The Pandora Box by Lilly Maytree

Author:Lilly Maytree [Maytree, Lilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction, christian Fiction
ISBN: 9781611162349
Publisher: Harbourlight Books
Published: 2013-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

21

Confessions

“He had the air and address of a gentleman… the sight both amused and dismayed me.” ~ Nellie Bly

With four people, the watch was three and a half hours long. The last person stayed on a half hour to make coffee and conversation until the next was fully awake and alert enough to take over. During the day it was casual, and one could hardly tell who was on or off. But the underlying routine was there. Those who had late night or early morning watches often took a nap in the afternoon. Dee liked the night watch best because it meant no one had to wake her. But so did everyone else, so they rotated.

Tonight, she heard the steady clicking of Marion’s laptop as she passed her cabin, and Starr’s rhythmic snoring as she passed by his before going outside. Up on deck, Hawk was reading one of Starr’s Louis L’Amour novels beneath the red glow of the tiny cockpit light. It was just bright enough to read by but wouldn’t affect night vision. He closed the book and set it aside when he saw her.

“Don’t let me disturb you,” Dee offered, “I’m wide awake.”

“Honey, you’ve been disturbing me all day. Come sit down and let’s talk.”

Considering the emotional roller coaster Dee had been on since the afternoon, she didn’t trust herself to get that close. If he so much as brushed a hand against hers, her feelings would go careening all over the place again. She took refuge in being as casual as he had been all day. “If it’s about the salmon pole,” she began, “I already told Starr I’d replace it.”

“Dee.”

“If it’s another lecture about the safety line, look…” She unhooked one of the neatly coiled lines from where it hung over a stanchion and clipped the free end onto a ring at the belt of her jacket. “I’m all set.” Then, without waiting for a reply, she went over to look at the compass to note their course. She barely had a chance to glance at the green luminous numbers when he reached out for the safety line and pulled her toward him.

“Don’t you think it’s about time we made some adjustments in our arrangement, sugar?” He brought her down on the seat beside him. “Move into my cabin with me, Dee.”

The directness startled her. She had expected him to make an advance, something smooth and flirtatious or a persuasive speech on the pleasures of romance. Nothing as serious as this. Long-term things like that resulted in the kind of entanglements men like him usually did their best to avoid. Now, what was he up to?

It didn’t fit in with her image of him.

But the thought suddenly occurred to her that it might fit his image of her. Hadn’t she told him how important a solemn oath was to her, and she was not one to take such things lightly? Maybe this was his way of appealing to her on her own terms. An honest, genuine marriage, even though he had no intentions for it to last.

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