ccHork, hork, hork!" Jasper barked joyfully and hopped into the water, swimming around his two new best friends as Smitty clawed his way back to the surface and hauled Violet up with him.
Somehow they'd wound up tangled together on the way down and her arms were still wrapped around his waist. He glanced over at the dock and saw about a hundred amused-looking faces-well, at least twenty-peering down at them.
"HORK!" Jasper swam right up and bayed in Smitty's ear, making his head ring with sea lion enthusiasm.
"You guys want a hand, or are you enjoying it in there?" came Chaz's voice, and Violet must have realized that she was snuggled up against her least favorite person, because she pushed herself away from Smitty with such force that he went under again.
When he bobbed back up, he tried to be a gentleman and help her up onto the float, but when he grabbed her ankle to boost her up, his hand slipped on her wet leg and he accidentally grabbed her khakiclad rump.
Violet squeaked and seemed to leap up the rest of the way onto the float. "Well, I never-"
Smitty was pretty sure she had, on at least a few other occasions, but he didn't think now was a good time to mention it. Instead he said, "Now Violet, I didn't mean-"
"We had an agreement!" she yelled, "A truce!" And she dumped the bucket of fish on his head.
"Hork!" The sea lion's delighted bark drowned out Smitty's less-than-delighted response, and Jasper darted around collecting bits of mackerel as Violet stomped squishily out of the pen.
There was a moment of stunned, amused silence.
Chaz finally stepped forward and offered Smitty a hand. There was a barely masked chuckle in his voice when he asked, "Want me to help you out of there, or do you like Jasper licking fish out of your hair?"
Smitty grumbled under his breath and let Chaz haul him out of the tank. Once he was on the dock and a rapidly spreading puddle was forming at his feet, he shrugged and forced a chuckle. "Well, when we got here I was wishing for a shower. Guess I got my wish."
Chaz sniffed and wrinkled his perfect nose. "If you say so. But if I were you, I'd still vote for the shower-at least before we all go to dinner." He paused and cleared his throat. "Are you sure there's nothing going on with you and Violet? I don't want to get in the middle of it if there is."
Smitty shook his head, discouraged. Little droplets of water sprinkled from his hair. "There's nothing going on with us. Right now, I'm pretty sure she hates me or something."
"Or something," Chaz repeated.
Smitty rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Why does everyone keep saying that? What do you know that I don't about my own life?"
"I don't know anything about your life," Chaz allowed, "but I remember Violet when she first joined the Puget Sound study. She was pretty broken up about you marrying that Ellen girl from the agronomy program."
"I know what program Ellen was in. She was my wife." He never quite understood how he'd come to be married to a woman who'd majored in organic pig farming. He'd woken up one day about a year after his mother's death and found that Violet was gone, he was married to a woman who didn't love the ocean, and there was a gaping hole in his chest where his heart had been.
Somewhere in the twelve months following the death of his last remaining family member, he'd made some very bad decisions.
Chaz nodded. "Of course. Regardless, Violet did almost nothing other than work for the first year she was on the Puget project. She volunteered for all the extra shifts, did the sonar logs when she wasn't on call, and slept most of the rest of the time." He paused, then lowered the boom. "And she cried."
Smitty almost scoffed at the absurdity of it. "Violet never cries." Though she had sniffled against his chest the day before. But that didn't quite count as tears.
Chaz shrugged. "Believe what you will, but take it from me, she was a mess. She got over youeventually-and decided to go back to Dolphin Friendly. I've seen her one other time since, when you guys were working off Chincoteague Island and the group I was with passed through, and she seemed happy enough. But she doesn't seem so happy now."
Not knowing what to say, Smitty nodded reluc tantly and thought of her failed relationship with Brody. "I know. I wish I could fix it, but I don't think it has anything to do with me this time."
Chaz shrugged. "Suit yourself. And don't say I didn't ask. I believe in playing fair, and you just declared the field open for a kickoff." He sniffed, grinned, and said, "Not to be rude or anything, Smitty, but I'd suggest you hike across the street to the hotel and hit the showers before the play commences."
