A Dolphin's Gift (25 page)
Authors: Patricia Watters
Will sat beside
Mike. "We will when your mom's done with her bath and we've had our turn
in the pool." With his knife, he slit open the bag of sweet rolls.
Mike looked up.
"Are we going to set up the sonar stuff today?"
"We will
later," Will replied.
Mike reached
for a roll and sank his teeth into a strawberry swirl.
Garnering his
nerve, Will said, "We need to have a man-to-man talk."
Mike took
another bite of roll. "If it's about sex," he said, licking jam from
his fingers, "we learned all about it in school." He nibbled around
the jelly-filled center.
Will realized
he'd never been so nervous. He gave Mike a tight smile. "We'll discuss sex
some other time," he said. "This morning I want to talk about your
mother."
Mike looked up,
puzzled. "Why about her?"
Will ran shaky
fingers through his hair. "Last night after you went to bed, your mother
and I were, uh... talking. That is, we discussed the possibility of—" he
sucked in a long breath, held it for a moment, then let it out while quickly
saying "—the fact is, I've asked your mother to marry me and she said she
would if you had no objection."
Will stared at
a sober face. Mike wasn't buying it. They’d crossed all the other hurdles only
to find this last one insurmountable. Maybe he shouldn't have asked Mike's
approval. That way, they wouldn't be going against him if they eloped, and Mike
would have to accept it.
"When?"
Mike bit off half of the jelly-filled center.
Will looked at
Mike, puzzled. "When what?"
"When are
you gonna marry my mom?"
"Today...
as soon as we find a ship’s captain to do it," Will said, "which I
know we can."
Mike's brows
pinched together. "Does that mean you'll be staying in Mom's stateroom for
the rest of the trip?"
Realizing his
grin was wider than it should be, Will forced a sober face and said,
"Well, yes. She'll be my wife. Would that, uh… bother you?"
Mike looked at
what was remaining of the jelly center, and replied, "No. I won't have to
hear you snoring anymore. I guess Mom won't mind though because my dad snored
too."
Will laughed.
"Then you don't object to the idea of your mom and me getting
married?"
Mike popped the
rest of the strawberry center into his mouth. "I suppose
it's
okay." Dismissing that subject, he said,
"Will you teach me how to read the charts and the depth finder so I can do
everything you do in the wheelhouse?"
"You
bet," Will replied, feeling a blend of affection, and joy, and love for
this boy who would soon be his son. "You're doing real well now, so it
wouldn't surprise me if you took command of the
Isadora
by the time you’re twelve."
"No joke?"
"No joke."
Will offered a high five, and Mike slapped his palm
.
"Besides, I'll need someone
dependable to step in so I can—" careful now. Don't verbalize what you
want to do behind closed doors with his mother while Mike was at the helm
"—uh... enjoy the cruise."
Mike smiled.
"And you'll show me about the whales, how to talk to them and all, so
maybe someday I can do what you do?"
"Better
yet, I'll put in a request for additional funds so you can be my assistant next
summer," Will said, thrilled with the prospect of doing just that. He and
his son, working side-by-side. He never dreamed he'd be given the gift of a
son. And maybe a daughter too someday. He could do this. He was already feeling
a strong parental bond.
"And help
me build my Batmobile?"
"Batmobile?"
He looked at Mike, puzzled.
"My entry
for the race. You know, a Batmobile."
"Yep. And
it'll be the fastest da— uh...
darn
entry in the race."
Mike gave a
whoop then reached for another jelly swirl.
***
Nellie strolled
out of the springhouse, surprised to see Mike sitting beside Will. "That's
the way to wake up," she said, drying her hair with her towel. "It's
not too bad before going to sleep either," she added, almost feeling
Will's body wrapped around hers. She caught Will's eager smile. In fact, he
looked like the cat who’d just swallowed the proverbial canary, and she
wondered exactly what had transpired during his little talk with Mike.
Mike looked at
his mom. "Can Will and I go in the pool now?" he asked.
"Sure,"
Nellie replied.
