White Cargo Read Online Free Page B

AT’S relief, Denny had integrated himself smoothly into the running of the boat. Cat had enjoyed giving him an extensive tour of Catbird, showing off the details of his careful planning and superior electronics layout. Denny had been particularly interested in the small touches Cat had installed, like the large chart cabinet and the “gun deck”—the stainless steel, light shotgun in its hidden compartment. Denny had proved his worth with his expert handling of sail, sheet, winch, and helm, and Cat was already feeling relaxed and confident with his presence on the boat. Katie and Jinx had grown highly competent with the yacht, but it was good to have another man’s strength and expertise available in the event of some emergency.
    Denny seemed to have grown somewhat more reticent, less ebullient, since their sailing, and Cat attributed this to the young man’s realization that he was, at last, on his way home. Cat wondered whether Denny’s reunion with his family, who, no doubt, disapproved of him, would be accomplished with more success than his own attempts to achieve some reconciliation with his own son, Dell. Ascab never seemed to fully form over that wound, and Cat wondered, wearily, if it ever would.
    Denny insisted on taking the eight-to-midnight watch so that the family could dine together. Cat would always remember that dinner—rare, because before Denny, the three of them could never sit down at the saloon table for dinner together. Their talk at that dinner seemed a summary of all the good things in their relationship. Over a bottle of a good California cabernet, they had fallen to reminiscing, Cat and Katie about their early married years, when Dell was small and Jinx tiny, and Cat was a struggling young engineer; Jinx about her memories of them in those days. They had laughed about the time when Jinx, three, had climbed high into a tree, then fallen asleep in the crotch of two limbs. They had been afraid to wake her for fear she would fall, and it had only been with some difficulty that Cat had finally managed to reach her. They had never been able to figure out how a three-year-old could have made such a climb. Cat thought of the incident as an early sign of the determination Jinx had always shown. He felt a pride and pleasure in her intelligence, beauty, and good sense that helped to make up for his disappointment in his son.
    By midnight Katie was asleep and Jinx was nodding. “You’d better hit the sack, kid,” he said, reaching across the table and placing a hand on her warm cheek.
    She crawled over next to him, ducked under his arm, and laid her head on his shoulder. “I think I’ll sleep right here,” she said, snuggling close.
    â€œYou used to go to sleep there all the time,” he said, stroking her thick, luxuriant hair. “I’d put you to bed when my arm got numb.”
    â€œI remember,” she replied. “I wasn’t always asleep, you know.”
    â€œI didn’t know.”
    â€œI just liked it when you carried me to my bedroom and tucked me in.”
    â€œI liked it, too.”
    â€œI’m glad I didn’t go to college yet,” she murmured. “I’m glad I came with you and Mother on Catbird. I didn’t want to leave you, not yet.”
    Cat wanted to reply, but his throat had tightened. Her head rolled a bit, and she was asleep. He gathered her in his arms and took her to the forecabin, tucking a sheet around her.
    â€œMmm,” she said as he brushed her hair away from her face. Cat kissed her on both eyes, the way he had done when she was a little girl, then he walked aft and started to shut the door to her cabin.
    â€œG’night, Cat,” she said.
    He laughed, then got into a safety harness, poured himself a cup of coffee to fortify himself against the wine, then climbed into the cockpit to relieve Denny at the helm. The wind was holding nicely, and the boat seemed to race through the