Showered and refreshed, Violet sought out the manatees. Oh, how she loved manatees. She'd been fascinated with them ever since the first time she'd seen a picture of one in the encyclopedia at her Midwest grade school. Meeting them in person had only strengthened the emotion.
They were like giant, animated sofas.
Although it seemed a little disloyal of her-being a member of Dolphin Friendly and all-she loved manatees more than anything, though she'd never been able to work with them full-time. Now, she grinned in anticipation as she sat at the edge of the wide, shallow tank and dipped her feet in the brackish water. A trio of the young animals swam slowly towards her at top speed, which meant they took almost a minute to reach her.
There were lettuce leaves and other tasty offerings floating about the tank, so the strange, soft-looking creatures weren't looking to her for a handout. They simply wanted to cuddle. When one of them reached her, it began to suck on her toes, and she felt the rasp of the dull bony ridges that they used to chew their plant meals. They had no teeth. Everything about them was soft and slow.
Harmless. Vulnerable.
Violet rubbed the baby manatee's broad, flat back with her other foot and winced at the slashing white scars. "You've got to be smarter about avoiding those motor boats, little guy," she said to the brownish gray creature.
The size of a full-grown seal now, the manatee would grow to a thousand pounds or more and would rarely swim faster than seven or eight miles an hour. When it was returned to the brackish rivers of southern Florida-this one was lucky and would heal enough to be released-its poor eyesight and lousy hearing would combine to make it an accident waiting to happen for unwary motor boaters.
There weren't many left in their native Florida waters.
"Hopefully they'll find you a river that's off-limits to boats, huh?" she said, and rubbed the broad forehead with her hand. The manatee's walrus-like whiskers tickled her palm, and the other two rescued babies gently crowded her legs, vying for attention in slow motion.
"We'll do our best."
Violet started, having not heard anyone come up behind her. Then she relaxed, recognizing Chaz's voice. He joined her on the edge of the manatee pool and dipped his legs into the water beside hers.
She sighed and kept rubbing the manatees with her feet. One rolled over so she could reach its tummy. At least that's what she thought it intended. The maneuver took so long she couldn't quite tell, and their backs and bellies looked pretty much the same. "Sorry about dumping the bucket of fish in Jasper's pool. I hope it didn't mess up his feedings for the day."
She wasn't sure what had come over her-and she was heartily embarrassed by the scene. It was one thing for her and Smitty to squabble in front of Brody and the interns. It was quite another for them to act unprofessional in front of colleagues. But Smitty's touch had startled her beyond words. Her reaction had stemmed as much from the sudden blast of heat that had followed his accidental grope as it had from real offense.
Frankly, she'd snarled at Smitty because she'd liked him touching her-and that was just what she was trying to avoid. They could be friends, but not more.
The more was just too risky.
Chaz shrugged as though it didn't matter. "No problem. It livened up our morning and Jasper is fine. We were planning on keeping him a little hungry this evening anyway because you're transporting him tomorrow. A big breakfast today is the least of his worries."
Violet glanced over at his profile and remembered when all the girls-and after the pain of Smitty's marriage had dulled some, herself included-had drooled over him during their Puget Sound days, just as the grad students had chased both him and Brody at U.C. Santa Cruz. Now Chaz was just Chaz, like Brody was just Brody.
They were safe.
She smiled as the first manatee slowly pushed the other two away so he could have her feet all to himself. "It's good to see you, Chaz. And I'm glad you're involved with Seaquarium. It's an excellent group."
"We've just gotten funding for two research boats and a team. I'm hiring now," he said conversationally, but the tone in his voice had Violet sitting up. He continued, "We'll run one boat part-time out to open ocean to bring some of our in-house research out into real life."
She couldn't stop herself from asking, "And the rest of the time?"
