Crazy About You (4 page)

She knew several people in the office viewed her with suspicion, even after more than six months on the job. Gretchen was usually one of them, annoyed that Emma hadn’t worked her way through the ranks. The mayor’s PR team recruited her from Eco Dawn to spearhead the project implementation, the one that helped get the new mayor elected in the first place.

“Hey, I kind of need a favor. My brother is in the hospital and I need to head back to Massachusetts first thing in the morning. Can you pull strings to get me a rental car on short notice?”

Chapter Four

Emma pulled into her parents’ driveway mid-morning, the broken white clamshells crackling under the tires of the rental car. It occurred to her while driving that she could’ve continued up the highway to the hospital instead of crossing the bridge onto Cape Cod, but she promised her dad she’d care for the dog and the loose ends her parents left dangling at both of their businesses.

Hershey was barking up a storm, the noise muffled by the closed windows. “Hang on, buddy, I’m here.” At the sound of her voice, the dog’s bark shifted into a higher gear of frenzy. She tested the knob on the front door and found it unlocked. The chocolate lab jumped at her, front paws thudding against her chest. She staggered backward, the hundred-plus pounds of manic dog nearly knocking her to the grass.

“Hey there, big fella! You’re okay. But we need to talk to Mom about getting this lock fixed, right? We’ve told her she needs to be able to lock the front door when she’s out of town, haven’t we?” She rubbed the dog’s head with both hands, ruffling his ears and pushing him back at the same time. He barked once more before running to the far edge of the lawn to take care of necessary business amongst the hydrangea bushes.

In the kitchen, she scooped food into Hershey’s bowl and refilled his water dish. The answering machine blinked, a red number two flashing. She clicked the Play button and her father’s voice filled the room.

“Hey, Emma. Thanks for coming back home. Your mom and I are at the hospital already, hanging out in Sean’s room. The nurse said the doctors should be making rounds between ten and eleven. I’ll call again when we know more. Love you.” Click.

She glanced at the oversized clock on the kitchen wall as the second message played, with a familiar voice she couldn’t quite place. “Captain Scott, this is Doctor Anderson. I’m calling to let you know we’re waiting at MacMillan Wharf again this morning. I hope the medical issue with your crew cleared up and we can get this trip under way. Need I remind you about the limited window of opportunity for this venture? I’m butting against a hard deadline. If you need to reach me, you’ll have to call my assistant’s cell phone as mine is…indisposed.” He rattled off a phone number with a New York prefix. “Thanks and see you soon.” Click.

Indisposed? Who says that about a cell phone?
She shook her head, realizing her dad wouldn’t be meeting the guy for his limited opportunity boat ride. She played the annoying message again and jotted the number onto a nearby pad. Before she could decide whether to return the call, the phone rang. “Hello?”

“Oh, Emma, thank goodness you’re there, honey. Did you feed Hershey?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom. More important, how’s Sean? What did the doctor say?”

There was a short pause. “He’s still pretty sick. It was a mess when they opened him up, and they couldn’t even remove all the pieces of his broken appendix, because of the scarring and whatnot. The doctor said it probably ruptured a week ago.”

Emma frowned. “How can that be? I thought if the appendix burst, a person died from the toxins or something.”

“Apparently Sean’s body formed an abscess around the poison, keeping it from flooding his system. The doctors are pumping him with antibiotics every few hours.” She paused again before continuing in a voice that was one step above a whisper. “We’re so lucky he didn’t die. I should’ve taken him to the doctor a week ago, when we thought it was the flu.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Mom. Sean’s a big boy.” In more ways than one. Captain of his high school football team, her older brother stood over six feet tall and weighed in at well over two hundred pounds, mostly muscle. He’d had a full scholarship to college until he was sidelined at the beginning of junior year with ACL problems. Without the prospect of a professional career, he’d lost his drive and returned to Provincetown after graduation to work with his father on the boat for the summer. That was six years ago.

“I know. But I’m still his mother. I should have realized something was wrong.”