"Far
out!"
While Mike was
fetching his swimsuit, Will pulled Nellie into his arms and kissed her soundly.
"If you have nothing to do while Mike and I are in the pool, you can clear
a place in your closet for my things. Mike doesn't like my snoring and he wants
me to stay with you tonight, now that I'm going to be his stepfather later
today."
Nellie looked
at him, wide-eyed. "He said that?"
"Yep."
Will smiled. "Is that too soon to have me in your bed?"
Nellie planted
a kiss on his lips, and replied, "The sooner the better. And the first
thing I want, after we get settled on land, wherever it is we settle, is our
own hot tub. In fact, maybe we could get married and come back here tonight.
That hot springs pool is the perfect place to spend our honeymoon. Besides, I'm
not finished doing my underwater research."
"Nellie,
my good woman, you can carry on all the research your little heart desires.
Both below and above, the water, and I guarantee, I will rise to the occasion."
"Umm,
well, yes. You do that very well."
"And
speaking of occasions, I have something for you," he said. "I bought
it when we were in Campbell River. It was for after the whale study was
over—sort of a peace offering. I figured, after a month on the
Isadora
with a scrappy little dog, an
ill-tempered cat, a contentious kid, and a stubborn, beautiful woman, it would
be the least I could give you to smooth things over." He grabbed his pants
and pulled something out of the pocket.
Nellie looked
at what was obviously a ring box. She didn't dare think it could be an
engagement ring. Will would not have considered such a thing when they were in
Campbell River. And only last night he realized he wanted to marry her. She sat
on the log and waited. Will moved to sit beside her and handed her the box.
"I hope you like it," he said.
"Honey,
I'll love whatever it is you have for me," Nellie replied, "even
knowing it was originally intended to be a peace offering."
"Well,
it's a wedding ring now," Will said, looking expectantly at the box, his
eyes bright, like a kid eager to know what was inside a glittery present.
When Nellie
lifted the lid, tears welled. "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever
seen," she said, gazing at the tiny, beautifully-crafted dolphins that
curved around the band like two golden, aquatic soul mates.
"I bought
it from the artist who made it," Will said. "I had him size it for
you. I figured your ring finger was about the size of my little finger."
"So that's
why you were gone so long when we were in Campbell River," Nellie said.
"I thought you were just giving Mike and me a chance to be alone
together."
"Well,
that too." Will lifted her hand with her wedding ring. "And since you
agreed to marry me, I think it's time to do this." He slipped the ring off
her left hand and placed it on her right. "And this." He slipped the
dolphins onto her ring finger."
Nellie admired
the ring for a moment then said, "No, it's time to do this." She
walked over to where she'd piled her overnight gear and opened her cosmetic
case and removed a velvet jewelry pouch. Slipping off the wedding ring Richard
had given her, she placed it inside. "Richard will always be with me
through Mike," she said, "but when I'm curled up with you, every
night of our lives, I want you to be absolutely certain you're the only husband
there with me." She stretched out her hand. "Could the artist make
one just like it for you?"
Will walked
over to where she stood admiring the ring. "I'm sure it could be arranged.
We'll stop by the shop on our way back through Campbell River."
Nellie turned
and put her arms around Will's neck and looked at him, and said, "By then,
I'll be Mrs. William
Edenhaw
.
Cornelia Edenshaw
.
Nellie Edenshaw. I like the sound of
them all."
"So do
I," Will said, smiling. "So do
I
." He
kissed her soundly and went to join Mike.
While Will and
Mike were soaking in the hot spring pool Nellie carried the sleeping bags and
pillows to the dock, piling them high,
then
returned
for their knapsacks and bags of trash from the campout. After transferring
everything to the deck of the
Isadora
,
she climbed down the ladder into the galley. But when she stepped onto the
floor, she felt crunching beneath her foot. She looked around in disgust. Cat
chow was everywhere. The sack, which
Will
apparently
left open on the table, had fallen over, with Zeke's help, she suspected. Or
perhaps there had been another dog-cat scrap. She opened Zeke's cabinet and saw
that he was gone. Peering under the table, she also saw that Katy's bed was
empty. "OK, you two. Where are you?" she called out.
