Page 37 of Diving In

I immediately felt specks of rain peppering my face as I bolted down the stairs. Just as I was approaching the boathouse, I saw one of the double doors was wide open and the other was just barely cracked.

Peeking around the corner, I saw the reflection of someone inside. I snatched my body back, hiding behind the side of the house as my heart rate picked up and I tried to form a plan.

This wasn’t my boathouse, so I didn’t have any say in who was allowed in it. But… is this person supposed to be in here, or am I catching someone breaking and entering? My thoughts spiraled as I worked through my next move.

I was sure I could handle it on my own—you know, as long as they didn’t have a gun—but my gut was telling me this was a situation where I should ask for help. So, I guess I was calling the one person on this island whose number I had.

I took a few deep breaths and ran back to the house to grab my phone. Staring at the screen, I hesitated, but when I heard another loud crash,my decision was rapidly solidified.

I dialed his number and kept my eyes glued to the front doors of the boathouse, not wanting to miss getting a look at the culprit if they tried to make a run for it.

“Miss me already—”

“Cal, there’s someone in the boathouse,” I interrupted him, my voice quivering.

“What the fuck do you mean there’s someone in the boathouse?” His voice was raised, having shifted from flirty and mischievous to protective and worried within seconds.

“What do you mean,what do I mean? There is a human being in the boathouse rummaging through all of Jack’s shit. I don’t think I can get any clearer than that!” I intensely whispered, confused as to what he wasn’t understanding. I could feel my anxiety getting stronger, slowly taking over as the air around me was disappearing.

“Georgia, promise me you won’t go down there. Stay in the house and lock the doors. I’m headed your way right now. I’ll call Sheriff Donovan on my way over.” He hung up the phone, but not before I could hear his keys jangling in the background.

Despite my current dilemma, there was something about how Cal sounded on the phone… The worry that washed over him when he thought I was in danger, the feeling that buzzed through my entire body when I heard the urgency in his voice, and the thrill that flooded my mind when I thought about how clear it was that Iwantedhim to protect me.

I tip-toed to the front door, taking a seat on the floor until Cal arrived.

“G! Open the door! G!” Cal murmured at the front door exactly four minutes later.

I flung the door open. “Hey, I’m right here.”

He grabbed me and crushed me to his chest in one swift movement, squeezing me and making sure I was still in one piece.

Looking down, I spotted a wooden bat in Cal’s left hand.

“What are you going to do with that?” I snickered, relief flooding me simply because he was standing next to me.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was trying to break in. Jack was a well-known person on this island, and everyone has heard the news about his death by now. I’m going to go check it out. Stay up here, I mean it. I’ll be back,” he said firmly.

Along with the sternness in his voice came a hint of dominance, and I couldn’t help but find it so damn attractive. Being so independent, I’d never been the submissive type, but to see this man being protective of me was really doing a number on my insides, particularly the growing desire in the depths of my belly and below.

Following his instructions, I waited in the rain at the top of the steps, keeping a close eye on him as best I could while staying hidden.

Just in case.

Cal creeped down the stairs while gripping the bat with both hands. He reached the bottom of the steps and disappeared as he turned the corner around the front of the boathouse. I waited for some sort of confrontation, loud noises, maybe some shouting, but there was nothing. Not a single sound. It didn’t help that the rain was coming down so hard it ricocheted off everything and echoed back ten times louder.

After a couple minutes, I was getting nervous. I had planned on listening to Cal’s instructions that I stay at the top of the stairs, but then my anxiety took over and worse-case scenarios began to dominate my thoughts. So, I inched down the steps, and when I looked inside the boathouse, all I could see was Cal.

Puzzled, I got his attention. “Cal?”

He spun around, evidently startled, and his eyes gave me an ominous glare. “Georgia, I told you to stay in the house.” His voice was firm and held an anger that I’d never heard from him.

“I didn’t hear a sound or see any movement for like five minutes. Dare I say that I was worried about you?” I said. “I thought maybe you’d been murdered down here. I was freaking the fuck out.”

Finally allowing myself to be relieved at the fact that he was unharmed, I heaved a deep breath, releasing some of the built-up anxiety.

He paused, almost as if he had to figure out what to say next, which was completely unlike him.

Finally, he said, “You were right. It was just a beach bum. Some old dude that was hoping to stay nice and dry during this gnarly storm.”

---