August Unknown (7 page)

She glanced past him to the ocean. A spike of fear raced to
her heart at the sight of it. Somehow, she understood she shouldn’t be dulling
her senses. That unidentifiable threat hovering at the edge of her memory was always
there, always just out of reach. August suspected whatever dark, dreadful thing
was following her, it was closer than she knew.

She glanced into Geoffrey’s eyes and relief replaced the spike
of fear. She placed her hand on his arm. A tingle of brilliant awareness raced
through her fingers.

“I’m more grateful than you know. This is difficult for me,
but you’re making it easier.”

His gaze slipped away, and then met hers again.
“I’m glad I could help. I need to do this for you. I owe it.”

His broad shoulders blocked out the light as he stood over
her, taller than she’d first thought. Looking up at him, she saw it again: something
haunted lingering in his eyes.

“Why do you feel indebted?”

Geoffrey moved past her and headed for the door.

“We’re all indebted for something.”

* * *

August spent a few hours flipping through magazines in the
living room. Some of the ads started to look familiar, but she suspected she’d
merely convinced herself of that rather than really feeling it. She gave up
when her head started throbbing and her stomach started grumbling in synch.

She found Geoffrey in his office, clacking away at the
keyboard.

“How do you feel about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”
she asked from the doorway.

“They’re one of my favorite things.” He looked up from behind
the monitor. “Sorry. I disappeared, didn’t I?”

She managed a smile. “Don’t apologize. The last thing I want
to do is disrupt your life.”

He looked at his watch. “I have a conference call with the
Portland office in five minutes. It shouldn’t last long. I’ll be up soon. Make
yourself at home.”

She headed upstairs and poured herself a cup of water, but
went onto the deck to wait for Geoffrey. She didn’t feel comfortable rifling
through the kitchen without him.

August sat at a patio table and stared out at the lighthouse
in the distance. A biting wind blew over the deck railing, but the crisp, salty
air helped clear her mind.

“Yaquina Head,” Geoffrey had called it. The name didn’t sound
familiar, but something about it nagged at her. She watched the surge of light
at its peak sparking against the sooty clouds, instinctively counting. Four
seconds on. Four seconds off. Four seconds on. Twenty seconds off. The light’s
signature, she realized. Different from all others on the coast.

She made a fist with her right hand.
How do I know that?

A clicking sound behind her gave her a start. A strange man
leaned against the patio doorjamb, lighting a cigarette.

She shot to her feet, knocking over her chair.

Chapter Six

“Who are you?” August staggered backward. Fear choked off her
breath and sent large black spots swirling in her vision.

She rapped the fiberglass elbow against the wooden railing and
bit back a gasp as pain shot through her arm. Delicately she cradled her cast
in her other hand.

“Seeing as you’re sitting on my deck, in my house, drinking
out of my father’s favorite coffee mug, I should be asking you that question.”

He took a long drag on the cigarette and slowly pulled it away
from his lips, looking her up and down like a hungry dog eyeing a piece of
meat.

“So who are you?” he pressed.

“I’m a friend of Geoffrey’s.”

“No kidding.” He burst out a sarcastic chirp of laughter. “You
look more like a friend of David’s, or a friend of Justin’s, but not a friend
of Geoffrey’s.”

Something about the look in his eyes made her skin crawl. They
were cold, yet guarded, and almost resentful.

“Does Geoffrey’s friend have a name?”

“You still haven’t told me yours.”

“Touché.” A sardonic smile touched his lips, but it didn’t
erase the antipathy from his face. “I’m Derek, Geoffrey’s brother.”

He was unkempt, but she knew it was in an intentional way,
with too-long hair and a growth of stubble shadowing his jaw that he likely thought
made him sexy. His baggy jeans sat low on his hips, and a scarred leather
jacket hung off his shoulders. He leaned back against the doorframe in a James
Dean slouch.

“Geoffrey didn’t tell me he had a brother named Derek.”

“No, he wouldn’t.” He sniffed indignantly and turned his gaze
out to the sea as he took another draw from his cigarette. “I’m the prodigal
son returned.”