Emma shook her head. “Being a mother doesn’t make you omniscient. Besides, he’s going to get better. Didn’t the doctors say he’ll be fine?”

“Eventually. But they also said he needs to stay in the hospital while the toxins drain from his body. He probably won’t be going back out on the water any time soon.”

“Speaking of which, there’s a message on the machine for Dad. Some doctor guy waiting for him on the dock?”

“Let me get Dad.”

Emma heard shuffling and a subdued exchange between her parents before her father’s voice boomed over the phone. “Hey, Em. I tried to call that fellow and let him know things had changed, but the number I have for him goes straight to voice mail.”

“He left a number on the machine. Do you want it?”

“Sweetie, can you call him for me? I know you have your own job in the big city and all, but if you could help for a few days while we sort out this little thing with Sean…”

Leave it to her father to refer to her brother’s near death as a “little thing.” Mr. Understatement. “No problem, Dad. I’ll let him know to make other arrangements. What else do you need?”

By the time she hung up, Emma had long to-do lists from both parents. First priority was to contact the guy waiting on the docks to let him know her father wouldn’t be available for the rest of the week. Dad told her to recommend one of the other captains, a neighbor Emma had known for years. He was a good enough captain, when he was sober. He should be fine to take the guy out on a routine fishing trip, especially if it was during daylight hours. She dialed the number on the pad.

“Hello?”

She didn’t recognize the man’s voice at the other end of the line. “Umm, I’m trying to reach Doctor Anderson?”

“This is his personal assistant. Can I help you?”

Personal assistant? On a fishing vacation? How rich is this guy?
She kicked into work gear, using the more formal tone she reserved for fundraising calls. “Captain Scott asked me to let you know he has a family emergency and won’t be available for the rest of this week. I can recommend another local captain in his place.”

The guy on the other end of the line muttered a string of curses, not bothering to cover the receiver, before yelling for someone else. “Hey, Chase. That lazy ass captain’s not showing today either. Leaving us high and dry two days in a row.”

The voice on the phone now sounded vaguely familiar and highly pissed off. “Dammit, Captain Scott, this is total and utter bullshit. Bull. Shit. Not only did you completely waste yesterday but I know the office paid in advance for this bloody expedition. I demand―”

Emma interrupted the irate tirade, keeping her manner crisp and businesslike. “The captain had an emergency. Now, I can give you the name of a competent captain moored at MacMillan Wharf, or you can find one on your own. Rest assured, we will issue a full refund.”

Her words met with silence. She could almost hear the guy’s anger dissolving into confusion and embarrassment. “Wait, who is this?”

“This is Captain Scott’s office.”

Another pause. “Where’s the captain?”

“It’s really none of your business,” she told him. “He’s unavailable.”

“You don’t understand. I’m not sure another boat will be able to fulfill my needs. Captain Scott has specific knowledge of—”

“There are plenty of knowledgeable captains at the wharf. Would you like that recommendation or not?”

She hung up several minutes later, having given a name and number to call, but without any further apologies. She read through the rest of her father’s checklist, her mind still on the doctor. He’d sounded so passionate, like getting out on the water was truly a matter of life and death. How could a stupid fishing trip mean so much to a guy?

Sean was the one really dealing with life or death. Her dad shouldn’t have to put up with this kind of tourist crap at the moment.

Granted, many of the boat captains in Provincetown and across Cape Cod picked up extra money taking summer visitors out on the water. There was always some rich guy who wanted to head to Georges Bank in the Gulf of Maine, searching for that elusive big catch he couldn’t bag closer to shore—or without the help of a professional fisherman.

Although, the first message the guy left hadn’t sounded like he was after a trophy fish. More like there was bigger game at stake.

The dog’s whining grew loud enough to grab her attention. Those big brown eyes said Hershey probably needed a walk after being cooped up in the house for too long. She decided she could also use a walk and an extra-tall iced coffee before tackling her mother’s requests. Several artists planned to consign new items at the shop over the next few days, and her mother needed Emma to do the intake.

