A Dangerous Leap

by Sharon Calvin

  Caitlyn’s look of outrage warmed Kelly. It was nice to know someone cared. She looked down as she stroked Mizzen. Did she really think Ian didn’t care?

  “Did you love this jerk?”

  Kelly looked up. “No, not at the time—maybe never, but I thought I did later on.”

  “Wait a minute, you lost me. If you didn’t love him, and he was that insensitive, why did you marry him?” she asked, her forehead furrowed.

  “Because of the baby.”

  Cait’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “But you said you were a virgin, I don’t—”

  “No, not my baby. Wait, we need to back up. I’m warning you, it’s going to sound like the plot of a really bad movie, or a soap opera. Here’s the short, bitter version.

  “Peter married my college roommate Jenny because he’d gotten her pregnant. She died giving birth. Their baby was born with multiple birth defects, he freaked, and begged me to marry him to take care of her. End of story.”

  Except for all the heartbreaking days and nights in the hospital. The numbing rage she’d lived with after her adopted daughter’s death had been so emotionally destructive she didn’t know if she’d ever recover.

  “W-what happened to the baby?” Caitlyn asked softly, her blue eyes tearing up.

  “She died. Two days after the funeral I came home to an empty house with papers to sign and a note on the counter.” She saw no reason to mention her last meeting with Peter—the one where she made a fool of herself begging him not to leave her. Kelly took a deep breath, surprised to find her usual anger didn’t materialize.

  She ignored Caitlyn’s sputter of outrage. “I packed my duffel, got a place to live and went to work. Two months later I was walking through a department store’s TV section and saw a special about Coast Guard rescue swimmers. When it finished, I found a recruiter and the rest, as they say, is history.”

  Still no anger or bitterness assailed her. Had her heart finally healed? If so, maybe she really could love someone like Ian.

  Couldn’t she?

  * * *

  Matt walked toward the cabin cruiser his sister called home. He wasn’t sure why it surprised him when he’d learned she was living on the Admiral’s boat. He’d kept in touch with his father’s friend because it was a good career move. Kelly probably did it as a way to retain a part of their dad.

  Matt and his dad had always been close, especially once he knew Matt wanted to join the Navy. Kelly, on the other hand, had become their dad’s constant shadow after their mother’s death. Then when their dad died, Matt had been so caught up in his SEAL duties, he hadn’t really given Kelly much thought other than to see that she had a place to stay and someone to watch over her.

  He’d been a total ass. She would have been devastated; feeling like her world had just imploded. Which surely explained why she’d ended up married to that dick-weed who’d walked out on her when she’d needed him most.

  Kind of like he had.

  The Sea Dawg swayed between its mooring lines and Matt had the sudden urge to rub the sweat off his hands. Except he was holding a pizza box and a six-pack of beer.

  Jesus, you’d think he was about to corner el Cerdo on his own turf. He’d just lifted his foot to step onto the aft deck when the hatch opened and a spectacular redhead emerged from the cabin.

  “Well, well, what have we here?” she asked while giving him a flirtatious once over. “Kelly, did you send out for pizza?”

  Matt stepped up and over the railing and grinned at the redhead. If his sister had friends like Red, maybe he’d start visiting regularly.

  “Don’t bother Cait, he’s career Navy. And not particularly dependable,” Kelly said as she popped into view behind the taller woman.

  He hadn’t seen Kelly in about five years, but here she was looking all grown up. And so much like their mother he had to blink to clear the sense of déjà vu it created. She was a bit taller, and more athletic in build, but they could have been sisters. Did she see it when she looked in the mirror, or had she been too young to remember the kinds of details Matt saw so readily?

  Red tsked and shook her head with a look of sad disdain. “Sorry, sailor, military personnel are off limits.” She turned back to Kelly. “Want me to stay and referee?”