Nervous fear fluttered in her stomach. She wondered if she
would have found him handsome before she lost her memory. His clothes were only
made to look worn, and she somehow knew they were expensive. But despite the
gritty fashion model look, there was something dark and unpleasant lying
beneath the surface that she couldn’t put her finger on.

“So what happened to your arm, friend of Geoffrey’s?”

“I broke it.”

“No kidding. Must have hurt like hell. Did they give you any
painkillers for it?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” At the far right, Geoffrey’s
heavy footsteps marched up the wooden steps from a lower section of the deck.
August felt a rush of relief, but still couldn’t make herself relax. Derek’s
sudden appearance had sent her nerves jumping, reminding her how vulnerable she
was. If her attacker found her again, she wouldn’t realize it until it was too
late.

My attacker. I was attacked
. Admitting it to herself brought
on a rush of nausea.

“Didn’t know I needed your permission, bro.”

“Since when would my permission mean anything to you?”

Derek took a drag on his cigarette and raked August with his
gaze. The simple look told her the man was disrespectful to women. “I can see
how you’d be upset.”

Geoffrey moved close and rested his arm on the railing behind
her. “Just surprised. I figured this was the last place you’d want to come back
to.”

“Yeah, well, I called Dad and he’s cool with it, so ease up. I
just want to chill out for a while. Why don’t you do the same?” He repositioned
his cigarette butt between two fingers, ready to flick it.

“Don’t,” Geoffrey warned. “Unless you want to hike down and
hunt for it.”

Derek made an exaggerated face and strode forward to put it
out in the ashtray on the table. He then turned and headed back to the house.
“Geoffrey.” He flipped his hand in a mock salute. “Geoffrey’s friend.”

“August,” she volunteered. “Nice to meet you, Derek.”

Derek slid open the glass door leading to the kitchen and
dining area. “Geoffrey, your friend August is a liar. But she’s a babe, so I won’t
hold it against her.”

“Be nice,” Geoffrey growled, “if you’re going to stay here.”

He stopped. “Yeah, we all need to chill. No prob’, G. I
thought you were in Portland or I wouldn’t have come. But I’m here now, so
let’s deal with it.”

Deal with what?
August wondered. There was definitely
bad blood between them.

Jocelyn bounded through the dining area and through the opened
patio door. “Derek!” She flung herself into his arms.

“Hey, munchkin.” He picked her up and heaved her into the air,
earning a squeal of delight, before he caught her weight and settled her back
on her feet.

“I’m not a munchkin. I’m a pixie. I can do magic.”

“Show me some?”

“Later.” She looked over and saw August. “Hi, August. Are you
gonna stay with us?”

August forced herself to smile. “Maybe for a few days.”

“Awesome! I’ll show you my room. I have a pet eel named Mr.
McEely. He’s a snowflake eel. What’s for dinner, Uncle G?”

“I’m going to take you two gorgeous ladies out to dinner. How
does that sound?”

“Hamburgers and French fries?”

Geoffrey glanced at August. “If that’s okay with you?”

She was tired and her arm was aching like the devil, but she
could tell Geoffrey wanted to put some distance between himself and his
brother. “That sounds great.”

“Jocelyn, you take August to meet Mr. McEely while I talk to
Derek for a minute.”

She allowed the little girl to lead her away while a dramatic
pause hung in the air. She glanced back to see Derek step onto the deck and
light another cigarette as Geoffrey waited for them to get out of earshot.

* * *

“Listen. I’m going to tell you why August is here, and then
I’m going to leave you alone so you can say whatever sarcastic thing that comes
to mind to the only person who cares.”

Derek made a dramatic, wide-open gesture with his hands. “I’m
not going to say anything sarcastic.”

“Right.” Geoffrey crossed the deck and leaned on the railing
to look out across the sea, but left more than an arm’s length between himself
and Derek. “Jocelyn and I were in an accident.”

“So it’s not only me wrecking the family cars,” Derek returned.
“Yet I seem to be the only one catching shit about it.”

“Yeah, well, we’re still three to one, so the score’s not even
close,” Geoffrey cut in. “And you were high when you did yours. Big
difference.”

That shut him up.

Geoffrey went over the events the night of the storm as
sparsely as he could. The words ground against his teeth like gravel, but
somehow he knew it would be better if it came from him. Get things straight,
right from the start.

