Part 19 (2/2)

”Who else can I put it on? When my mother took off, there was no one on that dock but me. Joy was in her room, scared to death. Alex wasn't home. I let my mother go.” She shook her head. ”I've replayed that moment when she went into that storm over and over again.”

She dragged air into her lungs.

”I dream about that moment even now. Sometimes I'm the hero and I save them both. Sometimes she comes back with him. Most of the time, I'm just in the storm, waiting. Searching the rain.” She looked down at him. ”Kind of like right now.”

Nate made a move to come forward, but she put her hands out. ”If you hug me right now, I'm going to cry.”

”So cry. I don't care.” His arms were so good as they went around her. ”Just don't ask me not to hold you.”

An alarm was going off.Frankie s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably. Her neck was stiff, her back was sore- She flipped open her eyes.

She and Nate had slept on the floor of her office. And that wasn't an alarm, it was the phone.

She scrambled up to the desk and grabbed the receiver in the dark, thinking it must be two in the morning. ”h.e.l.lo?”

”Frances Moorehouse?”

Her throat tightened to the point of cutting off her air supply. She couldn't even respond.

”This is Commander Montgomery. Your brother's been found. He's injured and being treated at the local hospital for several broken bones. But he's alive and we're going to fly him home to you in forty-eight hours.”

She clasped her hand over her mouth, tears starting to roll. Somehow, the commander ended the call and she replaced the receiver without dropping it. She launched herself into Nate's arms.

”He's alive. He's alive. He's alive....”

The following afternoon, Frankie finally got to talk with Alex. He was groggy from pain medication, but his hoa.r.s.e voice was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard was still looking for his partner, Reese Cutler. Alex was distraught about that, but he did seem to accept the fact that he had to come home to recuperate. As she hung up, she could just picture her brother trying to get out of a hospital bed so he could go and find his friend, even though he had casts on his leg and arm.She got teary-eyed every time she thought of him and the near miss. Especially when she pictured Reese's wife still sitting by the phone.

As she and Alex had said goodbye, she'd told him that she'd get his old room ready for him. Just the thought of having him at White Caps for a little while was enough to put a smile on her face.

”So you've heard!”

Frankie looked up at the door. One of the guests was waving a newspaper and grinning.

”About what?” she asked.

”The review. In the New York Times.” The man came forward and dropped the paper on her desk. The headline read, White Caps B B: An Out of the Way Pleasure.

She laughed aloud. She'd never even known a critic, much less one working for the Times, had been through the dining room. ”May I keep this?”

”Sure, as long as I'm guaranteed a table tonight.”

She went into the kitchen to find Nate. He was making bread. ”Did you see this?”

He looked up from the kneading. ”Well, what do you know. Walter snuck in here.”

”G.o.d, Nate. This could save us.” She glanced away, reminding herself that they were not partners. ”White Caps, I mean. Anyway, congratulations.”

”Thanks. When are you going to pick up Alex at the airport?”

”Tomorrow afternoon.”

”Want company?”

”I'll be fine. I'd like a little time alone with him, actually.”

The truth was, though, she felt like pulling away from Nate. His support during those awful hours of waiting had been all that had gotten her through the night in one piece. She was grateful beyond measure, but she was so vulnerable to him now. He'd seen the very core of her.

And he was still leaving. In a month's time.

Needing some busy work to keep her mind off the future, she went to her office and re-ran her financial projections. If everything stayed the same, and with the Times article that was a pretty sure bet, they were going to make it, even with the accelerated deadline of August.

She refused to let herself think about the following summer. Maybe she'd be able to attract a better quality chef now that the restaurant had been written up. Maybe Nate would know someone who was of his caliber.

Yeah, like there were a whole bunch of French chefs who'd want to get pigeonholed in upstate New York.

It was a little before four when Nate's friend, Spike, called again. She left her desk to give them some privacy, and when she came back in from weeding the garden, they were still on the phone. A quick glance into the office showed Nate crouched over a legal pad, making notes and working her calculator.

The next day, Nate watched from the kitchen table as Frankie's Honda pulled up to the house and came to a gentle stop. She got out first but before she could make it around the car, the pa.s.senger side door opened wide. A pair of crutches emerged and then her brother carefully stood up.Alex Moorehouse was a big man and built like an athlete, all wide shoulders and taut legs. His dark hair was short and streaked with blond, his skin was deeply tanned, and in the shorts and polo s.h.i.+rt he was wearing, he looked like an Abercrombie Fitch model. His face, however, was all business, and as he shrugged off Frankie's attempt to help him, Nate could see that the two shared the same stubborn streak.

Nate got up and opened the door. As curious as he was about Frankie's brother, he was more interested in her. She seemed worried but pleased and he thought she was especially beautiful today, with her hair down and a light summer dress on.

When he looked back at her brother, Moorehouse's eyes had narrowed.

”This is our new chef, Nate. Nate, my brother Alex.”

Moorehouse pegged the crutches into the ground and swiftly covered the distance to the door. Which meant he was either familiar with the d.a.m.n things or just plain lithe.

h.e.l.l, it was probably both.

Nate offered his hand and Frankie's brother shook it. Strong, firm grip. Nice enough nod. But the man's eyes were sending one very clear message: screw with my sister and I'll beat you to a pulp.

Nate could respect anyone who cared about Frankie, but he wasn't going to be pushed around, even if the poor guy had been through h.e.l.l. So as soon as he had the chance, Nate made a point of putting his arm around Frankie. When she didn't pull away, he tucked her into his shoulder, gave her brother a long, level look and stood his ground.

Chapter Thirteen.

L ater that night, Frankie knew Alex had gotten bad news from the Coast Guard. The call came in just before seven, and when he limped out of her office, he went upstairs without stopping. He was never one to get emotional, certainly not in front of an audience, but his eyes had been bleak and unseeing as he'd pa.s.sed by her. Reese Cutler was dead.

She let her brother go, even though she was sick with the thought of everything he insisted on dealing with alone.As the dining room filled up, she took over hostess duties from Joy. It was hard to stay downstairs when all she wanted to do was try and talk with Alex, but Grand-Em was agitated by his return. It was as if his presence jangled her memory.

”Excuse me?”

Frankie snapped to attention at the sharp demand. ”Sorry, er-”

Wow. The woman standing in front of her was a real beauty. Blond hair, haute couture pantsuit in white, blouse slit nearly to her belly b.u.t.ton. She was city-slick, a real knockout, and she smelled good, too. Expensive and s.e.xy.

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