Chapter 32

Rock breathed easier once Jeanie’s van pulled up beside his truck at dusk. She’d come home. At least, he hoped that’s why she was here.

He wanted to undress her slowly and make love to her all night. Nothing new there. But she had a toughness and an innocence about her that pulled him into deep waters. He needed the stolen treasure to settle his debt, but damn if he didn’t want her just as much. He’d never had a woman melt in his arms before. She made him feel like he could do anything. He hadn’t felt like that in a very long time. Since before he’d lost half his squad in Afghanistan.

He opened the back gate, and the dogs bolted inside to patrol their food station.

Jeanie approached cautiously, her shoulders nearly touching her ears. “Hey.”

“Hungry?” he asked, taking the backpack of dog gear from her.

“Starved, but we need to talk.”

He gestured toward the open door and shouldered the backpack. “No sense being hungry when I’ve got a pork loin ready to eat.”

She shot him an enigmatic look but continued inside with him, sniffing appreciably. “Are you trying to seduce me with food?”

Rock laughed. “Is it working?”

“Sure smells good. Okay, I’ll let you feed me dinner.”

“I’d hoped you’d come home. Come here, I mean. To Lytham House.” He reached for her hand, rubbing his thumb across her soft skin. “I’m sorry I upset you earlier today.”

Jeanie stiffened and retreated from his touch. “You lied to me.”

He held her glittering gaze. “I did. I’ll do it again if it keeps you safe. You have enough going on right now. You don’t need my problems, too.”

“I’m not stupid. Your being here is about the money. The coins. And that little wooden chest.” She stared at the floor. “I need to know. Is Avery involved?”

“Later, okay? I don’t want him to spoil our dinner.” Rock sent the dogs to the living room, pulled the heated plates out of the oven, and set them on the table.

She glanced around the shadowed room before she sat. “What did you do with Avery?”

Rock sighed. “Nothing. We talked. He went his way. I went mine.”

“Did you hurt him?”

“No.” He’d followed Avery and staked out the trailer where he’d spent the afternoon drinking, alone. A total waste of his time. Rock studied Jeanie’s edgy demeanor, sensed the sudden shift in the atmosphere. “Did you want me to?”

“No. Avery is…Avery. Not much anyone can do about that.” She nodded toward his left arm. “How’s the arm?”

“Getting stronger. I’m sure I’ll be up to lifting you onto the counter in a few days.”

Jeanie fiddled with her cloth napkin, adjusted the alignment of her silverware, and avoided making eye contact. “I spent the day thinking. About us. I made a decision. I have to be focused to get my kids back. No matter how much I like it, sex between us dilutes my focus. I have two kids counting on me. So, no more sex between us. Things are complicated enough already.”

Disappointment dulled his appetite, but he wouldn’t relent without a fight. “Is kissing banned in the new rule book?”

“Kissing is how last night happened. No kissing. I don’t sleep with every man I meet, and certainly not every man I kiss.”

He nodded, pleased she was picky, sorry he didn’t make the cut. She valued honesty, so he spoke from the heart. “I won’t push you, Jeanie, but I care for you. I want more of everything between us.”

“Will you level with me about your investor?”

He’d been expecting this question. “Lyle is a North Carolina man, some kind of timber and textile baron. He invests his millions in the Tar Heel State, if he’s interested in the project. He’d done some treasure hunting before, so I took a chance and asked him to finance my search. I’ve paid back ten percent of what I owe him from my fishing charter income, but I still owe him another ninety grand. I have to find the three stolen coins and the chest to square things with Lyle by the end of the month or he claims my family journal. It’s the only known reference to the Clarissa foundering.”

“Why’d you agree to that?”

“Blue skies, open seas, repeat charter customers. Life was good. The payment schedule and the interest clause seemed the least of my worries. I was making it work. Then I had a few setbacks, and you know the rest.”

“This might sound dumb, but would he loan you more money? If you had the gear, could you find the rest of the treasure?”

“Even if he would lend me more money, I won’t do that again. I mean to get out from under this cloud of debt. I plan to start over. Really start over. I’d like to open a small business here. Ecotourism or fishing charters. Mossy Bog is beautiful. I’m sure I could earn a living here.”

She released a shaky breath. “More power to you if you can pull it off.”

“You sound skeptical.”

“I’ve known plenty of dreamers. They’re all over Mossy Bog.”

“Nothing wrong with having dreams.” Rock’s desire for her warmed his gaze. “I bet you’ve plenty of your own.”

She shot him a stern look and picked up her fork. “Focus. We’re keeping this platonic, remember?”

Nothing platonic about his feelings.

But he could be patient.

For now.