Hearing no
thumping tail or patter of feet, she went to the master stateroom and glanced
through the door... And stared in disbelief. Katy lay sprawled on the bed,
asleep, Zeke curled up beside her. "So now you're partners in crime,"
she mumbled, trying to decide whether to scold them both for being on the bed
or let them enjoy their newfound friendship. Settling on the latter, she turned
into the galley and reached for the broom and dustpan...
While Will and
Mike hoisted the kayak on deck, she packed everything away and secured the
cabinets for the trip back. As she was fastening the strap around the
refrigerator, she heard Mike's excited voice on deck. "Mom!" he
yelled. "It's Diana! She's here!"
Nellie rushed
to the deck and looked to where Mike was pointing. Will moved to stand behind
her and slipped his hands around her waist. "It's Diana and Lester,"
he said over the top of her head. "I think they've come to say
goodbye." He gave her a little kiss on the temple, and Nellie placed her
hands over his, and together they watched the pair of dolphins.
Leaping and
diving through the quiet water of the cove, Diana swam steadily toward them.
Then she circled the
Isadora
twice,
flung herself in a jubilant leap at the bow, and dived under the boat. Moments
later, she broke the surface of the water alongside the
Isadora
, then raised upright in front of Mike and emitted a series
of clicks. Mike reached out and touched the gray snout, then stroked Diana's
bulging rubbery brow. For a moment, boy and dolphin held a strange communion.
Then Diana clicked again, raised up on her tail, made one final leap out of the
water and disappeared below the surface, leaving a trail of pearly bubbles
behind. She rejoined her mate and together the dolphins swam across the cove
toward the vast open water beyond then disappeared below the surface. Farther
out, they emerged again, leaping in unison before disappearing once again. Then
farther out
they
emerged. And yet farther. Then, they
were gone.
"It seems
she came to tell you good bye," Will said to Mike
Mike looked
beyond the bay to where the morning sun filtered through the mist hovering over
the vacant water. "Do you think we'll ever see her again?" he asked
Will.
Will squeezed
Mike's shoulder. "She has her mate and they're free. That's what's
important. And maybe next year they'll be back with a little one." Will
looked at Nellie.
Nellie tipped
her head back and smiled. "Maybe I'll be back with a little one too,"
she said, patting her tummy. She looked at Mike and quickly added, "That
is, after Will and I are married, if you still want a baby sister or
brother."
"Yeah,"
Mike said. He looked at Will. "When can you and Mom do it?"
"You mean,
get married?"
"No, make
a baby. You know. Do it."
"Do it?"
Will winked at Nellie. "Real soon, I hope. Is that okay with you,
babe?"
Nellie's lips
tipped up. "I'm ready when you are." Sliding a glance at Mike, she
added, "Ready to get married, that is. And then make a baby."
She felt Will's
hand pat her fanny. "Will!" she gasped, "You can't be doing that
sort of thing. It's beyond the boundaries we discussed last night.
Will rolled his
eyes. "At least there won't be any boundaries behind the closed door to
our stateroom," he said. Then added, "Will there be?"
"Absolutely
none." Nellie gave him a sultry smile. "Of that, you can be
sure."
###
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you enjoyed
IN HOT PURSUIT
, you might also enjoy
JUSTIFIED DECEPTION,
the story of a woman whose two-year-old
daughter was abducted. Ruth Crawford's on a quest to find and reclaim her
daughter, who was kidnapped four years before. Ruth's private investigator is
all but certain ranch owner Matt Kincaid's adopted daughter, Annie, is Ruth's
own little Beth. But Matt's the maverick in a powerful family of lawyers and
politicians, so even though she manages to land the job as nanny to Matt's
willful, six-year-old daughter, Ruth must tread carefully. She can't predict
what Matt and his family might do if the
adoption's
challenged. But while she's trying to find positive proof, Matt begins to fill
a void Ruth never knew existed, and although she wants to hate the man who
might have been party to an illegal adoption, she's finding it increasingly
more difficult to keep from falling in love with him.
