Rachel Brimble - A Stranger In The Cove

Now she’d publicly introduced him. The well-known busybodies in the Cove would be all over him.

Her triumph faltered. So, why didn’t that sentiment feel as good as it should?

She swallowed. Could it be because he hadn’t given her enough reason to be outed that way? He might enjoy tormenting her, but he’d not actually done anything to anyone—yet. What he had done was help her out of what could have been carnage, considering the number of Moon Shadows fans present.

Shame warmed her cheeks as she watched him onstage. His skillful playing easily held rhythm with the rest of the band, his furrowed brow and concentrated gaze reflecting his determination to do a good job.

What was wrong with her? Why did she keep hounding him, just because he seemed determined to keep her, Vanessa, and everyone else, at arm’s length? All she had to justify her suspicions was his refusal to share with her. She might be able to talk with teenagers who came into the center, but that didn’t make her someone people were willing to divulge their intimate and personal stories to.

She had no idea what Mac was dealing with by coming here. No idea of what it meant for him to find this person. Yet, something about him gave her reason enough to want to know. Her sense of foreboding had not abated since the night she’d met him. That had to mean something, surely?

Her mind drifted back to his questions about Marian, and Kate’s apprehension escalated. What if it was Marian he was searching for? What if he was after the woman she owed so much to...possibly her life?

Kate’s eyes burned as images of the night she’d miscarried her baby in Marian’s home reared up. Poor George, Marian’s devoted husband, had rushed to call the ambulance while Marian rocked Kate in her arms on their bathroom floor. Her hidden pregnancy had been revealed to at least two people in the most horrendous way.

Yet Marian hadn’t only respected Kate’s wishes for silence about the baby, she’d stayed by Kate’s side for two nights in the hospital and then offered her a bed in her own home until Kate felt strong enough to walk about town as though nothing had happened...her heart silently breaking.

She pulled back her shoulders and glanced in Mac’s direction.

One way or another, she’d get him to admit Marian wasn’t who he was looking for. The anger, resentment or whatever it was that made the man so damn hostile would not be directed on her beloved friend.

Turning away, she lifted her hand to Vanessa. “Can I get a glass of white wine?”

“Sure.” Vanessa frowned as she reached for a wine bottle in an ice bucket. “How you doing?”

“Good.”

Vanessa glanced toward the stage. “Are you sure about that? I know I said I’ll see what I can find out about Mac, but maybe both of us are plain out of order.”

Kate took her glass of wine. “I’ve just been thinking the same thing, but I don’t trust him. I’m overprotective of certain people, and I don’t like the idea of someone coming into town and causing them grief.”

“But is he, though?”

She put down her glass and lifted her hand, counting off her fingers. “He’s snarky. Rude. Arrogant. And, as you’ve said, practically unapproachable.”

Vanessa nodded toward the stage. “I wouldn’t exactly call him unapproachable. Would you?”

She walked away to serve some people at the bar, and Kate looked at the crowd around the stage. People were clapping, smiling and cheering as Mac played a solo bridge. She narrowed her eyes. So, people liked his music. Big deal. It was still his fault that her deepest, darkest secret had reared its ugly head now that she thought Marian was the one in Mac’s firing line.

Kate had hidden her pregnancy and miscarriage from everyone, including her family. And she’d failed to keep her baby safe. So she punished herself by staying single and keeping her tragedy to herself. If she ever became intimate enough with someone that she trusted him, she’d undoubtedly want to share her burden.

But for now, she didn’t want anyone, apart from Marian and George, knowing what happened that day.

She’d already lost friends with her snappishness and bouts of withdrawing. She didn’t want to lose anyone else. Kate blinked against the burning in her eyes...she’d desperately wanted to keep her baby.

Vanessa sidled up to the bar, her gaze shrewd. “I know what’s going on with you. I’ve figured it out.”

Kate’s stomach somersaulted, her heart thumping. “What?”

“Maybe you have a thing for him.”

Releasing her held breath, Kate laughed. “I do not.”

“No? Then I’d say he might have a thing for you.”

“Don’t even go there.” Did he? She sipped her wine as pleasure twisted inside her. “Why would you say that?”

Vanessa smiled. “Because I noticed the atmosphere between the pair of you the moment you met. Electric.”

Kate huffed a laugh, heat warming her cheeks. “We couldn’t be more different. He’s as secretive as they come...which is incredibly infuriating. Plus, I get the impression he’s used to living out of a suitcase, whereas I love having the Cove to call home.”

“So?”

“So, Mac Orman and I couldn’t be less suited.”

“So?”

Kate glared. “Will you please think of something else to say?”

“If he doesn’t want to share his business, maybe that’s his prerogative. Maybe it would be better for him and us if you find a way to get along with him while he’s here.” Vanessa turned to another customer who had come up to the bar. “What can I get you?”

Rolling her eyes, Kate turned toward the stage. What did Vanessa know? So something about Mac had gotten under her skin. The intensity in his eyes, the coldness of his attitude was exasperating, yet he’d stepped up to help her and was even smiling at the audience. A little. The guy was a contradiction, and it bugged the hell out of her; she wasn’t ready to trust him.

She’d let her guard down with Dean and look how that had ended up. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in two years. And she missed Ali so much more than she ever missed her ex.

Mac left his spot farther back on the platform and strolled up to the microphone. Kate’s melancholy about her sister vanished as her heart stumbled. Mac’s stride was confident as that soft smile played at his lips. What was he doing?

He nodded his thanks to Joe Masters and gripped the microphone with one hand, casually pushing his too-mussed, too-sexy hair from his forehead with the other. He flashed a smile. “Afternoon, ladies and gents. Joe asked if I wanted to do an acoustic version of one of my own songs as a way of introducing myself and my music. Would anyone mind?”

Kate’s heart beat a little faster. Had Joe actually offered Mac this solo time or had he asked Joe if he could sing in order to torment her again? A part of her longed to hear him sing...longed to know how bad he might be, despite today being about people getting their money’s worth. The thing was, some incompetence on his part might at least go some way to crushing her emerging attraction to the man.

The crowd whooped and clapped their approval as Kate took a generous mouthful of wine, her gaze on Mac.

As soon as he struck up the first note, Kate’s stomach knotted with a horrible, traitorous thrill.

Then he sang.

Every hair on her body rose.

She closed her eyes and let the music...let Mac...wash through her senses. She couldn’t stop her smile, and she couldn’t halt the tingling infusing her skin. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

He looked straight at her, and, even from a distance, she could see the no doubt intentional temptation in his gaze. She should’ve walked away. Instead, her feet remained rooted to the floor, her eyes on his.