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  Cassie growled, deep in her throat. “We both got screwed.”

  Sky ran her fingers through her hair. “I promise never to mention to anyone that you have any brain cells at all.”

  “And I promise to tell people that you’re totally butt-ugly.”

  ~*~

  CHAPTER SIX

  Collision

  It had been a good day. Zach admired the setting sun as he drove toward his home. His thoughts kept straying to the lovely Skyler Danforth. She was pretty, like Chloe, but her personality was on the opposite end of the scale. While Chloe was gregarious and outgoing, Sky was shy and reticent. Her secretive behavior was both irritating and seductive. He sensed that she was in trouble, but she wasn’t talking to him about anything related to her past.

  He parked the Jeep, noting that the silver Audi was not sitting in front of the house next door. It struck him as funny that the Danforth girls had become so important to him in so few days. He wondered where they were as he climbed the stairs and took a last look down the beach before going inside.

  The dwelling that he called home, unexpectedly felt anything but homelike. Zach viewed the interior with disdain. Not exactly an inviting bachelor pad. The papa san chair in the corner was a hand-me-down from Calvin when he’d gotten married ten years previously. Zach had eagerly claimed it, not only for its comfort, but also as a relic of his oldest brother, whom he still idolized. Tonight, he noticed the faded cushions and scuffed cane.

  His drapery was also faded from years of sun exposure, and they didn’t exactly go with anything else in the room. His open kitchen was visible from the spacious living-dining room and the clutter of utensils and cookware was definitely not attractive.

  He cringed when he glanced into his bedroom. The mis-matched sheets were topped with a frayed cotton blanket, his favorite shade of green. Not an inviting love nest.

  A smile stretched across Zach’s face. That’s it. I may be able to turn my weakness into an asset.

  He staked out a place on his deck so he could pretend to be chilling while he kept an eye out for his neighbors. He squeezed a wedge of lime into the neck of a Dos Equis and inhaled the fresh ocean breeze. The late afternoon sun warmed his skin and he found himself relaxing.

  The toot of a horn jerked him out of his languor. He looked over the edge of his deck and was greeted with the sight of Skyler and Cassie waving to him.

  “C’mon over,” Cassie called. “We brought dinner.” She lifted a couple of bags from the back seat and sprinted up their stairs.

  Sky grinned up at him, raising two large take out bags for his inspection. “Hope you like Chinese.”

  He nodded. “Sure, I haven’t eaten dog in a long time.”

  “Zach!” Sky shrieked. “Shame on you. This smells great.”

  “Just kidding. I’ll be right over.” He sprinted down the stairs and caught up with Sky as she made her way slowly up her own set of steps. “Can I help you with that?” He reached for the bags.

  “Thanks.” She swept him with a glance from under her long lashes that set off a jelly-like quake in his stomach.

  He wondered why he always felt so warm in her presence.

  Inside, he saw that Cassie had put away the groceries and was setting out plates on the countertop for the take-out. “Spread everything out here and we can fill our plates.”

  Sky smiled up at him. “I know this can’t pay you back for the wonderful meal you prepared for us, but we wanted to show our appreciation.”

  Zach wondered if she knew about the little flutter in his chest whenever she looked at him with that dimpled grin. Sure, they all know. It’s part of their power over our kind. Keep the lower life forms off balance. “No thanks are necessary.”

  “You mean de nada?” Her dimples twinkled again.

  He nodded. “You’re getting it.”

  Cassie put serving spoons in the take-out containers. “Don’t tell me that I just heard my sister speak a phrase in Spanish. I tried so hard to teach her when I was in high school, but she turned her back on me.”

  “I know one phrase. Zach taught it to me.”

  Cassie made a noise in the back of her throat. “That shows how you rate with my sister.” She reached in a bag to retrieve an egg roll.”

  Sky put an egg roll on Zach’s plate. “Zach used it in context, not in a bunch of hypothetical, contrived scenarios.”

  Cassie huffed. “Well, excuse me for trying to expand your horizons. I was hoping to make you into a citizen of the world.”

  “I’m just happy to be a citizen of South Padre Island today.”

  Zach accepted the filled plate she handed him, liking the way she was nurturing him. “Your house is shaping up.”

  She led the way to their glass-topped wrought-iron dining table and gestured for him to sit beside her. “You think so? I worked very hard on my last place and then...I, uh...had to move.”

  “That must have been frustrating, but I’m glad you’re here.”

  She smiled. “Me too.”

  Zach cleared his throat. “I was thinking of redoing my place. Maybe you could give me a few tips.”

  “Really? I thought your place was fine. It looks like you.”

  Zach felt a twinge of pain. “You mean, ruggedly handsome?”

