Sail Away

“We needed a distraction. I saw Adam Drake and knew he was here to stir up trouble and then that reporter woman, Judith Marx…” He shuddered. “She can be a barracuda.”

“Then why didn’t you confront Drake?” she asked, astounded.

Her father shook his head. “Only cause a worse scene. Anyway, I saw Drake and started to follow him into the banquet room when Senator Mann came up to me. Then the reporter started snooping around and I put two and two together. Instead of a big spread about opening this hotel, tomorrow’s edition of the Observer would probably just bring up Adam Drake and all the problems we had getting this damned hotel built! Believe me, Marnie, we don’t need any more bad press.”

“Great. So I became the distraction,” she whispered, exasperated beyond words.

“When Kent talked to me earlier I wasn’t for it, but then I saw Drake and the reporter and I gave him the high-sign to go ahead and announce your wedding plans.”

“You’re incredible,” she whispered in exasperation. “Absolutely incredible!” Hooking a thumb to her chest, she added, “We’re talking about my life, Dad. Mine!”

“Marnie, you have to understand—”

“Oh, I do, Dad,” she said, feeling sad as she realized that the company meant more to him than her happiness. “You can give Kent a message for me. Tell him that I’m taking the Marnie Lee. If he throws a fit, remind him that half of it is mine. So I’m taking my half—too bad his half is attached.”

“Wait a minute—at least tell me where you’re going.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“You don’t know?” he repeated. “You can’t just leave without a plan.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. The next few days I’m going to figure out just what I want to do with my life. Take some time to think about it, then, when I get back, I’ll let you know. Goodbye, Dad.” More determined than ever, she headed out of the suite and down a short hall to a private elevator, which took her to the underground parking lot. From there it was only a few steps to the back of the building.

Outside, the wind ripped through the trees and the black water of the sound moved in restless waves. Marnie followed the path beneath the line of dancing Japanese lanterns.

Reaching the dock, she spotted the Marnie Lee and smiled faintly. Wouldn’t Kent be tied in knots when he learned she’d taken the boat he’d come to think of as his? Kent had used the boat for the past six months. He’d be shocked to his toes when he found out she had taken command of the sleek vessel Victor had given them as an engagement present. Let him stew in his own juices—September wedding indeed!

Tossing her suitcase on board, she felt better than she had all night. She unleashed the moorings holding the Marnie Lee fast then climbed to the helm. The engine started on the first try, the dark waters of the sound churning white. Biting her lip, Marnie maneuvered the craft around the other vessels and toward the open waters of Puget Sound.

She decided to head to Orcas Island.

There was an old resort on the island, a resort her father planned to refurbish, and the old hotel would be the perfect place to camp out the first night. From there she would decide what she was going to do with the rest of her life. She couldn’t be Victor Montgomery’s baby forever. Nor did she want to be Kent Simms’s wife. That left Marnie Montgomery, a single woman who had dutifully done everything her father had requested, from college to her career at Montgomery Inns.

Marnie let out the throttle and the boat sped forward, the prow knifing through the choppy dark water, the wind tearing at her hair. She let out a whoop of pure joy!

For the first time in her twenty-four years, she felt completely free. She closed her eyes and felt the soft caress of the wind on her face.

The next few weeks were going to change the course of her life forever!

Chapter Three

Adam tried to move his cramped muscles. He’d been hiding in a storage closet in the hold for forty-five minutes, according to the luminous face of his watch, and for the last fifteen the boat had been moving, cutting through the water at a pretty good clip. The Marnie Lee pitched and rolled as they traveled, and Adam guessed that the storm was stronger than the weather service had predicted. The force of the gale didn’t seem to deter Simms though; he never turned about.

Good. The farther they were from Port Stanton, the better. Adam couldn’t wait to see the look on Simms’s face when he appeared on deck.

