Call of the Sea (14 page)

A soft groan floated up from the bed. “Ellie?” Mama’s eyes fluttered open, focused on Daniel. “You found my baby?”

Daniel smiled down at her. “Aye, we did.” He beckoned Ellie into the room. “She was so anxious to see you, she couldn’t wait for her grand entrance.”

Ellie willed her feet forward, swept her gaze up from the floorboards to meet the cool green eyes of her mother. “Hello, Mama.”

Daniel pushed to his feet. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

On a whim, Ellie reached out as he passed, gave his work-worn hand a squeeze. She ignored the jolt of heat that shot up her arm at the contact, and mouthed a silent “Thank you.”

A half smile and a silent nod took Daniel from the room. He closed the door behind him.

Ellie bolstered her courage and went to the bed, sitting beside her awestruck mother. She reached up and swept the skullcap from her head, twisting it nervously between her fingers. “Are you all right, Mama?”

“I am so much more than all right.” She threw her arms around Ellie. “I was so worried about you.” Mama pushed back, held Ellie at arm’s length and studied her closely. “You cut off all your pretty red curls.”

Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat. “Had to.”

Mama smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “I missed you, Ellie.”

Tension left Ellie’s shoulders. “I’ve missed you too, Mama. I’m so sorry for worrying you.”

“Water under the bridge, baby. What matters is that you’re here now.” Mama sat up, shooed Ellie from the bed. “Let me get up. There’s stew on the fire. I’ll make you a bowl and you can tell me why you look so tired.”

Just like Mama, straight back to work.
Ellie chuckled and headed into the parlor. A quick scan of the room told her Daniel had left. She’d deny it if asked, but she enjoyed the idea of him being close by.
Not that I need him. I can take care of myself.

“You haven’t changed one bit, Mama, always worrying about everyone but you. I’m fine, I promise.” She eyed her father’s chair by the hearth. Her tight grip on the wellspring of grief festering in her soul slipped a notch. Ellie gulped in a deep breath, changed direction, and sat on the sofa instead. “I’m more worried about you.”

Mama sat down in the chair across from Ellie, folded her hands in her lap. She studied her fingernails for a few moments before lifting her chin to meet Ellie’s gaze. “Your father always made sure I was well cared for, sweetie.”

“I’m not talking about money, Mama.” She narrowed her eyes at her mother. “You understand that Papa’s gone, don’t you?”

Mama sighed. “I’m not addled, child. Yes, I understand. What’s the point of melting into hysterics? It’ll do nothing to bring your father back to me. I knew when I married him this day might come.”

Ellie stared at her mother, stunned. “I thought you loved him.”

The look on Mama’s face sent pinpricks of guilt down Ellie’s spine. “Well, of course I loved him. Until I gave birth to you, your father was the center of my universe. We were never apart.”

“You sailed with Papa?” Ellie leaned forward, gathered her brow. She couldn’t picture her homebody mother on the deck of a ship. A new layer of guilt settled on her shoulders.
She stayed here alone all this time because of me?

Mama’s face lit up, her green eyes shining like emeralds. “Oh, yes. I travelled with him for two years. I understand why you love it. The sea is beautiful, wildly unpredictable,” her voice lowered to a whisper, “dangerous.” She inclined her head toward the hearth. “You sure you’re not hungry?”

The thought of her mother’s stew sent Ellie’s empty stomach into a fit of gurgling. “I could eat.”

Mama grinned wide and pushed up from the chair. She swept across the parlor to the kitchen, her long skirt dancing gracefully over the floorboards.

“Why did you stop then?” Ellie followed her into the kitchen, crossed to the cupboard, and pulled it open.

“I was injured during a skirmish aboard
The Siren’s Call
at the beginning of the pregnancy, slashed across the side by a piece of shrapnel when enemy cannons splintered the crates I was hiding behind.” She pointed to her ribs beneath her right breast with the end of the spoon. “Split me wide open.”

Ellie took two large bowls from the cabinet and brought them over. She set one down on the hearth and held out the other for a ladle of the savory-smelling stew.

