Читать книгу Cabin Fever - Mary Leo - Страница 9

“I DON’T CARE what you have to do, but if you ever want to see your son again, you’ll find my diamond.” Sal Morena’s voice was harsh and menacing and it made Tracy Irvine shake right down to her very core.

“How do I know he’s all right?” She pleaded into her cell phone, tears streaking her face. “I need to talk to my son.”

“He’s fine,” he said lightly. “Never been better. A boy needs his father. I don’t know why I stayed away so long.”

“A court ordered you to,” Tracy reminded him.

“That was your fault,” he yelled. “If you weren’t cheating on me, none of that would have happened.”

She wiped the tears away with shaking fingers as she remembered the beatings she’d suffered. Being involved with Sal and his scheme scared her more than she could imagine, but she knew she had to be strong for her son.

“I never cheated on you, Sal.”

He laughed and her knees went weak. “Don’t lie. It won’t help the situation. You’re a whore. Everybody in Vegas knew it, but I was just too blind to see it. Hell, if it wasn’t for that blood test I got on this kid, I wouldn’t even know he was mine.”

“He looks just like you.”

“Yeah, lucky kid.”

“I want to talk to my son,” she repeated, forcing herself to sound calm as she sat on the floor of her tiny cabin and nervously picked at the tan carpet. The floor was strewn with brochures announcing the silly, gimmicky pendant hunt. Brochures that she hadn’t even finished passing out because Sal had tried to call her several times on her cell phone. It was only now, after the ship had left the pier, that she had time to finally take the call.

“I want my diamond,” he insisted. “That bastard Giorgio Tzekas owes me. He’s in prison, but my payment is still on that ship and I want it.”

Sal had loaned Giorgio Tzekas, who had been the first officer of the ship, a lot of money. Tzekas had been going to pay him off with the diamond, but had been arrested before it ever happened.

“It’s a big ship, Sal. It’s going to take time.”

“Honey, the longer it takes, the more the kid and I are bonding. How old is he now? Five? Six? He’s a pretty smart kid.”

Her mouth felt dry and her throat tight. “He’s five, Sal. He just turned five.”

“Yeah? I bet he knows what a whore is.”

Tracy squeezed the phone tighter, praying she could keep her voice calm, not let him hear her fear. “Sal, put Franco on the phone.”

“Let me see if I can say this in words you might understand. Find my damn diamond!” He swore, and then her cell phone gave her those sweet tones to indicate that the caller had hung up. Tracy called him back several times, but Sal never answered.

She slowly pulled herself up from the floor and began picking up the brochures, when suddenly it was as if a light had gone off somewhere inside her head. Why hadn’t she made the connection before? She quickly skimmed the brochure again, excited about the possibility.

Could this be the necklace she’d been looking for? The necklace that was hiding Sal Morena’s diamond? She’d heard that water sports instructor—Dylan somebody or other—mention how Patti and Ariana had found the pendant among Mike O’Connor’s things. He was that fake priest who’d smuggled real antiquities among the reproductions he lectured about when Alexandra’s Dream was cruising the Mediterranean. She’d simply assumed it was a piece of costume jewelry. However, now that she saw how big the silver teardrop was in the brochure, her heart skipped a beat. She knew with every fiber of her being that she was actually looking at Sal’s hidden diamond. The coincidence was too strong.

Could she really get her hands on the pendant? One of the passengers would need to find it first, of course. There were almost a thousand passengers on board and all she had to do was find the one wearing that pendant. God help her, she would do whatever it took to steal it away so she could get her son back.

There was a knock at her door. Two of the other dancers were calling her for the bingo game they were working together. The other dancers seemed to love the extra duties they had to perform, but she’d been secretly dreading them, especially bingo. But now she was thinking of ways she could take on more duties.

That way she’d have greater exposure to passengers.

“Coming,” she yelled through the door as she touched up her makeup in the mirror above the small dresser. When she looked human again, long chestnut hair combed behind her ears, golden eye shadow caressing her brown eyes, red-apple on her lips, she opened the door, smiling. “Can I take the floor first? I really can’t wait to meet our passengers.”

