It's a Wonderful Wife by Janet Chapman Page B

lying skills go to hell the moment he says ‘I do.’ Not that it appears you will ever have that problem.”
    â€œIf I don’t stay single, who’s going to run all over the globe putting out fires? Because it looks to me like you and Sam are on some pretty short leashes.”
    â€œDid you really tell Simms and Poe they’re fired if they didn’t get out of port by midnight?” Ben asked, apparently deciding to ignore the dig. “You put it in writing?”
    â€œI was pissed. Those longshoremen aren’t about to stop empty boats from leaving. If anything, they’d consider it a victory. When Starrtech realized last week that the strike could go on indefinitely, their crews got out without any problem. So why can’t our guys do the same?”
    â€œIt’s called solidarity.”
    â€œNo, it’s called an all-expenses-paid vacation at an overpriced resort. I say we move them to some dive up in the mountains and see how long before they decide to come home.”
    â€œCome home empty,” Ben reminded him.
    â€œThose ships aren’t making any money rusting at the dock, either. If I have to go down there, I’m bringing a couple of skeleton crews willing to cross that picket line.”
    â€œGood luck finding them.”
    â€œOh, I’m pretty sure a sizable bonus will bring them crawling out of the woodwork. It has to be cheaper than what the resort
your
secretary booked our men into is costing us.”
    That got Jesse a chuckle. “I think Deloris has a thing for Captain Poe. So you’ll go down and fix this? Alone?”
    â€œI can’t drive two freighters all by myself.”
    â€œOffer those bonuses to our men already there.”
    â€œNo,” Jesse growled. “That’s nothing short of extortion. If our crews realize they can hold our boats hostage, we’re sunk. The only way for this to work is to leave them high and dry.”
    â€œOr you could go down and lead them across the picket line,” Ben countered. “Simms and Poe are obviously betting you won’t.”
    Jesse dropped his head with a succinct curse, knowing but not liking that Ben was right. Dammit, he didn’t want to leave.
    â€œTake Pamela with you,” Ben suggested, “and finish your vacation at the resort after you get our ships on their way.”
    He sure as hell didn’t want to do that, either. “I’m over Pamela.”
    There was another silence, then an equally nasty curse. “You’re going to talk to someone who specializes in commitment issues if I have to drag you to the appointment myself.”
    â€œLast time I was at Pamela’s, I found
wedding
magazines.”
    â€œEvery mother signs their daughters up for those magazines on their eighteenth birthday. I think it’s in the rule book they get when they leave the hospital with a girl baby.”
    â€œI checked the labels,” Jesse snapped. “And Pamela’s subscriptions started a month after she
accidentally
missed her ride home from the Henderson party. Aubrey Henderson set me up.”
    â€œDid Aubrey also make you
stay
at her niece’s that night?”
    Nope, not liking this conversation at all. “Nathaniel is begging for more responsibility. Why can’t he go?”
    â€œBecause no one’s going to take a kid who looks like he just started shaving last week seriously. You’re the one who’s been dealing with the longshoremen, and the only way they’ll let our crews on that dock is if you’re leading them.” Ben hesitated. “What’s going on, Jesse? Sam and I usually have to talk you out of rushing into the middle of these messes.”
    â€œThis was supposed to be my first night sleeping on my island. It’s gorgeous, Ben,” he said quietly. “No matter where I’m standing on Hundred Acre, I can hear waves breaking on the ledges. And my contractor said he thinks