Page 6 of The Last Bachelor Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #8)
CHAPTER 5
***MAX***
I t was already dark when Max finally came out of his office and made his way to the lobby of the community center, his head throbbing from the hours of paperwork he’d just done. He should have been proud of what he’d accomplished, but deep down he knew that the only reason he’d stayed locked up in his office all day was because he couldn’t handle another interaction with someone mad about the way he was treating Nora. The worst part was that a part of him knew everyone was right, and he did feel guilty for what he’d done, but the woman just had a way of pushing his buttons. It wasn’t his fault she pushed him too far.
Ignoring the guilt that had been lurking in the background all day, he headed for the village, in no mood to cook for himself. It was a beautiful night with a sky full of stars overhead and a warm breeze coming in off the ocean, and he took several deep breaths, hoping it would restore him like it always did. But the guilt still hovered in the back of his mind, and when he got to the village he made a decision. He ordered enough food for both of them, then set out for the cabin.
It was a dirty trick he’d played on Nora. Taking her dinner was the least he could do, and as he made his way along the trail, the smell of food making his stomach growl, he began to feel better. When the cabin came into view, he was relieved to see a flickering light in the window and he began to rehearse in his head what he would say, hoping she wouldn’t force him to apologize.
Putting a smile on his face, but bracing himself for Nora’s anger, he knocked on the door, then stepped back. Nora was smiling when she opened the door, but it disappeared as soon as she saw him. His heart sank, even though he knew he shouldn’t be surprised that she wasn’t happy to see him.
“You better not be here to kick me out of here, too,” she said, peering through a crack in the door. “I haven’t even had time to unpack.”
“I felt bad about last night, so I brought you dinner,” he said, holding out the bag of food in his hand. “I thought maybe I could join you.”
“You want to have dinner with me?” Nora asked, her face full of suspicion. “I got the distinct impression that you don’t like me. Oh wait, I forgot, you don’t trust me, I guess there’s a difference.”
“Nora, I’m trying here, okay,” he said, then sighed. “I shouldn’t have dumped you up here last night, that wasn’t a very nice thing to do. I’ve been feeling bad about it all day.”
“You’re right, that was a mean thing to do,” she said. “And bringing me food isn’t going to fix it, but I guess you can come in. I haven’t eaten yet either.”
She stepped back, opened the door wider for him, and he stepped inside, but paused inside the threshold, unsure he was in the right place. “What the hell?” he asked, turning around to look at Nora, anger flaring to life when he saw the pleased look on her face. “How did you do all this?”
“It wasn’t that hard once I put my mind to it,” she said, giving him a shove. “The bugs are getting inside, I need to shut the door.”
Frozen in place, his eyes scanning the room, he took in the freshly painted walls, the gleaming furniture, and the welcoming light of several hurricane lamps. “Looks like a completely different place, doesn’t it?” Nora asked, plucking the food out of his hand. “I’ll set us up at the table. Do you want something to drink?”
“Something to drink…” he sputtered, still shocked by the transformation. “You didn’t do all this yourself.”
Nora shook her head, “No, I had a little help,” she said. “Keith and Stella came over this morning, and he brought some of the crew. It didn’t take them long to get everything ship shape. Stella and a few other people helped me get everything clean, and then we painted. Isn’t it amazing what a little elbow grease can do?”
Anger began to burn away the guilt; his plan had been disrupted again, and by the people he called his friends. “I didn’t give you permission to do any of this,” he said, turning to look at her. “In case you’ve forgotten, this is my island, and this is my cabin. Nothing happens around here without my okay.”
“Oh, I see, you wanted me to suffer, is that it?” Nora asked, stomping over to him. “I know what you’re trying to do, Max, and it won’t work. I’m not going to tell you who I am. You’re nothing but a big bully. It must feel good to throw your power around like you have been, especially when I have none. Well, I’ve got news for you, I’m done letting you bully me. Either leave me alone or take me over to Bermuda so I can get on with my life.”
The creature inside him reared to life at the thought of Nora leaving, sending a wave of magic shooting through him. “I should be charging rent for this place,” he said, ignoring the desire that had begun to make his body tingle. “No one gets to stay on the island for free.”
Nora stared at him for a second, frustration making her cheeks turn an attractive shade of pink. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, then laughed when he just stared at her. “You’re just not going to give up, are you?”
When he crossed his arms over his chest, she threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, fine, charge me rent, why not? It makes sense after all,” she said, stretching up on her tiptoes and getting right in his face. “But I’m going to need another job, Marie doesn’t pay me enough to afford rent.”
Not sure if he’d really won the battle, he dropped his arms to his sides, wondering what it would take to break Nora’s will. “You can report to the catering manager tomorrow morning, I’m sure she could always use another dishwasher,” he said, waiting for a sense of triumph that never came. “Rent is six hundred a month; you get one meal a day in the village, and you check with me before you make any more changes to the cabin.”
