Holiday at Magnolia Bay (Southern Born Christmas Book 1) (2 page)

Catching a glimpse at herself in the mirrored aviator sunglasses he wore, she jumped back a step before pulling her shirt away from her body. She glanced back over her shoulder presumably to further harangue the two boys only to find out they’d fled while she’d been busy checking him out. This time, Drew didn’t bother holding back his grin. Her eyes narrowed as she puffed a stray strand of hair off her face.

“Don’t worry. They won’t be back.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to reassure her, but he did it anyway.

“You said you didn’t know them.”

He smiled then. “Not personally, no. But they’re just a pair of young boys out exploring the beach. No harm, no foul.”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. Drew took note of the fact that her nipples were still pebbled and his crotch reacted accordingly.

“And what makes you think they won’t come back to do some additional ‘exploring’?” she demanded.

“Probably the fact that you scared them shitless by threatening to haul them off to jail. Your
world-domination-one-turtle-nest-at-a-time
routine is pretty intense. Do you run all men off like that?”

Her body recoiled as if he’d punched her and Drew swore silently. He hadn’t meant to offend her. The sexual maelstrom she’d stirred up within him was doing strange things to his brain and his mouth. His buddies were right, he needed sex. Just not with an innocent like this woman, a defender of sea turtles, for Chrissake. Despite the fact that his body wasn’t discriminating, what was left of his soul was. He’d seen—and done—too much to ever be considered innocent again. As tempting as the Sea Goddess was, he’d never be able to have a woman like her—not when he could destroy her beneath the burden of guilt weighing him down.

The taut silence was shattered by the sound of an ATV pulling up beside them. Two women Drew recognized as Magnolia Bay biddies from the town’s overbearing historical society sat on top of it.

“Daisy, I told you not to drive so fast. I nearly fell in the ocean going over that last dune.”

“Oh, Camellia, just hold on, why don’t ya,” the driver said. Both women were dressed in identical Save the Turtles of Magnolia Bay T-shirts, khaki shorts and blindingly white rubber-soled shoes. Considering they’d been going less than three miles an hour on the flattest part of the beach, Drew thought it unlikely either would fall off, but he’d already said too much this morning, so he kept his trap shut.

Daisy looked him up and down warily. “Everything okay here, Jenna?”

Jenna
. Arabic for Heaven. Drew might have pulled another name from his linguist’s background to describe her, but having heard her real name, it somehow reiterated that the woman standing before him was off limits. After the things he’d done in the name of defending his country, Heaven—like Jenna—was no longer an option for him.

“Sure, Daisy,” she said. Much of the bluster had left her sails after his callous remark.

The two women on the ATV glanced between Jenna and Drew. “We got a report that a dog got into nest number nineteen,” Camellia said. “We were just going to check it out. Wanna come along?”

“Yes,” Jenna responded quickly before scrambling onto the back of the ATV. Without another word, they drove off, but not before Drew was treated to a second peek at her nicely curved ass as the breeze lifted up her shirt briefly before she slapped it down with her hand. This time he swore out loud. That was likely the only glimpse of Heaven he’d ever see.

*

“Does anyone have
any questions,” Jenna Huntley asked with a tone that she hoped would stymie additional chatter from the room filled with first-grade boys while still sounding cheerful enough to appease their chaperones. Not that the two mothers were paying that much attention to the young Tiger Scouts. One woman had spent the morning chasing a toddler around the Magnolia Bay Sea Turtle Rescue Center, while the other one had her face buried in the screen of her phone for the entire tour.

“Yeah, I have one.” Ethan raised his hand. His was the only name among the group of boys that Jenna knew because his mother—the harried one with the overactive toddler—had constantly been whining at him to stop belching on cue and not to touch this or that. Unfortunately, her idle threats had only inspired Ethan to touch more, including frequent head slaps to his fellow scouts. Jenna braced herself for the inevitable.

“How do turtles poop and where does it go?”

A chorus of laughter echoed through the main lobby of the Center. Several other visitors who were milling about the cavernous room examining the various exhibits snickered along with the boys. Jenna worked hard not to roll her eyes. The question was asked frequently, unfortunately not only by young children but by supposed adults, too. She waited for the laughter to die down, a patient smile pasted on her face, before answering. “Sea turtles release their waste just like humans do through a cavity on their bottoms.”

“Ooooh,” the boys snickered. “Gross! So it just goes into the ocean?”

The mother with the toddler looked up from where she was frantically wiping up a ground up goldfish cracker from the carpet, a concerned look on her face. Surely this wasn’t news to her? Several of the boys were mumbling about never swimming again.

“The ocean is very large,” Jenna recited her well-practiced explanation. “And the sea water dilutes much of the feces from ever being a problem—”

“It’s still like swimming in a giant toilet,” Ethan interrupted loudly, apparently proud that he had finally become the center of attention.

“I think that’s all for today,” Cell phone Mom said. “Scouts, please say thank you to Miss Huntley for the excellent tour.” She hurriedly steered them toward the entrance amidst a weak chorus of thank you from the boys.

Jenna made her way back to her office, keeping a professional smile on her face until she heard the hiss of the hermetic doors closing behind her. Releasing a pent-up sigh, she could finally relax among the sanctuary of the quiet turtles. Thankfully, visitors were only allowed into the Center’s large hospital area during a tour, and the Tiger Scouts were the only group given access that day. The mid-day heat and humidity filtering in through the room’s screens actually felt welcome after enduring the last couple of hours. Normally Jenna enjoyed giving tours of the Center—especially to children. It allowed her to share her knowledge as a marine biologist to educate the public about the need to protect and preserve sea turtles from extinction.

