Page 19 of Making Waves

“I didn’t know you were on board.”

“So you’ll take chances with yourself, but not with me.”

“That’s about the size of it.”

Folding her arms across her mid-section, she stared hard at the coastline, a furrow in her brow. “I can’t imagine how you got the mistaken impression that I’m some fragile flower--.”

“I don’t think--.”

“—because I can’t picture many of your other girlfriends playing football with your brothers.” She cast him a dark look, the wind catching the tendrils of hair that escaped the knot she had in her hair. “Or personalizing a weightlifting program to maximize power on the breast stroke. Oh, and were you aware that I amcertified to teach water sports?”

“Then I’m sure you’re familiar with survival statistics for capsized crafts with visibility of the coast versus those that are out to sea.” He wouldn’t budge on this point.

“Didn’t we agree to share steering on this boat?” she reminded him. “That means I can weigh in on decisions about the voyage.”

“With the understanding that, as captain, I reserve the right to pull rank when necessary.”

“You realize you run the risk of me jumping overboard to swim ashore if I think I’m going to be even a moment late for my appointment with the owner of the bed and breakfast?”

Something in her voice warned him she wasn’t kidding.

“This isn’t theVesta, Ally. It’s one thing to sail in a boat you know inside and out. But I’ve never been on this tank until two nights ago.” He slapped a palm against the fore-decking around the built in hot tub. “I don’t know how it reacts in a storm or big swells, so why push our luck? Besides, we’ve got plenty of time to get there.”

“You’re not just delaying to try and talk me out of buying the bed & breakfast?”

If anything, he would have delayed to spend more time with her before she hightailed it out of his life for good. But that didn’t take away from his primary reason for hugging the coastline in the least.

“You’re really jazzed about this place, aren’t you?” He reached behind her to retrieve the notebook she’d laid aside, checking the horizon for water traffic before returning his attention to the diagrams and lists she’d made.

“I’ve worked hard to afford something that’s all mine.” She peered over his shoulder at the main drawing of the inn, as if she couldn’t see it often enough. “I really thought Keith would help me finalize the business plan on this trip. That’s the main reason I talked him into taking me with him to Bar Harbor.”

If he’d had that kind of enthusiasm for his father’s resort business, he’d still be a part of the family’s company.

“I never knew it was so important to you to start your own business.” He turned toward her, reassessing her for the umpteenth time since seeing her again.

“Turns out there was alotwe didn’t know about each other.” She returned his gaze and he could see the wheels behind those pretty green eyes. “For instance, I had no idea you harbored a deep-seated need to serve in the military. When we used to talk about a future, it never came up.”

Ah crap.

Words escaped him. He should have known she’d bring it up sooner or later, but he hadn’t consider what- or how much- to say.

He must have taken too long to decide because she turned away again, her eyes fixed on the shore.

“Never mind. There are some mysteries destined to remain in the cold case file, I guess. Your need to serve your country seemingly overnight will have to be one of them.”

Overnight? Hell, it hadn’t felt that way to him. But then, he’d tried to keep that part of his life away from Alicia to protect her. Maybe that had been a mistake. One thing was for sure. If he continued to keep his secrets, he’d have no chance of talking her into coming back home with him.

* * *

Furious at herself for asking Jack about the past, Alicia shaded in her latest sketch a little too hard, digging into the paper with the pencil instead of darkening the roof of a converted carriage house she hoped to repurpose into a honeymoon suite for her guests.

Hadn’t she told herself that she was going to keep things simple with him this week? She’d take all the fun and steam heat, soothing over the past- and the cavernous black hole in her heart – with happier memories. But no. She had dared to ask Mr. Closed Mouth about his Navy stint and she felt the shields come down as sure as if he was the U.S.S. Enterprise.

“Remember when the terrorist group kidnapped those two female embedded journalists? It was around Valentine’s Day that year.” Jack’s voice seemed to be speaking a different language for a minute as her mind absorbed the fact that he was actually sharing something with her.

Slowly, she put down her pencil.

“Christina Marcel and her camerawoman.” She remembered the two of them perfectly. The war in Iraq had been at a low point, with casualties in the news every day. Even abroad, there had been incidents, with different groups claiming retaliation at the U.S. for their role in the fighting. “Christina wasn’t that much older than me.”

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