Cabin Fever

The chances of them finding the pendant were next to zero, Becky figured, but Laura’s enthusiasm was infectious. Becky wished, for Connor’s sake, that by some miracle the kids would find the pendant.

“This is bogus,” Connor mumbled. “We can think positive thoughts for the next million years and we still won’t be able to find it.”

“No deadbeats allowed,” Laura insisted, grabbing hold of Connor again and tickling his belly. He smiled briefly, but then turned away. Becky knew Laura was working her happy magic on him, and the ice was at least melting around the edges. “Come on, Connor, have a little faith, at least for a few hours. You don’t want to break our positive vibes, do you?”

Connor shrugged.

“I sometimes believe six impossible things before breakfast,” Sarah said.

Connor stared at his sister then rolled his eyes. Becky knew how much he hated it when she quoted from Alice In Wonderland. It was one of those movies Sarah had watched over and over until Becky couldn’t take it anymore and had actually pretended to lose the darn thing for two whole weeks. When she found it again, Sarah was into The Little Mermaid, thank you very much.

“Tell you what,” Laura said to Sarah. “What would make you the happiest right now?”

Sarah thought for a moment. “Swimming!”

“I don’t think we can do that right now, so what else?”

She thought again. “A really big chocolate ice cream cone with sprinkles.”

“That’s something we can do,” Laura confirmed. She turned toward Connor. “And what would make you happy?”

“Nothing,” Connor grumbled.

“Come on, Connor. There must be something.”

“No. I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to be happy?” Laura argued.

“No. I don’t want to play your stupid game,” he announced, and stomped into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Connor,” Becky called after him, but the only thing she heard was the lock turning in the door. Laura gave Becky a quizzical glance, but Becky didn’t respond.

“Pickles. Those great big sour ones,” Sarah said, her eyes dancing.

“Pickles?” Laura asked.

“Connor loves pickles,” Becky told her.

“Then let’s get you a double-scoop ice cream cone and Connor the biggest pickle on the entire ship.” Laura grabbed Sarah’s hand and headed for the door then stopped. “If that’s okay with your mom.” She looked at Becky.

“It’s perfect,” Becky said, “In the meantime I’ll stay here with Connor and we’ll unpack.”

Sarah looked up at her mother. “Tell him he can have the bed next to the wall if he wants. I don’t care.” And with that, she and Laura went skipping out of the cabin, leaving Becky alone with Connor.

Suddenly, Becky realized the ship was moving. It was almost surreal. She glanced out the sliding-glass doors that opened onto the huge, private patio. Not only were they moving, they were well away from port and headed out into open water.

She had wanted to be on deck with the kids when they sailed away, a glass of champagne in her hand, toasting this cruise meant to appease her mother-in-law and somehow bring her son out of his shell. But instead she was in her cabin, alone, with no champagne in sight, and a somber Connor locked in the cabin’s bathroom. She sighed, knowing it would be a few minutes before he’d emerge. Becky had learned to let him have his quiet time. Time to think. But she was worried her ten-year-old spent way too much time thinking.

She gazed out the sliders. At least the view was spectacular. Dusk had descended and the sky was ablaze with color, the lights from Miami fading in the distance, but Becky didn’t seem to really care. The person who now held the power to make this trip work or turn it into a complete nightmare wasn’t Estelle, it was Connor. Becky was terrified that she’d lost her sweet son, and she had no idea how to find him again.

Connor walked out of the bathroom, staring down at the floor. His smile was gone, replaced with his usual scowl.

“Your sister said you could have the bed next to the wall,” Becky told him.

“Whatever,” Connor mumbled. But Becky could see that he was happy about the turn of events. She watched as he pulled his suitcase closer to the bed, unzipped it and began sorting out his clothes.

While Connor figured out just what drawers he wanted, Becky continued to unpack her own bag. Connor was a neat freak, as his dad had been, and it would take him the next couple of hours just to make sure all his clothes were lined up properly in the drawers and in the small closet.

He liked to keep his clothes color-coordinated, and his shoes lined up according to usage, with his flip-flops closest to the door. Clothes were never something he took for granted, but a statement of his mood, and lately Connor favored camouflage military attire. However, when he’d packed he’d taken along one orange tee, which Becky saw him hang in the back of his closet. She couldn’t figure out why he’d brought it along. She knew he would never wear something so bright.

