Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) (17 page)

She caught enough breath to speak. “I have to…tell you—”

“There you are!” A cheerful feminine voice yanked Kate from the brink of total vulnerability. She twisted a look behind her.

“I saw the car come up the drive and I hoped it was you.” Sam approached them, clearly having just rounded the corner of the house.

Abruptly shifting gears, Kate somehow managed to smile through the fog of her own scattered wits. She sensed Josh’s frustration, left hanging as he was on her crazy near-admission.

She shook herself. Why had she almost disclosed everything to him? It was
Chase
she needed, and the safety he could provide.

Reaching them, Sam showed no awareness of the bubble of emotional confidentiality she’d just burst. “I hope I’m not interrupting.” A gentle wind ruffled her breezy white blouse and cream rayon pants as she raised a hand to block the sun from her eyes. She looked casual yet completely pulled together in the way that Kate could never quite manage. Sam was clearly a very classy lady.

“No,” Kate heard herself answer. “You’re not interrupting.”

“Good.” Sam’s warm smile accentuated her exotic features, the ethnicity of which Kate couldn’t quite decipher. “I was hoping you’d have time for our tête-à -tête this afternoon.”

Sam’s desire to get acquainted somehow reassured Kate that that her own life must not be as wildly out of control as she thought. A smile pressed on her lips. “I’d love to. But…” She looked at Josh, not for permission but to assure that he wouldn’t feel left out. “What do you think?”

He held up a palm. “I was actually going to suggest that I should head back to Seattle.”

Kate’s tired nerves jolted.
Seattle?

“Josh.” Sam folded her arms. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving for good?”

“No. I’ll be back. I just need to go pack a few more things if I’m going to be working as Kate’s security for the summer.” He locked eyes with Kate. “Or however long she needs me.”

Kate felt a shift in the ground underneath her that if she’d still been in California, would have registered on the Richter scale.

“Will you be okay if I go?” Josh lowered his voice a notch. “I could be back by tonight.”

“Oh…” Her knees felt weak, not just because of the injury. “Sure.”

“We can talk more about this later.” He moved to hand her something and she realized that when Sam had startled her, she’d released her hold on the note.

She took it, wishing it and the message it carried would just disappear.

His narrow-eyed gaze assessed her. “I don’t think you should stay in the guesthouse anymore. Not even for an afternoon nap.”

“Is something wrong with the guesthouse?” Sam creased her brow in what read as motherly concern.

A déjà vu-like comfort overtook Kate. There was something about Sam that, in spite of the awkward circumstances of their introduction the previous evening, told Kate she could trust her. She reminded her of her mother.

The paper crinkled between her fingers. There was no reason why she shouldn’t show it to Sam. She held it out for her to take. “I found this on my pillow last night.”

Sam took it, her face contorting. “This is strange. Any idea where it came from?”

Josh spoke up. “Probably just someone’s idea of a joke, but we don’t want to take any chances.”

Sam nodded. “I understand.” She folded the note and handed it back to Kate, resolution firming her gaze. “I think you should stay with me until Chase returns from Vegas. That will only be a couple of days, but Josh is right. You really shouldn’t be alone.”

“Oh…well…” Kate looked from Sam to Josh and back again. “I’d love to…but, where do you live?”

Sam fanned her arm out toward the bay. “On the yacht.”

Kate looked out to where the
Magnificent Obsession
sat some distance from their dock. “You mean…
Chase’s
yacht?”

“Yes. I have a condo in Seattle, but I stay on the yacht when I need to be near Chase for business.” She frowned. “Don’t tell me he didn’t tell you that either.”

“No.” Kate flapped a hand in an awkward effort to downplay Chase’s selective communication.

“It is going to be
your
yacht too, after all.” The congratulatory tone in Sam’s voice implied actual accomplishment on Kate’s part. “Besides, it’ll be fun, and whoever wrote that note won’t be able to taunt you out there.”

“What do you think?” Kate looked to Josh for confirmation. “You could stay out there too, in your capacity as security guard.”

