Part 12 (2/2)

”I guess that's one thing we can agree on.”

He frowned. ”Alison-”

”You've made your position perfectly clear, Drew.” She met his stare. ”I get it. All right?”

Turning away from him, she started toward the bedroom door. ”The doctor's number is on the prescription bottle.”

”He's going to be fine.”

Alison knew that but it didn't keep her from worrying. ”You have my cell phone number.”

”Yeah.”

In the kitchen, Kevin was finis.h.i.+ng the last of his milk at the sink, as if he were in a race against time. ”I'm almost ready!”

”I think we'll get there just in time for all the big ones,” Drew said.

Kneeling next to Kevin, Alison opened the container of sunscreen, poured a small amount into her palm and then began rubbing it onto her son's arms and legs.

”Mommy, I don't need any of that stuff. It smells funny.”

”No sunscreen, no fis.h.i.+ng, young man.”

”Jeez!”

”She's right, sprout,” Drew put in. ”A smart fisherman wears plenty of sunscreen.”

Resigned, Kevin sat quietly while Alison rubbed the white cream into his thighs, forearms and face. When she finished, he slid off the chair and headed directly for the front door. ”I'm ready to go, Drew.”

Trying hard to ignore Drew, Alison walked to the doorway and smiled down at her son. She felt as if today were the first day of school and she was one of those overprotective mothers who ended up crying harder than their kids.

”How about a kiss goodbye before you sail out to sea?” she said.

Kevin ran back to her. ”Bye, Mommy!”

Kneeling, she took him in her arms and kissed his cheek. ”You smell like a coconut.”

”See? That screen stuff smells funny.”

”Be careful today, and please don't forget to wear your cap, okay?”

”'Kay.”

Alison rose to find Drew already at the door, watching her, his expression inscrutable behind those mirrored lenses. Looking quickly away, she helped Kevin with his backpack and then followed him to the door. Never taking his eyes from her, Drew opened the door. Kevin walked out onto the porch, set down his backpack and began to rummage.

”We're not finished talking about this,” he said.

It was difficult for her to meet his gaze, but once she did, Alison couldn't look away. It was as if his gaze held her suspended, like a b.u.t.terfly pinned to canvas. ”I think we've said everything that needs to be said.”

”Alison-”

”If you could have him back here by two, I'd appreciate it. I don't want him to get too much sun or get overtired.”

His jaw muscle flexed, but he didn't argue. And without so much as another word, he turned to her little boy and they started down the sidewalk toward his truck.

Alison watched them leave, feeling more unsettled than she'd felt in a very long time. She told herself the only reason she felt that way was because of what had happened last night. She'd had a lapse in judgment. Drew was a good enough friend to point it out to her as opposed to letting it become a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life. For goodness' sake, she should be relieved that things hadn't gone any further.

But as she closed the door and faced the empty house and the lingering scent of his aftershave, she wondered if she really would have regretted it if it had.

CHAPTER TEN.

Drew hated it that she was angry with him. He hated it even more that he'd hurt her. He would rather cut off one of his own fingers than hurt Alison Myers, a woman who had already endured more than her share of pain. As he pulled into the parking lot of the marina, he told himself things were best this way. A little heartache now would save them both a lot of pain later. The knowledge didn't keep him from feeling like any less of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

”...right, Drew?”

He glanced over at the little boy on the seat next to him. It was the third time in the last hour Kevin had said something and Drew hadn't been listening. ”What did you say, sprout?”

”I was wondering if you could maybe put the worm on the hook for me.” He looked at Drew with big brown eyes that were so much like Rick's it hurt to look at him. ”I mean, I'm not afraid of worms or anything, but they're kinda gooey.”

Drew didn't quite manage to hide his smile, but it felt a little sad on his face. If life were fair, he thought, Rick would be here fis.h.i.+ng with his son, not him. ”Sure you're not,” he said.

”I'm not.”

Reaching over, he pulled Kevin's hat down over his eyes. ”Since we're ocean fis.h.i.+ng, we're not going to use worms, okay?”

”'Kay.”

The slip where Seth Evans kept one of his smaller fis.h.i.+ng vessels was quiet at nine o'clock in the morning. The die-hard fishermen had already set out. The snorkelers and sightseers hadn't yet arrived. Drew figured he'd timed this pretty well.

White seagulls wheeled and screeched overhead as he and Kevin walked side by side down the concrete pier. Fis.h.i.+ng boats, sailboats and yachts of all shapes and sizes tugged at their moorings, the ropes groaning and creaking like old hinges. A balmy breeze eased in from the south, and Drew wondered if there would be storms later.

Near the end of the pier he stopped and pointed to the sleek twenty-eight-foot cabin cruiser. ”There she is.”

Kevin's mouth dropped as his eyes drank in the length of the boat. ”Wowee! It sure is big!”

The Flamingo swayed restlessly at the end of the pier, like a flighty horse spooked and ready to bolt. The sight of the boat never ceased to impress Drew. Designed and built by Seth Evans several years back, she took to the open sea with the grace and agility of a dolphin, but at the same time possessed all the comforts of a five-star hotel suite.

”Ahoy, matey!”

Drew looked over to see Seth's sister, Laura Evans, waving as she came out of the cabin and stepped onto the deck. Wearing khaki shorts and a loose-fitting camp s.h.i.+rt, she looked very much like the marine biologist she was. Her light brown hair was pulled back from her face and Drew could see that it was still damp. By the look of the dive tank and flippers in her arms, he figured she'd already been diving.

He nodded at the burly deck hand securing the ropes and wondered if Seth had added additional security since the boat explosion that had nearly killed him and his then a.s.sistant, Emma, a month earlier. Now married and happily expecting their first child, Seth and Emma had been left stranded on a remote key for several days.

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