“Don’t worry about that now,” Seth told him. “We can sort everything out later. Right now we need to get you home. Tessa’s waiting onboard for you.”
“Man, she’ll skin me.”
Seth laughed, feeling some of the heart-clenching fear ease. “I doubt it.”
Zach caught the line on the second try and tied it to Wistful’s bow. A minute later, Seth steered a small boat over the choppy water to the sailboat’s stern where he tied up and came aboard. Zach slipped and slithered along the icy deck and launched himself at Seth. After catching the boy in his arms, Seth lifted Zach against him and hugged him hard.
“It’s all right, little man,” he soothed. “You did all right. You might have hell to pay when we get back, once Tessa gets over the relief of you being alive, but for right now, I’m telling you, man-to-man, you did some mighty fine sailing.”
Seth heard one small sob before Zach sniffed and nodded his head. He gave the boy another hard squeeze and set him down. “Let’s go below for a minute and I’ll make a call on the radio.”
“I would have called,” Zach said, “but I didn’t know how it worked.”
Seth ruffled his hair. “Before you ever go out again, that’s one thing we’ll remedy.”
Zach nodded.
Seth grabbed the mic and radioed the Coast Guard base. “This is Seth Barrett, owner of the Wistful. I’ve located Zachary Mallory and my boat approximately ten miles southeast of Mac’s Marina. Over.”
“Roger, Wistful. Advise you stay put.”
“Negative,” Seth replied. “I will be returning on board the fishing trawler Merry Ann. Was planning on towing Wistful. Something I should know?”
“Roger, Wistful. Storm is heating back up again. Advise you batten down the Wistful and let her ride out where she is while you return to the marina ASAP. Over.”
“Roger that. We should be underway aboard the Merry Ann within the half hour. Out.”
Seth turned off the radio and turned to Zach. “Can you maneuver in those clothes or do you need to change back into your own?”
“I should change,” Zach said.
“Get to it then. I’ll get the Wistful ready to ride this out right here. Then we need to get back to the Merry Ann.”
* * * *
Tessa watched Seth help Zach onto the runabout. He had secured everything he could aboard the sailboat before he untied the line linking it to the fishing boat. Something must have made him decide not to attempt towing his boat. As she glanced at the heavy sky and listened to the wind, she realized the weather was going downhill once more. She sought them out again, watching their movements and reassuring herself they were okay.
Seth looked like he always did–whether he was in a custom-tailored suit or foul weather gear–strong and dependable. He was always there for her when she needed him the most. She swallowed as she realized the truth she’d denied for far too long. She loved Seth Barlow-Barrett whether he was wearing the suit or the soaking wet storm gear. More than that, in her heart, she knew she could trust him. It was why she had sought him out today.
She had some serious soul-searching to do and some even more serious fences to mend.
As the men she loved made their way back to the Merry Ann, Tessa heard the rain on the roof of the cockpit once again take on that distinct sound of frozen precipitation. The freezing rain was starting to come down in earnest once more as Seth stowed the runabout with Zach’s help. Then they were there on the bridge. Tessa hugged Zach to her, mindless of his soaking wet clothes. He could soak her through to the skin a hundred times so long as she could hold his skinny frame next to her and bury her face in his flame-colored hair. God, she had missed him so much.
“Oh, honey,” she whispered next to his ear. “I’ve been so worried. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to how unhappy you were.”
Zach hugged her and stepped back. “I wanted to prove I wasn’t some dumb little kid, but I guess I messed up big time.”
Tessa shook her head in dismissal. “We’ll deal with that later. For now, you need dry clothing.”
She eyed the stairs leading to the cabin below deck. Seth looked over his shoulder at her. “No way. You are not climbing down those steps, as rough as it is. Zach can go on his own to see what he can scrounge up. If he’s big enough to sail a boat in this, he’s big enough to find dry clothing and change. You, Tessa, are staying right here.”