Adam gave Kent another fifteen minutes, then eased himself from the tight quarters. He’d stashed an overnight bag in the galley because he’d learned over the past year to be prepared for anything. He didn’t know how long he’d be stuck with Kent—he hadn’t worked that out yet. A lot depended upon Simms’s attitude and what kind of deal they could cut, because, Adam was sure that Kent Simms was up to his eyeballs in the embezzling mess. There was a chance that Simms hadn’t been involved, but the probability was slim. From his overreaction at the sight of Adam, to his insistence that security be called, Simms looked guilty as hell. Yep, Simms was hiding something. Adam just had to find out what it was and how it was tied to the embezzling.

He glanced up the stairs, felt the lash of rain and wind and decided to give Kent a couple more minutes while he changed. Tossing his bag into an empty cabin, he stripped out of his tux and slid into jeans, flannel shirt, sweater and high-tops. Finally he flung a black poncho over his head.

Using sea legs he’d acquired in the navy, he climbed up two flights to the bridge and twisted his lips into a grim smile at the thought of scaring the living hell out of Simms. If nothing else, Simms’s reaction would be worth the rocky ride.

Flinging open the door of the bridge, he stopped stock-still. A blast of wind caught the door, ripping the door latch from his hands. Papers rustled and caught in the icy breeze. Marnie Montgomery, planted at the helm, nearly jumped out of her skin. With a scream that died in her throat, she whipped around and fumbled in the pocket of her jacket, presumably for a weapon. The helm spun crazily and the boat shuddered.

“Drake? What the hell are you doing here?” she cried, her face ashen, her hair blowing in the wind as she scrabbled to regain control of the spinning wheel. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

He was as stunned as she. Marnie? Here? At the wheel in the middle of a gale-force storm? The wind was fierce, the waters of the sound rolling and unpredictable.

“I asked you a question,” she said, her blue eyes dark as the angry ocean. “And close the door, for crying out loud!”

Damn his rotten luck! Adam caught hold of the latch and pulled the door shut behind him. The door slammed tight, shutting out the wind and rain.

Papers stopped blowing, and Marnie’s blond hair fell back to her shoulders. “Well?”

His entire plan—spontaneous as it had been—depended upon getting Simms alone. Now he had to deal with Simms’s angry lover. Terrific! Just damned terrific. “I’m looking for Kent Simms.”

“Here?” she said, laughing bitterly. The disgusted look she sent him accused him of being out of his mind. “You expected him on board?”

“Isn’t he?”

“Not if he has a brain,” she muttered. Scowling, she added,

“I think Kent’s back at the hotel, living the good life, kissing up to my father.” She turned her concentration back to the sea.

So she was still furious. Good. Her anger might work to his advantage, Adam thought. Now that he was on this pitching boat in the middle of a storm, he had to improvise his hasty plan, and though he wasn’t quite sure how, he knew instinctively that any rift between Simms and Victor Montgomery’s daughter was a good sign.

“What do you want with him?” she asked, never taking her eyes off the boat’s prow.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?” Her voice was casual, but he noticed a glint of suspicion in her gaze as she hazarded a quick glance in his direction. “No, don’t tell me. Let me guess. This has something to do with the reason you crashed the party, doesn’t it?”

When he didn’t immediately respond, she plunged ahead. “And since I don’t think you’re interested in filling out a job application for Montgomery Inns, you must want to talk about the money that’s missing from the Puget West project. Right?”

It galled him the way she talked about the embezzlement so flippantly. He’d gone through hell in the past twelve months, and she acted as though it didn’t really matter, just a little inconvenience.

She wasn’t finished. “If you want my advice—”

“I didn’t come here for—”

“You should just get on with your life.”

“I’m not here for advice.”

“Then you shouldn’t have stowed away on my boat.”

Her boat? “The Marnie Lee belongs to Simms.”

She smiled at that, and her face softened a little. Even under the harsh lights of the bridge, with her hair still wet and her face without a trace of makeup, she was a beautiful woman. “Half of the Marnie Lee belongs to Kent. Unfortunately for him, his half is nailed to my half and I decided to leave the party early.”