  She laughed. “I mean natural...comfortable.”

  The smile again. I could kiss you right now, even with that little dab of sweet and sour sauce at the corner of your mouth.

  “Zach, you’re staring at my lips.”

  He snapped to attention. “Uh, you’ve got a little...

  He wiped the sauce away with his thumb and then licked it off. Even tastier with a little Sky on it. He grinned as she turned a bright red.

  “I’m such a mess. Thanks.” She wiped her mouth on a paper napkin.

  “De nada.” He grinned at her. “You had a good day at the hospital?”

  “Great!” She recounted her day, giving vivid descriptions of the patients.

  He liked the way her eyes lit up when she told him about her duties.

  She gestured with her chopsticks. “I felt like I was back in my world again, although this one is a lot smaller than I’m used to.”

  “I hope this world grows on you. I’d really miss you if you decided to go back to the bright lights and big city again.”

  A smile played around her lips. “I plan to stay for a while. My sister is here and this is her dream job.”

  “I’ll have to thank Cassie for choosing the Island.”

  Cassie brought her plate and dropped cross-legged onto the rug at their feet. “Talking about me?”

  Zach turned to her. “I’m glad you chose to come to the Island. I think you’ll enjoy teaching at the high school. My dad just retired from the school district.”

  Cassie grinned, her eyes alight. “What did he teach?”

  Zach cleared his throat. “He taught Biology and General Science.”

  Cassie let out a little shriek. “I can’t believe it! I’m taking over for your father.”

  Zach nodded, grinning. “He’s looking forward to meeting you on Sunday. I’m supposed to invite you both to go to church, but my mom thinks the whole world is Catholic.”

  Cassie laughed. “We aren’t anything in particular, but we have stepped inside a Methodist church from time to time.”

  Zach feigned horror, then grinned. “I’ve gone to the same church all my life. It’s a weekly combination religious and social event.”

  Sky glanced at Cassie first, and then turned to Zach. “We’ll be happy to join the Bailey clan for Sunday church and dinner. Thank you for inviting us.”

  Zach grinned at them. “De nada.”

  ~*~

  The next morning, Cassie dropped Sky at the hospital and returned to their rented house. She didn’t have to be at The Net until ten-thirty, but she didn’t want to waste the morning loafing.

  Room-by-room, she surveyed the house and liked what she saw. Sky’s furniture looked great in the new place.
The plainness of the rental was transformed by Sky’s particular stamp of casual elegance.

  Cassie sighed. Maybe someday she’d have a style of her own. Until that time, she’d live with her sister’s furniture and the hand-me-downs from their family.

  Cassie tied on her cross-trainers and sprinted down the stairs. She set out jogging in the direction that Zach had taken Sky for their walk.

  Inhaling the fresh ocean air was exhilarating. She pulled the scrunchy out of her hair and let it cascade around her shoulders, the tendrils lifting in the offshore breeze. She figured she should be able to get in a couple of miles today and then work up to something more challenging.

  Her gait was easy, and her breathing unstrained. The soft white sand was resilient and packed closer to the water. Gulls circled around over the shrimp boats as they chugged back and forth across the bay. The sun felt warm on her shoulders, but too late, she remembered the sunscreen on the kitchen counter.

  No probs. I’ll just fry.

  It was early yet. Not even nine. The morning rays might just warm her and not sear her to a crisp.

  As she jogged, she saw a distant vehicle, a red truck with oversized tires pulled up to the dunes and a lone figure standing in the surf. Not standing, he was casting a giant rod out into the frothing waves.

  Cassie ran toward him, not intending to acknowledge him, but aware that this part of the beach was isolated and she hadn’t seen another human since she’d begun her run.

  Not to worry. Nobody’s stalking me.

  But then again, why borrow trouble? She would run by this guy and maybe he’d be gone by the time she made the return trip.

  She drew nearer, watching him cast, his broad, powerful shoulders lunging into the effort of hurling the line out into the water. As his muscular arms arced overhead, his lats formed a perfect vee down to his butt.

  Cassie experienced a thrill of pure pleasure. Dang! That’s hot!

  His skin was browned and his dark hair had been trimmed close to his scalp.

  Cassie jogged by, trying not to gawk, but the man didn’t notice, so intent was he upon his task. She felt a tiny bit disappointed that he didn’t pay any attention to her passing by.

  She lifted her chin and continued on her way. Not the first hot guy to ignore me. Probably won’t be the last.

  She jogged for a while, until she began to feel the first symptoms of fatigue and then turned back the way she had come. She had slowed down to a walk by the time she saw the fisherman again.

  He had caught a six-foot sand shark and dragged it onto the beach. He looked up and grinned as she approached. “How was your run?” Dark eyes checked her out as she neared.