“No thanks.” He held up a hand. “But if you’re set, I think I’ll stay tonight in my apartment and head back here tomorrow. Besides,” he leaned in slightly and lowered his voice. “It wouldn’t be proper for me to be out there alone with two single women.”

“Such a gentleman.” Sam elbowed Kate’s arm. “Most men would jump at that chance to stay on a yacht with a couple of babes like us.” She dipped her head at Josh. “I find your conviction refreshing.”

Kate smiled. She did too.

Sam clapped her hands together. “Well, now that that’s been decided, why don’t you get your things together and meet me at the dock.”

“Okay.” She eyed the span of water between the dock and the boat. “But how do we get out to the yacht?”

“Oh, it’s easy. We just take the dinghy. I’ll show you how to start the motor so you’ll be able to come and go whenever you please.”

Eyes narrowing, Josh scanned the steep grade past the guesthouse and down to the water. “I’m not sure it’s such a good idea for you to take that trail, Kate.” He looked at Sam. “She twisted her knee pretty badly and she needs to take it easy.”

The concern on Sam’s face made Kate think she might produce a first aid kit and fix her up on the spot. Instead, she settled a consoling hand on Kate’s shoulder as she instructed Josh.

“Don’t worry, you can drive down to the dock.” She pointed. “The little road is just past the guesthouse. You’ll see my Volvo when you get to the parking area.” She let out a breath as if she’d just remembered something. “I want to go check on Stuart. He and Chase had an argument last night and I’m a bit concerned.”

An argument?
Not knowing how to respond, Kate bit her lip and nodded as Sam headed for the house.

A second wind rushed over Kate at the prospect of seeing the yacht. Thank goodness she hadn’t told Josh the whole story about Joe, opening her emotional closet and dumping out her alarming collection of skeletons. She needed to keep up her boundaries with this guy if she wanted to set her heart back on the right course.

“Come on.” She started for the guesthouse. “I need to repack my suitcase.”

“Hold up.” Josh stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “You’re not getting off the hook that easily.”

The intensity of his concerned brown eyes reeled her back in.
Hook?
What hook?

Chapter 18

Looking at Kate, Josh contemplated which was a prettier shade of blue, her eyes, or the bay behind her. For a second, he actually forgot why he had reached out to stop her.

Right. The note.

He drew his hand from her shoulder. “So, what were you going to tell me?”

Her eyes slitted. “About what?”

He smiled. She was adorable when she got lost in thought. “About the note. You said there might be something more to it?”

“Oh.” She looked away, not like she’d forgotten, but more like she’d hoped
he
had. “It was nothing. I just…” She glanced over her shoulder, then looked him confidently in the eye. “…wanted to say that I shouldn’t sleep in the guesthouse anymore, but you beat me to it.”

He gave her a skeptical look. So they were playing that game again. “Uh huh.” He tipped a nod toward the guesthouse. “Let’s go get your things then.” Hopefully, she’d eventually own up to what she was
really
going to tell him.

A few minutes later, he loaded her hastily-packed suitcase into his trunk, then got into the car with her. Her gaze rested out on the yacht, which gleamed a bright white on the sparkling bay.

He started the car. “So, you think you’ll feel safe staying out on the boat?”

“Totally.” A slight quiver in her voice clashed with her confident tone. “No one’s going to bother me on the water.”

Backing out of the parking space, he cast her a sideways glance. “You haven’t seen
Dead Calm
, have you?”

“We’ll be fine.” Amusement danced in her answer. “I’ll be with Sam, and something tells me she can hold her own.”

“True.” If Sam hadn’t offered to keep an eye on Kate, he wouldn’t have decided to stay away for the night. It was great to have someone else around here with whom Kate seemed to feel at ease.

“Besides,” she tucked her purse onto the floor by her feet, “it will give me a chance to ask her about Emily and Trina.”

“Now you’re thinking like an investigator, Dr. Watson.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Holmes.” She smiled, seeming to relax a little. “You should at least check out the yacht before you leave.”

“No thanks.” He carefully took the turn from the main driveway onto a narrower one that led down to the dock. “The yacht itself might be okay, but I’d rather jump out of a plane than get into a dinghy.”

“You don’t like boats?”

“Oh, I like boats just fine. It’s the water underneath them that bothers me.”

