Fear Thy Neighbor (63)
A loud clinking sound jarred her from her thoughts. As quietly as possible, she walked the perimeter of the bait shop but didn’t see anything or anyone. She went to the front of the shop and walked up the wooden walkway to the entrance. Placing a hand on either side of her face, she leaned as close to the door as she could without actually touching the glass. She saw large bait tanks against both walls. The center of the store had freestanding displays of fishing gear. Bright yellow bait buckets stacked inside one another were shoved between the tanks. That all made sense, she thought, as she continued to look through the door. She wondered why she didn’t see Kit. He must be in an area that couldn’t be viewed from the front. She stepped away from the door and almost cried out when she bumped into Kit.
“Shhh.” He held his finger against his lips. “I think I heard someone inside. Let’s hurry.” He took her hand, and they ran as fast as they could. When they reached the curve of beach where the bait shop was no longer in sight, they both dropped down on the damp sand.
When she got her breath, she told Kit what she heard.
“That was probably me tossing the shovel out the window. I didn’t get a chance to look in his office. Pretty sure someone is camping inside. I saw a few food wrappers. No power, either, hence all the dead shrimp and minnows. Whatever bait he had, it’s useless now.”
Not that Alison cared, but still curious, she asked, “Why?”
“Fish like live bait. That’s the general rule around here,” he said, then touched her cheek with his fingertip.
“Oh,” was all she could come up with. Her entire body felt electrified by his touch. Never in her life had a man had this effect on her, and so instantaneously. Before she could overthink what she felt, his mouth came toward hers, his lips soft against hers. Leaning into his kiss, her body yearning, she placed her hands on his shoulders, pulling him close to her. Kit’s hands gently touched her face as he deepened their kiss. She was unsure of how long they had kissed when Kit’s mouth eased from hers. He gazed into her eyes.
“Alison Marshall, what have you done to me?” He smiled, then wrapped her in his arms as though it were the most natural thing in the world, as though they’d both done this many times before.
Her lips tingled. They felt bruised, but in a good way. Uncertain how to respond to his question, she opted to remain silent. Someone, though she couldn’t recall who it was, had told her long ago that if you didn’t know an answer to a question, say nothing. To act as though you did understand only made one appear ignorant. Or something to that effect.
“So,” Kit said, “what are we going to do about this?” He nodded at her.
She responded truthfully. “I don’t know what you mean.” She remembered he was a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, so he must think her dumb as a box of rocks.
“Us. Me and you.”
“Oh, well, do we have to do something special or what? I don’t get it.” She was glad for the darkness, because she felt her face redden. Experience with men wasn’t her strongest suit.
He laughed. “I, for one, like kissing you. I like you. Maybe a little more than like,” he added.
Finally, she understood. “I liked it too. I like you back.”
“Good, then it’s settled. We like each other. I see no reason to keep our feelings secret; what about you?”
Ali’s heart was beating so fast, she prayed she didn’t suffer a heart attack right there on the beach. “I guess so,” she said. “Why does it matter?”
“I’m working on a story that probably involves you, albeit indirectly. Folks around here gossip, as you know. It doesn’t matter one bit to me, but I just want you to be okay with it if I decide to hold your hand or give you a kiss in public.”
More than okay, she wanted to tell him, but just nodded.
He leaned close to her, giving her a kiss on both cheeks, then her mouth. “Good, because I’m an affectionate kinda guy.”
He took her by the hand, and they stood up, heading back to Val’s.
Feeling as though she could speak freely, she said, “Was it just me, or do you think it odd that Val didn’t freak out when she finally found out where Renée was? I guess I thought she’d be more upset at the thought of her daughter spending the night in a juvenile home. I’m upset that she has to experience that at such a young age.”
When they reached the beach house, they stopped. “I don’t have kids, but if I did, I’d probably leave them to stew a while, too,” said Kit. “Maybe make them rethink why they didn’t follow the rules. Learn a lesson, I guess.”
She sighed as she stared out at the gulf. The rushing waves, though slight, could be heard above the night sounds. The noises of frogs, birds’ fluttering wings, and the occasional owl were a backdrop to her thoughts. She’d been in foster homes that were worse than living in juvie. “If she were my daughter, I’d be on the road to bring her home.”
“Do you want to tell this to Val? I saw the expression on your face when she decided to go to bed.”
“It’s not my place to tell her how to discipline her daughter, but it seemed out of character for her. She was upset to the point where I thought she would jump into action the second she heard any news. I’m not too sure this came as a big shock to her. As close as they are, I can’t imagine her not knowing, or at least being suspicious. I’m not convinced Renée is even having any kind of relationship with John. Val gets very uptight when his name is mentioned, not that I blame her. Maybe there is more to this than she’s telling us.”