Blood Ties (10 page)

They lay together on the sand, breathless and sated
until the buzz of mosquitoes drove them into the water. The water was as warm and the bottom as clean as
Buck had promised. They swam and splashed and
played like kids until desire brought them together
again. This time, their lovemaking was slower and
more deliberate, but no less fulfilling.

They dressed, and Buck took insect spray and two
bottles of beer from his saddlebag. "The beers were
cold when I put them in there."

Abbie chuckled as he produced apples for the
horses. "Nice touch."

"They've been patient. They deserve a reward."

He washed the apple bits and juice from his hands
in the bay and then returned to sit beside her on the
beach. The moon had come up over the water and it
cast a ribbon of silver over the waves.

"Do you do this for all your hot dates?" she asked.

"Nope. Consider yourself special. I don't usually
pick up young ladies on Tawes."

"No?"

He chuckled. "It's a small island, and it could get
uncomfortable-"

"If you love'em and leave'em?"

"Something like that."

"The island has its own rules; it's not really part of the
twenty-first century." He scuffed the damp sand with a
bare foot. "Somehow I don't believe it ever will be."

"You can't stop change."

"It won't come easy here."

"It didn't come easy in Oklahoma either. Not with
the tribal people. But you can't live in the past."

"That sounds funny, coming from a woman who
makes her living by studying the past." He caught her
hand in his and held it.

Another small bubble of happiness rose in her
chest. She liked Buck. She really did, but she had to
keep reminding herself that they both knew the rules.
This was fun, nothing more. "You've never been
tempted to find an island girl, build your own little
hideaway, and continue the tradition?"

"Me? No, not yet. The Davis men don't settle down
until they have to. Nate married at thirty, and he broke
the record." He unfolded her hand and massaged her
fingers, one after another. It felt wonderful. "You have
nice hands," he said. "Strong hands for a woman."

"I think that's a compliment."

"It is." He took a sip of beer. "I want you to be careful out there at the site."

"Why? I can swim. If the mosquitoes don't eat me
alive, what's-"

"Can't say, really. just. . ." He shook his head.
"Something about that Gilbert boy's drowning doesn't
sit right. He's a Deal Island kid; he could swim like an
eel before he could walk."

She looked up into Buck's face. His features seemed
more rugged in the moonlight, almost Indian. "He
might have gotten a cramp."

Buck nodded. "True enough."

"You don't sound convinced." She got to her feet
and brushed the sand off the back of her shorts.

He got up and collected the horses. "I'd best get you
back to Emma's. If you mean to fly up to the city in the
morning, you'll need your beauty rest." He led the
black horse over and held the stirrup for her. Just be
careful. Keep an eye out."

"I always do."

"I mean it. There's something about that marsh that
worries me. I don't want anyone else getting hurt, especially not you."

"I'm not helpless," she said. "My father insisted that I
study self-defense when I was a teenager. I stayed with it
until I reached the level of black belt, and I've got a wallful of trophies that I won in statewide competitions."

"That's good, but don't let it make you cocky. Don't
take unnecessary chances. I've found it's always better
to avoid trouble than to get out of it."

"I'd agree with that," she replied, "but I've traveled
extensively since I was fourteen-Athens, Lima, Delhi,
Marrakech, even Ankara. So far, I've never found myself in a situation that I couldn't handle."

"There's always a first time, Abbie. Remember that.
Nothing in this world is as certain as coming up
against somebody or something tougher than you."

"I'm hoping to see Irene this afternoon." Karen
pushed the briefcase containing the Irish artifacts farther under the table with the toe of her sneaker and
glanced at the menu. She and Abbie were seated in
Vin's, a popular pub at the Philadelphia airport that
served authentic Delhi dishes as well as South Philly
favorites.

The flight up from Tawes had been uneventful.
Karen was planning on taking the train into the city
and stopping in Mt. Airy long enough to shower and
change before her meeting with Irene at her office.
Maintaining a base within commuting distance to
Penn was important, even when the house was empty
for months at a time. Besides, now that Abbie was
working on her doctorate at the university, she had a
real home.

"Anati?"

Abbie's reminder that the waitress was standing by
their table jerked Karen out of her reverie. "Cheese steak and whatever she's drinking," Karen said hastily.
"Be patient, dear. I was having a senior moment."

"Water with lemon." Abbie chuckled. "And you
know you don't like lemon in your water." She rolled
her eyes. "Why take so long reading the menu if you're
always going to order the cheese steak?"

Karen shrugged. "I like to have the choice. You
never know, something else might strike my fancy."
She returned the menu to the holder against the simulated old oak paneling. "I want you to continue work
on the test pit I started before-"

"You've told me, Mom. Twice." Abbie smiled. "I
think I can handle it. But I'd rather go with you. I can't
wait to see what Dr. Goldstein thinks of the pieces."

"I'm dying to see what she has to say."

"There has to be a logical explanation. Either the
good pastor bought them on the black market thirty
years ago or some settler carried them from Cork and
threw them out the window of his log cabin back in
the 1700s."

"They seem genuine to me."

The waitress returned with the water and asked Abbie if she wanted the dressing for her Cobb Salad on
the side. Karen waited until the girl was gone before
picking up her train of thought. "I'll call you when I'm
ready to come back. Provided the phones are working
on the island." She raised one eyebrow. "And if you're
carrying your cell."

Abbie grimaced. "Guilty as charged. I didn't take it
last night. I didn't think I'd need it, not when I was out
with the entire Tawes police force."

