Ask Anyone

by Sherryl Woods

  Much as he wanted to, King couldn’t argue with that. He knew Bobby, possibly better than the boy understood himself. He would step up to the plate and do whatever had to be done to turn J.C. around…even if it meant turning his back on a new relationship for himself.

  “Does J.C. know?” King asked.

  “Not yet. I imagine Bobby, Ann-Marie and Lonnie will have to sit down and work all that out.”

  “Lonnie Gates shouldn’t have any say in it at all,” King said heatedly. “The only reason that man’s put up with J.C. all these years is the money I’ve been sending over there every month.”

  “You’ve paid him to keep silent?” Tucker asked, looking disgusted. “I should have known.”

  “I’ve paid for J.C.’s support,” King corrected. “Not that a dime of it has been put aside for the boy, I’m sure.”

  “Daddy, why the hell didn’t you let Bobby sort all this out for himself?”

  “Because he was little more than a kid himself when this all started. When Ann-Marie came to me with the truth, she was already married to Lonnie. I couldn’t see the point of them divorcing and tying Bobby to that woman. I’ll make no apologies for leaving things the way they were.”

  Tucker shook his head. “You never do. Did it ever occur to you that your meddling all those years ago kept Bobby from dealing with the situation and moving on? All this time you’ve been pestering him to get on with his life, but you were the one responsible for keeping him tied up in knots over losing Ann-Marie to his best friend.”

  “Some friend,” King said with a huff.

  “I’ll agree with you there, but it wasn’t your call, Daddy. Even if he was only eighteen, Bobby had a right to know about that baby,” Tucker said. “You taught us all to be independent. Now you turn right around and try to run our lives. You could lose Bobby over this.”

  “It’ll never happen,” King blustered, but in his heart he wasn’t sure. Had he gone too far this time?

  Well, even if he had, he could fix it. Bobby was stubborn, but not impossible. When push came to shove, he was a Spencer. He’d never turn his back on his father or his heritage.

  King sighed heavily. Then, again, Bobby had left Cedar Hill and the family cattle legacy quick enough. He’d never looked back, either. King could see he was going to have to do some fancy footwork to turn things around this time. He could use Frances’s advice, but he doubted she was in any mood to give him the time of day.

  He drank his last sip of coffee and heaved himself out of the booth.

  “Where are you going?” Tucker asked.

  “To find your brother. No sense in letting this get any more out of control than it has already, thanks to you.”

  “Don’t blame me, old man. You brought this one all on yourself.”

  King shot him a sour look. “And you’ll take pleasure in reminding me of that all the livelong day, I suppose.”

  “Longer,” Tucker retorted.

  But as King headed for the door, Tucker called after him, “Good luck, Daddy.”

  King tipped his hat. “Thanks, son.”

  “You’ll find Bobby at the marina in an hour or so, I imagine. He and Jenna were going to check crab pots about seven.”

  “He’s with Jenna?” King’s spirits brightened. “Well, then, things can’t be all that bad.”

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Well, of course I am. I’m a Spencer. When something’s worth fighting for, we stick with it. Just wait,” he said, leveling a look straight at his son. “It’ll be your turn soon enough.”

  He took great pleasure in walking out of Earlene’s with Tucker’s indignant, sputtering protest trailing after him.

  The morning Jenna spent with Bobby on his boat was surprisingly pleasant, despite the tension between them the night before. It was difficult to work up to a heated argument when the sky was a cloudless blue, the river calm and a salty breeze kept things cool.

  There was a quiet rhythm to the work of motoring slowly from bobbing crab pot to crab pot, checking for succulent crabs, picking out the jimmies and tossing back females and undersized crabs. Bobby wasn’t a big-time waterman. He maintained only enough pots to supply the restaurant during the week. For weekends, when demand was higher, he bought bushels of hardshell and softshell crabs from the men who worked the river for a living. He’d told her he did this much work himself, only because he found it relaxing to be on the water.

  The catch this morning was paltry compared to a few years ago, he told her. “Supplies are dwindling. There are constant fights between the regulators trying to protect the crabs for the future and the watermen who need to make a living now. It’s a delicate balancing act.”

  “So many environmental issues are,” Jenna said, as she trailed a hand in the warm water of the Potomac, her face turned up to the early morning sun. “How could anyone not see the value in keeping this river and the Chesapeake Bay clean and productive for the future?”

  “There are a lot of shortsighted people in the world,” he said. “Some are looking for the quick buck, just like the men who would plaster condos along the waterfront, instead of taking the time and making the investment to turn it into something everyone can enjoy.”

  Jenna should have seized on that as the perfect opening to talk about the boardwalk, but she couldn’t seem to do it. Injecting business into this tranquil moment seemed wrong. She was happy just to be on the river with Bobby this morning. She should have found that disturbing, but she didn’t.

  Her priorities had changed since coming to Trinity Harbor a few weeks ago. She didn’t feel nearly the same kind of pressure to accomplish the impossible that she felt in Baltimore. It was a relief to be regarded with approval just for being her. Bobby’s sister Daisy seemed to like her. Anna-Louise Walton, who was the kindest woman Jenna had ever met and a minister to boot, seemed to think that Jenna was a worthwhile human being. In fact, she was downright impatient with Jenna’s claims to the contrary. The last time she’d quoted her father about her reckless ways, Anna-Louise had used a word that should never cross the lips of a pastor.

