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  “A couple weeks, maybe a month.” She was doing her best to be nice and choosing to retreat rather than continue with their bickering. When had the bickering began? He couldn’t even remember it had been so long ago. It was so ingrained in them both that it probably predated the hot closet kiss.

  She moved about the living room, straightening things and picking up discarded items. She reached over and turned on a light, the brightness shining over the cottage’s outdated furniture and faded coverings. Nothing had changed since her parent’s death. Time had stood still, and so had she.

  “The house is in need of some new furniture and stuff.” She sounded almost apologetic and he instantly hated the tone. “I’ve been meaning to get some, but well…” her voice trailed off.

  He could guess the rest. Some sort of an excuse for time, but the reality was more like she didn’t have the money. He’d known for a long time that she’d been funding her brother’s mistakes. The kid she’d fought so hard to raise after her parent’s death had turned into a troubled adult. Kara just was just too soft to cut him off.

  “Looks fine to me, but then I’m a man. What do I know? I think luxury is a bean bag chair and a bed.” He tried laughing at his own expense to lighten the mood.

  “It has nothing to do with being a man,” she said. “You’re just living in the stone age.” She smiled as she insulted him.

  He held out a piece of carrot for her to sample and she took it, popping it into her mouth. The smile went all the way through her this time. And all the way through him.

  “You’re going to make someone a hell of a good wife someday, Cooper. If you can ever decide on just one woman.”

  “What are you talking about? You think I have a harem or something?” What was he asking? The last thing he wanted to talk about with Kara was his love life.

  “The general consensus in town is that you’ve made a career out of dating all the eligible women in Serenity Harbor.”

  “You forget about Mira Jones. I haven’t dated her.”

  She shot him her best drop-dead look, “That’s because Mira’s in her eighties and she wouldn’t have you. She’s very picky.” She grabbed another carrot off the plate and he watched in fascination as she popped it into her mouth.

  “I’ve never been on a date with you,” he offered in comparison. Now, that was stupid. Why the hell had he said that? But it was truth, despite their one-time closet kiss, they’d never dated.

  She looked startled, but managed to put the sarcastic smile back in place. “You couldn’t handle me, Cooper. Besides, I don’t buy into the whole knight in shining armor thing you have going. You won’t find me falling at your feet.”

  The truth of it was right there, somewhere in the middle of her sarcasm.

  The microwave dinged and before he could respond and get himself in deeper he just turned back to the counter and began dishing the food onto plates.

  No, he was better off not trading verbal spars with Kara. He’d never been some damned knight in shining armor. And it was hardly his job to save her when she acted as if she could barely stand to be in same room with him.

  What he should have done was just deliver the food and gone home when he saw there were no lights on in her cottage. It would have been the saner option. But then, when had he ever worried about sanity?

  He handed her a plate. “Can you manage it?” Those words earned him a hard stare. He had no doubt she could have managed with both hands in cast. Just to spite him.

  He waited until she’d settled herself in the chair with the plate on her lap before he joined her, sitting opposite her on the old couch. The dim light of the computer next to him caught his attention, a spreadsheet open on the screen. “Taking your work home with you I see. How’s business?”

  He didn’t hear it so much as feel the soft sigh she let escape.

  “Not well, I’m afraid. More of a sinking ship, in fact.” She shook her head. “I’ve got a big order for Roenfield over in Seal Harbor that’s due the middle of next month and I’m trying to get ahead before the season starts, but I’m not much good with this bum hand. I’ve still got some time before he needs them, but with things going the way they are, I’m not sure I’m going to be around to deliver them.”

  “How’d you hurt your wrist Kara?”

  He could see her weighing her options. Tell the truth and piss him off, or tell a half truth and maybe he’d buy it. “I fell down the porch steps. Doc says it’s just a hairline fracture, not broken. It’ll be healed in a couple of weeks.”

  “A couple weeks is a long time when you own your own business. How are you managing the business and the work with one good hand?” He knew full well that something like a fractured wrist wasn’t going to hold her back.

  “I’m doing okay. I’m getting by.” But the look on her face left an unsettled pit in his stomach.

  “You need to get some help down at the shop. Pete should be helping you.” Her brother had a lot to answer for in his book.

  “Let it go, Cooper. I told you I’m managing things.” The hard edge was back in her voice. The niceties were gone along with the small amount of goodwill he’d managed to build up tonight.

  “You know, there are plenty of people in town who’d love to help you out.” If he was in it for a penny, he might as well be in for a pound when it came to getting her riled.

  Kara got up from the couch abruptly and went and put her dish in the sink. “I said to let it go.” Her voice was quiet, edgy, almost defeated. And it killed him.

  He got up and went up to stand beside her as he put his dish in the sink next to hers.

  “I guess that’s my cue to leave.” But he didn’t want to.

  “I guess it is.”

  Chapter 2

  The sky was filled with weak promise of sunshine when Kara came out of the bank. It did nothing to alleviate the panic threatening to strangle her. In her last ditch attempt to raise enough capital to upgrade her business, the bank had come back with an answer of no.

