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“You invited my daddy?” Carrie Anne said, delighted.
“You don’t mind?” Jordan said brusquely to Madison.
She didn’t mind in the least; she and Darryl got along fine. Probably because deep passion—involving love, spite or jealousy—had never gotten in the way of their divorce, as it did with so many people.
But she felt Kyle watching her, and she flushed. Angry at her own reaction, she said coolly, “It will be fine.”
“Jimmy Gates will come down,” Jordan continued, “and a bunch of locals. Your band, Madison, and Trent and Rafe can both make it. And Roger Montgomery, of course. It will be like a big family reunion.”
Right.
Their big, dysfunctional family.
Minus Lainie.
And the other mothers, too, Madison admitted silently to herself. She knew almost nothing about Rafe’s mother, except that she had been sick a long time before she died. Kyle had been just a few years old when his mother was killed in a car accident. Jassy’s mom, at least, was alive and well, in Portland, Oregon, studying the effects of carcinogens on sharks. Jassy had definitely inherited her medical inclinations from her mother.
As to Madison’s half brother Trent’s mother, she’d been a very gentle scientist working to cure the world of the common cold. Her dedication and nobility had apparently appealed to Jordan as a young man, but marriage—and a life in the remote regions of Montana, where she worked—hadn’t been for Jordan. Trent’s mother had passed away quietly of a heart attack just a few years ago. Madison thought that Trent was the lucky one of her father’s offspring. He had his mother’s slow, easy nature. He was hard to rile, and not as passionate, pigheaded or angry as she could be herself.
As Lainie had so often been.
Trent loved literature and had spent most of his formative years with his father. He and Jordan had remained close. He, Jassy, Kaila and Madison met for lunch at least once a month, usually with Rafe. It was a firm date.
Kyle was the only member of their strange “sibling” group who was consistently missing.
And now he was here.
The prodigal son returning. And her father was planning a great feast.
Curious. Well, Jimmy would be here. Maybe she could learn a little bit about what was going on.
Jordan turned to his oldest daughter. “There’s no reason for you not to go out on the boat, Jassy. You’ll be back in plenty of time.” He threw up his hands suddenly, shaking his head and turning to Kyle. “Can’t get this one married off. But she makes a great hostess for the old man,” he added affectionately.
Jassy plucked a grape from a bowl of fruit on the table and made a face at her father. “To some of us, the concept of marriage means monogamy—and those vows, you know? ‘Till death do us part’? Some of us take those things seriously.”
“Every good woman needs a man, Jassy,” her father told her sadly.
“Maybe, Dad, she’s holding out for a good one,” Madison said sweetly.
Jordan sniffed.
“Then again,” Madison added, sipping her coffee thoughtfully, “maybe she’s found her good man but has the good sense to keep him away from us!”
Jordan wagged a finger at Jassy. “There’ll be no running off without my knowledge, young lady,” he told her.
“God forbid!” Jassy said dryly. “I’m only thirty-one.”
“That’s not young, Auntie Jassy,” Carrie Anne said gravely.
Madison groaned, but Jassy only laughed. Jordan snickered, and not even Kyle could hide a smile.
“Carrie Anne, that was a terrible thing to say to your aunt,” Madison chided.
Her daughter looked at her with wide blue eyes. “Why? Being old is great. You can drive and eat all the candy you want and stay up late and everything.”
“Yes, but—” Madison began.
“Maybe we should make our exit now,” Kyle said, rising. “Jass, you coming?”
Jassy hesitated, looking at the jeans and shirt she was wearing. “I don’t have my suit on—”
“There’s plenty of stuff on the boat,” Madison said. She wanted her older sister around. “Come with us.”
“Yeah, why not?” Jassy gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “Bye, Dad.”
Carrie Anne gave Jordan a fierce hug, and Madison brushed the top of his head with a kiss. He told them all to enjoy their day and watched as they started down the dock.
Kyle’s gear was on board, already; Madison threw her bag on board, then handed Carrie Anne off to her sister.
For a moment Madison paused on the deck, startled by the sudden sensation of unease that spilled through her. Despite the penetrating heat of the rising sun, she shivered.
It’s Kyle. After all these years, it’s Kyle. I should be staying away from him.
She gave herself a shake, and the feeling was gone, as if it had never been.
Kyle released the dock ties and revved the motor, and they eased out onto the open water.
4
Once past the buoys, Kyle released the throttle, and they motored at a high speed east-northeast. Jassy changed, which Madison checked out the contents of the galley; then she and her sister and daughter took juice in plastic bottles out onto the front deck and stretched out in the sun. They lay in quiet for a while as the boat slashed through the water. The motor drummed, and the sound of the waves against the hull was lulling.
