Page 32 of Mail Order Splash

“You might like it,” I added, leaving the room.

The next day, I spent the majority of the morning in my office then took work onto the yacht with me in case I stayed out. Aunt Victoria arrived on time, as she always did, along with a briefcase full of work. The Hawthorne family had trouble not working. I always found it a shame that all the tabloids showed was the parties and extravagance, never that we worked a lot.

“What a beautiful day. Will anyone be joining us?”

“Just the crew. Eli can be a bit much. Thought I’d save you from that.”

“I love Eli, but he does need some wrangling. His parents spoiled him. Does he even work?”

“Nope, he has a fat trust fund.”

“You have one, yet you work.”

“I had guidance and family tradition, he’s had nothing. I kinda feel sorry for him.”

“Why don’t you give him a job, maybe a charity, or have him sponsor something?”

“That would be a tall order, but I’ll consider it.”

“That’s what friends do, Dalton. If his family won’t be there for him, then you must be.”

“Duly noted.” I took a seat next to her on deck. “I’m taking us out to where I helped rescue the dolphin so you can see.”

“Will there be another rescue?”

“Not unless you organized it. Did you?”

“Dalton, behave yourself.” She slapped at the air. “Tell me about the girl, Dr. Schaffer. I saw you speaking with her.”

“What girl? I don’t recall meeting a doctor.”

“The girl in the pink dress, Kleine.”

“She’s a doctor? Did you tell me that earlier?”

“Not sure I got a chance to. She’s the one that rescues dolphins and turtles.”

“I did discover that later in the evening. I also discovered she has a nickname for me.”

“Already? What did you do to earn that?”

“I swam over and helped. I swear, that’s it.”

“What’s the nickname?”

“You’d have to hear the whole story. See, I asked her name and she said Ariel. I believed her. Then, later, she asked us our names and we said Tom and Jerry, to hide who I am.”

“Interesting. You could have bragged.”

“I didn’t want to. I liked being incognito.”

“Is Tom and Jerry your code names for when you go out?”

“Nah, that was spur of the moment. I can’t go anywhere Eli likes to go without being known, even in Miami.”

“True. Okay, go on. I’m dying to know the nickname.”

“Well, at the party I heard her friend, Josh, say ‘Triton’ as they walked away. I asked later what that meant and that’s it.”

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