His telephone rang, but he ignored it. He’d sent Interpol a description of the woman who had approached him in Chicago, but hadn’t monitored his computer for a reply. He took an umbrella and went out to check for erosion along the cliff at the edge of the Zen garden, but it was solid rock and wouldn’t wear away in a thousand storms.
He drove into Monarch Bay to work out at the gym and overheard an off-duty fireman mention sand bags, but it meant nothing to him. It wasn’t until he started back up the hill that he noticed the streets were filling with water. Thinking it would all just run into the sea, he went on home and added to the darkly threatening piece that flowed to the keyboard straight from his splintered heart.
Jeremy Linden pulled his hat low and went out for a walk through town, but, unwilling to risk a chilly reception at Defy the World Tomatoes, he walked right on by without stopping in to say hello. He went instead to the Scarlet Letter to sip coffee and browse the latest magazines.
Nothing appealed to him, though, not even Karen, the tall, slender clerk. Whenever he came into the bookstore, she usually caressed his arm in passing, or let her fingertips linger across his palm while she counted out his change. She was attractive, and quite pleasant too, but he couldn’t help but recoil from her touch. She seemed not to notice, however, which he supposed was a good thing for them both.
But that morning Karen didn’t even meet his gaze, let alone flirt with him. It was disconcerting at first, then he wondered if she’d heard that he’d found Twink on his boat. The weekend had passed with no mention of the incident from anyone, and he’d been relieved to think it had already been forgotten. Now he wasn?
?t so sure.
Concerned people might actually believe he harbored a yen for little girls, he left the Scarlet Letter and swung by the post office to pick up his mail. It was the usual assortment of bills, flyers for things he didn’t need and appeals from several worthy causes which had included still more address labels. He shoved the bills into his hip pocket and tossed the rest into the trash bin on his way out.
Cold and wet, he had his head down as he headed for the docks and would have run right into Christy Joy had she not stepped out of the way and called his name. She carried a ruffled pink umbrella and smiled as though she were actually glad to see him.
“You shouldn’t be out in this rain,” he blurted.
“Neither should you,” she replied, “but I’m glad I found you. I didn’t mean to sound so ungrateful on Friday, but I was terrified something awful had happened to Twink, and I completely forgot my manners. Will you forgive me?”
Jeremy glanced up at the thick clouds overhead. “Are you saying you came out in the rain just to apologize to me?”
Christy Joy appeared puzzled. “Why is that so difficult to believe? You did me an enormous favor, and I was unforgivably rude, although I do hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Sure, but let’s get out of the rain. We could go back to my boat, or would you rather stop in at one of the tourist traps?”
“Is that the way you regard Defy the World?” she asked.
She looked more hurt than insulted, and Jeremy cursed under his breath. “No, of course not, but you don’t serve coffee either, do you?”
“No, but I prefer tea.”
“I’ve got some, or hot chocolate is good on rainy days.”
“I would absolutely love some hot chocolate.” Christy Joy took his arm and fell in step beside him as they made their way along the docks.
Jeremy took her hand to help her aboard the Great Escape and hurried her into the galley. He nodded toward a convenient hook. “Hang up your coat, and I’ll heat the water.”
He’d given them a complete tour of the sleek fishing boat the day they’d gone whale watching, but Christy Joy had been too busy keeping Twink out of mischief to observe as much as she did now. “It must be wonderful to have everything so neatly stowed and yet within an arm’s reach,” she observed.
Jeremy set a measuring cup filled with water in the microwave before he turned toward her. “That’s one way to look at it, I suppose.”
“Is there another?”
Jeremy had never been alone with her, and it took him a long moment to realize she appeared to be completely at ease. He was a jumble of nerves and feared it must show. He shrugged off his coat and hat and ran his hands through his damp hair as he stalled for time and something to say.
“It’s like living in a well-organized closet,” he finally replied, “but not everyone likes things so damn cozy.” The microwave chimed, and he mixed a cup of hot chocolate for her and heated more water for his own.
Christy Joy slid into the bench behind the small built-in table. “Well, obviously you do. Did you grow up on a boat?”
Jeremy chuckled at the thought and shook his head. “No. My dad was killed in Vietnam, and my mom raised me in an apartment in San Diego. So I grew up by the sea and graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. I wanted to own my own boat rather than remain an officer on a cruise ship and so here I am, sitting out a rainy day waiting for the next charter.”
“Somehow I can’t quite picture you cruising the Caribbean in a fancy white uniform.”
Her tone was playful, and Jeremy couldn’t help but smile. “Well, it’s been a few years, but my uniforms still fit. It’s not a bad life, but I’m happier here.”
“Are you really?” Christy Joy took a sip of her hot chocolate and licked the foam from her lips. “Aren’t you ever lonely?”
Jeremy couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “That all depends. Are you trying to proposition me?”