“Sure,” one of the dancers said. “But I thought—”

“Never mind what I said before. I’m loving all this extra duty. It’s exactly what I need to, um, get over a really bad relationship.”

The other girls started comparing bad breakup stories as the three of them made their way to the Bacchus deck and Caesar’s Forum casino. With each step, Tracy could feel hope blossom as she formulated a plan to find the passenger with the pendant.

BECAUSE THE KIDS WERE SO excited about Becky finding the pendant they wanted to eat dinner early and at the Garden Terrace buffet instead of the formal dinner in the dining room. Of course Estelle wanted nothing to do with casual dining, but relented when the kids were so persistent.

Laura, Connor and Sarah had all insisted that Becky wear the pendant to get her luck started right away. She had contacted Patti Kennedy to report that she’d found it, and within thirty minutes a steward had brought her another large basket of goodies—there had already been one in the room—and a list of the perks she and her family were entitled to. Becky hadn’t had time to go over everything, but was definitely considering the free massage in the spa.

Of course, the leaflet also made it quite clear that the pendant had to be returned at the end of the cruise for even more surprises. Sarah couldn’t wait to see what those were.

Reluctant to attract attention as they made their way to the Garden Terrace, Becky compromised and told the kids she would wear the pendant once she had a chance to tell the rest of the family.

Laura had helped her convince the kids of the plan. The reality was, both Becky and Laura knew that if Becky took all the attention away from Laura’s mother, Kim, and her grandmother, Estelle, on the very first night of the cruise, the rest of the trip would probably turn ugly.

The dining room was surrounded by large picture windows and the tables were positioned in tiered seatings. There was a relaxed attitude about the place that Becky liked. She didn’t have to worry about what she wore, or if her kids were using the proper fork. It was the first night of the cruise, and now that she had found the missing treasure, she was feeling rather comfortable about the entire adventure.

That was until the rest of the Montgomery clan walked up to the table and everyone began a marathon of hugs. Estelle was wearing some sort of purple cowboy hat, matching purple jacket and leather pants, her blond hair perfectly styled. Then there was her ex-husband Mark. According to Laura, he’d only agreed to come on the cruise because of his grandkids. He and Estelle had recently divorced after being married for nearly forty years, and Estelle was probably going to use this cruise to try to win him back. She hated losing a fight, and theirs had been a whopper.

Mark looked his usual handsome self, dressed in a white polo shirt and khaki shorts, brown deck shoes and no socks. His face had aged since Becky had seen him last, but in a good way. The lines around his steel-blue eyes only added to his charm. For what it was worth, Becky had always liked Mark, even though he would sometimes push Ryder too hard. It amazed her how much Ryder had resembled his father, and for a brief instant a wave of sadness washed over her until Kim, Laura’s mother, emerged from behind Mark, hanging on to what had to be her latest boyfriend.

He was briefly introduced as Bob Ducain. He was an average-looking guy, with thinning gray hair and enough of a stomach that even his loose-fitting island shirt couldn’t disguise it. He had a ruddy complexion, pale blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to lack sincerity. There were gold chains around his neck and gold diamond rings on each pinky. No doubt Estelle had handpicked this guy for Kim. He must have been from one of her social clubs, or the son of a wealthy friend. At any rate, in Estelle’s eyes, he was probably Kim’s perfect match.

“I hate buffets,” Kim announced before she even sat at the table. Her hair was its usual shade of blond, hanging straight down her back. She wore a Chanel black-and-white sleeveless sweater, a black short skirt and sandals. Kim was somewhere around Becky’s age, thirty-six, but Botox had removed any hint of aging, so she still looked as if she was in her twenties. She had the same blue eyes as her dad, and a perky paid-for nose that she’d changed at least two times.

Kim bent over and briefly hugged Sarah and Connor, then continued to whine about the buffet. “The food is never good, and I have to serve myself. I hate it.”

“You sit and I’ll fix you a plate,” Bob offered, pulling out a chair for her to sit on. Then he took off toward the rows of steaming food.