  Tilting her face upward toward the subtle warming rays, she contemplated the idea of just walking away from it all. She could sell the business and the cottage, pay off the debts, and split the money with Pete. After, she could go somewhere and start a new life. But even that little jaunt into introspection was brief. There’d be no selling out and no moving. She was more settled here than the bedrock ledge beneath Serenity.

  “There you are, dear!” Kara opened her eyes and smiled at the familiar voice of Martha Cooper, Nate’s mother. “I saw your truck parked down the street,” the small, compact woman said. “I was hoping I’d run into you.”

  “I had some business at the bank. I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to thank you for the dinner the other night.”

  “Well, I’m glad you liked it.” She was all bright smiles.

  “I did. I would ask for the recipe, but I’m a horrible cook. You wouldn’t be able to recognize it if I made it.” Her attempt at self-deprecation was well-founded. She could burn water when she put her mind to it.

  “Well, there isn’t much to it. I started making it for Nate’s father when we got married. The man did love his red meat. He was always a meat and potatoes man. It’s no wonder he had a heart attack at a young age.” Her smile dimmed a little.

  “It’s hard when you lose loved ones like that. It changed my entire life when my parents were killed in the accident. If it hadn’t been for Pete, I’m not sure I would have made it.”

  Martha’s hand was warm on her arm, comforting. “But we move forward because we must. It’s not easy. Lord knows I was at my wits' end more than once trying to raise the boys on my own. Nate gave me more than my fair share of gray hair.”

  “Ummm, Nate.” Something had been bugging her since he’d left the night before. She felt bad the way it had ended.

  “He stopped by after he went to your place last night. He was in quite the mood. Kara, but don’t be mad at him. He was just trying to help.”

  “I’m
not mad at him.” Not really. Not anymore. Nate hadn’t done anything more than put a finger to some of the sore spots in her life. The problem was that he had pretty good aim with his finger.

  “You have to take it as it is,” Martha said. “He thinks he’s helping when he tries to take over. He’s just like his father in that way.”

  “I probably owe him an apology. He was nice enough to bring over your food and I pretty much kicked him out.”

  The idea of owing Nate Cooper an apology would have once had her running the other way, but last night they had begun the tenuous prospect of forging a sort of friendship truce. And she hadn’t indulged in having friends in a long time.

  Martha shook her head. “I could never figure out why you two couldn’t at least be friends. You were always so snarky to each other. I guess it’s probably because of the kiss you shared all those years ago. It must have been a pretty bad for this to go on so long.”

  Wait? What?! Well, that caught her attention.

  “We were fifteen, for goodness sake. Every first kiss at fifteen goes badly.” Who was she kidding? It hadn’t gone bad. It had been short, sweet and very tempting. The perfect first kiss. It was after that it had all gone south.

  “Besides, it was just a game! It’s not like we chose each other to kiss. How in the world did you know about it anyway?”

  Martha smiled. “You should know by now that anything that happens in Serenity Harbor is never secret. I’ve known about it for years.” She patted Kara’s arm. “For a while, I was sure you two would grow up and find out you had a thing for each other.” With a shrug, she said, “But I guess it was all too long ago now.”

  She knew what Nate's mother was doing. “Oh no! No way am I getting caught up in your matchmaking plans.”

  “Matchmaking plans? What a crazy idea. Besides, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that Nate is going to do exactly what his heart tells him to do. Nothing less.”

  They had been slowly walking along the sidewalk, but came to a stop near the white picket fence that edged the front lawn of the Serenity Harbor Inn. Here, the beautifully manicured landscape swept downward to the harbor and the town landing were Nate’s Island Ferry Service was located.

  The ferry was in and there was definite hum of activity on the dock as trucks moved in and out and some sort of ramp system being put in place.

  Martha put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. “It’s silly, I know, but I worry about Nate. He’s a grown man, and yet, I still can’t stop. When you raise someone you are invested in them and their future.” She smiled and patted Kara’s arm again. “You’ve done your own bit of raising with your brother. I know that at times it doesn’t seem like it’s worth it. But you have to believe that underneath all of the pain is a young man who’s just trying to find his own life.”

  “I… I don’t know what to say.” She didn’t. There had been a whole lot of well-intended advice when it came to Pete, but Martha had been the first to sympathize. “He’s just so angry all the time and I don’t know how to fix it.”

  “Anger is an emotion that does nothing but stall you in your tracks. You get so wrapped up in the emotion of it that you miss all the reasons to let it go. When he comes up with a reason to let it go, he will.”

  Big words, heady words, words that were something she should’ve probably thought of herself. “You’ll both figure it out. He’s not a teenager anymore. Maybe he wants to be able to fix something on his own to prove he can do it?”

  “And maybe he’ll self-destruct and take me with him while he figures it out.” He’d already come close.

  “Maybe so, but whether he takes you down with him or not, that’s your decision. You’ve given him all the tools to figure this out, but he needs to make them work.”

  “Thanks, Martha.”

  She leaned in for a quick, fierce hug. “You’re welcome, sweetie. All this life experience I have should be good for something.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to run. Would you mind taking this mail down to Nate for me? He’s been waiting for it and I’ve got to get back to the shop. I’ve been gone far too long as it is.”

