Grace Under Fire (Buchanan-Renard 14)

The insult obviously didn’t bother him. “Yes, I am,” he agreed, closing the door.

His smile could be lethal, and she had to remind herself that he was not only rude, he could also be irritating. Regardless, she was thankful he stayed with her. She wondered how he would react if she told him he had it in him to occasionally be nice. He’d probably argue with her.

“Did you rent this?” she asked, glancing around at the interior of the BMW. “It’s awfully elegant.”

“Elegant, huh?”

She shrugged.

He explained. “It’s my brother’s car.”

“Which brother? You have a bunch of them.”

He laughed. “There aren’t that many, and you’ve met them all.”

She counted off their names. “Let’s see. Theo is the oldest, then Nick, Alec, Dylan, you, and Zachary.”

“And two sisters,” he reminded. “Jordan, your sister’s best friend, and Sidney. Nick picked me up at the airport, and I dropped him off at his house. He’ll drive out to Nathan’s Bay tomorrow with his wife. I’ll keep his car while I’m here.”

“And how long will that be?”

“I don’t know yet. What about you?”

They stopped at a red light, and he glanced over at her, waiting for an answer.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” She noticed his duffel bag was in the backseat and asked, “You were on your way to Nathan’s Bay when Dylan called you?”

“That’s right. I wasn’t out of the city yet, so I turned back.”

There was a CVS a couple of miles away, and it didn’t take any time at all to get the script filled and purchase Tylenol. The rest of the ride to the hotel was silent. When they arrived, Michael let the valet take his car while he went inside with Isabel. She looked straight ahead as she walked through the lobby. At this point, she was used to people staring, appalled by all the blood she was wearing on her clothes.

Michael followed her with the expectation of collecting her bags for the trip to Nathan’s Bay, and she didn’t correct him. She waited until they were in her room to tell him she was staying at the hotel. While he outlined all the reasons he was going to have to insist she go with him, she picked up her bag, carried it into the bathroom, then stripped out of her clothes and got into the shower. It was heavenly. She was certain the guests could hear her sigh all the way down in the lobby. The hot water streamed down her face, and she willed it to wash away this horrible day as the muscles in her shoulders and legs began gradually to unknot. She couldn’t get her hands to stop shaking, though.

She was alone now, and it was safe for her to let go. Besides, she couldn’t keep it inside any longer. No one would bother her, and no one would know. She began to cry. In seconds she went from silent tears to gut-wrenching sobs.

Yet another reason she wasn’t in any hurry to go to Nathan’s Bay. She needed to get past today’s nightmare before she saw Kate and Dylan. It would be humiliating to fall apart in front of them.

Standing outside the bathroom door, Michael could hear her crying, and it was tearing him up. He didn’t know what to do about it. If she were dressed he’d probably pull her into his arms and hold her, but she wasn’t dressed; she was stark naked, and if he pulled her into his arms in the shower, he sure wouldn’t be thinking about comforting her. The least he could do was knock on the door and ask her if he could help, or maybe ask if everything was all right. Fortunately, he was saved from going through with his awkward plan when Dylan called.

Isabel spent a long while in the bathroom to get herself under control, even taking the time to blow her hair dry. She emptied the pockets of her jeans and tossed everything into a makeup bag. The clothes she’d worn went into a plastic laundry bag. She looked around the large bathroom to make sure she’d picked up everything, then grabbed her laptop and opened the door, ready now for the argument she knew was coming.

Michael was on his cell phone, talking to Dylan and pacing around the bedroom. He came to a dead stop the second he saw her. He thought he was still breathing, but he couldn’t be sure. Isabel was wearing a pair of hot pink pajama shorts and a tank top that was all but glued to her chest. The word voluptuous came to mind, along with several other descriptive words. Damn, but she was sexy. He tried but couldn’t stop staring at her.

Dylan yanked Michael from his salacious thoughts about Isabel. “Michael, did you hear me? I want her to come to Nathan’s Bay, too, but if she insists on staying at the hotel, let her. She’s an adult. She can handle herself. Listen, you need to know...”

“Yes?”

“She likes to drive, but—”

Michael interrupted him. “She’s been through a hell of a time today. I don’t think she should be alone.”

“She’s a big girl, and like I said, if she needs some time to herself, that’s okay. Don’t make it complicated.”

“Yeah, well...”

“What?”

Staring at Isabel, he said, “It’s already complicated.”