my grandfather died. Ashley and I’d been living in an apartment, so it was a blessing. Without any rent or mortgage, I was able to start a small baking business, mostly cakes for weddings and functions.”
His eyes lit. “So we’re both in the food industry.”
“No. I’m… doing something different.”
“What’s that?”
She took a deep breath and jumped. “I’m building a resort.” Ooh, that sounded nice. “As a matter of fact I just hired the architect.”
He nodded, gave a slight smile. “I saw his, um, blueprint.”
Heat burned her cheeks. “You have no idea what you saw, David. But none of that concerns you.”
“Everything about Ashley’s life concerns me.”
She reared back as if he’d hit her. “Really? Is that a fact? Is that why you’ve been completely missing from her life even though I told you you could see her anytime?”
“I understand you might be bitter, but I really hope that we’re all mature enough to co-exist, and maybe even forgive.”
Could she forgive him? His choice to leave her had hurt Lacey, but his decision to stay away had hurt Ashley. And that was unforgivable to a mother.
“I forgave you long ago,” she said brusquely, not wanting to get into it with him now or ever.
He was looking around at the post-hurricane mess, his brows knit. “How on earth are you going to afford to build a resort, Lacey? Don’t you think you should start with something a little more modest?”
Exactly the opposite of what Clay thought she should do. That gave her a boost of confidence. “Insurance. Investors. Loans.” She tilted her head up, smiling. Clay had done that for her, she thought fleetingly. In one morning, he’d given her confidence. “I have a plan.”
“A plan, huh? Not always your strong suit.” He tempered the tease with a smile and leveled her with that magnificent green gaze that had melted the clothes right off her about forty-eight hours after he’d guest-lectured in one of her college classes.
“I’ve changed,” she announced.
“You have.” When his eyes crinkled she could see his lashes were still thick, and the tiny crow’s-feet just made him great looking instead of merely good looking. “And you look terrific, Lacey, considering what you’ve been through.”
“Fourteen years of single parenthood?”
“I meant the hurricane,” he said. “But I don’t imagine either one was easy.” There was an apology in there, she could sense it, and the tone brought her resentment down a notch.
“Thanks, David. Fox. You look good, too.” He was thirty-nine now, a full ten years older than the man she’d been with all morning. Ten years and ten million miles apart, she mused. Clay Walker was light, bright, sexy, easy, sunny brilliance. David Fox was dark, threatening, difficult, a sliver of cloud-covered moon impossible to follow and even more impossible to hold.
Reminding her that regardless of his latest career move, David’s next trip to Timbuktu couldn’t be much farther than his next breath. That’s how he rolled. Away.
“Can I stay with you at your parents’ place?” he asked.
What hadn’t Ashley told him? She tried to think of a good, reasonable explanation for saying no, but none came. Except that she was kind of planning to have sex with her architect.
“Yes, of course you can. For a few…” Minutes. “Days. I’m very busy with my building proj—”
The scream from the beach made them both whip around, startled.
“Ashley! There’s a shark!”
“Oh my God!” Lacey leaped forward.
“Helllllllllp!”
All three women stood on the beach screaming at Ashley, who was frozen on the sandbar, the Gulf waters splashing at her thighs. She looked to her left, the horror on her face visible even this far away.
The fin popped up not twenty feet from her, between her and the beach.
Lacey ran, shells stabbing her feet, a scream caught in her throat. Before she’d even reached the girls David tore past her, his long legs eating up the sand, kicking it in his wake, his arms outstretched. Fully clothed, he bounded into the shallow waters, headed directly for Ashley, who kept screaming.
The four women followed, running toward the water, gasping and calling in horror.
The fin popped up again, directly between David and Ashley, making her wail.
“Don’t move, Ash!” David called to her, and she froze, staring at him now.
Once again the shark emerged and David lunged in the opposite direction, forcing the creature’s attention to focus on him, making it leap and turn toward him, the white teeth of a tiger bared for a horrifying split second.
“Run, Ashley!” David yelled before throwing himself in the water, drawing