Part 22 (2/2)
”Will you please tell me,” Sunny spoke softly when the door was closed, ”what that was all about?”
Brandon moved forward and kissed her before he spoke.
”I'm sorry I never explained She is the captain of iheAramis, and be is her first mate.”
Sunny's mouth dropped open, and Brandon laughed ”I really think the two of you will like each other,” he told her, ”if you get a chance to talk. She's probably one of the few women in the world who could actually rival you for independence.”
”She is actually the captain of the s.h.i.+p?” Sunny asked in disbelief.
”That's right.”
”Does she own it?”
”Yes. It's said to be one of the fastest s.h.i.+ps on the sea, and she, one of the finest captains.”
”But she's so pet.i.te and una.s.suming. I just...” Sunny 186.
shrugged, and Brandon hugged her. Sunny was right, Sm did not look like she held the position she did” 1 What Brandon didn't know was that there was far more to Smokey Simmons than even he could imagine, and that he and Sunny would both grow to think the world of her before Dallas returned.
Q/wfaQreven/ the rest of the DAV was a bit strained for Smokey and Da.r.s.ey, but the next morning Sunny asked Smokey if she wanted to see her baby. It turned out to be the perfect icebreaker.
Lord Sterling Hawkesbury, future Duke of Briscoe, was nearly eight months old and able to crawl all over the nursery.
His face split with a huge grin on sighting his mother, and Smokey's heart melted the moment she laid eyes on him.
Both women sat down, and Sterling's nurse put him on the floor. He made a beeline for his mother until he spotted Smokey. In midcrawl he paused and stared at her. Smokey could not wipe the smile from her face, and when he saw her friendly countenance he changed direction.
She waited only until he was at arm's length before reaching for him. It had been years since she'd held a baby, and this one was a cuddler. He snuggled against her and popped a thumb into his mouth, the picture of contentment.
”He's beautiful,” Smokey told Sterling's mother over the top of his head.
”We think so,” Sunny responded with pleasure. ”His grandmother tells me that Brandon looked just like him at that age.”
”My friend Jenny, Dallas' sister,” Smokey said to her hostess, 188.
who nodded, ”is going to have a baby this summer. I hoping to get home in time, but I'm not sure if I'll make it?
”I'm sure you will. Brandon was telling me last night than they need you to testify, but he hopes they have enough other; evidence to convict the pirate.” Sunny paused and went on.
”Dallas told him you had a pretty rough time of it.”
Smokey nodded ”I know it could have been much worse, but it's such a helpless feeling to be powerless against a captor.”
The conversation was broken momentarily as Sterling's nurse returned, saw the child was asleep in Smokey's arms, and came to retrieve him. Sunny dropped a kiss on her young son's head, and the women exited the room.
'You're not afraid to testify, are you?” Sunny asked, fairly certain what the answer would be.
”No,” Smokey told her emphatically as they walked down the stairs. ”I want to see him put away. He's never hit my s.h.i.+p before, but I grow furious when I think of the hard hours we put in and then men like him who come along and help themselves without even breaking a sweat.”
”Brandon's been boarded four times,” Sunny told her guest.
”I didn't know that. He must be anxious to see this over.”
”Yes, he is. I know he'd like to talk to you before the trial, just to get an idea of what you know.”
”I'd be glad to tell him anything that might help.”
”I was quite certain you would feel that way,” Sunny told her with a smile. ”By the way, I like to go riding about this time each day. Would you care to join me?”
”Horseback riding?”
”That's right.”
”I've never been,” Smokey admitted ”Never?” Sunny was astounded and then grinned ”Well, I've never captained a s.h.i.+p, so I guess that makes us about even.”
Smokey laughed, and before she knew it, Sunny had 189.
peered her in the direction of her bedroom to find a riding [habit that could be shortened quickly.
”It's not at all as I imagined,” Smokey told Sunny just two hours later as she sat on the back of a well-behaved gelding. ”I mean, he really goes where he's told”
”What did you expect?”
”I don't know,” Smokey confessed. ”A s.h.i.+p can't operate on its own, but a horse has a will. I think there are verses in the Bible, the New Testament, about that.”
”I know the ones you mean; they're in James three, and they talk about the rudder of a s.h.i.+p or the bit in a horse's mouth, and then about how powerful our tongues are.”
”Those were the ones I was thinking of. I always love it when G.o.d uses ill.u.s.trations I can see so well.”
Suddenly both women smiled at each other. It was wonderful and precious to find that they were sisters in Christ.
Smokey's heart became very full at the knowledge.
Sunny couldn't help thinking that Brandon had been right, she liked Smokey immensely. She was so easy to be with, and they never ran out of things to talk about.
They rode on, and Sunny had to squelch laughter every time she remembered that Smokey was five years older than she was. Not 24 hours ago, she stood opposite Smokey, thinking she was very young and acting out of place with Da.r.s.ey standing beside her. What a woman! No wonder Dallas was fascinated ”You mean to tell me that she actually fenced with Haamch Wynn?” Brandon asked Da.r.s.ey in disbelief.
190.
Da.r.s.ey grinned before he answered ”She holds her own very well, sir.”
”Who taught her?”
”Her father and I.”
'You were his mate also?”
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