Page 16 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

S ierra had three clients that day, which was a lot for December, not that she was complaining.

Business dropped off after the holiday weekend in October, which was why she was so careful with money during the busy season.

The summer months funded the rest of the year for her and her two employees.

Any business was considered “gravy” at this time of year, and she appreciated her regular clients who propped her up in the off-season.

Jenny Martinez was one of her favorites. Over the years, she’d become a friend, and Sierra looked forward to catching up with her during the monthly massages that she claimed saved her body and her sanity.

As she prepared a room for Jenny’s arrival, Sierra tried to keep her mind on work and not on the handsome man who’d asked her out on the first real date she’d been on in longer than she could remember. How sad was that? Thirty-two years old, and she couldn’t recall her last real date.

Pathetic.

Would she remember how to act?

That thought had her laughing as she smoothed a hand over the sheet on the massage bed and folded the top blanket back to make an inviting presentation for Jenny. With everything in place, she returned to the reception area to wait for Jenny.

She took advantage of the brief lull to respond to an email from her bookkeeper, McKenzie, who was in hot demand by everyone who ran a business on the island.

Sierra was happy for her new friend’s success and how she’d made lemonade from lemons after the house her grandmother left her was destroyed by Hurricane Ethel. She was rebuilding the house with plans to eventually sell it since she and Jax were happily settled at Duke’s place.

Everything had fallen into place for them and several of Sierra’s other friends, including Jace, who’d come to the island hoping to have a relationship with his young sons and had fallen in love with Cindy Lawry, who was an awesome person.

Even her new friend Piper was head over heels in love with Jack, the state policeman.

Love was in the air all around her, or so it seemed.

Her friends joked there was something in the water on Gansett that led to people finding forever love on a tiny island with only seven hundred year-round residents.

The odds of falling in love in a small town like theirs should’ve been astronomically high.

Alas, it happened all the time to other people.

Sierra had never been in love. She’d never even come close, so she wondered if she’d know it if it happened to her.

That worried her. What if true love was standing right in front of her, and she failed to realize it?

Or what if she found it and managed to screw it up somehow?

The thought of living with that kind of regret made her shudder.

She was saved from delving too deeply into that dark thought when Jenny came in, bringing a burst of chilly air. Her smile lit up her pretty face as she fixed blonde hair that’d been messed up by the wind.

“It’s brisk out there today,” Jenny said. “I swear I saw a few flurries.”

“No! Not yet.”

“I know, it’s too soon, but I saw them.”

Sierra went around the reception desk to give her friend a quick hug. “Come in. I’m all set up for you. How’re you feeling?”

“A little better now that the nausea has finally let up. It was brutal this time around. My Georgie spoiled me with a much easier pregnancy than I’m having with this little one. Of course, I was three years younger then.”

“You’re doing great.”

“For a senior citizen, you mean.”

“Oh stop.” Sierra laughed as she led Jenny to the dimly lit room. “You know the drill. We’ll start on your side to focus on your aching back.”

“Bless you. I miss being facedown.”

“You’ll be able to do that again soon enough, my friend.”

Sierra left her to get undressed and settled and went to the tiny kitchen in the back of the space to refill her water.

When she was ready, she knocked on the door to Jenny’s room before entering.

“All set,” Jenny said.

Sierra walked in, put her water on a table and got to work making sure Jenny got the best possible massage. Some clients, like Jenny, enjoyed chatting during their treatment. Others preferred silent meditation.

“How’ve you been since I saw you last?” Jenny asked.

“Not too bad. Relieved to be winding down after another frantic season.”

“Same, girl. We’ve got Christmas tree sales and then we’re done for a couple of months.” She helped to run Martinez Lawn & Garden with Alex and his brother, Paul.

“How’s your mother-in-law doing?” Marion Martinez, who suffered from dementia, resided in a care facility that’d been named for her, founded by Jared and Lizzie James for the island’s senior population.

