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After she’d eaten every morsel of food on the tray and drank her coffee, she took a quick shower, donned her favorite white summer dress, then went to the kitchen and cut up the ingredients for the charcuterie board. Boards, plural, since she’d be making up two, given the number of passengers.
Once they were all in various containers which made transporting them easier, Wyatt took the cooler bag she’d neatly packed them in and they hopped into the truck. Beth sat in the middle so Freya could hang her head out the window, even though it was a very short ride to the boat dock.
They got on the boat and Beth prepared everything while Wyatt did a last-minute check to make sure everything was in order. It was yet another thing she loved about him; he was vigilant about making sure he was prepared for all eventualities, which meant he had enough life jackets for every single person on his boat, as well as a large first aid kit and flare guns. She knew he could easily swim to shore, but that didn’t mean all the passengers could.
The large group of people were at the dock right on time, and they appeared to listen intently as Wyatt welcomed them and gave them a brief lesson in safety. Beth also greeted them warmly as they climbed aboard, and once everyone was settled with a drink in hand, he cast off the dock and the boat set sail.
Two hours later, all the drinks were gone and the charcuterie boards had been devoured. The passengers alighted at the dock and fell over themselves to let Wyatt and Beth know how much they’d enjoyed their cruise around the lake. Quite a few of them took the time to pat Freya goodbye after getting the go ahead from Wyatt, and once they were all gone, Beth and Wyatt climbed back aboard to clear the trash and tidy up.
She stifled a yawn as she got into the truck. “How about we head home for a nap?” Wyatt’s suggestion had her nodding before she even knew what she was doing.
“That sounds like an excellent idea. Maybe afterward we can take Freya for a long walk?”
“We can do that. It’ll be much cooler too.”
The weather was already warming up in a big way now that summer was in full swing, so walks—or runs, in Wyatt’s case—were limited to early morning or late afternoon/early evening. But for now, they went home and unpacked everything. Wyatt turned the air-conditioning on in their bedroom, and after Freya settled down in her bed, they climbed into theirs for a nap.
Beth prayed this sleep would be nightmare-free.
It was, but little did she know the real-life nightmare was just about to begin.
ChapterEighteen
Beth looked up from her computer screen when the office phone rang. She picked it up, assuming that of course the call was for Wyatt, but it turned out to be Julian, the mechanic who’d been working on her car for the last four weeks, and he was calling for her.
He wanted to let her know he’d finally gotten the last part he’d needed to repair her car and it was now roadworthy. She asked him how much she owed him for the parts and labor, and the amount he quoted her was far less than she’d anticipated, which was a relief.
She could now leave Silverbell Shore if she wanted to….but she didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay. Stay with Wyatt, the man she’d fallen in love with. Whose bed she’d shared for the past couple of weeks. She wanted to stay in the North Carolina resort town she’d grown to love, a place that had brought her immeasurable peace for the first time in a very long time.
Beth thanked him and hung up, lost in thought.
“Everything okay, honey? Who was that on the phone?”
Wyatt’s voice brought her out of her daze and she looked over at the man she’d fallen for. He was sitting at his desk, directly opposite hers. The concern in his eyes was obvious, and it was enough to have her pushing out of her seat and crossing the room to sit on his lap.
She kissed him softly, slowly. “It was Julian. He wanted to let me know my car is finally fixed. I’m free to leave whenever I’m ready.”
She didn’t miss the way he stiffened in his chair. “You’re going to leave?”
Was she? Was she really going to walk away from a man who’d turned her world upside down? Made her feel loved and cherished and desired? A twist of fate had seen her break down on the side of the road near Silverbell Shore, a town she hadn’t been planning on stopping in, but now she had Wyatt in her life she didn’t want to leave.
Didn’t want to let him go.
Didn’t want to walk away from him because he made her feel alive.
Beth tightened her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. She knew she should lie, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. “I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t.” Wyatt kissed her neck, her jaw. “Stay with me.”
She felt safe, sitting there in his embrace, his arms tightly around her. Safe enough to voice her deepest fear. “What if he finds me, Wyatt? What if he tries to hurt you or Freya?”
He smiled. “Freya would bite his nuts off.”
A laugh bubbled up inside her and escaped before she could stop it. A visual of Miles on the ground, rolling around and clutching his crotch, popped into her head unbidden. “I bet she would.”
“I can protect you, Beth. He’s never going to hurt you again. I promise.”
Beth gazed into his hopeful eyes. She knew he was taking his vow seriously and would do whatever he had to in order to keep her safe…but at what cost? Time away from Miles had allowed her to see him for the cruel, manipulative, selfish bastard he truly was. He’d thought of Beth as a possession, something he owned, and he didn’t like his possessions being taken away from him.