  Despite her teasing tone, Matt would have sworn the two women communicated a wealth of information with a single, silent look. Suddenly he felt like the bad guy. He held up the pizza box and beer. “I brought lunch.” He added a grin to see if it softened her any.

  Kelly glanced at him with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No Cait, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” she said as she followed Red to the transom door.

  Red looked at Matt like he was a lowly plebe at a base commander’s ball.

  After Red left, Kelly turned to him with a stoic expression and crossed her arms over her chest. “Guess you heard about the drug bust, huh?”

  Kelly’s body language was pretty damn clear. He lowered the pizza box and beer. “If you want me to leave, I will. But I hope you’ll let me stay. I think it’s way past time I got to know my little sister.”

  * * *

  Kelly led the way down the cabin steps, her mind reeling from Matt’s sudden appearance. Part of her had wanted to run into his arms and burst into tears. The other, more cautious part, wanted him to prove he was serious about being a part of her life.

  She had no appetite, but she directed him to the dinette table. “Sit, I’ll get some paper plates and napkins.” Her hands shook as she dug out the needed items. Somehow it was more nerve racking than being around a complete stranger.

  “I remember Dad and the Admiral taking me out on this boat when we came back to the States to check out colleges,” Matt said as he set the pizza and beer down. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and looked around the galley before he focused his brown eyes on her.

  “Hell, Kelly, I know I’ve been a lousy brother. I didn’t mean to be, but between the age difference and being on different continents for most of our lives, it was just easier to pretend it was okay. It wasn’t. It isn’t.”

  He rubbed his knuckles across his jaw in a gesture that mirrored their dad’s. The sound of his whiskers rubbing against his hand had fascinated her—the sound of it now filled her eyes and caused her sinuses to burn.

  “Jesus, when I heard you were on the crew that responded to the DC-3’s mayday I about lost it. Then when I heard there had been shots fired, I thought I would be too late,”

  Kelly blindly reached for him, her vision blurred by ten years’ worth of tears. He folded her into his rock-hard arms. “It’s not too late,” she whispered against his shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly, squeezing out a fresh wave of tears. It couldn’t be too late.

  He awkwardly patted her back and Kelly sputtered out a laugh before pushing away from him. “It’s okay, I’m not going to fall apart,” she said as she swiped her eyes with the heels of each hand. “Why don’t you open me a beer? I think we could both use a drink about now.”

  “Good, then you can tell me about that bodacious redhead.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes at Matt. “What, you’re channeling An Officer and a Gentleman? Bodacious? Seriously? You were like three years old when that movie came out.”

  She dropped onto the cushioned bench seat and reached for the beer he’d opened. “Anyway, Caitlyn is totally off limits. She refuses to date anyone in the military. She seems to have a thing for doctors, so you are not even a blip on her radar.”

  Matt grinned at her and opened the pizza box. “Then tell me how you qualified as a Coastie lifeguard. I heard they use a lower standard for girls.”

  Kelly threw her paper plate at him. “Maybe we should rethink this family idea. Staying apart might be a better option for us.”

 
Matt’s belly laugh loosened a coil of tension inside Kelly. Maybe her family wasn’t normal, but just maybe it wasn’t as dysfunctional as she had thought.

  Chapter Nine

  It rained off and on all day, the weather reflecting Ian’s foul mood. Tropical depressions were spawning in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa like guppies in an aquarium.

  He hadn’t seen or spoken to Kelly since he’d dropped her off at the marina yesterday morning. She was ignoring his calls and the messages he’d left on her cell phone. Not a good sign.

  She’d had the day off, so when he finished his duty at fifteen hundred, he decided to go by her place before going home. Hell, maybe he’d pick up that box of day-glo condoms they’d seen at the local tourist shop on the pier. If nothing else she’d at least laugh over it.

  Twenty minutes later, Ian jogged through the light rain down the walkway toward her boat slip. Her Jeep was parked in its usual spot, and unless she’d gone somewhere with Cait, she should be on the boat.