“A little better after having pneumonia in September. We were afraid we’d lose her then, but she surprised everyone by recovering. But she’s still not back to where she was before.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“We’re thankful she’s still with us, but it’s been a roller-coaster ride these last few months. She takes such pleasure in George as well as Paul and Hope’s kids, Ethan and Scarlett. She lights right up when she sees them but barely recognizes Alex and Paul.”

“It’s such a cruel disease.”

“It is for sure.”

“Did you go to Billy’s service yesterday?” Jenny asked.

“I did.”

“We did, too. It was so lovely.”

“Yes, it was. I’m sorry I missed seeing you. It was so crowded.”

“I was glad to see such a big turnout for him,” Jenny said. “Everyone liked him.”

“I feel so badly for his brother.”

“He’s been through so much. What do you suppose he’ll do now?”

“He said he’s planning to stick around and keep the gym open for now.”

“Alex will be glad to hear that. He’s a regular at the gym. He was worried about it closing, but he was more concerned about Morgan and what he’d do after such a terrible loss.”

“He seems to be coping with it as best he can under the circumstances.”

“Have you gotten to know him?”

“I guess you could say that. I’m having dinner with him tonight.”

Jenny nearly levitated off the table. “Way to bury the lead, girlfriend! Tell me everything!”

Smiling at Jenny’s reaction, Sierra said, “There’s not much to tell… yet. We’ve gotten to know each other over the last few months, and he asked me to have dinner with him last night.”

“This is so exciting!”

“Don’t get out over your skis,” Sierra said with a laugh. “It’s very new, and who knows if it’ll go anywhere? It usually doesn’t for me.”

“It hasn’t yet . Doesn’t mean it never will. I didn’t expect to meet Alex when I did, and if you’d asked me ahead of time if I was going to fall madly in love that summer, I would’ve said no way.”

“How did you know you were in love with him?” Sierra asked as she worked on the tight muscles in Jenny’s lower back.

“That feels heavenly,” Jenny said with a sigh of pleasure. “It took me a while to realize I was in love because I thought that wasn’t going to happen for me again. At first, I was in lust. We had a combustible spark from the beginning.”

“Lucky bitch.”

Jenny snorted. “You know it. That was one hot summer, thanks to Alex Martinez and a heatwave that roasted us for days.”

“I’ve never really had that spark with anyone. Of course, I’ve seen it happen to others and heard about it from my friends, but I’ve yet to experience it.”

“Your time is coming. I can feel it in my bones.”

“If you say so.”

“Ask Alex, I’m good at predicting stuff like this.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Back to your question about how I knew I was in love… I was obsessed with him, which was another thing I wouldn’t have thought possible before he came along.

I’d been kind of just fumbling through life for years after losing Toby, and then one day, Alex was there, and everything was new again.

It wasn’t easy, though. We were both dealing with a lot that summer.

His mother’s condition had worsened, and it was putting a terrible strain on him and Paul.

Meanwhile, I was an emotional disaster area desperately seeking a reset.

In hindsight, it’s amazing it worked out between us. ”

“You two were meant to be.”

“I believe that. At the time, I would’ve said Toby was my meant-to-be, but I’ve since learned there can be more than one.”

“I’m happy for you that it worked out so well with Alex.”

“It’s going to work out for you, too. I’m sure of it.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Jenny’s assurances stayed with her as she welcomed Dr. Kevin McCarthy for his first-ever massage, which had been a birthday gift from his wife, Chelsea. She couldn’t believe he’d never had one.

“Chelsea says I have to be in the buff for this. Is that true?”

Sierra laughed at the face he made as he said that. “That’s totally up to you. Some people go out and proud. Others prefer to keep their underwear on.”

“Chelsea told me I’m a prude if I keep the britches on.”

“I’d never tell if you did.”

“She’ll know.”

Sierra laughed and gestured for him to go into the room she’d prepared for him.

“This is so nice,” he said, taking in the taupe-colored walls she’d painted herself. “And it smells amazing.”

