Page 14 of Devlin

"Maybe, butif my father thought differently, then that would have been a damn good reason for him to fire Frank."

"He fired my dad because he didn't like the message, so he wanted to kill the messenger."

He really wanted to believe that was true.

"We have to clear this up, Devlin," Hannah continued. "I won't have you suggesting that my father was cheating with your mother."

"Iam definitely not suggesting that to anyone," he snapped back. "God, that's the last thing I would do. We don't need any more gossip or rumors about secrets."

"Okay then, good."

"You do realize now that there's no way you or I can change this situation. It's between Frank and my dad. They have to work this out."

"That's not true. You can still fight for my dad's job. Justbecause he listened to your mom and made the mistake of actually telling your dad a truth he didn't want to hear doesn't mean he should lose his livelihood. He built the Boatworks to what it is today. You've only been working there what—five years? My dad has been there thirty. You owe him a lot."

"God, you're stubborn," he said, both impressed and a little unnerved by the intensity inher expression.

"I fight for the people I love. And if you care about my dad at all, you should fight for him, too, because you know it's the right thing to do."

He wished he could say she was wrong, but she wasn't. "I will fight for Frank, Hannah. But I need to give my father a little time to regroup."

"You better not wait too long, or you'll be watching my dad cross thefinish line in front of you."

He frowned at her words. "What are you talking about?"

"My dad will not sit out the race on Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to help him win the trophy for himself this time and not for the Blackthornes."

He was shocked at her words. He hadn't really thought about losing Frank for the race, because he'd been sure that Frank would be back to workbefore then. "You and Frank are going to race against me?"

"You and whoever else you get on your boat," she said, a fighting light in her blue eyes.

"What boat will you be racing?"

"You'll see," she said vaguely.

He wondered what boat Frank could possibly lay his hands on two weeks before the race. But with his connections, he could probably find one. Anger and disappointmentran through him. He felt pissed off at everyone—his father for being an ass, his mother for leaving without any real explanation, Frank for giving up so soon, and especially Hannah, who was looking quite proud of herself.

He could appreciate her defense of her father, but she was stirring up problems that didn't have to be there. If his father found out Frank was racing a competitive boat,that would make it even more difficult for him to get Frank rehired. "Why don't you take a breath, Hannah? You're getting so far down the road that there will be a point where there's no coming back."

"Come back from what? My dad has no job and has been fired after thirty years of loyal service. How much worse could things get?"

"You could make it impossible for him to get rehired."

"By racing against you? Would you be that petty?"

"Not me, but…"

"I'm really beginning to dislike your dad."

He could see why she would. "He's not a bad guy. He has a lot of good traits, in fact. He can actually be very generous."

"Not that I've seen. And I really wish everyone would stop telling me to breathe," she added grumpily.

"You're moving too fastfor your father, too, aren't you?"

"I thought you and my dad liked speed," she countered.

"On the ocean, we do."

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