  The yellow glow of a light shined in the starboard window and his mood improved. Anything over twelve hours without a Kelly fix made him seriously cranky.

  He hopped onto the boat and called out her name knowing she’d feel the sway and wonder who’d boarded. It bothered him that she didn’t lock the hatch when she was home alone.

  A quick rap with his knuckles on the companionway hatch and he popped it open. “Guess what I bought?” he asked. He tossed the bright box of assorted condoms toward the dinette table as he descended the stairs.

  Too late he realized Kelly wasn’t alone. The man glowering at him from the galley seemed to take up half the boat. He was dressed in a black tank top that exposed muscular arms as big around as Kelly’s thighs, tattered cargo shorts and sandals. His long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his tan was the kind that came from being under tropical sun for extended periods of time.

  Ian’s heart pumped a hit of adrenaline into his blood stream. Son of a bitch, it had to be one of the drug smugglers, maybe the buyer. He saw Kelly huddled on the bench seat of the dinette, her face streaked with tears.

  He barely contained his rage at seeing her distress. “Kelly, did he touch you?” he asked while keeping his gaze locked on Mr. Muscle. No weapon was visible, but hell, if he had arms like that, he wouldn’t need a gun. Kelly, for all her grit, wouldn’t even slow him down if he wanted to harm her.

  “Of course, but not like you mean,” Kelly said.

  He shot her a quick glance and saw humor lighting her eyes and kicking up the corner of her mouth even as she swiped at her cheeks. Mr. Muscle looked amused as well. What the hell?

  “Is he one of those Coastie lifeguards too?” Mr. Muscle asked Kelly. He eyed Ian up and down. “Coasties, what a pansy name.”

  All the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. Yeah he was right, the only weapons this guy needed were his bare hands. “Like being named after furry little animals men club to death is much better?”

  Kelly laughed out loud. “Score one for the Coasties,” she said and pumped her fist in the air.

  Ian returned his attention to her brother. He could see the resemblance now, in the shape of their eyes, and their coloring. The lifeguard reference still stunk. A Navy SEAL should show more respect for a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, especially when it was his sister.

  “By the way, honey, your team’s credited with the drug bust. So far they’ve recovered a thousand kilos of cocaine.” Might as well stake his claim to Kelly while he was at it. If the guy was going to pound him into the sand, it should be over something worthwhile.

  Ian looked at Kelly. She rolled her eyes at him, but looked pleased at the news nevertheless. He nodded toward her brother. “To tell you the truth, I thought he might be one of those guys coming to pay you back for screwing up their plans.” He sure as hell didn’t look Navy. Which meant he was into some truly scary shit. Like drug runners and terrorists in parts of the world that lacked what Americans thought of as basic human rights.

  Kelly’s eyes widened at that. “Wow, so that’s why you looked like you were going to jump him. Guess I should introduce you two, now that you’re not going to kill each other. Ian Razzamenti, this is my brother, Matt Bishop. He only looks derelict because he’s been out of the country doing things we don’t want to know about.

  “Matt, Ian’s not a rescue swimmer, he’s a Health Services Tech—a real medic kind of guy who does field work.”

  Matt gave him a perfunctory handshake, his gaze still assessing. Then he reached for the box Ian had tossed on the table when he’d entered.

  Oh shit. He’d forgotten about the condoms.

  “Kelly, baby, I’m thinking I’m going to have to kill your boyfriend after all,” Matt said. Turning the condoms over, he first looked at Kelly, then Ian.

  “Glow in the dark? Afraid she won’t be able to find it any other way?”

  Kelly bounced off the bench seat and grabbed the box from Matt. “Man oh man, you bought the combo pack, how cool,” she said. She poked her brother in the ribs with a well-aimed elbow. “Leave him alone, bully. I’m not a virgin, I’m over twenty-one, and I’m entitled to fun sex just like you are.”

  Ian’s smile faded. Was that all he was to her, a source of “fun sex”?