“Aromatherapy.”

“I dig it.”

“I’ll leave you to take off as much as you’re comfortable with. Then you can slide under the blanket. We’ll start backside up, with your face here.” She showed him the special pillow with the hole in the center. “Any questions?”

“Nope. I got this.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.” While she was out of the room, Sierra allowed herself a brief giggle over how funny Kevin was asking about whether he had to be nude.

She knew him and Chelsea quite well from the Beachcomber and would make sure he was comfortable and relaxed, but he’d cracked her up with the question.

He was always such a grown-up compared to the rest of them.

To see him a bit unsettled had been amusing.

She ate a protein bar and chased it with water. Then she washed her hands and knocked on the door to the room. “All set?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Sierra bit her lip to keep from laughing. He was too funny. “Remember, this is supposed to be relaxing.”

“Gotcha.”

She rubbed scented oil between her hands and held them under the face pillow. “Close your eyes, clear your mind and take a deep breath in through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. Again.”

Sierra quickly discovered that he held all his stress in his shoulders and neck, so she focused on those areas while thinking about what she might wear to dinner later.

The temperature had been dropping all week and was expected to hit the thirties for the first time later that night.

So she’d probably wear jeans, a sweater and boots, which was boring.

She much preferred dressing for warmer weather when she could show off her sleeve tattoos, although she could wear a tank under a sweater and remove the sweater during dinner.

She liked that idea. The tattoos were exceptional, in her opinion—and in Duke’s.

He said they represented some of his finest work.

Colorful , elaborate , detailed and magical were words that had been used to describe the renderings of some of her favorite images from the fantasy novels she’d devoured in her youth.

The Lord of the Rings had been her favorite, and Duke had helped her bring the stories to life in living color.

“How’s the pressure?” she asked Kevin.

“Mmm, perfect. I can see why people love this so much.”

“That’s great to hear.”

She shifted the blankets to find that he’d taken Chelsea’s advice to go completely nude, which was no big deal to her, but…

Did it feel odd to massage the bare hips and legs of a man she knew from her favorite bar?

A little, but she was used to giving massages to people she knew and maintaining her professionalism.

But some, like this one, were more awkward than others.

Kevin was a great guy, but as a psychiatrist, he was also someone she looked up to as a source of fatherly advice.

She’d never given her own father a massage, but if she did, she imagined it would be a little awkward like this was with Kevin. Thankfully, she got through the full treatment and sent him away relaxed and satisfied with his loose muscles.

“Will you confirm for Chelsea that I went all in?” he asked as he prepared to leave. “She won’t believe me.”

Sierra smiled. “What happens in the room stays in the room.”

“Ah, okay. Well, she’ll be glad I finally lost my massage virginity.”

“Hope you’ll come back again sometime.”

“I’ll definitely be back.”

While she waited for her last client of the day to arrive, Sierra sent confirmations to three clients booked for tomorrow and replied to an email from McKenzie with several receipts she’d requested.

Her phone rang with a call from Linda McCarthy, who was due to arrive in fifteen minutes.

“Hi, Linda.”

“Oh, Sierra, thank goodness I caught you. I’m so sorry I forgot to call you sooner. Abby had the quadruplets last night, and we’re on the mainland. You have my card, so please go ahead and charge me for the service. I’ll reschedule when I get back.”

“Congratulations! Four new babies takes priority over everything else.”

“I felt so badly when I realized I forgot to call you.”

“No problem at all. Call me when you’re back to reschedule, and no charge for today. Pass along my congratulations to Adam and Abby.”

“I will, honey. Thank you for understanding.”

“Talk to you soon.”

Linda had been a client for years and had never once not shown up for an appointment. Having four new grandsons was a pretty good excuse for missing a session.

Sierra cleaned the room she’d used for Kevin’s service and prepared for the next day before she shut down her computer and punched out for the day—two hours earlier than expected.

She had a hot date to prepare for, and as she went upstairs to her apartment, she was thankful for the extra time.