JAKrentz - The Pirate, The Adventurer, & The Cowboy (9 page)
"If you're playing matchmaker, Letty, I think I should warn you you're wasting your time. I got the distinct impression I don't fit Jared's image of the ideal woman," Kate said. Although that certainly hadn't stopped him from making a very heavy pass a few minutes ago, she reflected. Just as knowing what he thought of her had not kept her from responding.
She must have been out of her mind out there in the garden.
"Nonsense. Come with me, my dear." Letty winked at the colonel as she took Kate's arm and led her a short distance away from the two men. She halted and said in a low voice, "I hope you won't take anything Jared Hawthorne says about women too seriously. Like most men, he doesn't really know what he wants."
"I'm not sure we should be discussing this," Kate said uneasily.
"Probably not, but I've already talked to David and I feel obligated to plead his case. He's decided he wants you and his father to get to know each other better, you see. He's quite taken with you. Told me all about how you're going to teach him your special karate trick."
"This is getting more embarrassing by the minute."
"Don't be embarrassed," Letty said. "The colonel is very observant, a real student of human nature, you know, and he says Jared's fascinated by you. The details of that little scene between the two of you in the bar the other night are making the rounds and, frankly, the whole thing sounds delightful. Just like something out of one of your books. I'm sorry I missed it."
"I doubt if Jared found it delightful."
"Nonsense. It's no secret that Jared bases his notions of what he wants in a woman on his memories of his first wife. And it's quite true that Gabriella was an angelic creature. Just ask anyone. But Gabriella died five years ago and Jared is a normal, healthy man in his prime. He needs a woman, and to be quite honest, I don't think he needs another angel."
Kate studied her champagne glass. "Why do you say that?"
Letty smiled knowingly. "It can be hard to live with an angel when a man has as much of the devil in him as Jared has. Enough said, hmm?"
Kate cleared her throat. "Please, Letty, before you get any more ideas, I think I should remind you that I'm only going to be on Amethyst for a month."
"That's precisely why I took the liberty of speaking to you tonight, my dear. There isn't a moment to waste, is there?"
FOUR
"C
ome on, Dad, you can tell me. I won't tell Travis, or even Carl, honest. You were kissing Ms Inskip under that tree last night, weren't you?"
Jared glanced speculatively at his son, who was sitting at the kitchen table, kicking his sandaled feet and grinning hugely. Behind David the entire wall was open to the morning breezes and a sweeping view of the cove.
"Why do you want to know?" Jared sliced two ripe papayas in half and picked up a lime.
" 'Cause. I just want to, that's all."
"Son, you're getting old enough to be told a few of the rules men have to live by when it comes to dealing with women."
"Yeah? What rules?" David was obviously fascinated.
"The first one is that a gentleman never discusses in public what he does with a lady in private."
David's face fell. "That's dumb. Who made that rule?"
"The ladies all got together and made it a long time ago."
"Can they do that?"
"They did it."
Jared squeezed the lime over the papaya and brought the plates to the table, just as he had every morning since Gabriella had been gone. Somehow, without his or David's being aware of it, breakfast had become an important ritual over the years, something they both unquestioningly shared and took for granted.
The other meals were inevitably eaten in the hotel restaurant. Slicing papayas and making toast was about the limit of Jared's capability or interest in the kitchen, though he could make a decent cup of coffee. There was not much point in having three gourmet chefs on the staff if one didn't make practical use of them, he reasoned.
Jared looked at his son's new jeans and realized they were already getting too short. He made a note to buy a new pair soon. Time went by so blindingly fast, even out here in the islands. David was almost ten years old, Jared reflected. There would be more and more of life's hard rules to learn. The trick would be to teach him how to tell the good rules from the bad.
For a moment Jared watched his son stewing silently over the rule regarding women. Then he gave David a wry grin.
"I'll tell you something, kid. If you value your hide, you'll remember this particular rule. Ladies such as Ms Inskip have a way of getting even with a man who gossips about them."
David giggled. "What would she do to you if you told me about kissing her?"
"I'm afraid to even hazard a guess," Jared said darkly as he sat down and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Probably deck me with one of her karate kicks."
David's humor turned to outright shock. "She couldn't deck you, Dad." He paused, digesting the unthinkable. "Could she?"
A loud, enthusiastic squawk came from the yellow-fronted Amazon parrot sitting on top of its large cage. Jared scowled at the bird. "Keep your opinions to yourself, Jolly." He looked at his son. "Feed your bird. He's turning nasty again."
"Here you go, Jolly." David handed the bird a bite of papaya. Jolly glowered at Jared for a moment and then took David's offering with great dignity. David turned back to pin down his father. "Ms Inskip couldn't really deck you, could she?"
"With any luck I will never have occasion to find out." Jared smeared guava jelly on his toast, wielding the knife with some force.
"Hah. I bet three dollars she couldn't do it," David finally decided. "You're bigger than she is."
"Size is not always a factor, but nevertheless I appreciate your faith in me."
"Are there rules the ladies have to follow?"
"A few. The trouble is, they get to make up a lot of them as they go along."
Such as whether or not they'll still be around when a man comes back to collect what had been promised with a kiss.
"That's not fair."
"That's another rule, kid. Sometimes life isn't fair."
"Did the ladies make that one up, too?"
"No. That one got made up without anyone's approval, and we're all stuck with it." Jared bit down hard on the toast.
