Page 43 of Here With You

He packed up his first aid kit and stood. “I’ve known Emmaline all my life, and she would have never put you in harm’s way.”She might use you as a lesson for me, however.

“Did you see how she moved out of the way?”

Mr. Blackthorne shook his head. “She did warn us, but you insisted.”

“I can assure you,” Miles said. “This resort has been in her family since the beginning, and she’d never do anything to jeopardize its reputation.”

“There should be signs about the menacing birds.”

The girls giggled, and one said, “You screamed like a little girl.”

Diane held her bandaged finger in the air. “One nearly amputated my finger.”

Mr. Blackthorne took a bite of a pastry. “She warned us.”

Emmaline walked out with a tray of orange juice and a pot of coffee. “Your order is in, and I’ve brought your juice and some of Tilly’s famous chicory coffee. I do apologize for the birds. Wildlife can be unpredictable.”

“Thankfully, you have a paramedic on staff,” Diane said. “That’s a smart addition and something you don’t find at most hotels.”

Emmaline moved next to him. “Miles is quite the find. He’s a cowboy by design but a healer at heart.”

“Are you married, Miles?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Dating?”

“I’ve got my heart set on someone, but they are as unpredictable as a seagull.”

Mrs. Blackthorne laughed. “Let’s hope that’s where the similarity ends. I’d hate to see you get pecked to death.”

“No one is pecking him to death.” Emmaline grabbed his first aid kit. “We’ve got other things to tend to. Say goodbye, and let’s go.”

As they turned to leave, Mrs. Blackthorne said, “Harold, I think she’s his seagull.”

When they were out of earshot, Emmaline turned to face him. “Seagull? Really?”

“What? Seagulls are great. They’re tenacious and spirited and get what they go after. I’d say you’re exactly like a seagull.”

“You were flirting with that woman.”

“I was not. I was tending to her wound.”

She marched toward the boathouse. “It was a scratch. Did she need all that hand caressing and holding?” She opened the door and walked inside. To the right was a closet that held cleaning supplies. After setting his kit down, she picked up a bucket and filled it with soap and water.

“If she didn’t, then she enjoyed the attention, which will go a long way in ensuring she doesn’t leave a bad review. In the end, that’s all you care about, right? You don’t want your precious resort looking bad?” He picked up his kit and walked to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve got to put this away and check on Darryl. It’s never a good idea to leave a combatant alone. For all I know, he’ll find a way to compromise the boathouse, so the next wind takes it down.”

“You don’t need Daryl for that. It was already near collapse when Carter started working on it.” She hefted the bucket of soapy water from the sink. “You’re coming back, right?”

He was torn. He’s seen a side of Emmaline he wasn’t familiar with. A couple of sides. There was the jealous side when she had nothing to be jealous of. Then there was the side of her that wanted to prove a point. Diane was right. She could have refused to serve the meal on the beach, which might have made the Blackthornes unhappy, but it would have avoided the melee that ensued and an injury that could have been much worse. When he first arrived, she’d asked him what qualified him to run a resort, and she was proving that he wasn’t qualified at all. Maybe, in the end, he wasn’t mad at her. Perhaps he was angry at himself, but he’d need some time alone to think about it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“But you promised to help me.”

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