Undercurrent. Sara K. Parker

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СКАЧАТЬ his grandmother, cupping her elbow as they ascended the steps. It was a rare man who cared so deeply for his grandmother.

      Movement on the stairs was slow going, but at least most people seemed calm. More calm than Kat felt, anyway.

      Sam was right. It had been an explosion, but surely it was accidental. An electrical problem, perhaps? She glanced at Sam, noticed the way he continually scanned the crowd. As if he sensed more danger was coming. The thought urged her to go faster, and she pressed in closely behind Sam and his grandmother.

      “I’m not surprised he saved you,” his grandmother said. “That’s what my Sammy does.”

      “Saves lives?” Kat stole a glance at him.

      “Yes,” his grandmother said cheerfully. “He’s a bona fide hero.”

      “Grandma.” The word was a warning, but Sam’s grandmother didn’t seem at all concerned about heeding it.

      “It’s what God put him here to do. And I think He’s proving that today.”

      “Grandma, really. Enough,” Sam ground out, shooting his grandmother a look of half exasperation and half amused tolerance.

      “Fine. If I must, I’ll stop telling her about you. For now,” she said with an innocent smile. “I’m Alice West, by the way.”

      “It’s good to meet you, Alice,” Kat responded. “Though circumstances could be better.”

      “They could also be worse,” Alice said.

      True. Kat could be dead. The passengers in the atrium this evening could have been injured. The fire could have spread quickly through the ship. They could all be fighting over lifeboats at this very moment.

      So many things could have been worse, and Kat tried to hold on to that. Morgan would call her a pessimist, but Kat was simply realistic. And there was no escaping the fact that she’d narrowly escaped death twice now, and she could happily do without another near-death experience.

      She shuddered, wishing they could move a little faster. She couldn’t wait to reach the safety of her room. Kat glanced at Sam. He seemed on high alert, and she was curious about what his grandmother had divulged. She’d stopped believing in heroes a long time ago, but he seemed like the kind of guy who just might renew her faith.

      “What floor are you on, Kat?” he asked without looking her way.

      “Twelve.”

      “Oh my,” Alice said with a glint in her eyes. “What a lovely coincidence. We are, too.”

      “Grandma,” Sam cut in, his gaze still tracking the movement of the people in front of him. “How about you—”

      “Attention all crew and passengers!”

      The announcement sounded clearly through the speakers overhead, and voices in the stairwell hushed as passengers strained to listen. “This is Captain Philip Orland. As many of you know, there has been a fire in the atrium. We have the situation under control but ask that you proceed to your staterooms immediately until further notice, to clear the hallways and public areas for our crew to work. I want to assure you that we have highly trained fire and security crews here on the Jade Princess. The fire is out, and the damage was limited to the atrium. You can feel safe tonight.”

      “How reassuring,” Alice said softly, and Kat smiled at the hint of sarcasm. Alice’s tone reminded her of Morgan’s dry sense of humor. Her best friend and Sam’s grandmother would have probably really hit it off.

      “Room number?” Sam asked as they exited the stairwell.

      “Twelve fifty-three,” Kat answered.

      Alice looked thoughtfully at Kat. “I always thought the performers on cruise ships roomed with the crew.”

      “Usually they do,” Kat said. “The room was negotiated into my contract.”

      “You must be something special in the music world.” Alice grinned.

      “I don’t know about that, but I have a great agent who likes to see just how much she can squeeze out of each of my contracts.”

      “A balcony is worth that kind of effort, I’d say,” Sam’s grandmother said. “My Sammy played the piano for a few years.” Her eyes twinkled, and Kat had the distinct impression that Alice was on a mission. A mission to play matchmaker. And Kat didn’t want any part of it, especially not in the midst of what was happening on the ship.

      She’d venture to guess Sam didn’t, either. He seemed determined to ignore his grandmother’s comment.

      “Did he?”

      “Oh, yes, but it was a battle to get him to practice. Whenever I was in charge of the kids, I’d have to stand over Sam or he would slip out of the house before I could catch him. And now look at us—he’s the one standing over me! The family sent him to babysit me, you know.”

      Kat bit her lip to keep from laughing at the woman’s indignant expression.

      “Grandma,” Sam said and sighed. “I think you should—”

      “Kat!” someone shouted, and she knew without looking who it was.

      Max.

      Just about the last person in the world she wanted to see. She reigned in her irritation. A journalist for a regional magazine, Max had knocked on her cabin door their second day of cruising. He’d claimed his editor had assigned him a travel piece, but Kat didn’t buy it. He wrote for the entertainment department, not travel, and had never written anything else in the fourteen months they’d dated. The fact that his new assignment put him on ship with Kat seemed a little too coincidental.

      “Kat!” he called again.

      Much as she wanted to ignore him, she felt compelled to wait as he jogged toward her. He sidled up next to her, obvious concern in his blue eyes. Eyes that had once drawn her to him. They did have a way of appearing genuine. Even now, she found herself believing he was concerned for her, that he truly did care about her.

      He’d proven the opposite, though, back in April when Kat had been in the hospital.

      “What happened? Are you okay?” His gaze slid to Sam, who was watching the exchange intently, his gray eyes devoid of emotion. Alice watched, too, her red hat askew, her eyes flashing with interest.

      “I’m fine.” Her answer was clipped, and she saw a look of hurt pass through Max’s eyes. She had never been good at rudeness, and she caved to the puppy-dog expression. “The chandelier above the piano fell in the atrium during my performance. It was a close call.”

      “I should have been there,” he said, and Kat held back a sigh.

      She, for one, was glad he hadn’t been. He’d sat in the front row of her other three performances on board. She found his presence odd and irritating, being that he’d never shown a huge interest in her career when they were dating. He was tone-deaf, his singing at church rivaling the mournful cry of a hungry calf, and he’d always preferred a loud ball game to a quiet concert. That should have been a СКАЧАТЬ