Wanting a Family Man (Raven’s Cove #3)

Chapter Seven

C loe came outside as Trystan was setting the steaks on the hot grill, releasing loud hisses and the aroma of roasting garlic and burnt molasses.

“Sophie said you might want this.” She tentatively offered a can of beer and saw him stiffen slightly. “Sorry. Did I startle you?” Her cheeks heated.

“Just thinking about something,” he muttered. “Thanks.” He accepted the beer and popped it.

“I think this was mine,” she murmured, using the excuse of reaching for her warm wine on the patio table to step away from him. She glanced inside the house to be sure that Emma was holding her own glass.

“Can you cook?” Trystan asked abruptly.

“Pardon?” She glanced at the grill. “Oh. You mean—? Sure. I can watch the steaks.”

“No, I mean in general. The basics. Nothing fancy.”

“I can fry eggs and make a decent chicken noodle soup from scratch, but I couldn’t work at a café or anything like that.” She skimmed her glance to the pub.

“But you could throw together something for a dozen people? Do you get seasick?”

“I’ve been on boats and always felt fine.” Ivan’s friends had taken them out sometimes. “Why? Are you looking for a first mate?” she joked.

“A steward. The first mate needs a license to skip if something happens to the captain. The steward is basically a housekeeper. You would cook and clean up after the guests, chat and play card games if the weather turns sour. It’s not sexy.”

“Are you being serious?” She quit trying to fish the gnat out of her glass.

“Yes.” He sounded serious as a heart attack. Borderline grim. “Do you have any first aid?”

“Only basic. CPR with some bandage training for bleeding, burns, and fractures.”

“Good enough. It’s only for backup. I have EMT and so does Johnny. You’d be on the water five days out of seven,” he warned. “You’d be here, but not here .” He pointed at the deck under their feet.

“But I could see Storm on my days off? Even for an hour or two? Would you pay me?” she asked hesitantly, sensing charity.

“Minimum wage, with meals. You can stay on the Storm Ridge even on your days off.”

“I—” really want this . Was it too good to be true? She made herself think about how much she would be relying on him.

There was a happy squeal from inside the house. Storm .

Cloe wasn’t likely to get a better offer that would allow her to see her niece on a weekly basis while still kind of supporting herself.

“The tours only run until the end of September. If you don’t have the stomach for it, we’ll have to make other arrangements,” he warned.

“Don’t have the stomach for what?” Sophie asked, coming outside with Biyen’s mushroom patty.

“God, you’re nosy.” Trystan scowled at her. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“ You .” She pulled the paper off the patty and plopped it onto a bare spot on the grill. “So many times. For years, I thought you didn’t know my real name. ‘Hey, Nosy,’” she said in a baritone.

Trystan’s mouth twitched. “Everyone acts like they don’t know where Biyen gets his goofy sense of humor. It’s you. You know that, right? You are the biggest goofball on two legs.”

“ You are avoiding the question. You think I don’t notice.” She poked him in the middle of his chest. “But I do .”

The familiarity between them was so cute and filled with affection, it made Cloe’s throat burn with wistful envy.

“I can take over.” Reid came outside in a clean T-shirt, hair damp at his hairline. He popped the can of beer he held.

“Reid should be the first to know, since it was his idea.” Trystan passed the spatula to his brother and glanced at Cloe.

Hiring her wasn’t something Trystan wanted, she realized. It was something he was accepting under duress. That dumped a load of jagged ice into her chest.

“About the job?” Reid took a pull off his beer, then used the spatula to shift the steaks so they were in neat rows and columns. “There’s a chance someone in housekeeping at the lodge would do it, but they all passed this spring when we posted for it. They prefer to go home every night.”

“Are you offering her a job on the Storm Ridge ?” Sophie said. “I’ll take it.”

“There’s an implicit promise to our guests that they will return home safely, not get fed to bears because our steward was in a snit,” Trystan said.

“Picky, picky.” Sophie rolled her eyes, then nudged Cloe with her elbow. “Say yes. You get a free cruise, and you can always ditch later, if you find yourself wanting to feed him to the bears.” She nodded at Trystan.

“You’re wasted at the marina. You’d be more valuable in HR,” Reid said.

“Right?” She stuck her tongue out at him.

Cloe coveted how close Sophie was with them. How secure. She wondered if she would ever feel that comfortable with these men, especially when Trystan was watching her so closely. Her skin felt flayed from her cheeks.

“What do you say?” Trystan asked, still very remote, offering no indication he wanted her to accept.

Was she really going to choose pride and the hard way over a chance to spend the rest of the summer seeing her niece?

