Maxine (8 page)

She lifted her chin and stared him down. “Do you have a better solution?”

Without a word, Nick lifted his hands and dropped them.

“Let’s buy a thirty-footer or thereabouts. It doesn’t have to be new as long as it’s in good condition. Are there places in Gig Harbor that sell boats?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Then call one. If they have a boat you think would do, have them bring it out so we can see it.”

Nick stared into her eyes for several seconds, as if asking if she were buying the boat for him. Cara suspected he already knew the answer. A boat would solve their temporary transportation problem, but it wasn’t the only reason for buying one. Would he go along with it? She didn’t want to step on his pride.

“Are you sure, Cara? It could be pricey.”

“It’s all right, Nick,” she said gently. “We can afford it.”

“
You
can afford it.” Nick flipped through the Gig Harbor telephone book. He couldn’t afford the damned dinghy, and having a woman buy things for him, even this woman, didn’t sit well with him. Was she trying to say thank you for saving her life or providing necessary transportation? Or was she asking to stay longer?

He wouldn’t mind having her stay, except he didn’t want to have a run-in with her pretty-boy husband. Still, he didn’t like the idea of sending her away when he knew everyone in the world was looking for her. With a reward on her head, someone was bound to recognize her and call her husband.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Chapter Five

N
ick made his call and showered while Cara folded the clean laundry and dressed in a pair of his clean sweats, still warm from the dryer. About the time the second load of laundry came out of the dryer, Tony and Angelo appeared with Riley and a bag of food. Nick stuffed the clean clothes in a basket, set it on the coffee table for Cara to fold, and told his cousins about buying a boat for Max and Company.

Tony set the bag of food in the kitchen. “Ma sent a pan of lasagna. Salad, bread.”

Cara smiled. “Oh, that sounds so good. Let’s eat it now.”

Nick turned on the oven. “We ate canned chili for breakfast. It was the only thing we had left.”

Cara wrinkled her nose. “Disgusting stuff.”

“Cara, have you been watching television?” asked Angelo. “They’re saying you’ve been spotted in San Francisco, New York City, Portland, Spokane, and Yakima. Your husband is supposed to be on his way to Spokane right now.”

“Good.” With any luck, he wouldn’t search Gig Harbor. As soon as Nick found a boat, she had to see an attorney and get started on the process of ending her marriage. Lance would find her at some point, but if she could get the legal process in motion and change her will before he found her, maybe he’d give up and leave her alone.

<>

After a delicious lunch with her new friends, Cara saw a small cabin cruiser pull up to the neighbor’s dock. She took Nick’s arm. “Let’s go check it out. Come on, guys, help us out.” It wasn’t a big luxury yacht like her grandfather had once owned, but it looked like a comfortable boat.

Nick and Tony checked out the engine while Cara and Angelo looked inside at the salon, galley, and V-berth. “This is big enough to live on, isn’t it, Angelo?”

“Sure. Nick used to have one about this size. Lisa didn’t like boats, so he sold it, bought the property here on the beach. We built the house after his divorce.”

“He seems bitter about his divorce.”

“Of course he is,” said Angelo. “Nick wanted kids. Lisa got pregnant, but he didn’t know until he got the bill for her abortion. And then she took nearly everything in the divorce. He got screwed.”

Cara was so shocked, she didn’t know what to say. No wonder he hated his wife, and no wonder he didn’t want a woman hanging around his house.

Nick walked up behind Angelo. “You talk too much, Angelo.”

Tony cleared his throat. “Nice boat.”

The salesman said, “The former owner’s kids had the boat hauled out and surveyed two months ago, after their father died. I have that report right here. The sellers feel it’s priced competitively.”

“But they’re anxious to get rid of it,” said Nick.

The salesman shrugged and Cara watched with delight as Nick negotiated several thousand dollars off the asking price.

The salesman’s eyes widened when he saw the name on her credit card. Nick’s eyes narrowed, and he gave the salesman a stern warning about keeping Cara’s whereabouts a secret.

After the salesman left on another boat, Cara put the boat keys in Nick’s hand. “You’re in charge of the boat, Nick. I don’t know anything about boats.”

He gazed into her eyes for so long, she wondered what he was thinking. Would he take the boat?

“I’ll take good care of it. For Max and Company.”

“I know you will, Nick.”

Nick and his cousins seemed like little boys with a new toy, running their hands over the polished teak rails, playing with the radar, laughing and enjoying themselves. Nick made a list of the things they’d need to fit the boat out in style, and Tony was already negotiating to use it to impress women.

Nick shook his head. “No way, Tony. It’s Cara’s boat.”

“No, the boat belongs to the company,” she said. “Tony, you have as much right to use it as anyone else in the company.”

Tony kissed Cara, a loud smack on the lips. Angelo kissed her, too. Smiling, her eyebrows raised expectantly, Cara teased, “Your turn, Nick.”

He leaned in close to whisper, “Baby, if I start kissing you, I won’t stop this week.”

Warmth bubbled up inside her and she longed for him to kiss her, but he didn’t.

The men made arrangements to go grocery shopping and Tony left to get his car. He’d meet Nick and Angelo in town and drive them to the store.

Cara thought about giving Nick money for groceries, but she didn’t want to step on his pride. He was touchy about money, especially after she bought the boat. She gave Angelo some money and a list with her sizes. “If there’s another shop nearby that sells clothes, would you mind getting a few things for me? I’m not picky, Angelo. I want something loose and soft and comfortable. Sweats are fine.”

Nick hated to leave Cara alone, but Riley wouldn’t let anyone near the house and her deadbeat husband was on his way to Spokane, on the other side of the state. He knew one of his cousins would stay with her, but she didn’t seem afraid to stay alone this time. She’d be all right by herself for a couple hours.