Kim made herself comfortable and glanced over at Becky, who was across from her at the large tan-speckled table. Kim sat with her back to the buffet. She obviously didn’t even want to look at it. Instead of sitting by her mother and new boyfriend, Laura sat next to Becky, while Sarah and Connor moved down to the end of the table to sit with Estelle and Mark.

“Isn’t he great? He does everything for me. I don’t know how I ever got along without him,” Kim remarked to Becky.

Laura turned sideways in her chair and rolled her eyes at Becky.

Becky nodded as if she was listening, but her attention had fallen on Dylan Langstaff. He had just walked across the room toward an officer dressed in white who was talking to a few passengers standing in the food line. Dylan looked even better than she had remembered from that afternoon. His hair was somehow darker in the dimmer lighting and his demeanor even more friendly and casual. He had the look of a genuinely nice guy. Someone Becky wouldn’t mind getting to know, as a friend, of course, but she was sure deep down he must be a flirt.

So why was she so attracted to him? A little voice inside whispered, Because he makes you feel something. And it had been a long, long time since she’d felt anything for a man.

Kim droned on. “I know he’s not very pretty, but I find that the cuter the guy is, the more he’s into his own needs.”

Becky heard herself saying, “Uh-huh.” But she didn’t believe that for a moment. Dylan was over-the-top cute, and from the way he’d treated her kids, she just knew he was a guy who didn’t think of himself first.

There was a commotion of some sort right in front of Dylan, who just happened to be standing next to Bob, who was busy piling fried chicken on a plate. Suddenly a rather large woman staggered into Bob. He froze, still clutching his plate of food.

“And I just don’t have any time for that kind of guy in my life,” Kim said, while a waitress poured her an iced tea.

“Uh-huh,” Becky mumbled as she watched Dylan grab hold of the woman from behind. She was so large he could barely get his arms around her. From what Becky could tell, the woman was choking on a piece of food and Dylan was administering the Heimlich maneuver, pushing air up from her diaphragm and into her throat.

“So, naturally, when I met Bob at Mom’s charity auction three months ago and he told me how he loved to pamper women, well I just had to have him all to myself.”

“Yeah. That’s great,” Becky agreed. Half of the people in the room were watching Dylan, while Bob just continued to stand there motionless, both hands on his plate as though he was annoyed at the interruption.

Becky stood and was ready to try to help that poor woman and Dylan when something flew out of the woman’s mouth and landed on the floor in front of her.

“We’ve been dating ever since, and let me tell you, he really knows how to care for a woman, if you know what I mean.” She sighed as if to make her point.

Becky let out the breath she had been holding and smiled. “You don’t say.” She watched as Dylan and what looked like two women from the ship’s medical team, helped the now-panting woman into a chair.

Bob turned back to the buffet and continued moving down the line, filling his place.

“But I know you’re still mourning my dear brother, so you couldn’t possibly be interested in anyone, could you?” Kim asked with a flourish.

Becky stared at Kim for a moment in complete silence and disbelief. It was as if someone had rung a bell and everyone had turned their attention to Becky, waiting for her reply. Even Laura stopped what she was doing to listen.

“I, uh, no, definitely not. I’m not interested in anyone,” Becky spluttered. But Laura, who had also been watching the whole incident between the choking woman and Dylan, threw Becky that kind of look as if she knew better.

Becky was just about to set Laura straight, when Kim reached across the table and grabbed Becky’s hand. “You poor thing, but I understand. No one can replace my brother. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, just call me and I can put you in touch with some of the best shrinks in San Diego. I’m here for you, Becky. You can always count on me.”

“Thanks,” Becky muttered, slowly pulling her hand away.

“We’ve got something to tell everybody,” Sarah blurted in a loud voice.

“Let’s get our meal first,” Becky countered, hoping that would be enough to stifle her excited daughter.

“But we want to tell everyone now,” Connor chimed in.

Becky was glad Connor seemed kind of excited about the whole thing, but she just wasn’t in the mood to show the pendant off at that exact moment. Besides, now that the room had settled down again after that poor woman’s near-death experience, Becky didn’t want everyone to now turn their focus on her.

