Read Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles) Online

Authors: Lori Wick

Tags: #Ship Captains, #Romance, #Regency, #Christian, #Historical Fiction, #Women Merchant Mariners, #Fiction, #Christian Fiction, #Historical, #Large Print Books, #INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE, #General, #Religious, #Maine, #Love Stories

Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles) (9 page)

BOOK: Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles)
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that you are the captain of theAramis?" Tate interjected with

an understanding smile.

"Well, that would help, but I need to explain why." Smokey

stopped and took a breath. "You loved me and befriended me

when we were strangers, and I was a bit hesitant with you

because that's never happened before. I'm at sea so much, and

when I am home and people learn what I do, they become

quite curious. One question usually leads to another and I--"

Smokey stopped again, took a deep breath and went on.

"My father was the most wonderful father a girl could ever

hope to have. He was warm and caring, and he loved me to

distraction. My parents were not married until later in life,

and I wasn't born until he was 50 years old.

"I grew up at sea and loved it. I've never known any other

life. My father loved God, and he instilled in me a deep faith in

Jesus Christ. There was a lot he didn't know, and in turn, I have

much to learn, but he tried very hard to teach me from his

small store of knowledge." Smokey paused again, but Tate and

Jenny, feeling a bit confused, were absolutely quiet. Smokey

found she could no longer stay in her chair; she stood and

paced as she continued

"My father told me once that he never wanted to be a hero

to me. He only wanted to be my father, teaching me God's way

and making sure I knew he loved me.

"Nearly everything I know, I learned from him. My knowledge

of God, sailing, and life in general was learned at his

knee. He was my teacher, just as his father had been for him.

Many have heard of my father, but most know him only by his

first name. No one, not even when my last name is spoken,

thinks to tie him to me, unless they find out that I sail.

"And as proud as I am to call him my papa," Smokey's

voice dropped as she finished her speech and finally stood

still before her host and hostess, "most of the time it's easier if

people don't know that the legendary Clancy was my father."

The room was utterly still for the space of many heartbeats,

and then Jenny was coming toward her, her eyes wet

with tears.

There were no speeches about how blessed Smokey was

or how honored the Pembertons felt to have her in their home,

just a long, loving hug between friends. The hug ended with a

bit of relieved laughter when Jenny shared that she thought

Smokey might share about being a runaway wife or pirate.

"I have admired your father since I was a little boy," Tate

told her when they were once again seated and Jenny had

poured tea.

"So have I," Smokey told him with a smile.

"You know," Tate went on, "I always thought Clancy had

been born over a hundred years ago."

"You're not alone in that belief." Smokey's voice was dry.

"His father's name was Clancy also, so the name Clancy has

been on the sea for many years. He told me once that to have

done everything that's been credited to him, he would have to

have been 200 years old"

"No wonder you're so good at what you do," Jenny complimented

Smokey.

"Isn't that the truth! If our son wants to go to sea," Tate's

face filled with excitement at the thought, "he could sail with

you and learn from the best."

66

"Oh, no," Smokey said with a laugh. "I'd be an old woman

by then, and I really hope I won't be sailing that long."

"Do you have to put some money aside before you can

stop?" Jenny's voice was filled with tender compassion, but

late and Smokey burst out laughing.

Smokey had just collected a small fortune from Pemberon

Shipping, which, even though some of it would pay for

business expenses, held a large chunk of profit. Jenny was

clearly naive as to the success of Smokey's business.

"It's not that, Jen," Smokey took pity on the confused look

on her friend's face. "It's just that until I met you, I thought I

would be at sea until the day of my death, just as my father had

been."

"What happened when you met Jen?"

"I wanted what she has. Not you personally, Tate," Smokey

told him with a cheeky grin. "But a husband of my own, a home

for us to share, and children, if God wills. There was a man

who was in love with me a few years ago. He asked me to

many him for over three years, and even though I cared for

him, and still do, I could never say yes."

"What happened to him?" Jenny wanted to know.

Smokey shrugged "He gave up on me and eventually

married someone else. I never see him anymore."

"Do you have regrets?"

"No, but I think I know why I could never say yes. I mean,

he was romantic, and I love romance. I also enjoyed listening

when he painted a lovely picture of us sailing the world

together. But just recently I realized that if ever I marry, I want

to have a home--a real home. And I don't want my husband to

be a sailor who's gone for months at a time!"

Smokey's last sentence was uttered with great passion,

and she was suddenly embarrassed at her own actions. She

forced herself to sit back in her chair, her face heating as she

looked down at her folded hands in her lap.

"We'll be praying that if God has a special man for you,

you'll know it."

