SEALed With a Kiss: Even a Hero Needs Help Sometimes... by Mary Margret Daughtridge Read Free Book Online Page A

father in the parking lot of the hotel. Jax squeezed his eyes shut in a fruitless effort to blot out his shame at snapping without reason. What the hell was the matter with him?
    Jax had made quick work of closing up the cottage after Lauren left. He'd hoped with just the two of them, Tyler might be forced to deal with him and start talking more. It hadn't worked that way. Instead, without her jittering presence to distract them from each other, Tyler's silence went from uncommunicative to nerve-racking. Impossible to penetrate, impossible to ignore.
    Now that they were inland, the heat seemed twice what it had been on the beach; the supersaturated air and no hint of breeze made it impossible for sweat to evaporate. The cloud cover had thickened; the light was dull and shadowless. Elvira wasn't due to come ashore until the early hours of the morning, but a hurricane, even a small one like Elvira, was big.
    Jax retrieved his duffle and Tyler's designer suitcase. Who knew there was designer luggage for kids? Jax expelled a pained laugh at himself. In order to distract himself now he was glomming onto insignificant details like suitcases and the quality of the light, but it was way the hell better than snapping at Tyler.
    Despite Lauren's predictions, a hotel room had been easy to come by, although the desk clerk warned him his reservation would be held only for an hour. Fortunately, the new Highway 17 bypass put him in the historic section of Wilmington in half the time it used to take. Jax checked his watch. They'd made it in time.
    Jax was proud of his choice of hotel. It was adjacent to the historic Southern Railway terminal, which had been rehabbed into a convention and expo center. Though it overlooked the Cape Fear river, folks back then had known how to build, and even more important, where to build. High water posed no threat to it.
    Jax slung his duffle over his shoulder and tucked Tyler's suitcase under one arm. "Take my hand, Tyler."
    Tyler hadn't let go of his sack of toys since his grandmother had left. He'd gone into the cottage, quietly collected all his cars, and tucked them into the red drawstring sack. The sack was hard and lumpy and so heavy the strings dug into the soft skin of his wrists, but he hadn't put it down, not once.
    Now he tried to tuck it under one arm to give his father his hand, but it was too big and too heavy for one little arm. Tyler jerked his hand back to prevent the bag from slipping to the ground.
    "Give me the sack," Jax said, "and take my hand."
    Tyler shook his head emphatically, and pulled the sack closer to his chest.
    "You can't carry it and walk. Come on, Tyler."
    The hotel parking lot was crowded, and Tyler's head wasn't visible above the fenders of the cars. A driver could be right on Tyler before he saw him. Jax believed in picking his battles, but now was the moment to enforce obedience. One flick and Jax would have the bag out of Tyler's arms and grab his hand.
    As if divining Jax's intention, Tyler wheeled away and hunched his shoulders in a vain attempt to shield his sack.
    Tyler's attempt to protect his toys was so desperate and so brave, respect and pride lumped together in Jax's throat.
    "Okay, son," Jax soothed, "okay." He clasped Tyler by the shoulder, biting back a curse when he felt the tiny flinch. "Stay right with me, though."
    In the paneled lobby, Tyler halted and looked around. He hefted his sack further up his chest. "What is this place?"
    Jax nudged him toward the desk. "A hotel."
    "Why did we come here?"
    What kind of question was that? "To spend the night."
    The lobby was crowded. People thronged at the desk two and three deep. An older man backed up without looking and stumbled over Tyler. He glanced down to see what he was tripping over and cursed, "Look out, kid!"
    Tyler yelped as he was knocked against his father. Jax stepped forward to protect Tyler with his legs, at the same time grabbing the man to keep him from falling.
    The man jerked himself away.