  How could she say no? The woman had just offered her advice. “Not a problem.”

  “Thank you!” Martha called out over her shoulder, as she made her way back up the street.

  Kara looked back at the dock. A large farm truck had backed up and the drivers were swinging open the back doors. With a sharp command, the sheep leaped out of the back of the truck, pushing and straining against the gates to get free.

  She watched as one of the men stumbled, falling helplessly among the miniature herd and the small group of locals watching were gripping their sides in laughter.

  Everywhere was a hive of activity, except for Nate. He stood totally still in the chaos. His gaze focused at her.

  She was really in IT now. Trapped by his mother into another face to face with Nate. Fate was clearly conspiring against her.

  Chapter 3

  Nate lost count of the sheep somewhere between the time they bolted for the ramp to the boat and when he caught sight of Kara standing on the hill talking to his mother.

  He looked back at the barely-controlled chaos that was a mass of gray white sheep with blackened noses. They moved like a wave of big, smelly, wool, bumping into the barricade and him as they made a mad trample from the back of the truck. What in the world was he thinking telling Sadie McIntyre he’d deliver her sheep to her out on the island? He must have been insane.

  The musty smell of animal, and the even more earthy aroma of their leavings, wafted through the cool morning air. He was going to need a hose to clean out his boat after this little adventure.

  “Cooper! Hey, Cooper!” He didn’t have to look up to know it was Kara. He’d always had a sick kind of radar when it came to her. If she was within a five-mile limit, he knew she was there. But the stupid part was that most of the time she had no idea he was watching.

  “What’s up, Simpson? I’m kind of in the middle of something here.” No sense making things easy for her.

  “Can you come over here for a moment?” He finally looked up to find her on the other side of the metal barrier. Damn she looked good. Her dark hair was pulled back into the same ponytail she always wore and even her oversized gray sweatshirt looked sexy as hell.

  “Fine. Whatever.” Damned if he’d let her off easy. He motioned to Sam to take over in his spot and pushed his way through the bleating mass to where she was waiting.

  She held out an envelope to him. “I just ran into your mother. She asked me to deliver this to you.” He flipped it over. It was the coupon saver insert from the newspaper. What the….?

  “My mother asked you deliver this?” Why he was even asking? Just another of her blatant attempts at throwing them together.

  “She must have thought you were in need in some good coupons.” She said it straight-faced. He had to give her credit. She wasn’t falling for his mother’s act either.

  “Look, I’m sorry about last night.” She sounded sincere, but still he wasn’t about to let it go without at least using it to his advantage.

  “Fine. You’re sorry.”

  “I know I’m not good at letting people help. I just wanted to say that I get what you said about Pete, and I know something needs to be done. I’m going to do it. I’m just waiting for the right time.”

  “Okay,” He had no idea where this impromptu apology was coming from, but he suspected that her talk with his mother had something to do with it. Still, he wasn’t ready to let her off the hook. “Is that all?” He couldn’t resist.

  “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” Irritation was seeping back into her voice.

  He smiled. “Nope. But you can try again later tonight when you come over to my place for dinner.” Good Lord! Where had that come from? Here he was winging it and he’d managed to put himself back into the crossfire.

  She looked as shocked as he felt. “Wait, I’m not coming t
o your place. Are you crazy?”

  “Maybe, but from the way I see it, you want me to accept the apology and I want to do it on a full belly and totally away from the smell of sheep.”

  “Oh, all right. You are crazy, but we’ll do it your way anyway.”

  It was probably a good thing there was a crowd around them and a barrier between them, or she’d probably and reached over and smacked him.

  “Good. It’s settled. Be there at seven.”

  “Seven,” she muttered as she turned to walk away, shaking her head.

  “Hey, Simpson!” he yelled. He could resist one last shot at her to keep her off balance for the rest of the day. “Bring your best apology with you. You’re going to need it.”

  Her response was a swift and succinct raised middle finger shot in his direction as she walked away. A gesture that had all the other guys in the area howling and left him smiling.

  Chapter 4

  Kara was early. She tried to tell herself it was because her mother had always instilled in them the need to be on time, but it had more to do with the nervous rumblings of both her mind and her stomach.

  At five minutes to seven, she climbed the white wooden stairs at the back of the gallery to Nate’s apartment. The place wasn’t big, but what it lacked in size it made up for in view. From the landing outside his door she could see clear across the harbor to the islands beyond.

  She knocked, hesitantly. What in the world was she doing? All afternoon she’d been trying to figure out what had made her actually agree to this dinner. She hadn’t come up with any answers. Now, here she was on his doorstep, and she was beginning to think the best course of action would be to turn around and go home.

  “Hey, I didn’t hear you knock.” Nate’s big frame filled the apartment doorway. “Come on in.”

  Too late now to run.

  “I just got here.” How lame, she thought, as she followed him inside.

  The second-floor apartment was small and efficient. He had a round kitchen table near the window and a simple couch and chair in front of a very large television.