“I’d like to try it, see if I have the constitution for it,” she said, leaving herself that small exit strategy.

Trystan kept his same unreadable expression. “Welcome aboard, then.”

*

Two hours later, Cloe was in a state between euphoria and apprehension as she walked back to the marina with Trystan.

Dinner had been lively and funny, but also awkward. At one point, Logan had said, “So, Cloe. What exactly happened to keep you in California?”

“She’s not allowed to talk about it,” Trystan had interjected without looking up from playing cards with Biyen. “There are still other people being charged.”

It surprised her that he would forestall her defending herself to his brothers, considering he had asked her himself and she had told him what she could. Also, she was pretty sure he didn’t like her. Not that he hated her or anything but he definitely wasn’t happy with this new arrangement Reid had worked out.

At least she would see Storm every week, she consoled herself. But now that she had a minute to absorb what she’d agreed to, she wondered what she might owe Trystan in return.

She eyed him as they walked, still in awe of him. She had met celebrities at the night clubs Ivan had frequented, but they’d always seemed sleazy or self-involved. Trystan’s off-camera personality was a lot like it was online, unruffled and observant, but he was also very relaxed and casual around his family. Maybe the fact he was always alone on screen made seeing him with people seem revealing, but Cloe felt privileged to witness his trash-talking his brothers and being affectionate with Storm and Biyen.

Why was he going to so much trouble for her , though? His brothers had only thawed half of one degree toward her. At one point, Cloe had overheard Logan ask Trystan a quietly disbelieving, “And you said yes ?” She was certain it had been about this arrangement of her working for him. She hadn’t heard Trystan’s reply, but it was clear all of them thought she was very much on probation.

They reached the Storm Ridge and Trystan stepped aboard. He leaned down to grasp her arm, pulling her up in that effortless way that made her feel as though she had caught flight.

“Thank you.” Cloe grappled for the handhold, overwhelmed all over again by his size and casual strength. “It’s really nice of you to make it possible for me to stay here. I really appreciate it.” She didn’t dwell on how it made her feel like a huge charity case.

“I’m not being nice.” He tapped the keypad and opened the door. “You’re Storm’s aunt. Unless you prove otherwise, Storm has every right to have you in her life so we’re making it happen.”

Oof. Nothing personal, then.

Which shouldn’t bother her. It doesn’t , she insisted to herself. She didn’t expect him to feel anything toward her but basic respect. He didn’t have to like her or do her special favors. In fact, she knew where those sorts of favors led and really didn’t want to owe any man anything.

She only wished she had a friend in this otherwise hostile and unfamiliar territory. At least now it was clear she was more obligation to him than anything else. That was disheartening but fine.

“I still appreciate it,” she murmured. “I’ll just put my laundry away.”

She walked down to the stern to unpack her things into the drawer beneath her bunk. Why did that feel so significant? So good ? This wasn’t her home. It wouldn’t last.

As emotional as she suddenly was, she was tempted to stay here in her cabin, hiding, but it wasn’t even eight thirty. She made herself walk back to the saloon.

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

“Read the safety manual?” he suggested, withdrawing a three-ring binder from a pocket on the wall.

She came across to take it and opened it on the island. The first page was a map. Trystan traced a route on the page.

“We go clockwise around King Island. The Storm Front goes counterclockwise. That way we cross paths a couple of times. It’s fun for the guests to compare notes and I can check with the other crew to make sure everything is running smoothly. We have interpretive walks here and here”—he pointed—“hosted by Indigenous youth.”

“Oh? I would have thought—Er. I guess you can’t do everything, can you?”

He moved back a step as she looked up at him, but he still felt really close. She practically sensed the heat off his body. His chest and shoulders seemed really wide. She was struck again by how tall he was.

“I was going to say I would have thought you would do those walks because you’re good at guiding people along, teaching as you go. I’ve seen your show.” She dipped her chin and shoved her gaze back onto the page. “Is that weird?”

“Not really.” He retreated another step and crossed his arms. “It’s how I make my living so, thanks for watching.” He sounded facetious. “It’s weirder that it is how I make my living. And yeah, sometimes it’s weird to meet a fan, mostly because when I’m filming, I’m alone. I forget that anyone watches it. By the time an episode comes out, a year or more might have passed. People will come up to me and say, ‘That snake last week really freaked me out,’ and I’m like, ‘What snake?’”

“The one that jump scares me every time I watch the South America season!” she accused, then blushed as she realized she was revealing herself to be more than a casual fan. “That snake really doesn’t haunt you?”

“Nah, I have the memory of a golden retriever for stuff like that.”