“Your mom’s right,” Laura said, getting up. “Let’s have our dinner first.”

Estelle, of course, supported Connor and Sarah, not Becky.

“But the kids seem to want to tell us something now. We should see what they have to say.”

Becky stood.

Mark stood. “I say we should honor Becky’s wishes, Estelle.” He walked to the buffet, taking Connor with him.

Laura went over and took Sarah by the hand, then led her to the buffet. They passed Bob, who was returning with a plate of food for Kim.

“Fine,” Estelle conceded. “Bob, darling, you did such a good job with Kim’s plate, do you think you could do the same for me? It’s been such a long day that I think I’ll pass out if I have to get up and pick out my own food.” She peeked over at Kim’s plate. “No chicken, darling. Do they have any baked white fish? I would love a little baked fish. It digests so easily and my poor little tummy has been slightly upset ever since we boarded. Do you think you could find some, dear?”

Bob nodded. “It would be my pleasure, Estelle.”

Becky shook her head and walked away from the table, knowing perfectly well that by the time this dinner was over, Estelle would have everyone at the table waiting on her, including Becky.

She headed straight for the nearest buffet, grabbed a white plate and began the process of deciding what she wanted to eat. Her stomach was actually growling for food.

“There’s this great broccoli salad you should try,” a voice said just behind Becky’s right ear.

Becky turned to see Dylan’s tanned face smiling at her.

“I saw what you did for that woman,” Becky said, ignoring his opening suggestion, “You were incredible. How is she doing?”

“She’s fine. Resting in her stateroom.”

“You saved her life. That was amazing.”

“Thanks, but she was the amazing one. She never put up the least resistance. That’s what saved her.”

“I’ll remember that the next time I’m choking.”

His grin widened. “Good idea.”

There was a moment of awkward silence while Becky searched for something to say. “Wh-where is that salad?” she stammered at last.

She loved broccoli, but ever since Ryder had died, she found herself eating more and more comfort foods like pasta and homemade breads. She’d put on about ten pounds in the last two years, even though she still worked out with weights. But the strange part was, she didn’t seem to care about the added weight. Or maybe she simply didn’t have the time to think about it.

“On the other side of this station,” he said, eyes shimmering like pools of sea-green water, and a smile that could make a girl swoon. But she wasn’t going to be one of them. Nope, not her. She knew better. Besides, she wasn’t ready for romance, especially with this type of guy. His interest had to be all PR. It couldn’t be real. Or could it?

She didn’t want to reflect on that. She had her kids with her, for heaven’s sake. What would they think of their mother swooning over some man who would sail off again at the end of their cruise. The whole thing was ridiculous. She needed to stop these crazy thoughts right now, before her fantasies got completely out of control.

And she’d start with the broccoli.

“Never mind. I’m not really that fond of broccoli,” she said without flinching at her little white lie, meant to prevent him from accompanying her to another buffet station.

“I would have thought you were.”

“Is there a broccoli type?”

She was sure there was a teasing glint in his eyes. “Well, actually, there is.”

“And just what would that be?” He had her smiling now. She liked how easy it was to talk to him.

“She usually has an athletic body, strong arms and an equally strong opinion on matters that count. She eats whole grains, avoids most carbs and never eats anything with hydrogenated or trans fats, but she loves gelato, all flavors, and only has it when she’s on vacation. By the way…Artemis deck, Just Gelato. Best on the ship.”

Becky turned back to the cornucopia of steaming food and added a square of lasagna to her plate. She considered lasagna the perfect food, at least lately. “And you’ve done research on this broccoli-woman theory, have you?”

“It’s just an observation. You can tell a lot about a person from the foods they eat.”

He followed her down the line as she added scalloped potatoes to her plate, and then some kind of stuffing with thick, creamy gravy. She figured this would do the trick. He was looking for a broccoli babe, and right now she was the carboholic.

“And what if a person doesn’t eat vegetables? What does that say about her?” She stopped and turned to him. He looked down at her plate, which was now a mess of carbs swimming in brown gravy. She felt a little of the gravy drip off her plate and onto her toes.