The suite had ample closet space, but Becky had packed light. When she carefully hung up her turquoise cocktail dress, a memory flashed of the day she’d bought it for the company Christmas party. She hadn’t wanted to go, but Ryder had insisted saying it was good for them to get to know some of his employees at Wireless Technologies. They had actually shopped for the dress together, and when she’d tried it on, his eyes had lit up and she’d known she’d found the right dress.

Afterward, they had hurried home before Connor had to be picked up from preschool. They had made love on the stairs leading up to their bedroom. The buttons on her silk shirt had popped off, and Ryder hadn’t even bothered to remove his pants.

When they were both spent, they lay sprawled across the steps, Ryder’s knees and shins sporting rug burns and her own elbows a little raw. Memories of the waves of pleasure that had surged through her still brought a flush to her cheeks. She was convinced that had been the precise moment she’d conceived Sarah.

The turquoise dress never did get worn for the company Christmas party. Estelle and Mark, who owned and ran the company, had sent Ryder to New Jersey on urgent business, so Becky had made her excuses to Estelle. But Estelle had insisted she make an appearance for Ryder’s sake, and even sent over a car on the night of the party.

But Becky was stronger than both Ryder and his sister Kim. She knew how to say no to Estelle and mean it.

As her fingers touched the dress, a classic style, it slipped off the polished wooden hanger and onto the floor. Becky picked it up and reached for a satin padded hanger from the other end of the closet. It would prevent the gown from sliding off and ending up in a heap on the closet floor.

As she pulled the hanger toward her, something glittered in the center of the pink satin. At first she thought she was seeing a reflection from the hook, but as she slid the hanger closer, she saw that something was wrapped around the center. On further inspection, she realized she was staring at what had to be the moon goddess’s pendant.

As she reached for it, Connor’s voice startled her. “I’ve looked everywhere in this darn room and it’s not here.” His voice was heavy with despair. “We’re just unlucky, that’s all. We’re one unlucky family.”

Becky had become so lost in her memories that for a brief moment she didn’t know what he was talking about. Then reality came rushing back.

She pulled the pendant off the hanger, walked into the next room and leaned against the doorjamb. Spinning the necklace around her hand, she said, “Now, just what were you saying about us being unlucky?”

CHAPTER THREE

“I DON’T CARE what you have to do, but if you ever want to see your son again, you’ll find my diamond.” Sal Morena’s voice was harsh and menacing and it made Tracy Irvine shake right down to her very core.

“How do I know he’s all right?” She pleaded into her cell phone, tears streaking her face. “I need to talk to my son.”

“He’s fine,” he said lightly. “Never been better. A boy needs his father. I don’t know why I stayed away so long.”

“A court ordered you to,” Tracy reminded him.

“That was your fault,” he yelled. “If you weren’t cheating on me, none of that would have happened.”

She wiped the tears away with shaking fingers as she remembered the beatings she’d suffered. Being involved with Sal and his scheme scared her more than she could imagine, but she knew she had to be strong for her son.

“I never cheated on you, Sal.”

He laughed and her knees went weak. “Don’t lie. It won’t help the situation. You’re a whore. Everybody in Vegas knew it, but I was just too blind to see it. Hell, if it wasn’t for that blood test I got on this kid, I wouldn’t even know he was mine.”

“He looks just like you.”

“Yeah, lucky kid.”

“I want to talk to my son,” she repeated, forcing herself to sound calm as she sat on the floor of her tiny cabin and nervously picked at the tan carpet. The floor was strewn with brochures announcing the silly, gimmicky pendant hunt. Brochures that she hadn’t even finished passing out because Sal had tried to call her several times on her cell phone. It was only now, after the ship had left the pier, that she had time to finally take the call.

“I want my diamond,” he insisted. “That bastard Giorgio Tzekas owes me. He’s in prison, but my payment is still on that ship and I want it.”

Sal had loaned Giorgio Tzekas, who had been the first officer of the ship, a lot of money. Tzekas had been going to pay him off with the diamond, but had been arrested before it ever happened.

