Ash had a cart full of groceries, bottled water, and other items he knew Heather would need at Casa del Sol and was headed back down the Main Street toward the Bitter End when Miguel caught up with him.

“Hola, Señor Ash!”

“Hey, buddy.” He ruffled the kid’s hair out of reflex. “It’s been awhile.” Ash felt bad that he hadn’t been back in town much. And when he was back, it was usually for a pretty quick trip, without much time to find Miguel and get him to help out. He knew the kid was probably missing the extra pocket money he earned from Ash.

“Si. It’s late, señor.” Miguel pointed to the full cart.

“It is.” The sun was starting to get low in the sky and Ash still had to head to the clinic to stock up. If he got most of his supplies before retiring, he might be able to sleep in a little bit before picking up Heather’s guests. They were scheduled to come in on the early flight, but a few extra minutes of sleep were always welcomed. His plan had been to find Sara over at the clinic once he was done with the groceries, because the clinic stayed open later than the store. His procrastination had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn’t looking forward to seeing Sara again. Or…maybe it did. “I’m not going back tonight, Miguel. I’ll head out in the morning. This stuff is going to Mick’s tonight.” The kid’s eyes grew wide. “Would you take it for me?”

Of course, Miguel nodded eagerly. He’d never turn down the chance to earn a bit of money, which worked out well for Ash because if Miguel could take over the cart, he could head straight to the clinic and get it over with. Sara was going to be upset with him. He knew that. Hell, the woman had been upset with him from the moment he turned her down for a second date. Only she got a little madder every time she saw him. The situation might require a bit of finesse.

Yes. Putting it off wouldn’t help. He should just get it over with.

“Great,” he said to the kid. “You take this back for me and up to room five. Mick will let you in. Lock the door behind you and wait at the bar. Tell Mick the soda is on me.”

Miguel’s eyes lit up and he didn’t have to be asked twice. He took the cart from Ash and happily skipped down the road, eager to claim his treat.

Ash laughed and pulled the T-shirt out of his back pocket where he’d tucked it. It got a little chilly in town when the sun went down. But more than that, he should probably cover up before seeing Sara. Not that it was going to help her be any less upset with him.

It only took him a few minutes to get to the clinic. He braced himself and headed through the front door. He waved at the familiar faces behind the desk and made his way into the back with familiarity. She stood at a small desk he knew acted as a nurse’s station, filling out some type of form. She truly was an attractive woman and sweet, too. Maybe in another life they could have been good together. But she wasn’t Heather.

And that’s what it came down to. Ash hadn’t been interested in seeing any woman beyond one date. Not until Heather. It wasn’t Sara’s fault. But it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her that. In fact, instead it might be a good idea to smooth things over a little bit.

He almost chickened out completely and left. It might be easier to secure supplies in Panama City and no doubt there’d be a better selection. But at that moment, Sara turned and saw him.

Her face reacted at once with a bright smile, but it faded quickly as her lips turned down into a frown. “Ash?”

He gave her his most charming smile and walked forward with his arms out. She let him hug her and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sara, you look great. It’s been awhile.”

“Quite awhile.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You’re looking good.”

“You said that.” Sara stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. The action had the desirable effect of stretching her scrubs tight. Not that he noticed. At least not the way he would have a few months earlier. Things really had changed.

“Only because I meant it,” Ash said smoothly. He needed to stop letting her get to him and just focus on the end goal: getting supplies for Sherri. “I was hoping you could help me out again.” He fished the list of supplies Dr. Friesen had dictated to him out of his pocket. “I need a few things for Sh—for Casa del Sol.” He corrected himself quickly. It probably wasn’t a good idea to make it public knowledge that Sherri was sick. At least not yet. He wasn’t stupid. Once Dr. Friesen showed up, and the rest of the team started to arrive, Ash wouldn’t be able to keep Sherri’s illness a secret for very long. Besides that, he didn’t think he should. But it wasn’t for him to tell. Not yet.

Sara grabbed the list and scanned it quickly before she gave him a strange look. “What’s all this for, Ash?”

“Just a few things Sherri wants to have on hand.”