  As Jenna had begun to view herself in a new light, she was putting less pressure on Darcy. Her daughter’s sullen expression was appearing less and less frequently. They hadn’t had a rousing battle over tattoos and body piercing in weeks now.

  Amid all of this generous acceptance, Jenna had almost ceased to care about her father’s criticisms, which still came loudly and frequently. Only his threat to come down to see for himself what was taking so long disturbed her newfound serenity. She had a feeling once he turned up, he would find some way to demean her efforts and take over. It would ruin everything she’d fought so hard to accomplish here—for the company and for herself.

  “Hey, are you falling asleep over there?” Bobby teased, nudging her bare foot.

  “Not me,” she claimed, though she didn’t open her eyes.

  “How come you’re not pestering me with questions or tossing facts and figures at me?”

  “Too much like work,” she said.

  Bobby laughed. “I’ve done it,” he said with satisfaction. “I’ve turned you into a slug like me.”

  “Could be,” she said. “I intend to hang on to this as long as I can.”

  “How long do you expect that to be?” he asked.

  There was a serious note in his voice that snapped her eyes open. Though he was dragging a crab pot out of the water and checking the contents, she thought she detected a sudden tension in his shoulders.

  “What are you asking, Bobby?”

  His gaze met hers. “What are your plans? When will you head back to Baltimore?”

  “That depends on you,” she said, holding his gaze. “You know that.”

  He nodded. “Okay, say I were to make this deal with you—once the job is finished, what then?”

  Jenna resisted the temptation to shout with glee at the promise of a deal. He wasn’t really giving it to her, she reminded herself sternly. He was specu
lating. She was determined to keep the difference in mind.

  “I’m not sure,” she told him honestly.

  “But you do like it here, right?”

  She smiled at that. “How could I not? It’s a beautiful place.” She let her gaze drift slowly over his bare chest. “The company’s not bad either.”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to talk about that soon.”

  “Talk?”

  “I’m the kind of man who likes to take things nice and easy. At least that’s the kind of man I’ve become.”

  “Since Ann-Marie took off with Lonnie.”

  His expression darkened. “Yeah, since then,” he said tersely.

  It was the opening she’d been waiting for. “Bobby, what happened yesterday? I know it had something to do with Ann-Marie.”

  For a long time, he simply kept up the mechanical motions of a man used to working with crab pots. When he found a stubborn knot in one of the ropes, he bent over it with a look of fierce concentration.

  Finally, with his gaze still diverted, he said, “I found out that J.C. is my boy.”

  Jenna moved to an upright position so fast, the boat rocked. “What?”

  “I told you you might want to reconsider doing business with me.”

  She stared at him blankly. “What does one thing have to do with the other?”

  “He hurt Darcy.”

  “Why is that your fault?”

  “He’s my son.”

  “Which you didn’t know,” she pointed out. “Nor could you have controlled the situation, even if you had known.”

  “You’d feel differently if it had been more than a broken arm.”

  “But it wasn’t,” she said. “And, yes, I am furious with him, but certainly not with you, a man who’s had absolutely no input into his upbringing at all.”

  His troubled gaze finally met hers. There was so much torment, she eased over and reached for him. His shoulders were warm from the early morning sun. He smelled of sun and salt water and man.

  Jenna slid her hands up his chest, then cupped his cheek. It was rough with dark stubble that felt like sandpaper to the touch. She shivered at the sensation, but she didn’t draw away, didn’t avert her gaze.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Sorry?”

  “That it took so long for you to find out. It must have hurt.”

  He shook his head. “So far, I just feel numb.”

  She skimmed a finger across his lower lip, felt him shudder. It brought a smile to her lips. “You don’t seem numb to me.”

  “Inside,” he told her. “I’m numb inside.”

  Jenna drew in a deep breath. She wanted more from Bobby. She’d figured that out last night. Today, though, she wanted to give him something for making her feel alive again.

  Recalling a time when she’d been bold instead of timid, when she’d been reckless instead of safe, she said quietly, “We could change that.”

  Heat flared in his eyes. “Jenna.” The protest was soft and not very vehement.

  “I know exactly what I’m saying,” she told him. “Exactly.”

  A rueful grin crossed his lips. “We’re in a boat,” he pointed out, as if it were a massive obstacle.

  “You planning to stay out here forever?”

  His gaze stayed steady on hers, unflinching and filled with yearning.

  “No,” he said at last, emptying the last pot and tossing it back into the river with a rushed, careless gesture. He reached for the throttle and turned back toward shore. One arm slid around Jenna’s waist and held her snugly against his chest.

  “You’ve got about fifteen minutes to change your mind.” His words were whispered against her cheek.

  “Not going to happen,” she said, settling back to relish the warmth of his embrace. “Not if we were days away from land.”

  Of course neither of them were taking into account the possibility of finding King waiting for them at the dock.

  “We need to talk,” he said to Bobby.

