In Deep Waters

“Figure out who she’s talking about yet?” Kayla asked.

“No,” Ben admitted. Ladies never came aboard the ship. Until Kayla.

“She’s talking about me.”

“But you’re not—”

“A pain in the ass?” Kayla whispered.

Oh, hell. He was going to have to watch his language around Madison. Normally he was better, but every so often he forgot she was three years old. He’d have to have a little talk with Madison. And one with himself, too. “Kids…”

Kayla’s eyes sparkled with laughter. So the pretty historian had a sense of humor. Why wasn’t he more relieved?

“Daddy?” Madison glanced up, her eyes wide with excitement. “When does Peyna Deass arrive? I want to roll in the hay with her.” She turned to Kayla. “Daddy says that’s what she needs to do.”

“On that note, I’d better put my little magpie back in her cage.”

“I want to see the little magpie, Daddy. Is it in your room?” Before he could say a word, Madison skipped down the passageway toward his cabin.

“She’s cute.”

“Sometimes a little too cute,” he admitted. “What she said—”

“Why don’t we make your original apology all-inclusive?”

He couldn’t believe she was letting him off so easily. “Deal.”

“Speaking of which, do you want to start over again?” A smile as wide as the Panama Canal lit up Kayla’s face, and Ben’s breath caught in his throat. She introduced herself and winked. “Third time’s the charm.”

Okay, she had a great smile and a sense of humor. Not to mention a great body and face. Not that he was interested, but it didn’t hurt to look.

“So are you going to be the lucky charm that leads us to the Izzy?”

Kayla nodded. “Most definitely.”

Over his dead body. “You sound confident.”

“I am,” she admitted. “Because I know where the Isabella is…and you don’t.”

Chapter Two

She shouldn’t have said that.

It may have been the truth, but the moment the words escaped, Kayla regretted them. She’d glimpsed a softer side of Ben during his interaction with Madison. A side Kayla liked. She didn’t want to antagonize him and bring the mean pirate back.

Too late.

His eyes darkened; his nostrils flared. If he could breathe fire, she would be toast.

And then he laughed.

Kayla did a double take.

Yes, Ben Mendoza was definitely laughing. The deep, rich sound rippled through the air and surrounded her. His laugh was warm and intriguing and much too appealing. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried.

“That’s a good one.” The crinkles at the corners of his eyes should have made him look older. Harder. Instead, they took years off and softened the rugged planes of his face. Kayla’s heart beat triple-time. “You had me going for about thirty seconds.”

He didn’t believe her. Worse, he was laughing at her. Kayla’s blood boiled. She dug her nails into her palms.

What nerve. She’d felt guilty for saying something that might upset him when he was still a total jerk. And here she thought he was a sensitive father.

The man was as soft as an abalone. A mixture of embarrassment and anger washed over her. She wanted to tell him what she thought of his expedition. She wanted to tell him why he’d better listen to her.

She wanted to tell him where he could stick it.

Be poised, confident. You are the one in charge. Kayla tilted her chin. “I’m serious, Ben.”

His smile disappeared faster than a galleon caught in a hurricane. He started, then stopped himself. “The Museum of Maritime History signed off on our research.”

She nodded. “Jay Bruce verified your research. He’s no longer with the museum. In fact, several law-enforcement agencies have been trying to track him down. Seems he was selling bogus shipwreck information on the Internet.” The crestfallen expression on Ben’s face almost made her feel bad. “Almost” being the operative word.

“Why wasn’t I notified?”

“You just were.”

A vein throbbed in his neck, reminding Kayla he was human after all.

“Mr. Andrews was supposed to explain the details when the arrangements for my—” she searched for the correct word “—visit were made. I know you’ve been blindsided. I don’t blame you for being…defensive, but the museum and investors are a bit concerned with the lack of targets, given the vast area you’ve searched.”

“They said they were worried about the legitimacy of the operation.”

“That, too,” she admitted. “But funds are not unlimited.”

