“This is you,” she said, pointing to a solemn young Adam in cap and gown.
“The self-important high-school graduation photo,” he said. “I wish she’d get rid of that.”
“This looks more like you.” She touched the silver-framed snapshot of Adam in Coast Guard blues, leaning against a boat of some sort.
“That’s the patrol boat I manned out of Miami for a while.”
Some tension entered his voice when he said that, and she looked up at his face, wondering what caused it. But he was moving on, identifying people in other photos. The names blurred in her mind, but…
“A lot of people in uniform,” she commented.
“That tends to be a Bodine tradition,” he said. “Mostly Coast Guard, like my grandfather. Miz Callie always says that Bodines are never happy too far from the sea.”
“My grandfather must be the exception, then. He settled inland, and never seemed to want to go anywhere else.”
Half-afraid that her grandfather might hear her speaking of him, she glanced his way, but he seemed engrossed in something Adam’s father was saying.
“Let’s step out into the garden for a minute.” Adam took her arm. “You look as if you can use some fresh air.”
Before she could protest, he was guiding her out the French doors onto a flagstone patio. At its edge was a rustic bench, and he led her to a seat in the shadow formed by a live oak draped with Spanish moss, silver in the dim light.
“You’ve been as tense as a cat in a roomful of rockers all evening. What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Just tired, I guess.” That was true, but it wasn’t all of it.
Adam surveyed her face, his eyes serious, maybe even caring. “It’s just been a few days, but I already know you better than that. What are you fretting about?”
This was just what she’d wanted to avoid—being alone with him in the quiet evening, feeling as if she could tell him anything.
“Worried that Grandpa will lose his temper, for one thing. I’d hate for him to alienate everyone before they even get to know him.”
Hate for him to ruin Jamie’s chance to benefit from being a part of the Bodine family. That was the truth, but she wasn’t going to admit that to Adam, no matter how sympathetic she found him.
“They’re not going to take offense.” He clasped her hand in his. “They know the whole story. They just want to be family again, that’s all. If he doesn’t…”
Tears pricked at her eyes. “I pushed him into this. If it doesn’t work out, I’m to blame.”
“Seems to me you take entirely too much blame on yourself.” He brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek, and his fingers left a trail of awareness in their wake.
She looked up at him, startled, to find his face very close. “Adam, I…” She lost whatever she’d been going to say. All she could think about was how near he was.
She saw the same recognition in his eyes—a little startled, a little wary. And then the wariness vanished and his lips found hers.
For an instant the world narrowed to the still garden and the touch of Adam’s lips. Then reality flooded in and she jerked back, cheeks flaming. She shot to her feet. He rose, too, holding out one hand to her. He seemed about to speak.
She didn’t want to hear it, no matter what it was.
“Good night, Adam.” She fled into the house before she could make any more of a fool of herself.
Chapter Four
“So when is that old patrol boat going to be replaced with something more up-to-date?”
Adam turned, grinning, at the sound of his cousin Hugh’s voice. “Don’t talk that way about the best little boat in the southeast.” He patted the shining trim. “She might get her feelings hurt.”
“You and your boats.” Hugh leaned an elbow against the dock railing. “I knew I’d find you here. Anyone would think she was a pretty lady instead of an old tub.”
“Don’t say that. She might hear you. And not that I don’t enjoy exchanging insults with you, but what are you doing down here? The Maritime Law Enforcement Academy having a day off?”
“I don’t teach all the time, y’know.”
“Tell the truth. You don’t want to be teaching at all.” He knew only too well that Hugh had loved his work as a boarding officer, leading the crew that boarded suspicious vessels, that he itched to be back on duty. “What do the docs say?”
“Same old, same old,” Hugh said gloomily, patting his bad leg. “They don’t want me in charge of a boarding crew until I’m a hundred percent.”
The injury had hurt Hugh’s pride as well as his leg, Adam suspected. He hated the fact that smugglers had gotten the upper hand of him, even for a moment.
“What do doctors know? Anyway, you brought in the bad guys, even with a bullet in your leg.”
Hugh shrugged. “I want to get back out there. We’ve seen an uptick in smuggling operations. I’d be more use out there than standing in front of a chalkboard.”
“It’ll come.” He felt almost ashamed of his healthy state. “Don’t push it.”
“Well, you be careful when you’re out there, y’heah? It’s not all just Sunday sailors running out of fuel these days.” Hugh straightened, pressing his hands back against the railing.
“I always am.” A trail of unease went through him as he said the words. If he’d been as careful as he claimed, he wouldn’t have injured a child.
And if he’d been as careful as he should be, he wouldn’t have kissed Cathy last night.
Hugh reached out to thump the side of the boat. “So, speaking of pretty ladies, what is our new stepcousin like? When are the rest of us going to get a look at her?”
Adam’s uneasiness increased. “That’s up to Miz Callie. She seemed to think we might be a little overwhelming all at once.”
“The Bodines? Overwhelming?” Hugh exhibited mock surprise. “Never. So I suppose you’re Miz Callie’s hero now, finding our missing uncle and all.”
“I don’t feel like much of a hero.”
The concerns he had about the whole situation pushed at him. He hadn’t talked to anyone about it, but he could talk to Hugh. Hugh’s law-enforcement background gave him a shrewd eye for anything that might cause trouble.
“So what is it?” Hugh asked, confirming his thoughts. “Something’s bothering you about them. Is it Uncle Ned or the granddaughter?”
“Both.” He frowned, trying to frame his words. “From what I can tell, Ned…or Hawkins, as I guess he prefers, has been nursing a grudge against the family all these years.”
Hugh pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “I knew he was on the outs with his father, but that’s more than fifty years ago. How can he blame the rest of us?”
“I’m not saying it’s rational. And he did agree to come, so maybe…” He let that thought die off.
“Has Miz Callie talked to him at all about this memorial she has planned? I mean, he’s not dead yet, so he might think a memorial is a tad premature. What if he doesn’t want a nature preserve named after him?”
“You’ve got me. Apparently Ned never talks about his war years, so he may not like the idea of being reminded. I just hope this whole thing hasn’t