Dancing Tides

by Vickie McKeehan

  Cord shook his head. “Is there anything you don’t know?”

  She grinned. “You know what, Cord? I’m beginning to think you must be easily impressed.”

  “Yeah? And I think you’re incredible. What do we name him?”

  She grinned. “You pick.”

  “He looks like a Haggerty.”

  “Haggerty?”

  “He looks beleaguered and haggard. He’s been suffering some.”

  She opened her mouth for an acerbic comeback, but it caught in her throat. She took in the line on his forehead, decided it was rare to find a man who cared that much about naming a turtle. So she breathed in the night air and said, “Haggerty it is then.”

  Once they got back to Smuggler’s Bay, Keegan motored the Moonlight Mile into position where they worked on securing the lines.

  Bran Sullivan greeted them on the dock. Cord noticed Bran seemed to know exactly what to expect, almost as if the two of them, Keegan and Bran, had done this many times before.

  Bran waited with a gurney, an oversized one, to transport the leatherback to the center. Using the harness, they were able to hoist the turtle into position on the portable litter, and finally secured it in place.

  Once that was done, all three of them used some serious muscle to load the metal litter into the back of Bran’s truck.

  While Bran drove the couple of blocks to the center, Keegan gave him a rundown on the reptile’s condition.

  At the back door, they unloaded the turtle and wheeled him into the hospital where Cord watched transfixed, as Bran and Keegan went to work.

  “You staying?” Bran asked a wide-eyed Cord.

  “I’m not leaving unless you kick me out,” Cord replied.

  “Got a strong stomach?”

  “I guess we’re about to find out.”

  Comfortable using Porter Fanning’s medical facility, Bran got down to business. “Keegan, I’ll start an IV with the sedative, you grab that chart over there and make some notes for me.”

  Bran washed up for surgery while Keegan weighed, measured, took blood samples, and documented everything. “Even though his weight is one-thirty-eight, he’s still considered a sub adult.”

  Then an idea formed.

  “Cord, there’s a video camera in the cabinet over there. Dig it out and let’s get this procedure on film for posterity. Unless you’re queasy?”

  He gave her a withering stare. “Geez, I guess you guys forgot I’ve been through combat. Remember? Seen worse than this with humans trying to kill each other.”

  “Okay, then. Show me what you’ve got.”

  So Cord chronicled the event while Keegan and Bran took X-rays and found a massive length of plastic obstructing what looked like the turtle’s entire digestive tract.

  “But no tumors,” Keegan surmised as she studied the black-and-white image with her hands on her hips. “And no internal bleeding either. He’s relatively healthy except for the extra baggage.”

  But just as with any surgery, there was always an element of risk to the patient, even if the patient in this case was a hundred-and-forty-pound turtle. Anesthesia could prove as deadly to the reptile as the foreign material.

  Once Bran cut into the intestines though, it wasn’t difficult to spot the obstruction. “There must be fourteen inches of plastic here,” Bran relayed.

  “Might be easier to get to if it weren’t for all his backward spikes that help him swallow food. What’re you going to do about the plastic stuck in those?”

  “I’ll have to maneuver over one spine at a time.”

  And because of that the procedure took almost three hours digging the foreign substance out of every crevice. But the good news, Bran was able to remove the entire length from his digestive tract.

  Later, after the vet had gone home, Keegan and Cord sat on the floor of the exam room, sipping on a can of soda, both of them exhausted.

  “You can’t say I don’t know how to show a man a good time,” Keegan tossed out as she leaned back against the wall.

  Cord busted out laughing. His legs drawn up, his hands poised above his knees. “You have a unique idea of fun then. But I’ll go you one better. You really took my breath away, watching you in action tonight.” Cord tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, and grew serious, considered the still-sleeping patient.

  “Will you release him back into the ocean?”

  “Probably. You saw the X-rays. It took some time but Bran got it all out even though it clogged up his throat and system. Because of that, Haggerty will be able to eat all the jellyfish that swims his way.”

  “It’s amazing what you guys did.”

  “Hmm, we had some help here tonight, Cord. You were pretty amazing yourself.”

  “Me? I just watched.”

  “No, you definitely did more than that. And it got my mind off my grandmother. Did it help you?”

  “Being with you, yeah, it all clicked away. But I was very close to the edge tonight and you pulled me back, Keegan.”

  “I think maybe we pulled each other back tonight, Cord. Maybe the pros know what they’re talking about. Maybe it just takes time for the loss to—become less at some point and—more bearable.”

  “Yeah, maybe so.” But it sure didn’t hurt knowing an amazing marine biologist who loves helping out wildlife any time it’s in distress.

  Chapter Fourteen

  By Thursday morning the pain in his head felt like a heavy-metal band had set up a drumming that steadily increased to the pounding and intensity of a sledgehammer.

  Sitting in Dr. Pontadera’s office holding his aching head in his hands, Cord admitted, “This is like no other headache I’ve ever had before. This, after taking only four pills, is like someone drilled a hole in my head. Look, I’m going cross-eyed the pain is so fierce. I can’t concentrate, can’t focus, can’t get the pain to ease up long enough to think straight. Then there’s the nervousness. I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin.”

