If Cyrus Mayhew hadnt been willing to give him a chance, the only newspaper job hed have landed was delivering them. In Alaska.
So hed do what he had to. He frowned. The called-in story tip had been annoyingly vague, as they so often were, but it had promised a scandal, fat and juicy, involving the Coast Guard base and kickbacks paid by local companies for contracts. A big storythe kind of story that, properly handled, could get him back on top again.
And Amanda Bodine, with her Coast Guard family, was just what he needed.
He stalked up to her desk, noting that just the sight of him was enough to send the mail room kid fleeing. Amanda had a bit more self-control, but she clearly didnt welcome his visit, either.
Ms. Bodine. The balloons were gone from her desk. Have you set up an initial meeting for me yet?
Ium, yes. A faint hint of pink stained her cheeks. I spoke with my father. Hed be pleased to talk with you.
Good. Hed done a little digging himself. Talking to Brett Bodine would be starting at the top. He was one of the head honchos at the local Coast Guard base. When can we meet?
Her flush deepened, and he watched, fascinated. When was the last time hed met a woman who could blush?
Actually, Im on my way to a family get-together when I leave work. My daddy suggested you come along and have some supper with us. You can talk to him, and my cousins will be there Her voice petered out.
I assume this is a birthday party for you. He lifted an eyebrow, remembering the birthday balloons and flowers. Clearly Amanda had some admirers.
And my sister, Annabel. Were twins. Since our birthday is in the summer, weve always had a picnic at the beach. She clamped her mouth shut suddenly, maybe remembering who she was telling.
It sounds charming.
Her eyes narrowed, as if she suspected sarcasm. I explained to him that this was business, not social. If youd rather meet at his office, I can tell him that.
The idea of taking him to a family gathering clearly made her uncomfortable, but it appealed to him. Get people in a casual setting where they felt safe, and theyd often let slip more than they would in a formal interview.
No, this sounds good, he said briskly. Give me directions, and Ill be there.
Its at my grandmothers beach house over on Sullivans Island. She kept dismay out of her voice, but her mouth had tensed and her hands tightened on the edge of her desk.
Directions, he said again.
Soft lips pressed together for an instant. Ill be coming back into the city afterward anyway, if you want to ride over with me instead of trying to find it on your own.
Her brand of Southern courtesy compelled the offer, he supposed, but he was quick to take advantage. A few moments alone in the car with her would give him a chance to get background on the people hed be meeting.
Fine, he said promptly. Are you ready?
Again the tension showed in her face, but she managed to smile. Just let me close a few files. She flicked a glance at his shirt and tie. But youll want to wear something more casual at the beach.
I keep a change of clothes in my office. He turned, eager to get on with it. Ill meet you in the parking lot in fifteen minutes.
He strode toward his office, nodding at the few staffers who ventured to say good-night to him. Most just hurried past, heads down, as if eager to escape his notice. It didnt work. He noticed, just as hed noticed Amandas reluctance.
She was both too polite and too worried about her job to argue with him. Even if she had, hed have been perfectly capable of overrunning her objections.
Amanda didnt want him on her home ground, but that was too bad. Because the Bodines were going to help him get back to his native turf, and no other considerations would stand in his way.
Amanda had been treated to a sample of Rosss interview style on the trip over to the island, and she didnt much care for being on the receiving end. She pulled on shorts and T-shirt in the small room under the eaves that the girl cousins always shared at the beach house.
She glanced in the mirror, frowning at the transformation from city professional to island girl. Somehow she felt safer clad in her professional armor.
She pressed her fingertips against the dressing table that still wore the pink-and-white-checked skirt her grandmother had put on it years ago. Not that Miz Callie was a pink and frilly kind of person, but shed wanted the girl cousins to feel that this room was theirs.
Dealing with Ross in the office was hard enough. Amanda still rankled over his quick dismissal of her ability to write the articles on the Coast Guard. Who was better equipped to write itsomeone whod lived with it her whole life or an outsider who didnt have a clue?
