“It sounds sort of religious, like…Grace. But you don’t strike me as—well, never mind.”
Zeke chuckled. “I get the picture. My mother liked the name. She said it had strength of character. But enough of that. I’d like to try again to negotiate with you. In a more civil manner this time. I’m not far from your hotel. Would you walk down the pier with me? We can try coffee again—or maybe a beer this time.”
“Yes. All right. Beer’s fine. I have a confession to make, though. The dive shop phoned. They have to order a valve for my air tanks. And you, uh, apparently rented the last tanks of a size they think I should dive with. If you’re agreeable, I’d like to, well, sublet your tanks.”
For the first time in hours, Zeke found something to smile about. So he finally held a trump card. “See you in five minutes, Grace. We’ll discuss it.” Zeke clicked off before she could present any other roadblocks. He imagined they’d both be a lot mellower after a beer or two.
CHAPTER FOUR
ZEKE NEEDED MORE than the five minutes to reach the hotel and locate parking. He was pleasantly surprised to find Grace seated in the lobby.
Zeke smiled as he pocketed his keys. “Always prompt, are you?”
“I hate being kept waiting, so I try not to make anyone wait on my account.”
Zeke noticed the owl-eyed clerk keeping tabs on them. He lowered his voice. “What’s with the guy behind the counter?”
“Russell?” Grace glanced around and waggled her fingers at the man in question. “Russ checked me in when I first arrived. He’s been so helpful and sweet.”
“I’ll just bet he has,” Zeke muttered, not liking the surprising and decidedly unwanted stab of jealousy he felt toward the unknown man.
Grace turned back, her smile fading. “Do you know something about him I should know? Are you saying he’s not nice?”
“Forget I said anything.” Zeke clamped his hand around Grace’s elbow and propelled her toward the doors.
“You can’t do that and leave me wondering,” Grace sputtered, digging in her heels.
“I’m sure he’s perfectly fine. On the other hand, he could be a closet killer with a penchant for gullible women guests.” The door swished shut behind them.
Zeke scowled so fiercely, Grace had to laugh. “If that was your idea of easing my mind, you failed miserably. Now anytime I come in and Russ isn’t behind the counter, I’ll have to check under my bed and in my closet, for sure.” She paused. “I get the distinct impression you don’t like me, so why not hand me over to Russell Tredway if you think he’s apt to do me in?”
Zeke wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He did so now, only it was too obvious.
“Great! Clam up. I hate when people do that. It’s so immature.”
“No. The conversation wasn’t relevant to us. You and me.” He released her arm. “I shouldn’t have said a word about someone I’ve never met. Forget it.”
“Fine.” Grace hugged her purse to her chest. “Where are we going? To a fire? I’m having a hard time keeping up with you.”
“Sorry.” Zeke immediately cut his stride in half. “There’s a bar and grill down the street.”
“We passed several places with lounges.”
Zeke knew the ones she meant. Spots frequented by guys who worked for Kemper. He didn’t like his new assignment and preferred not to take any added flak over it from his men. “Those are touristy,” he lied, although he sounded lame.
“I see. By that do you mean they pad their drink prices? If so, I’ll want to avoid them in the future.”
“No. Jeez! I don’t recall you being this inquisitive the last time we met.”
Grace grinned. “Maybe I’m getting to feel we’ve become friends.”
Zeke couldn’t help laughing then. The weight of this meeting seemed to slide off his shoulders. Ducking his head, he massaged the side of his neck. “Too tense, huh? Guess my manners could use a serious overhaul. The truth is…it’s you, Grace. I almost never go to a bar with a woman. Not almost never. Never,” he finished emphatically, but looked chagrined about discovering he’d been snappish again.
“Really? What’s wrong with the women in Galveston?” Grace exclaimed unexpectedly. “I should think they’d beat a path to your door.” As if realizing how that probably sounded, she clapped a hand over her mouth. “I…I—I just mean where I live, and especially where I work, single guys are besieged. In elementary school teaching, women outnumber men five to one.”
“Around oil rigs it’s the exact opposite.”
Grace noticed Zeke rarely gave out any personal information; it was always general, like this. She’d led with the perfect chance to open up about himself. Maybe she hadn’t been direct enough. She didn’t want to be intrigued by Zeke Rossetti, but the man did interest her. She found him popping into her thoughts at odd hours. In her experience, limited though it was, men who looked like Zeke didn’t reach his age without acquiring plenty of history with women. And he had a way about him that made a woman feel…well, like a woman. A slow, sexy drawl. Impeccable manners. Although, Grace mused, as she let him place a warm hand on her waist to guide her into a little hole-in-the-wall bar, her past brush with a lying, cheating, polite married man had left her skeptical of manners.
“I see you brought your sweater again. Shall we nab a table on the patio? It’s a nice night,” he said, gesturing out a window that showed a glimpse of the bay. “I guarantee the patio will be half as smoky as it’ll get in here.”
“The patio, by all means,” she agreed. “Is there a side that’s better for seeing the sun go down? I’ve only been here a week, but I’m addicted to your sunsets. There’s something so fabulous about the red, peach and purple colors layered all the way down to aqua waves that’s…indescribable.”
“Hmm. To me, sundown signals the end of our most productive hours out on the rig. Even with as much wattage as we use to light the platform, there’s much more danger to our workers after dark.”
“Goodness,” Grace exclaimed as she settled into the wrought iron chair Zeke pulled out. “If it’s so dangerous at night, why not shut down like most businesses do?”
Zeke looked indignant, while simultaneously signaling to a waitress moving among the outer tables. “How many ways can you spell money? We’re an oil-dependent society. Until we unearth new pockets of black gold, it’s all outgo and no income for our companies.”
The waitress arrived then to take their orders. Zeke requested a dark ale, and she ordered a popular south-of-the-border light beer with a twist of lime. After the waitress had gone, Grace traced the logo on one of the napkins the woman had set out. “I never stopped to consider everything you had at stake, Zeke. I guess you must view me as worse than a sunset, huh?”
He snorted with laughter. “That’s one way of putting it, Gracie.”
Her head came up fast. “My grandmother’s the only person who ever calls me Gracie.” Hearing it delivered in Zeke’s gravelly voice caused a curl of pleasure to spread through Grace, and for a moment she looked at him differently.
Ignoring her heartfelt comment, he continued speaking. “As I said, we work at night despite an increased risk of injury. But now—thanks to you—we’re not working at all. Not only have I laid off a number of qualified men, many of them with families, but Pace is shelling out big bucks daily in fines because we’re running beyond the start time we promised our subcontractors.”
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