A Dolphin's Gift Read Online Free

black-eyed stare. "Mike, lock her
in that compartment." She pointed to a door to what she remembered as a
cabin with two berths.
    "Fo'c'sle,"
Will's voice came from behind.
    "What?"
Nellie looked around to find Will peering into the compartment.
    "Fo'c'sle,"
he repeated. "The compartment below the forward deck's the fo'c'sle. You
might as well learn proper nautical terms if you're going to eventually live on
the boat."
    "What do
you mean eventually?" Nellie said , irritated that
the man not only emphasized the word eventually, but he refused to concede that
this was her boat, and she had a right to live on it. "We're staying right
now," she said, "unless, of course, you can come up with eviction
papers or a written contract signed by my uncle. So I suggest you find another
boat."
    Will peered
down at her. "And unless you can come up with three-thousand,
three-hundred and sixty dollars, I can foreclose and force you to sell to pay
the back rent."
    "And I
know something about due process!" Nellie snapped. Reaching into her
purse, she withdrew her checkbook, scribbled out a check, ripped it from the
checkbook and snapped out her hand. "Here's a check for one hundred
dollars. You can't foreclose as long as I'm making an effort, in good faith, to
pay." Nellie noted the resolute set to Will's jaw as he drew in a long
breath through flared nostrils. But she refused to let him bully her. And she
had every intention of remaining on the boat, as planned.
    "That
doesn't pay for the time I put in making repairs," Will said, refusing the
money. "And I can find a dozen people around here who'll confirm my
agreement with your uncle. So even if you do pay the rent, I'll still be using
the Isadora for the next two months,
exclusively."
    "And let
me remind you that I have title, and if you leave with my boat, I'll have you
arrested for grand theft!" Nellie said, her voice rising.
    Will folded his
arms to keep from reaching out and shaking the stubborn impossible woman.
Nellie Reid and her son were a complication he didn't need. But once alone at
sea with the whales, this whole untimely episode in his life would be
forgotten...
    "Now, if
you'll excuse me," Nellie said, glaring at him, "I want to clean up
the boat, figure out a way to cook meals in this mess, and settle my son and
myself into our quarters. Beyond those simple needs, I refuse to dwell."
Turning her back to him, she grabbed the sponge bobbing on the surface of the
water and started wiping down the table.
    Mumbling a
string of expletives under his breath, Will turned abruptly and left.

CHAPTER 2

 
    Nellie hoped
things would somehow resolve themselves in the light of a new day, but she soon
realized how wrong she was. While crouched on her knees on the floor of the
salon, with a scrub brush in her hand, she peered up at Will and listened while
he made another attempt to convince her to leave. "Look, if my apartment
wasn't leased for the next two months," he said, in a conciliatory tone,
"I'd let you stay there."
    "That's
not the point," Nellie replied, in a crisp dry tone. "This boat is
our home."
    "Legally,
yes, but technically, no."
    Nellie glared
at him. "You're being unjust and insensitive."
    "Unjust and insensitive!" Drawing in a long breath, Will said, "I know you're in a tight spot, but
so am I. Can't you at least be reasonable?"
    "Yes, I
can be reasonable. But uprooting my son
again is not a reasonable alternative!" Nellie gripped the scrub brush
and began vigorously attacking a soiled area of the carpet. She had enough to
do trying to clean the place and bring it up to bare living standards without
Will Edenshaw breathing fire down her back about finding a place to live during
his whale study. "I don't see why you can't simply find another
boat," she said, nettled.
    "It's not
that simple," Will parried. "I've built supply boxes to fit on deck,
I've installed special sonar devices, and I have equipment due to arrive any
day that’s been customized for this boat. And