When she looked at him and acquiesced with an, “Okay,” she could see it surprised the hell out of him. She was turning over a new leaf, starting right now. Tessa wasn’t sure how long it would last, but she was determined to show Seth she was done making snap judgments, done mistrusting people–well, mistrusting him at least.
* * * *
Seth restarted the Merry Ann’s engines. He realized as soon as the boat chugged back out into the main channel just how much shelter Zach had managed to find. He marveled again at how well the boy had thought under stress where many adults wouldn’t have made decisions nearly as sound. That basic level-headedness was what had kept him alive. Seth thanked God because he didn’t even want to consider what would happen to Tessa if she lost her brother. Even he couldn’t bear the thought, but then, he looked on the kid almost as a son. Seth squinted into the leaden darkness and sailed for home.
There were plenty of questions they would all have to ask and answer, but right now the most important mission was to get the Merry Ann and the most precious cargo she’d ever carried back to the marina all in one piece.
Chapter 17
Tessa sagged with relief as the lights of the harbor that sheltered the marina came into view. The seas had gotten progressively rougher on their return, so that even she was beginning to feel a faint queasiness that had nothing at all to do with being pregnant. In a few more minutes, the Merry Ann bumped up against the dock, and Mac himself was there to help them tie up.
Seth insisted on carrying her inside the office before he would set her down. Zach and the older man were right behind them, stomping their feet.
“Ice is starting to stick on more than cars and windows,” Mac remarked. “We need to get out of here before it gets any worse. You need a place to stay?”
“No.” Seth shook his head. “We’ll use the family’s house. It’s just a few miles down the road.”
His eyes met hers, and Tessa saw the promise in his golden gaze, a promise that they would talk at long last.
“I’ll need to call Uncle Edwin and Aunt Kathleen,” Tessa murmured.
“We have a land line at the house, and there’s a good cell signal from there. Let’s get you and Zach over there and all of us into dry clothing, then you can make any phone calls you need to make.”
Mac was right, the freezing rain made even walking a challenge. Seth insisted once again on carrying Tessa. When they reached the Escalade, he told Zach to get in the back as he buckled her into the passenger seat. After starting the engine and setting the defroster on high, he chipped the ice off the windshield and side windows. It took a few minutes, but they were on their way.
As Seth said, the house was a few miles down the road, but it took a while to reach it because the roads were more than slick, they were downright hazardous. A large wooden-shingled older home, it sported a wide, pillared veranda. Seth pulled the Escalade under a side portico that looked as though it had been designed for carriages. Now it offered them a dry, ice-free avenue to get inside, and for that Tessa was grateful. She’d had all of this storm she wanted.
Zach held her hand as Seth turned on the lights. Like the house’s exterior, the rooms were large and airy, their high ceilings adorned with ornate fans, and decorated with antiques that looked not just old but also well-used. It was a far cry from his parents’ stuffed and starched estate in the Virginia countryside.
Seth must have read her expression. “My paternal grandmother’s responsible for this house, a woman about as unpretentious as there ever was.”
Tessa glanced around the room, a little mo
re relaxed once she realized this wasn’t the showplace his parents’ home was.
“There is one drawback to staying here,” Seth continued. “The furnace was set just high enough to keep pipes from freezing when the house was closed for the winter. There is a fireplace in the living room, so I’ll build a fire, and we can use that to warm up. It will be easier than trying to crank the furnace up, not to mention a whole lot faster.”
He glanced at Tessa. “If you’re up to it, can you scrounge around in the kitchen to see what you can find to eat? I’ll take Zach upstairs and hunt up dry clothes for all of us. As many Barlow-Barretts as there’ve been in and out of here over the years, there’s bound to be something to fit everybody.”
Tessa nodded. “I’d better call Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Edwin first.” She glanced meaningfully at Zach. Seth nodded in understanding. No way did she want her brother around when she made the call because she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“Come on, buddy. With six kids in my family, I bet we can find clothes that will fit you, maybe even some of my hand-me-downs if there was anything left after Brandon and Phillip got through with them.”
