Tides of Hope

Kate swung back. “He talked about me?”

“Only after I happened to mention we were neighbors.”

Edith’s innocent expression didn’t fool Kate. There was no happen to about it. When the Lighthouse Lane matron was on a mission, she could be as single-minded as a Nantucket whaler of old in hot pursuit of his quarry. Kate clutched her purse strap as her pulse accelerated. “You didn’t tell him what I said about him, did you?”

“Of course not.” Edith sniffed and gave her an indignant look. “That was between the two of us. I merely mentioned I’d known you for years and that you were a wonderful person—and a hard worker. He said he’d been impressed by your determination and complimented the Lucy Sue. Called her a fine boat, and said you’d taken great care of her.”

“What else did you two talk about?”

“Nothing.” The corners of Edith’s mouth turned down in disgust. “His cell phone rang just as the conversation was getting interesting. Some emergency at the station.”

Expelling a relieved breath, Kate once more hitched her purse into position. “I’ll be back around three-thirty.”

“Bye, Mommy.” Maddie waved and took another huge bite of cinnamon toast.

Smiling, Kate moved beside her daughter to place a quick peck on her cheek. “Be good for Mrs. Shaw, okay?”

“Okay.”

“See you later, Edith.” With a wave, Kate let herself out.

For the next five minutes, as she navigated the maze of narrow streets that led to the school, Kate considered Edith’s chance encounter with the lieutenant. Thank goodness his cell phone had interrupted their conversation, or Edith would have told the commander her neighbor’s life story. The embellished version, Kate suspected.

As it was, Edith had only managed to get in a brief complimentary remark. To which the lieutenant has responded that he’d admired Kate’s determination.

Determination. That was a generous way to describe her approach in their first two altercations, she supposed, considering hostility and rudeness might be more accurate. She should be grateful for his diplomacy.

Yet she found herself wishing he’d been able to find some other quality to admire. Intelligence, strength, vivaciousness, competence…it would have been nice if he’d noticed one of those attributes.

Shaking her head, Kate chided herself for her silly waste of brain power. The lieutenant had wiped her record clean. That was the important thing. It shouldn’t matter what he thought about her.

Yet, much to her annoyance, it did.

Chapter Four

“Well, my stars, look who’s here!”

At Edith’s whispered comment, Kate followed her line of sight as they walked down the church aisle on Sunday.

Seated in a pew halfway down on the left was none other than Lieutenant Craig Cole. She could only see his back, but there was no mistaking that dark blond hair or those broad shoulders.

Grabbing her neighbor’s arm, Kate indicated a pew beside her. “This is fine.”

The older woman kept moving, dragging Kate along with her. “We never sit this far back.”

“Edith.” Kate hissed the name, and the older woman paused. “Maddie and I are going to sit here today.”

After a brief hesitation, Edith shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She tucked her arm through Chester’s. “We’ll see you afterward.”

She headed straight for the pew behind the commander.

“Mommy, how come we aren’t sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw?”

Maddie’s childish, high-pitched voice carried throughout the house of worship, and Kate shushed her, dipping her head as she ushered her daughter into the pew. Though she kept her face averted, she couldn’t hide her red hair. If the lieutenant turned around, he’d spot her immediately.

“I thought it might be nice to sit somewhere different today.” She pitched her voice low, hoping her daughter would take the hint.

No such luck. Maddie’s version of whispering was to lean close while speaking in a normal tone. “But I can’t see the front. We’re too far back.”

In general, Kate didn’t believe bribery should be used to control a child’s behavior. Today she made an exception.

“Maddie, honey, it’s just for this one week. And if you’re very good and stay very quiet, I’ll take you to Downyflake afterward.”

The promise of a visit to the well-loved doughnut establishment did the trick. There wasn’t a peep out of Maddie for the rest of the service. She folded her hands in her lap, sang along with the hymns she knew and kept her attention fixed on the sanctuary. She was the picture of piousness.

In contrast, Kate fidgeted throughout the entire service. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, trying to find a comfortable position. She wandered off the melody of a familiar hymn, arching the eyebrows of a few nearby congregants. She couldn’t concentrate on Reverend Kaizer’s sermon.

All thanks to a certain Coast Guard commander sitting a dozen rows away.

It was ridiculous.

But there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

In the end, she stopped trying to ignore him and allowed herself a few discreet peeks in his direction. He’d ditched his uniform, she noted. Dressed in civilian clothes, he projected a far different aura than when on the job. Less authoritarian. Less severe. More human—and approachable. And the man had good taste. His dark gray slacks, white shirt and charcoal tweed jacket conveyed a quiet, casual elegance that suited his lean, muscular frame.

As the organ struck up the final hymn, Kate helped Maddie on with her coat. Thank goodness they’d driven themselves to church instead of hitching a ride with Edith and Chester, as usual. That meant they could escape quickly.

The instant the last note of the final hymn died away, she hustled Maddie out the door and toward the car, exchanging greetings with members of the congregation without slowing her pace. Only after they pulled out of their parking place and were on their way toward the south end of town did her respiration return to normal.

They were safe.

Safe.

What an odd choice of words, Kate thought, as she swung into the last parking space in Downyflake’s lot and she and Maddie joined the long line that spilled out the front door. Why didn’t she feel safe around the new commander? And why had she felt the need to escape from him?

It had nothing to do with his position of authority, that much she knew. While she’d been upset by the citation, she’d felt angry, not threatened. Nor had she felt in the least intimidated—or unsafe—when she’d marched over to his office and laid into him about it or when she’d rebuked him for taking chances off Great Point. The unsafe feeling was more…personal…than that.

And it didn’t take her long to pinpoint its origins: the moment in his office when he’d looked into her eyes and tapped into her private sorrows and deepest insecurities. While he might not know what they were, he knew they were there.

Unsettling as that had been, Kate wasn’t concerned about the commander using that insight against her. She sensed he had too much integrity and honor for that. So the mere fact he’d breached her defenses, albeit disconcerting, wasn’t what made her feel vulnerable.

Then what did?

The line inched forward as she pondered that question. And when the answer came, it took her breath away.

She felt unsafe—and in need of escape—because, for the first time since she’d lost Mac, she was attracted to a man.

“Mommy, you’re hurting my hand!”

At Maddie’s protest, Kate immediately loosened her grip and bent to give the youngster a hug. “I’m sorry, honey. We’re almost to the counter.” Her words came out choppy as she struggled to slow her staccato pulse. “What kind of doughnut are you going to get?”

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