  “Matt was going to take me to dinner, why don’t you join us?” Kelly said.

  Ian saw the surprise on Matt’s face but he covered it up with a quick smile.

  “Sure, we can go to that little Italian place we drove by this morning,” he offered.

  “No, I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do. Didn’t you say it had been years since you’d seen him?” Ian edged his way up the steps. He needed to get away and think about her attitude and why it bothered him so much. After all, fun sex should be part of a good marriage too.

  Not that she’d agreed to marry him.

  Kelly looked confused. “Okay, I guess.”

  “Hold on, I’ll walk you back to your car,” Matt volunteered.

  “Why? You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?” Kelly asked.

  Matt patted her on the head. “Nah, I promise. Just a little male bonding is all.”

  “Yeah, right. Like I believe that,” Kelly said with a sniff.

  Neither did Ian, but he turned and opened the hatch, Matt following.

  Thankfully, the rain had stopped. Ian waited until they’d climbed off the boat before he said anything. “I wish you’d cut the lifeguard crap, Kelly’s job is a hell of a lot more than that. She could have been killed Monday—”

  “I know. That’s why I’m here.”

  Matt’s quiet admission took the wind out of Ian’s argument. “What?” Why the hell would a Navy SEAL be watching a drug dealer coming out of South America? Sure the Navy conducted joint missions with the Coast Guard and DEA on drug interdictions, but that still didn’t explain the need for special ops. He frowned at Matt.

  Not unless the drug dealer, or the money, tied back to a terrorist organization. Shit, that meant the risk to Kelly had been even greater than he’d thought.

  “I can’t tell you any specifics about this particular incident, but I’ve followed Kelly’s career all along. Hell, my whole team can recite every damn award she’s won for her rescues. She doesn’t realize it, but I even know about that bastard she married. Including the way he walked out on her after the baby died.”

  Ian’s gut recoiled as if he’d been sucker punched. Married? A baby? Kelly’d never said anything about being married, much less that she’d had a baby who’d died. Then to have her bastard of a husband walk out on her? Hell, no wonder she was afraid to commit to anyone.

  Matt stopped in the middle of the walkway and turned to face Ian. “I want it straight, no bullshit. Is Kelly just a temporary thing until someone better comes along, or is this
serious?”

  Ian shoved his hands in his jeans. “Serious for me, but apparently I’m only ‘fun sex’ for your sister.” That damn comment rankled.

  Matt’s expression didn’t change. “Married with kids kind of serious?”

  What was this, twenty questions? Ian blew out his breath. “Yeah, but so far she’s saying no. She doesn’t think she’s a good bet for sticking around.” Never mind the deal about having kids. But if she’d lost her baby…maybe that explained all of it. Hadn’t his mother mourned her two babies who died? Ian had been just a kid himself, but all of them had felt the loss. His mother had had her family to help her through those difficult years. Who had Kelly turned to?

  Matt looked toward the cloudy distance. “Yeah, well given her life growing up, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Everyone she’s ever loved left her. I don’t think it takes a degree in psych to conclude she’d rather do the walking next time.”

  His penetrating gaze returned to search Ian’s face. “You would have taken me on, knowing you couldn’t possibly beat me. Why?”

  Ian didn’t want to think about the kind of experiences that gave a man that kind of confidence. “To give Kelly a chance to escape.” He met the SEAL’s stare without flinching.

  A smirk replaced the practiced warrior expression. “You realize it wouldn’t have worked, don’t you?”

  That was a low blow. Hell, he liked to believe he’d have lasted long enough for Kelly to scramble to safety. “Why not, you don’t think I’d put up much of a fight?”

  Matt barked out a laugh, his brown eyes registering his mirth. “No, Coastie, I think you’d put up a hell of a fight for Kelly. But see, your logic’s flawed. She wouldn’t have left you. Our little flea-bite would have jumped the bad guy trying to protect you, and gotten herself killed in the process.”