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He didn’t want any interference from the Windom side of the lake.
Following his grid plan, he slowed when he came to the boundary of the last search area.
“What the hell?” he muttered.
Another boat was three hundred yards away, anchored next to a huge slab of granite that jutted from the water like a monolith to some ancient god. Angling around, he glided over to it.
“Hey,” he called.
His voice echoed off the cliffs at the edge of the lake and came back to him. With an irritated curse, he pulled alongside the slab. He tossed the anchor out, then tied a line around a handy boulder. He climbed out of the boat and walked along the granite slab to the other boat that had a small motor mounted on the recently replaced transom.
Looking over the old dory for clues to its ownership, he spied a cooler and a backpack. Sneakers and socks lay on the bottom of the fishing boat. A long-sleeved shirt lay on the plank seat. They were on the small side.
Probably a boy exploring on his own. What was Kate’s stepson’s name? Jeremy. Yeah. Jeremy Fargo. But he’d never seen the boy out without other members of his family.
Where the hell was the person?
Bubbles preceded an answer to that question. A head broke the surface of the water. Through a snorkeling mask, Megan Windom’s eyes locked with his.
She removed the mask. “Speak of the devil,” she murmured, “and look who’s here.”
“What are you doing?” he asked, ignoring her snide attempt at humor.
Without answering, she kicked her way over to the slab, then tossed the mask and flippers out before climbing up on the granite. “Mm, this feels good. The rock is warm.”
Heat pulsed through him when she stretched out and closed her eyes against the sun. She was dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, high-cut on the sides. Her legs went from here to forever, long, lean and shapely. There were faint tan lines at her ankles and high on her thighs.
The heat became an inferno. He was aware of the tight discomfort of his swim trunks under his jeans. The reaction increased his annoyance.
“You didn’t answer the question.”
She opened her eyes a slit. Shading them with an arm over her forehead, she studied him for a long minute. “I’m doing what you suspect,” she said coolly.
He wondered if that was true. Without admitting anything, he drawled, “Then we’re both out for a leisurely cruise of the lake.”
“Right. The way you’ve been all week.”
So she’d known of his prior trips. Damn. Looking into her frank and somewhat hostile gaze, he made an instant decision. “I’m looking for the wreck.”
“The sailboat?” she said with only a slight questioning inflection.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “To reclaim what once belonged to my family. I’m thinking of restoring it.”
“You want to study it,” she corrected, her tone as icy as a winter wind off the mountains. Her gaze challenged him to deny it.
There was an honesty in her that he hadn’t expected. It forced him to answer just as candidly. “The thought had occurred to me.”
Instead of objecting, she became introspective. “Jess is interested, too. Bunny was his sister.”
“Jimmy was my father. The boat was his.” He figured that gave him first priority.
“Bunny was my mother.”
“There is that,” he conceded.
She was silent for a long minute, then said, “Okay, I’ll work with you.”
This was a development he hadn’t foreseen. He didn’t want any interference. “No way.”
“It’ll save you time.”
“How?”
She smiled. “I know where the wreck is.”
Glancing at the water, he returned the smile. “So do I…now. What brings you out here at this late date?”
“Curiosity,” she said easily. “I want to see whatever there is to see.”
He realized the same feelings drove her that drove him. But to work together? It was a volatile mixture in more ways than one.
“Why are you searching now?” she asked. “It’s been a long time.”
He decided on maximum honesty. “Your grandfather is gone. My mother’s on a trip. I figured no one else would care or object to my prowling around.”
“What are your plans?”
“Do some diving, locate the wreck and see what the chances are of bringing it up. The water is deepest here, around a hundred feet.”
“The boat is on a shelf. It didn’t go to the bottom.”
That was news to him. He gave her a sharp perusal. “How do you know so much?”
“Jess and I studied all the reports. The sheriff’s divers took some photos. Shannon got us copies.”
“I see.”
What he saw was more complications. He hadn’t planned on anyone else horning in. He wished he hadn’t been quite so open with his attractive neighbor. Working with her, if she really did insist on participating, was another twist he didn’t need in his life.
“I’ll get the photos to you.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“I want to look the wreckage over first. Before we bring in anyone else.”
Megan didn’t tell him she already had the information, or that Jess already knew about Kyle’s suspicious fishing trips. “Compressors are dangerous for a lone diver. You can inhale carbon monoxide and pass out, if that’s how you’re going to get air while you’re underwater.”
He was surprised at her knowledge. “I have air tanks. I used to dive a lot during my college days.”