“It’s a big ship, Sal. It’s going to take time.”

“Honey, the longer it takes, the more the kid and I are bonding. How old is he now? Five? Six? He’s a pretty smart kid.”

Her mouth felt dry and her throat tight. “He’s five, Sal. He just turned five.”

“Yeah? I bet he knows what a whore is.”

Tracy squeezed the phone tighter, praying she could keep her voice calm, not let him hear her fear. “Sal, put Franco on the phone.”

“Let me see if I can say this in words you might understand. Find my damn diamond!” He swore, and then her cell phone gave her those sweet tones to indicate that the caller had hung up. Tracy called him back several times, but Sal never answered.

She slowly pulled herself up from the floor and began picking up the brochures, when suddenly it was as if a light had gone off somewhere inside her head. Why hadn’t she made the connection before? She quickly skimmed the brochure again, excited about the possibility.

Could this be the necklace she’d been looking for? The necklace that was hiding Sal Morena’s diamond? She’d heard that water sports instructor—Dylan somebody or other—mention how Patti and Ariana had found the pendant among Mike O’Connor’s things. He was that fake priest who’d smuggled real antiquities among the reproductions he lectured about when Alexandra’s Dream was cruising the Mediterranean. She’d simply assumed it was a piece of costume jewelry. However, now that she saw how big the silver teardrop was in the brochure, her heart skipped a beat. She knew with every fiber of her being that she was actually looking at Sal’s hidden diamond. The coincidence was too strong.

Could she really get her hands on the pendant? One of the passengers would need to find it first, of course. There were almost a thousand passengers on board and all she had to do was find the one wearing that pendant. God help her, she would do whatever it took to steal it away so she could get her son back.

There was a knock at her door. Two of the other dancers were calling her for the bingo game they were working together. The other dancers seemed to love the extra duties they had to perform, but she’d been secretly dreading them, especially bingo. But now she was thinking of ways she could take on more duties.

That way she’d have greater exposure to passengers.

“Coming,” she yelled through the door as she touched up her makeup in the mirror above the small dresser. When she looked human again, long chestnut hair combed behind her ears, golden eye shadow caressing her brown eyes, red-apple on her lips, she opened the door, smiling. “Can I take the floor first? I really can’t wait to meet our passengers.”

“Sure,” one of the dancers said. “But I thought—”

“Never mind what I said before. I’m loving all this extra duty. It’s exactly what I need to, um, get over a really bad relationship.”

The other girls started comparing bad breakup stories as the three of them made their way to the Bacchus deck and Caesar’s Forum casino. With each step, Tracy could feel hope blossom as she formulated a plan to find the passenger with the pendant.

BECAUSE THE KIDS WERE SO excited about Becky finding the pendant they wanted to eat dinner early and at the Garden Terrace buffet instead of the formal dinner in the dining room. Of course Estelle wanted nothing to do with casual dining, but relented when the kids were so persistent.

Laura, Connor and Sarah had all insisted that Becky wear the pendant to get her luck started right away. She had contacted Patti Kennedy to report that she’d found it, and within thirty minutes a steward had brought her another large basket of goodies—there had already been one in the room—and a list of the perks she and her family were entitled to. Becky hadn’t had time to go over everything, but was definitely considering the free massage in the spa.

Of course, the leaflet also made it quite clear that the pendant had to be returned at the end of the cruise for even more surprises. Sarah couldn’t wait to see what those were.

Reluctant to attract attention as they made their way to the Garden Terrace, Becky compromised and told the kids she would wear the pendant once she had a chance to tell the rest of the family.

Laura had helped her convince the kids of the plan. The reality was, both Becky and Laura knew that if Becky took all the attention away from Laura’s mother, Kim, and her grandmother, Estelle, on the very first night of the cruise, the rest of the trip would probably turn ugly.

The dining room was surrounded by large picture windows and the tables were positioned in tiered seatings. There was a relaxed attitude about the place that Becky liked. She didn’t have to worry about what she wore, or if her kids were using the proper fork. It was the first night of the cruise, and now that she had found the missing treasure, she was feeling rather comfortable about the entire adventure.

