In Deep Waters

“Where are you going?” Kayla asked. “I haven’t given you the new coordinates.”

As if he would ever use her coordinates. Ben continued down the passageway. Perhaps it was rude, but it would be ruder for him to speak. Neither she nor the museum would appreciate what he had to say. He wasn’t about to let a few choice words jeopardize the expedition. He recognized a threat when he heard one. No Kayla, no funding. If only it were that simple…

His cabin door was open. A minicyclone had cut a path through the room and left devastation in its wake. Drawers hung open. Closet doors were ajar. Clothes lay strewn across the floor. He didn’t need this right now. Ben stepped inside.

Madison sat on his bunk, her legs crossed and Baby Fifi on her lap. Fat tears streamed from her red-rimmed eyes and squeezed his heart. “I can’t find the little magpie, Daddy.”

“Come here, princess.” Ben scooped her up into his arms and sat on the bed. She was the greatest treasure in his life. He wanted to be a good father and give her what he’d never had growing up: stability and security. Sometimes he succeeded, other times he needed to work harder. Much harder.

Madison buried her face against his chest. “Do you think the little magpie flew away?”

“She’s right here.”

The crying stopped. Madison looked around. “Where?”

He smoothed her hair. “Right here in my arms.”

“I’m in your arms.”

Ben smiled. “You’re my little magpie.”

Two small lines formed above the bridge of her nose. “I’m not a magpie, I’m Madison.”

“Yes, you are. But you also repeat whatever I say. That’s what magpies do.” He lifted her into the air. “So that makes you my magpie Madison.”

“Magpie Madison.” She giggled, and a smile replaced the tears. Everything was right in her little world. And his, too. “Lift me up again, Daddy.”

Ben did as he was told. Again and again and again. Nothing fun could be done only once.

“Hello,” she said in midair. “This is my daddy’s room. Do you want to play?”

Reality came crashing back. He glanced at the doorway. Kayla stood watching them, an odd expression on her face.

“Hello.” A thoughtful smile formed on Kayla’s lips. “You walked away so quickly I didn’t know what was wrong. I forgot Madison had gone off by herself.”

He weighed the situation. Madison wasn’t the reason he’d walked away, but Kayla didn’t know that. He still had to report to the museum. No doubt she would be in touch with it, too. He had to be smart about this. “She knows she’s not supposed to go on deck by herself, but it’s not good to leave her alone for too long. Usually she’s back before I have a chance to worry.”

“You worry?” Kayla sounded so surprised. “You don’t look the type.”

“I worry about things that are important to me.”

“Want to see my room?” Madison asked her.

Kayla nodded. “I’d love to.”

“I need to talk to Miss Waterton first. Go on ahead and she’ll be right there.”

“Okay, Daddy.” With Baby Fifi in her arms, Madison stopped in the adjoining doorway to her cabin and turned. “I’m really happy you’re here, Miss Water—”

“Call me Kayla. And thank you. I’m happy I’m here, too.”

With a wide smile on her face, Madison danced into her cabin. Ben could see how much having another female aboard already meant to his daughter. If it were anyone but Kayla…

She motioned to the mess in his room. “I take it she tried looking for the little birdie.”

“Yes.” He brushed his hand through his hair. “Didn’t think she’d look this hard, though.”

“Shows her determination.”

“Or her stubbornness.”

Kayla winked. “Takes after you, does she?”

“Yes.” A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. Madison already liked Kayla. Maybe she wasn’t so bad, after all. “Madison’s mother claimed she was a DNA copy machine. Only hers got left out.”

He picked up a pile of clothes and placed them on his bed.

“Where is Madison’s mother?”

He shut a drawer and glanced up.

“You spoke about her in the past tense so I’m assuming she passed—”

“Last I heard she was in L.A.” Bitterness coated the inside of his mouth like barnacles on the hull of his ship. Too bad it wasn’t as easy to scrape away. “She’s off chasing her dream of stardom.”

“How often does Madison see her?”

“She doesn’t.” Ben closed another drawer, taking care not to slam it. He didn’t know why Kayla wanted to know and resented the intrusion into his personal life. Still, he answered, “I have full custody. Her mother didn’t want any visitations.”

“Daddy,” Madison called out. “Are you done playing with Kayla? I want my turn.”

Ben smiled. “In a minute, princess.”

Kayla’s eyes gleamed with interest. “So it’s just you and your daughter?”

He nodded, ignoring the little voice in his head calling him a failure. He’d failed to make his marriage work. Failed to provide his daughter with a stable family home. Failed to find the Izzy.

“My mother died when I was two so it was just my dad and me, too.”

Ben noticed the past tense. “Your father?”

“He died eleven years ago right before my sixteenth birthday.”

An orphan. The word seemed old-fashioned, but that’s what Kayla was. He thought about Madison. At least she wouldn’t be alone if something happened to him—his parents would care for her. “That must have been rough.”

Kayla nodded. “Seeing you and Madison together brings back so many wonderful memories. I don’t remember my mother, but my dad did an amazing job raising me on his own. He was the best.”

Her love showed both in her voice and in her eyes. Ben hoped Madison grew up feeling the same way about him. Raising a daughter alone would only get harder as she got older. He wondered if Kayla had any regrets. “Did you miss having a female influence in your life?”