Chapter Nine

Now what? Dan had been staring at Madeleine Harper. Couldn’t stop himself from drinking her in. A small part of him wanted to turn cartwheels at the chance to spend some more time with her. The other more sensible part said that this fascination with a woman he’d known for only a few hours was ridiculous. And getting to know her any better would only make walking away more difficult. And he would have to walk away. No way would he put his new relationship with Carolyn at risk by dating someone practically his daughter’s age.

He still hadn’t looked away when Maddie turned to face him, and their gazes met. It took a few seconds for recognition to set in and shock to take over her face. Finally a shaky smile replaced the surprise, and he forced himself to smile back. And just for good measure, he threw in a nod. But that left him right back to Now what?

“Honey, I’d like you to meet Captain O’Neil.”

Dan turned his attention back to his former students. Grinning like a cat in a cream factory, Nick had looped an arm around the very pregnant woman Dan had noticed him with earlier.

“How do you do?” She extended her hand. “I’m Kara, also known as Honey, Sweetie and occasionally Sugar. That’s when he’s feeling his Texas roots.”

Dan laughed. “My friends call me Dan.”

“That’s not how I remember it.” Billy took a swallow of his beer.

“That’s right,” Nick added, still holding onto his wife.

“Another one of those silly call signs?” Kara asked.

“Call signs are for pilots,” Nick corrected. “This was more of a handle.”

“Like Brooklyn?” she suggested.

“Sort of.”

Grinning, Kara turned to Dan. “Is the handle suitable for mixed company?”

He liked this lady. And he was pleased to see Nick married to someone who could keep him on his toes. “Banger, at your services, ma’am. As in bangers and mash. For dinner.”

“Right.” She shook her head, the smile never faltering. “I’ll stick with Dan.”

Noticing the fingers on her right hand gently massaged her tummy, Dan wondered how close she was to delivering, then spotted the four-legged companion who had quietly come and sat at her feet. “I see you have a shadow.”

Kara looked down at the canine. “Gunny, I thought Maile told you to watch the boys?”

The big dog made a throaty noise somewhere between a groan and a mumble, nudged her hand with his muzzle, and then, as though debating the immortality of the crab, hesitated before lifting his butt off the floor and turning toward the house again.

“He’s been doing that since I got here. He’s getting to be as bad as everyone else, staring at me, waiting for this baby to come.”

“When are you due?” Dan asked.

“Not for three weeks.”

“Which is an excellent reason,” Nick added, “for you to be sitting down.”

“I’m tired of sitting. I sit, and Junior thinks that means it’s kick-off time. I’d rather move around.” She extended her hand to him again. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Dan. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sample another one of Maile’s coconut fritters.”

“Ah. I tried one. Definitely worth abandoning us for.”

As casually as he could, he let his gaze drift to the spot where he’d last seen Maddie. Only she was no longer there. Looking about, he took in the casual decor, the growing crowd of people and knew he was in trouble when his heart did a backflip at the sight of Maddie in the opposite corner from where she’d been standing earlier. When he realized Maddie and Carolyn were chatting, his heartbeat took off at a frantic gallop.

It took a couple of deep breaths to squelch his first reaction. Even though there was no reason for the two women not to visit and laugh together, somehow the idea left him more than uncomfortable. It wasn’t like he’d done anything inappropriate. Or that Maddie knew enough about him to share some less-than-flattering history with his newfound daughter. And it certainly beat having Carolyn surrounded by a flock of men. All he had to do was keep up with the friendly conversation about fast cars, fast boats and pregnant women. And find an excuse to stroll over and casually say hello to Maddie.

“Captain.”

Dan spun about to see Yvette Harper approaching.

“I thought that was you. What a nice surprise.”

Smiling at the pleasant woman, he pointed a thumb at her son. “I’ve been getting reacquainted with a couple of my star pupils.”

“I didn’t realize you were EOD.” Yvette slanted a prideful glance at her son, then immediately shifted her attention back to Dan. “What a happy coincidence you should meet up here.”

“Dan has been catching us up with his career.” Nick slung an arm about his mom. “Most recently he’d been working with marine mammal operational systems out of Point Loma.”

“Point Loma? Isn’t that in San Diego?”

Dan nodded. “It is.”

“My daughter lives in San Diego. Isn’t it a small world?”

“Isn’t it though.” And his world was getting smaller every minute.

* * *

Maddie found herself searching Carolyn’s face, looking for similarities with her father—the man Maddie had not expected to ever see again but now was almost giddy at a chance to spend more time with. Dan had said very little about his daughter that day in Honolulu. Right away the one thing that struck Maddie was the woman’s smile. Definitely her father’s. Warm and welcoming. She probably would have made a great elementary school teacher. Or even a Realtor.

“Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?” Kara snatched a cream puff from a nearby table.

Angela waved her over. “The more the merrier. I want you to meet Kona’s newest resident, Carolyn Porter.”

Quickly Kara shoved the entire puff into her mouth and moaned with delight. “Maile should so open her own bakery.” Extending her hand, Kara introduced herself to the only unfamiliar person in the group. “Sorry, lately food always distracts me. Kara Harper.”

“You’ve got a great excuse.” Carolyn returned the handshake. “Did you say, Harper?”

“She’s married to my brother, Nick.”

“Ah, so this”—Carolyn tipped her head in Kara’s direction—“is the reason the whole family has come to Kona.”

“Most of the reason.” An impish grin passed across Maddie’s face. “We’re pretty fond of Nick too.”

Kara smiled at her sister-in-law’s comment, placing both her hands on her protruding belly. “It seems pretty obvious I’m fond of him as well.”

The four women laughed, then moved on to chatting about the benefits and disadvantages of living on an island plus Carolyn’s hunt for the perfect affordable home. The entire time, while sampling more of Maile’s treats, Kara kept one hand perched on her tummy. Maddie couldn’t begin to fathom how uncomfortable it must be to carry around the equivalent of a twenty-pound bowling ball in front of you 24/7.

“So, how are you enjoying your new house?” Kara asked, popping another cream puff into her mouth.

“Loving it. Not too big, not too small. And while I do miss the fall colors of Tennessee, it doesn’t compare with living in paradise.”

That was what Maddie had always thought about San Diego. Not too hot, not too cold, the beach practically at her doorstep, and, if she couldn’t find what she needed at home, L.A. was only a short drive away. But San Diego was lacking the one thing Kona had—family.

With an eye on her brother and Dan, Maddie did her best to keep up with the changing conversation. All set to excuse herself and meander in Dan’s direction, she saw Maile, accompanied by an attractive redhead, smother Dan in a motherly hug, and then slip away leaving Dan and the redhead side by side in conversation. Biting down on her back teeth, Maddie did her best to ignore the churning in her gut, and the urge to storm across the room and hip-check the redhead. How absurd was that? Maddie had been dating Gary from her office exclusively for almost three months when she’d caught him and his bimbo in a less-than-platonic clench, and Maddie had barely flinched. Now she felt like a jealous mate over a man she’d only spent a few sightseeing hours with.

“Don’t you agree?”

Three sets of eyes staring at Maddie suggested not only had she completely tuned out the conversation but apparently she was supposed to agree with something. “Sorry, what was that?”

Angela smiled up at her as though ignoring them was no big deal. “It would be nice if her father relocated here instead of stateside.”

“I don’t know. Where does he live now?”

“He was stationed in San Diego working with the marine mammal program. My father was in explosive ordinance disposal like your brother was. He loves working with the marine program, but it’s scheduled for shut down, and I don’t think he would appreciate a desk job anywhere else. So he decided to just get out as soon as he hit his twenty years rather than stay in for another ten.”

“Do you think he would have stayed if the program weren’t ending?”

Carolyn shrugged. “I don’t honestly know.”

Across the room Maddie caught a glimpse of Dan heading into the house. “If you’ll excuse me a minute?”

Her friends nodded and fell back into discussing the pros versus cons of living near parents. Once inside, Maddie surveyed the area. Several small groups of people milled about, laughing, drinking and, of course, munching on Maile’s great cooking. But no sign of the man she was looking for. Skirting around a few people she recognized from the dive shop, she maneuvered her way into the kitchen. Bingo. Straightening up from pulling a beer out of the cooler stood the object of her interest.

“Hey.” She moved beside him and reached for a bottled water in a nearby cooler.

“Here, let me.” Bending over at the same moment, their heads bumped, and both sprang erect. “Sorry. I should have seen that coming.” Dan inched closer, raising his hand in her direction for a moment and then let it fall to his side. “You okay?”

Rubbing her temple she looked at him with one eye open. “I didn’t think anyone had a harder head than my brother.”

“I can get you a bag of ice.”

“That won’t be necessary.” She let her hand drop even though she wanted to rub the spot a bit more. “I’m fine.”

“Okay, but if you wake up with a knot on your head, I don’t want your brother coming after me. I’m getting too old for brawls.”

“According to my brother a sailor is never too old for a good brawl. Especially if they’re brawling with jarheads.”

A crooked grin teased at one side of his mouth. “Maybe then.”

“Maybe then what?” Kara walked in to set an empty plate on the counter.

“The age-old tradition of squid versus jarhead.” Dan opened the nearest cooler. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

“A water would be nice. I think I totally overindulged in those cream puffs, but I’m pretty sure I can blame the indigestion on the coconut fritters.” Kara rubbed her tummy with one hand and accepted the cool bottle of water with the other. “Thanks. I’m going to make my husband happy and find a comfy chair to sit in.”