That was until the rest of the Montgomery clan walked up to the table and everyone began a marathon of hugs. Estelle was wearing some sort of purple cowboy hat, matching purple jacket and leather pants, her blond hair perfectly styled. Then there was her ex-husband Mark. According to Laura, he’d only agreed to come on the cruise because of his grandkids. He and Estelle had recently divorced after being married for nearly forty years, and Estelle was probably going to use this cruise to try to win him back. She hated losing a fight, and theirs had been a whopper.

Mark looked his usual handsome self, dressed in a white polo shirt and khaki shorts, brown deck shoes and no socks. His face had aged since Becky had seen him last, but in a good way. The lines around his steel-blue eyes only added to his charm. For what it was worth, Becky had always liked Mark, even though he would sometimes push Ryder too hard. It amazed her how much Ryder had resembled his father, and for a brief instant a wave of sadness washed over her until Kim, Laura’s mother, emerged from behind Mark, hanging on to what had to be her latest boyfriend.

He was briefly introduced as Bob Ducain. He was an average-looking guy, with thinning gray hair and enough of a stomach that even his loose-fitting island shirt couldn’t disguise it. He had a ruddy complexion, pale blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to lack sincerity. There were gold chains around his neck and gold diamond rings on each pinky. No doubt Estelle had handpicked this guy for Kim. He must have been from one of her social clubs, or the son of a wealthy friend. At any rate, in Estelle’s eyes, he was probably Kim’s perfect match.

“I hate buffets,” Kim announced before she even sat at the table. Her hair was its usual shade of blond, hanging straight down her back. She wore a Chanel black-and-white sleeveless sweater, a black short skirt and sandals. Kim was somewhere around Becky’s age, thirty-six, but Botox had removed any hint of aging, so she still looked as if she was in her twenties. She had the same blue eyes as her dad, and a perky paid-for nose that she’d changed at least two times.

Kim bent over and briefly hugged Sarah and Connor, then continued to whine about the buffet. “The food is never good, and I have to serve myself. I hate it.”

“You sit and I’ll fix you a plate,” Bob offered, pulling out a chair for her to sit on. Then he took off toward the rows of steaming food.

Kim made herself comfortable and glanced over at Becky, who was across from her at the large tan-speckled table. Kim sat with her back to the buffet. She obviously didn’t even want to look at it. Instead of sitting by her mother and new boyfriend, Laura sat next to Becky, while Sarah and Connor moved down to the end of the table to sit with Estelle and Mark.

“Isn’t he great? He does everything for me. I don’t know how I ever got along without him,” Kim remarked to Becky.

Laura turned sideways in her chair and rolled her eyes at Becky.

Becky nodded as if she was listening, but her attention had fallen on Dylan Langstaff. He had just walked across the room toward an officer dressed in white who was talking to a few passengers standing in the food line. Dylan looked even better than she had remembered from that afternoon. His hair was somehow darker in the dimmer lighting and his demeanor even more friendly and casual. He had the look of a genuinely nice guy. Someone Becky wouldn’t mind getting to know, as a friend, of course, but she was sure deep down he must be a flirt.

So why was she so attracted to him? A little voice inside whispered, Because he makes you feel something. And it had been a long, long time since she’d felt anything for a man.

Kim droned on. “I know he’s not very pretty, but I find that the cuter the guy is, the more he’s into his own needs.”

Becky heard herself saying, “Uh-huh.” But she didn’t believe that for a moment. Dylan was over-the-top cute, and from the way he’d treated her kids, she just knew he was a guy who didn’t think of himself first.

There was a commotion of some sort right in front of Dylan, who just happened to be standing next to Bob, who was busy piling fried chicken on a plate. Suddenly a rather large woman staggered into Bob. He froze, still clutching his plate of food.

“And I just don’t have any time for that kind of guy in my life,” Kim said, while a waitress poured her an iced tea.

“Uh-huh,” Becky mumbled as she watched Dylan grab hold of the woman from behind. She was so large he could barely get his arms around her. From what Becky could tell, the woman was choking on a piece of food and Dylan was administering the Heimlich maneuver, pushing air up from her diaphragm and into her throat.

“So, naturally, when I met Bob at Mom’s charity auction three months ago and he told me how he loved to pamper women, well I just had to have him all to myself.”

