The Seacroft: a love story (Paines Creek Beach Book 2) Read online

  “I can’t get up. I need the bathroom, but I can’t get up.”

  “It’s okay. Let me help you.”

  Her mother’s legs had been weak for years, but now her balance was even shakier, so she spent most of her time in a wheelchair or bed. Whether it was safer for her mom, or easier on the staff, Vivian never really knew. But now the poor thing was trapped, wedged between the tub and toilet.

  She held out her arms for her mother and lifted her to her feet, letting her sit for a minute on the toilet to do her business and get her bearings back. “Better?”

  The frail woman nodded. “Yes. Thank you, dear.”

  “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  The building groaned and shuddered. Vivian felt icy tentacles squeeze her heart. “Oh, no. Come on!”

  The building seemed to sway sideways, almost knocking them off their feet. Viv leaned against the wall, supporting her mother. “No, no, no! This is not good.”

  It would take long minutes to get her mother up the attic stairs again, and she doubted if she had that much time left. The building shifted again.

  She glanced toward the window at the end of the hall. “We’re going out this way. There’s a balcony there, right?”

  Her mother looked confused. “Um. I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

  “Let’s try it.”

  She took Mirella’s hand and slogged through the now knee-deep water. Helicopters buzzed overhead. Each time she heard one fly away from the roof, she felt a sigh of relief for those being rescued.

  She unlatched the French doors. Yes. There was a wraparound balcony, and it was still intact. Flooded with about eighteen inches of water, it was submerged, but the railing felt sturdy. She led her mother outside.

  One helicopter came near, its blades making a welcome racket. She nearly collapsed with relief. A man in the opened door signaled to her that he would lower a basket, and she nodded in understanding.

  The building shook and quivered again, but in minutes an emergency worker descended with a basket, clipping a harness around the wildly protesting Mirella. “No worries, ma’am. I’m here to help you to safety.”

  Mirella cowered away from him. “I’m afraid! What if you drop me?”

  “We won’t drop you. I promise.”

  Viv touched her arm and tried to get her attention. “Mirella. Listen. It’s an emergency. You need to go with this man or you’ll be in danger.”

  “No!” Her mother pulled away again.

  Viv felt all strength leave her body. She tried to appeal to her mother as a daughter. Maybe she’d listen. “Mom, please.”

  Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Mirella gave in and allowed the man to lead her into the basket.

  He turned to Vivian. “I’ll come back for you, Miss.”

  Vivian gave a feeble smile. “Thank you.”

  The water rose yet again. Or was the building sinking? Now up to her waist in water, she began to panic in earnest. What the hell was happening?

  

  Cody approached the building just in time to see an elderly woman lifted off from a nearly half-submerged balcony into a helicopter. The chopper hovered over the roof then veered away. He prayed Vivian was inside. Seconds later his heart froze. There, on the balcony, Vivian stood in three feet of water. He veered straight for her.

  “Viv!” he called. “I’m coming.”

  She glanced up, recognized him, and started to wave.

  Then she disappeared.

  The entire building sank beneath the surface, causing a huge tidal wave that rocked him backwards and nearly capsized the boat. When it settled enough for him to let go of the gunwales, with his heart in his throat, he twisted the throttle to max and drove the craft toward where he’d last seen Vivian plunge into the water.

  He stopped over what he hoped was the center of the disturbance, calling for her. “Vivian!”

  A body popped out of the water, floating face down.

  Vivian.

  Cody dove in and grabbed her, raising her head from the seawater. To his relief, she started to cough and struggle, but he held her tight and towed her back to the boat.

  With strength he didn’t know he had, he flipped her up over the starboard side back near the stern. She landed in a heap, collapsing onto one of the wooden bench seats, racked with heavy coughing.

  He clambered over the stern. “Oh my God, Vivian. Are you okay?”

