“Dig in.” Marion smiled at me and I was struck by her genuine niceness. She wasn’t playing hostess. She really didn’t mind that I had crashed their breakfast.
“Thanks.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I didn’t remember chewing the bacon, but it was gone in seconds.
“Where’s Meena? Out swimming?” Ben took a sip of his coffee and something passed between the adults. Thankfully, I had all that delicious food to keep my attention, so I didn’t look around the house like a dumbass when they mentioned their daughter. Covertly, I let my eyes scan the little kitchen and took in the pictures taped to the fridge and the seashells that lined the tops of the cabinets.
“She was so tired, I think she forgot to set her alarm clock.” Marion set a plate in front of Ben just as a door slammed open somewhere in the back of the house.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Meena came barreling down the hallway into the kitchen, and I stuffed a big forkful of eggs into my mouth. Hopefully my mouth hadn’t hung open for too long. She was wearing a tiny tank top that hugged her braless body and showed off her toned stomach. If her parents knew what I was thinking right that moment, they would have skewered me with the spatula.
“What is he doing here?” Her voice cut through the room and you could hear a pin drop. She skidded to a stop and crossed her arms over her chest. I swallowed my eggs and saluted her with my fork. I decided I liked seeing her off-balance. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were wide with shock. Even if we got off on the wrong foot, her reaction seemed a bit on the excessive side. Maybe she just wasn’t a morning person.
“Meena!”
“He got here early, so I figured he might have missed breakfast.” Her parents talked over each other, but there was no mistaking their shock at her behavior. There went the morning person theory. Looks like it’s only me that gets the cold shoulder. Great. If I couldn’t spend some time with her pressed against me in that little toolshed, I’d settle for keeping her angry. I liked the way her eyes snapped.
“Is this your seat?” I wiggled on the stool and almost smiled when her eyebrows drew together and she took a deep breath. Yep, I liked seeing her pissed off.
“It is, but I don’t have time for breakfast.” She turned on her heel, giving me a nice view of her ass as she stalked back down the hallway. “Mom, toast me a bagel, would you?” She slammed her door shut and I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“You sure did manage to piss her off, huh?” Ben elbowed me and smiled. “She’s usually a lot calmer.”
“We got off on the wrong foot.” I tore my toast in half and shoved a piece in my mouth. “I didn’t realize she was your daughter.”
“Uh huh. What did you say?” Marion leaned a hip against the counter and sipped from her coffee cup.
“I sort of hinted that I wasn’t happy about having to do community service.” I tried to find a diplomatic approach.
“I heard you thought this place was a real hellhole.” Marion looked at me over her coffee cup and I almost choked.
“Er, something like that. But mainly I was just complaining about giving up my summer.”
“Hellhole?” Ben looked at me and frowned. “That would certainly piss Meen off.” He chewed on a piece of bacon thoughtfully. “What exactly is so hellish?”
“Nothing.” I pushed back from the counter and took my empty plate to the sink. After rinsing the plate, I looked around for the dishwasher, but didn’t see one.
“Leave it. I’ll clean it with the others.” Marion’s eyes were thoughtful, and I felt like squirming.
“No, no. You don’t get off that easy.” Ben looked at me before standing up and kissing Marion on the cheek. He motioned for me to follow him out the door.
“Thank you, Marion.” That had been the best breakfast I’d had in years.
“Any time, Blake.” If it had been anyone else, I would have dismissed her words. But something about Marion and Ben put me at ease.
“I take it that your first impression of Flukes wasn’t that great.” Ben stuck his feet into his sandals and headed down the path toward the employee area. I kicked my feet into my shoes and hurried after him.
“Well…” I let my voice trail off. My first impression hadn’t been good. My second impression hadn’t really required any thinking. At least not with my brain. Which is why I wasn’t on Meena’s favorite-person list.
“It’s okay.” Ben sighed. He stopped for a minute and surveyed the sanctuary. “That’s actually what I’m going to have you guys working on. The place needs to be spiffed up. We’ve spent so much time and money on caring for the animals the other stuff fell through the cracks.”
“I can understand how that would happen.” The sanctuary sat in a natural cove that had been exaggerated by dredging. Roped-off areas and wooden boardwalks marked swim areas that housed dolphins. There was a bird house not far from the toolshed and a building that housed tanks and smaller animals.