She wrinkled her nose at the image in the mirror. Ross had the answer to that, and he was the boss. Hed decided that her family was his way into the story, and if his aggressive, almost abrasive questioning in the car had been a sample of his style, they were in for some rough waters.
She headed for the stairs, the comparison lightening her mood. Daddy was used to rough waters. He could handle the likes of Ross with one hand tied behind his back.
And speaking of handling him, shed left her boss alone with her grandmother. Goodness only knows what they were making of each other.
She usually skipped down the stairs at the beach house because of the sheer joy of being there. Now she hurried for fear of what Miz Callie might be saying. Catching Rosss gaze on her, she slowed to a more sedate pace as she reached the living room.
He was sitting in the shabby, over-stuffed chair near the wall of windows that faced the beach and the ocean. Her heart clutched. That had been Granddads special seat after his first stroke had stolen away most of his mobility. Hed never tired of looking out at the sea.
Is my grandmother takin good care of you? The tall glass of sweet tea at his elbow looked untouched.
She is. She had to run back to the kitchen to deal with something. As if becoming aware of the glass, he lifted it and touched it to his lips.
She couldnt help but grin. Obviously you arent used to iced tea thats sweet enough to make your back teeth ache. Come on. Well find the others. Someone will have brought a cooler of soda.
He put the sweet tea down quickly and stood, his gaze sweeping over her. She usually felt he didnt see her at all. This gaze was far more personal. Too much so.
Her chin lifted. Something wrong? She edged the words with ice.
No. He made an instinctive move back. You just look different. From the office, that is.
Were not in the office, she pointed out. If she could make him feel a tad uncomfortable, so much the better. She needed to keep a professional distance between them, no matter where they were.
Were not, he agreed. His fingers brushed her bare arm, and the unexpected familiarity of the gesture set her nerve endings tingling.
He nodded toward the kitchen. We were going in search of a soda, he reminded her.
Right, yes. She took a breath. She would not let the man dismantle her confidence in herself. This way.
But as she started for the kitchen, he stopped her with another touch. This time his hand lingered on her wrist, warming the skin. In this setting, its going to sound odd if you call me Mr. Lockhart. Lets switch to first names. Amanda, he added, smiling.
She nodded. What could she do but agree? But shed been right. His smile really did make him look like the Big Bad Wolf.
She led the way into the kitchen, aware of him hard on her heels.
The kitchen was a scene of contained chaos, as it always was when the whole family gathered at the beach house. Her mamma and one of her aunts talked a mile a minute while they chopped veggies for a salad, her sister Annabel and cousin Georgia arranged nibbles on a huge tray, and Miz Callie, swathed in an apron that nearly swallowed her five-foot-nothing figure, peered anxiously at the contents of a huge kettlepulled pork barbecue, judging by the aroma.
Did yall meet my boss, Ross Lockhart?
We introduced ourselves, sugar. Mamma stopped chopping long enough to plant a kiss on her cheek. You comin to help us?
Miz Callie clattered the lid back onto the pot. Shed best introduce her friend to the men first. I dont suppose he wants to be stuck in the kitchen.
Im afraid my cooking skills wouldnt be up to your standards, Mrs. Bodine, Ross said quickly. It smells way too good in here.
Miz Callie dimpled up at him, always charmed by a compliment to her cooking. The proof is in the eating, you know. You let Amanda get you settled with someone to talk to, and later on well get better acquainted.
Ill look forward to it.
Amanda gave him a sharp glance, ready to do battle if he was being condescending to her grandmother. But his expression had actually softened, and his head was tilted deferentially toward Miz Callie.
Well. So something could pierce that abrasive shield he wore. That was a surprise.
Still, it would be just as well to keep him from any lengthy tête-à-têtes with her grandmother. Miz Callie was still obsessed with that old scandal about her husbands brother and they surely didnt need to let Ross Lockhart in on the skeleton in the Bodine family closet.
This way. She put a hand on the glass door and slid it back. Anybody whos not in the kitchen is probably down on the beach.
Ross followed her onto the deck that ran the length of the house and paused, one hand on the railing. Beautiful view.
It is that. She lifted her face to the breeze that freshened the hot summer air. On a clear day you feel as if you can see all the way across the Atlantic.