As they walked toward the wide doorway leading to the staircase visible in the front hallway, Tessa heard Zach ask in a disbelieving voice, “People had to wear hand-me-downs in your family? I thought you were rich.”
Tessa cringed, but she heard Seth’s laughter rumble back and it helped calm her. She waited until they’d gone, then dug out her cellphone and found her aunt and uncle’s number in the contacts before punching Send. Aunt Kathleen picked up on the second ring.
“It’s Tessa, Aunt Kathleen. I wanted to let you know we’ve found Zach and he’s okay.”
“Where is he? We’ll come get him.”
Tessa rubbed her hand behind her neck. “We’re south of Annapolis on the Maryland shore, and in the middle of a full-fledged Nor’easter. The streets are a skating rink. That’s why we’re not coming back. I think it would be better if you waited until tomorrow when we can get back to Alexandria.”
“You took him across the state line?” Her aunt’s tone was accusatory. “That’s kidnapping, Tessa. I can’t believe you would be that foolish.”
Tessa squeezed her eyes shut hard. Sometimes she couldn’t believe this woman had been her mother’s sister. Two people so different, it was difficult to imagine.
“I didn’t take him anywhere, Aunt Kathleen,” she responded, trying to be patient. “He managed to get here all by himself, which says something about how well you’ve been taking care of him that he could get this far without you realizing!”
“Watch it, Tessa!” There was such spite in her aunt’s tone that Tessa knew any hope of establishing any kind of relationship with the couple was an impossibility.
It was also the final straw. She had tried to hold her tongue through the whole ordeal of fighting her aunt and uncle for custody, but she was through trying to play the politically correct game.
“No, you watch it! Zach had enough time to leave your place, get all the way down here and steal a sailboat, which he then sailed miles down the coast. It was pure gut feeling that made Seth call the marina after I showed up at his place to ask for help, or Zach would still be out in this storm.” Tessa paused long enough to get a breath. “You can pick Zach up tomorrow, because the court says you have the right to, but tonight he’s not leaving my sight. And if you want to call the cops, then you go right ahead. I’d welcome another day in court. This time you can be the ones to justify your actions…and your expenditures. So bring it on.”
She disconnected without giving her aunt another chance to talk. When she set it down on the table next to the couch, the nerves from the day’s stress hit. She started to shake. As the first sob broke, she felt Seth’s arms come around her. She turned her face into his chest. He felt so solid, and she needed that so much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Zach’s okay, and we’re all here together.”
“I can’t let him go back there,” she whispered. “Even if they put me behind bars. I can’t.”
“We won’t let him go.” Seth shifted, lifting one of his arms away. “We’ll stay together, won’t we, Zach?”
Zach’s arms wrapped around her too, and she realized Seth had moved to include her brother in a hug they could all share. The arms of the two men who mattered most to her in the world wrapped around Tessa. She couldn’t remember any time since her mother’s and stepfather’s deaths that she’d felt this safe.
“I’ll get hold of our attorney,” Seth reassured them both. “We’ll get it handled. For now, you need dry clothes too. We brought you some.”
Tessa looked down at the sweatshirt and jeans. “Anna’s?”
Seth grinned. “Yeah, before she lost weight, so you might even be able to button the jeans over your tummy.”
Tessa smiled. “Don’t count on it. Every time I breathe, I think my waistline expands.”
“Let’s go raid the kitchen, Zach, and see what we can find.”
Her brother followed Seth like a puppy, but somehow she bet Seth was used to that with all the brothers and sisters he had.
She stripped off her damp clothes and slipped the sweatshirt over her head. It fit fine. So did the jeans, but she still had to leave the button undone. Tessa grinned.
When she joined them in the kitchen a few minutes later, they had found some canned beef stew in the pantry. There was also pasta, but nothing to mix with it.
“What do you think?” Seth asked.
“I think we’re having beef stew.”
Seth grinned. “Have at it. Zach and I will get the fire going and warm things up.”
