Page 29 of The Playboy and the Widow
Cliff slammed the lid to his tackle box closed, and the sound reverberated around the inside of the sailboat like a cannon shot. He stood and turned his back to the three women. Diana and her girls couldn’t appreciate something like a special lure. To them it was just a five-dollar piece of silver. To him it was his “sure bet.” The success of an entire fishing expedition depended on whether he had that silver lure. He might as well hang up his fishing pole for good without it. A woman couldn’t be expected to appreciate how much it meant. Burying his hands inside his pants pockets, Cliff muttered something vile under his breath and decided there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. The lure was gone.
“Mom, I just heard Cliff swear,” Joan whispered.
“Cliff, I’m sorry.” Diana felt obliged to say something, although she realized it wasn’t nearly enough. She felt terrible. With one look at the way the hot color had circled his ears, she knew how truly angry he was.
“It’s my fault,” Katie blubbered, hiding her face against her mother’s stomach. “Joan caught a fish and I wanted one, too, and I thought Cliff’s pretty lure would help.”
“You’ll replace the lure out of your allowance money,” Diana said sternly.
Tears welled up in the small, dark eyes as she nodded, eager to do anything to appease Cliff.
With slow, deliberate action, Cliff returned to the helm and sat down heavily. His brooding gaze avoided Diana and the girls. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as calmly as possible.
“I’m sorry, Cliff,” Katie whispered in a small, broken voice.
He forced his gaze to the youngster. “Don’t give it a second thought,” he said almost flippantly.
“I’ll buy you a new silver lure just as pretty.”
“I said, don’t worry about it.”
If possible, Katie’s brown eyes grew more round. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
“How about something to eat?” Diana interjected, rubbing her palms together, hoping to generate interest in the packed lunch.
“We’re not hungry,” Joan answered for both her and her sister.
“Cliff?”
“No, thanks.”
“I guess I’m the only one.” She got out a sandwich and even managed to choke down a couple of bites.
Cliff’s gaze drifted to Diana, who was valiantly pretending nothing was wrong. If she didn’t watch it, she was likely to gag on that sandwich. Joan and Katie were huddled together, staring at him like orphans through a rich family’s living room window on Christmas Eve. Joan had her arm draped over her sister’s shoulders, while Katie looked thoroughly miserable. Finally Cliff couldn’t stand it anymore.
“How come she loses my lure and I’m the one feeling guilty?” If there’d been a place to stalk off to, he would have done it. As it was, he was stuck on the boat with all three of them, and he wasn’t in the mood for company or conversation.
“I think it’s time to head back to the marina,” Diana murmured, and sat beside her daughters.
Cliff couldn’t have agreed with her more. He mumbled some reply and quickly tacked across the wind, heading in the direction of Des Moines Marina. Every now and then, his gaze reverted to Diana and her daughters. The three sat in the same dejected pose, shoulders hunched forward, eyes lowered to the deck, hands planted primly on their knees. The sight of them only made Cliff feel worse. All right, he’d lost his temper, but only a little. His conscience ate at him. So he shouldn’t have yelled, and Joan was right, he had sworn. He’d overreacted. Talk about the wrath of Khan! But for crying out loud, Katie had gotten into his equipment, when he’d given specific instructions for her to stay out.
Diana longed to say or do something to alleviate this terrible tension. Cliff had every reason to be upset. She was angry with Katie, too, but the eight-year-old was truly sorry, and other than replacing the lure, which Katie had already promised, there was nothing more the little girl could do.
“Cliff...”
“Diana...”
They spoke simultaneously.
“You first,” Cliff said, and gestured toward her, unable to tolerate the silence any longer.
“I want you to know how sorry I am.” When Cliff opened his mouth, she knew before he spoke what he planned to say, and it irritated her more than an angry argument. Squaring her shoulders, she gritted her teeth and waved her index finger at him. “Please don’t tell me not to worry about it.”
“Let’s forget it, okay?” His smile was only a little stiff. He didn’t want this unfortunate incident to ruin a promising relationship. When it came to dealing with women, he did fine—more than fine. It was Joan and Katie who had placed him out of his element.
“It’s obvious you’re not going to forget it.”
“It’s just that it was a special lure,” Cliff said, although that certainly didn’t excuse his anger.
