Page 81 of Homecoming

With that astonishing statement, he turned and went back to his office, whistling as he went.

Renata stood there for a full minute, staring at his office door, before she snapped out of it with one thought front and center in her mind: She had to find a way out of going to that wedding with him.

Chapter

Seventeen

By the timethey steamed into the harbor, Dan had received four more calls from reporters. He’d put them off with promises to return their calls later in the day. As he fielded the calls, a plan came into focus that he’d implement as soon as they got back to shore.

Kara took him by the hand and brought him to the stern, which had been thoroughly cleaned by Buster as they made their way home.

“Close your eyes and smell,” she said.

Dan did as she directed. “What am I smelling?”

“The pine trees. That’s how we know we’re home. Do you smell them?”

“I do.”

“The closer we get to land, the better the scent becomes.”

He put his arms around her from behind and held her as they watched the shoreline come into view. “I love you here. I love you there. I love you everywhere.”

“Aww, now you’re quoting Dr. Seuss?”

“If I am, that’s not intentional. It’s just the truth. I’m seeing a whole new version of you here, and I like it. Today was amazing.”

“Even the puking?”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Not in this or the next lifetime.”

He kissed her neck, and damn if she didn’t go a little weak in the knees. So naturally, he did it again.

“No canoodling on the boat,” Bertha said with a guffaw. “This is a place of business.”

“Frisky business,” Dan whispered in Kara’s ear.

“Stand down, Counselor.”

“Will you make it up to me later?”

“Don’t I always?”

“Best wife I ever had.”

She laughed. “Don’t forget it, mister.”

“As if I ever could.”

Before they returned to the mooring, they stopped at a wharf to drop off their catch and take on fuel and bait that Buster stuffed into bags in preparation for the next day. The combined odors of the bait and the fuel had Dan turning green again.

“Breathe through your mouth,” Kara said.

“That doesn’t help. I can taste it.”

Kara laughed again. “Stick your head over the side. Just in case. Buster will be pissed if you mess up his clean deck.”

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