Ben Mendoza might be a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. The thoughtful look on his face told Kayla he understood the seriousness of the situation. She didn’t want to threaten him, but would if necessary. Finding the Isabella was the priority. Nothing else mattered. Especially his overinflated ego.

“I stand by our research,” he said. “We hired the top shipwreck researcher in the world to locate the Izzy.”

“And you’ve been using this ‘top’ researcher’s work for how many years? Two? Or is it three?”

Ben frowned.

Okay, maybe her last remark wasn’t called for, but Ben didn’t seem to realize she was one of the top shipwreck researchers. She was better than his guy. She’d spent her childhood following her father’s work and learning all he had to teach. She always knew maritime history would be her lifework. Her father had told her the sea was in her blood, and she knew in her heart it was true.

“Even the most brilliant researchers are known to falter.” Kayla smiled. “Present company excluded.”

He didn’t crack a smile. His lack of humor didn’t surprise her. His lack of humor was the first thing that fell into line with her expectations. But no matter what she thought of him, they would have to work together.

Ben raised a brow. “What makes you so certain your research is correct?”

“The Isabella has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

Her father used to tell her stories about the ship and the pirates who’d sailed on her. She remembered the long hours he spent researching the lost shipwreck. The value of the cargo was unimaginable, but her father had located treasure ships before. This one had been different. For some reason, the Isabella held a greater allure for him. Kayla wished she understood why.

“I’ve studied and researched the Isabella off and on for the last eleven years.” Ever since the submersible accident had taken her father’s life and two others’. She ignored the empty feeling inside her and touched the silver talisman she always wore around her neck. It was the only key to her past, to the memory of the father she loved and the mother she couldn’t remember. Kayla fought an unexpected rush of emotion. “It’s taken a bit of digging and sorting through letters, journals, old charts and insurance records, but in the last two months I finally pulled all the information together to support my coordinates.”

“And?”

“The Isabella was my father’s obsession.” She wasn’t about to admit how important the pirate ship had become to her. No one knew how much she wanted to find the Isabella, and Kayla wanted to keep it that way. She hid the talisman under her shirt. “His research has proved invaluable to me and verifies my own.”

“And?”

“My instincts.” A satisfied feeling settled in the center of her chest. “I know I’m right.”

His features hardened. “You’re touting your so-called researching brilliance on a feeling?”

“An instinct,” she corrected him.

“Same difference. Why not consult a psychic?”

“I did that, too.” She smiled. “I figured it couldn’t hurt.”

His sharp gaze met hers, making Kayla want to step back. “How many expeditions have you been on?”

She stood her ground. She wasn’t about to let him intimidate her. “Zero.”

“Zero,” he echoed. “This is your first time at sea?”

“Yes.”

“That makes perfect sense.” A glint of something—amusement, perhaps—flickered in his eyes. “The museum is worried about the legitimacy and spending habits of the expedition so they send you—a highly respected maritime historian who’s never been on a search before and consults psychics and uses her instincts to locate shipwrecks.”

The truth sounded a bit unusual, but at least Ben was finally seeing things clearly. She nodded.

“Yes, it makes perfect sense if we were looking for the Izzy in the Bermuda Triangle and Bigfoot was the captain of this ship and the sky was…purple.”

Okay, so maybe he didn’t quite get it. She’d have to go into more detail and—

Ben turned and walked down the hallway.

“Ben?” He didn’t stop, so she did the next logical thing. She followed him.

The woman was a real…fruitcake. Ben had another word for her—several, actually—but he was watching his language, both verbally and mentally, for Madison’s sake.

Another second of listening to the wacky historian and Ben would have lost it. So he walked away. She called after him, but he didn’t consider glancing back.

Kayla might be a looker, but she was as nutty as they came. Might as well tie a bunch of helium-filled balloons on her and let her float around in the ozone because that’s where she belonged—in the clouds with all the other dreamers. It was as if his father and Ben’s ex-wife had been combined into one person named Kayla Waterton.

What had he done to deserve her?

Footsteps sounded behind him, but he kept walking.

“Where are you going?” Kayla asked. “I haven’t given you the new coordinates.”

