Never Say Never (5 page)

For a moment, Chelle paled then her face flushed. “I'm going to take it back to Merry.”

“Give it to me, Chelle.” At Charlotte's steely tone, her daughter took a step backward.

The teenager went to her large drawer and pawed through the clothes in it. “It should be right here, but I can't find it.”

“Is it still wet?” Charlotte walked closer to her daughter.

“Wet?” Chelle licked her lips and took a deep breath. “I don't think it's wet.”

Charlotte glanced down at the carpet then back at her daughter. “Have you been out of the water long enough for it to dry out?”

Tears filled Chelle's eyes. “How”—her voice had a catch in it—“how did you know?”

Holding out her hand, Charlotte answered, “I saw you get out of the boat.” Then she lost her control on her anger. “What did you think you were doing parading around almost naked in front of those hormonal young men?”

“Mother!” Chelle clutched the large bath towel around her.

“Did you think they wouldn't look? They couldn't miss it.” Charlotte still held her hand out.

Chelle reached back into the drawer and pulled out the beach towel she brought from home just in case she needed it. She opened the folds and extracted the offending bits of fabric. “Here. Take it. Can't you let me have any fun?”

Charlotte caught the bikini her daughter threw at her. “Fun? You call that fun? What happened to the daughter I raised to be a strong Christian girl?”

With defiant eyes, Chelle shouted, “Why does everything have to be about you? What about me?” She threw herself onto her bed and sobbed uncontrollably.

Charlotte stood, holding the still damp clothing while tears streamed down her own cheeks and her heart broke.
I lost it again. Why am I always doing that with Chelle?

Five

Chelle cried herself to sleep, and Charlotte paced the length of the cabin. This was not how she imagined spending this cruise with her daughter. Chelle seemed to be recovering from the loss of her father, but maybe she hurt more than she let on. Perhaps she hid it because she didn't want to add to her mother's pain.

I've got to do something to heal our hearts. Make tomorrow a new day. Our last day on an island. We need to build good memories together so when we get home, we'll have things to talk about. We have to reconnect.

Sure, Chelle was grieving, but Charlotte knew that her age worked against the situation. The mothers of Chelle's friends often talked about the battle of wills as young people pushed boundaries. That was what Chelle was doing, trying to find her boundaries.
I need wisdom in the morning.

Charlotte stopped by the window. Tonight they had the drapes pulled back. Millions of stars twinkled in the sky like sparkling jewels against a velvet indigo background. A full moon made a bright path across the water, reaching from the horizon to the ship. Part of her wanted to step out and walk the magical, golden road to a new and better life. If only it could be that simple.

Well after midnight, Charlotte finally undressed and slipped between the clean sheets. Because they never left the stateroom after their excursions that day, the cabin stewards didn't have opportunity to come in and prepare the room for the night, leaving a whimsical animal made out of towels for their enjoyment. Charlotte didn't miss that as much as she missed the wonderful mint on her pillow. She was afraid she wouldn't get much sleep, but once she fell asleep, she didn't awaken until morning.

When Charlotte opened her eyes, Chelle sat on her own bed, with her knees drawn up, watching her mother. “Mom, I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't do what I did, and I was mad that I'd gotten caught. Can you forgive me?”

Charlotte's heart melted. She went over to sit beside Chelle. “Of course. And you need to forgive me for losing my temper.”

Chelle put her arms around her mother, and they shared a bear hug like the ones they used to share when she was younger.

“How about we do something together on Jamaica? It's our last chance on the cruise to go on an excursion together.” Charlotte hoped she wasn't pushing too hard.

Chelle jumped up and got the cruise guidebook. “I want to do that waterfall thing everyone is talking about.”

They pored over the list and chose the excursion that also included a visit to a working plantation and lunch on the beach.

“Let's hope there are still tickets available.” Charlotte walked toward the phone. “We should have decided where we wanted to go that first day we spent at sea. If we had ordered our tickets then, we wouldn't have to worry about not getting some now.”

When she called the purser, other passengers had turned in two tickets to that excursion, so Charlotte ordered them. They quickly dressed and went to the breakfast buffet at the Oceanic Grille. After finishing, they had to hurry to reach the theater in time for their excursion group to meet.