  “Obvious side effects from the sertraline. We’ll try something else. There’s Celexa which comes in an inexpensive generic. I told you we have all manner of meds we can try to get you over this shaky hump in the road.”

  She ripped off a prescription from her pad and handed him the paper then went to her desk, took out a bottle of ibuprofen. “Here, let’s see if we can dull that headache.”

  When she sat back down, she wanted to know, “Did you give anymore thought to what I asked you on Monday? Was it logistically realistic that you could’ve reached the shooter that day in the church?”

  “I thought about it. And there is no way I could have gotten to Robby Mack in time. But that’s not the—”

  Toni held up a hand. “No, for now, it is the issue. Let’s stick to reality not what you think you should’ve done or what should’ve happened. How’s that? I should’ve invested heavily in Microsoft, but as you can plainly see, I didn’t.”

  When she saw his brow furrow, she added, “Don’t give me that look like I’m comparing buying stocks to losing the woman you loved that day. I’m not. But do we agree here, Mr. Bennett, that there’s truth, what’s real and then there’s fantasy, what happens up here.” She held two fingers to the side of her head before continuing. “What we think should’ve happened is in no way a correlation to reality? Do we agree?”

  “Yeah. I’m starting to believe that sooner or later the son of a bitch would’ve done something awful, whether it was our wedding day or much later after the fact. I had no idea the guy was that violent, okay? Cassie never leveled with me about any of it, about how abusive he’d been with her in the past.”

  “There you go. You can’t fix something, Mr. Bennett, if you don’t know it’s even broken. You have to at least admit Cassie either didn’t feel it was important enough to share with you, didn’t suspect this man posed such a problem that way, or—”

  “She had other motives.”

  Toni arched a brow at that remark. “Why do you say that?”

  “Sh
e knew the man had hit her in the past. She knew how violent he was. She could’ve at least gone to the cops, reported him. She didn’t.”

  “Ever?”

  “Ever. There were no reports on file. I know. I checked myself once I recovered enough to poke around on my own.”

  Toni tilted her head to study his face, his eyes. She thought they might’ve touched on a nerve for the first time and she intended to pursue it. “How would you describe your relationship with Cassie? You knew her what, for several years, right?”

  “I loved her. I would’ve done anything for her. She was the first woman I felt that way about. Sometimes she could make me crazy though.”

  “How so?”

  “She liked to play head games sometimes. Okay, a lot.”

  “Really? So Cassie is the first woman you ever loved but she was somewhat deceitful? Hmm, tell me something, Mr. Bennett.” Toni bit her lip, tapped the end of her ballpoint pen on her lip as if deep in thought and asked, “Did Cassie profess her love the same way you did? By that I mean, was she as enthusiastic about telling you she loved you? Was she affectionate, demonstrative, or did she hold back?”

  “How am I supposed to answer that?” Cord puffed out a breath in frustration. “She was the first family I ever had! The first person I ever truly loved. Don’t you see? I couldn’t protect the one person who loved me.”

  “Hmm.” Toni chewed on her lip again. “But you didn’t exactly answer my question or describe your relationship there, Mr. Bennett. Do you feel that Cassie felt the same way about you, that the feeling was mutual, that she would’ve done anything for you? That the love was equally returned? I’m asking you to think back, to delve into your relationship.”

  Cord looked away. “Not exactly. She could be manipulative when she didn’t get her way.”

  “Ah.” Now they were getting somewhere, Toni thought. “In what way was she manipulative?”

  “Basically, she called all the shots. If she didn’t want me hanging around my buddies after work, she’d pitch a fit if I even mentioned going for a beer with them. Because I wanted to make her happy, I didn’t see my friends all that much.”

  “You gave up seeing your friends? Totally?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. And she didn’t like me going anywhere unless I checked in with her a couple of times a day, either. I thought it was, you know, normal. That this is what it was like to have a family, someone who cared. I thought, okay, she’s worried about me, she wants to know where I am every minute of the day so that she knows I’m okay.”

  Toni didn’t like what she was hearing. “But?”

  “I’ve been thinking—”

  “It sounds like she isolated you from your buddies, the ones you’d known for such a long time in the Guard, friends and relationships you’d nurtured over the years. It sounds more like she wanted to be in control all the time. Was she possessive, Mr. Bennett?”

  “Yeah. She could be that, too.”

  “What made you tell me this?”

  “I’ve been thinking I might’ve put Cassie up on a pedestal, one she didn’t exactly deserve.”

  “Really? How did you come to that conclusion?”

  “I met someone recently. She’s nothing like Cassie. It makes me realize—”

  “Oh, Mr. Bennett, you’re in a bad place right now to start a new relationship. It is way too soon for something like that.”

  “That’s what everyone keeps telling me, but this woman is grounded, loves animals. She’s a marine biologist. Can you see me with a woman like that? A scientist?”

  “Does this scientist lord her education over you, throw it in your face, so to speak?”