65

"Thank you, Tate." His words relieved some of her embarrassment.

"That means alotto me. I've thought about what Jen

suggested when I was here before, and IVe decided that I will

make your church my own."

"Oh, Smokey, that's wonderful!"

"I'll still be gone at times; I do have a business to run."

"Of course," Jenny agreed. "But whenever you're home,

we'll expect you."

It was growing rather late, so all in the room were surprised

when Polly knocked on the door a moment later with a

note from Buck. It was brief, just wanting to inform them that

Dallas was in port and planned to visit on the next day.

67

By the time she walked downstairs to breakfast, Smokey

had convinced herself that she had no reason whatsoever to

worry.

standing before the mirror in her room, Smokey frowned

at her reflection. She had tried to do a little something different

with her hair, but it had been no use; she felt all thumbs.

With only enough pins for her usual hairstyle, nothing she had

tried looked quite right.

With a resigned sigh, she whipped it into its usual bun and

then stared at herself in disappointment. She knew very well

that none of this had made a bit of difference to her before she

had seen Jenny's hair and wardrobe, or met her handsome

brother.

Why did Dallas havs to come now? I had really hoped we

would miss each other this visit.

Smokey's mind went back to the day she had seen him on

the dock in London. It had been torture to walk by and not

speak to him. She'd gained her ship and watched him from the

deck until he was out of sight.

I don't know myself anymore. For so long my life was well

ordered. I had my work and performed it well. Now, I feel

discontent and confused.

Smokey took time to pray about her feelings and surrender

them to God Her heart calmed, and she realized that Dallas'

visit didn't necessarily mean they would see each other. After

all, she was going on a walk this morning and then meeting

Buck for lunch. Tomorrow she planned to leave.

"Well, Buck," Dallas spoke in surprise when the older man

came to the breakfast table. "You must have a date for lunch to

be out of bed this early." Dallas' question stemmed from the

fact that Buck was a night person. He loved to stay up late and

sleep late. Dallas tended to be just the opposite.

"Indeed, I do." Buck answered his brother as he sugared

the coffee just served to him.

"The lovely widow Rittenhouse?" Dallas asked expectantly.

"No," Buck'svoice became quiet. Dallas carefully watched

his face. "She thinks we should see other people. She also

thinks she's still in love with her first husband and wants to be

loyal to his memory."

"When did this happen?"

"Three days ago."

"I'm sorry, Buck." Dallas' compassion was real. "I know

you really care for her."

"You're right, I do, and for that reason I'm not going to give

up. I'm going to give her some time and then see if she's

missed me as much as I already miss her."

"But in the meantime, you're going to see other women?"

Buck frowned at him in confusion, but then shook his

head. "No, my lunch date is just a friend What are your plans

for the day?"

"I need to see Jenny this morning. It was too late to go last

night," Dallas told him. "After that I've some work to do on the Zephyr. In fact, I'd best be on my way. I'll see you later, Buck."

"All right, Dolly. Take care."

68

Smokey walked along at an easy pace, her long coat slap

ping at her legs. The sea was a cloudy gray today, the sky

overcast. It felt like it could snow at any time. Not headed

anyplace in particular, Smokey felt she could walk for hours.

She kept a steady pace until she spotted a beautiful home,

painted a bright white, sitting on a small point of land Smokey

stopped to drink in the scene.

Much like Jenny and Tate's, huge windows looked out over

the Atlantic on both the first and second floor. On either side

of this large home, however, were rounded rooms whose

walls were nothing but glass. Smokey's inspection ended with

the dormer windows in the roof, which gave the house a

three-story look.

"Hello."

She jumped at the sound of a female voice but looked up to

see that the woman was smiling.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Smokey told her, "but I was

admiring your lovely home."

The woman, having just been on a walk herself, turned

with Smokey and stared up at the great house. "It is a beautiful

home," she spoke quietly. "But it hasn't been the same since

my husband died"

The woman turned to stare at Smokey then, as though

surprised she had admitted such a thing to a complete stranger.

Her face cleared when she recalled her manners.

"I'm Greer Rittenhouse," she voiced with a smile. "Are you

walking anywhere in particular?"

"No. I'm staying with Tate and Jennifer Pemberton. My

name is Victoria Simmons."

Greer's eyes now held recognition. "Of course, Buck mentioned

you."

"Oh, you must be the woman Buck is seeing."

"Well," the lovely widow looked rather uncomfortable.

"We're not dating right now, just friends."

"I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"It's all right. You couldn't have known."

69

The women looked to the house again, and Smokey was

very pleased when Mrs. Rittenhouse asked if she would like to

see the inside.

BOOK: Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles)
4.83Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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