As if he would ever use her coordinates. Ben continued down the passageway. Perhaps it was rude, but it would be ruder for him to speak. Neither she nor the museum would appreciate what he had to say. He wasn’t about to let a few choice words jeopardize the expedition. He recognized a threat when he heard one. No Kayla, no funding. If only it were that simple…

His cabin door was open. A minicyclone had cut a path through the room and left devastation in its wake. Drawers hung open. Closet doors were ajar. Clothes lay strewn across the floor. He didn’t need this right now. Ben stepped inside.

Madison sat on his bunk, her legs crossed and Baby Fifi on her lap. Fat tears streamed from her red-rimmed eyes and squeezed his heart. “I can’t find the little magpie, Daddy.”

“Come here, princess.” Ben scooped her up into his arms and sat on the bed. She was the greatest treasure in his life. He wanted to be a good father and give her what he’d never had growing up: stability and security. Sometimes he succeeded, other times he needed to work harder. Much harder.

Madison buried her face against his chest. “Do you think the little magpie flew away?”

“She’s right here.”

The crying stopped. Madison looked around. “Where?”

He smoothed her hair. “Right here in my arms.”

“I’m in your arms.”

Ben smiled. “You’re my little magpie.”

Two small lines formed above the bridge of her nose. “I’m not a magpie, I’m Madison.”

“Yes, you are. But you also repeat whatever I say. That’s what magpies do.” He lifted her into the air. “So that makes you my magpie Madison.”

“Magpie Madison.” She giggled, and a smile replaced the tears. Everything was right in her little world. And his, too. “Lift me up again, Daddy.”

Ben did as he was told. Again and again and again. Nothing fun could be done only once.

“Hello,” she said in midair. “This is my daddy’s room. Do you want to play?”

Reality came crashing back. He glanced at the doorway. Kayla stood watching them, an odd expression on her face.

“Hello.” A thoughtful smile formed on Kayla’s lips. “You walked away so quickly I didn’t know what was wrong. I forgot Madison had gone off by herself.”

He weighed the situation. Madison wasn’t the reason he’d walked away, but Kayla didn’t know that. He still had to report to the museum. No doubt she would be in touch with it, too. He had to be smart about this. “She knows she’s not supposed to go on deck by herself, but it’s not good to leave her alone for too long. Usually she’s back before I have a chance to worry.”

“You worry?” Kayla sounded so surprised. “You don’t look the type.”

“I worry about things that are important to me.”

“Want to see my room?” Madison asked her.

Kayla nodded. “I’d love to.”

“I need to talk to Miss Waterton first. Go on ahead and she’ll be right there.”

“Okay, Daddy.” With Baby Fifi in her arms, Madison stopped in the adjoining doorway to her cabin and turned. “I’m really happy you’re here, Miss Water—”

“Call me Kayla. And thank you. I’m happy I’m here, too.”

With a wide smile on her face, Madison danced into her cabin. Ben could see how much having another female aboard already meant to his daughter. If it were anyone but Kayla…

She motioned to the mess in his room. “I take it she tried looking for the little birdie.”

“Yes.” He brushed his hand through his hair. “Didn’t think she’d look this hard, though.”

“Shows her determination.”

“Or her stubbornness.”

Kayla winked. “Takes after you, does she?”

“Yes.” A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. Madison already liked Kayla. Maybe she wasn’t so bad, after all. “Madison’s mother claimed she was a DNA copy machine. Only hers got left out.”

He picked up a pile of clothes and placed them on his bed.

“Where is Madison’s mother?”

He shut a drawer and glanced up.

“You spoke about her in the past tense so I’m assuming she passed—”

“Last I heard she was in L.A.” Bitterness coated the inside of his mouth like barnacles on the hull of his ship. Too bad it wasn’t as easy to scrape away. “She’s off chasing her dream of stardom.”

“How often does Madison see her?”

“She doesn’t.” Ben closed another drawer, taking care not to slam it. He didn’t know why Kayla wanted to know and resented the intrusion into his personal life. Still, he answered, “I have full custody. Her mother didn’t want any visitations.”

