by CJ England
The cat purred as she watched her mistress through slitted eyes. She still walked with a limp due to the crushing injury of her leg, but the fast medical treatment and lavish loving she'd received since Lara had found her made all the difference. As soon as she was able, Lara brought the cat back to the ship. It was her home too.
Now she acted like she owned The Lucky Lady, as she wandered the decks and dock at will. She was an odd assortment of orange, black, yellow and white, giving her an exotic look that earned her the name Gypsy.
And, if her rounding stomach was any indication ... pretty soon there would be a whole band of gypsies on board.
Lara sighed and touched her own stomach. She could be in the same boat as the cat. Unprotected sex with a ghost was safe, but it had taken them several days to remember Justin was a real man, in all ways. Her period was almost a week late. If she was right, there may be more than kittens born in the near future.
She smiled. If it was so, Justin would be pleased. He'd already told her he wanted a big family.
She caught sight of him as he wandered through the tables, talking to the pit supervisors. Pride filled her as she stroked Gypsy's soft fur. Damn ... he was so handsome, as well as being good at his job. Made running the casino look so easy. Although they had lived up to Diana's prediction of some really good arguments, mostly she left the running of the casino to him. He was the expert. He had the gift.
Lara stayed in the background, doing what she was best at, planning events and dealing with the money side of it. She had been able to put in her automated system almost immediately with the profits they made and by the time of their wedding, she was able to give him a special gift.
The wedding had taken place out at sea, with all the crew invited. They were their family now. Lara, being as honest as she was, told the truth about Justin and the others. Some of the crew thought it was a joke, other's frowned and wondered, but quite a few believed her. They had been on the boat long enough to know about the sabotage and the odd happenings. The fact that Justin carried the name of the original owner clinched it for them.
So they married, with Charlie being the Best Man, and Lottie the Matron of Honor. Sir Malcolm gave away the bride and Diana, in a stroke of romantic genius, sang the theme to the movie ‘Ghost’ at the reception for their first dance as a married couple. Tears had filled both their eyes as they'd listened to the haunting words.
'Whoa ... My love ... my darling,
I hunger for your touch,
Alone ... lonely times.
And time goes by, so slowly,
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love.
I need your love.
God speed your love to me.'
It had been beautiful.
As her gift to him, she'd presented him with the deed of The Lucky Lady ... in his name only. Now, the ship had come full circle, back to whom it belonged. She hadn't understood his laughter, until he'd given her his gift.
She'd burst into tears when she'd seen it. He'd given the boat to her. His sacrifice of the one thing she knew he loved other than herself had broken down any barriers that had been left over his deception. She knew now he loved her more than anything.
Gypsy nuzzled her shoulder and Lara sighed in remembrance. After a week's honeymoon, where she showed him the sights of Florida, they had both decided to keep the deed as it had been on Halloween night. The Lucky Lady had brought them together. She would belong to both of them.
The hardest part of the last month had been saying goodbye to Diana. The woman had waited to go until both couples were married, but everyone knew she wanted to leave. She'd made no secret of that. After a quick shopping spree, she took her suitcase and the generous nest egg Justin gave her and said goodbye. She was off to make her way in a brand new world.
Lara smiled as she watched Justin lean over and speak to Lottie. She and Sir Malcolm were playing the nickel slots. There were two machines reserved just for them each night and they played madly, enjoying when they won, cursing when they lost. All the crew knew they were part of Lara's unique family and treated them like the honored elders they were.
"Hey baby! Ya miss me?"
The greasy voice jolted Lara out of her pleasant daydreams. Gypsy hissed beside her as she whirled around. Her mouth fell open in shock.
"Gerald? Gerald Kravitz?"
Her old boss laughed. Dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts that showed his knobby knees, he was the very epitome of a tacky tourist. “How's it going, honey?"
"What are you doing here?"
He threw a companionable arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. “Heard about your little venture. When it came time for my vacation, thought I'd give it a look-see.” His small greedy eyes swept around the casino floor.” “Thought you could use some managerial help, since you don't have any skills."
Lara felt her temper start to slip. “Did you now?"
"Hey.” He grinned giving her a sloppy kiss on the forehead. “Knowing what we were to each other, how could I not?"
"Excuse me?"
"Now Lara,” he chuckled. “You know you wanted me. If you hadn't come east, both of us know what would have happened.” He ran a hand down her arm to her hip. “Love the little black dress."
Justin heard the man's words through a cloud of red fury. It wasn't the first time he'd had to explain matters to an over exuberant guest, but this guy acted like he knew Lara.
"Is there a problem here?” he bit out.
Both of them jumped then Lara turned to him with relieved eyes. “Justin."
Gerald looked the big man up and down. “Nice suit. But we're fine.” He gave Lara another squeeze. “Just getting reacquainted."
Seeing the anger in Justin's eyes, Lara spoke quickly. “Gerald, I don't think you've met ... my husband, Justin Savage. Justin ... my old boss, Gerald Kravitz."
Gerald swallowed hard. His hand slid away when he saw the ice in the other man's eyes. “Your ... your husband?"
"Yes,” Justin gritted out as he pulled his wife to him. “Her very jealous husband."
"I ... I didn't mean anything by it,” Gerald stammered out. “I didn't know she was married, honest."
"You didn't give me much time to tell you,” Lara said dryly. She leaned against Justin, enjoying the feel of his hard body after the soft flabby one of her old boss.
"The last man to put his hands on my wife wound up overboard, Kravitz,” Justin growled. “Do I make myself clear?"
Gerald's Adam's apple bobbed. “Yes ... yes ... excuse me.... Have to go to the men's room.” Turning, he sprinted away, knocking over one of the wait staff in his hurry.
Lara giggled. “You scared him."
"Damn right,” Justin groused. “Little bastard had his hands all over you."
Turning, she wrapped her arms around his waist. “He barely touched me. I was so shocked he even tried anything, I couldn't move at first."
"Should have punched him."
"You did that to the UPS guy, remember? All he did was smile at me."
Justin's neck reddened. “It was the way he smiled."
"You take such good care of me,” she teased.
Finally relaxing, he hugged her tightly. “I love you, Lara. I plan on taking care of you for the rest of our lives.
She smiled. “I guess that means I'm a very lucky lady."
Chuckling, he pulled her tighter. “I guess I have a pair of lucky ladies then."
Lara looked around her at the bustling casino filled with new friends and their crew. She saw Charlie arguing companionably with Lottie and Sir Malcolm. She looked up at the handsome man she was fortunate enough to call her husband, seeing the love in his sea blue eyes. She reached up and pulled his dark head down to hers.
"No, my love. We have much more than that.” She rubbed her lips gently over his. “What we have is a full house."
AUTHOR INFORMATION
CJ ENGLAND
cjengland.com
CJ credits her passion for writing, to her second grade sweetheart, Steven, a blond haired cutie with dimples, who dumped her for a girl who could swing on the monkey bars. She wrote her first story about love and loss after that tragic episode.
CJ says her hope is that her books will spark the imaginations of her readers. And that somewhere, in their hearts and souls, they too will begin to believe that anything can happen ... if you Follow your Dreams.
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