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Sara broke the kiss to smirk at Alex. “Like you should talk. Mr. and Mrs. Walking- freshly-showered-out-of-the-bedroom-in-the-middle-of-the-afternoon.”
Alex stared at her, deadpan, and made a twirling motion with one hand in a get on with it gesture.
“Fine. I’ll continue.” Sara turned her attention to Hope. “It’s about my mystery man, as you called him.”
“The business mogul who turned out to be a douchebag?”
Jack laughed. “Couldn’t have put it better myself.”
Sara didn’t join his laughter, instead sitting rigid as she said, “Hope, he’s Creepy Guy. I had no idea. Jack saw us together and just told me.”
The blood drained from Hope’s face. “What? Are you sure? You’ve never seen him.”
Jack nodded. “Positive. I have, and I recognized him.”
Alex held up a hand. “Ok. As much fun as it is to play twenty questions, would one of you please tell me who the hell Creepy Guy is?”
Hope turned to him and something like fear entered her eyes. She spoke barely above a whisper. “He’s Wayne Timmons.”
Alex ripped his arm off Hope’s shoulders and leaned forward, eyes burning. “You went out with Timmons?” Then he inhaled sharply. “Did he hurt you, Sara?”
Sara held out both hands. “No. I’m fine.”
“I recognized him from when you confronted him in Frederiksted,” Jack said, pulling Sara tightly against his side. “It’s him, for sure.”
“Let me explain from the beginning,” Sara said. “We’re going to need a drink for this.”
After Hope returned with a six-pack of Leatherbacks, Sara told the whole story. She was crying by the end, and Jack drew her close, his heart twisting as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry, Hope. He had me so convinced I could do better than Half Moon Bay. He almost persuaded me to abandon you.”
Hope’s expression softened. “Believe me, I know what a smooth talker he can be.”
“Have you signed any documents about this?” Alex asked. His words were clipped and even, but his jaw was set tight.
“Dammit, don’t get mad at me, Alex! I feel bad enough already.”
His expression didn’t change. “I’m not mad at you, Sara. At all. But Timmons is using you to get at Hope and me. And he’s going to regret it.”
Jack’s whole body had tensed, but he relaxed at Alex’s explanation. The last thing he wanted was to get into it with the former SEAL, but he wasn’t going to sit back and let Alex blame Sara for something that wasn’t her fault. Fortunately, his anger was obviously directed at Wayne. Jack locked eyes with him, holding his gaze. “We need to prevent Wayne from getting that property.”
“Or find a way to buy it outright?” Sara asked.
Hope took a drink of beer. “I’d love to buy it, and it must be for sale, if Wayne is speculating over it. But I don’t know the owner. I’ve only met him once or twice when I was walking along the beach.”
“I’m sure we can find the records online and make an offer on it,” Alex said.
Jack sat back on the couch, numbness creeping over him. He stared at Hope and Alex, then slowly moved his gaze to Sara. “I might be able to help with that.”
She opened her eyes wide. “Huh?”
A few minutes later, three pairs of amazed eyes stared at him. “You’re friends with the owner of that land?” Sara squeaked.
“Yeah,” Jack smiled slightly, no longer the outsider. “I have his phone number in my contacts.”
“Well, that solves that problem,” Hope said drily.
“But leaves the problem of money,” Sara said. “Which brings us back to you two.”