“On hand? She wants IV bags of saline on hand? In this quantity?” She shook her head. “I already gave her a ton of saline, never mind the narcotics she ordered from Panama City last time you were here. What are you guys doing out there? You’re not starting your own medical clinic, are you?”

He laughed and hoped it sounded more natural than it felt. “Of course not.” Time to turn on the charm. He took a step closer to her, reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes and blushed, just the way she always did. “Why would I do that when you have such a great thing going here?”

Ash felt bad flirting with Sara just to get his way, but it was for Sherri. He needed to keep remembering that. And ultimately, he wasn’t hurting anyone. Was he?

“I suppose I could get you a few things,” she said. “I mean, it’s not too much and…”

“Of course I’ll pay for them.”

“Of course.” She eyed him strangely. “And maybe we’ll get that dinner after all.”

There was no way out of it. If he said no, there was no way Sara would help him. And it would be totally innocent. It was for the greater good, after all. “Maybe not dinner,” he said. “But I’m staying in town tonight, so what if we grabbed a drink at the Bitter End?”

As far as he was concerned, it seemed like a good compromise, and it was the best he could do. As expected, Sara smiled and nodded. “Sounds good. I’m off in a few hours. I’ll meet you there?”

He flashed her another killer grin. “Looking forward to it. Now, about that list…”

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me, Mom?”

It was the third time Heather had asked her whether she wanted to make the trip into town, and although she didn’t expect the answer to be different, she was kind of hoping it would be. She’d really enjoyed their chat the night before. For the first time in as long as she could remember, maybe ever, they hadn’t fought. Not only that, they’d laughed. It would be good to continue the trend. But just as she had the last two times she’d asked, her mother shook her head firmly.

“I’m quite happy to stay here and learn some cooking techniques from Camila. Besides, I didn’t like that town the first time I saw it. What makes you think it’s improved any in the last few days?”

Heather had to laugh because she completely agreed with her mother’s assessment of Bocas Town. “Okay, you can stay here. I won’t be too long. I need to grab a few things at the store and then I’ll bring our new guests back. You make sure you’re on your best behavior when they get here, okay?”

Her mother looked affronted. “And why wouldn’t I be?”

“Just…just don’t treat me like your daughter, okay?”

That made her mother smile. “It’ll be fine. You are sure you have enough room, though, right?”

They’d already been through it and Heather went over the guest bookings, even showing her mother in order to prove that they did indeed have the room. At least for a little bit, but her mother couldn’t stay indefinitely anyway. It wouldn’t be good for either of them if she did. “Don’t worry, Mom. You’re good. At least for a week, maybe two.”

Heather grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I should get going soon. Can you be sure to grab Ash if he comes back?”

If he comes back. It sounded so strange to say it out loud. Of course he would come back. She shouldn’t even be thinking otherwise. Of course, she never would have expected him to leave without letting her know or leaving a note or anything at all except a broken message from Camila. She’d thought about calling him on the cell phone she’d recently discovered he had, but of course she had no clue what the number was. Short of walking back up to the treehouse and asking Sherri, she had no way to get it either. And she didn’t need Sherri worrying, or worse, thinking she was a crazy obsessed woman. Ash was a grown man and he didn’t report to her. Hell, they hadn’t even defined their relationship. Not that it would make a difference, but maybe it would make her feel as if she should have some right to know his comings and goings.

She was getting ahead of herself, though. She needed to focus on one thing at a time. And right now, it was getting to town by herself for the first time, picking up her guests, and making sure their vacation started on the best note possible. Which meant she couldn’t be late.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m all set.”

Her mother walked her down to the dock, where Luis waited with his boat. Her mom even untied the bow line for her once she got settled. Heather tried not to worry, or think about Ash while they drove slowly away from the dock. She had to focus on Casa del Sol. Now, more than ever, Sherri needed her to do a good job and she wasn’t going to let her down. There’d be time enough to figure things out with Ash later. Because even if he’d pulled a disappearing act, Heather couldn’t imagine her feelings doing the same.

