Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [29]
"No, he's not," Ashley said immediately. "He told me he has lots of girlfriends."
"Yeah, that's why he's here alone and wanting to sail to the edge of the world."
"We don't even know each other anymore. Aside from last night's short conversation, it's been years since we talked, spent time together. It's over. And I don't want to talk about him."
"Okay. I have to get to work, anyway."
"Why now?" Ashley asked abruptly.
"Because I've been gone half the day."
"Not work. I mean, why now, why is the reporter here? Why is Sean wanting to crew? Wanting to follow in Jeremy's footsteps? What happened, Kate? Why is it all coming back now?"
She met her sister's questioning gaze. "I wish I knew. Just when you think it's safe to go back into the water ..." she wisecracked.
"Hush. You know that movie gave me nightmares for weeks."
"Not me. Out on the open sea, the sharks were only one of our worries."
Kate was reminded of sharks a few hours later when Tyler walked into her bookstore just before closing time. He'd pulled a dark blue sweater over his polo shirt, which should have made him look casual and friendly. But the way he moved, the way he looked at her, reminded her of the sharks that had circled their boat from time to time. They'd come close, then disappear, then pop up again. You could never be truly sure they were gone. You could never be truly sure that they wouldn't attack even if they weren't provoked. She'd learned to respect the sharks as much as she'd respected the sea. She didn't want to respect Tyler, but she had a feeling it would be even worse to underestimate him.
"I'm back," Tyler said, a challenging glint in his eyes as he approached the counter.
"I figured you would be." Kate fiddled with a stack of flyers. "So what do you want now?"
"The pleasure of your company."
"Yeah, right. You have more questions."
"A few."
"Maybe I could find you something more interesting to write about than my family," she suggested, searching her brain for an idea.
"Okay, shoot. What have you got?"
"Micky Davis said he saw a mermaid off the coast of Florida last year."
"After how many drinks?" he challenged. "Nice try, but I don't do alien stories."
Kate thought for another moment. "The owner of the Sally McGee, that's the racing yacht that came in third in our race, just got married for the sixth time, and, get this, the first wife, the third wife, and the sixth wife are all named Sally."
Tyler grinned. "You just made that up."
"I didn't. I swear. He said Sally was a lucky name for him."
"Not if he was married six times."
She smiled back at him. "Good point."
"Tell me about the storm," he said abruptly.
She stiffened. "Last night's storm? Well, I think we got about a half inch of rain."
"You know what storm I mean, the one that almost sent your entire race fleet to the bottom of the sea."
"Why do you want to know about that?"
"Because I do."
"Well," she thought for a moment. "It was terrifying. Huge waves, monster winds. I can't describe it. It was like a freight train bearing down on us. But we battled, and we came through. There's really nothing else to say." Or, at least anything else she wanted to say.
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"Just bumps and bruises, that sort of thing."
"What would you have done out there in the middle of the ocean if someone had been injured?"
"We had a good first aid kit. Dad knew the basics, or at least enough to keep anyone stable until port could be reached."
"Quite a man, your father. And you, too. I'm still baffled as to how three young girls could handle a boat of that size. You're not exactly built like an Amazon."
"My sisters and I were good sailors. We learned to sail the same time we learned to walk. It was second nature to us. Some jobs required more strength than others, but we were extremely fit. My father insisted on fitness even when we were small children. Some kids got bedtime stories, but