As much as they might have argued the previous day, Emma loved her family and was glad she’d come home to help. But that didn’t mean she relished the idea of spending any time in her mother’s shop. Not her cup of tea. Neither was fishing, really.

Emma grabbed her purse and took the leash off the hook by the back door. Staying in New York City after college made so much sense in so many ways, she reminded herself. Her parents understood her choices, and seemed proud when she’d landed the job working in the mayor’s office. The smell of fish no longer permeated her days, and her life didn’t revolve around accommodating tourists. And there was zero possibility of running into anyone in the big city who had known Daniel. Or of having everyone look at her with pity in their eyes.

She couldn’t understand how her parents stayed in this tiny town where everyone you ran into knew every last bit of your personal business, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

She headed out the driveway to the sidewalk, dog in the lead. As they rounded the corner onto Bradford Street, a buzzing sounded deep within her purse. She jolted to a stop, yanking on the leash. It took her a minute to realize it was the stranger’s phone vibrating like a hummingbird.

She dug through the contents, finding the sandwich bag she’d used to keep the broken phone from losing any bits or pieces, answering before it went to voice mail.

“So it seems my plans have changed,” the stranger started without preamble. “I won’t be heading out until the evening tide. How about meeting me for lunch? My treat.”

She glanced at Hershey. “I don’t know about lunch. I have the dog with me at the moment.”

“What about Bubeleh’s Café?” He named a popular restaurant right on Commercial Street. “I saw dogs at the sidewalk tables last night. It’s the least I can do since you had to come all the way back to Provincetown.”

Emma relented and made a plan to meet him at the restaurant in fifteen minutes. She clicked the Off button and carefully resealed the plastic bag. “Come on, Hershey. Time to pretend you’re the well-behaved sort of dog who gets to go out for lunch.” Not that it mattered. She needed to give the phone back and maybe enjoy that iced coffee she’d been craving. She pointedly ignored the thrill that ran down her spine at the thought of gazing into those stormy grey eyes again. She didn’t have the time or inclination to get mixed up in anything NOAA related, no matter how cute the guy.

****

Chase handed the cell phone back to his intern. “Are you happy? I’m buying lunch for her.”

Todd chuckled, stuffing the phone into his front pocket. “Dude. Don’t do it to make me happy. The idea of asking a girl out is to make
you
happy.”

“I didn’t ask her out. I’m simply meeting her to get my phone back.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Chase grimaced, but dropped the subject. No point in arguing something so trivial. “Since today’s ocean mapping excursion is cancelled, what are you going to do to keep yourself occupied until sunset?”

“Dude, no worries.” Todd patted him on the shoulder. “I’m perfectly capable of finding my own entertainment. Go enjoy yourself.”

He decided he couldn’t let this go on much longer. “Listen, Todd? It’s really not acceptable to keep calling me ‘dude.’ Not only am I in charge of this expedition, but I’m ten years your senior, not a college pal or fraternity brother. Can we keep this at least somewhat professional? Or is that asking too much?”

Todd laughed out loud and gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir. I’ll stop calling you dude, sir. I didn’t realize I’d enlisted in the military,
sir
.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that you need to get out there and have a date. Or two. Or forty. You know, stretch those unused muscles before they atrophy.” He started to walk away. “I’ll catch up with you tonight at dusk to meet our new captain.
Sir.
”

“Quit with the
sir
crap, would you?” Chase’s patience was wearing thin after a long summer of sarcasm from the grad student. Being out at sea diffused the tension, both because of the near constant amount of work at hand, and because Todd could joke with the other members of the crew. Chase had little patience for jokes.

But the kid was right about one thing. Chase hadn’t gone on a real date in more years than he cared to admit. In his own defense, there never seemed to be time to waste on things like movies or candlelit dinners. They seemed like a colossal waste of his time. The more he studied the plight of the world’s oceans, the more convinced he became of the urgent need to spread the word about the looming dangers related to pollution and climate change. Why muck about wooing a girlfriend if there wouldn’t be a world left to live in?

Tossing in his motel room last night, he realized going through life all alone wasn’t living either.