She went back to painting around the windowsill.

  “I’m not someone that has to be around people.” Then he paused. “No, that’s wrong. I do like being with people, but I can go places alone and talk to anyone.”

  “Like the hardware store,” she said.

  “Yep. See, I went there alone and ended up hanging out with you.”

  “You got put to work,” she corrected.

  “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do,” he said.

  “That much I believe.”

  “Then I guess we have that in common,” he said.

  She turned and looked at him. He was watching what he was doing, and she was watching his bicep flex as he was painting and told her body to calm the hell down.

  “I’m sure that is one of only a few things we do,” she said.

  “You don’t know that,” he said. “Tell me some of the things you like to do.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I spend a lot of time working. I’ve never had the time or money to have a lot of hobbies.”

  “Nothing?” he said. “There are things that don’t cost much. Reading, exercise. Walking around. I don’t know.”

  “What do you do?” she asked. “Besides picking up chicks in hardware stores.”

  He turned and winked at her. “Pick them up in bars and casinos.”

  “I know you’re making a joke, but something tells me that is the truth.”

  “Last time I was at the casino I was with my brother and all I came home with was some flush pockets. I was feeling lucky and it was in my favor. My brother not so much.”

  “What is there to do on the island?” she asked, trying another tactic.

  “The casino,” he said.

  She laughed. “Where my brother is...no, thank you.”

  “I don’t blame you. I think he has eyes everywhere.”

  “He does,” she said. “Trust me. It’s annoying.”

  It seemed like Griffin knew everything. Or knew more about her life than she knew about his. She didn’t find that fair, but there were a lot of things in her life that weren’t fair.

  “Try growing up with your father being the chief of police,” he said. “Then your brother has that role as an adult.”

  “Don’t forget about Jarrett,” she said.

  “So you know about my brothers?” he asked.

  “This is a small island. I know what people say. But most of it came from Penelope. She’s good about handling my brother’s overprotective ways. I was visiting and she was talking in general more than anything. I think she was trying to lighten the mood since Griffin was getting on my last nerve.”

  “You said you just reconnected,” he said. “Is that part of it?”

  “You don’t know?” she asked.

  “Know what?” he asked.

  “What do you know about Griffin?”

  She figured she’d try to switch it up again. Her brother was a private person and it’s not like they went around saying what happened in their life, but she wasn’t going to hide the fact of what happened to her. That she grew up in foster care because her parents were gone. She’d just have to be careful what she said right yet.

  “Not much more than he was in the service and met Eli in Monte Carlo. More facts have come out since Bella entered Eli’s life. I hang with Ethan and Egan so they know the most. I never knew Griffin had a sister, but that doesn’t mean anything. I just had never heard anything about his family at all, but I didn’t ask either.”

  “And Griffin isn’t the easiest person to talk to,” she said.

  “Not exactly.”

  “We aren’t from around here,” she said. “We grew up around St. Louis. My mother died when I was ten, Griffin seventeen. My father...he went to prison. We were placed in foster care, separate ones.”

  “Oh,” he said. “I had no clue.”

  “I don’t know what a lot of people know,” she said.

  “We aren’t a bunch of gossips. My guess is Eli and his family know it all. Penelope too. I’ve never heard, never asked and wouldn’t.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m not sure why I feel at ease talking to you.”

  “I’m easy to talk to.”

  “When you’re not swearing at me,” she said.

  “I believe you had some choice swear words out of your mouth that day too.”

  “I did,” she said. “Anyway, Griffin went into the service right out of high school and we never saw each other again. It wasn’t until recently that I tracked him down here and showed up at the casino.”

  Alex stopped moving the ladder and looked at her. “I don’t believe for a minute that Griffin didn’t think of you daily and didn’t know exactly where you were and what was going on in your life.”

  She scowled. “Don’t take his side.”

  “I’m not taking anyone’s side. I might be on your side at being pissed off and feeling abandoned, but I don’t have all the facts. I only know what you’re saying. But what I know of Griffin Zale is that the guy is in control of every aspect of his life. Many might not know what is going on, but he does.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I’m learning that too. So, the casino is out for entertainment.” She needed to change the topic now. “What else is there to do on the island? I haven’t been off it since I moved here.”

  “Not once?” he asked.

  “Nope. Well, that is a lie. Griffin took me over once on Egan’s chopper to get a few things in Boston for my place. But that was it. I’m not used to the city and traffic and, to be honest, I don’t know how I feel about the ferry all that much.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Not much scares me.”

  “Obviously,” he said drily.

  “I’d like to get some things for this place. I’ve only lived here a month. Online shopping is boring, but I could do it.”

  “Or you can go to Plymouth,” he said. “It’s not as daunting.”

  “Please,” she said. “I think it’s more getting the car on and off the ferry. I suppose I could Uber around. Though I’m not one for jumping into strangers’ cars.”