***Nora***
“Maybe you should put that in writing since you don’t trust me,” Nora sneered at him, then shoved the bag of food back at him. “I’m suddenly not very hungry anymore. You should take this with you when you go.”
“I don’t know why I even tried,” Max said, snatching the bag back. “You’re the most stubborn, frustrating woman I’ve ever met. I give up, I’m done.”
“Good, then take me over to Bermuda so we can both be done,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, ignoring the little touch of sadness that came when she thought about leaving the island. “You don’t want me here, and I don’t want to be here. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Max let out a frustrated sigh. “How can I make you understand that I can’t just leave you on Bermuda with no passport and no money?” he said. “You wouldn’t last twenty-four hours on your own, you have no idea what it’s like there if you’re not in the tourist areas.”
“Then I’ll work here until I’ve saved up enough money to support myself until I find a job over there. Then you can leave me over there without worrying that I’m out on the streets alone,” she said. “That’s the best I can offer, Max. I’m not going to tell you who I am, I can’t, it’s too big of a risk. I know what would happen.”
Max’s body language changed instantly and the air inside the cabin suddenly became charged with energy, making her feel warm all over. “Nora, are you in some kind of trouble?” he asked, a strange look in his eyes. “Are you in danger? I need you to tell me if you are, I can’t protect you if I don’t know what the threat is.”
She felt herself softening to him when he looked at her that way, the concern in his eyes mixed with that strange look made her feel like he truly cared about her, and for the first time, she thought about trusting him. It only lasted a second when she remembered what waited for her back home, and forced herself to take a step back from him. He was one of them, she couldn’t trust that he wouldn’t be on the phone to her father the instant he figured out who she was.
“Look, I get that you're worried about me, but it’s not like that. No one is trying to hurt me,” she said. “I just needed to disappear, and until I got tangled up with Joe, I was doing okay. I learned my lesson: You can’t trust anyone.”
Max studied her for a second. “Including me,” he said, shaking his head. “I get it, Nora, I really do. We all have secrets. I have a few of my own.”
“Then you should understand why I don’t want to tell you who I am,” she said, hoping that he was finally getting the message. “My entire future depends on me staying gone, I won’t do anything to risk that. No matter how much you tell me that I can trust you, I just can’t take the chance you’ll change your mind.”
“Then it looks like we’re stuck,” he said, a scowl on his face. “I’ll tell Carla to expect you bright and early in the morning. After all, you’ve got bills to pay.”
“Fine with me, I don’t mind working for a living,” she said. “I’ll wash dishes eight hours a day if it means I get to keep my freedom.”
Max opened his mouth, then closed it again with a growl before he turned and stomped over to the door. “Enjoy your dinner,” he called over his shoulder. “I can be just as stubborn as you can. This should be fun.”
She stood staring at the door, wondering what he would do next for a long time, then finally turned away with a sigh. She hadn’t come this far to let a man like Max ruin her plans. If he couldn’t understand her perspective, even after she’d explained it to him, then there was nothing she could do but fight. She wasn’t going to give up her freedom, not for anyone.
The next morning, after searching for ten minutes, she finally found Carla in the walk-in cooler, mumbling over a crate of fruit and shaking her head. “Look at this,” the woman said, turning and shoving the box in her hands. “What am I supposed to do with this mess?”
“I don’t know,” she stammered, thrown off balance. “Maybe you could make a fruit spread? That’s what our cook always did with bad fruit, she hated to waste anything.”
Carla stared at her for a second. “That’s not a bad idea,” she said, then shoved her toward the door. “Thanks for the advice, but guests aren’t allowed back in the kitchen.”
“I’m not a guest, I’m supposed to start work here today,” she said. “Max said he’d let you know I was going to be here.”
Carla closed the door behind them, then turned and studied her again. “You’re not exactly what I was expecting,” she said. “What are you doing working here if you’ve got a cook at home?”
“I don’t have a cook at home, that was before…well…I left,” she tried to explain. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Max said you needed a dishwasher, and since he’s charging me rent I needed to make more money than what Marie is paying me. But I understand if you don’t want me…I can figure out something else.”
“Now hold on, I didn’t say I couldn’t use you, but we should get something straight right now, around here we all share in the workload,” Carla said. “We all wash dishes, we all clean up after ourselves, so if I decide to keep you, you won’t be washing dishes all day.”
“Honestly, I’ll just be happy with a job,” she said. “I don’t have much work experience except a few months waiting tables in a diner.”
“Well, that’s a start, I always need someone to help out with the breakfast shift. We’ll start slowly and see how you do,” Carla said. “We’d better get you a uniform and an apron, then I’ll have one of the other servers show you the ropes.”