After an explanatory speech by one of the crewmembers, the group took the elevators down to deck two to exit the ship. Big white vans waited on the other side of the fence from the dock to whisk them away from Ocho Rios. Charlotte liked having her daughter with her on the bus.

Chelle eagerly took everything in. “There aren't as many palm trees here as on the other two islands and lots of other kinds of trees. Mom, why were Cozumel and Grand Cayman so flat, but Jamaica has mountains?”

“Jamaica was formed by volcanic action on the ocean floor, much like the Hawaiian Islands were. Cozumel and the Cayman Islands are coral islands that built up over time.”

Chelle turned back from the window. “Oh yeah, we studied something about that kind of thing in science class. I had forgotten.”

The people seated in front of them turned around and introduced themselves. The rest of the forty-five-minute drive to the plantation was spent getting acquainted.

After they exited the vans, Chelle turned all around, looking at everything. There was a lot to see, and Charlotte's heart gladdened because of her interest.

“Look at those funny tractor thingies.”

“Those ‘funny tractor thingies' are going to take us on a tour of the plantation.” Charlotte led her daughter to the last vehicle to load passengers.

As they traveled through the lush tropical setting, their guide told them the history of the plantation, which had been producing tropical fruit since the eighteenth century. Sugar cane for both sugar and rum was another cash crop grown there. Finally, they reached a large packing shed with modern equipment and lots of workers.

“Look, Mom.” Chelle pointed toward tables set up by a huge tree with branches spreading to provide a canopy of shade. “They have refreshments for us. I'm really thirsty.”

Charlotte followed her. They drank punch and sampled sweet juicy pineapple, pieces of crunchy coconut, and chunks of fresh sugar cane, which they sucked on to get out the syrupy nectar.

“This punch is good.” Chelle turned toward the Jamaican woman with the broad smile, who stood behind the table. “What's in it?”

“Oh, little bits o' this 'n' that. All the kinds of fruit grown on the plantation.” Her musical accent floated through the humid air. “Would your mother like some punch with a little more punch?” Her eyebrows rose as she turned to Charlotte.

“No, thank you. This is just fine.” Charlotte took another sip and reached for a large chunk of fresh coconut meat.

“Okay everybody.” The guide stood in the center of the clearing holding a clipboard. “Come on now. We're going to the Great House.”

After the short ride, they filed up on the wide, columned porch and through the double front doors. Charlotte loved the open feel of the rooms. Windows reached almost from the floor to the tall ceilings. They were wide open to let in the breeze, which was helped along by the many ceiling fans. Even so, she was glad she had worn her coolest gauzy culottes and tank top.

Furniture spread in pleasing arrangements in the large rooms told the history of the area. Pieces from the last three centuries blended together, giving the house a timeless feel. Charlotte was sure many of the antiques were valuable. If she owned this place, she wouldn't let tourists, who might damage something, troop through it.

“I'd love to live in a house like this, wouldn't you, Mom?”

Chelle's interest pleased Charlotte. “Sure, but only if we have servants to clean it. It's huge.”

“But you could have some really great parties here.”

Evidently the guide heard their conversation. “Oh, yes, there have been many wonderful parties in this house. Too bad the walls can't talk. What a history they would reveal. Celebrities from many countries have attended.” He ended with a merry laugh.

Before Charlotte was ready to leave, he called them back to the vans for the ride to Dunn's River Falls. Chelle couldn't sit still; she was so excited for the chance to climb the giant waterway. Charlotte wasn't sure she even wanted to, but she did want to spend the whole day with Chelle.

On the beach, they were given rubber shoes to wear in the water. Charlotte glanced dubiously at the pair handed to her. “Are these clean?”

“Oh, yes, ma'am. We sanitize them each time between tours.” The young Jamaican woman's teeth gleamed through her dark smile. “Can't have people passing anything bad around, now can we?”

They were divided into groups of ten. Charlotte was first in line for her group. After telling them to hold hands and not let go, the guide took Charlotte's hand and started up the rocks over which the water tumbled. This was no little waterfall. Several yards wide and taller than she could estimate, thousands of gallons of water a second had to be tumbling over the uneven formations. In some places, the water depth reached almost to her waist. She didn't feel confident as she stepped onto the uneven rocks. She wanted to be sure of her step each time.

Before long, the guide pulled on her wrist. “Come on, lady, you're too slow.”