  Chapter 33

  Vivian doubled over and coughed up more seawater. She gulped for air, dragging in the sweet oxygen as if she’d been submerged for years. It had been probably less than a minute, but the horror of being dragged down in the wake of that crumbling building had just about stopped her heart.

  “Viv? Are you okay?”

  She glanced up and saw Cody’s concerned eyes. “Cody.” A surge of anger passed through her, and then it drained away. “How’d you get here?”

  He put his arms around her and helped her up onto the seat. “I stole a boat.” He threw his bad-boy grin at her, then went serious again. “My God, when I saw my truck out there in the water, I thought you were dead. Scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry about the truck.” She let herself collapse against him, still coughing.

  “It’s just a truck, Viv. I don’t care about that. I care about you.”

  She glanced up at him in surprise. He cares about me? “I had to get here. My mother—”

  “I know, you were nuts to try it. But it looks like you saved your mother’s life.”

  “I guess.”

  “I saw them lifting a woman up into the ‘copter. Was that her?”

  “Yes. She was petrified. She didn’t want to go.”

  “It must’ve scared her to death. Fortunately, I think they got the rest of the folks off the roof just before the whole place went down. I saw the last copter head out just before you disappeared.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Viv?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She avoided his eyes and went quiet.

  “I mean, I’m sorry about what you saw.”

  She sighed and sat up. “I still can’t believe you did that with her. My God, Cody.”

  “I know.” He gave her a sheepish glance. “I’m a jerk.”

  She pulled herself together now, sliding a bit away from him. “Yes. You are. An absolute, complete, unthinking jerk.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I caved with Uvi. She woke me up with her lips on my… Oh, never mind the details. She’s just very persuasive. It’s like, what she wants, she gets. And she can’t even imagine not getting it. Do you know what I mean?”

  “No, I don’t. I’ve never had her try to seduce me.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “She did invite you to the party when you peeked in the doorway.”

  “Ugh!” She shoved him. “This doesn’t really get you off the hook, you know. You’re a creep. A sex-driven, horrible man who… who… Argh! I can’t even think of things bad enough to call you.”

  “How’s this? I’m a shallow bastard who beds his boss, but is in love with another woman.”

  “What?” Confusion filled her. Who was he in love with? Was there another woman on the side she hadn’t met yet?

  “Never mind. We can talk about it later. Right now, we’ve gotta get out of this water.”

  

  In the eerie landscape of flooded fields and woods, Cody maneuvered the little boat around several floating cars and beach umbrellas in the sunshine that sparkled unnervingly on calm water.

  Vivian wondered how long it would take for the water to subside, and shivered at the thought of what horrors would be found in the wake of the storm. What about the poor animals who lived in the woods? Had they found safety? And how far inland did the flooding go? She couldn’t see the end of the new lake that was surrounded by the trees. Had it reached the village?

  Cody seemed to know where he was going. He found
a stream that wound through the woods and followed it until it led them to Blueberry Hill. The sign at the bottom of the hill had disappeared beneath the floodwaters. When their boat bumped into the gravel driveway, Vivian realized they were probably halfway up the hill.

  Dear God. That’s a lot of water.

  “Do you think the water’s done rising?” she asked.

  “I sure hope so.” He helped her out of the boat, tying it to a nearby pine tree. “Come on. Let’s get you into something dry.”

  “Okay.” She allowed him to lead her like a child, meekly following him up the hill. Sure. She still hated him. But hell, she was tired. Oh so tired.

  When they reached the front door, it flew open. Finn grabbed them both in a fierce embrace. “Thank God,” was all he could manage.

  “We’re okay, Uncle Finn.” Cody said. “Vivian’s been through the wringer, though. She needs some dry clothes and a bed.”

  Finn shot her a grim smile. “Of course. Come on in.”

  Libby appeared with a cell phone clamped to her ear and an expression of horror on her face. She nodded to them, but turned her back and shot questions at the person on the other end of the phone. “When? What?” She listened, then covered the phone for a second and hurriedly explained. “It’s Fritzi.”