  “Great!” She stopped short. He did notice me. A flush of pleasure washed through her. She returned his grin. “Odontaspididae”

  “Excuse me?” He looked up, frowning at her now.

  “That’s the kind of shark you caught.” Don’t blow it, Cass. Don’t flex your brains in front of Mister Hotness. She ducked her head and then tossed her hair as she glanced back up at him. “I must have read that somewhere.”

  He smiled again. “All I know is they taste great on the grill.”

  “Really?” She opened her eyes wide and gave him a flirtatious grin. She leaned over from the waist and pretended to examine the shark closer.

  “Careful,” he said. “It can still bite.”

  She stepped back. “Those things are out in the water?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but don’t worry. You don’t taste that good.”

  She shot him a glance. “How do you know?”

  He looked back at her, flashing his wide, white-toothed grin. “To a shark. Humans don’t taste that good to them.”

  “Oh, I thought you were making a personal remark about me.” She had to fight to suppress the giggle struggling to erupt from her throat when she saw his face. He can’t feel intimidated now. Must think I’m dumb as a box of rocks.

  He shook his head, dimples flashing. “Vacationing?”

  “Just moved here.”

  He turned sharply. “Really? With your parents?”

  “No, why do you ask?”

  The dark eyes roamed over her again. “You look very young to be out on your own.”

  She sniffed. “Well, looks can be deceiving.”

  The dimples quirked again. “Just how old are you?”

  The voice screaming in her head shouted, ‘none of your darned business’, but the youngest Danforth daughter replied politely and truthfully, “I’m twenty.”

  He grinned. “So old?”

  “Bite me!” She turned and began her run again, kicking her legs out like she had done when she was in high school track.

  “Hey! Slow down!”

  Surprised, she slowed to a stop. Mister Hotness had chased after her. She glared up at him, her lower jaw jutting out.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that. Don’t get mad at me.” He reached out and put his hand on her arm.

  Her eyes followed his muscular hand as he gave her arm a squeeze. “Watch the hand,” she enunciated carefully. “I have black belts in karate and tai kwan do. I can kick your ass all over this beach.”

  “Really?” He chuckled softly. “Let me start all over again. My name is Javier Rios. My friends call me Javi.” He held out his hand to her.

  She eyed it suspiciously, then put her hand in his. “I’m Cassidy Danforth.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said. “You’re just...young to be so old.” He held her hand between both of his.

  She drew a deep breath and let it out all in a huff. “That’s a perfect description of me.”

  “Again, I apologize for insulting you. I didn’t mean it that way.” Javier’s eyes searched hers.

  “Apology accepted. I have to get ready for work now.”

  He ignored the slight tug of her hand, holding her a little longer. “Where do you work, Cassidy?”

  “The Net. This is my first day.”

  “Waitressing?”

  “Delivering. I’ve really got to go.”

  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, never taking his eyes off hers. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Cassidy Danforth.”

  A herd of butterflies swirled up from her stomach. She grinned, in spite of her efforts to appear cool.

  Slipping her fingers from his grasp, she turned and ran back toward their home. When she glanced back, he was still watching her.

  ~*~

  The Emergency Room functioned more like a clinic for the people who didn’t have healthcare insurance.

  Sky removed a dried pinto bean lodged inside a young boy’s nose; assisted in numerous pre-natal exams wherein the women presented in varying stages of pregnancy under no particular physician’s care; applied steri-strips to a laceration that was long but not deep, and took vital signs on an elderly gentleman who had apparently become overheated and thought he was having a heart attack.

  This was all before lunch.

  The Emergency Room doctor was a handsome man, only a couple of inches taller that Sky. He’d introduced himself as Doctor Marcos and asked her to call him Rick.

  When she emerged from the exam room, Rick handed her a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup.

  “Thought you might need this.” He flashed a hopeful smile.

  “Thanks.” Sky wasn’t much on Styrofoam cups and made a mental note to bring a ceramic cup from home.

  He watched her taste the coffee and winced when she made a face. “Sorry, I got it out of the machine.”

  She smiled at him. “I appreciate the gesture.”

  “So, Skyler, tell me a little about yourself.” The doctor smiled ingratiatingly.

  Sky steeled herself for a barrage of well-meaning questions. “Not much to tell.” She smiled at him. “How about you, Rick? Have you always lived here?”

  “No, my parents came to Miami from Cuba. They floated on a raft in open seas. I was born and educated in Florida and came to Texas when I wa
s accepted here for my residency.”

  “And you moved to Port Isabel because?”

  “I have a condo on the Island right on the water. Look around. It’s gorgeous here and the weather is like Miami. I’m already acclimated to the heat and humidity and hurricanes.”