He gave her a sly smile, reached over, swiped the dripping gravy from the side of her plate, and quickly licked it off of his finger.

“They make the best beef gravy on this ship,” he said, wearing a pirate’s smile. Then he turned and walked away.

Becky watched him for a moment, angry at his audacity, but also charmed by it at the same time.

She spotted a waiter, apologized and handed him her dripping plate, then, wearing her own pirate’s smile, she went in search of the broccoli salad.

DAMN IF HE DIDN’T RUN into Ms. Becky Montgomery. And damn if he didn’t have to go right up to her and start a conversation. Dylan couldn’t understand why he hadn’t left as soon as he’d seen her. No. Not him. He’d had to joke with her, laugh with her, and even flirt a little. All right, a lot.

Dylan walked back to his cabin as if he were late for a meeting. He didn’t talk to anyone, nor did he gaze out at the full moon that seemed to hang just out of reach in the black sky. If a staff member had seen him swipe that gravy off her plate and lick his finger, he’d be on the carpet in no time. What was he thinking?

That was the problem. He wasn’t thinking. Not rationally, anyway. He was being led by his emotions and he knew his emotions always got him in trouble. He had to be more logical about this. After all, it couldn’t lead anywhere. She was a passenger.

It had been a long day and he was eager to get to his cabin. He had to admit that when he couldn’t get a good hold on that choking woman at first, dread had crept in and almost made him want to give up entirely. He hadn’t felt that way since he was a little boy and his dad used to take him out fishing off the coast of Twillingate, in northern Newfoundland. It was crazy, but at the time he just couldn’t bear to watch all those cod suffocating around him. He would try to push as many as he could back into the water, and his dad would scold him for doing it, so he stopped. But he never got used to it. Never got used to the thrashing, their need to breathe, their gasping for breath.

He’d had the same feeling with that woman. He’d had the power of life and death in his hands, and for a moment it had scared him to the point of wanting to run. But he hadn’t, and that’s what he needed to hold on to. He hadn’t run. Not this time. He had stayed the course and gotten her through. And because of him, she would enjoy the rest of the cruise and the rest of her life.

He needed a drink to calm down, to stop the internal shaking, but instead he just walked at a fast clip, ignoring everyone around him. He wasn’t rude. He would nod when it was appropriate, or smile when someone looked his way, but for the most part he kept his head down and his feet moving forward.

When he finally reached the crew’s quarters, he unlocked the door to his small cabin and shut it behind him. Then a sense of ease took hold and the shaking began to subside. He took a deep breath and let it out again, then searched for his cranberry juice, poured himself a tall one, sat in a comfortable dark blue chair, pushed off his white shoes, opened his shirt and let the day fade away.

Too bad that the minute he closed his eyes Becky Montgomery came into focus.

“Damn her,” he said out loud, and slammed his now empty glass down on the small coffee table, got up and went in to take a long, hot shower.

THE PLATES HAD BEEN CLEARED from the table and the kids were pestering Becky to make her announcement about the pendant. She was still reluctant.

“It’s time, Mom,” Sarah urged “You have to tell everybody now.”

Estelle, Kim and Bob were at the other end of the table chatting about something that seemed to occupy all their attention. Mark sat sipping his coffee, staring out at the people passing by, seemingly oblivious to anything but the thoughts whirring around in his head.

“Yeah, Mom, you promised right after dinner,” Connor insisted. “Well, it’s after dinner now.”

He was standing next to her, pulling at the necklace’s chain, trying to get it out from under her sweater. Becky kept moving his hands away. The whole thing suddenly seemed ridiculous. She really wanted to just give the thing to one of the kids and let them get all the attention.

She leaned over to Laura. “How about if I slip it to you and you tell everyone you found it?”

Laura turned to her. “It’s all yours. You need the good luck more than I do. Besides, I want to see the look on Grandma’s face when you tell her you found it. She called the captain this afternoon and asked if he could somehow arrange it so that my mom could find it, as a joke.”

“You’re kidding. What did he say?”

“I don’t know, but he invited her to take a private tour of the ship.”