“Daddy,” Madison called out. “Are you done playing with Kayla? I want my turn.”

Ben smiled. “In a minute, princess.”

Kayla’s eyes gleamed with interest. “So it’s just you and your daughter?”

He nodded, ignoring the little voice in his head calling him a failure. He’d failed to make his marriage work. Failed to provide his daughter with a stable family home. Failed to find the Izzy.

“My mother died when I was two so it was just my dad and me, too.”

Ben noticed the past tense. “Your father?”

“He died eleven years ago right before my sixteenth birthday.”

An orphan. The word seemed old-fashioned, but that’s what Kayla was. He thought about Madison. At least she wouldn’t be alone if something happened to him—his parents would care for her. “That must have been rough.”

Kayla nodded. “Seeing you and Madison together brings back so many wonderful memories. I don’t remember my mother, but my dad did an amazing job raising me on his own. He was the best.”

Her love showed both in her voice and in her eyes. Ben hoped Madison grew up feeling the same way about him. Raising a daughter alone would only get harder as she got older. He wondered if Kayla had any regrets. “Did you miss having a female influence in your life?”

“Sometimes,” she said. “Actually, a lot of times when I was a teenager. But I loved my dad so much. It had always been just the two of us. I assumed he would fall in love and remarry, and maybe if he had…” Kayla got a faraway look in her eyes.

Her smile, full of honesty and openness, touched Ben in a way he’d never felt before. He wanted to reach out to Kayla, but couldn’t. Something—make that lots of things—held him back. He looked away, shut the closet doors and straightened the photo on his nightstand.

She continued. “If you do the best you can with Madison, you’ll be fine. And so will she.”

He hoped so. Every day was a new adventure. Some good, some messy, some he never wanted to repeat. Soon Madison wouldn’t be a little girl… His stomach knotted, and he picked up a shirt from the floor.

“And who knows—” Kayla winked “—you might find someone to share your life with one day.”

He tossed the shirt onto his bed with the other clothes. This conversation was getting too personal. “We work a four-hour on, eight-off schedule. Do you want a shift?”

“I’d love one.” Excitement sparkled in her eyes. “Should I give the coordinates of the Isabella’s location to the captain or you?”

“We need to finish our current search first.”

Kayla’s smile fell. “But—”

“We’ll discuss your coordinates later.” If Ben had his way, later would never come. She would be out of here before then. “Dinner’s at 1800. Your shift starts at 0100.”

Her eyes widened. “At 1:00 a.m.?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” she said a little too quickly. “It’s fine. Great. Perfect.”

Ben smiled at her attempt to sound enthusiastic. He couldn’t wait to hear how she sounded in a couple of days when she said bon voyage. Those words would be music to his ears.

Kayla could handle this, she really could. The more times she told herself that, the better she felt. And things had gotten better over the past few hours.

Her tour of the ship, with its high-tech search capabilities and equipment, raised her hopes of finding the Isabella. The Xmarks Explorer’s facilities were first-rate. A STORM portable satellite terminal provided communication channels and data-exchange means and Internet access. She’d be able to keep in constant touch with the investors and the museum.

The crew was larger than she’d expected. One group dealt with the ship’s operation and the other handled the search. She sighed at the thought of working with the bawdy crew of search-and-salvage “specialists” and eating meals with them.

As dinnertime rolled around, Kayla wasn’t sure what to think. She sat alone at a small round table in the ship’s dining room. Ben was the only one who didn’t seem to be watching her eat, and that suited Kayla fine. If only she could stop noticing him, too. Despite his less-than-stellar personality, she liked seeing him interact with his daughter. And scowl or not, he was easy on the eyes.

Just like tonight’s dinner was easy on Kayla’s stomach. She leaned back in her chair and smiled. Stevie, a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound towering giant from Minneapolis, had cooked lasagna. Although, cooked didn’t do justice to the delicious melted-cheese-and-veggie concoction that she might expect to be served at her favorite Italian restaurant back home in Portland, Oregon, rather than on a salvage ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Stevie carried a tray of sourdough slices. The aroma alone added calories. “More bread, Kayla?”

