Part 5 (1/2)

”We've been working our way through the book of James for some time.”

”Were you at church, Buck? I didn't see you.”

Buck grinned ”You didn't see me because the pipe organ nearly hides my frame.”

”Oh, Buck,” Smokey exclaimed in delight. ”You were the one playing. It was just beautiful.”

Buck inclined his head in true modesty. Jenny had joined them again, and she talked about Buck's musical ability, which was considerable. He'd been playing for years and had mastered the piano, organ, and violin. Smokey was impressed, but not at all surprised. She had believed Buck to be a very special person from the moment she met him. They chatted on for some time until Tate walked in the door. He had not been home all afternoon.

”I'm sorry I'm so late,” he spoke as he moved to kiss his wife, ”but the situation was more complicated than I originally believed. And I think you'll forgive me,” he hesitated,

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and a sparkle lit his eyes, ”since I found this character wandering around on the docks and decided to bring him home.”

Smokey turned with the room and watched as a tall man, the best-looking she'd ever seen, stepped across the threshold ”Dolly!” Jenny exclaimed and ran to kiss her brother.

Smokey's mouth closed with a snap, just before she was introduced if smokey had thought herself clumsy before Dolly arrived, she didn't know what to think now. She dropped her napkin, nearly upset the plate of sandwiches when it was pa.s.sed to her, and when she did get a bite of sandwich into her mouth, swallowed wrong and nearly choked Her cup would simply not sit quietly on the saucer, so she put it down and gave up altogether.

Jenny had introduced her brother, and he couldn't have been kinder, but his tall, good-looking presence seemed to rattle the normal good sense right out of Smokey.

Dolly, she learned in a hurry, was a nickname for Dallas, Captain Dallas Knight, to be exact. It had been Jenny's baby name for Dallas, and the name had remained in the family through the years. Smokey thought about how tender Jenny's voice became whenever she spoke of Buck or Dallas. They were obviously a very close family.

Smokey put her cup down and simply tried to be a part of the conversation, but she found that didn't work either. Time and again her eyes strayed to Dallas, and she found that she could have cheerfully done little else but stare at him for the remainder of the evening.

At the moment, his head was turned as he spoke with Jenny. Smokey's eyes nearly caressed his dark, wavy brown hair and crystal-blue eyes. His lashes seemed impossibly long.

46.

A small gold hoop winked at her from one ear, and along with his snow-white s.h.i.+n and black pants and boots, Smokey could easily imagine him at the wheel of a s.h.i.+p.

She sat up a little straighter and pulled her eyes away from his captivating looks when she realized she had been picturing him at the helm of theAramis. Her thoughts so disturbed her that for a moment she lost track of the conversation. She came back with a jolt, but no one seemed to notice.

”Have you seen Greg Banning lately?” Tate inquired about another young sea captain.

”Indeed, I have. I asked him if he was trying to rival Clancy,” Dallas said with a grin.

”Why was that?” Jenny asked ”He told me he'd been racing in the coral reefs.”

”Why, that's a treacherous stretch of water!” Buck put in.

”I know, but he doesn't seem to have a lick of sense.”

The urge to come to Clancy's defense was so strong for Smokey that she had to bite her tongue. She sat very still and reminded herself that on many occasions her father had told her that in his younger days he hadn't had a lick of sense either.

”You're rather quiet, Smokey,” Buck commented when there was a lengthy pause in the conversation.

”Oh, don't mind me,” she spoke softly. ”The name Clancy always brings a flood of memories.”

”Indeed, itdoes.”Tate'svoicewas reminiscent. ”Myfather would gather us around his chair while he read to us about his exploits.”

Smokey stiffened, waiting for Tate to make some outrageous claim concerning Clancy, one that she would instantly want to deny, but he only fell silent.

Smokey was just as quiet as she grappled with whether or not it was a lie to stay silent about her relations.h.i.+p to the 5j famous Clancy. She had still not decided when Dallas rose.

^ b ^T38 hoping you would staY for dinner,” Jenny told him.

*LJrfoanks, Jen, but Kathleen is expecting me. I'll be by ” *' or the next day. It was nice meeting you, Smokey,”

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he spoke kindly before kissing Jenny's cheek, shaking Tate's hand, and putting his arm around Buck so he would walk him to the door.

The evening pa.s.sed in great fun for Smokey and everyone else, with a delicious dinner and then another card game, but something was missing for Smokey. It didn't take long for her to realize that the void she felt started when Dallas walked out the door.

Smokey would have been very surprised and at the same time dismayed to learn that Buck had noticed Smokey's reaction to meeting Dallas, as well as her reaction to his departure.

The thought saddened Buck. Not because he hoped that Smokey would fall for him, for he was in love with Greer Rittenhouse, but because Dallas was so sought after by the local females that he had his pick.

Buck knew well that Dallas did not take advantage of his looks, but he also realized that his brother probably wouldn't give a girl like Smokey a second glance. It was unfortunate to Buck's way of thinking, because he saw something very special in Smokey Simmons, something he was quite sure the rest of the family had overlooked.

”What time is Buck expecting us?” Smokey wanted to know.

”Anytime,” Jenny told her. ”He doesn't work on Mondays, and he said we should plan to stay for lunch.”

As soon as Jenny fell silent, Smokey's mind wandered back to Dallas. She had been doing that since he left the night before, and she knew she was going to have to order her thoughts back into control. She had never felt this way before.

Her father had said that when he'd seen her mother, it had been love at first sight for both of them. But Smokey knew she couldn't be feeling love. She was miserable, and wasn't love