Heart's Passage

by Cate Swannell

  Jo closed her eyes and just savored the feel of Cadie in her arms. Wasn't expecting to feel her again for a long time. If ever, she admitted to herself. Gently she lowered the blonde to the ground and stepped back a little, reveling in the warm wash of love between them. Soft green eyes gazed up at her. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked, her voice cracking with emotion. She reached out with a hand and gently stroked the blonde's cheek. "You're supposed to be in Chicago by now."

  Cadie took a second to lean into Jo's touch, hungry for continued contact with the tall woman. Then she shrugged and looked up into deep blue eyes that brimmed with unshed tears.

  "Things got pretty ugly at the airport in Sydney," she said simply. "I suddenly realized that I have the right to happiness as much as Naomi does. She was trying to dictate my life and it hit me that I didn't have to put up with that." She smiled up at Jo, feeling calm and right about her decision for the first time since she'd driven away from Naomi.

  Jo smiled softly at her. The relief she felt wasn't just for herself. Knowing Cadie had the strength to see what was right for her, and had the courage to go after it, was gratifying. "We have a lot to talk about," she said quietly.

  Cadie nodded, still smiling. "Yes we do," she agreed. "But at least now we have some time. I have another two months left on my visa."

  Jo beamed at her. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see someone in my life," she said, shaking her head in wonder. "It's been a tough week." Cadie heard the tears close to the surface in the taller woman's voice and she stepped forward again, wrapping the skipper in the warmest hug she could muster.

  "I know, baby," she whispered. Jo buried her face against the shorter woman's shoulder and neck, letting the tears come for the first time in days. "It's okay, sweetheart," Cadie soothed. "Let's just get through today and then we can relax a little, yes?"

  Jo sniffled and nodded before standing up straight again, her equilibrium restored. A tantalizing thought occurred to her as Cadie wiped away her tears with the soft pad of her thumb. Jo ducked her head again, this time kissing the blonde lightly. "And I think there's a big, safe bed waiting for us somewhere," she whispered when their mouths parted.

  "Ohhh," Cadie gasped, surprised by the intensity of the bolt of desire which shot through her at the taller woman's words. "God, Jo. That's not going to make the day go any faster." She smiled shyly.

  "I know," the skipper said with a lopsided grin. "But I couldn't resist teasing you." She sighed. "Still got a lot to do here, though," she said, looking around at the still-dispersing congregation, some of whom were looking curiously at them. "You want to tag along for the rest?" she asked hesitantly, unsure of just how much Cadie was up for.

  "Of course," the blonde answered immediately. "Jo, I'm not letting go of you again. You're stuck with me."

  Jo looked at her wide-eyed, recognizing the commitment and fierce determination on Cadie's face. The blonde hesitated at Jo's expression, suddenly unsure.

  "Is... I mean... that is okay, isn't it?" she naked nervously, rattied by the surprised look on the skipper's face.

  In answer, Jo scooped her up in another enthusiastic hug. "Oh God, yes," she whispered fiercely in Cadie's ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw you. You just caught me by surprise." They pulled apart again. "Come on," Jo said, offering Cadie her hand. "Let's go get this done." Grinning, Cadie slid her hand into Jo's larger one, happily falling into step beside the tall woman.

  "Bye, Doris. See you in a few days." Jo took the office manager's hand and steadied her as she made her way back across the Seawolf's gangway and onto the Cheswick Marine pontoon. Doris was the last of the passengers to leave. All the Cheswick employees had decided that as the next load of tourists wouldn't arrive till early the following week, a few days off were in order. Doris had agreed to switch the office phone over to her home number and they were all looking forward to some time away from the water.

  And time with each other, Jo thought with a smile as she watched Cadie chatting amiably with Paul and Jenny. The couple had decided they would get married on the weekend and the threesome were happily discussing plans while Jo pottered about stowing away pieces of equipment and battening down.

  The two crewmembers had welcomed the blonde back enthusiastically, and in true Whitsunday tradition, hadn't asked questions about why, but had just accepted the American's presence happily. Got a few questions about that myself, Jo thought. But it can wait. For right now I just want to hold her.

