I climbed the steps to the cottage. I had been gone two hours. Long enough to cause massive trouble. Aiden had checked into room twenty-three with his two overnight bags. He wasn’t finished trying to talk me into a drink, but I managed to side step his last offer.

I opened the door to find Cole leaning on a crutch with his head in the refrigerator.

“What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be up.” I rushed over to him, ready to coax him back to bed.

“Looking for a beer,” he reported.

“Uh-uh. No way. You are still on pain medication.” I took the unopened bottle from his hand and placed it in the fridge. “What about some tea or a water?” I pulled out the ice tea pitcher.

He groaned. I knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“What’s happening over at the office?” He nodded in the direction of the Dunes while he waited for me to pour him a glass.

“Nothing major.” I added a few extra ice cubes. “I’m working on an advertising contract for snowbirds.”

I watched as he chugged the sweet tea.

“I’m so thirsty.” He placed it on the counter.

“I’ll pour another for you.” I retrieved the pitcher for a second time and filled up the glass. “You really need to get off your leg. At least give it another day before you try standing around.” He didn’t look steady.

“So no new guests?” He eyed me over the glass.

“Why do you ask?”

“I saw someone pull in about twenty minutes ago. Couldn’t make out who it was though, and I don’t remember having any reservations on the books after the Shapleys checked out.”

“Let me help you back to bed and I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

Reluctantly, he slung his free arm around my shoulder and used his crutch to distribute his weight as he hobbled to the bedroom. I restacked his pillows and made sure he was comfortable before I launched into my awkward confession.

“Someone did check in this afternoon.”

“Ok.”

“And it was Aiden.” I winced, waiting for the explosion.

“What the hell?” He slammed the tea on the bedside table. “What is that son of a bitch doing in my motel? You checked him in?”

I sat on the opposite side of the bed, careful not to jar his leg. “I had a reason.”

“And what’s that?”

I inhaled, knowing Cole probably wouldn’t buy this argument. It made sense at the time. “I thought if he spent time there, he would fall in love with it like I did and he’d stop all this crazy talk about tearing it down.” I sighed. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Damn it, Kaitlyn. You think that’s help? He is going to sue me for full ownership. You let that vicious asshole under my roof. He’s going to be hanging around every day, digging into our business. I said it before. He’s after more than just the Dunes. Now he’ll get to see you every day.”

“Not that again.” I stood and walked to the deck door. The sun was still high, and the gleam off the water was bright. “I was trying to figure out a way to convince him the Dunes needs to be left alone. I don’t want him to tear it down, and I don’t want him to sue you. I am not interested in Aiden and that had nothing to do with my invitation.”

“He is after you, Kaitlyn. Open your damn eyes,” he growled.

I faced Cole. “Do you need anything else?”

“What?”

“Pills? Water? Extra pillows?” I planted my hands on my hips.

“No, why?”

I turned the handle on the door. “Because I’m going out for a walk on the beach. I’ll be back later.” I slammed the door behind me, intentionally loud. I wasn’t going to stand there and listen to that jealous shit another second. Aiden? Me? Cole was the one who had lost his damn mind.

* * *

I walked and walked until I wasn’t sure how long I had been gone. I liked this end of the island. The wildlife park was quiet and isolated. Only the locals knew about how great this part was.

I sat near the dunes and watched the seagulls fight over a school of minnows. Survival of the fittest, I thought. The minnows might get away if the gulls got too wrapped up in their territory war to notice their prey was swimming away.

I wasn’t sure how Cole and I were going to get through this storm we were being tossed around in. First Aiden, then the accident, then Aiden again. I buried my head in my hands. We were still supposed to be in the honeymoon phase. After Ryan had knocked Cole on his ass, I thought the hardest part about living together would be figuring out where to put our toothbrushes or arguing over who stole the most covers. I wanted the romance and the dancing in Mexico.

My skin started to turn slightly pink from the afternoon sun. I hopped up and sanded off the back of my shorts before walking toward home. Enough beach for the afternoon. I couldn’t leave Cole stranded. I had to pick Grayson up soon.

I trailed the surf, dodging the waves on my sneakers. When I reached our beach access, I turned and cut across the sun’s path. Right smack into Aiden.

“Whoa, Kaitlyn. Watch where you’re going.” He laughed as he jogged backward a few paces.

“I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I stammered. Aiden was shirtless, sweaty, and out of breath.

“No problem, sweetheart.” He shoved his shades on top of his head, making his eyes glisten. I noticed they were trailing my legs.

“Enjoy your run.” I scooted past him on a mission to reach our stairs before he pulled me into a conversation, or I saw his eyes creep up any further.

He rested a hand on the railing next to my hip. “Want to join me? I’m going to check out that end of the island.” He pointed to the open space of the park. “I still need a tour guide. Trying to get my bearings around here.”

