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.“Need some water?” she asked.“Nope, nope.Not right now.” He placed a hand over the one she was resting on her own lounge seat.His enjoyment was obvious.Duke was supremely happy to be around his once-distant family: Eloise, who had already gone below because she’d gotten her five minutes of sun and had to mind her complexion; husband Louis, a thoughtful, gray-haired man dressed like Mr.Howell and enraptured by the passing ocean; Alexandra, the Paris-Hilton-blond daughter who worshipped the sun with her bikini-clad twenty-something body; Duffy and Nestor, the dark-haired sons who drank martinis and talked about stock options while ignoring the fishing poles they’d stuck into holders around the rear of the boat.And then there was the “other” neighborhood of the deck—the one where Kat felt just right.From a seat on the opposite side of Kat, a young woman laughed and told Chris a free-spirited joke.Dr.Janelle Hopkins from UCSD.Duke had left the regular tutor behind and hired the African-American shark scientist solely for the trip.She’d arrived just before the M.Falcon had departed and, wasting no time, had immediately started tutoring Chris.Kat had been hanging around, too, keenly interested in what the doctor had to say.And Duke was getting a kick out of watching Kat learn right along with Chris.He’d probably lecture her at dinner about applying for college again.The older man kept his hand over hers as he leaned back his head and closed his eyes.Kat squeezed his thin, brittle fingers, turning her attention back to Dr.Hopkins and Chris, caught by the pictures they were studying in one of the teen’s books.It depicted a monster great white shark—twenty feet in length if it was an inch.“We might get lucky,” the doctor said.“An eighteen-footer was recently spotted near the island.We’re going to see elephant and Guadalupe fur seals, California sea lions…”Chris shifted in his seat.White sunblock chalked his nose and increased his nerd factor.“I can’t wait to dive and take pictures of them.Right, Gramps?”“Ditto,” Duke said, even though Kat knew he wouldn’t even get near the shark cage.As if to punctuate that thought, he held his stomach, then slowly rose out of his chair, coming to balance himself on unsteady legs.A gust of wind blew over him, testing his stance with a low, whistling moan.A lone bird screamed and dove toward the water in a suicidal arc.Kat wrapped her arms over her knees, suddenly cold.“I’m going below,” Duke said, face pale.She started to get up, too.“I’ll come—”“No.Just need…some rest.” Duke walked away, trying to smile at her for reassurance.Hell, there was no fighting him.He had a pager for Wayne, the medic on crew, and Kat would check in on Duke later.Stubborn man.“Gramps?” Chris asked.“Just a nap, Chris.”“Then sleep tight,” Louis added as the wind tousled his gray hair.Duffy, Nestor and even the near-comatose Alexandra put on cheery grins, too, and bade their grandfather a good nap.Kat noted that even when Duke left the deck, their smiles stayed intact.Louis returned to the sea, smiling.Alexandra checked her tan line and turned over to brown her back, smiling.Nestor and Duffy smiled at each other, as if they were the Waltons and this was some kind of “awwww” moment.Smiles, smiles, smiles.If they were all such a big happy family, why hadn’t they visited Duke more often? Funny; and why did they all seem a little…distanced…with each other? Seriously, when they thought no one was looking they deflated a bit, like they were mingling for Duke’s sake.Still, as Janelle Hopkins and Chris started talking again, Kat focused on what Nestor, the younger brother, was saying.“So, how much Qualcomm stock do you think seven million dollars could buy?”“Enough to bring you back in the black, you careless moron.” Duffy drank from his martini glass, draining the contents and allowing the emptied vessel to dangle from his fingers.But Kat was still dwelling on Nestor’s question.Was he already mentally spending his inheritance from Duke? And was Duffy calling him out for it?She inspected the older brother.Ruddy cheeks and beefy ex-linebacker physique.Hearty laugh and casual attitude.Cool or not?And how about Nestor? Did he also deserve more credit than she was giving him?Willing to give her doubts a rest for just a second, Kat looked at him with neutral eyes.Not bad, if you were into pretty.He was like the most innocent member of every boy band she’d ever made fun of: dimples, shy grin, soulful blue eyes and all.Okay, maybe it was just the neighborhood girl in her getting all prickly.She had her own prejudices, mainly about richies—besides Duke, anyway.Back in her world, everyone knew that folks with cash got the glory and others never had a prayer.Her outlook colored the Delacroix family, whether Kat wanted it to or not.Had they come on this trip only to butter Duke up and secure their share of the will?Hell.This just meant that it was up to her to make sure she defended him against the Delacroixs.She, along with Chris, would give him a sense of family, even if he was surrounded by blood relatives who didn’t genuinely live up to their end of the bargain.Kat must’ve been staring at Nestor and Duffy because both brothers glanced at her.They even smiled.Kat turned back to Chris and Dr.Hopkins, finding that the woman was out of her seat, up and stretching.Her cocoa-colored legs were long and slender, her breasts pressing against the cotton of her tank top.Once again, the wind picked up, humming a strange tune in Kat’s ears.The sky seemed a little more overcast.Dr [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]