“Yeah. That’s great,” Becky agreed. Half of the people in the room were watching Dylan, while Bob just continued to stand there motionless, both hands on his plate as though he was annoyed at the interruption.

Becky stood and was ready to try to help that poor woman and Dylan when something flew out of the woman’s mouth and landed on the floor in front of her.

“We’ve been dating ever since, and let me tell you, he really knows how to care for a woman, if you know what I mean.” She sighed as if to make her point.

Becky let out the breath she had been holding and smiled. “You don’t say.” She watched as Dylan and what looked like two women from the ship’s medical team, helped the now-panting woman into a chair.

Bob turned back to the buffet and continued moving down the line, filling his place.

“But I know you’re still mourning my dear brother, so you couldn’t possibly be interested in anyone, could you?” Kim asked with a flourish.

Becky stared at Kim for a moment in complete silence and disbelief. It was as if someone had rung a bell and everyone had turned their attention to Becky, waiting for her reply. Even Laura stopped what she was doing to listen.

“I, uh, no, definitely not. I’m not interested in anyone,” Becky spluttered. But Laura, who had also been watching the whole incident between the choking woman and Dylan, threw Becky that kind of look as if she knew better.

Becky was just about to set Laura straight, when Kim reached across the table and grabbed Becky’s hand. “You poor thing, but I understand. No one can replace my brother. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, just call me and I can put you in touch with some of the best shrinks in San Diego. I’m here for you, Becky. You can always count on me.”

“Thanks,” Becky muttered, slowly pulling her hand away.

“We’ve got something to tell everybody,” Sarah blurted in a loud voice.

“Let’s get our meal first,” Becky countered, hoping that would be enough to stifle her excited daughter.

“But we want to tell everyone now,” Connor chimed in.

Becky was glad Connor seemed kind of excited about the whole thing, but she just wasn’t in the mood to show the pendant off at that exact moment. Besides, now that the room had settled down again after that poor woman’s near-death experience, Becky didn’t want everyone to now turn their focus on her.

“Your mom’s right,” Laura said, getting up. “Let’s have our dinner first.”

Estelle, of course, supported Connor and Sarah, not Becky.

“But the kids seem to want to tell us something now. We should see what they have to say.”

Becky stood.

Mark stood. “I say we should honor Becky’s wishes, Estelle.” He walked to the buffet, taking Connor with him.

Laura went over and took Sarah by the hand, then led her to the buffet. They passed Bob, who was returning with a plate of food for Kim.

“Fine,” Estelle conceded. “Bob, darling, you did such a good job with Kim’s plate, do you think you could do the same for me? It’s been such a long day that I think I’ll pass out if I have to get up and pick out my own food.” She peeked over at Kim’s plate. “No chicken, darling. Do they have any baked white fish? I would love a little baked fish. It digests so easily and my poor little tummy has been slightly upset ever since we boarded. Do you think you could find some, dear?”

Bob nodded. “It would be my pleasure, Estelle.”

Becky shook her head and walked away from the table, knowing perfectly well that by the time this dinner was over, Estelle would have everyone at the table waiting on her, including Becky.

She headed straight for the nearest buffet, grabbed a white plate and began the process of deciding what she wanted to eat. Her stomach was actually growling for food.

“There’s this great broccoli salad you should try,” a voice said just behind Becky’s right ear.

Becky turned to see Dylan’s tanned face smiling at her.

“I saw what you did for that woman,” Becky said, ignoring his opening suggestion, “You were incredible. How is she doing?”

“She’s fine. Resting in her stateroom.”

“You saved her life. That was amazing.”

“Thanks, but she was the amazing one. She never put up the least resistance. That’s what saved her.”

“I’ll remember that the next time I’m choking.”

His grin widened. “Good idea.”

There was a moment of awkward silence while Becky searched for something to say. “Wh-where is that salad?” she stammered at last.

She loved broccoli, but ever since Ryder had died, she found herself eating more and more comfort foods like pasta and homemade breads. She’d put on about ten pounds in the last two years, even though she still worked out with weights. But the strange part was, she didn’t seem to care about the added weight. Or maybe she simply didn’t have the time to think about it.