  “I’ll take you,” he said.

  “Wow, you are taking this to a whole new level,” she said. “First helping me paint and now wanting to take me shopping?”

  He actually blushed and she wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “I was being nice and friendly,” he said.

  “I appreciate it. I do. Let’s see if we can get through painting without getting on each other’s nerves. I’ll even order us dinner, as it’s the least I can do for your help.”

  “Sounds like a nice next step,” he said.

  9

  Looking Forward To It

  “Are you sure you’re okay with me driving your car?” Alex asked Jennie five days later. He’d ended his tour this morning and was off today, having suggested the two of them go to Plymouth midweek. Thankfully he’d gotten enough sleep so he didn’t feel like the need to crash when he got home.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I’m sure you are used to pulling your truck on and off the ferry, but my car is smaller. I’m not looking forward to doing it.”

  He’d stayed at Jennie’s until eight on Saturday night and been shocked he was there that long.

  They’d managed to get her living room, dining and kitchen done. Two coats on each. They worked well together.

  Then she’d ordered pizza and they had dinner and a beer. He did appreciate a woman who could throw back a beer with him.

  The TV was on in the background, the two of them watching a few comedies. For him he wasn’t paying much attention to it, but they’d talked on and off while they painted and he wasn’t going to push more than he felt he had.

  That she agreed to take a day off of work and go shopping was better in his eyes.

  “It’s not all that bad,” he said.

  “You said you lived in Plymouth before and I never asked why. I thought you lived on the island your whole life but then got thinking if you went to college, you had to leave for that.”

  “Yep,” he said. “Two years of community college in Plymouth. I only did that because my mother made me feel guilty for not wanting to go.”

  “Not everyone is meant to go to college,” she said.

  “I know. I knew I was going to be a fireman, but it’s not like there was an opening at that point. You have to take a test and wait. I went to college, I worked part time. I had a good time there.”

  “I’m sure you did,” she said, grinning at him.

  They were driving to the docks at this point and were about fifteen minutes away.

  “Doesn’t every eighteen-year-old have a blast in college?”

  “I guess,” she said.

  “You didn’t?” he asked.

  “I was too focused on making it day to day,” she said.

  Shit. He’d forgotten about her being in foster care. He still couldn’t wrap his head around that. By then, Griffin would have been in his mid to late twenties, but his being in the service wouldn’t have made life easier for Jennie either.

  “I’m sorry you went through that,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I got through. I was one of the lucky ones. Many don’t have the chance. It’s not easy. If I didn’t go to college I’d be on my own either way. I was able to live on campus the first few semesters and line up an apartment before the first year ended with a few girls. Then I had a place to stay during breaks.”

  “I have no words,” he said. “None of those things have ever crossed my mind.”

  “They wouldn’t if you didn’t live it. It’s all good. I worked and went to school. Graduated and took the first job I was offered. I still had a roommate for a while until I could get on my feet and life was stable.”

  “Not good?” he asked. “Only stable?”

  “Stable is a good thing,” she said. “Trust me. You went to college and then what? What did you go for?”

  “I did some liberal arts thing. Whatever I could to get through,” he said. “After those two years I got a job at a garage working on cars during the day, bartending at night.”

  “You work on cars?” she asked.

  “My grandfather had a garage on the island. My father didn’t have an interest in it full time. He does it on the side and always did. His brother took over the shop, my Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe is retired, but his son Carter runs it now. I still do some work for Carter on my days off.”

  “Oh,” she said. “So you should be working today?”

  “I work when he needs me. When it’s really backed up. My father does some things at home that Carter sends him. He’ll call me each week with what is planned and what my schedule is at the firehouse. He’s said before anything I can do to help is great.”

  “That’s nice. You didn’t want to do it full time?”

  “Nope. I always wanted to be a fireman.”

  “Because you get more chicks that way?” she asked.

  “I rarely have to tell a woman what I do for a living when I’m out,” he said.

  “Bet they just hear your name and that is enough on the island.”

  He pulled onto the docks, then loaded her car on the ferry. “Do you want to sit in the car for the trip over? It’s nice out with the sun, but fifty isn’t all that warm to be standing outside the whole time too.”

  “The car is good,” she said. “I’m sorry if my comment was insensitive. I’ve heard before how it is on this island to have the last name Bond.”

  “And I’m not from the right branch,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I think that whole thing is silly. Who cares what branch you are from or where you come from. Don’t take this the wrong way. I love Drew and Bode and Scott. They are great employers. I don’t look at them and see their wealth even though I know it’s there.”

  “Especially Bode,” he said. “He’s more basic.”

  “True. They are just everyday people to me. But Eli makes me nervous. If Griffin weren’t my brother he’d make me nervous in his suits. That isn’t the brother I know. I like him better in jeans.”

  “I don’t think too many people think your brother is approachable either way.”