  “Not at all. In fact, she’s the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever met. She thinks I’d make a good vet.”

  “A veterinarian?”

  “Yeah. Because I like animals so much. No one even picked up on that before.”

  “So, she’s grounded, confident, encouraging, sounds like all the qualities any man would admire in a woman.”

  “She’s amazing. I’m…attracted, first time I’ve been attracted to anyone in two years.” He ran a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture that said he was uncomfortable talking about sex and Keegan.

  “Nothing wrong with attraction. What’s bothering you…exactly?”

  “You said it yourself. I’m not in a good place to start a relationship. But one head isn’t exactly on the same wavelength as the other when it comes to Keegan. That’s her name, by the way.”

  Toni nodded. “To be sexually attracted to a strong, intelligent woman like Keegan is a natural thing.”

  “I don’t want to mess this up though. She’s incredible.”

  “I take it this is recent?”

  He nodded. “Don’t laugh but she’s the one who pulled me out of the water that night.”

  Toni’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. Jumped right into the Pacific Ocean and saved my ass, gave me mouth to mouth, the whole bit.”

  “So you haven’t had time to take it to the next level yet?”

  “No. I’m beginning to see the beauty in getting to know each other first. But physically it’s been almost a week and it’s…getting tougher. Every time I’m close to her I want to—”

  “You’ve been celibate now for—?”

  “A year and a half. I haven’t wanted to be anywhere near another woman. Not like that.”

  “Until now.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And you’re starting meds that have you worried about your libido?”

  “I’m bothered by it, that’s for sure. But so far the pills haven’t lessened my wanting her.”

  Toni smiled. “Then we’ll make sure the meds don’t get in the way of that happening.”

  While Keegan went about her morning routine, cleaning enclosures, taking care of her list of patients, she couldn’t help but think of Cord. She knew it was merely a matter of time before she gave in and slept with him.

  In spite of his messed up life, those golden-brown eyes of his drew her into their depths. She didn’t even want to consider all that sexy longish hair, or the way he kissed. And the man adored animals as much as she did. Who was she kidding? He was getting harder and harder to resist.

  Images of him had kept her up three nights in a row.

  Since Monday night when they’d both been amped and ready to jump each other, she’d done nothing but visualize how he’d look out of his clothes. Not a good sign she’d be making it through the weekend without ending up in the sack with him. Okay, so no one would be nominating her for sainthood anytime soon. But then, sainthood was so overrated.

  If she wanted Cord what was the big deal? A twenty-six-year-old woman who knew her own mind had a right to lust after a good-looking guy, didn’t she?

  Plus, she’d given up caring what the town thought about him. He wasn’t crazy. He had issues, yes. But then didn’t everyone? And since those issues were the result of a traumatic incident in his past, an incident so horrific it would undoubtedly make the sanest person depressed and maybe even think about ending it all. Losing someone you loved in such a violent way had to cause issues in dealing with anything major in the immediate future.

  And didn’t that include relationships?

  A buzzer went off in her head. Warning. Warning. Big red relationship flag.

  But as long as she was aware of his past, what to look out for, as long as she considered the pitfalls, she could assess their future together, if they had one, that is.

  She needed to think about getting Cord into bed as nothing more than a simple release, a mechanism that might make them cope better. Something they both needed right now to get them through a difficult time.

  As far as Keegan was concerned the town should be a whole lot more supportive. She’d like to see them go through that kind of traumatic event and see how they came out the other side.

  With that settled in her mind, she left her patients, threw a load o
f towels into the washer, and made her way into the miniature space she used for an office. She picked up the phone and dialed Wally at the service station.

  When Lilly picked up, she asked, “Any news on my truck?”

  “Wally’s finishing up right now. You should have it back by this afternoon. You’re lucky, Keegan. Wally was able to rebuild the engine. Have you thought anymore about having an open house during the street fair?”

  “It’s a go and one of Wally’s best ideas. I should’ve thought of it last year. I called the elementary school yesterday and Mrs. Monroe’s first-grade class agreed to draw posters and decorate buckets we can set around the center for donations. The idea is for visitors to crack open their wallets or checkbooks and drop in generous donations along the way when they see our adorable resident animals. Will you be setting up a booth this year?”

  “Are you kidding? I was the first one to sign up and pay my entry fee this year. I’m not as nervous as I was last time. In fact, I’m looking forward to sketching portraits for the whole town.”

  “It’s strange but I think I’m looking forward to the street fair, too. My grandparents used to get such a kick out of showing this place off. I guess I better get used to doing the same thing.” And if the open house was a success she’d have a center to show off through the summer months.

  After hanging up with Lilly—she set out to see how Minnie and Bumper were doing—and wondered if she could keep the center running another six months without a major philanthropist stepping forward to save Fanning Marine Rescue.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Even though Deputy Sheriff Ethan Cody’s assigned territory included Pelican Pointe, he didn’t really have an official office in town. He didn’t need one as long as he could rely on his home office, the space where he tried to write at least a thousand words a night. At this rate, he had to admit, he might finish his first novel before he reached forty.