  The afternoon had been a fitting farewell for Ron. Jo had sailed the Seawolf out beyond Whitsunday Island with a boatload of his closest friends, and there they had scattered his ashes. The journey back to port was a truly Irish wake, with much food, drink, laughter and singing. For the first time in days, Jo felt herself start to relax.

  Cadie looked over at the lanky skipper and smiled. Time to take her home, she decided. She looks like she could use a distraction or two. "Jo-Jo?" she called out.

  "Mmm?" Jo answered, looking up from where she was winding a sheet into a neat coil.

  "Take me home?" Cadie asked quietly, feeling a surge of anticipation at the look her question provoked.

  The skipper felt a slow, burning ache deep in her guts just looking at the easy smile on her friend's face. Soon to be more than a friend, I'm guessing. I want her so badly, I could...

  "I think I can do that," she said aloud instead.

  "I'll lock her down, Skipper," Paul said obligingly.

  "He means the boat, Cadie," Jenny reassured, noting the suddenly startled look on the blonde's face.

  They all laughed.

  "Thanks, Jen, I was beginning to worry," Cadie giggled.

  "Hey, Jo-Jo. Who's the suit?" Paul asked, gesturing with his head to the man standing on the pontoon looking at them.

  Aw geez, now what? Jo wondered, recognizing him. "It's Ron's lawyer," she said. "Come aboard, John," she called out.

  He waved back and stepped out along the gangway as Jo jumped down into the cockpit to join the others. She reached out to shake his hand. "John Jacobs, meet Paul Burton, Jenny Gulliver, and Cadie Jones," she said quickly, hoping the man would get through his business in good time. "What can we do for you?"

  The lawyer remained standing, holding his briefcase nervously in front of him. "Well, I was rather hoping I could have a private chat with you, Miss Madison," he said diffidently.

  Jo looked at him in puzzlement. "No need," she replied shortly. "We're all friends here."

  "Very well, then," the thin little man said. "May I, uh..." He indicated the cockpit bench.

  "Yes, yes, please," she invited him quickly. "Have a seat."

  He did so, placing his briefcase beside him and flipping it open. He took out a sheaf of papers. "Basically I need to talk to you about certain aspects of Mr. Cheswick's will, of which I am the executor," he said quickly. "As you know, he died without any children and he specifically did not wish his ex-wife to receive anything."

  Paul snorted.

  "No surprise there," Jo murmured. She looked over at Cadie who was listening quietly. "It wasn't a friendly divorce," she explained. The blonde nodded in understanding, wondering just how ugly her own break-up was going to become.

  "Yes, well," the lawyer continued. "Mr. Cheswick specified that all his assets, other than those attached to Cheswick Marine—the house, his car, furniture etc—be sold and the proceeds poured into the business' coffers."

  Makes sense, thought Jo. Then whoever buys the business will have a fair shot at a new start. She looked at Jacobs expectantly. "So when will the business get sold off?" she asked, hoping whoever took it on would keep things running for a while at least.

  The lawyer looked at her strangely. "Well, that rather depends on the new owner," he said, handing her the sheaf of papers.

  "Obviously," she said impatiently. "What are these?"

  "The deeds to the business," he replied matter of factly. "Including the registration and ownership papers to the Seawolf and
the Beowulf." He leaned forward at her baffled expression. "In other words, you are the new owner of Cheswick Marine, Miss Madison."

  A stunned silence settled over them. Jo's eyes widened as the words started to sink in.

  "You have got to be kidding me," she finally blurted out. She looked over at Cadie to find the blonde's hands covering her mouth and her eyes twinkling with delight. "He's kidding me, right?" Jo asked desperately.

  "Er, no, Miss Madison. I am most certainly not, er, kidding you," the lawyer reassured, tucking some errant papers back into his briefcase and closing it again. He stood and looked down at the woman who held the documents close to her chest in astonishment. "Please take a couple of days to look through those," he said. "And give me a call if you have any questions. Then we can talk about a business plan." With that he headed back across the gangway and along the pontoon.

  "He's kidding me, right?" Jo asked eventually, triggering an explosion of merriment from the other three.

  Paul whooped and Jen squealed, while Cadie just applauded, her eyes brimming with tears as she watched sudden understanding, and then slow delight creep into Jo's wide blue eyes.

