The Bad Boy Of Butterfly Harbor

If only the weather was the reason for the sad empty streets and vacant storefronts. Any tourist passing through town would think Butterfly Harbor had been abandoned. Much like the way Catalina Island shut down in midafternoon, the sidewalks were vacant and the stores were dark. As Holly passed, signs were turned to Closed with a slow-motion attitude that spoke of “why bother?” Things had to get better.

They would. Things just needed a little nudge in the right direction.

The wind picked up and whipped her ponytailed hair around her face. She braced herself for being soaked to the skin before she got anywhere near her father’s front yard.

She increased her pace, hoofing it down Monarch Lane all the way to the abandoned community center that hadn’t seen any activity in years. By the time she crossed the road and headed up the hill, the rain was coming down in plumes, preventing her from hearing anything but the cacophonous drops hitting the cement like tiny jackhammers. The lightning and thunder added their mocking two cents and pounded in her ears.

“Holly!”

Luke’s voice exploded beside her and she yelped. She jumped back and avoided toppling into Mrs. Clancy’s prized flower bed. “What?” She pressed a hand against her hammering heart. “Luke, what the—”

“Get in the truck!” Lightning split the air as the sky thundered.

“Woof!” The sparkling-clean retriever shoved his head between Luke’s arms on the steering wheel.

“I’m not going far.” She regained her footing and started up the hill again, but her father’s house felt miles away. “I’m fine.”

Rain pinged off the roof of his cab as he kept pace beside her. She gnashed her teeth. The last thing she needed was Luke Saxon coming to her rescue. What karmic wrong had she committed—

“You’re headed to your dad’s, right?” Luke called.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She sped up and crossed the street. How did he know where she was going?

“For the love of—” Luke slammed on the brakes, shoved open the creaky door and got out. A lightning bolt blasted down and struck the oak twenty feet in front of her. “Holly!” The crack and thud of the huge branch had her falling solidly into Luke. His hands gripped her arms, hauling her away from the crackle and pop of power lines as the branch thudded on to the road and settled against the wind. The smell of ozone singed her nose and she choked. “Now will you get in the—”

“Yeah.” She shuddered, her brain going fuzzy as electricity zinged around her. Another couple of seconds and she could have been under that branch. She shrugged off his hold despite the comfort his hands provided. “You win.”

She scrambled around him and pulled open the passenger door, flinging herself inside as a deluge struck and obscured the street from view. Luke’s dog chuffed and blinked at her. Holly’s mouth twisted. Obviously the dog was the smartest of them, never having ventured out of the safety of the vehicle.

Luke slid into the driver’s seat, sending her a look she might have withered under had she been a violet under the too-hot sun. “I see you haven’t lost your stubborn streak.”

She ignored the backhanded compliment. “He cleaned up nicely.” Holly shoved her sopping hair out of her eyes and leaned into the dog that had apparently undergone a self-confidence transplant. He nuzzled her shoulder. The hot, stifling air that circled the cab made it feel as if she’d stepped into a sauna. “I take it he’s yours now?”

“So it would seem. Buckle up.” He jerked his chin toward the seat belt as he put the car into Reverse before heading back toward Monarch Lane.

As if her town wasn’t bleak enough, the storm was going to give them a right walloping. The waves began crashing up against the town wall, sending mist and spray over the road ahead of them.

“What’s his name?” Holly hated the silence pulsing between them.

“He hasn’t told me yet,” Luke said with something akin to a smile on his tight lips. “Doc Collins asked the same thing for his new file, but...” He shrugged and clutched the steering wheel tighter as a gust of wind battered the truck. “Would have been nice to have some warning about this storm.”

Huh. Holly settled in her seat, trying to distract herself with petting no-name fur face, but it wasn’t any use. “I talked to my father. About you and the job.”

“Yeah?” He waited for a decrepit 70s throwback van to pass before he turned left on Wasp Tail Road.

“He told me he recommended you.”

“He did. Does it matter?”

Holly pressed her lips into a hard, thin line. “He’s still out of a job. Doesn’t matter who they replaced him with.”

“I’m just icing on the cake, then.” He shifted gears and the truck strained against his order. “I didn’t accept this offer lightly, Holly. I’m well aware of what I left behind and the mistakes I made. Believe me, I didn’t expect anyone to throw a parade when I drove into town. Especially you.”

Holly stared out her window. Until Luke had walked into the diner the other day, she hadn’t realized how much resentment she was still clinging to. She wasn’t ashamed of her feelings—because of Luke she’d nearly lost her father. From her perspective, Luke hadn’t had to witness the aftermath of the accident. He didn’t have to watch Jake suffer through physical therapy, months in the hospital and pain that had followed him every day since. Or watch as her mother got in her car and drove away. “We all make mistakes, Luke.”

“I guess some of us aren’t allowed to learn from them.”

She whipped around to stare at him. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Luke took his eyes off the road and met her gaze. “There’s nothing I can do to change the past, but what happened with your father changed my life.” It was then she saw the mixture of grief and pain in his cool blue eyes. “I need this job, Holly. I hope you can understand that.”

Holly remained silent, mostly because her father had pretty much said the same thing to her. But while Jake Gordon had faith in people’s abilities to change, she knew better. The Luke Saxon she knew was a drinker. Just like Gray. The Luke she remembered was irresponsible, dangerous and unpredictable. Just like Gray. She’d gone down that road before, and she wasn’t one to repeat history, even with a distant acquaintance.

If Holly had her way, there was no reason to have much interaction with Luke from now on. Staying out of rainstorms would be a good start. Staying out of his too-close-for-comfort truck wasn’t a bad idea, either. She could smell the hint of his aftershave. Warm, spicy. Intoxicating.

“Dad’s always been more generous on the forgiveness front than me,” she said to distract—and remind—herself.

“Yeah, well. Then we have something in common after all.” He made a left on Milk Thistle Way as the rain settled into a gentle patter against the windshield. “I’ve never asked for nor expected your forgiveness. How can I when I can’t forgive myself? But at least with me as sheriff, I’ll do my best to respect what Jake’s done during his tenure.” He slammed the gearshift forward and she caught the flinch on his face as if the past were no less painful for him.

They rumbled along the road in silence until he turned and stopped behind Jake’s ancient jeep. Holly stared out at the single-story stone house she’d grown up in. The house that had given her the stability of a loving father and the pain of a mother who had abandoned them. There were times, even as an adult, she couldn’t wait to step foot inside and find herself instantly at home and safe. Not everyone had such stability. She glanced over at Luke and felt a pang of sympathy she wasn’t ready to embrace.

Luke hadn’t had anything close to stable and yet here he sat, with a rescue dog sitting between them as solid and immovable as the past.

“Thank you for the ride.” She hugged her purse against her chest as she shoved open the door. “It was a very sheriff thing to do.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Take care, Holly.”

“Yeah, you, too.” She bit her lip, knowing she should say more. Luke Saxon wasn’t evil. He wasn’t even horrible. He was a man who had made mistakes at an age when stupidity was as commonplace as pimples and overused hair products. She slid out of the cab and gave the dog a final pat. “I’m glad he found you.”

“I found him,” Luke said.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” She closed the door and headed inside, where her father and son—her family—was waiting for her.

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