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Excerpt
A Fish Out
of Water
by Barbara
Donlon Bradley
Chapter One
“What the hell!” Sarah McIntyre’s boss jumped up from the chair as
hot coffee splashed into his crotch. “Damn it, Sarah! This is the
third time this week. What has gotten into you?”
She wished she knew. Nerves, she guessed. “I don’t know, Mr. Milici.
Guess my mind was drifting.”
Sarah shook her head to keep the tears from falling as she grabbed a
napkin and started to blot at his crotch. She jumped when he grabbed
the napkin from her hand.
“If you weren’t so good at your job I would’ve fired you a long time
ago.” He dabbed the napkin against his suit. A quick look put a
grimace on his face. “And get that coffeepot away from me.”
“Yes, sir, and I’m sorry.” Sarah sat the pot down on a filing
cabinet. “It was an accident.”
“I know. Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off? Maybe you
can pull yourself together? Find a date for the office function in a
couple days?”
She nodded.
“And Sarah? One more screw up, and you won’t be working here.” He
gestured at his clothes. “I can’t afford the cleanup anymore.”
Sarah slunk out of Mr. Milici’s office and tried to ignore the
snickers she heard coming from her co-workers. They were all jerks
anyway.
Leaning her back against the door to the stairway, she pushed it
open. It was five floors down, but she always took the stairs.
Someone once asked her if she was afraid to take the elevator, and
she laughed it off, but deep down inside she was. The last time she
was on an elevator the darn thing wouldn’t land on her floor, and
she had to pull herself up out of the car onto her belly because the
floor didn’t come up high enough for her to just step out. Not very
dignified in a two-piece suit.
Her car sat in the front row. The clank of her keys on the ground
made her want to pound her head against the roof of her car, but she
knew someone would be looking out the windows. Instead, she picked
them up, unlocked her door and climbed inside.
A half hour later, she stood at the edge of the shore searching for
rocks to throw. She really hated her life. Nothing worked in her
favor. The job of her dreams turned out to be a nightmare—one of her
own creation. She picked up a shell fragment. Anything to help focus
her mind so she could figure out how to stop her klutziness.
“I wish…” She pitched one shell as hard as she could. “That I could
find…” The second partial shell went flying. “A man. Wait. Not just
any man.” One of the fragments she held in her hand caught her eye.
“Oh, this one is pretty. It’s a keeper.”
“Now let’s see. Where was I?” She unconsciously rubbed the
iridescent shell. “Right. I need a man who cares. Who will not judge
me by my mistakes and quirks. Who has a big heart. Who will be
willing to help me with my little problem without questions.”
She spotted a partial conch shell. Finally, something with a little
weight to it. A grin spread across her lips when she grabbed it.
“This will make me feel better.”
Like a baseball pitcher, she wound her arm up and let the shell fly.
A deep cry of pain fractured the air.
“What the…” She headed toward a cluster of boulders. “I didn’t even
throw in that direction.”
Another sound filled the air. Sarah wasn’t sure if she heard a growl
this time or another wounded sound, but she definitely heard sounds
of struggling. She darted between several boulders and found a man
with his feet trapped. “You okay?”
He just stared at her.
“Do you need help getting up?” It looked like his feet were wedged
between two rocks. She frowned when she noticed his bare feet.
Glancing up his leg, she found no pants. “Holy cow!”
“Problem?” His voice came out rough, grainy. Like he had sand in his
throat or had swallowed a lot of saltwater.
“Um, you—you’re naked.” She didn’t mean to blurt it out but couldn’t
stop the words once she started talking. “I don’t see too many naked
men in public.”
“Naked?” He stared at her with the most startling blue eyes.
Sarah noticed his voice seemed stronger. “Yeah, lack of clothing?” A
moment ago she would have bolted from him, but something told her he
needed her help.
“Oh.”
The one word responses started to bother her. Didn’t he have
anything else to say? “Look. I don’t mean to put you out.”
“Put me out?” He paused for a moment. “Um. Is naked a bad thing?”
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