The boat handled like a dream, and it felt great to be out on the water again. It was only three years old, fully equipped, in excellent condition. Cara got a good deal on it, too, thanks to him. It must be nice to buy anything you wanted and not have to worry about how to pay for it.

Minutes later, they were docked in Gig Harbor bay, a tiny finger of Puget Sound. A green horseshoe-shaped hill surrounded the bay, giving protection to the fishing and pleasure boats docked there. Businesses hugged the waterfront and homes covered the hillsides. Primarily a fishing village, Gig Harbor also catered to tourists who shopped in the quaint little stores ringing the harbor.

While Angelo went down the street to shop for Cara’s clothes, Nick and Tony shopped for groceries. Nick scanned the list and smiled.
Tampons.
She actually put tampons on the grocery list.

“What’s so funny?” asked Tony.

“Nothing.” Nick scanned the shelves and moaned. “Sixteen million different kinds of the damned things.”

Tony glanced around nervously, obviously embarrassed to be standing in the aisle with feminine hygiene products. “Jeez, Nicky. What if someone sees you?”

“They’ll think I got lucky.” Nick picked a box and tossed it into the cart.

Tony glanced at the cart, which was nearly overflowing. “Is that it?”

“Almost.” Nick picked out two cartons of ice cream, rocky road and butter pecan. He usually bought the most inexpensive kind, but not today. This time he wanted the best, no matter what it cost. For Cara.

<>

The trip back with Tony was uneventful. Nick smiled when he saw Cara standing on the dock, wearing his baggy old sweats, curls blowing around her face, waving at the boat.

“Will you look at her,” said Tony. “She’s looking better all the time.”

“Yeah, she’s feeling better, too.” So much better, he was afraid she’d leave him soon. Funny how he couldn’t wait to hand her off to someone else in the beginning. Now she’d become an important part of his life.

Tony sighed. “If I had a woman like that, I’d find a way to hold onto her.”

If only he could. But Cara lived in a different world.

Nick eased the boat up to the dock and Riley jumped on board, wagging his tail. After they tied up, Nick handed Cara the bags of clothes. “Angelo said your change is in the bag with the socks.”

“How did the boat handle?”

Nick grinned and set two bags of groceries on the dock. “Great. What are you going to name her?”

“What do you suggest?”

Only one name came to mind. He gazed into her eyes and told her. “Maxine.”

She laughed that wonderful throaty, sexy laugh. Did she have any idea what that laugh did to him? Or that smile? Or those beautiful blue-gray eyes? No, probably not. Cara was the most unassuming woman he’d ever met. She wasn’t beautiful, yet beauty emanated from her. She seemed to think people liked her only for her money, but she was wrong. He liked her, he was crazy about her, but all that money built a wall between them. He learned a long time ago that there were two kinds of people in this world—the haves and the have-nots. And the two didn’t mix.

He had to keep reminding himself of that.

Especially when she laughed.

<>

Furious at not finding Cara in Spokane, Lance returned to Seattle to find another bill from the private investigator. The rent payment was late and the utility bills were all overdue. He threw the bills on the desk. “Damn you, Cara.” He needed money and he needed it now.

Sally called that evening and told him that no one at the estate had heard from Cara, and Lance knew what to do. That house was filled with priceless paintings. The sale of one would keep him afloat until he found Cara, and he knew just the man for the job.

Sally had had a run-in with Cassie, a cook at the estate, and Lance had promised to take care of the problem. He’d told Mr. Pettibone, Cara’s uptight butler, to fire Cassie two weeks ago, but she was still there. Time for a trip not only to fire Cassie, but to take control of the estate. He smiled to himself. Poor, confused Cara couldn’t do it herself.

Minutes later, with Cara’s jet on the way to Seattle, Lance called an old friend, a professional art thief who knew how to choose the right piece and where to fence it to get the best price. Lance was determined to take what he wanted. After all, as Cara’s husband, half of everything belonged to him.

When he finished with that bitch, it would
all
be his.

<>

As much as Nick hated to deal with his former brother-in-law, he had to call him. Gerry Merlino was the best lawyer in town. He hadn’t spoken to Gerry in months and wouldn’t be calling him now if not for Cara.

Instead of scheduling the appointment through Gerry’s secretary, Nick asked to speak with Gerry and got right to the point. “This is Nick. I might have a new client for you. She left her husband, wants to end the marriage. Look, Gerry, this may be more than you can handle. If it is, I want you to back off, refer her to another attorney, somebody you trust.”

“What’s so special about this case?”

“She’s well known, wealthy, and her husband is ruthless. She overheard him planning to have her committed to an institution so he could steal her money.”

“How wealthy?”

Nick’s anger bubbled to the surface. “You take advantage of her and I’ll make sure the whole world knows. Your practice will be toast.”

“Aw, c’mon, Nick. You know me better than that.”

“Yeah, sure.” They used to be good friends, but that was before the divorce. Gerry took good care of his sister, and Nick lost nearly everything.

Gerry stayed silent for a few seconds. “Tell me about this client.”

“It’ll be messy. She needs someone who knows how to fight, and you’ll probably need to hire a private investigator. Can you handle that?”

“Of course. Bring her in tomorrow, around eleven.”

“The road to my house is still out, so we’ll have to come in by boat. Can you meet us at the dock?”

“Thought you sold your boat.”

“I did. Eleven. Jerisch Park.”

If Gerry took advantage of Cara, Nick wouldn’t just ruin his law practice. He’d break his face.

Cara stared out the window, hugging her arms, and Nick knew she was afraid to go out in public. If she didn’t have to get her stitches out, he’d bring Gerry to the house. He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. “Scared?”