  "Congratulations, darling," Cadie said, beaming as the two others went below decks to find some champagne. The blonde stood and moved to Jo's side, sliding a hand into the crook of the skipper's arm and kissing her cheek softly. "You're a boat owner."

  "Holy shit," Jo said, slightly dazed. "I'm a two-boat owner."

  Several hours later, Cadie finally managed to persuade Jo to relax. As the realities of Ron's generosity began to sink in, the tall skipper had become increasingly excited by the prospect of running her own yacht charter business. Talk of the possibilities had carried them through the short drive up to Jo's house and a light supper. Now, halfway down a bottle of very good red wine, Cadie could feel Jo's energy levels returning to somewhere near normal.

  They were snuggling in the soft leather of the couch. The blonde leaned back against Jo's left shoulder, the taller woman's arm wrapped around her shoulders. They both rested their feet on the coffee table, where the papers Ron's lawyer had given Jo were strewn.

  Jo sighed deeply, closing her eyes as she felt Cadie gently kiss the palm of her left hand, triggering a delicious tingling. "Mmm," she purred in pure reaction. "I'm sorry, darling. We've done nothing but talk about the business." She ducked her head and buried her face in the blonde's hair, planting her own tender kiss there.

  "It's okay, love," Cadie replied, patting the taller woman's thigh. "It's been quite a week for us both. I was just glad to see you looking happier."

  "Tell me what happened with Naomi," Jo said quietly. Cadie leaned forward, placing her wineglass back on the coffee table before turning and snuggling back into the skipper's arms. This time she nuzzled Jo's neck, throwing her left leg over the other woman's long limbs.

  "Basically, she told the world's press that not only was I going to give up my business, but that we were going to have a baby just as soon as I could arrange to get myself pregnant," she said simply.

  There was a short silence as the impact of her words sunk in.

  "I'll say this for her," Jo said eventually. "The woman's got elephant balls." Cadie laughed against her neck and Jo wrapped her arms protectively around the smaller woman, squeezing her gently. "What happened then?"

  "You know, I'm not really sure," Cadie replied pensively. "Everyone was kind of stunned for a few seconds, including me. And then it was like a switch flicked over in my head and I decided I wasn't going to let her win this round." She felt Jo's arms tighten around her. "So I took a deep breath and told them all that if I was going to have a big year making babies then I was going to stay in beautiful, restful Australia for another couple of weeks." She grinned as Jo chuckled under her ear.

  "Just like that, huh?"

  "Yup." Cadie laughed out loud. "It suddenly occurred to me that I could use the media just as well as Naomi could. And there wasn't a thing she could say that wouldn't make her look like a fool."

  "So you just waved goodbye and walked away?"

  "I kissed her on the cheek first," Cadie said.

  That provoked a loud guffaw from the skipper. "Oh that's perfect," Jo said happily once she'd recovered. "How did you get out of there?"

  "Jason helped me," Cadie replied. "He got me on to one of those people-mover things and told the guy to get me the hell out."

  "Good for him," Jo said. She'd always had the feeling Toby and Jason weren't the yes-men Naomi seemed to think they were. "I bet Naomi was unimpressed."

  Cadie snorted. "I almost feel sorry for them all being stuck on that plane with her. I thought she was going to stroke out."

  Jo smiled quietly. Couldn't happen to a bigger bitch.

  "I know what you're thinking," Cadie said softly. "And you're right. But I still feel bad about it."

  "Don't," Jo said firmly. "Cadie, I'm incredibly proud of you. Even if you had decided not to come back here, I would still be proud of you."

  "Why?" came a small, suddenly uncertain voice. Jo cuddled her even closer.

  "Because you were brave enough to take responsibility for your own happiness and to let Naomi worry about her own stuff, for once."

  "I guess so."

  "Honey, I know so. You did the right thing for you, and that's a big part of the battle." There was a comfortable silence while they both just enjoyed the other's presence. Then Jo spoke up again. "So what did you do after you left her?"

  "Went to a hotel and waited for my luggage to catch up with me. I tried calling you but you had your cell phone switched off." She lifted her head and looked at Jo. "Actually I tried to call you for three days with the same result."