He turned his back on the ocean to have a look at the beach house sprawled comfortably on the dunes, its tan shingles blending into sand and sea oats. Has your family had the place long? The speculative note in his voice suggested he was estimating the cost.
For generations. She clipped off the words. They couldnt afford to build a house on the beach at todays prices, but that was none of Ross Lockharts business. My great-grandfather bought this piece of property back when there was no bridge to the mainland and nothing much on the island but Fort Moultrie and a few fishing shacks.
Very nice. He glanced toward the kitchen, and she realized he was looking at Miz Callie with that softened glance. Did I understand your grandmother lives here year-round?
Thats her plan. The familys been trying to talk her out of it, but once Miz Callie makes up her mind, you may as well save your breath to cool your porridge, as shed say.
His lips curved. I had a grandmother like that, too. A force to be reckoned with.
Had? She reacted automatically to the past tense.
She died when I was a teenager. He turned to her, closer than shed realized. Her breath hitched in her throat. Youre lucky to have your grandmother still. Very lucky.
The intensity in his low voice set up an answering vibration in her. For a moment they seemed linked by that shared emotion.
Then she caught herself and took a careful step back. This is your boss, remember? You dont even like him.
But she couldnt deny that, just for a moment, hed shown her a side of himself that shed liked very much.
Chapter Two
The long living room of the beach house overflowed with Bodines. Ross balanced a plate of chocolate caramel cake on his lap, surveying them from a seat in the corner.
Clearly they were a prolific bunch. Hed finally straightened it out that the grandmother, Miz Callie, as they called her, had three sons. Each of them had produced several children to swell the brood.
Judging by all the laughter and hugging they were a close family, almost claustrophobically so. Who could imagine having a party with this many peopleall of them related?
He certainly couldnt. His family had consisted of his parents, Gran and himself. That was it. His father had said more than once that having no siblings was a distinct advantage for a politicianthey couldnt embarrass you.
That had been the creed by which hed been raised. Dont do anything to embarrass your father.
And he hadnt, not even slightly, for all those years, until that final, spectacular event. His fingers tightened on the dessert plate, and he forced them to relax.
Forget his family. Forget his past mistakes. The thing to do now was to concentrate on the job at hand. If he could isolate Amandas father for a quiet chat
Miz Callie, a cup of coffee in her hand, headed in his direction. Tiny, probably not much over five feet, she was trim and lively, with a halo of white hair and blue eyes that hadnt faded with age. She sat down next to him.
Hows the cake? Can I get you anything else?
The cake is wonderful. He took a bite, realizing that the compliment was true. Hed been so busy thinking about the job that he hadnt even tasted it. Thank you, Mrs. Bodine.
Call me Miz Callie. She patted his arm. Everyone does. Were just so glad to meet you at last. Amanda talks about you often.
He noticed she didnt specify what Amanda said. That wouldnt be polite. He could imagine that Amanda had broadcast her opinion of him to her clan.
You have quite a family. Im not sure I have them all straight yet. Several in the Coast Guard, I understand. Mrs. BodineMiz Callie, rathermight have some insights he could tap.
Thats a family tradition, she said absently. Her attention was on Amanda and her sister as they cut slices of cake. Devils food cake with caramel icing is Amanda and Annabels favorite, so we always have it for their birthday. Funny that they like the same thing, because theyre different as can be in other ways.
If this were an interview, he could get her back onto the subject of the Coast Guard with a direct question. In polite conversation, it wasnt so easy.
They look nearly identical. Same honey-brown hair, same deep green eyes, same slim, lithe figures. They were striking, seen together.
Identical in looks, but not in temperament. Miz Callies blue eyes crinkled. Amanda is fifteen minutes older, and shes always been the big sister, the high achiever. And always trying to best her two older brothers, too.
He could tell the twins apart not by appearance so much as by body language and expression. Amanda was livelier, teasing and being teased, laughing easily.
Annabel seems a little quieter.
She goes her own way, Miz Callie said. She always has. Never especially bothered by what everyone else is doing.
Everyone else in this case being family?