Cabin Fever

“Of course, dear—” Estelle began, but Becky and the kids were already on their way to find Laura.

Part of her had wanted to tell Estelle that she agreed with her about Ryder. She would never find someone to replace him, and wouldn’t want to try. But deep down in her heart, she hoped that someday she would be lucky enough to find love again. She hadn’t realized that until she’d heard Estelle’s presumption that she’d never be interested in romance again.

However, Becky refused to allow Estelle to get the best of her in front of the kids. She wanted them to have a good relationship with their grandmother, no matter what Becky personally thought of the woman.

And at that precise moment, it wasn’t anything good.

CHAPTER FOUR

“LAURA, WAIT UP,” Becky called as she made her way through the crowded main lounge, bumping into a woman who didn’t even stop to let her apologize. It was hard moving quickly because Sarah had wanted to be carried so she could play with the necklace around Becky’s neck. At seven, Sarah was too big to be carried, but Becky knew she was dead tired.

Sarah and Connor chimed in for Laura to stop, and she finally did, but Becky could see the torment in her eyes.

Sliding down from her mom’s embrace, Sarah ran to meet Laura.

“She’s my grandmother and I love her, but sometimes she just makes me so mad I want to scream,” Laura said, with the emphasis on “scream.”

“You can scream if you want, Laura,” Sarah told her. “This room is so big I don’t think anyone would notice.”

Becky looked around. Sarah was right. They were standing in the Court of Dreams—a huge space with Doric columns and a sweeping staircase with ornate gold railings and marble steps. A fiber-optic chandelier hung in the center and gave the appearance of suspended stars. Cherubs and clouds were painted on the ceiling and Renaissance-style pink, white and gold upholstered chairs and sofas were arranged in small groupings for passengers to sit and enjoy the opulent space.

What Becky really liked were the huge statues of Artemis, Athena, and Poseidon that flanked a black concert grand piano where a woman, dressed in a flowing pink floral dress, was getting ready to serenade everyone.

The place was fabulous and reminded Becky that Estelle had, in fact, paid for this entire trip. She needed to find a way to get along with the woman for a week.

“Let’s sit down and talk,” Becky urged.

“Thanks, Aunt Becky, but I want to go back to my room,” Laura said.

“Okay, but before you do, can I just say one thing?”

Laura’s eyes were beginning to water.

“You’re a bright and beautiful young woman, and when the time comes, any guy would be lucky if you even smiled his way.”

“Thanks.” A tear slid down Laura’s cheek. “But I know that Gram and my mom think I’m fat, and dumb, and no one will ever love me like Uncle Ryder loved you.”

“He loved you, too, honey. And he wouldn’t want you talking like this.”

“I love you,” Sarah said, looking up all doe-eyed at Laura. “And Connor loves you, and so does Mommy.”

Laura wiped her tears away and smiled at Sarah. “I love you guys, too.”

“Then don’t be sad, Laura. The moon goddess wouldn’t want any of us to be sad. She’s happy ’cause we found her pendant, and she wants us to be happy with her.” Sarah took Laura’s hand in hers.

Connor handed Laura a tissue, then slipped away and sat on a chair by himself.

Laura wiped her tears and squatted eye level with Sarah. “Tell you what, hot stuff. You catch me tomorrow morning and I’ll be my usual happy self. We’ll spend the entire morning in the pool. I hear there are some great activities and super instructors. I’ll come and get you guys early.”

“Before the sun comes up?” Sarah asked.

“Not quite that early, but somewhere around eight-thirty if that’s all right with your mom.” Laura looked up at Becky.

“Sounds perfect,” Becky said, thinking she could use the time alone to explore the ship so she could learn her way around all the decks.

“It’s a date,” Sarah agreed.

“You betcha,” Laura confirmed, giving Sarah a tight hug. Then she stood and walked toward the glass elevators.

She could tell her niece didn’t like having the kids see her so upset. When the little family of three finally walked up to the same bank of glass elevators Laura had taken and Connor pushed the button, Becky thought about her strong urge to lash out at Estelle. She was thankful that she hadn’t, especially in front of the kids. After all, even though the woman was crass and unfeeling, she still deserved Becky’s respect…didn’t she?