“You’ve probably picked up some things from your father. What would you suggest focusing on? You’ve had a week to check things out.” Ben surprised me when he waited for an answer. He was really asking me.
“I don’t think I inherited the family business trait.” I was pretty sure I hadn’t inherited anything from my father.
“C’mon, Blake. You’re smart. I can see it and hear it. So, tell me the first thought that pops into your head.”
“A new sign.” I don’t know why I was actually answering him. “Not just a repaint, but a whole new logo. You need something more modern, something that won’t get lost in the crowd. Something bright and catchy, but welcoming. There are a bunch of dolphin-swims and you need to stand out.” I thought about it for a minute. This was an interesting puzzle. What would work? “Maybe a cool font that twists up into a dolphin tail, or shimmers like water.”
“That’s a good point. What else?” Ben turned to face me, intent on what I was saying. My father never asked me questions, just issued orders or demanded information. There was never a give-and-take conversation.
“Landscaping. Freshen everything up, make it look inviting and exciting. There isn’t anything tourists like better than to take pictures.” I looked at Ben, who was nodding his head. “Maybe hold a big event or something to announce that everything has been revamped.” I stopped there, because I had no idea what kind of money they had for this type of stuff.
Looking away from the man in front of me, I caught a glimpse of Meena walking down from the house and froze. I swear to God, my heart actually stuttered. Her hair was braided and pulled to one side under a little hat and her tiny shorts shouldn’t be legal, not even in the Caribbean where people were just as likely to show up in a bathing suit. The old shirt she wore hung off one shoulder, revealing her bronzed skin. It was a mouth-watering image and I looked away. The last thing I needed was to be thrown out of the program by her father for ogling his daughter.
“Meena, come here.” Ben waved her over and I fought a groan. Shoveling fish crap suddenly sounded appealing. At least then I wouldn’t be distracted or say something stupid.
“Hey, Dad. Did you already check on Mitch?” Meena stepped onto the little platform we were standing on and hooked her fingers into her back pockets.
“Not yet. Listen, Blake had some good ideas on how to get us into shape. The cruise-line people are going to be coming by in a few weeks, and I want us to have our best foot forward.”
Meena’s eyes darted to me as her father talked and I shrugged. It wasn’t like I’d suggested anything for the hell of it; he had asked me, but she was going to think I had ragged on her home again.
“So, I think you two should work on designing a new logo and maybe you can show him a little bit about how the sanctuary works. It might give him some more ideas.” Ben looked at me and cocked his head to the side. “That okay with you, Blake? I remember seeing your name on some of the pieces when the high school had their art showing last year. You could always come scrub tanks and help lay stepping stones instead.”
“No, I’d like to learn a little more about the sanctuary.” The man was sneaky. He had known I did graphic design and painted before even asking me. Ben smiled and I could see he was feeling a bit smug.
“All right! Get to it, then!” He clapped his hands and turned around, heading toward the toolshed.
I looked back at Meena, who was staring at me. Her face looked confused and nervous. My smile was immediate.
Chapter Four
- Meena -
As soon as his mischievous smile showed up, I knew I was in trouble. My heart was beating too quickly and my stomach did little flips.
“C’mon. I’ve got to feed Mitch and check on Jallia before we do anything else.” I walked past him and headed for the last pen. This enclosure was much larger and had running lines to the other pools. The sanctuary was set up so that the animals were kept in nature as much as possible. Instead of large tanks, our protected cove served as their home. Rope fences separated the different areas and the animals were actually living in the sea they were from.
“So you draw?” If I was going to have to work with him, I might as well try to be nice.
“A little.” He shrugged.
“I would have pegged you for the sports type.” My mind went over the muscles in his arms and delicious washboard abs.
“Why do you say that?” I could hear the smile in his voice. The cocky jerk knew exactly why I had thought that.
“Didn’t seem smart enough to do anything else.” I didn’t look back at him, just kept walking.
“Oh, burn.” He laughed. “I guess I had that coming. I’m sorry about what I said the other day. I can see you guys put a lot of love into this place.”
“Thanks.” I looked back at him and smiled. I liked that he had laughed instead of being offended. It was also nice to hear him finally apologize. “We spend the majority of our money directly on animal care, but we really do need to start putting more effort into the other stuff.”