  Cody whispered in Viv’s ear. “That’s Libby’s father’s housekeeper. She’s been at The Seacrest for years.”

  Libby listened intently, suddenly turning white. “Another one?” She slumped to a chair, then beckoned Finn to her side, whispering fiercely. “Dad’s having another heart attack.”

  Cody touched Finn’s arm. “I’ve got a boat. It’s tied up down the hill.”

  Finn nodded. “Can you watch the girls? They’re upstairs playing. I’ve got the generator working so you’ll have water and power, but try to make it last. We don’t have extra gas to run it.”

  Cody nodded. “Of course. Go. We’ve got it covered.”

  Finn urged Libby toward the door. “We’ll try to call you once we get there. But Libby says the service has been cutting in and out, so it might not work.”

  “Don’t worry about us. If the phones are out, just do what you have to do. But be careful,” Cody said. “There are all sorts of things floating in that water. Cars. Coffins. You name it.”

  Viv shot him a sharp glance. She hadn’t seen the coffins.

  Libby still clutched the phone to her ear, crying silent tears while she continued to talk to Fritzi. With a sad smile, Finn said goodbye and guided her out the door and down the hill to the tethered boat.

  Chapter 34

  Three little heads appeared at the top of the stairs. “Where’s Mommy going?” one voice squeaked.

  Cody trotted up the stairs toward them. “Hey, girls. I’m gonna take care of you for a little while. You remember Vivian, right?” He crouched beside them, beckoning her upstairs.

  “Hi, ladies.” Vivian met the giggling girls on the landing.

  “Can you three help us out? We need some dry clothes. Vivian and I got a little wet,” Cody said. “We went swimming with our clothes on.”

  Ramona tugged at Viv’s hand. “In here,” she said.

  Olivia ran ahead, screeching, “We have a huw-wi-cane.”

  Sylvia hung back, but when Cody knelt to cuddle her she jumped into his arms.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Cody said.

  Ramona pointed to her mother’s bureau. “Clothes in der.”

  Vivian smiled. “Thank you, honey. Let’s see if I can find something to borrow, okay?” She rummaged through the drawers and found a pair of jean shorts and an oversized white tee shirt that might have once belonged to Finn. “These will work.” She peeled out of her soaking wet pajamas and bathrobe, changed into them without underwear, and then hung her dripping clothes in the bathtub.

  They reconvened in the hallway after both had changed. The three girls jabbered and jumped up and down.

  “Can we play now?” Sylvia asked.

  Vivian tried not to stare at Cody while they all played with “Frozen” dolls, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and Kristoff, acting out scenes that thrilled the children and kept them giggling and bouncing on the couch. The girls argued over who would play with which doll, finally agreeing that they could switch to their favorites after fifteen minutes of play.

  He looked so handsome, so sweet. And he was so good with the girls. In spite of the fact that he’d given in to Uvi’s temptation, she thought that deep down inside he was a decent person.

  But she kept wondering about his statements. I care about you, he’d said. I’m in love with another woman.

  She caught him glancing at her, too. And as much as she wanted to pummel the hell out of him for what he did with Uvi, she began to wonder again about the possibilities of a relationship with him.

  Uvi really had wrapped her tentacles around him. Not to mention her lips. Viv heaved a sigh. She’d never done that to a man. She’d barely graduated from virgin to slightly experienced before her brother had gotten sick. Since then, she’d had no one.

  Could she do such a bold and brazen thing to Cody?

  She pictured herself over him, like Uvi had been. Imagined touching her lips to his cock.

  She shivered and flushed.

  I have to stop this. It’s sick. I must’ve bumped my head or something. I’m not thinking straight.

  An hour after Finn and Libby left, the phone rang in the hallway.

  Cody raced to pick it up. He listened for a few minutes and then gently replaced the receiver.

  From the way Cody stood frozen in the hall, Viv knew something bad had happened. His blood had drained from his face, leaving him sheet-white. She reached for his hand. “What’s wrong?”