It was no gourmet meal, but the stew would be quick, hot, and filling. The freezer yielded some butter and coffee that had been stored there, she supposed to keep it fresh. Her real find, though, was in the back of the freezer, where she located a bag of frozen biscuits. She rummaged through the cupboards until she found a cookie sheet and put the biscuits on first before finding a pot and a can opener. Within a few minutes, the biscuits were baking, the stew was beginning to bubble, and she had a pot of coffee going in the drip coffee maker.
Seth stepped through the door, his large size making the huge kitchen seem smaller. He crossed over to her and tilted her chin up to face him.
“Are you okay? Not too tired?” His tone was concerned, his eyes warm.
She nodded, feeling like bawling again. As if he realized that, he touched her lips with a finger.
“Don’t. We’ll talk a little later. Just the two of us, okay?”
She swallowed and nodded.
“I’ll find Zach and let him know we’re ready to eat.”
He left the room again, and Tessa sucked in a deep breath. She was tired, more tired than she cared to admit, and hungry. She wasn’t sure when she’d last eaten a decent meal. The day before? Tessa put a hand to the small of her back and rubbed the dull ache there. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of the big fireplace and prop her feet up.
After turning the heat down on the stew and pulling the biscuits from the oven, Tessa went in search of Seth and Zach. She found them just returning to the living room. From upstairs, Seth had managed to find blankets and pillows for everyone.
“Seth says we’re going to camp out in here, Tessa,” Zach said. “Won’t that be fun?”
Tessa’s gaze slid to the tall man standing at her brother’s side. “Camp out?” she questioned.
Seth shrugged. “It seemed like the easiest alternative. Rather than trying to get the behemoth of a furnace cranked enough to heat the whole house, I figured it would be easier, and warmer, if we all slept in here. Zach and I can camp on the floor, and you can have the couch.”
What she wanted was to be able to lie next to Seth and snuggle up against his broad chest. Tessa glanced at her brother’s hopeful face and smiled. Maybe some other time.
“Suits me,” she said. “Right now, though, let’s eat. The stew and the
biscuits are on the table. Your beverage choices are limited to coffee, tea, or water. Sorry.”
There was little conversation during the meal. All three of them were hungry. After polishing off two bowls of stew and three biscuits, Seth went back into the pantry to snoop around on some of the higher shelves. He returned with an unopened package of Oreo cookies.
“How’s this for dessert? Brandon keeps a stash stored up high enough where only the tallest Barlow-Barretts can reach. Boy, does that make Anna mad.”
Tessa raised both eyebrows, but shook her head. “Sweets give me indigestion, so I try to stay clear of most of them.” Instead, she poured Zach and Seth more coffee and heated water in the microwave to make herself another mug of tea. She had already put all the cooking utensils and pans in the dishwasher, and now added the bowls and silverware before adjusting the wash setting and pressing the Start button.
“Why don’t we move into the living room,” she suggested, glancing at Seth. “That is, if it’s okay to take our drinks and the cookies in there?” At his nod, she continued, “I would kill to put my feet up for a while, and I think, Zach.” She gave her brother a look through narrowed eyes. “We need to talk.”
Seth paused in the act of adding sugar to his coffee and asked, “Would you like me to stay in here while you and Zach have that conversation?”
Tessa shook her head. “No, I’d say you have a real interest in this since your sailboat is still out on the bay somewhere.” She hated her brother’s shamefaced look, but he had to face up to what he’d done and the potential trouble he’d created for himself, not to mention the risks Seth had taken to find him.
She was surprised, after she sat down on the couch, when Seth tucked a blanket around her. Tessa curled her feet up next to her and leaned back with a sigh. It felt so good to relax a bit. Zach had taken a seat on the floor, not far from the fire, as if he hoped its warmth would give him a little added courage.
Tessa set her mug down on the end table and looked at her brother. “I’ll let you tell this, Zach. Begin wherever you want.”
Balancing Act Page 21