Chaz quirked a smile. "Inland work. We'll send a team into the estuaries, the mangroves, and the brackish rivers to see what we can do to help these guys." He scratched one of the baby manatees above its tiny eye with his big toe. "Because God knows, they need all the help they can get. Every year their population drops lower. They need someone on their side, Violet. You know that."
Violet nodded, heart racing. Then she blurted out, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Well, I'm not looking to poach one of Brody's best people." Chaz paused to let her know that's exactly what he wanted to do. "But I'm interviewing team leaders right now."
He glanced as his dive watch and faked surprise. "Will you look at the time? I've got to finish up for the day before we head out for dinner." He gave her arm a friendly squeeze. "See you later."
When he was gone, leaving her alone with the manatees and her own thoughts, Violet slid into the water, not caring that her tank top and shorts wouldn't think much of the plan. Not caring that lettuce leaves were tangling in her hair and sticking to her legs. She floated on her back, closed her eyes, and felt the bump of soft gray-brown noses and the slide of rubbery hide as the manatees welcomed her to their home.
She felt Smitty's nearness before she heard his approach, a sort of preternatural awareness she'd lately labeled irritation, but had once called love.
"Thought I'd find you here," he said by way of announcing his presence. "I remember you spent a lot of time with the manatees when Dolphin Friendly worked at Seaquarium before. You've always loved these guys."
She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the edge of the pool, leaning casually against an upright. He'd showered and changed, though he hadn't shaved. The reddish stubble glowed against his tan and her fingers itched to touch it.
"Forgot my razor," he said, reading her mind like he used to do.
"Sorry about the fish," she said.
He nodded. "Sorry about the butt grab. It was an accident."
They were silent for a moment, then she said, "Chaz offered me a team down here. Ocean parttime, manatees part-time." She wasn't sure what kind of a reaction she was looking for from Smitty. Part of her wanted him to drop to his knees and beg her not to leave Dolphin Friendly. Part of her wanted him to tell her it was a good career move and that she should take it.
Either way, she was disappointed when he merely raised an eyebrow and asked, "You gonna take it?"
She swam over to the side and hoisted herself out of the manatee pool, shedding lettuce and carrots as she emerged from the friendly water. Once she was sitting on the side, she shrugged and said, "I don't know. It's tempting, but ... I don't know."
Smitty didn't say a thing, just kept staring down into the manatee's pool. But his fists were clenched.
Irritated, though not sure what she wanted from him, Violet got to her feet, dripping. "Well, I've ruined that shower. I'm going to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. See you in the lobby about seven?"
He nodded and clenched his jaw. She waited for a moment to see if she was going to get a better response than that. When she didn't, she shook her head and squished in the direction of the hotel.
She didn't turn around when he called her name.
But when she heard the sloppy thump of a head of wet lettuce hitting the wall behind her, she smiled and the tight band around her heart loosened a bit.
He cared. He just didn't know what to do about it any more than she did.
Promptly at seven that evening, Violet stepped out of the hotel elevators and Smitty felt the air back up in his lungs. She was wearing a soft purple shirt and a narrow black skirt that was slit high on her leg. Her hair was perfect-as always-and he'd bet she'd painted her nails to match the blouse.
He grinned as she joined the little party in the lobby and a quick glance confirmed that not only were her nails painted a glowing purple, they were decorated with little winking stones.
"You look simply stunning, Violet." Smitty glared at Chaz when the slick devil followed up his com pliment by kissing Violet on the cheek and offering her his arm. "Shall we?"
"I was going to say that too," Smitty blurted out. "That you look nice and all." He suddenly felt about twelve years old.
Violet lifted an eyebrow. "Really?" She shrugged and the purple blouse shimmered in the light of the hotel chandelier. "Well, better late than never, I suppose."
And though that probably should have annoyed him, Smitty found himself grinning at the bite in her tone. Ever since they'd left Farewell it felt like they'd been circling around each other awkwardly. Finally she sounded like the Violet he knew and ... well, the Violet he knew.