“No, thanks. I must have eaten half a loaf already. Did you make the bread from scratch?”

He nodded. “I use a starter my grammy gave me seven years ago. Sure you don’t want another slice?”

“Maybe one more.” As she took a piece, Stevie grinned, showing the gap between his front teeth.

“Yo, Cookie.” A short, stocky man with reddish hair strutted up. “More bread over here.”

She noticed Madison watching the interaction. This was none of Kayla’s business, but the little girl was only three and very impressionable. She had to say something.

“Excuse me, but I forgot your name,” Kayla said to the man.

“I’m Fitz.” His green eyes danced. “Want to get to know me better? Say in the horizontal position?”

Stevie stared at his tray of bread.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” Kayla pasted on a smile and lowered her voice. “Right now I’m more concerned about Madison, who’s listening to everything you say. Good manners are important, especially in front of a three-year-old.”

Fitz’s face reddened to match his curly hair. “Damn, I forgot about the kiddo.”

Staring at the floor, Fitz shuffled back to his table.

Time would tell if he’d learned his lesson. Kayla finished a bite of bread. She’d died and gone to bread-lover’s paradise. “Do you always cook like this?”

“Nah, I mean, no.” Stevie said. “This is one of my lighter meals.”

She’d have to pay attention to her eating habits on board. Food tended to go straight to her hips.

“I set out a pan of brownies if you’re interested.”

“Are doubloons gold?” Kayla joked. “I love brownies. I love anything chocolate.”

“Chocolate is as necessary as oxygen and water,” Stevie said. “I bake this amazing triple-layer devil’s food cake with fudge icing.”

“Okay, you’re my new best friend.” Kayla winked. “But I’m going to have to start working out or my appetite and your awesome cooking are going to get the best of me.”

Stevie’s smile widened. “A woman after my own heart.”

“Why don’t you take your heart and get back to work?” Ben said.

“Sure thing, boss.” Stevie headed to another table.

Kayla looked up. Ben towered over her. His harsh gaze made her self-conscious. Still, she smiled. “Stevie seems nice.”

Ben frowned. “Don’t flirt with the crew.”

Flirt? The idea was ludicrous. She rarely had time to date let alone perfect the art of flirting. Her life revolved around two things: researching shipwrecks and trying to find answers about her past. There wasn’t room for anything more, especially a man. “I was only making conversation.”

“You really don’t get it.”

What a shame he didn’t treat everyone the way he treated Madison. Ben was attractive when he wasn’t snarling like a caged tiger. “Get what?” Kayla asked.

“Stevie won’t realize the difference.”

“Stevie and I discussed food. Nothing else.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Ben said. “He’ll think you’re interested in him.”

She wasn’t an idiot. And from what she’d seen so far, neither was his crew, despite the belching, bad manners and not-so-subtle stares. “I know how to deal with men.”

“Not these men.”

Kayla didn’t like Ben’s attitude. “What if I’m interested in Stevie?”

“What?”

She tried not to smile at his shocked tone. “It’s not every day a woman finds a man who can cook like that,” she whispered. “Is he married?”

“Stevie married?” Ben’s frown turned into a scowl. The pirate was back. Dark and dangerous and more than a little peeved. “He’s only twenty-four.”

“I’m only twenty-seven. Besides, he might like older women.” Kayla was enjoying herself, especially since Ben wasn’t. “And what does age have to do with being married?”

Ben stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Are you…serious about this?”

She let him stew for a minute. She had the upper hand and she liked it. Liked it a lot. “That’s none of your business.”

His eyes darkened to an inky black. His lips narrowed until they almost disappeared. “Whatever happens on this ship is my business. Do you understand?”

She was playing with fire. Something she never did. But she’d never been on a ship with a band of pirates before. Time to take chances even if it meant getting burned. The crew and Madison were staring at them. Too late to back down now.

“Do you?” Ben repeated.

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Kayla saluted him. “I read you loud and clear.”

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