Charlotte felt like jerking her hand away from his, but he gripped her wrist too hard. “I want to be sure I have a safe place to put my foot.”

“Just step in the place where I step. That's the safest spot.” He wasn't smiling as most of the Jamaicans she'd seen before.

Charlotte looked at his feet. When he moved one of his, she put her foot in the same spot. She glanced up. They were still very near the bottom, and she couldn't see the top of the waterfall. This was going to be a long climb. With each movement, she followed the leader, but she wasn't enjoying all the effort it took to get up these cliffs covered with water. Hopefully, Chelle was. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached the top.

“Great. We made it.” Charlotte tried to extricate her hand from the guide's.

“No, ma'am, we're not finished.”

Charlotte looked at the large pool where they stood. Trees grew on both sides and shaded the lagoon.

When the last person on their team reached the plateau, the guide led them catty-corner across the gurgling water. On the other side, a waterfall about half as tall as the part they had already climbed rose above them.

Charlotte stopped, and Chelle plowed into her back. “Mom, what's wrong?”

“I don't want to climb up there. I'm really tired.” She turned to the guide. “Is there no other way out of here?”

He gave a disgusted huff then pointed to the side. “See those steps leading out of the water?” She nodded. “You can go over there and walk up instead of climbing the waterfall.”

Charlotte looked back at her daughter. “Would you be very disappointed if I did that?”

Chelle studied her mother's expression for a minute. “Not if you don't mind me climbing up the rest of the way without you.”

When Charlotte read the understanding in her daughter's expression, she slogged through the water toward the wooden stairs.

❧

Gareth hadn't been able to get his thoughts off Charlotte and her daughter. He almost didn't hear Doug when he suggested that they take part in the Monopoly Tournament the next day.

“Why would we want to do that?”

“Sometimes you play some of the games. I just thought it would be good PR. Since this is a new ship. People like a captain who makes himself available to them, and word gets around.”

“Okay, put us on the schedule.”

Gareth didn't want to think about games. His mind was on other things. He had made sure the room steward took the invitation to dine at his table to the cabin and put it on Charlotte's pillow where she would be sure to find it. If she didn't come tonight, he would have to find a way to talk to her later. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. He didn't like this feeling of not being in control—of his own emotions as well as whatever was going on with Charlotte and her daughter. Maybe he had been at sea too long. Was it time to think about a position shoreside?

After arriving at the Captain's Cocktail Party, he took his usual non-alcoholic fruit punch and looked for Charlotte. When he didn't see her, he mingled with the guests, stopping to shake a hand here, compliment a lady there. Usually, he didn't eat any of the hors d'oeuvres supplied by the chefs, but nervousness took him to the table. Of course, they were excellent, but before he realized how many he'd eaten while he was speaking to the various clusters of people, he started to feel a little full. Not a good move. With lobster and steak tonight at dinner, he wanted to save room.

The party seemed to take forever without Charlotte. He moved close to the door every time a new group arrived, but she didn't come. Finally, it was time to call everyone's attention and introduce the senior members of his staff, who were in their dress uniforms. When that task was completed, the orchestra struck up some swing dance music, and Gareth quietly slipped out with the rest of the crew. He didn't enjoy feeling like a teenager trying to catch a glimpse of his crush-of-the-week. This had to stop.

Everyone he invited to share his table at dinner arrived several minutes early, except the two Halloran women. The effort of trying to hide his disappointment nearly choked him. He leaned down to hear what the elderly woman sitting beside him was saying. Her extremely soft voice was almost drowned out, even though the dining room wasn't noisy.

“Captain—” A voice spoke over his shoulder. “I'm sorry we're late. It was my fault, not Mom's. She wanted to buy me a dress at the boutique, and I had a hard time choosing between this one and another one.”

He quickly stood and pulled out the chairs for both Charlotte and Chelle. The lightness of his heart made him feel that he could take off flying. “You're not too late.” He pushed in the teenager's chair and reached for Charlotte's. The delicate fragrance of her perfume filled his senses making him feel almost intoxicated. “That dress was a very good choice. Besides, we haven't started ordering yet.”

❧

Charlotte perused the extensive menu, not able to make up her mind. Seafood, prime rib, other steaks. Even though her stomach growled at the thought of the food, she couldn't decide.