The Billionaire's Island Bride (South Shore Billionaires 3)

More than that, he wondered why the sight of her driving a tractor made him so...curious. Her self-reliance never failed to impress him, but he hadn’t imagined her using large machinery. She looked cute and incredibly capable.

That curiosity had his feet moving forward, stopping in the foyer for a light jacket. The storm was sending warm, moist air over the region, but he wasn’t overly worried about any power outages. There was a huge generator wired in to his electrical panel, and he’d already told Raelynn and Dan to come to the main house if everything went dark.

Right now he wanted to know what Brooklyn was planning to do with that tractor.

When he started the downhill grade to her house, he saw exactly what she was doing. She and Dan had hooked a boat trailer to the tractor and right now Brooklyn was backing it to the water. The tide was in, so the ground held firm against the weight of the tires. Once the trailer was in the water, she locked the brake and hopped down, leaving the tractor running and giving Dan instructions.

Cole knew he should help, but he was fascinated watching her work.

She walked down the dock and unmoored her boat, guiding it expertly onto the trailer. When it was secured, she motioned to Dan to put the tractor in gear and pull them out. Dan released the brake and touched the throttle.

The tractor strained against the weight, but bit by bit pulled the trailer forward until they were on the firm lane leading to the boat shed. Once they got there, she got the boat into the shed and unhooked the first trailer. Brooklyn swung the tractor around, backing it up to get the second trailer.

This time Cole approached, seeing as the second trailer was for his boat, and not her responsibility. Besides, he wanted to help. All his life this sort of thing had been for the “help” to do, but he wasn’t above a little hands-on labor.

“Hello,” he called out, and when Dan and Brooklyn turned around, he lifted a hand in a wave.

“Oh, hey!” Brooklyn called back to him, while Marvin heard his voice and made dizzying circles around Cole’s legs.

“Marvin, take it easy, dude,” Cole said, but laughed and gave the dog a good rub. “I see he also likes the tractor.”

“We don’t use it much in the summer. Unless a tree goes down or something, or we have to move the boats.” She shoved her hands in her jacket pocket. “Ernest had a boat, too. Hence the two trailers.”

“Well, let me help this time, since it’s my boat.”

“Sure. Dan’s got his boots on. I’ll back up the tractor, you can pilot it in, and Dan can help secure it. Easy-peasy.”

Marvin hopped back up in his spot of honor and they worked as a team. It took no time at all to get the boat on the trailer. The boat was heavier than hers, though, and took a little more work on the part of the tractor to get it up top to the shed. To Cole’s surprise, she backed the trailer in expertly, so both boats were protected from the elements.

To say he was impressed was an understatement.

Together they shut the boathouse doors and she killed the tractor engine. “Would you two like a cup of coffee or something?”

Dan looked like he wanted to say yes, but reluctantly shook his head. “I told Raelynn I’d be back up to do some hurricane prep. We still have to move the patio furniture and stuff inside.”

Cole appreciated it but didn’t want to begrudge the guy a simple drink. “There’s time, Dan. No need to rush back.”

“Seriously,” Brooklyn said, “a pot takes five minutes to brew. And because you both helped, the boat thing went pretty fast.”

“All right then. If you do, Cole.”

“Sure.”

Cole watched as Dan chatted to Brooklyn and Marvin trotted behind them. Dan was a friendly guy and so easygoing. He and Brooklyn were relaxed, like old friends. He thought back to his dinner party and how sometimes Brooklyn looked a little awkward or uncomfortable. He wasn’t usually so aware of their differences in lifestyle, but watching her drive the tractor and laughing with Dan, he realized that in many ways they were as different as the sun and moon.

“Cole, you coming?” she called back.

“Yep. Be right there.”

Marvin stood before him, tennis ball in his mouth. The moment Cole made eye contact with the dog, the tennis ball was dropped at his feet. Cole chuckled and picked it up, then threw it into the grass. He did this twice before Brooklyn came back, a cup of coffee in her hands. “Here, stop playing with the dog and have a coffee.”

He smiled up at her. “But he asked so nicely.”

She snorted. “He always does.”

He went to take the mug from her and their fingers touched. The contact sparked a memory of that night under the stars, and how they’d touched each other, gently and carefully, and he knew staying was the wrong move. But he couldn’t leave now, not with Dan coming out onto the front porch with his own cup. Cole would have to remain polite and no more. Otherwise he was going to find himself in a place he couldn’t get out of.

They all sat on the front porch and sipped their coffee, talking about the forecast and what they might expect. None of them were strangers to hurricanes; the storms often made their way up the East Coast. But this was the first time Cole would be on a tiny island in the ocean and not comfortable in the family mansion or an elite boarding school. Maybe they weren’t far from the mainland, but once the storm came in, there would be no getting off the island until it passed. It was a different sort of feeling, being at the mercy of Mother Nature.