  He slumped woodenly into a chair. “Libby’s dad, Rudy. He didn’t make it.”

  “Oh, no.” She stepped closer. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks.” He brushed away a tear. “He was like a grandfather to me. He was wonderful.”

  Viv watched him, feeling helpless. She saw the emotions playing across his face. The need to cry. The shock. The freezing numbness that comes with such news. She knew how it felt, of course. She’d felt the same way when her brother died. She remembered so well, that big, raw hole that grew in her chest. The heaving, surging waves of grief. The desire to deny everything, to refuse to believe it had happened.

  “How can I help?” she asked.

  He raised his welling eyes to hers. “I—” With one big convulsive shudder, he leaned forward and covered his face with his hands.

  She didn’t think. She just did it. “Come here. It’ll be okay.” She dropped to a crouch in front of him and threw her arms around him. “Shh. It’s okay.”

  He shook his head without lifting it. “No. It’s not.”

  “I know, I know.” She murmured soft words of comfort that were lies—all of them. Of course it wouldn’t be okay. But she didn’t know a better way.

  He leaned into her, stifling his own sobs.

  She stroked his muscled shoulders and back, feeling guilty about enjoying the proximity of his maleness. Although his damp hair still smelled of seawater, there was an underlying muskiness that appealed to her.

  After a few minutes, Ramona emerged at a run from the bedroom, screaming as if her worst nightmare had just come to pass.

  Cody leapt up, swiped his cheeks, and took her little hands in his, bending down close to her. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

  “Livie took my doll!” she cried, spilling fat tears that instantly soaked her cheeks.

  “She did?” He picked her up and kissed her forehead. “Well, let’s go see about this.” He set her down and they walked hand-in-hand to the bedroom.

  Viv followed and watched him resolve the dispute with ease. Minutes later, all three girls resumed their game as if nothing had happened.

  Back in the hallway, she stood close to him, watching the girls in the bedroom. “You are so good with them.”

  He loosed a half smile, still tin
ged with misery. “Thanks.” He slumped against the wall, looking lost.

  “Hey. How about I go figure out some lunch, huh? Let me see if the stove works. What do the girls like?”

  “Huh?” His glazed eyes refocused on her. “Oh. Um. They all like macaroni and cheese. You know. The blue box.”

  She smiled. “Of course. Let me see if I can whip some up. You stay up here with them, and we’ll get it done in no time.”

  

  Cody mechanically made his way through the afternoon and early evening, playing half-heartedly with the girls. Would they notice his lackluster performance in the world of dolls and ponies? It seemed not, because so far, they’d played happily, stopping only for meals. Viv had been good with them, tucking napkins under their little chins and refilling their cups endlessly. He liked the way she interacted with the girls, and couldn’t help but think she’d be a great mother some day. In spite of what she’d seen the night before, she’d kept quiet about it. As if it hadn’t happened. She hadn’t rubbed it in nearly as much as she could have. Another woman might have lorded it over him, really made him suffer. But Vivian didn’t. She seemed to be above that kind of behavior.

  He still felt so bad about the whole thing. He’d given in to Uvi’s persistent commands, like he’d been some kind of slobbering puppy hungering for a bone.

  Why had he done it?

  Was it pure lust? Simple physical need?

  He mentally shook his head.

  No.

  He’d done it because it felt good and he thought he could hide it from Vivian. So, he was a jerk. Plain and simple. A sex-driven, unthinking, jerk. He’d hurt her badly, he could feel it. And still, she hadn’t responded with the hateful bitterness he might have expected. Except for that one comment in the boat, she’d moved past it to help him and the girls. She’d been sweet to him about Rudy’s passing, and from the way her big eyes searched his, he knew it was genuine.

  The girl was one class act, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve her kindness.

  When the phone rang at seven, he roused himself from washing the dishes, jumping for the landline handset. “Hello?”