A Woman With Secrets. Inglath Cooper

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СКАЧАТЬ had a feeling that before this so-called vacation was over, she would tell him so.

      She followed him down narrow stairs, through a doorway barely wider than her own body and into a cabin the size of a large closet.

      “This is where you’ll be staying,” he said abruptly, plopping her two suitcases down by the bed.

      With him in it, the room seemed Alice-in-Wonderland small. It was neat and clean though, the bed crisply made, the air tinted with the remnants of furniture polish.

      “Anything you need?” he asked, obviously anxious to go.

      “A pitcher of iced tea and a sandwich would be nice,” she said, infusing the request with politeness.

      His smile said you’re kidding right?

      Actually, she wasn’t. She hadn’t eaten in twelve hours. Something told her she should let this one go though.

      “Dinner’s at seven,” he said and turned to leave.

      “Captain Hunter?” she called out.

      He ducked back inside the doorway with a look of restrained impatience. “Yes?”

      “The other passengers. When will they be arriving?”

      “Couple hours,” he said.

      “Oh. Good, then,” she answered, reassured to know she wouldn’t be sailing off alone into the sunset with Captain Grump and his sidekick.

      After he left, she sank down on the bed, her stomach rumbling. Was she crazy? Maybe she should just get off the boat now. Maybe she should have stayed and confronted Karl. Taken the lizard to court and let him explain to a judge where the million dollars in his closet had come from. But she hadn’t relished the idea of handing out a chunk of her father’s already depleted funds in legal fees. Besides, Karl would need a little time to come to grips with the fact that he’d have to find some other means of financing Tiffany’s decorating habit.

      And, too, she told herself, spending the next ten days on a boat headed through the western Caribbean could only be so bad. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Karl finding her. For now, at least, that was all she cared about.

      FROM THE CORNER of the deck, Cole watched the lovely Ms. Winthrop struggle with the tarp he’d asked her to fold.

      He could have done it himself. He hadn’t needed to call her up from her cabin to do it, but he was holding out the hope that she’d change her mind and leave before the rest of the passengers arrived. He didn’t have a good feeling about this woman.

      Not to mention that Harry’s matchmaking antennae had been on high alert since the moment he set eyes on her. He was certain God had finally taken pity on poor sex-starved Cole Hunter and sent him a woman no man could resist.

      A breeze caught the end of the tarp and jerked one end of it from her grasp. Her dark navy pullover had started to cling to her arms and shoulders in wet patches. Sweat glistened on her forehead and upper lip. Several strands of blond hair had escaped the barrette at the back of her neck and stuck to her cheek.

      He crossed the deck and reached for one end of the canvas. With a pointed look at her navy shirt, which now clung to her skin in some interesting places, he said, “By the way, dark colors draw the sun.”

      CHAPTER THREE

      Man has a thousand plans, heaven but one.

      —Chinese Proverb

      CLEARLY, HE THOUGHT she was an idiot.

      Folding a tarp. As though the boat would have sunk if she hadn’t accomplished the task posthaste. She patted the final edge into place and managed an even reply, “Thanks for the tip.”

      “Don’t mention it,” he said.

      From the other end of the dock came a lilting, “Yoo-hoo!”

      Two older ladies with bluish, salon-set hair walked toward the boat, both wearing excited expressions. Behind them, a black-capped chauffeur wheeled a cartload of luggage. One of the women waved coral nails in their direction, the color picking up the floral background of her silk jumper. “Captain Hunter?”

      He studied the two women through narrowed eyes. “Could I help you with something?”

      “I certainly hope so. Is this the Ginny?”

      He nodded once, answering reluctantly, “It is.”

      “Oh, good, Lily, we’re in the right place,” she said with an enthusiastic smile to the woman beside her.

      “We’re the Granger sisters,” they said in unison.

      Kate risked another look at Cole Hunter, whose set expression clearly indicated his passenger list was not turning out as he had expected.

      She, on the other hand, was beginning to enjoy herself.

      “I’m Lyle,” the talkative one said. “And this is Lily.”

      The captain cleared his throat. “I thought you were…from your e-mail, I assumed you were husband and wife.”

      The quiet one said, “Oh, dear. We do confuse people don’t we, Lyle?”

      “Lily couldn’t say Lyla as a child, and Lyle just stuck. I hope this won’t make a difference with our accommodations. We expected to share a room. We’re totally prepared for our share of tough living, Captain.”

      Kate watched with an undeniable stab of satisfaction as he eyed the mound of trunks being wheeled down the gangplank by the chauffeur. “Ladies, if you’re planning to bring all that luggage, I’m afraid we have a problem.”

      “Oh. I suppose it is a tad much, isn’t it?” Lily said, one finger to the side of her face. “But I can never decide what to bring, and Lyle thought we’d probably have room for it—”

      “I’m afraid Lyle was wrong,” he said grimly.

      Lily’s face fell. “Well, then—”

      “Now, now, dear,” Lyle said, patting her sister’s shoulder. “You’ll just have to eliminate a few things. No big deal, really.”

      At her reassurance, Lily brightened. “Of course, I will.” She began instructing the chauffeur to open the trunks so that she might remove the most essential of items.

      Essential appeared to include a glittering gold evening gown, black dinner suit and a pair of satin pumps. Obviously, Lyle and Lily hadn’t been any more aware of the itinerary than Kate had.

      Captain Hunter excused himself then, avoiding her gaze and telling the Granger sisters he’d be back as soon as he located some Aspirin.

      While Lyle and Lily continued rummaging through their trunks, a man made his way down the gangplank. Somewhere near mid-fifties, his graying hair was slicked back in a past-era wet look. His bottle-thick glasses glinted in the sunlight. He wore a tweed jacket over a white shirt buttoned to the throat. A young woman, basically a female СКАЧАТЬ