free herself without being too
obvious. She patted the blond's heaving shoulder
with one hand while waving frantically for help with
the other. She glanced up for rescue, and saw Smitty
standing nearby, grinning. She mouthed Get her off
me! and he shook his head. He knew full well that
emotions-particularly female ones-worried her to
no end.
"Come on darling, it'll be okay," Chaz came to the rescue, peeling Candi off Violet and handing the
sobbing blond over to another staffer. "Jasper will
make lots of new friends in Boston."
He shook his head and grinned as Candi was led
away, sniffling. To Violet, he said, "I promise if you
come work with me that I won't let her hug you more
than once a month." He grinned at her shudder. "And
I won't assign her to your team, okay?" He passed
her a card, which was almost blown away when
Smitty started the truck's engine and revved it until
it belched a black cloud all over Chaz.
Violet suppressed a smile when her one-time partner in crime leaned his head out of the cab and called
a completely false, "Sorry!"
Chaz pulled her away from the vehicle and tapped
the card. "Here are the numbers where you can reach
me. I'm serious about the offer."
She nodded and didn't glance over when Smitty
revved the truck again. "I'm seriously thinking about
it. You said housing was included?" She thought
about the years she'd spent with Dolphin Friendly,
either sleeping onboard in a hammock because they
couldn't afford a hotel, or staying in those crummy
apartments they rented by the week. Then she
thought of her pretty room at Smugglers Cove, and
the view of the ocean she had out her window. About
the curtains and bedspread she and Maddy were going to shop for when she got home.
Except it might not be home for long.
"Yes," Chaz replied. "Housing is included."
"Would I get my own closet?"
He laughed. "You'd get your own condo." He put
his hand on her back and steered her to the front of
the truck, opened her door for her, and handed her
up. "Think about it and get back to me after the opening ceremony. I want to flesh out the new team by
the end of the month."
Smitty slammed the transmission into reverse before Chaz even got the door shut, forcing him to
jump out of the way as the truck lurched backwards,
spun around, and accelerated away from Seaquarium
Florida.
Violet couldn't help laughing. "That was rude.
Wouldn't you have felt bad if you'd run his toes
over?"
Smitty shook his head and grinned. "Not really.
Besides, we need to get old Jasper up to Smugglers
Cove by noon tomorrow, so there's no time to stand
around chitchatting, is there?" When she drew in a
breath to reply, he glanced at the now-empty specimen jar. "Should we put our money in now or later?"
She let the breath back out on a wistful sigh. "Let's
not. We've declared a truce, right? I'd like to drive
home without fighting, if we can manage it." It came
to her that this could very well be the last time she and Smitty were really alone together. If Chaz was
serious about putting the team together inside of a
month, she'd have to leave Dolphin Friendly sooner
rather than later.
"Well, if you don't want to fight, what do you
want to do? Talk? Play a game?"
She glanced over at his profile and had to stop
herself from touching the line of his jaw where the
stubble showed a burnished red. She took the easy
way out. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me
up when it's my turn to drive."
He woke her up sooner than that, shaking her gently as he eased the truck onto the shoulder of the
road. "Vi. Come on, wake up. We've got a problem."
Nervous twinges flickered through him as he
glanced yet again at the gauge on the dash. The little
orange arrow should've pointed towards one of the
cool blue numbers. It had all the way out of Florida.
Now it was reading in the orange. He shook Violet
again and set the parking brake.
"Huh? Wha-?" She woke up slowly at first, then
snapped to
obvious. She patted the blond's heaving shoulder
with one hand while waving frantically for help with
the other. She glanced up for rescue, and saw Smitty
standing nearby, grinning. She mouthed Get her off
me! and he shook his head. He knew full well that
emotions-particularly female ones-worried her to
no end.
"Come on darling, it'll be okay," Chaz came to the rescue, peeling Candi off Violet and handing the
sobbing blond over to another staffer. "Jasper will
make lots of new friends in Boston."
He shook his head and grinned as Candi was led
away, sniffling. To Violet, he said, "I promise if you
come work with me that I won't let her hug you more
than once a month." He grinned at her shudder. "And
I won't assign her to your team, okay?" He passed
her a card, which was almost blown away when
Smitty started the truck's engine and revved it until
it belched a black cloud all over Chaz.
Violet suppressed a smile when her one-time partner in crime leaned his head out of the cab and called
a completely false, "Sorry!"
Chaz pulled her away from the vehicle and tapped
the card. "Here are the numbers where you can reach
me. I'm serious about the offer."
She nodded and didn't glance over when Smitty
revved the truck again. "I'm seriously thinking about
it. You said housing was included?" She thought
about the years she'd spent with Dolphin Friendly,
either sleeping onboard in a hammock because they
couldn't afford a hotel, or staying in those crummy
apartments they rented by the week. Then she
thought of her pretty room at Smugglers Cove, and
the view of the ocean she had out her window. About
the curtains and bedspread she and Maddy were going to shop for when she got home.
Except it might not be home for long.
"Yes," Chaz replied. "Housing is included."
"Would I get my own closet?"
He laughed. "You'd get your own condo." He put
his hand on her back and steered her to the front of
the truck, opened her door for her, and handed her
up. "Think about it and get back to me after the opening ceremony. I want to flesh out the new team by
the end of the month."
Smitty slammed the transmission into reverse before Chaz even got the door shut, forcing him to
jump out of the way as the truck lurched backwards,
spun around, and accelerated away from Seaquarium
Florida.
Violet couldn't help laughing. "That was rude.
Wouldn't you have felt bad if you'd run his toes
over?"
Smitty shook his head and grinned. "Not really.
Besides, we need to get old Jasper up to Smugglers
Cove by noon tomorrow, so there's no time to stand
around chitchatting, is there?" When she drew in a
breath to reply, he glanced at the now-empty specimen jar. "Should we put our money in now or later?"
She let the breath back out on a wistful sigh. "Let's
not. We've declared a truce, right? I'd like to drive
home without fighting, if we can manage it." It came
to her that this could very well be the last time she and Smitty were really alone together. If Chaz was
serious about putting the team together inside of a
month, she'd have to leave Dolphin Friendly sooner
rather than later.
"Well, if you don't want to fight, what do you
want to do? Talk? Play a game?"
She glanced over at his profile and had to stop
herself from touching the line of his jaw where the
stubble showed a burnished red. She took the easy
way out. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me
up when it's my turn to drive."
He woke her up sooner than that, shaking her gently as he eased the truck onto the shoulder of the
road. "Vi. Come on, wake up. We've got a problem."
Nervous twinges flickered through him as he
glanced yet again at the gauge on the dash. The little
orange arrow should've pointed towards one of the
cool blue numbers. It had all the way out of Florida.
Now it was reading in the orange. He shook Violet
again and set the parking brake.
"Huh? Wha-?" She woke up slowly at first, then
snapped to
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