David kicked his feet while he contemplated that. "I think Ms Inskip plays fair. She's going to show me how to do that special kick today and maybe some other neat self-defense stuff she knows. I'm going to show her how to use snorkeling gear."
"Is that right?" It occurred to Jared that his son was making faster progress than he was. Maybe he should have offered a few free snorkeling lessons. He had certainly gotten nowhere fast last night.
When the cake-cutting ceremonies had finally ended, Jared had looked around and discovered that Kate had disappeared. Like a fool, he had been unable to resist walking through the gardens past her room. Her light had winked out even as he'd stood in the shadows and watched. Jared had spent a restless night, and he was still feeling generally annoyed this morning.
"Yup. We made a deal last night. Some guy she was dancing with offered to show her the reefs, but I reminded her we'd already agreed I'd do it."
Jared looked up. "Who was the guy?"
"A guest. I think his name was
Like a lady out of a dream
. "Yeah," Jared said. "She looked pretty last night." And the dream lady had turned into a sensuous creature of heat and shadow when he'd taken her into his arms. But instead of waiting for him after the last dance, she had vanished, the way a dream vanishes in the night. "When are you going to give her the snorkeling lesson?"
"This morning. Right after she shows me some of her self-defense tricks." David finished his papaya and jumped to his feet. He rubbed Jolly's head as he headed toward the veranda. The bird endured the caress with regal condescension. "Gotta go. I'm supposed to meet Ms Inskip in a few minutes."
"Wait a second. You didn't finish your toast."
"I'll take it with me." David snatched up the slice of toast and loped out of the kitchen, out across the veranda and down onto the path that led to the cove.
Jared was left alone with Jolly. The bird eyed him assessingly for a moment and then climbed slowly down from the cage, jumped to the back of David's chair and hopped onto the table to investigate the remains of the papaya.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you old pirate? You know you're not supposed to be on the table. Get away from that plate or I'll sell a few of your tail feathers as souvenirs to the tourists."
"Wanna bet?" Jolly picked up the papaya in one claw and began to nibble delicately.
"It's always nice to know who's the boss around here." Jared got to his feet and started clearing the table. "Why do you think she ducked out after the masquerade ended last night? I was sure she'd be waiting for me. After the way she responded under that tree, what the hell else was I supposed to think? She wanted me every bit as much as I wanted her, and I know it. I think. Who can figure women? Especially a lady commando with two whole weeks of self-defense training under her belt. Maybe she just got off on proving she could turn me on. I'll tell you one thing, pal. If that's the case, I'm going to put a stop to her game real quick."
"Wanna bet?"
Half an hour later, Jared stood in the open expanse that was one wall of his office and gazed down at the glistening white sands of the cove. From here he could see a smattering of early risers, some with scuba and snorkel gear and some dressed for strolling. At the far end of the beach he saw the two people he was looking for. David was standing on one foot, lashing out toward an invisible target with the other. Kate, dressed in a green maillot, was standing nearby, coaching the boy.
Jared didn't bother to take his gaze off the pair when someone knocked on the office door. "Come in."
The door swung open. "Morning, Jared," the colonel said as he walked into the room. "A fine day, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Jared frowned as he watched Kate demonstrate another quick, striking kick. "But then it always is, isn't it? Come here and watch this, Colonel."
The colonel walked over to stand beside Jared. He peered down into the cove. "Ah. The redoubtable Ms Inskip, I presume?"
"Who else? She's teaching Dave some mishmash of judo and karate."
"The sort of thing she used on Sharp Arnie?"
"Right."
"Nice technique," the colonel observed.
"Too stiff. She needs to loosen up, be more flexible."
"Are we talking about her self-defense skills or something else?"
"Forget it." Jared watched in silence for a few more seconds. "I wonder how she is at baking cookies? Five will get you ten she can't even boil water."
"David doesn't seem concerned with Ms Inskip's possible lack of culinary talents. He appears to be enjoying himself immensely."
Jared narrowed his eyes. "He couldn't wait to get out there on the beach this morning to take the lesson.
"He's becoming quite fond of Ms Inskip."
"I know."
"You don't sound pleased by the prospect," the colonel said.
"She'll be gone in a month."
"That would depend, I suppose, on whether or not she had a reason to stay." The colonel moved over to the desk. "I brought last night's receipts and a couple of bar and restaurant requisitions that need your signature."
Jared didn't turn away from the scene in the cove. "Leave them on the desk. I'll take care of them later."
"Have plans for the morning, do you?" the colonel inquired with a polite tilt of his bushy brows.
"My son is going to give Ms Inskip a snorkeling lesson. Thought maybe I'd supervise."
"Excellent idea." The colonel beamed.
Kate stood, feet planted wide apart in the sand, hands on her hips, and studied David's form with pursed lips. The boy made two more kicks before she nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. You've got the hang of it now. Watch your balance. Balance is everything. It's what gives you the advantage. My instructor said almost everyone is off balance most of the time. The trick is to make use of that fact."
David grinned and kicked out one more time. He accompanied the kick with a loud shout. Then he looked up at Kate. "Think I could take Sharp Arnie now?"
"People like Sharp Arnie are best avoided rather than confronted," Kate said. She ruffled his hair affectionately.
"You didn't avoid him. You clobbered him."
"I was under a certain amount of stress at the time. The smart thing to do would have been to hand over my wallet and run."
"You wouldn't run from anything, I bet. You're like my dad. I asked him this morning if you could take him in a fight."