Part 23 (2/2)

She wasn't sure what all the kinds of martial arts were and she got the names mixed up with Chinese food. Kung fu sounded like something you ate and Kung pau sounded like breaking boards with your hand, but she thought maybe she had that backward. At any rate, she hadn't done it, or any of the other projects that had flitted through her mind, like going to one of those karaoke bars to see if she could still sing like she used to be able to back in the Hollow. Then there was tap dancing. She'd always dreamed of being able to tap dance like Donald O'Connor or Gene Kelly.

Oh, she could try blaming it on lack of money. Honolulu was an expensive place to live, and she'd struggled to make ends meet. But Lincoln had a friend who could break a board with the side of his hand, and one of Genevieve's girlfriends from high school was a tap dancer. Annabelle had gone to a school musical to see her perform. Those kids would have taught Annabelle the basics if she'd had the nerve to ask.

Instead she'd let herself get into a rut, and that was the truth of it, pure and simple. She'd moved from one rut in the Hollow to another rut in Honolulu. It might be a fancier rut, and at least her children had more to work with here, but as for Annabelle herself, she hadn't grown a lick. Once they found Genevieve, she'd do something about that.

She couldn't expect to be allowed to drive boats, though, no matter how much she believed she'd found her second calling. Boats were for rich people, and she never expected to end up in that category. So she'd have to make the best of this chance.

Matt leaned down close to her ear. ”You look like you were born to do that.”

”Hardly. If a body is born to do something, don't you think the good Lord would provide a way for them to actually do it?”

”You're doing it right now, aren't you?”

”This is a special circ.u.mstance, and you know it.”

Matt chuckled. ”Are you saying that you know when the good Lord has a hand in something and when he doesn't?”

He had her there. But she hoped the good Lord hadn't seen fit to create this problem with Genevieve just so Annabelle could drive a boat. In that case, she would need to have a talk with the good Lord.

”Well, just keep doing what you're doing,” Matt said. ”You're a natural at driving a boat. I'm going to confer with Lincoln and see if he's getting any Genevieve signals from Kauai. Because if we're going beyond that, we need to fuel up so we're at full capacity when we leave there.”

”You believe he's getting signals?” That would comfort her some, if Matt was convinced about Lincoln's special abilities.

Matt hesitated.

”Then you don't believe it.” She hadn't really expected him to, so she shouldn't be so disappointed.

”At this point, I don't know what to believe,” Matt said. ”And I'm-”

”Just playing along?”

He sighed. ”No. I have a feeling you wouldn't allow me do that.”

”You've got that right, mister.”

”I'm trying to keep an open mind, is what I'm doing. Can you live with that?”

”I don't have much choice, now, do I? I can't very well climb into your head and s.h.i.+ne a light into your brain, can I?”

”You know, Annabelle, sometimes I think that's exactly what you've done. When I look at you, it's like somebody turned a floodlight on in my head.”

”That sounds downright unpleasant.” It was a long way from saying you light up my life, and she'd always wished a man would tell her that. She thought it sounded so romantic, and it was one of her all-time favorite songs. Telling her that she caused a floodlight to go on in his brain wasn't the same.

”That's the best way for me to explain it,” Matt said. ”You make me look at things differently, like when I was talking to you about Theresa, I finally figured out that I'd just never loved her enough to be a good husband.”

”Well, I guess that could explain why Genevieve's daddy and Lincoln's daddy both took off so quick. Maybe they just plumb ran out of love. And here I thought they were irresponsible, selfish good-for-nothings.”

”They were.” Matt said it with such feeling that it warmed her heart. ”And I was selfish, too, hanging on to a woman and not giving her the love she needed. But leaving you with a baby ... I would never do something like that.”

”I believe you. You didn't have to rent this boat, and now that I know you're not rich, I can see it was even more of an imposition. And I'm going to pay you back, if it takes me-”

”No, you are not.”

”Oh, yes, I surely am.”

”I don't want the money. But there is something I do want from you.”

Annabelle's heart started thumping faster. She lowered her voice. ”If you want s.e.x, then I take back all the nice things I've ever said about you.”

Matt leaned closer, his breath tickling her ear. ”Annabelle, if I didn't want s.e.x, there would be something seriously wrong with me. But I respect your reasons for not getting involved. So I'm wondering if we can be friends, you, me, and Lincoln. After this is over and we've found Genevieve, I don't want to go our separate ways.”

Annabelle didn't want that, either, but she had her rules, and Matt was too good looking to be only a friend. ”You want to come over for supper and gin rummy? Is that what you're thinking about?”

”I'd love to. I'd also like to take a boat out for the fun of it again, and I'd like you and Lincoln to go along. You could practice driving.”

No fair. He'd picked the one thing that she couldn't do on her own. He was the only person she knew who could teach her all about boats. ”Why should I care about driving a boat? I have as much chance of owning one as a mule has of winning the Kentucky Derby.”

”You don't know that. You don't know what the future has in store for you. And you love being at the wheel of this boat. You might as well admit it, because it's written all over your face.”

”I do love it,” she said softly. ”I didn't expect I would. I only took the wheel so Lincoln would get back to concentrating on Genevieve, but. . . there's something about being out here on the ocean, like we're dancing over the waves.”

”I feel that way, too. Let me give you a chance to really enjoy it.”

She hesitated. ”Are we still talking about driving the boat?”

”Why?” There was laughter in his voice. ”What else could we be talking about?”

Annabelle lifted her chin. ”I may be a hillbilly, but I wasn't born yesterday. I know all about those double meanings.”

”I'm sure you do.” He cleared his throat. ”I was talking about driving the boat. Let me teach you.”

”I'll think about it.”

”Good. That's a start. Now I'll go talk to Lincoln about our heading for the next few hours.”

”I hate to see you ripping up your clothes,” Jack said.

”I don't. This is about survival.” Perched cross-legged on the South Park beach towel next to Jack, Genevieve opened a side seam on her dress with the hibiscus pattern on it and tore the dress apart without a single regret. Back in the Hollow she'd never worried about clothes. After this, she wouldn't let herself worry about them again. She had a whole new perspective on things.

Jack worked on the seams of his s.h.i.+rt. ”Maybe we should have brought driftwood up to build a fire, instead.”

”Oh, sure. I barely got you up here, let alone a bunch of driftwood.”

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