“Hey, whatever you need to do to get yourself a date, it’s no
business of mine.”

“Now why on earth did I think you’d say something sarcastic?”
He should have known better than to think Derek would cut him an inch of slack.
“I’m so glad to see your attitude has improved.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Why did you come back here, Derek?”

“I told you. Just to chill.”

“You mean to get clean?”

Derek turned away to stare at the sea, but didn’t respond.

“You’d better get that way and stay that way, or I’ll toss you
out on your ass.”

“You and what army?”

Geoffrey turned and delivered the icy glare he couldn’t keep
off his face whenever he thought of Derek.
Derek and Christina
.

“I don’t need an army, Derek.” Geoffrey poked him in the
shoulder and gave him a shove.

“Hey!” Derek swiped his hand away, but as Geoffrey expected,
he backed down.

“But I haven’t decided if it’ll be more fun to call Mike, or
kick your ass myself, if you even hint at giving me trouble.”

As Geoffrey suspected, his brother had no retort to that.
Derek and Mike would never be called friends. “August is here to recuperate and
if you do anything to interfere with that—”

“You mean interfere with your putting the moves on her.” Derek
glanced sideways with narrowed eyes.

“I am not
putting the moves
on her,” Geoffrey said
firmly. “And neither are you. Got it?”

Derek took another puff from his cigarette as he scanned the
water. He let it out in a slow breath. “I’ve got as much right to be here as
you. If you don’t like that, route your complaints to Dad.”

Geoffrey took one step toward the patio door, but hesitated.
“What have you ever done for this family? I have the key. This is my house.
Mine and Leah’s and Jocelyn’s. We’re trying to put our lives back together and
we don’t need you coming in and screwing it up again.”

“Am I really the one who screwed it up the first time?” Derek stared
into the distance, silent for a moment as he watched a circling gull. “You need
to get over what happened,” he finally said in a softer voice.

What was that Geoffrey heard? A hint of regret? Maybe a sliver
of guilt? He could hardly believe Derek capable.

“I’ll never get over what happened.”

“That’s your problem,” Derek shot back, the harshness returned
to his voice. “Life goes on.”

Geoffrey shook his head. “Not for Christina, it doesn’t.”

* * *

“This sucks. How long do I have to sit in back?”

Geoffrey didn’t respond when Jocelyn whined from the back seat.
He’d been silent through most of the drive back to town.

August glanced over her shoulder. “You have to be this tall to
ride up front.” She held her hand four inches over her head.

“No fair!” Jocelyn complained, but she giggled, too.

August tried to appear casual as she looked at Geoffrey. His
expression was like granite. She didn’t know him well enough to anticipate his
thoughts.

He maneuvered the car around a bend. The Lexus SUV hugged the
pavement with hardly a vibration inside.

Like the impressive house, August knew she wasn’t used to such
a luxurious vehicle. The engine hummed with a throaty power almost
awe-inspiring, and she felt well-protected behind its heavy doors.

“Penny for your thoughts,” she said.

He sighed. “Derek’s timing couldn’t have been better.”

“I’m glad he’s here,” Jocelyn said from the back seat. “I
missed him.”

As they emerged from a rise in the coastline to see the town
of Newport spreading before them, August’s gaze landed on the crowded harbor
nestled into the corner of the bay. Before she fully understood what she was
thinking, the profiles of some of the boats fit into her mind like puzzle
pieces falling into place.
Sloop. Catamaran. Bayliner
.

But instead of feeling happy that she recognized them, the
sight of the marina brought crushing fear that squeezed off her breath.

If she walked onto its docks, would someone recognize her? She
was sure she’d never seen this marina before, but was that because of their
angle, driving in like this from above? Or had she been there and simply
forgotten it with everything else she couldn’t remember?

“We’re here.”

Geoffrey slowed the Lexus and pulled off the highway at the
first row of buildings at the edge of town, opposite the harbor.

He angled the SUV into a parking spot in front of a large
wooden building weathered by the unrelenting breath of the sea. Its large front
windows looked over the harbor across the road. August recognized the symbol
from the bag of soup he’d brought to the hospital.