The Perfect Match: A New Adult Erotic Romance (Inseparable Book 2) (23 page)

“What do you know already?” he asked as he looked at the sky.

“I know ya’ Uncle Jack is feeling pretty low about how he treated ya’.”

Kurt shut his eyes and nodded his head. “He thought I did somethin’ wrong, but wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to explain.” Polly had told Trey about his job, but Kurt had told Polly. He didn’t cut himself much slack for that fuck up.

“That’s between you and him,” Uncle Charlie said as he blew the fragrant pipe smoke out to drift against the windshield.

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” Kurt said.

“I also know
you
did the same thing your uncle did to a pretty girl.” Uncle Charlie had an unreadable expression on his face when turned to look at Kurt. “But that’s between you and her as well.”

Kurt grit his teeth to hold back his rage. “You don’t know what she did.”

“If you ain’t talked to her and let her explain, neither do you,” he whispered. The statement hit Kurt like a punch in the gut and left him gasping. “Your Uncle Jack stood where you are a couple of years ago. I’m gonna tell you the same thing I tol’ him. If you got one willin’ to love you,
really
love you, don’t ever throw her away, boy. That kind of regret will ruin a life.”

Kurt stood looking at the squall line bringing dark skies and rain until the drops fell against the windshield. His uncle seemed content to smoke his pipe and listen to the wind and the rumble of the engines. Kurt thought about what his uncle said while hope battled his rage like the ship fighting the storm.

* * *

T
he
St. Emiliana
slowed as the bow thrusters moved her closer to the dock. Kurt didn’t recognize the area the dock was in, but Houston’s ship channel was one of the largest ports in the world and so far he’d only seen a little of it. He was busy tying off lines and running the electric winch to bring her in tight and wasn’t paying attention to the shore.

“Yo! Kurt!” one of the hands called from the bow. “You got some crazy friends, dude!”

Moving closer to the side he saw a small crowd standing between the dock and the nearby warehouses. Lisa and Jen were holding a sign they had obviously made themselves that read
Welcome home, Uncle Kurt!

The impact of seeing Jack, Julie, Charlotte, and the kids all standing there waving and shouting his name left him gripping the railing. He didn’t see Polly at first because she was standing in the back of the group behind Uncle Jack.

“We got this, man.” The mate he’d been working with to run the wenches patted him on the back. “Go on and say hello.”

Kurt went down to the dock-level door and lowered the gangway as waves of panic and relief shook his body. Forcing himself to keep an open mind, he stepped down the gangway and knelt to embrace his young cousins who rushed to see him.

“Uncle Kurt! You’re back! You’re back!” With Jen on one side and Lisa on the other, he buried his face in their hair and hugged them tight.

“Hey, I missed you,” he whispered. “Thanks for the great welcome sign.”

“Aunt Polly and Aunt Charlotte helped us,” Jen admitted when they pulled back to let him stand.

“I colored the letters!” Lisa shouted as she tugged on his hand.

“You did a great job. I loved it,” he said, trying to keep it together.

When he stood up and looked at the adults, his Uncle Jack stepped forward first with a slight frown. “I owe you an apology,” he said. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Kurt took a deep breath and shook his Uncle’s hand. “I swear, I never told anyone.”

“I know that now. I should have listened instead of taking out my frustration on you.”

His admission stung Kurt’s conscience. Uncle Charlie had been right when he’d said Kurt had done the same thing to Polly. And there she was, standing back like she was afraid of his reaction. Staring at her face, he realized the others had stepped aside to open the way between them.

She stepped forward until she was inches away. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “I overheard you and Jack talking the day you got your job. I told Trey the name of the company, but I was never with him after that night at the fire.” Her hand reached out but stopped before touching him.

Her words sunk a knife in his chest, but they also freed his heart. He grabbed her then, pulling her close and crushing her in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered next to her ear. “I’m so sorry.”

She hugged him tight, then pushed him back to kiss him hard on the lips. Heat rose inside as her scent inflamed him, but he had to stop as the crew on the
St. Emiliana
began to hoot and whistle to egg them on.

“We’ll talk later,” she said as she smiled at him. “But we’re going to get through this.”