To get you started, here
are the first three chapters of JUSTIFIED DECEPTION:
CHAPTER 1: JUSTIFIED DECEPTION:
Annie Kincaid
stomped a small bare foot against the ground and said, "I don't want a
nanny, and I won't do what she says!"
Matt Kincaid
clenched his jaws to keep from letting out an expletive. "Look pal, don't
jerk my chain. You're going to have a nanny and you'll do what she says, and
that’s that." He knew his anger was aimed more at Annie's mother than at
Annie. Jody had been spoiled, self-centered and stubborn, and whenever Annie
showed those traits it made him mad as hell. He also didn't have the time or
patience to deal with a stubborn six-year-old this particular afternoon.
Snaring a nanny willing to live at the ranch was tough enough. Keeping her on
afterwards was damn near impossible. Annie could be a real pain in the butt
when she wanted to get rid of a nanny.
He also knew
Annie might get her way this time. The first woman he’d interviewed had
fingernails chewed to the quick, the second wrung her hands through the entire
interview, and the third was a mouse of a woman who stared at him, unblinking.
Granted, he'd been hard on the women, but if they couldn't stand up to his
interrogation, they wouldn't survive either Annie or the rugged, isolated
existence of living on the Kincaid.
Annie glared up
at him. "I hate nannies. They're bossy and stink like perfume. If you get
me another nanny I'll jump in the bull pen and get stomped to little
pieces."
Matt clenched
his jaws. He refused to let a pint-sized prima donna manipulate him. But, with
less than twenty minutes before the arrival of Annie's next potential victim
he'd have to change tactics. Softening his tone, he said, "I can't be all
things to you, honey. You're a little girl, and I'm a man. You need a woman to
see to your needs." He saw Annie's bottom lip quiver and knew he'd made
some headway.
"No one
has to look after me," Annie lamented. "I can look after
myself."
"Sorry,
that's not an option," Matt said. "When I’m out on the trail you need
a nanny." He glanced at his watch. "Meanwhile, Miss Crawford will be
here in twenty minutes for her interview and I promised I'd put together Aunt
June's glider while we’re here. But first, I want a smile and a hug." He
crouched and opened his arms. An impish glimmer came into Annie's big hazel
eyes and she slipped her hands around Matt's neck. "That's my girl."
Matt cranked up
the volume on his radio and grabbed the wrench he'd been using to assemble his
sister-in-law's lawn glider. And Annie scrambled up the ladder leading to a
tree fortress built over, around, and between the sturdy limbs of an ancient
oak...
Twenty minutes
later, Matt glanced up from his crouched position, startled to find a woman
staring at him. He hadn't heard her arrive and had no idea how long she'd been
there. Which he concluded was probably often the case with this particular
woman. If he were to describe her in one word, it would be: limpid. A plain
woman with not a trace of lipstick on her prim, tight lips, she peered down at
him through the lenses of wide, round glasses. She wore her mouse brown hair
caught in a knot on top of her head, and her shapeless frame was clad in a
loose-fitting brown suit coat that hung over a matching skirt that reached
mid-calf. Serviceable brown shoes with broad flat heels completed her garb. A
woman well into her thirties, she obviously had no desire to catch a man, which
suited him fine.
She offered her
hand. "Mr. Kincaid, I'm Ruth Crawford, and I'm sorry I'm—"
With a whoosh,
something dropped from the boughs of the oak and glanced off the woman's head,
drawing an audible gasp from her while dislodging the knot. She looked up, then
repositioned the knot and impaled it with a wooden pin.
Matt scooped up
a rubber chicken that lay at the woman's feet. Jaws clenched, he looked toward
Annie's perch. The little twit was really testing him.
Miss Crawford,
having recovered her composure, offered her hand again, this time somewhat
tentatively, and said, "I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. Kincaid. That rarely
happens."