“Ha!” She couldn’t help laughing, partly because that was the last animal she would compare him to. He was a wolf or a mountain lion, comfortable in his position at the top of the food chain, not waiting for his kibble to be served in a plastic bowl.

The corners of his mouth kicked up in response, and the way he gazed at her from the screen of his spiky lashes made heat unfurl in her belly.

Her amusement dwindled and she asked curiously, “Is your show the reason you aren’t taking custody of Storm yourself? Or is it because you’re not married?”

The way his eyebrows went up made her realize how personal her question was.

“I’m sorry.” Now her cheeks were on fire again, this time with embarrassment. “Have you heard the term parasocial relationship ? I’m acting like I know you because I’ve watched your show. I really didn’t have much to do between court appearances. Never Alone was a comfort watch because it made me feel closer to Storm. Otherwise, I cycled through Moesha , Pose , and any romcom completely lacking in serious conflict.”

“It’s okay.” He shifted to brace his hips against the front of the sink and gripped the back of his neck. “I’m embarrassed to admit how reluctant we all were to take custody of her. None of us could imagine becoming a single parent, and trust me”—he swung his hand forward to forestall her stating the obvious—“it’s been pointed out to us by every woman we know that women have unplanned pregnancies all the time. We are not special.”

“It’s true,” she murmured, absently aligning the pages in the book against the rings that held them.

“Emma would have taken Storm in a heartbeat. She made that clear from the jump, but she’s not a resident of Canada. Even so, we saw right away that she was the best moth—adoptive mom for Storm.” He scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail. “I imagine it’s hard to see Em with her when you want it to be your sister holding her.”

“I do,” she admitted, feeling as though her voice was scraped off the inside of her chest.

“Being raised by Tiffany and Dad would have been the ideal.”

The way he kind of cut off the last word made her glance up at him. He was frowning pensively.

“Tiffany, anyway,” he allowed. “Dad was the furthest thing from perfect.” He crossed his arms again, giving her the impression he wasn’t as unperturbable as he always seemed. “Our relationship with him was pretty fractured. We all knew he’d had a baby with a woman who was way too young for him,” he added dourly. “None of us had seen Storm so it hadn’t computed for any of us that we had a sister. The day after the crash, we walked in for a reading of the will and the ministry basically said, ‘If you don’t look after this kid, we’ll put her in foster care.’”

“Foster care isn’t always bad,” she murmured, since it had given her the most stability she’d ever known.

“I know. But it wasn’t something we could justify when we’re all able-bodied and capable of supporting a baby. Emma wanted more for her than that, though. She was pure mama bear, fighting to be sure Storm would be cared for. Not just a roof and a dry bum, but loved . We were in shock. Not just from losing Dad. This place was bleeding red ink. We could see what had to be done to right the ship, but a baby?” He gave his face a swipe with his palm and swore under his breath.

Cloe was starting to be really glad that Storm had had Emma in her corner.

“I know it looks like Reid and Emma are a green card marriage, but that’s not what it is. He proposed to her sooner than he might have if he hadn’t felt the need to speed up the process of her becoming Storm’s mom, but they’re really good together. Emma needed someone she can count on, and Reid’s heart has grown three sizes since she’s been in his life.” Trystan’s mouth twisted with wry amusement.

“I only suggested you might have taken her because you seem really natural with her.”

“Yeah, I’d kill or die for that little marmot, but having kids wasn’t on my radar. I’m even more reluctant now.”

“Really?” That surprised her.

“You look like my aunties,” he said with a pained frown. “‘You’d be a good father, Trystan. Why aren’t you married and making babies?’ I can’t justify that, either.” He shrugged. “I’m away all the time. My work is dangerous and kids are a huge responsibility. They’re a worry. You think you know what it means to be concerned about someone, then you stay up three nights in a row with a baby because she’s teething. She wouldn’t eat. It was awful. Humbling.”

Cloe didn’t imagine he was used to feeling helpless.

“It’s a deeper worry, too. If I hear Biyen’s down with the flu, I’m calling Sophie every day to check on him, but with Storm, I’m scared. I don’t relax until I know she’s on the mend. I’m not in a hurry to feel that way about my own kids.”

Was he making a point of spelling that out to her so she wouldn’t get any ideas? Good news. She was equally daunted by the idea of having kids.

On the other hand, “I hadn’t even seen Storm until today, and I’ve felt sick with worry since Tiff died.” It was all catching up with her again. She could feel herself growing emotional. “I’m going to take this to bed and read it before I go to sleep. Is that okay?”

“I dare you to stay awake long enough to get through it, but sure. Give it a whirl,” he drawled. “Sweet dreams.”

She hugged it to her chest, waved once, then took refuge in her bunk.