Tropical Bartender Bear (Shifting Sands Resort 3)

Tex loved the way her eyes sparkled when she wasn’t worrying about her future. He would have done anything the in world to keep that stress from her beautiful face. He vowed to make it his life’s goal to make her laugh whenever she wasn’t.

He introduced her to queso palmito, the mild string cheese ball that peeled into delicious layers, and paired it with roadside strawberries.

“Oh,” Laura said with delight, putting a second berry to her dark lips. “These are the best strawberries I’ve ever had.”

She tried to pay the vendor, but there was no way Tex was going to let her open her wallet. “My mother raised me right,” he told her firmly.

The stubborn flash in her eyes told him he was in for a fight, but a moment of darkness passed over her face, and she put her wallet back in her purse instead.

They walked in silence down to the edge of the beach. A downed tree made the perfect bench, and they sat with feet in the sand, watching the wild brown children playing in the waves. A few tourists in designer chairs sat with a big cooler between them. Laughter and chatter made a lovely soundtrack to their little snack, and Tex snuck his hand into Laura’s. It lightened his heart when she squeezed it and leaned into him.

Putting his arms around her was the most natural, perfect way to sit.

“I love you,” he said, so quietly that he wasn’t sure if she heard him. She didn’t respond.

After they had licked their hands clean, Tex glanced at his cracked phone display. “They’ve probably got our order packed up at the boat,” he said reluctantly. “We’ll want to get out soon to make it back before dark.”

He stood and offered a hand to Laura. She looked at it skeptically for a moment, then gave him a slow smile and let him help her up. Tex shouldered the dense spice package and settled his hat on his head, tucking Laura’s hand into the crook of his elbow.

They walked back over the sand, laughing at the tiny crabs that scuttled away from their steps, and peering up into the sun at the calling seabirds.

Their steps slowed as they reached the pier, and they found that the boat was indeed ready to go. The delivery boy, hauling an empty wagon bigger than he was, presented them with a receipt that Tex signed off on. He put the carbon copy into his wallet, and then turned to help Laura step down into the boat, to find that she had already scrambled into her seat.

They putted out of the little bay slowly, then Tex kicked the motor into high gear and the boat skipped over the little waves easily. The sun only just seemed to be dipping down from the zenith, but Tex knew how fast it could set. He squinted out onto the horizon, but the island was still invisible. After a moment of consideration, he crawled back into the stern of the boat and went through the steps to put the second engine into service.

At Laura’s quizzical look, he explained, “We want to get back before dark, and we’re just cutting it a little close.”

The engine tipped easily down into the water and Tex pulled out the choke and yanked on the starter cord until it caught. The motor thrummed to life, coughed, and then caught in earnest.

He was happier with the speed they were making after that.

“Here!” he told Laura, pulling her into his lap. He showed her how to steer the ship, and let her find the right combination of throttle to use against the wave, and how to point the compass.

She grinned and squeaked when she mistimed her charge against a wave, sending shattered saltwater over them. Tex held a protective arm around her, enjoying the way she reacted to the ocean by moving in his lap.

He kissed the back of her neck, and she responded with a throaty purr. “You’ll make me drive the boat off course,” she scolded him.

Tex was giving her another kiss, followed by an irresistible nibble, when the second engine gave a sudden, unexpected sputter and roar. He only had time to turn and look at it curiously before it exploded.

Chapter 23

Laura was trying to focus on keeping the tiny jumping compass line on track with the distraction of Tex’s mouth at th

e back of her neck. She barely heard the noise of the explosion over the roar of the ocean and the engine, and she was caught by surprise when Tex’s arms wrapped around her and pulled her out of the chair and over the side of the boat.

The water was shocking, even if it wasn’t cold, and Laura thrashed reactively when she came up again -- until a chunk of railing flew over her head and she realized that Tex was trying to pull her away from the sinking, burning boat, one of his arms around her. For a moment, she went limp, and Tex’s strong strokes drew her away from the blaze. Then she added her own strength to their retreat, as the fire hit the water and turned to explosive steam. The boat gave a death gurgle as it sank, and the sound of it was lost to the endless ebb and splash of the ocean around them.

Laura kicked off her shoes and tread water beside Tex, who had only reluctantly let her go to remove his own boots.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

Tex shook his head in confusion. “I have no idea what happened!”

His hat was gone, Laura realized, with a pang, and she never expected that she would miss it so badly.

Debris surrounded them: chunks of decking, engine molding, a large piece of the awning. Her purse had probably sunk like a stone, but Laura suddenly remembered Jenny’s phone, still in her shorts pocket. She’d bought one of those ridiculous waterproof cases for it, but she’d only hoped to save it from being splashed at the beach; she wasn’t sure if it was going to work for a full-body salt-water dunk.

She must have looked awkward, treading water with one arm and reaching for it with the other. A wave hit her square in the mouth while her attention was divided and she spat and sputtered.