“Yeah,” he said as he laughed in joyous relief. “Yeah, we will.”

* * *

A
fter eating dinner and putting the kids to bed, the adults ended up around the fire pit on the patio. Kurt had spent the whole day with Polly, unable to keep his hands to himself. He’d touched her on her back, put his arm around her waist, held her hand, always seeking to reassure himself he wasn’t dreaming. She was just as obsessive, welcoming his attention and giving him quick kisses in return as they spent the day with the family.

Being able to let go of the poison Trey had injected in his mind had made all the difference. His biggest regret was how easily he’d been manipulated by his cousin. While Jack stirred up the coals and added wood to the fire, Kurt silently vowed to pay Trey back for everything he’d done to them all.

Uncle Jack and Great Uncle Charlie had spent the day huddled around their laptops on the dining room table. Relieved to hear his Uncle Jack hadn’t lost his job, Kurt only got a sketchy outline from Polly about what he and Uncle Charlie were up to. When he pressed for more details, she gave him a sly grin and told him to ask Jack himself.

After the fire was going strong, Uncle Jack sat back down on the loveseat and pulled Aunt Julie to cuddle under his arm. Uncle Charlie was sitting in a chair with his feet extended toward the fire smoking his pipe. Charlotte was between Kurt and their great uncle, huddled under a blanket as she smiled up at the sky.

Polly came out the sliding glass door with two mugs of the hot tea her family drank, giving him one before sitting carefully on his lap. The tea didn’t have a strong scent, but he decided he liked its smooth flavor. The sound of the wind rustling the dry leaves above their heads kept the mood relaxed. Polly took another sip, wrapping her hands around the mug with a contented sigh.

“Kurt, I’ve got a question to ask you, but I don’t want you to answer it tonight,” Uncle Jack said just above a whisper. That got Kurt’s heart beating like a drum, but he nodded for his uncle to continue. “Uncle Charlie and I are starting a local transportation company as a joint venture between
Mouton Transport
and
Deep Drilling
.”

Jack’s announcement wasn’t that big of a surprise given the situation he was in. Uncle Charlie had been running his company successfully since he’d bought the
St. Marie
back in the 1980s. It was probably smart to share the risk and profit to keep both sides honest. He guessed they wanted him to run one of the ships, but he didn’t need a night to think about that. “Sounds like a smart thing to do.”

“We’re going to start off with two ships, but Uncle Charlie can only spare a couple temporarily until the second week of January, two weeks from now.”

Kurt frowned. Buying a platform supply vessel wasn’t like shopping for cars. New ships cost millions of dollars and they required marine engineers trained to perform the regular maintenance they required. Older ships were cheaper to buy, but could turn into a money pit unless they’d been well maintained. Often times older ships had replacement parts that didn’t match the original equipment specs, so you had to pay for professional inspections to know what you were really getting. “That’s impossible.”

“There’s a couple a’ ships I had my eye on if the price was right,” Uncle Charlie said quietly. “They might do in a pinch.The problem is we need someone to run the
St. Emiliana
and the
Celia Rose
while someone else gets the ships to replace her.”

“Wait, the
Celia Rose
is coming over, too?” Kurt asked.

Uncle Charlie nodded. “CJ is bringing her in tomorrow. He tol’ me to tell you he got your car loaded without a scratch.” CJ was Charles Junior, his oldest son.

That made Kurt laugh so hard he spilled a little tea on his leg. “You ol’ sea dog, you totally set me up, didn’t ya?” Uncle Charlie only smiled and blew out some more fragrant pipe smoke into the night air. “I don’t need to think about it all night. I’ll drive whichever ship you want me to.”

“Uh... no,” Jack said with a wry look. “We want you to be our Director of Operations. I want you to work with Uncle Charlie to set up the whole thing and run it for us.”

“I got too much on my plate to take on another operation here,” Uncle Charlie explained.

“What?” Kurt asked, his mouth suddenly dry. “I don’t understand.”

“We think Deep Drilling will let us lease the docks by their warehouse and set up an office there for now. We need to buy the ships, hire staff, schedule the necessary maintenance, handle inventory, accounting, the works. You won't have to do all that by yourself, but you've been working closely with Uncle Charlie for a decade. You've learned from a master."