Matt glanced at
his watch. Six minutes was hardly late. Still, he wouldn't let it pass. "I
hope you're right," he said, "because my daughter needs
structure." He wiped his palm on his jeans and shook the woman's hand,
finding it moist and cold, which didn't surprise him. In fact it would have
shocked the hell out of him to find the woman's hand anything but cold. A hot
little number she was not. "Please have a seat."
She sat on the
edge of a lawn chair, feet together, hands folded across her brown leather
shoulder bag, a sedate pose that whispered distinctly,
don't touch
. But she also looked practical, sensible and pragmatic,
qualities that did nothing for him, but would help keep Annie in check. She
seemed to be studying him though, as if
she
were here to interview
him
. He dragged
a lawn chair over and sat opposite her. Now he'd see the kind of stuff Miss
Ruth Crawford was made of. He had no intention of painting a rosy picture. He'd
had his fill of nannies packing up and leaving with little more than a moment's
notice.
Looking directly
at her, he said, "I'm going to lay it out for you, Miss Crawford. If
you're looking for an easy job you've come to the wrong place. The Kincaid's a
working ranch located in an isolated valley twenty miles from the nearest
store, so you can't run into town for every impulsive female whim you've a mind
for. And Annie's a scrapper. She's got a mind of her own. And she's independent
as hell."
Holding his
gaze, the woman said in a confident tone, "I pride myself in being able to
cope with difficult children."
"Good,
because you'll need all your skills to cope with Annie. She doesn't have a very
high regard for mothers or mother substitutes."
The woman's
inscrutable eyes unmasked momentarily. Did he glimpse despair in those eyes?
Then it was gone.
"As I said,
Mr. Kincaid, I've handled difficult children. They’re not a problem for
me," she said, her voice businesslike.
Unquestionably
no-nonsense, Matt decided. And she reeked of self-control. Probably never had a
fit of temper or uttered a cuss word in her life. Good. She wouldn't cave in to
Annie's melodramas or manipulations. "I assume you can ride."
"Ride?"
"Horses,
Miss Crawford. The Kincaid's spread over twenty-four-hundred acres of rugged
territory, much of it accessible only by horse." The woman's eyes
sharpened, not so much in surprise, but something more akin to... panic?
"You do ride, don't you?"
She blinked
several times. "Well, yes. I did once when I was a child."
"Once! Oh
geeze!"
"I'm a
fast learner, Mr. Kincaid. If you're willing to give me some instruction, I'm
willing to learn. I'm not afraid of horses. I assume that's half the
battle."
"Okay,
I'll give you four days. You'll work with your horse from the ground up—do the
feeding and grooming, clean its hooves, tend your own tack. And if you fall on
your butt you'll be expected to pick yourself up and get back on. You'll roll
into bed bone tired and wake up aching from head to toe. I'm not meaning to
scare you, but if you don't learn to ride fast, Annie will leave you in a cloud
of dust. Besides, if you don't know horses, you and Annie won't bond."
Ruth Crawford’s
lips parted and fell into a downward curve, and behind the round lenses of her
glasses, Matt saw sad brown eyes that glistened with unshed tears. Though
nothing about the woman attracted him, he had an illogical urge to hold her in
his arms, like comforting a lost child. Then with a mercurial shift of mood,
the woman blinked away the sadness, the corners of her mouth lifted from their
downward droop, and she said, "I assure you, I'll be riding well within
the week."
"Yeah,
well, we'll see. Any questions?"
"Am I
supposed to cook or clean?"
"Nope. We
have Edith for that. You just look after Annie. Anything else?"
"No."
"Then the
job's yours if you still want it."
"Yes...
yes I do." She smiled then, her first real smile, and Matt noted two small
dimples in her cheeks. Appealing little dimples that made years vanish from her
face. He made a vow to coax that smile from her often. "Thank you, Mr.
Kincaid."
He returned her
smile. "Honey, just call me Matt."