  “Not now,” Bobby said tersely, not meeting his father’s gaze as he tied the boat securely.

  “You got something more important going on?” King demanded, then took one look at Jenna. His expression brightened ever so slightly. “Never mind. Call me.”

  “One of these days,” Bobby said, all but dragging Jenna along the dock.

  “Today,” King ordered.

  Bobby looked down into Jenna’s eyes and tightened his grip on her hand, then called back to his father, “Don’t count on it.”

  Jenna expected an indignant response, but instead it was a hoot of laughter that followed them to Bobby’s car.

  20

  Bobby drove to his house with one hand on the wheel and the other clutching Jenna’s hand. For this one instant in time, she was all that mattered, the only thing that was real. Ann-Marie’s duplicity all those years ago, his relationship with J.C., his anger at his father’s probable involvement, none of that was important. Not right this second.

  When had he begun to count on having Jenna in his life? When had she become the person who could keep him grounded? When had his heart finally healed? Because it had.

  Looking at Ann-Marie, even learning about her ultimate betrayal, hadn’t shaken him as it once might have. All he felt was sorrow for the lost years with his son and regret for the pain J.C. had experienced living with a man who’d apparently resented him from the beginning.

  Bobby glanced over at Jenna and grinned at the soft, feminine smile tugging at her lips. “Pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

  She turned to face him. “For?”

  “Luring me to bed in the middle of the morning.”

  “Watch it,” she warned, amusement sparkling in her eyes. “We’re not there yet.”

  “You thinking of changing your mind?” His tone was light, but fear clutched at him.

  “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “Whether you annoy me between now and the time we get to your place.”

  The words, which echoed his own warning to her about the risk of being out on a boat with him, made him chuckle. “Then I’ll definitely try not to do that,” he vowed.

  Jenna’s smile spread. “I was sure you’d see the wisdom of behaving yourself.”

  Bobby caught her gaze and held it until heat flared and desire darkened her eyes to a deep blue. “Oh, darlin’, this has nothing to do with behaving, not if we’re doing it right.”

  He watched with satisfaction as the pulse at the base of her throat began to race, then swerved into his driveway at an angle and cut the engine.

  “Let’s go,” he said, all but dragging her from the car. He was not going to create yet another Spencer public spectacle by making love to her on his front lawn…and the odds of that happening were increasing by the second.

  “What’s the rush?” she asked, digging in her heels and bringing them both to a halt.

  “Do you even have to ask?” Bobby demanded. Unable to hold back a moment longer, he hooked his hand behind her neck and took her mouth with a ferocity that left them both breathless. When he finally released her, she looked dazed and he was hard and aching. He raked a hand through his hair. “I swore I was not going to do this.”

  “What?”

  “Create a public spectacle.”

  Jenna looked around, seemingly pleased at the discovery that the curtains were drawn back in a telling way in at least two sets of windows across the street. Bobby, however, groaned. Sue Kelly and Frannie Yarborough were getting an eyeful. This little incident would be broadcast far and wide by lunchtime.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “It was a kiss.”

  “Describing that as a kiss is pretty much like saying that a tiger’s a cat,” he told her wryly. “There’s nothing tame about either one of them.”

  “Are you really worried about a little gossip?” she asked.

  “I am for your sake. If you’re going to do business in this town, you don’
t want people speculating on how you got the job.”

  His reply clearly flustered her.

  “I’m going to get the job?” she asked.

  “I didn’t say…” He sighed, then conceded reluctantly, “More than likely.” He held up a hand. “Don’t get carried away just yet. There are details to consider. And I have two more presentations to see, but, yes, unless your figures are out of line or something dramatic comes along to change my mind, you’re going to get the job.”

  The next thing he knew, Jenna had launched herself at him and was plastering kisses all over his face. “Thank you. Thank you. I can’t believe it.”

  “Jenna,” he warned.

  “I know. All those details and two more presentations. I heard you. But I never thought I’d get this far. You have no idea what this means to me.”

  “I think I do,” Bobby said, peeling her arms from around his neck. “And I still think we really ought to take this inside.”

  Jenna shook her head. “Oh, no,” she said, promptly backing away a few steps. “I can’t sleep with you now.”

  Disappointment slammed through him. Why hadn’t he seen this coming? Hadn’t he done his own fair share of lecturing about keeping business and personal relationships separate?

  “You can’t?” he echoed.

  “No. It wouldn’t be right. We’re going to be business partners. You said it yourself. I don’t want people to think I used sex to get this job.”

  Bobby sighed heavily. He had only himself to blame for the fact that he was going to spend the rest of the day tormented by what had almost happened here this morning. He’d planted the idea in her head that people might speculate after seeing the two of them here together this morning. He’d been right to consider it, but for once maybe he should have kept his big mouth shut. Being honorable definitely had its drawbacks.

  “Is there any way at all I could change your mind?” he inquired hopefully, even as he prepared to get into his car and head back to the marina. He could all but hear Sue and Frannie’s sighs as well. He doubted their regrets could possibly match his own.

  Jenna patted his cheek as if she were consoling a kid. “Not just yet, but think of it this way—I have a really huge incentive to get this job done in record time.”