A Time to Forgive by Marta Perry

Author:Marta Perry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tory stood on the dock late the next afternoon, watching as Adam pulled the covers off the boat’s seats. He didn’t look happy to be taking her to see Angel Isle, the site of the dolphin’s disappearance. And after the shock they’d received the night before, she could hardly blame him.

“It’s no trouble.”

Adam’s words were his usual response to helping someone. She’d heard him say that a dozen times since she’d been in Caldwell Cove. No trouble, he’d say with that boyish smile, regardless of the request.

Unfortunately taking her to Angel Isle was a problem for him, and they both knew it.

Clayton’s revelation had blown up in their faces. She suspected Adam still hadn’t come to terms with the idea that his father had not only taken the dolphin, he’d also informed on his brother.

Jefferson couldn’t have foreseen the results of that angry act. It wasn’t his fault that Clayton had climbed on that woodpile, but still, in some way, he must feel responsible. Clayton had to deal with a lifelong disability, and as for Tory’s mother—she winced at the image of young Emily, screaming, being dragged away after seeing the boy she loved lying hurt, probably fearing he was dead.

It was small wonder Emily had never been able to forget. They all still felt the repercussions of that night, fair or not.

She leaned against the dock railing, looking at the water and letting the sun dazzle her eyes, making a reasonable excuse for any unwanted tears.

That night had changed her mother’s life. She tried to shrug the tightness out of her shoulders at the thought of Emily, dragged from her summer romance, feeling guilty over what happened with the dolphin, grieving the loss of Clayton.

Was that the seed that had sprouted into drinking and depression? Or would something else have precipitated her mother’s problems if that hadn’t? Tory would never know.

Adam pressed the lever that lowered the boat into the water, and Tory tried to let the whir of the motor drown out all the voices in her head. The boat settled gently, rocking with the tide, and he shut the motor off. The screech of a laughing gull broke the momentary silence, and she realized she had to try again.

“Adam, I’m sure you have other things you need to do. I can get someone else to run me out to Angel Isle. Or we can go another time.”

His brows lowered in annoyance. “If you’re going, I’m taking you,” he said shortly. “Hop in.”

That seemed to be that. She stepped onto the catamaran’s seat, then the deck, trying to keep her stomach from misbehaving at the rocking movement. She hadn’t been on a boat since her childhood, and she didn’t want to disgrace herself in front of Adam. Although it hardly seemed likely he could regard her as more of a nuisance than he already did.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Jenny’s voice, accompanied by the sound of running feet, stopped his hand as he reached toward the starter.

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