Which is why it irked him to see her walk out of the hotel on Chaz's arm.
"Ready?"
Startled by the woman's voice, Smitty looked down. He'd forgotten Candi had come along as his "date," thanks to Chaz the Magnificent. Smitty forced a grin and offered his arm. "Of course."
He didn't have anything against Candi-she seemed like a perfectly lovely woman with perfectly large-er, lovely features. And she worked at Seaquarium, so by definition she escaped the "I don't date non-marine biologists" vow he'd made the day Ellen left him to marry a fellow farmer. But he was in a sour mood-had been ever since Violet had announced that she was thinking of leaving Dolphin Friendly to work down here with the manatees. With Chaz.
Smitty's jaw started to ache and he realized he was grinding his teeth. Again. If he didn't watch it, he'd be down to nubs by the time they got home to Smugglers Cove.
Chaz drove to the restaurant with Violet beside him, leaving Smitty and Candi to squeeze together in the sports car's tiny backseat. By the time they parked at the little fish place that Chaz insisted Violet "would just love," Smitty was pretty sure he'd be having nightmares for a week that would revolve around Candi's cloying chocolate-scented perfume and a big-busted blond octopus.
He scrambled out of the car and sucked in a big lungful of clean, non-chocolaty air. Then he noticed that Chaz had gallantly opened Violet's door for her and was assisting her out of the low-slung car. Ashamed, Smitty turned back and helped Candi, who had somehow managed to get herself tangled in her seat belt.
His mother had raised him right, Smitty thought, even if he forgot about it now and then.
Resigned to the fact that Violet was enjoying the other man's attention, Smitty escorted his own date into the restaurant and tried not to think that it was going to be a very long night.
Candi's annoying giggle rose above the sedate rumble of the other diners' voices and Violet tried not to glare when she looked over and saw Smitty lean down to murmur something to the ultra-perky blond. He was rewarded with another giggle and his square, white teeth flashed when he nodded.
"Isn't that right, Violet?" Chaz's question startled her, and she tried to remember what they'd been talking about. She sipped her soda and bought some time by snagging another pink shrimp from the huge appetizer they'd ordered.
Luckily, Chaz answered for her, which would have been irritating if she'd actually been paying attention. "Of course it's right." And he went on with an enthusias
tic description of the new online manatee population flowcharts he'd been creating.
The Seaquarium, in conjunction with other local agencies, had developed a network of observers who recorded manatee sightings in the rivers and estuaries near their homes. Many of the animals were tagged, and the colors and numbers of their tags helped identify them for the database, which tracked the animals' movement over time.
Violet nodded and tried to ignore the fact that Candi had just fed Smitty a shrimp. What was the problem? Why couldn't she keep her mind on what Chaz was saying? Normally, manatee conversation would've had her fully involved and excited with the prospect of helping the soft, slow-moving creatures. But tonight she could barely concentrate as Chaz described the work he hoped to accomplish with his new team.
All she was thinking about was reaching across the table and yanking on a big handful of bottle-bleach blond hair until the other woman squealed for mercy.
She was, Violet realized, completely and miserably jealous. The sight of Smitty enjoying himself with another woman-a shorter, sweeter, younger, blonder woman-was making her crazy. Because if he was showing interest in Candi, that meant he'd realized the same thing she had following Brody's marriage-that it was time for the three original members of Dolphin Friendly to think about growing up, settling down, and pushing the organization in new directions.
Miles away, she'd taken a moment to look back on the last few months and acknowledge that that realization was part of why she'd played trick after trick on him in the months following their friends' marriage. If she could keep Smitty acting young, act ing silly like he always had, then she could keep things the way they'd always been.
Because if Smitty grew up and settled down, where would that leave her?
Alone. Lonely. The odd man out.
"Vi? You okay?" She glanced up to find Smitty looking at her with concern written on his dear, handsome face.
Seal With a Kiss Page 7