  "M'sorry, angel," Jo replied. "I assumed you were in transit or in Chicago, and I didn't much feel like talking with anybody else. The whole world and his dog were trying to contact me once the news about Ron filtered through. And then I was kept all kinds of busy trying to arrange things."

  Cadie reached up and kissed her softly, nibbling gently along Jo's bottom lip. "It's okay," she said finally, trying to think through the haze of low-burning desire. "I was just worried about you."

  A lazy, sexy smile was her answer and Cadie felt a subtle shift in the mood of the tall woman wrapped around her. Jo moved carefully, sliding herself around and cradling the blonde, lowering them both back onto the sofa.

  "No need to worry about me, sweetheart," Jo burred in her ear, sending chills down Cadie's spine. The blonde slid one hand around Jo's waist, using the other to brush dark bangs away from the skipper's face, stroking her cheek slowly with a thumb.

  "It was a good kind of worry," Cadie whispered, her mouth just millimeters from Jo's. "It was a 'knowing I'd soon be in your arms' kind of worry."

  "Oh, really?" Jo rumbled, kissing her way slowly along the line of Cadie's jaw, forcing a low groan from the smaller woman. Her right hand slid down the blonde's left thigh, teasing and tantalizing the soft skin she found along the way. "You're very sure of yourself, aren't you, Miss Jones?"

  Cadie gasped, arching under Jo's touch. She found herself moving, her hips undulating of their own accord against the taller woman's. She finally found her voice.

  "The one thing I've been sure of over the last few days," she said huskily, "is that with you, I was safe." She kissed the corner of Jo's mouth softly, moaning as the dark woman deepened the contact quickly with the tip of a warm, insistent tongue.

  Soon they were lost in the kiss, their bodies moving together in an unconscious, slow rhythm. Legs tangled and thighs pressed against heated centers. Jo felt sensation building low in her belly and forced herself to pull away from the kiss. "God, Cadie," she growled. "Let's go to bed and get comfortable."

  "Yes," the blonde replied breathlessly. "I want you so much, Jo."

  Quickly they disentangled themselves and Jo stood, offering Cadie a hand up. "Want to grab the wine?" she suggested. "I'll go kick Mephy out of the bed."

  Cadie grinned and nodded her a
greement. She watched as Jo quickly walked into her bedroom.

  If ever get back use of my legs, I'll follow her. Wow. Cadie giggled nervously to herself as she bent down to pick up the wine bottle and two glasses. Did Naomi ever make me feel this way? A shiver of anticipation wriggled down her spine as she made her way to the bedroom.

  Jo was working her way around the edges of the room, lighting candles as she went. She had always loved candlelight and now, more than ever, she wanted the atmosphere to be just right. As she lit the last few Cadie wandered in and they smiled quietly at each other.

  "You're nervous," Cadie stated softly. Jo nodded, biting her bottom lip uncertainly. "Don't be," the blonde whispered. "I've never felt so right about anything in my entire life." She placed the bottle and glasses down on the bedside table and watched as Jo walked around the bed to join her.

  The tall woman slid her arms around Cadie's waist, pulling her close. "I just want this to be perfect," Jo whispered, ducking her head for another tender kiss.

  "It already is," Cadie replied when they broke off. She slid her hands up Jo's stomach, curling her fingers around the smooth fabric of the skipper's silk shirt, and tugging it out of the waistband of her pants. Starting with the bottom button, she began undoing the fastenings, working her way up until she could slide her hands across the velvet skin of Jo's stomach. Cadie slipped the shirt off Jo's shoulders, then leaned forward to kiss gently along the lacy edge of the taller woman's bra.

  Jo groaned. The sight and feel of the gorgeous blonde's face nuzzling her cleavage made her weak at the knees. She reached around and tugged at Cadie's t-shirt, determined to have the American's skin against her. Cadie stopped kissing the swell of Jo's breast long enough to allow her to drag the shirt over her head, but then resumed her task. Her hands caressed up Jo's back until they encountered the bra's clip, which she promptly and deftly released.

  Cadie backed off a little, watching the bra drop away slowly to reveal Jo's full, exquisite breasts. She couldn't help but groan at the sight, and she stepped forward again, gently cupping one before kissing the proud nipple and sucking it tenderly into her mouth.