  “Probably not. He’s always been intense. He’s not so much now. At least around me. But he never was around me either,” she said.

  It was the way her voice drifted off that told him more was going on. He hadn’t asked why her father was in prison or how her mother died. He figured if she wanted him to know, she’d say it.

  “He is different than he was a few years ago, but I don’t talk to him much,” he said. “I see him in the casino and he comes to say hi, but not much more than that.”

  “Griffin isn’t much of a talker to many people,” she said. “My guess is you picked up a lot of women bartending too.”

  “You seem awfully concerned about the number of women I’ve picked up,” he said. “Why is that?”

  He’d like to think this was a date but wasn’t holding his breath. He’d spent all day and part of the night with her Saturday and hadn’t left with so much as a hand touch, let alone a kiss. That might have been a first for him.

  She shrugged. “Just talking.”

  “Are you jealous?” he asked, smirking. “It doesn’t seem to me you are looking at me as more than a friend.”

  “I don’t get jealous,” she said. “And I wasn’t aware that you were doing anything more than trying to be friendly.”

  “Oh,” he said, grinning. “So this is going to come back on me? Hmmm. If I asked you on a date, what would be your answer?”

  “Depends on your endgame,” she said.

  “Endgame?” he asked. “Well, I wouldn’t want to piss your brother off for one. This might be my family’s island, but he’s the type that could hide a body and no one would find it.”

  He was trying to joke, but there was part of him that truly believed that.

  “You should be more worried about pissing me off than my brother,” she said. “I don’t answer to him and no one that has any relationship to me does either.”

  “I was kidding,” he said. Well, she put him in his place. “My endgame is to get to know you. What is it you want from me? A flow chart of my next few moves? Where I see myself in six months from now? A year?”

  She laughed. “No. I guess I’ll be more blunt. If you only want to go on a date with me to get me in bed and then move on, then that isn’t the type of game that I enjoy playing.”

  “You don’t like sex?” he asked, winking at her.

  “I didn’t say that. I like sex a lot but don’t get it often. I don’t sleep around and don’t plan on it. If that is what you are looking for, you can find some other woman in the hardware store this Saturday.”

  Alex threw his head back and laughed. “So noted. I’ve got no plans, Jennie. Would I love to see you naked? Shit yeah. Ever since I saw you at Eli’s wedding and had to ask a few people who you were. You’ve been on my mind for a long time. Then when I realized it was you that risked your life running into the fire.”

  “There was no fire,” she interrupted.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “No, I don’t,” she said. “Explain it.”

  “My heart stopped. I thought to myself, shit, here I never got a chance to meet her. To talk to her. To get to know her.” His hand reached over and landed on hers in the car. “To see her naked.”

  “Now you’re being cute,” she said.

  “Is it working?”

  “I wouldn’t be on the ferry with you going shopping when I never shop if it wasn’t. That should be answer enough for you. The question is, what’s your next move?”

  He leaned over closer to her, she leaned in too to get closer.

  Their lips touched. They tasted. They held for a while, his tongue nudging her mouth open, her accepting it.

  After a few minutes he leaned back. “How is that move?” he asked.

  “Pretty good,” she said. “Now that it’s out of the way we can enjoy shopping and relax.”

  “I didn’t know you weren’t relaxed,” he said.

  “I am now that I know what is going on,” she said, leaning back in the seat. “How long is this ride?”

  He looked at his watch. “We’ve got about twenty minutes to go.”

  “Then we can talk and I can think about that kiss. Maybe I’ll get another one before the day is over.”

  “Most definitely,” he said, grinning.

  10

  Closet Of Secrets

  Jennie hadn’t expected to have as much fun shopping as she had with Alex.

  She wasn’t one to go out and shop for the heck of it. To have no goal in mind, but she was in a financial position she’d never been in before and though she didn’t want to take advantage of it, she was wondering if it was time to have some fun in her life.

  Fun was one of those things she had been seriously lacking for years.

  Thinking back, she wasn’t sure she ever had it completely. Not even as a kid.

  There was always this evil and fear lurking around the corner keeping her on edge. It’s like she was born with it and never knew any differently.

  As an adult and being on her own, she shouldn’t feel that anymore, but it was always there just waiting to pounce and remind her of what she didn’t care to remember.

  The temper when someone pushed her too far. The physical response when she felt threatened or taken unawares.

  Did she get that from her father? Was it a defense mechanism? She didn’t know and never had anyone to talk to about it so it was one more thing jammed into her closet of secrets.

  “Thanks for going with me today,” she said to Alex when they pulled into her garage. This was nice too. Though the garage wasn’t connected to the house, it was still wonderful to keep her car out of the elements.

  “My pleasure,” Alex said. “You needed someone to carry your bags.”

  “Sorry about that,” she said. “I’m not one to shop that much and didn’t think I would have.”

  They got out of the car, him grabbing as many bags as she did.