Mama removed the lid from the large pot with a cloth-wrapped hand, unleashing a steamy wave of rich aroma. “Thankfully, you weren’t hurt. After I recovered, your father and I agreed it was time for me to stay home with you.” She ladled out a heaping portion of stew.

Ellie set the full bowl on the table and grabbed the remaining empty one from the hearth. She lifted her gaze to her mother—so different from the woman Ellie had always thought she was.
What else have I gotten completely wrong?

After her mother filled the second bowl, she replaced the lid on the pot and the pair sat down at the table, Mama at the head of the table—in Papa’s seat—and Ellie to her right.

Ellie’s mind tried to absorb what she’d been told as she sat over her stew bowl.
Had Papa been so adamant about keeping me from his ship out of fear?
She scooped up a mouthful of stew, contemplated as she chewed. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? When you knew how badly I wanted Papa to take me along? All this time, I thought he believed I wouldn’t measure up. That he wouldn’t let me sail with him because I was a girl.”

Mama set her spoon down and captured Ellie’s hand in her own. “Nothing could be further from the truth, honey. When you tried to swim out to the ship on your tenth birthday and almost drowned in the effort, it became clear to us that the sea was in your blood, and we would need to accept that or risk losing you. That’s why we sent you off to school. You had to learn the skills you would need to run the shipping business and handle the day to day operations. He had every intention of allowing you to sail with him once you returned home.”

Ellie sighed.
I never gave him the chance.

Mama offered a sympathetic smile. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Ellie-bean. We should’ve told you. That was our mistake, not yours.”

“So much of what I believed about Papa, about you, was so wrong.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. Fate,” she looked heavenward, “and your father have brought us back together. That is something to celebrate, not lament.”

Ellie tried to look at things with the same positive light as her mother, but the absence of her father from the happy reunion soured the moment. There would be no reconciliation with Papa; he’d been taken from her before she’d gotten the chance. Angry fire ignited in her stomach. Her thoughts turned to her plans for revenge, her need for it. Would Mama agree with her decision, or try to convince her to give up her plans to go after Jashir?

She decided it best to keep her intentions private, at least for the time being. She’d be home for at least a month making preparations and repairs on Papa’s ship, and there was no sense worrying Mama.

At least that’s what she told herself.

Chapter Seventeen

Daniel surged ahead, flippers pumping madly. His lithe body cut through the water with efficiency. Water roared past his ears. With his snout mere inches from the school of smelt he hunted, Daniel could already taste them. He made small adjustments to his front fins, veering left or right as the frenzy of the group of fish dictated. The tilt of his head, a hard kick, and he broke the water’s surface, sucking a chest full of air. Daniel dipped his head downward, slipping back beneath the waves. He zeroed in on his target and resumed his pursuit.

Minutes later, his stomach full and heart singing, Daniel rode the breakers to shore. His soft round belly scratched against the sand as he came to a rest on the beach. He tingled with pleasure and his pulse sent a delirious sense of freedom coursing through his body. The late night swim was just what he’d needed to calm the ache in his bones, an ache born of too much time in human form. Daniel hadn’t intended to stay at sea that long.

Rolling onto his back, he stared at the twinkling stars spattered across an inky sky. The sound of the surf crashing against the beach only added to the serenity engulfing him. As if it sensed his momentary relaxation, the yoke of responsibility crowded his mind. Now that they’d returned to port, he’d have to report to his superiors. He didn’t relish telling them of Captain Winters’ demise. The captain was an integral part of their plans.

He grunted, flipped to his belly and focused his energy on sparking his metamorphosis. As much as he’d like to stay there all night enjoying the sea’s bounty, he had duties to attend to first.

Daniel closed his eyes and concentrated on his flippers, visualizing hands replacing fins. Crawling inside himself, he focused on what it felt like to be human, to walk upright. Daniel dragged his human spirit to the forefront of his consciousness and willed it to take over.

A familiar heat tingled through his lower half and a cramp seized his side. Accustomed to the effects of the change, Daniel welcomed the pain when it arrived. He felt his skin loosen and braced for what was to come. The cracking of bones filled his ears.