Jassy rolled halfway over. “It’s good to have him home, huh?”
“Sure,” Madison murmured, flopping over to tan her back. She heard Kyle cut the motor.
“I like him,” Carrie Anne volunteered. She sat up restlessly. There was only so much simple sunbathing a five-year-old was going to enjoy. “Mommy, can we do something?”
“We are doing something,” Madison teased. “We’re out on the boat.”
“No, can we do something on the boat?”
Madison didn’t have to answer. She’d brought a bagful of things to do for Carrie Anne; she just needed to gather the energy to roll over and find a few of them.
“Want to help me fish?” Kyle asked. He’d dropped the anchor and leaped from the small wheel-house to the deck. Madison was glad of her own dark glasses then. She couldn’t resist an assessment. Kyle looked good. Fit in every way. Broad-shouldered, deeply tanned, sleek, well muscled. She reminded herself that she lived in the Sunshine State—it was filled with hard bodies, scantily clad and spread out on a multitude of beaches. She modeled for part of her living, sharing her time with some of the best male bodies known to man.
His was better.
Real.
Mature.
Stop, Madison, she warned herself.
Despite herself, she imagined him completely naked. She blushed, and was glad of sun and her glasses once again. Carrie Anne, all innocence, was able to look up at Kyle with pure childish pleasure.
“I can help you fish? Really?”
“Really. If you’d like.”
“Sure!” Carrie Anne said excitedly, her eyes alight. “Can I, Mommy?”
“Maybe Mommy will fish, too,” Kyle suggested.
“Mommy is going to dive over the side in a bit. You two fish,” Madison said.
“Jassy?” Kyle asked invitingly.
Jassy stretched and yawned. “Maybe. In a few minutes.”
Kyle took Carrie Anne aft. Madison could vaguely hear the deep drone of his voice and her daughter’s happy laughter in return.
“Five. It’s a great age,” Madison murmured.
“Umm. It’s before a woman finds out about men,” Jassy replied dryly.
Surprised, Madison leaned up and looked at her sister. She smiled. “So what is up with you?”
Jassy shrugged. “Nothing new.”
“You seeing someone?”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“Tell me!”
“Umm…give me a little time, huh? I want to make sure it’s not like a…”
“One-night stand?”
“Well, ‘three-date deal’ would be more like it.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“Madison!”
“Fair question.”
“None of your business.”
“If you can’t tell a sister, who can you tell?”
“It’s private.”
“Have you or haven’t you?”
“Okay. Once. Just once.”
“Whoa! So it’s serious.”
“I still need to be careful. I have…reasons. God, he’s charming, though!”
“But who is he?”
“Not yet! And don’t you dare say a word to anyone, promise?”
“What can I say? You haven’t told me anything.”
“Please, I don’t want anyone even knowing there’s a man in my life.”
“All right, all right! But now I’m going to be eaten alive with curiosity.”
“Eaten alive with curiosity! Now that will lead to an interesting autopsy!” Jassy said.
“Ugh.”
“It’s a fascinating science,” Jassy said seriously.
“There’s so very much you can learn from the dead when they can’t speak for themselves anymore.”
“I’ll grant you that.” Madison leaped to her feet. “But look around you. The sun, the sea—it’s a great day. Take a break from the dead, huh? I’m going in. You coming?”
“Yeah,” Jassy agreed. “I’ll be along in a few minutes.”
Madison dived in.
Kyle had brought them to anchor just off a sandbar. They were near a few of the smaller reefs, but even having been away for a while, Kyle would have been careful to anchor far from a coral shelf—anchors damaged the precious living coral. They had remained far to the southwest, avoiding John Pennecamp State Park, an underwater park that protected the reefs and the sea creatures living there. There was no fishing out of Pennecamp, though it was a beautiful place to dive.
Madison swam down, estimating that they were in about twenty-five to thirty feet of water. The water was perfect, warm near the surface, cool and pleasant beneath. She shot down deep, touched and stirred up the sand, then kicked to the surface again. She looked to the boat, ready to shout to Jassy to come join her.
But Jassy had moved aft. Madison heard her laughter, Kyle’s deep voice, Carrie Anne’s shrill giggle of delight over something.
Her invitation to her sister died on her lips.
“How’s it going, guys?” she called instead, keeping her distance. The fishing lines would run with the current, and she definitely wasn’t in the mood to catch a hook.
“Mommy!” Carrie Anne cried happily, running to the portside rail to stare down at her. “I just caught a red snapping!”
“Snapper,” Madison corrected automatically. “Great!”
