But he also saw her face. Her expression was as simple and complex as joy. Damn, but she was fearless. Open to embracing anything. When had he last felt that free, that excited about the possibilities?
“Hey, Cate.” Ivan showed up from above. “Did anyone ever mention that you didn’t have the brain God gave a goose?”
Cate didn’t even lift her head. “He’s so beautiful. I thought he’d be cold. And the surface of his body was cold, but beneath, there’s this…thundering warmth. He’s smooth and even soft-”
“Y’all want to take a vote on whether she’s certifiable?” Ivan rolled his eyes with the guys.
“That’s it, make fun.” Cate scowled at the lot of them, then cast one more longing glance as the big behemoth swam off to his pals.
“Gonna take him home, Cate? Got a big enough bathtub for him, do you?”
“I’d like to see you bring home a date. Bet his eyes’d pop when he saw your choice of pets.”
“You like your boys big, do you?” That brought on a round of raucous laughter.
“Size does matter, boys,” Cate said demurely, and that brought another round of hoots and laughter.
She caught his eye moments later. There was just a flash in hers, a connection, but he got it. It wasn’t a day for laughter-just a day when they all needed some kind of comic relief. Cate had willingly provided it.
But when she looked at him, he knew she hadn’t forgotten finding Fiske in her galley. And his mind kept replaying how she’d behaved with that damned whale. So fearless. Reaching out to something she should have known was seriously dangerous.
And that wasn’t just whales and thieves.
It was him, too.
Harm spun around, told himself to quit obsessing on those haunting kisses and those sassy eyes and forget her. The message waiting for him in the pilothouse had come from the P.I. firm he hired in Cambridge. More troubling news. Bad news. A mounting trail of evidence defining a very clever thief.
But nothing to identify him.
And there was no way Harm could keep Cate safe-or any of his other men-until he somehow found that answer. Fast.
Chapter 5
The instant the boat docked at Tennehee Springs late that afternoon, the men charged off as if their feet were spring-loaded.
“You get the feeling the whole group needs a little stress relief?” Cate murmured to Harm.
They were bringing up the rear. He naturally cupped her arm when she took the leap to the dock. She felt the bolt of awareness-so did he, judging from the wry glance he shot her. Still, they followed the others, walking side by side.
“We all might need a few hours’ rest, but we’re not the only ones. Cate, you’re funnier than hell and full of the devil. I really want to say-thanks.”
“Thanks for what?” she asked in surprise.
“For taking care of trouble. Which you’ve been doing solid since we all got onboard. You didn’t sign on for these kinds of problems…much less for the trauma of finding Fiske. For someone who could use some sympathy, you’re not getting any, but you’re damned good at giving it out.”
“You’ve completely misunderstood,” she assured him. “I don’t know any of you, so don’t give me credit for sensitivity. I’m not one of those touchy-feely caretaking kind of women.”
“Ah.”
“I’m not.”
“Okay, slugger. I’m sorry I said something nice about you. I’ll try not to do it again.”
She considered punching him, figured that likely a rich hotshot like him hadn’t been punched in a good long time-but she didn’t. She was far too mature, she told herself righteously. Besides, she couldn’t very well fight with him and stick closer than glue for this outing. Just because she wasn’t a maternal or nurturing type didn’t mean she couldn’t feel sympathy. Harm had had a god-awful morning. A god-awful month, it sounded like. And he was the lone ranger, stuck with all the repercussions.
“Hey,” Ivan yelled from the leader dog role in the head of the straggly line. “If anyone strays off the road, that’s fine. Go walkabout wherever you want. It’s not as if anyone could get lost here. We’re here three hours, then back to the ship.”
“As if anyone needed those instructions,” Cate said drily, but she was as taken by Tennehee Springs as Harm seemed to be. Just the exercise of walking in the brisk air seemed to shake off the gloomy mood on the boat, and the unexpectedly different world offshore seemed to capture all their attentions.
From the dock-where a hefty number of fishing vessels were already tied off-began an ambling gravel road. She never saw or heard a car, although mud-covered ATVs were parked here and there. The houses lining the road looked more like cottages than structures that could regularly survive an Alaskan winter. Cats and dogs snoozed on every porch step. “Incredibly majestic woods and hills, and then screen doors with holes,” Harm said.
It was a contrast. Eventually, they came to a café-Ivan’s goal was to get the local flavor of a drink and dinner here. Next door, a hand-painted sign read: Is There Life After Death? Trespass Here And Find Out.
And at the door to the café was another sign-Leave Guns Outside. Clearly, the customers were into obeying, because a whole teepee of rifles and long guns were perched against the window. Cate couldn’t believe the number, and when she stepped inside ahead of Harm, she couldn’t believe the place.
“Holy kamoly. We’re sure not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Cate mentioned, making Harm smile-for the first time all day.
“We’re supposed to eat dinner here, huh?”
“Yup. I get a night off whenever we’re onshore. More to the point, I do believe I’ll be able to serve you guys anything after this and you’ll love it.”
She almost ran into Yale and Purdue, who’d stopped dead to gape for a moment when they walked in, too. The café was decorated early-box. All supplies were in boxes, unstacked and unopened until needed. A splash of rickety tables took up the rest of the space. A swinging blackboard announced the cook’s menu for the day-which was chili, either hot as hell or the sissy version. Another sign forbade spitting on the floor.
The group filed around the big round table in the corner. Cate gingerly took a seat between Harm and Ivan and mentally lectured herself against galloping into the kitchen to find a rag and soap and some way to scour the table. For darn sure, it hadn’t been washed in recent history. On the other hand, an exuberantly friendly lady with a mighty chest and rambunctious smile immediately came over to take their liquor order.
Beer was the poison of choice. The waitress/owner put enough longnecks in the center of the table to last three weeks and then some, Cate thought. Initially, their table was silent. Listening to the chatter between the other customers was more engrossing than anything they could possibly say. The longest discussion involved a “little” domestic abuse the week before that included a fire, blown-out windows, screaming matches and the husband finally giving up and calling in the law.
Apparently, calling in the law meant that someone literally had to either boat or fly in, because there wasn’t any law here. Once the chili was served-Cate chose the hell-hot version-Ivan said to Harm, “You beginning to get it?”
“Get what?” Harm asked.
“The complications of your man dying here. This just isn’t like the Lower 48. No place is more beautiful than here. No better place to be independent, be your own man, make your own way. But trying to get bureaucratic things done on a fast timetable-it just doesn’t happen.”
“Different values here,” Harm said.
“Ask me, they’re better values. But I’m sure I’d feel different if I had an employee die on my watch, and had all your kind of responsibilities.”
Harm didn’t respond-but then everyone was guzzling beer in gulping heaps by then. The chili was that hot. Locals eventually left until only one other table was occupied, filled by a pair of hunched-over bearded men who were stargazing into their beer. Cate wasn’t about to touch Harm, but someone should. Where the others loosened up after the food and alcohol, he sat tough and dark-eyed, obviously unable to relax with the weight of monster-size problems on his shoulders.