Kurt realized why they wanted him to think on it. Uncle Charlie knew about his dyslexia. Surely he’d told Uncle Jack this was a bad idea, he thought. But when he looked at his Uncle Charlie he saw the same measuring stare he’d gotten in his office in Morgan City. “Do you think I can do it?” he whispered to his Uncle Charlie.

“I did it once,” he whispered back. “I’m betting you can, too.”

Polly put her tea down so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Kurt pressed his lips on her forehead and took deep breaths of her scent. The idea of taking the job filled him with equal parts excitement and dread. It was a huge undertaking in an insanely short period of time, and Jack’s company would probably go under if they tried and failed at it.

The warm person sitting in his lap was snuggling in his arms and making it hard to think. He thought about having a desk job, being available to make a life with Polly. Their immediate problems might be over, but now Kurt had to make some hard decisions that would impact his life in ways he probably hadn’t thought of yet.

“How long do I have to decide?” he asked his uncles, but Jack answered for them both.

“We are still working out the joint venture details this weekend, but come January first we need to hit the ground running.”

“I’ll give you an answer before then,” he promised as his stomach rumbled and burned.

* * *

I
t was obvious Polly expected Kurt to sleep with her in her apartment. Charlotte had been moved to the couch over Uncle Charlie’s protest that he could get a hotel room for a night or two. Julie ignored him and put fresh sheets on Jen’s bed for him. That left Polly pulling on Kurt’s hand when it came time for them to leave.

The ride back to her apartment was short, but the silence made it feel longer to Kurt. He’d gone from feeling like he had no options left to so many it made his head spin. There was no question what Polly thought he should do from the thoughtful smile on her face.

When they got inside her apartment, she asked, “Do you mind if I make another cup of tea?”

“I’d like one, too. It was nice.” He joined her in the kitchen as she filled the kettle and put it on to boil. While it heated with creaks and pops, Polly took his hands in hers and stared at them for a while. Hers were smooth cinnamon and his hands were tanned red, roughened by the sun and wind of his job.

“I’m just gonna say it so there’s no confusion about where I’m coming from. I just hope you understand,” she said, then took a deep breath. “I’ve only known you a month, but if we’re going to stay together, then we’re exclusive as of right now.” She looked up at Kurt with a worried expression. “The past is past, but I can’t take you being with someone else.”

“I’m ready for that,” he said with a frown as he realized how much being with Camden must have hurt her. She smiled then and squeezed his hands.

“As much as I’ve loved you staying here with me for the holidays, I’m not ready for us to live together. My parents come over all the time when they’re in the country, and I know how your family feels about things like that.”

“I understand,” he said with a smile. His mom would lose her shit if he moved in with a girl and Meemee would never let him hear the end of it. “I was thinking about getting an apartment around here for me and Charlotte.”

“Sorry, but when my lease is up at the end of January and I’m moving into a two bedroom apartment. After Charlotte graduates in May she’s gonna be my roomie,” Polly said.

Kurt grinned at her uncomfortable expression. “I see,” he said. “Believe it or not, I wanna do this right.”

“I had hoped so,” she said and squeezed his hands again. “I
really
like you,” she whispered as her jaw quivered.

“I know,” he quoted in a slow drawl that made her laugh despite the serious moment.

“Han Solo,
The Empire Strikes Back
,” she said. “My favorite of the three.” When the kettle whistled, Polly took it off the fire and filled the teapot with water.

“Weren’t there six?” he asked with a grin.

“No, there were only three and the Special Editions don’t count either.” She had a mock serious expression on her face. “This is a deal breaker for me. I can’t be with anyone who believes Greedo shot first.”

“Oh, Polly, what would I do without you?” he asked as he drew her into his arms.

“Be glad you won’t find out,” she said as she rubbed her face against his chest. “I hear Kendall is pregnant.”

“What?” he asked as she stepped away to get two mugs for their tea.

“She’s about five weeks along, according to your mother. She had tried tried to claim it was yours, but when your mother heard that she insisted
publicly
that there would be a paternity test. Kendall changed her tune and now won’t say who the father really is.”