Tattered Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page B

never got easier, but
loving kids had never been a challenge. And they loved her
back.
    “You’ll make a good mom,” Jake said from
where he sprawled in the corner of the cockpit.
    Rachel spun toward him, warmth dousing
her.
    Jake mashed his captain’s hat over his eyes
and half his curls.
    She lay down on her stomach on the cockpit
bench and rested her cheek on the cool seat cushion. “If I admit
that motherhood is my preferred career choice, people look at me
like I should get in line for welfare for my lack of ambition.” She
scrunched her eyes shut. When would she learn to keep her mouth
shut?
    “If no one wanted to reproduce, humanity
would end with our generation,” Jake said around the broom straw in
his mouth.
    She glanced at him, but he hadn’t moved.
Jake wasn’t such a bad boss if you overlooked his sour disposition.
A workaholic, he always seemed to show up when she needed an extra
hand to get a meal on the table or was swamped in dirty pots.
    What kind of man lived under the hurt?
    Rachel’s arm dangled over the edge of the
seat. The Queen gently bobbed. I’m glad we met, old
gal . She yawned. If you needed a friend to keep you away from
the wrong guy, a biker-chick boat was a good choice. Maybe she
could get through these two days in port without calling Bret.
     
     
    Jake slit open his eyes and peered at the
damp lashes resting on Rachel’s face, the thick curls fanning
across the cockpit cushion. Gramps would call Rachel a godsend.
    He spit the tip of the broom straw he’d been
chewing overboard. The first cruise had been good. Very good. Even
the hole Gabs had gouged out of him felt fuzzy around the edges
like an artsy photograph.
    A church girl. Had God sent Rachel? With
that mouth? Not a chance. He spit another piece of straw
overboard.
    At night in the dark, pain packed the
silence between them. His pain. Hers. He didn’t know what it was,
but he’d bet the Queen Rachel had a story to tell.
     
     

Chapter 4
     
    After their first cruise docked and Rachel
had left for the weekend, Jake bagged up a large margarine tub of
leftover spaghetti, stale garlic bread, six brownies, and a tired
looking bunch of celery. He crossed the finger pier to Leaf’s Escape and knocked on the cabin.
    A muffled, “Hidey hi,” came from behind the
closed hatch, then Leaf’s head poked out.
    Jake handed the plastic Winn Dixie bag
through the hatch to Leaf. “Brought you leftovers.”
    Leaf peeked into the bag, popping open the
margarine container. “I don’t know if I should keep taking your
surplus. That pasta will go straight to my arthritis. And
chocolate, oh my—”
    “Quit your moaning. You love chocolate.”
    Leaf laughed uneasily. “Yeah, I do, but that
doesn’t mean it’s good for me.” He deposited the booty below and
climbed into the cockpit. “How’s the new girl working out?”
    “No complaints.” Jake chuckled, remembering
Rachel’s trip overboard.
    Leaf quirked a brow.
    Jake relayed the story. “You should have
seen her arms and legs churning up the water like a poodle on its
back.”
    “Ten to one she took it better than your
high-rent girl.”
    Jake stretched his lips into a flat line.
Gabs would have been cured of sailing on the spot, but he wasn’t
about to admit it to Leaf. “Rachel screamed her head off.”
    “She ‘bout has ‘I heart sailing’ tattooed on
her caboose.”
    Jake fought a grin. “If you’re so
interested, maybe I should get you to do the hiring next time.”
    “Looks like you did fine with the hiring.
Picking a girlfriend is where you need help.”
    “Ouch. Take it easy. I love Gabs.”
    Leaf shrugged. “Don’t know for certain if
she’s our kind of folks.”
    “Maybe she was my ticket out of being our
kind of folks.”
    Leaf spat overboard. “Might as well sign up
for cotillion classes.”
    “My gramps paid private school tuition for
me, my sister, and two brothers. I made it through kindergarten and
first grade without realizing every other