Chain of Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

trace of their
    occupation. It was half an hour before she finally ran out of things to do, and she considered returning Sin’s heavy sweater to the footlocker. But
    they were still about an hour out of port, and the wind had gotten substantially chillier as the afternoon shadows deepened. Obeying an impulse, Cathy
    slipped into the head, shut the door behind her, and turned to stare at her reflection in the mirror. The sunglasses covered fully half of her face, with
    only her pointed chin and hollowed cheeks and pale, tremulous mouth visible beneath the long curtain of silver-blond hair, now rumpled from the salt
    breeze. Taking off the glasses, she peered at her reflection. The green eyes were large and sad and wary in her pale, oval face, and the hours in the sun
    had brought forth a faint trace of freckles across her delicate nose. Ignoring the beauty that she had always failed to recognize, she decided she looked
    like someone recovering from a long illness.
    With a sudden start she recognized the key word. Recovering. She never thought she would, or could, recover from the devastating blow Greg Danville had
    dealt her heart and her pride, not to mention her body. But recovering she was, slowly, unsteadily, but quite definitely, thank you. The very thought was
    amazing. Crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue at her Ophelia-like reflection, she planted the protective sunglasses back on her nose and joined
    the others on deck, curiously cheered by her short moment of insight.
    “What are you looking so bouncy about?” Meg inquired casually, turning to survey her.
    “Why shouldn’t I be bouncy? It’s a beautiful day, I’ve been entertained and well-fed. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be
    feeling good,” she replied evenly, keeping her eyes averted from Sin’s interested expression.
    “No reason at all,” her sister echoed, obviously mystified. “We’ve been hatching up a marvelous plan while you were below.”
    “Really?” She leaned against the railing, folding her arms across her chest and willing herself to relax.
    “Several, as a matter of fact,” Meg continued blithely. “First off, Sin’s been planning on taking Tamlyn down to the Caribbean, and
    we thought it would be fun to accompany him. Charles would sail down with him, and I could follow by plane. We wondered if you wanted to come along. You
    know you’ve always loved the Caribbean, and I think you need to get away.”
    Several things flew through Cathy’s mind, as her eyes caught Sin’s seemingly occupied figure.
    “Who’s Tamlyn?” she blurted out, and then could have bitten her tongue at Sin’s amused expression.
    “Tamlyn is the most important female in my life,” he replied, watching her expressive face beneath the glasses. “You’ve already
    berated me for spending too much money on her.”
    “I did?” she echoed, mystified. “Oh. Tamlyn is the boat,” she realized belatedly.
    “Tamlyn is the boat,” he agreed with a smile. “Jealous?”
    Her temper flared again, just as he had obviously planned. “God, you’re conceited,” she stormed.
    “And you rise so nicely to the bait,” he countered.
    “Children, children!” Charles admonished, raising a restraining hand. “You two squabble like a couple of teenagers. Would you listen to
    your sister’s idea, Cathy?”
    “Okay,” she agreed meekly, shooting a darting glance at the unrepentant Sin.
    “I’d love your company, Cathy,” Meg continued persuasively. “Sin and Charles will be spending all their time messing around with
    the boat, and you could keep me company. We could shop, and go exploring, and all sorts of fun things. Please say you’ll come with me, Cath.
    I’ve hardly seen you at all since Charles and I got married and you met—I mean, I’ve missed you. We’d have so much fun, please,
    Cathy.”
    “Oh, I don’t think...” she began vaguely.
    “There’s no reason why you shouldn’t go. You’re not working anymore, and there isn’t