“The beach is beautiful down there. You’ll like it.” The truth was I had no idea what kinds of things Aiden would like. So far, he hadn’t shown much interest in maintaining the integrity of Padre. Why would a natural park appeal to him?

“You sure? I promise not to run too fast. I bet you can keep up.”

I shook my head. He had placed a foot on the bottom step and was inching closer. “No, thanks. You have fun. I have to pick up Grayson from school.”

“Who’s that?” he asked.

I turned from him and took two more steps.

“Cole’s son.”

“He has a son?”

I nodded. “You have more family than you realized, Aiden.” I continued up the stairs. “Have a good run.”

“Will do,” he shouted as he continued to run.

I trudged ahead. I hoped Cole hadn’t made another rogue attempt to get out of bed. All I needed was for him to see me chatting with his shirtless uncle to stir up the tornado that was about to spin out of this storm.

I looked up. He was standing at our bedroom door, propped with a crutch. Shit.

I took the steps faster, but before I made it to the door, he was gone.

* * *

The next day I waded through more emails before checking the rooms for supplies. I had managed to drag the TV from the living room to the bedroom so Cole would have something to do while I was at work. He was on day two of bed rest and he was already completely stir crazy. He gave new meaning to cabin fever. I promised to come home to fix lunch and check on him.

After I took Grayson to school I had to get to the Dunes office.

I marked off the room keys from the lock box as I loaded them on the service cart. I still needed to clean the Shapleys’ room and make an inventory list. With Cole out of service, the room duties fell on me.

The first four looked fine. They were the ones closest to the street and the least utilized. I moved on to the next block.

By noon, I had completed one entire side of the motel and I was ready to take a break.

I pushed the cart into room twenty-four just as Aiden was coming out of room twenty-three.

“In a hurry?” he shouted from across the parking lot.

“Going home to make lunch.” I smiled as I closed the door, turning the key quickly.

He held up a piece of paper. I couldn’t make out what was on it from across the parking lot, so I walked a few steps toward him.

“I was just coming to see you. Where’s that nephew of mine? Shouldn’t he be the one working on the rooms?” Aiden stood next to his car. I wasn’t surprised he drove a convertible. Part of him seemed fast and flashy.

“Cole’s not feeling so well. I’m headed over to check on him.”

“Too bad. Tell him I said I hope he’s better real soon.” He handed me the piece of paper. “Here are the items in my room that need to be fixed.”

I stared at the list he had made.

“CFL bulbs in all fixtures? New sink faucet handles? A new toilet seat? Extra blankets?” I skimmed the rest of the list silently. This was complete bullshit and Aiden knew it.

“If you could get those things done for me, sweetheart, while I’m out, I’d appreciate it. I’ll work on the second half of my list when I get back.”

“Second half? What are you talking about? Isn’t this enough?” There was no way I could do half the things on his checklist.

“I haven’t even gotten started on the motel. The icemaker is shotty. The pool gate creaks, but why am I telling you this now? Like I said, I’ll write it all down for you.”

“How thoughtful.” I twisted my lips from saying something nasty.

Aiden chuckled before pushing the top down on his car. “It’s going to be a beautiful day. I’ll catch you later. Big investor meeting.”

I watched as he popped a piece of gum in his mouth before speeding off onto the highway.

I shook my head and folded the paper into a square, then shoved it in my back pocket. I would do what I could, but Aiden was only trying to make a statement. The Dunes was old and it showed. I huffed as I crossed over the dunes to the cottage.

Cole was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup in front of him.

“Hey.” I smiled, ignoring the checklist that was burning a hole in my back pocket. “I thought you were going to let me make lunch for you.” I crossed the empty living room, wrapped my arms around the back of his shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek.

“I didn’t know how long you would be at work,” he grumbled.

I checked the clock. It was only ten after twelve. “Ok. Can I get you something else?”

“No. I’ve got it.” He pushed the soup across the table.

“I have to make lunch anyway. I’m starving. Let me fix something else for you. A sandwich? Salad? Oh, I know. Grilled cheese.” I could definitely go for some comfort food right now.

“Damn it, Kaitlyn. I’m not Grayson.”

I spun on my heels. “Why are you giving me a hard time? I’m trying to help you.”

He sighed. “Sorry. I’m just tired of this damn thing.” He pointed to the boot on his foot that extended to his knee. “And I don’t think I’m a daytime TV person. Do you know how many shows are women talking about current events? I’m going crazy in here.”

I sat in the chair across from him. “I know this sucks, but you have your appointment in less than a week. In the scheme of things, that’s nothing. Try to relax so you can heal faster. You’re only going to make things worse if you walk before your body is ready.”

“All right. Whatever you say.” He pushed against the table to stand. “I’ll go back to my cell.”

“Cole, don’t say it like that.”

He was already on his crutches and out of the room. Damn, this was hard.