* * *

In hindsight, having drinks with Sara was a bad idea. Not that Ash felt he had any other choice at the time. But what he was hoping would be a simple drink, maybe two, before he excused himself had turned into a round of shots, followed by another, followed by the music being turned up and the whole bar dancing all night. He hadn’t drunk so much in years. Not since he’d first come to Bocas del Toro. But it felt like a celebration that Dr. Friesen was on his way to Panama, even if no one else knew what he was celebrating, and then it just became easier to deal with Sara the more he’d had to drink.

He’d managed to avoid any dances with Sara, at least for the most part. Things got a little fuzzy at one point in the evening, but that was when Ash had the wherewithal to know it was time to retire.

He had a vague memory of stumbling up the stairs to room five before flopping onto the bed and passing out. He woke up at one point in the night to use the bathroom and chug a bottle of water before he climbed back into bed next to Heather’s sleeping form. Ash had a fleeting thought that it couldn’t be Heather sleeping next to him as he faded back into sleep, but then his eyes closed and he fell back into the deep, hard sleep of the intoxicated.

It wasn’t until the sun shone through the blinds and hit him on the face that Ash’s eyes fluttered open again. He groaned and held his head. There was a reason he didn’t drink like that anymore, and the morning after was a large part of that reason. He rolled over to stretch and stared directly at the bare back of a sleeping woman.

A woman?

Shit!

The memory of the night before when he’d woken to go to the bathroom flooded back. He’d crawled back into the small bed with Heather. At least that’s what his tired, drunken brain told him. But it wasn’t Heather. No. Of course it wasn’t. Because Heather was back at Casa del Sol.

Shit. Sara. It had to be Sara. But he wouldn’t…no. Of course not. He’d never.

He’d been pretty drunk, but not that drunk. He would never do anything like that. Not when Heather was…well, just because of Heather. He wouldn’t. But he needed to get out of there.

Ash tried to slip backward out of the bed without waking Sara, but no sooner did he have one foot on the floor then she stirred and rolled over. “Good morning, handsome.”

“Hey.” He reached down and grabbed for his shorts, slipping them on quickly. Why exactly was he naked? “Why are you…what are you…we didn’t…”

Sara sat up, only partly holding onto the sheet that wasn’t doing a very good job covering her naked breasts. “You don’t remember last night?”

“Of course I do.” He didn’t and they both knew it. “It’s just that so much happened and then…”

“You were pretty out of it.”

“Sara. Tell me nothing happened.”

Her grin was wicked. “I can tell you anything you want.”

Ash shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before trying again. “Nothing happened between us.”

“Are you telling me or asking me?”

“Dammit, Sara.” He paced across the room and grabbed a T-shirt from his pile. “You’re not helping.”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

He shot her a look. “You were very helpful with the supplies,” he said after a moment. “Thank you. Now put this on. You have to leave.”

Ash tossed the T-shirt at her but she let it fall on her lap. She crossed her arms and the sheet slipped farther. “I don’t think this is a very nice way to treat me after I—”

“After you helped me? Yes. That was great. Thank you. But nothing happened between us. Right?”

She didn’t answer right away and the frenzy within him started to build. He would not betray Heather. He wouldn’t. It didn’t matter that they weren’t official. As far as Ash was concerned, they were and he was not going to destroy that. Not with Sara. Not with anyone.

“Right?” he asked again.

This time she nodded. “Right.” Sara grabbed the shirt and pulled it over her head. “Why are you so worked up about it? I honestly didn’t expect that this was how the morning would go. Not at all.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stuck her bottom lip out. “You don’t have to play so hard to get, you know?”

“I’m not playing. I’m kind of seeing someone.”

“You’re seeing someone?” Sara stepped from the bed and stretched her arms overhead, causing the shirt to slide up dangerously short. Ash looked away, not even tempted. “That’s fresh.”

He shook his head; he didn’t have time to engage in this. Although he did feel bad if she’d somehow gotten the wrong idea, he couldn’t spend his entire morning trying to make her understand that it was all a misunderstanding. He had to pick up the new guests and get the boat loaded and get back. To Heather.