“She’s unbelievable.”

“She’s Estelle. Now, please, show her the pendant.”

Reluctantly Becky pulled the necklace out from under her sweater. Holding the teardrop pendant in her hand, she took another good look at it. She had to admit that although the silver teardrop was rather large and heavy, the necklace looked as if someone had worn it every day for their entire life. If she wasn’t careful, the chain might fall apart with one good tug.

Sarah and Laura had been so excited when they returned that afternoon with ice cream and pickles that Connor had caught their enthusiasm and it still showed on his face. She simply had to go through with this for his sake. It was almost as if the pendant had its own little magic effect on Connor.

“Everybody, quiet please.” Connor held out his hands as if that would make his grandmother and aunt stop their conversation. Instead they simply glanced at him and continued talking.

Laura stood. “Mom. Grandma. Aunt Becky has an announcement.”

Suddenly, Bob, Estelle and Kim began laughing, but never turned their attention to Laura.

Then Mark reached over and grabbed Estelle’s arm. “Becky has something to say.”

Estelle looked up at Mark, pulled her arm from his grasp, mumbled something to Kim, leaned back in her chair, rested her hands on her lap and swung her hair off her shoulders. Apparently comfortable, she looked at Becky and said, “You have my complete and undivided attention, dear. What is it that you want to say?”

Becky felt like a total fool and wanted to simply disappear. She mindlessly slid the pendant back and forth on its chain and thought of a million things she’d like to say to Estelle. Hurtful, mean things. Things that had been on her mind for years. She thought maybe she could do it right now. Clear the air. Get the hostility off her chest.

But instead Sarah came to her rescue, preventing her from putting her foot in her mouth and possibly spoiling the rest of the cruise. “My mom found the moon goddess’s pendant in our cabin! Mom found it! Isn’t she lucky, Grandma? Isn’t my mom the best?”

Sarah beamed as she hugged Becky tight around the neck.

Becky let go of the pendant and it settled heavily on her chest. She put an arm around Sarah to steady her as she knelt on the chair next to Becky’s, and put her other arm around Connor, who stood beside her. Both kids wore grins that encompassed their entire face.

“That’s the missing pendant that everyone’s been looking for?” Kim asked with a large dose of sarcasm.

“Yes,” Becky said, bringing her kids in even tighter.

Estelle slipped on her glasses to get a better look. “But, darling, it’s so tacky. And here I thought it was going to be worth something.”

Becky could actually feel Connor’s enthusiasm waning as his body slumped against her.

“But it is worth something,” Becky protested. “It’s meant to bring good luck to the person who found it.”

“Yeah, especially in love,” Laura added.

“Your aunt already found her one true love with my son, Laura, and no pendant will help her find someone to take Ryder’s place,” Estelle chided. “Once you’ve had love like that, you don’t ever want to replace it. Not ever. And someday, my dear naive child, you might be lucky enough to have the same thing.” She turned and reached for Mark’s hand, but he picked up his coffee cup before she could touch him. Estelle instantly withdrew her hand, but Becky noticed.

Laura excused herself from the table. Becky could tell she was upset by Estelle’s thoughtless reprimand.

Connor moved away from Becky, his expression sullen, but Becky wouldn’t let go of his hand. She reached for Sarah’s and helped her slide off the chair. “This is just a game, Estelle, a charming promotion that someone on this ship thought would be fun and romantic. I happen to agree and intend to wear this pendant the entire time I’m on this cruise.” With those words she led her children away from the table.

“Of course, dear—” Estelle began, but Becky and the kids were already on their way to find Laura.

Part of her had wanted to tell Estelle that she agreed with her about Ryder. She would never find someone to replace him, and wouldn’t want to try. But deep down in her heart, she hoped that someday she would be lucky enough to find love again. She hadn’t realized that until she’d heard Estelle’s presumption that she’d never be interested in romance again.

However, Becky refused to allow Estelle to get the best of her in front of the kids. She wanted them to have a good relationship with their grandmother, no matter what Becky personally thought of the woman.

And at that precise moment, it wasn’t anything good.