"Yes,
well, thank you... Matt."
"Right.
And one thing more. Annie will be home schooled. Can you handle that?"
"Home
schooled?" A look of alarm crossed the woman's face and her smile faded,
replaced by... wariness? "Is there a reason why?" she asked.
"Sure,"
Matt replied, "the ranch is located in an isolated valley miles from
school."
"But it's
my understanding that there's school bus service in that area," she
argued.
"There's
school bus service," Matt said, "but for the first couple of years I've
decided to keep Annie home. Would that be a problem for you?"
"Well,
no," the woman replied. "I'm certain I could manage her
studies."
"Good.
Since that's decided, it's time you met Annie." He looked up at the tree
fortress and caught a glimpse of a young, sassy face before Annie ducked out of
sight. He should climb up there and tan her little bummer for dropping the
rubber-chicken. Instead, he stood at the base of the tree and called up,
"Annie, get your fanny down here and meet your new nanny."
"Annie,
fanny, nanny... Annie, fanny, nanny," she mimicked in a sing-song voice.
"Don’t
push my buttons pal. Do as I say."
A very strident
young voice bellowed down from the boughs of the tree, "
I don't want a nanny and I'm not coming
down!
"
Matt looked
askance at Ruth, and said, "Go on inside and have a cup of coffee. The
pot's on the stove. I’ll bring Annie in and you two can meet and get
acquainted."
Ruth's lips
parted, as if to respond, then she nodded vaguely and turned away.
***
As Ruth walked
toward the house, the realization that in moments she might come face to face
with her own little Beth hit her, and everything about that horrifying day four
years before came rushing back. The shock, the hysteria, the helplessness, the
waiting, the fear of leaving home because she might miss a call from the
police. The fear of
getting
a call
from the police. And the terrible, ever present guilt. If only she hadn't left
Beth with a baby sitter. If only the baby sitter hadn't left Beth alone for an
instant while she answered the phone. Alone in a fenced yard. In Beth's own
front yard. If only the clock could be turned back.
…If only... if only... if only...
By the time she
reached the house, Ruth was so lightheaded she had to lean against the door for
support. But after the dizziness passed, she willed herself to again take on
the character of the nanny she held herself out to be, the nanny Matt Kincaid
just hired. That woman was calm, collected, in control. A woman able to cope
with difficult children. She'd come prepared for that possibility. When she
learned from Bill McFadden, her private investigator, that Matt Kincaid had
flown in from his ranch in southeast Oregon, and was in Salem at his brother's
house, interviewing for a live-in nanny, she also learned that finding new
nannies was often the case.
"They
don’t stay long because the ranch is so isolated and the child so unruly,"
Bill told her.
Was her little
Beth a difficult child now? And had Matt Kincaid made her that way? If, in
fact, Annie Kincaid was Beth. The possibility was very real. This had been
their best lead yet. And for some reason, Matt Kincaid wanted his child home
schooled. Maybe so he could keep her away from authorities who might learn the
truth? Learn she wasn't Annie Kincaid, but instead, a little girl named Beth
Sinclair who'd been abducted four years ago.
In due course
she'd find out, but for the moment, she'd set aside Matt Kincaid's reason for
keeping his daughter at home and concentrate on carrying out the plan.
She stepped
into the kitchen and scanned the surroundings. The presence of a child was
everywhere—a scattering of broken crayons by a picture of a horse, a plate with
a half-eaten jelly sandwich, a plastic cup with a coiled plastic straw. She
walked over to the refrigerator and studied the photos attached to the door
with magnets. In one, Annie sat on her father’s shoulders. In another, he held
a pony while Annie stood with arms out, balancing on the pony's back. In
another, Matt Kincaid crouched behind Annie, who held a winner’s ribbon, a
proud smile on her face. And in another, Annie was slung over her father's
shoulders like a sack of grain, Annie making a silly face at the camera. As
Ruth studied the pictures, one thing stood out above all else. Annie and Matt
Kincaid looked truly happy together, as if no one mattered but each other.