“Do you need something else? Maybe warm tea would be better?” Maddie suggested.

“Nope. Going to get off my feet and stop munching my way through the house. See ya.” Kara tipped the bottle at Dan and Maddie, and waddled out of the kitchen.

“They seem like a really nice couple. Billy and his wife too.” Dan’s gaze returned to Maddie.

“You know what they say. Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

Leaning back against the counter, he crossed his ankles and took a sip of his beer. Maddie watched the reflexive motion of his throat as he swallowed and wondered why that looked so sexy on him.

He set down the beer, and her gaze followed a path from his lengthy fingers still wrapped around the longneck bottle, up strong arms and broad shoulders, across a firm square jaw to settle on the sparkling green eyes that had her insides clenching with an interest she hadn’t felt in so long she’d actually forgotten what lust was like.

* * *

If she didn’t stop looking at him that way, he was going to forget she was too young for him, forget who her brother was and forget why ignoring those things would be a really bad idea.

Good sense must have been smiling on him. Before he had time to decide anything, a swarm of people seemed to descend on the kitchen, one after the other. Groups of two and three, all suddenly searching for another drink, more napkins, a bottle opener. By the time Billy’s sister Emily came hurrying inside in search of another spatula, Dan decided he was simply in the way. He leaned into Maddie, close enough to notice she used a vanilla-scented shampoo. “I think it’s time for a little fresh air.”

Maddie bobbed her head and led the way through the increasingly crowded kitchen out to a charming gazebo in the back corner of the yard.

“Lovely spot here.”

“Every place seems to be a lovely spot.”

Leaning against the railing, he took in the tropical yard. “I can see why Carolyn didn’t want to go back to Tennessee after college.”

“How did she wind up attending college in Honolulu in the first place?”

“She didn’t come right out and tell me, but I believe she followed a boy.”

“That’s a heck of a long way to go for a boyfriend.”

“It’s a hell of a long way to go for anyone.” Just then he caught site of Kara walking toward the back end of the ample lawn. Keeping her in his line of site, he shifted to face Maddie. “Looks like the baby’s going to be coming pretty soon.”

“Three weeks.”

Shaking his head, he cleared his throat to hide a chuckle. “I don’t think so.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Eight nieces and nephews.” He took another sip of his drink. “Not that I was around for all their births. But I was home for two of my nieces’ arrivals. My sisters Mary and Liz were like chipmunks storing nuts for winter. The look on both their faces all the way to the delivery room was exactly like the expression on Kara’s face just now. And I should know. I drove Liz to the hospital. Thought for sure I’d have to put my emergency medical training to the test on the side of the road.”

“What look?”

“It’s a cross between heartburn and surrender. Hard to explain, but, if you look at Kara, she’s got it.”

“You seem pretty sure of yourself.”

“Wait till you’ve been around as long as I have. You learn a lot from reading between the lines.”

Maddie tilted her head to one side. “You have a thing about age, don’t you?”

“Nope. It is what it is.”

“What is that?”

“I’m a forty-two-year-old retired naval officer who is tired of blowing things up for a living and ready for a little more serenity in my life.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

Hefting a shoulder in a casual shrug, he said, “Originally I’d planned on going back to school.”

“Originally?”

“The marine mammal program proved to be more fascinating than I’d expected. Several years back I decided to pursue marine biology. Over the years I’ve gotten my masters. A PhD is my logical next step.”

“Uncle Sam let you take a break for a master’s degree?”

He shook his head. “Online distance learning is everywhere. And some are very accommodating to the military.”

“You sound unsure now.”

So much had changed in the last year. “The marine mammal program is being defunded. That requires a new start in a new field. Not easy at my age.”

“But you retired anyway?”

He didn’t mind teaching, and the navy training programs always involved a lot of action. But with his new pay grade, a desk was more likely in his future, and he’d have hated that. “It was time.”

“Did Carolyn have anything to do with the decision to leave the navy?”

The pretty lady didn’t beat around the bush. “Let’s say she was the final piece of a complex puzzle.”

Maddie gave him a knowing smile that seemed to quietly say, I thought so. He saw wisdom in those bourbon-colored eyes that made him want to learn everything she knew. When a dark storm dampened the normal sparkle in her eyes, Dan followed her gaze across the yard. A deep ridge made itself at home between her brows.

And then he saw it. Kara, alone, hesitating and then the plate falling from her hand. She swayed forward, not quite doubled over, one hand leaning on the German shepherd at her feet, the other pressing into her side. No one else seemed to notice her or the dropped dish of food on the ground. Taking off at a fast clip, he shouted over his shoulder. “Find your brother. Now.”