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“Great idea!” She grabbed the lantern she’d dropped and they both dashed to the building. Once inside, Grant pulled the sliding doors closed, muffling the sounds of the storm. They stood there in the empty hallway in the dim light of her lantern. Water dripped off them and pooled on the tile floor by their feet.
“Okay, let’s try this again.” He slipped off the long, dark-green rain slicker and ran his hands through his wavy hair. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to turn on the generator.” She peeled off her own rain jacket, although she seemed to be just as wet underneath. The cool air hit her skin, and she shivered. “I knew you and Claire were out of town, and Mateo was too far away. Ellyn told me the power will be off for a while. I didn’t want anything to happen to the turtles.” Water dripped off her ponytail and she tried to position it so it ran onto her shirt instead of adding to the puddle on the floor.
“You drove through the storm to check on the turtles?” Even in the darkness, she could see something sparkle in his eyes. Respect, maybe? Or appreciation? He paused for a second as if considering something. “You, Dr. Lawrence, are a unicorn.”
A unicorn? “I’m taking that as a compliment…?” Her forehead wrinkled as she considered the phrase.
“Yes, it’s a compliment. We…” he made a sweeping motion to include all of the turtles outside the glass, “are lucky to have you.”
Heat flared in her cheeks and in order to avoid Grant seeing her blush, she looked down to brush the water off her shorts. “What about you? Why are you here?” Remembering the heart palpitations he’d caused when he’d arrived, she looked up and planted her fists on her hips. “You know you almost scared me to death.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, but I admire your ninja skills. No one’s going to mess with the turtles with you around.” One side of his mouth pulled up in an amused smirk.
Molly giggled. “I’ve got skills you don’t even know about.”
“Apparently.” He paused. “I came back for the same reason you did. I heard there might be big storms today, and I didn’t want to risk a power outage with no one here. But I guess I didn’t leave early enough.”
“It came fast.”
“Thanks for standing in the gap for us. I really appreciate it.” He stared into her eyes, and the sincerity of his words flowed through her.
“You’re welcome.” Her job here and her relationship with Grant were professional, but there was something in his statement, something in the pull between them that felt more personal. It was almost as if the air between them crackled.
Molly looked away. She didn’t want there to be any pulling or crackling. Making friends in this town was one thing, but letting herself fall for someone? That was a different game altogether. And it didn’t matter how much trust her new friends had helped her restore, she had no intention of going near that kind of relationship, no matter how strong the pull or how audible the crackle.
“Oh, goodness. Look at what a mess we’re making.” She motioned to the puddle on the floor, changing the subject.
“I’m more worried about you. You’re completely soaked.” He stroked his jaw. “You know, I think Claire usually keeps a change of clothes in her desk in case she gets dirty working with a turtle. You’re close to the same size.” He motioned for her to follow him through the dark hallway into the even darker offices.
He used the light on his phone to make his way over to Claire’s desk, where a clean and dry T-shirt and pair of shorts were neatly folded in the bottom drawer. He pulled them out and handed them to Molly.
“Dry clothes will help,” Molly said. She knew it would start getting stuffy inside without the air conditioner running, but for now she couldn’t stop shivering from the chill against her damp skin.
“I’m going to get towels from the clinic to dry the hallway.” He disappeared from the office, and Molly changed out of her wet clothes. Feeling much better, she walked out to where Grant was standing by the sliding doors. He held out a dry towel. “I thought this might help too.”
“Thanks.” She took the towel and used it to dry her hair, staring out the window as she did. “It looks like it’s finally starting to let up. Maybe I can make it home.”
Grant shook his head. “The highway has high water on it. The police were setting up barricades right past Turtle Rehab when I pulled in. It will take at least a couple of hours for it to drain off.”
“Oh.” Apparently, it was a good thing she’d come when she had, although she’d never even considered not being able to get home. “Guess I’m hanging out here for a while. Got any good board games?”
Grant’s eyebrows raised with a look of mischief. “Actually, I got a better idea.”
Molly eyed him. She knew that look. It usually ended with her at the top of a lighthouse or swimming in the middle of the Gulf. “To be clear, driving through that typhoon to turn on the generator was more than enough adventure for one day.”
Grant motioned toward the outside. “That? We call that a summer shower,” he joked.
Molly rolled her eyes, and Grant’s expression melted into a reassuring smile.
“What I have planned is much tamer. I have a cooler full of shrimp my buddy caught yesterday and a grill that’s itching to be fired up. What are your thoughts about dinner?”
“Dinner I can handle. I’m a big fan of dinner.”
Grant’s stomach rumbled as the succulent scent of shrimp and veggies brushed with his secret spicy garlic sauce wafted up from the grill. The combination of skipping lunch on the drive home and the delicious food cooking over the fire made him hungrier than he’d thought he was.
“Five minutes, and we’ll be ready to eat,” he called to Molly.