“And that’s why you got the community-service team?” Blake asked.
“Yeah.” I jumped over a large hose. “We’re up for inspection with the shoreside excursion company. If we can land the contract, it would mean a lot more money for the animals.”
I turned down one of the small boardwalks meant for staff and grabbed some fish from the food building. Blake stayed right on my heels and I almost tripped trying to get a little further ahead. His warm hand caught my shoulder and steadied me. Hot waves rolled over my body, and I took a moment to catch my breath. It was the most unexpected reaction to an honest touch I had ever experienced. My eyes darted to where his fingers touched my bare skin and then to his face.
His mouth was opened slightly, and he looked a little confused. Maybe he was just constipated. I mentally shook myself. Surely he hadn’t felt what I had. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He looked almost as if he was in pain when he finally let go. The absence of his warm hand on my shoulder felt colder than it should have in the bright Caribbean sun.
“Thanks.” I turned away and headed back to Mitch and the others.
I whistled when I got closer, not that I needed to. Mitch always knew when I was nearby. I pushed open the gate, hopped down onto the floating platform, and dangled my legs in the water. The water felt wonderful against my skin, and I sighed happily. Mitch, Jallia, and Stormy quickly came for their breakfast. Blake climbed down the short ladder and sat next to me. His shoulders were relaxed and he seemed interested in the animals.
Mitch swam straight for him and shoved her nose onto his lap. I could feel her checking him out, trying to see if she liked him or not. It was the weirdest display she had put on with a stranger. She was a friendly dolphin, but she wasn’t one to crawl in their lap and give them the dolphin version of the third degree. When she let me know she approved, I felt confused. Approved of what exactly?
“He’s friendly.” Blake’s voice was amused and he automatically scratched under Mitch’s chin. She squee’d loudly and spit water at his face.
“Mitch is a girl.” He held his hands up to ward off her wet assault and I couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t seem irritated by Mitch’s antics, just amused and wet.
“My apologies, Mitch. I did think it was weird that you were so pretty if you were a boy.” Blake reached out a hand and scratched her chin again. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes. “Did you tell her to do that?”
“What? Oh, the splashing? No. She’s just sensitive.” Jallia came over and rolled onto her side. I traced my hands over her belly and cooed under my breath. The baby was healthy and happy. He was going to be a big boy. “Not long now, Jallia. You’re going to have your son out and playing in no time.”
Mitch nosed her mother for a minute, checking the baby as well. After a minute, Stormy started making noises about being hungry and I laughed. I set the fish bucket between Blake and Ime. “Here, feed them, but don’t let them knock the bucket over.” Mitch rose out of the water and flopped onto the decking between us. “Mitch! You got my clothes wet!” I yanked the bucket out of the way and pushed Mitch back into the water.
Stormy darted through the water and opened his mouth for Blake to deposit some fish. It didn’t take us long to empty the bucket and I enjoyed answering Blake’s questions. He was smarter than I had given him credit for.
“Are these markings from the other dolphins? They look like teeth scrapes.” Blake leaned close to Stormy and peered at the teeth rakings on his melon.
“Yeah. Some of them are from playing, roughhousing. Some of them are from being irritating. He is a nosy guy.” I ran my hand over Stormy’s head. “Most of them fade pretty quickly. They shed their skin every two hours.”
“Wow. Didn’t know that.” Blake looked down at the water and frowned. “So my legs are covered in dead dolphin skin. Nice.”
He was so engrossed at looking at his legs in disgust, I couldn’t help myself. It was the perfect chance to get payback for his insulting Flukes. I shoved his shoulder, pushing him into the water. “Now it’s all over you.”
Mitch laughed her dolphin laugh, but Jallia scolded me. When Blake came up sputtering, he glared at me. Mitch spit water at him, but he ignored her and swam to the platform. I thought he was going to sulk until he got closer. He looked up at the last minute and his mischievous smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. His brown eyes twinkled and I knew I was in trouble. I tried to get up and out of the way quickly, but he was faster than I thought. His strong hand closed around my ankle and dragged me into the water. Mitch darted down to me and I grabbed onto her dorsal fin. She surfaced quickly and scolded Blake with sharp whistles.