After a few moments, his breathing calmed. He stretched his legs and pointed bare toes. A wave of nausea tightened his stomach as his body adjusted to a new center of gravity. He sat up, took a deep breath and tilted his head to the side to stretch his neck. Drawn by its raw beauty, his gaze sought the white crests bobbing in the moonlight. The cool night air swept over his naked form, raising gooseflesh.

Daniel gathered the discarded sealskin and wrapped it around his chilled shoulders as he got to his feet. After one last look at Mother Earth’s bounty, he turned, heading back up the beach to the rock outcropping where he’d left his clothes.

***

Ellie wandered down the path to the shore, her mind rolling over all she’d learned since her bittersweet homecoming. She twisted a long piece of grass between two fingers while her teeth worried her lower lip. Her toes dug into the thick sand at the base of the bluffs, bringing a smile to her lips. For a moment, she just bathed her senses in the familiar feel and smell of the secluded inlet. Her shoulders relaxed as she let the rhythmic sound of the surf sweep her into a cocoon of comfort, like being wrapped in a favorite blanket.

Her eyes drank in the dark beauty of the curling waves, scanned along the moonlit sand, and froze. She squinted into the night, trying to identify the dark shape walking up the beach. Her breath caught.

Daniel.
Ellie’s eyes widened.
Is he nude?
She hunched down, afraid he’d see her. Heat flushed her cheeks. He had something wrapped around him, something dark. From her vantage point, she could make out very little of his physique. Pity.

Ellie straightened, chiding herself for behaving like some sort of peeping tom, ogling him as if he were one of Jameson’s sweet treats. Curiosity tugged at her brain, urged her feet forward.
What has he been up to?

She quickened the pace, keeping herself shielded from view by the large rock formation separating them. Concentration centered on keeping her breathing calm and slow, she snuck closer. She tiptoed around the base until she saw Daniel crouched, and still naked, just a few feet ahead.

He stuffed something between the boulders.

She pressed back against the rock wall, stifling a gasp.
What’s he hiding?

Peeking around the corner, Ellie watched Daniel step into his breeches. The curve of his left flank caught the moonlight, drawing her attention as he pulled the pants over his lean hips. Her gaze trailed up his smooth muscular chest.

He bent and grabbed his shirt. Turning so his back faced her, Daniel pulled it over his head, blocking her appreciative view of the contours of his strapping shoulders and molded back.

Ellie bit into the heel of her hand, and tried to disappear into the rock face.
No man should be allowed to look that good in the buff. Especially one I don’t like.

Dressed again, Daniel ran fingers through his damp hair, looked around.

Ellie held her breath and waited for him to see her.
He went swimming?
Who swims in the middle of the night?
She’d seen no signs of a ship in the bay—no voices bouncing across the water, no lights floating in the distance. Besides, the bright moonlight would reveal any ship anchored off shore. She stole another look around the giant boulder.

Daniel had moved away, his long strides carrying him across the beach toward the path. She let out a sigh and rolled the tension from her shoulders.

Once he’d disappeared over the ridge, Ellie darted to his hiding spot and dropped to her knees in the sand, heart racing. She reached into the tiny alcove. Her fingers brushed across soft sleek thickness.
Fur?

Ellie pulled the material from the cavity.

She sat back on her heels and stared at the luxurious pile of sealskin, brow furrowed. Her fingers absently caressed the soft material as her mind worked at the puzzle. She chewed on her lip. It was entirely too coincidental that Daniel stored sealskin in the rocks where a seal—
her seal
—lived when she was a child. Had he killed Skipper? But why keep the trophy in a hidey-hole? For that matter, how had Skipper ended up with a wooden figurine Daniel admitted carving?

Regardless of how she contorted the pieces, they wouldn’t fit together right and her head ached with the effort. With a grunt of frustration, Ellie gathered up the sealskin and folded it over her arm.
One thing is certain: I’m taking this with me.

A smile bowed her lips as she pictured the look on Daniel’s face when he discovered the missing sealskin. Ellie marched across the sand toward home.

***

The aroma of sizzling bacon roused Ellie from the dark abyss of sleep. She cracked open an eye. Sunlight streamed through the gauze curtains, painting white streaks across the oak floorboards.
Bollocks, it’s late.
She groaned and rolled onto her back.
Time for breakfast.