"Just don't get any ideas about that one. He's an islander born and bred. Emma said that Buck-"

"Mom, please." Abbie raised her hands, palms up.
"Stay out of my love life. Mind your own business."

"Your father and I went together for two years be fore I let him talk me into getting married. And he got
none of the perks until I had a ring on my finger."

Abbie smiled. "When in Rome, Anati. The times
they are a-changin'. Besides, Grandpop would have
staked him on an anthill if he'd taken advantage of his
daughter. All that honor stuff."

"Just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt. And I
don't want him getting hurt. He seems like a nice
young man." She flashed a mischievous smile. "But I
can't say as I blame you. If I were twenty years younger,
I might be taking evening rides on his pony too."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

The waitress brought their order, and Karen settled
down to enjoy the cheese steak. There was enough fat
in it for an entire week, but when it came to eating,
there were some things that she simply wasn't willing
to give up. Life, after all, was for living to the fullest.

"So you have no idea how long this will take? Two
days? Three?"

"You know Irene. I want a definite answer on this before I come back."

"Are you leaving the torque and cloak pin with her?"

Karen shook her head. "No. Can't. Matthew Catlin
was absolutely inflexible about that. He said his wife
wouldn't want them off the island any longer than
necessary. They were not to be out of my sight, and
when I return to Tawes, I have to deliver them into his
hands personally.

"Mmm," Karen licked her fingers. "This is really
good. Sure you don't want some?"

"No, thanks." Abbie added a little more dressing to
her salad. "This is plenty."

"Give your dad a call before you fly back. He misses
you."

"For a divorced couple, you two worry a lot about
each other."

Karen wiped her mouth with a napkin. "We were
friends before we got hot and bothered, and we remained friends after the fire died. A part of me will always love him for giving me you, and the rest of me
wakes up every morning and shouts, `Thank you,
God,' for setting me free."

Abbie laughed. "Crazy people. I have crazy people
for parents."

"If I'm crazy, remember that it's inherited. Mothers
get it from their kids."

"Ouch." Abbie leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Have fun, and remember poor me, slaving away in
that mosquito-infested marsh."

"Bailey assured me that you're more than welcome
to use her horses; that will save you a long walk. Don't
forget insect spray for you and the animal, and don't
forget to carry your knives." Karen rose to her feet and
hugged Abbie tightly. "Fly safe. Anything you need on
Tawes, ask Bailey or Emma. And don't trust Matthew
around the pits. He doesn't know half as much as he
thinks he knows about archaeology."

"That's what you say about most people."

"Only because it's true. Oh, and don't swim out
there alone."

"Yes, Mother, I hear and obey."

"Right. It will be the first time."

Abbie chuckled, left two twenties on the table, and
strode away without looking back. Karen watched her
until she turned the corner. "Nuxati, watch over her,"
she murmured. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she
had time to catch the next train if she hurried. She
slung her bag over her shoulder, picked up the briefcase, and left the restaurant.

Bailey threw another forkful of manure into the trailer
and looked at her watch. Three o'clock. In three more hours, Daniel would be twenty-four hours late for the
meal he'd promised to share with her. She was worried
and angry. She hadn't called the Coast Guard or the
mainland hospitals yet, but she'd wanted to. This
wasn't like Daniel, she told herself.

But she knew it was.

Twice before, he'd done this. Someone had called
him, and he'd vanished without telling her where he
was going or when he'd be back. The first time had
been Christmas Eve, and then again in March. She suspected that his old employers at the agency were at
fault, but Daniel refused to give her any information.
Dozens of explanations had come to mind, but she'd
rejected all except one. Daniel wasn't a compulsive
gambler and he wasn't addicted to drugs or alcohol.
He wasn't running heroine, illegal aliens, or stolen
property. There was only one possibility left. The
agency. Despite his promises that he'd broken off all
ties with them, his disappearances had to have something to do with the C.I.A.

The possibility frightened her, and it made her angry. If he couldn't trust her, then how could he expect
her to become his wife? And how could she expect
him to be the father her coming baby deserved? How
did she know he wasn't sprawled in some South American barrio with his throat cut, or floating face down
in the Mediterranean? She shuddered. Maybe-at this
moment he was lying on a rooftop with a highpowered rifle, waiting to assassinate an enemy of the
American government. The thought made her sick.

There was also Daniel's financial status. He refused
to discuss his monetary situation, saying simply that
he'd bought good stock years ago. He didn't spend
money foolishly, but he'd surprised her with tickets to
Florence on her birthday-first class. They'd spent a
glorious ten days exploring Tuscany, Rome, and Venice. It had all seemed a fairy tale, until reality had
set in and she'd begun to wonder how a country carpenter could afford such an expenditure.

Everything she knew about Daniel's life in the last
decade had been what he'd told her. What if he hadn't
been completely honest? Elliott had fooled her. Was
she one of those stupid women who couldn't see past a
sexy body and a sweet line? Did she want someone so
badly that she would rush into a second marriage that
was doomed from the start? Or were her hormones so
out of whack from pregnancy that she was overreacting to normal male imperfections?

Her cell rang. She dropped the pitchfork, wiped her
hands on her jeans, and answered it. "Daniel?" She realized as she spoke his name that it couldn't be Daniel.
His ring tone was a jimmy Buffet oldie.

"Sorry, just me." Cathy's cheery voice didn't sound
the least bit sorry. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning horsesh-." Bailey clamped her lips shut
on that crude answer, took a breath, and started again.
.. Stable. I'm cleaning the stalls." The sound of a
baby fussing came through the connection. "Sounds as
though somebody's ready for a nap."