But not today. Thanks to an early morning encounter on the beach, Jenna was feeling a little flustered and out of sorts.
Do you run all men off like that?
Military Man had asked.

Jenna huffed out a breath. The arrogant stranger had quite the nerve. Who did he think he was, anyway? Taking care of the turtles was her job. Was it such a crime to be passionate about something other than beer or sports on television?

Or worse, Internet poker.

How she’d hated competing with the screen of an iPad to get her ex-boyfriend’s attention. Jenna could strip down to a thong and Sam wouldn’t notice if he was involved in a high stakes game. She certainly hadn’t run him off with her love of sea turtles. It was
his
love of gambling that ended their six-month relationship. Besides, she’d already moved on, not that her love life was any of Military Man’s business.

It was wrong to stereotype someone based upon their looks, she knew, but she was certain the man she’d met on the beach was somehow involved with the military. If the chiseled body and the cropped hair didn’t give it away, the cocky warrior vibe he gave off was enough for Jenna to identify him as a soldier of some sort. Having spent the first eighteen years of her life living on one military base or another, she’d become somewhat of an expert, after all. She’d also sworn off military men years ago. Too bad since this one had practically made her ovaries explode.

She felt a flush stain her cheeks. Jenna discreetly glanced around the large room to determine if any other staff was around to witness the embarrassing reaction she was having to a stranger on the beach. Relieved that none of the techs or vets paid her any attention, she let her mind wander back to Military Man, telling herself this was the last time she’d do so, even though she knew that was a lie. The guy was the definition of eye candy that she’d likely have to savor a few more times today.

Standing over six feet tall, his body was ripped, mouthwateringly so. It was obvious from the tanned muscles that he hadn’t sculpted his physique in a gym, but rather through strenuous activity and exertion. The man’s arms rivaled that of an Olympic athlete, looking as though he could swim clear across Magnolia Bay into the Atlantic Ocean without taking a breath. His dark hair had been damp and Jenna’s fingers had itched to finger comb it.

The reflective sunglasses he’d worn kept her from seeing his eyes, though, which was probably just as well. Something about him seemed too intimate, too perceptive, making Jenna grateful for the shield his aviators provided between them. He’d already hit too close to home with his barb about her chasing off men. Her teeth clenched just recalling it again.

Thankfully, Magnolia Bay was a popular tourist destination during the summer. It was likely Military Man was just taking a quick beach getaway while on leave from Parris Island or one the many other bases located in the Carolinas. She’d never see him again. Relaxing a bit, she forced her mind back to the reality of her work day.

Jenna meandered through the numerous two-foot deep, six-foot wide pools spread out amidst the lower floor of the hospital. The pools were similar to the above ground ones families might have in their backyard except these housed rehabilitating sea turtles that had been rescued from near death. The large room contained twelve of the salt water pools as well as numerous other plastic storage bins serving as habitats for smaller land turtles brought to the center for treatment.

She stopped at the last pool, located just in front of the operating suites and offices, staring down at a large turtle swimming inside of it. “Hey Reggae, how are you feeling today, buddy?”

Reggae, a three-hundred-twenty pound loggerhead, had been living at the center for nearly seven years. While other turtles were able to be released back into the ocean after their injuries had healed, Reggae’s front left flipper had been severed by a boat propeller forcing him to swim in circles the rest of his life. Instead of returning to the wild where he didn’t stand a chance against predators—nearly all of them man-made—the giant turtle served as the mascot for the Center.

Jenna trailed her fingers along the turtle’s knobby back. Yes, she was passionate about the turtles. She had been since she was eight years old. Growing up military, she’d never been able to set down roots—except for the two weeks her family vacationed in Magnolia Bay each summer. Those vacations had been magical; especially the nights spent waiting for the sea turtles to hatch. She and her brother, Robbie, would sit out along the shore in the dark night, sipping sweet tea with Miss Evie, waiting for the turtles to make their run toward the sea—

“Oh my gosh, Miss Evie!” Jenna yanked her hand out of the tank, sending water spraying down the front of her as she hurried back to her office. How could she have forgotten? She’d agreed to accompany the Center’s new director, Dr. Perry Duhamel, to Miss Evie’s house for a lunch meeting today. Military Man had scattered her wits this morning, for sure.

Jenna entered her small office nearly tripping over her roommate, Macy Hallis.

“Hey,” Macy said, just barely managing to avoid being stepped on. “Millie told me you were out giving a tour. I was just leaving the mock-ups for the Christmas Flotilla and Fishing Tournament for you to approve.”

Macy worked as a freelance photographer in Magnolia Bay. She did a booming business during the summer months, taking family portraits that ended up as Christmas cards for hundreds of tourists. Not to mention the frequent destination weddings she shot at least once per month. The rest of the time, she helped out the local businesses with artwork for their advertising. Jenna was only too happy to throw a little business her roommate’s way when the Center needed some professional photos.

“Sorry,” Jenna said. She grabbed her purse out of the bottom desk drawer. “I’m late for a lunch. Perry and I are supposed to meet Miss Evie at—” she glanced at the computer screen “—oh crap, five minutes ago.” After running her palms over tan shorts and matching uniform blouse, Jenna dug into her purse for her lip gloss. “I’ll look at those when I get back and I’ll give you my feedback tonight. Promise.”

“You’re wasting your time.”

Jenna paused from adjusting her ponytail to look at her friend. “Christmas is four months away. We won’t start promoting the event until October. How am I wasting time?”

Macy crossed her arms in front of her. “I meant primping. You’re wasting time with the Great Doctor from Down Under. He’s just using you.”

She closed the drawer with a little more force than was necessary. Jenna knew where Macy stood on the topic of Perry. Her roommate had made herself very clear on the subject
numerous
times. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”