Copper Beach

16

AFTER A WHILE SHE REALIZED THAT THE HUMILIATING BOUT of visible weakness was finally over. She stopped crying. The temptation to stay where she was, wrapped warm and tight in Sam’s arms, was almost overwhelming. It took everything she had to push herself away from him.

“This is so embarrassing,” she said. She stepped back and managed a shaky, rueful smile. “Sorry about the drama. Sorry about your shirt, too.”

He glanced down at the damp spot. “It’ll dry.”

“I’m okay now. Just lost it there for a while.” She grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately, and now there’s the blackmail thing and that stupid lab notebook and Dawson facing bankruptcy and…and last night.”

“I thought last night went well,” he said neutrally. “It certainly did for me.”

“I didn’t mean that. Not exactly.” Utterly mortified now, she tossed the tissue into the little wastebasket and rushed past him toward the bathroom. “Never mind. Give me a few minutes to wash my face.”

“Sure,” he said.

She fled into the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the cold water. She winced when she saw her tear-swollen face in the mirror. She was not one of those women who cried in an attractive way. But, then, it wasn’t as if she’d had a lot of experience. She rarely cried these days, and when she did, she made certain that she was always alone.

It was the stress. She’d been under a lot of it lately. She had to get a grip.

She leaned over the sink and splashed the cold water on her face for a couple of minutes, then turned off the faucet and grabbed a towel. When her face was dry, she took another critical look at the wan features of the woman in the mirror. Show no weakness. She reached for a lipstick and a compact.

A short time later, feeling back in control, she went into the front room. Sam was standing at the window, looking out over the rain-dampened city. He turned around when he sensed her approach.

“You can’t stay here,” he said. “Not now.”

She stopped in the middle of the room. “What?”

“There are too many people after that book, and a lot of them have decided you can get it for them. I’m going to take you to a different location, one that is more secure. You’ll be safe there, while I look for the blackmailer.”

“What on earth are you talking about? I can’t just disappear.”

He smiled. “Sure you can. You’ll see.”

“What are you proposing to do with me? Stash me in a hotel room under a different name?”

“No. I’m going to take you to the Copper Beach house. I’ve got good security there. In addition, strangers stand out like sore thumbs on the island. It’s hard to get ashore without being noticed.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Horrified, she held up both hands, palms out, and waved him to silence. “Thanks but no thanks. I appreciate the thought, but that is not going to work.”

“Why not?”

She lowered her hands. “You said it yourself a few minutes ago. We’re a team. We’re going to have to work this thing together. You don’t stand much of a chance of finding that lab book, let alone breaking the code, without my help. And I need you to track down the blackmailer. Let’s face it. Finding out that my stepbrother is under a lot of pressure to come up with that book really put the icing on the cake, didn’t it? I’m in this thing up to my neck now, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it except see it through.”

He looked at her for a long time.

“Do you always get to the bottom line this fast?” he asked finally.

“Believe me, if there were viable options, I’d be running for the exit by now. You need me, Sam Coppersmith. And I need you.”

He raised his brows. “Like I said, we’re stuck together.”

She smiled. “Well, we do have Newton.”

Sam looked at Newton. “Good point.”

Bored, Newton trotted into the kitchen and began to slurp water out of his bowl.

Abby walked across the room to stand directly in front of Sam. “But I can’t think of anyone else I would rather be stuck with in this situation.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Absolutely certain,” she said.

“Okay,” he said. He stroked her cheek with the back of the finger on which he wore the fire-red crystal. “I agree we’re in this together. But I’m not changing my plans. We’re going to Copper Beach.”

“Why?”

“We need a secure base of operations. Copper Beach is built like a fortress. Most of your work is done online, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“Looks like a lot of my work will be done that way, too.”

“You’re going to try to find Dawson’s major investor, aren’t you?”

“It’s a solid lead. Worth pursuing.”

“I can’t just walk away from my life here in Seattle. Among other things, I need to put in an appearance at my father’s book-launch event. That’s on Friday night. He’s giving a talk and signing Families by Choice. There will be media. Dad has made it clear that it’s very important that the whole family show up.”

“You’re not going into exile. You’re just going to Copper Beach. We can get back here for the book-signing event.”

She looked around, searching for other excuses not to leave her new home.

“All of my stuff is here,” she whispered. Okay, that sounded excessively juvenile. She squared her shoulders. “But you’re right. No reason I can’t leave for a while. Like going on vacation, right?”

He smiled. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“Newton will enjoy the country. He loves to visit Thaddeus because he can run around in the woods.” She turned toward the bedroom. “I’ll go pack.”

She was in the process of folding her nightgown, the lacy new one that she had bought on impulse and had been saving for some special occasion that had never seemed to come, when she heard the chimes that told her she had new email.

She put the nightgown into the small suitcase and picked up her phone. She recognized the code instantly. For no good reason, a chill of apprehension iced her senses.

“Thaddeus,” she said softly.

She opened the email and read the brief, cryptic note. She hurried out into the living room. “We need to see Thaddeus right away. He says he wants to talk to both of us in person. Something about an auction for the lab book.”

Sam tossed his two soy sausages to Newton and dumped the dishes in the sink.

“Let’s go,” he said.