TRACY HAD PERSONALLY checked out everyone who had been in that bingo room, then scoped out the casino and the main lounge, but that pendant was nowhere to be found. She reasoned that perhaps no one had actually found it, and considering that half the ship hadn’t even gotten their luggage yet, most of the passengers probably hadn’t stayed in their cabins long enough to start looking for the necklace.

Still, she had hoped against hope that she would be lucky to spot the damn thing dangling from someone’s neck. The brochure had promised so many perks that anyone who found it would be sporting it around like some sort of trophy.

Tracy swiped the card on her cabin door and walked inside. The room was dark. Her roommate was probably still down at the crew’s bar and on her forth or fifth martini. Tracy had learned a long time ago that if you wanted to thrive in Vegas you didn’t gamble or drink. The same thing went for working a cruise ship. Drinks cost money, not to mention the hangover the next morning when you had to be up to monitor a shuffleboard game or to help somebody climb a rubber mountain. Tracy had danced at the Stardust for five years in Vegas before they closed it down, and she could count on one hand when she’d gone out for drinks or to gamble after a show. Besides, she had a kid to raise.

God, how she missed her little boy. She wanted to hold him, like that woman she had bumped into who was holding onto her kid.

Wait. Tracy flashed on the woman and the little blond-haired girl. That little girl was spinning a silver necklace around her fingers. Could it be the necklace Tracy had been looking for the entire night?

Why hadn’t she focused on it before? She’d been so distraught about not spotting the necklace earlier that she’d given up right when it was practically staring her in the face.

She grabbed her purse and ran out of the room, praying they were still in the lounge.

She punched the button for the elevator, but when it didn’t come fast enough she ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. The metal felt slippery under her feet and the tinny sound echoed through the stairwell with each step. When she got to the right deck she was almost out of breath, but she swung open the door and ran out as if someone was chasing her.

The room was an expanse of people, but she was only looking for two, a brown-haired woman and her curly-haired child.

Tracy prowled the room, eyes desperately searching for the right features, the right clothes, anyone that even resembled the woman and her little girl.

She climbed a few stairs to get a better vantage point, and frantically continued her search, but with no luck. Then, just as she was about to walk through the lounge one more time, she spotted the little girl’s blond curly hair. The child stood with her mom and a little boy in front of the elevators.

Tracy’s heart raced as she walked as quickly as she could across the room.

People got in her way, and one guy bumped into her, but she just kept walking, praying, holding on to her hope of getting to that little girl.

The area in front of the elevators was crowded, especially since the glass elevators were such an attraction. By the time she reached them, the woman and her children were nowhere in sight. Tracy stood in front of the elevators for a moment and thought about her next move. She would have to be smarter if she was going to get that pendant, and she would start by asking Patti Kennedy the name of the passenger who found it. Her only problem now was having to wait until morning.

BECKY HAD SPENT MOST of the morning on her private veranda, watching the water slip by along with her angry disposition. When they eventually set anchor near Grand Turk Island for a port stop, she wouldn’t move. She had no intention of leaving the ship with the rest of the passengers. It was a fabulous morning with a bright blue sky and an endless sea that reached up and kissed that sky. The sun had drenched her balcony with its warm rays, and Becky soaked the heat up, feeling it deep inside her body. It was wonderful just to lie there, not doing anything, not really thinking anything, floating on a daydream.

She loved it.

It was her cabin that made her edgy. For some reason she couldn’t relax when she was cooped up inside that room. Not that it wasn’t spacious and lovely, but there was just something about it that made her anxious, impatient to get outdoors.

As planned, Laura had taken the kids for a poolside adventure that had lasted several hours, but now it was time for Becky to go in search of her family.

She was wearing a modest two-piece suit, but ever since she had put on those ten pounds, she mostly wore a one-piece suit—black, of course—when she went to the beach. However, she was feeling a little bold today. After applying another layer of sunscreen, she pulled on a gauzy white sleeveless top and wrapped a bright red fringed shawl around her hips. And even though her thighs weren’t as toned as they once were, she didn’t have any cellulite, so why not be comfortable?