and drag her back three decades to her debilitating teenage crush on Eli Lawson.
Right now, every one of those feelings bubbled to the surface as she drank in the sight of him on his knees, methodically coiling a hose around his elbow. His T-shirt and face were dirty enough that the grime was visible from ten feet away, even in waning light.
His hair, the part that wasn’t under a ballcap he’d worn to fight the sun, was probably stuck to his head with sweat. The cap was pulled down low enough that she couldn’t see his expression in the shadow, but she could imagine it was determined, exhausted, and…still gorgeous to her.
She took a few steps, barefoot on the grass, but the movement was enough to get him to look up.
“Don’t,” he said, holding up the whole hose to stop her.
“Don’t walk on the grass?” she joked.
“Don’t come too close. Trust me, I smell. I am not fit for human contact.”
She laughed and didn’t slow her step. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she said. “since I’m the human about to make contact.”
Chuckling, he shook his head and stood. Watching her with a smile, he slid the hose into a black bag he’d take into the garage, not leaving it out for Norman to uncoil.
“You’ll regret it.”
“I’ll regret it if I don’t.” She stopped as he dropped the bag at his feet, now close enough to see all the grime and sweat and get a soft whiff of something strong on the breeze.
“Warning, I’m toxic,” he tried again. “And you…are…” He let his gaze slide over her tank top and pajama pants, slowly, right down to her bare feet, then back up again. His eyes softened. “Tempting.”
She reached her arms out and walked right into him. “Give in.”
He made a sound that was half protest and half collapse, and put both his filthy arms around her, and held her so close she could hear both their heartbeats.
Kate pressed her face into his T-shirt and inhaled the earthiness of him with helpless clarity—nothing, no one, not even God, could stop her from loving this man.
“I didn’t hate today,” she whispered. “Did you?”
He inched back. “The lemonade and pizza were good. The last nail went in nicely. The arrival of the ‘gang of five’ was nothing short of remarkable. So, no, I didn’t hate the day. Did you…enjoy yourself?”
She laughed at the way he asked the question, with raw doubt and real humor.
“I enjoyed watching you. Is that wrong?”
He gave another throaty chuckle. “Nah. It’s sweet.” Leaning back, he searched her face. “I haven’t watched you enough these last few days. I’m sorry.”
“No, do not apologize. You’ve been a patriarch protector. You’ve been a construction worker. A meteorologist. A big brother, a loving son, a kind father, and…it’s all very attractive to me.”
He lifted a dubious brow. “Thanks for the help, Norman. Nothing like a hurricane to win over my woman.”