Surprise came out on a cute little sputter. “You’re afraid of water? Why?”

“Because I almost drowned once.” The words sounded like someone else’s answer to that question, since this was something he never talked about. Not that he minded. It was just that no one ever asked.

“Seriously?” Her eyes widened. “What happened?”

He shrugged. “I was just a kid—seven years old. I was swimming in a lake we always went to with a bunch of my older cousins. The adults were talking, not paying enough attention. I wanted to show off and I swam out further than I should have and I somehow went under.” A lump caught in his throat. It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to relive the emotion of that day, or think about the impact it’d had on his life.

Pulling up next to a silver Volvo, he continued. “I came to the surface just long enough to see that no one had noticed. They were all looking the other way, and when I tried to cry out, my mouth filled with water.”

Kate shivered. He appreciated her clearly feeling the intensity of the story without him having to give many details.

“Whoa. Then what happened?”

“I don’t even really know.” Shutting off the engine, he let his head rest on the back of the seat. He looked out at the glittery sheet of blue, scarcely registering its deadly potential. “I felt like I heard a voice tell me to be still. I stopped thrashing, and all of a sudden I felt myself being lifted up to the surface. There was a big branch sticking way out over the water and I grabbed it. I pulled myself up and when I looked down to see who had lifted me, there was no one there.”

She blinked. “That’s spooky.”

“Maybe. But I learned something that day. We can’t always count on other people, but I know God had my back that day, even though I was just a kid and I didn’t know anything yet about believing in Him. He always has my back.” He shot her an angled look. “He always has yours too.”

Emotion creased her pretty forehead. “But you’re still afraid of water.”

Sadness lifted the corners of his mouth. “Let’s just say my faith is strong but imperfect. I still wrestle with the fear.”

“That’s some story.” Kate let out a breath. “Thanks for sharing it with me.”

Giving her a half-smile, his eyes met hers. He wanted with everything in him to take her away from all this, but he couldn’t. He could no more control her decision to follow Jesus than her choice to marry Mr. Cole.

The peripheral sight of Sam trudging down the trail toward the dock broke the hold Kate had on him.

“Come on.” She opened her car door. “I’m dying to get on that yacht.”

She limped carefully toward the dock, waving to Sam while Josh went around to the trunk to retrieve her suitcase. Glancing over at the bobbing boats and the frothy waves pounding against the rocks, he braced himself. There was pretty much no way he was going to get out of being a gentleman and helping her board the dinghy. Stepping out onto that narrow strip of wood planks was going to take every ounce of nerve he possessed.

Sam spoke enthusiastically to Kate as Josh approached with the suitcase. “You are going to forget all your troubles out on the water, I promise.”

Josh smiled at Sam’s reassurance. She seemed like a hip version of his mother, and he found that comforting.

Kate’s smile dropped as she looked down at herself and let out a sigh. “Oh, man. I left my purse in your car.” Looking at Josh, she scrunched her face in apology. “Would you mind?”

“No problem.” Leaving the suitcase, he walked back over to the car, pleased by the sound of the happy female chatter that met his back.

At the car, he easily located Kate’s purse where she’d left it on the floor. As his hand touched the soft leather, the top of the bag fell open, revealing a matching wallet on the inside. He froze, remembering his conversation with Eli. This would be so easy, but did he dare?

Before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled out her wallet and opened it. There in one of the plastic sleeves was the item he’d hoped to see—her social security card.

He quickly committed the number to memory and placed the wallet back in her purse, sending up a quick prayer for forgiveness.

Kate’s trusting smile as he returned only compounded his sense of guilt. He handed her the purse.

“Oh,” Sam reached into the pocket of her billowy pants. “Before I forget, I grabbed a remote for the main gate so you’ll be able to get back in.”

“Thanks.” He took it, appreciating her thoughtful gesture. It was a major indication of trust, especially considering the circumstances. Fingering the remote, he turned his gaze on Kate. “If I make that 10:20 ferry in the morning, that will put me back here at around 11:15. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. But don’t worry about me.” She gave him her pretty smile that he could have sworn made the ground underneath him shift.