“Oh.”
“I’d rather not broadcast what we’re doing until we know more about it. I don’t want my mother upset if I can prevent it.”
“Were you going to hide the sailboat, assuming you bring it up?”
“We still have the boathouse. I’d put it there until I had a chance to talk to her upon her return. I don’t want to shock her…or the community,” he added, warning her that he wanted to keep the quest strictly between them.
“I see.” She stood and went to the dory. After pulling on the shirt, she turned to him. “You’ll need a wet suit to stay down any length of time. The water’s too cold to stay in for more than fifteen or twenty minutes.”
He’d figured he could stand the cold long enough to do what he needed. However he had a buddy in California who would ship him a wet suit, if he needed one.
“So, do we work together and pool resources?” she asked.
He couldn’t figure out an argument to dissuade her. There was also the fact that she could observe his every move. Stalling for time, he nodded. “Why not?” he said.
But if he moved fast, he could get what he wanted and get the sailboat to the boathouse before she realized what was happening.
“You’ll call me when you come out here?”
Suspicion was rampant in her expression. He smiled as guilelessly as he could. “Sure. You’re right. Two can work faster than one.” He realized he’d been too cheerful when she frowned in distrust.
“I can hear any boat coming this way,” she warned.
“So can I.” But only if the wind was in the right direction off the lake. She had the advantage of him on that point. Damnation.
Nodding, she untied the dory, tossed the line into the boat and hopped in with a push to start her off. In a minute she had the motor running and was headed toward home.
Releasing a deep breath, he stripped to his trunks and dived into the chilling water. That took care of the rampant hormones that plagued him in her presence.
He made it down to the wreck in a free dive, but couldn’t stay long. She was right; the cold was mind-numbing, too dangerous for a lone diver to attempt.
So, he’d work with her as long as he had to…but whatever they found, the sailboat was his.
On Monday evening, after her last riding class was over and the chores were finished, Megan debated with herself, then picked up the telephone and dialed Kyle’s number, after looking it up in the book. Her scalp prickled as she waited for the call to go through.
He answered on the first ring.
“This is Megan. I have the police photos and the file information, if you’re interested in seeing them,” she told him in formal tones. She was irritated with him.
There was silence on the other end.
“Hello?”
“I’m here,” he said in that smooth voice that reminded her of summer breezes and long summer nights. “That was fast. I thought we’d agreed not to let others in on what we were doing until we knew more.”
“I believe in acting once a decision has been made. As you apparently do, too. I saw you on the lake earlier.”
Another pause. “I see.”
“Did you do any diving this afternoon?” She wanted to let him know she was keeping an eye on him.
“No.” His tone was a chill wind off the mountain. “I was checking out the rocks in the vicinity.”
“I called you when I got information. I expect the same courtesy from you.” She was cool and crisp, businesslike.
“Yeah, sure.” He sounded distracted.
Maybe he had someone there with him and was impatient to get back to her. Feeling slightly guilty for bothering him and further irritated by the fact, she asked, “Do you want to come over tomorrow and see the photos?”
“No. I want to see them tonight. I’ll be right over.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. The moon is bright. I’ll be over in the boat in about ten minutes.”
He didn’t ask if it was a convenient time for her. He just assumed it would be okay and hung up.
Fuming, she put on some decaf coffee. Although she wasn’t feeling particularly neighborly, she still had about twenty pastry swans stuffed with whipped cream in the refrigerator. She’d offer him dessert.
After kicking off her shoes, Megan flicked on the dock lights, then sat at the kitchen table and waited. When she heard the sounds of an engine, blood pounded with unexpected ferocity throughout her body.
That was another concern to add to all the others. Nothing good had ever come of a Windom getting mixed up with a Herriot.
Chapter Four
M egan answered the door on the first knock. “Come on in. I’ve made coffee. Would you like some cream-puff swans?”
“Like those at the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I forgot about dinner.”
That information put her into a dilemma. As a good neighbor, she should offer him something to eat. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to cook for him. With a grimace, she asked if he’d like some leftovers. “There’s about a dozen of those little sandwiches left.”
“Any with the ham spread?”
“Yes.”
She placed all the remainders on a platter on the kitchen table, put out a plate, pointed out the microwave oven and told him to help himself.
He did. When he’d finished, the finger sandwiches were gone, along with the p?tе, stuffed olives and some kind of veal loaf, then he polished off the last of the cream-filled swans. He finished off the glass of milk she’d also offered.
