In Hot Pursuit (16 page)

"What's
that puffing noise?" Mike asked.

"The
whales blowing as they surface for air," Will replied. He reached for the
synthesizer. "We'll play something jazzy to catch their attention."
He began playing a lively little tune. For a while, the only sounds the
amplifiers picked up were those of the whales blowing. But as
Will
continued playing, a series of high pitched notes could
be heard. Will placed his hand on Mike’s shoulder, and said, "They're
harmonizing with the notes I'm playing, using clicks and whistles to vocalize
the rhythm and melody."

Mike smiled. "Cool,"
he replied, then ducked away from Will’s hand.

The pod seemed
excited. Then, one large orca left the group and swam directly toward the boat,
his cries in perfect interplay with the tones of the synthesizer, his breath
pushing louder and louder through the hydrophone, until the volume needle of
the decibel meter swept into the red. Suddenly, the orca leapt out of the water
in front of the boat, then turned and swam away. Mike let out a squeal. Will
hushed him with the wave of his hand. "Don't make too much noise," he
said. "They hear us. Jumping out of the water like that's called
breaching. That big guy's probably come to say hello. I've worked with this pod
before."

Will began
playing the jazzy tune again and soon the orca started vocalizing, surfacing,
and swimming near the boat. Another one broke loose, blowing and slapping the
water with his tail as he came within inches of the speaker while circling.
Without warning he breached, spraying them with water, then disappeared below
the surface.

"As you
can see, they're also playful," Will said, shaking off the water.

Mike broke into
childish laughter as he too shook off the water. And Nellie realized it was the
first true laugh she'd heard from Mike since they'd left Medford. And from the
twinkle in Will's eyes, he too was enjoying Mike's unexpected response.

Will said to
Mike, "They're also good musicians."

Mike looked at
him, puzzled. "How can they be? They don't have hands."

"They
don't need them to compose," Will said. "Sometimes when I play a
tune, they add their own variation, and they do it so well I almost forget
they're not people. Come play a few notes and see what happens."

Mike pursed his
lips. "I don't know how to play."

"That's
okay," Will said. "Just punch out a few notes."

Mike played a
few notes and stopped. "I can't play," he said, then stepped to the
rail.

Nellie moved to
stand beside him. "They're beautiful, aren't they," she said,
watching an orca glide around the boat in a wide circle.

Mike's eyes
followed the large dorsal fins cutting the surface of the water. "I
guess."

"And they
can count," Will said.

Mike's brows
drew together. "How do you know that?"

"Once in a
session with a single orca, I played a sequence of beats—three beats, two
beats, one beat and then nothing, and the orca vocalized the same
sequence—three, two, one and silence. I repeated several times to make sure it
wasn't a coincidence, but every time, it was the same, and I knew the orca was
counting."

Mike's face
brightened again. "He did? For real?"

"He sure
did," Will said. He caught the flicker of excitement in Mike's eyes.
"We also know that their clicks are a kind of sonar, bouncing off objects
and returning as echoes to tell them the size, shape, and even the material of
an object."

"You mean
like bats?" Mike said. "We learned in school they do something like
that."

"Right,"
Will replied. "And talking about school, they're also teachers."

"What do
you mean?"

Will rested his
hand lightly on Mike's shoulder, felt his resistance, and removed his hand.
"One time, when an orca made a series of sounds, I tried to repeat them.
When I couldn't get the sound right, the orca slowed the whole thing down and
repeated the sounds in half-time, like I was a slow learner."

Mike looked at
him, his face eager, as if about to reply, then he turned to watch the whale, a
slight smile on his lips, and Will knew they'd made a small step forward,
though the path they were heading down would ultimately lead to a dead end. But
for now, Will felt he had something to offer the kid, if only fond memories of
interacting with a pod of orca on his first trip on the
Isadora
with his mother.

Shortly
afterward, the whale left and didn't return, so Will lowered the kayak into the
water and prepared to paddle Nellie and Mike, one at a time, the short distance
to shore to search the rocky beaches for shells. He decided that in the clear
light of day, the two would be safe while on the beach, where he'd be able to
see them from the boat, if anyone approached.

Mike said
nothing as Will explained what to do, but when the boy lowered himself into the
cockpit, Will could see sparks of excitement in his eyes and he resolved to
take Mike in the kayak later, and show him how to handle the craft and let him
experience the excitement of bobbing on the crest of waves and dipping into the
troughs between. Why it seemed important to gain Mike’s trust and admiration,
Will couldn’t explain, since he had no intention of committing to him or his
mother on a permanent basis. So perhaps it was simply a need to reach out to a
fatherless boy, nothing more.

After leaving
Nellie and Mike on shore, Will returned to the
Isadora
to document his session with the orca. As he sat in the
wheelhouse, recording his findings, he glanced out the window and noted that
the small trawler he'd seen earlier was back. Lifting the binoculars to his
eyes, he saw three men aboard, all looking toward the
Isadora
. None resembled the old man from the marina, but one could
be the man Mike described—large, bald-headed. None of the men were dressed for
fishing. One pointed at the
Isadora
,
and immediately, the baldheaded man went into the cabin of the trawler. He
returned with binoculars, which he raised to his eyes, then looked directly at
Will, though the man might not have seen him standing behind the window, with
glare from the sky reflected against the glass. But there was no question all
three men were watching the
Isadora
.
Will turned from the window and made a mental note to keep an eye on the
location of the trawler and the activities aboard. He’d also spare Nellie the
worry of knowing they were being watched. Another burden she didn’t need.

That night at
dinner, Mike chattered excitedly about their explorations on shore, and about
the session with the orca. He seemed especially interested in the kayak, and
asked several questions. Seeing Mike's enthusiasm, Will suggested they take the
kayak out the following day. Nellie wasn't sure she liked that idea, but seeing
the gleam in Mike's eyes she didn't want to say no, at least not yet. Shortly
afterwards, Mike washed and went to bed without a fuss. Nellie noticed that,
ever since they'd left on the cruise, he'd been going to bed easier, and his
sleep had been sound, with no dreams. Remembering how well she'd slept on the
boat as a child, she attributed it to the fresh sea air and the gentle rocking
of the
Isadora
.

After changing
into her gown and slipping on her robe, Nellie went to the fo'c'sle to check on
Mike. Finding him sleeping, she closed the door. Although every evening before
this, she'd joined Will on deck, tonight she intended to return to her
stateroom, not wanting a repeat of what happened on the bridge. She'd even told
Will not to expect her. But catching a view of the stars in a clear moonless
sky, she dismissed the little voice in her head telling her this was a really,
really bad idea, and ventured onto the deck. She found Will sitting on a
sleeping bag on the afterdeck, just as before, staring out over the water.

He looked at
her in surprise. "I thought you weren't coming tonight," he said,
moving over so she could sit beside him. "What made you change your
mind?"

Nellie lowered
herself to the sleeping bag, keeping some distance between them, and replied.
"The stars. They're never as bright in the city, and I just decided to
come."

"Then I
must have a lucky star up there somewhere," Will said, "because you
said you weren't coming, and I was hoping you'd change your mind and now you're
here."

Nellie glanced
at him. "Just to let you know, Mike's dead to the world."

Will eyed her
dubiously. "Does that mean what I think?"

"No,"
Nellie said. "I was just passing on information." At least she
thought that's what she was doing, although the idea of picking up where they'd
left off in the wheelhouse had been occupying her mind.

Feeling achy
from the day on the beach, she pressed her hands to the small of her back and
stretched, while rotating her head and wiggling her shoulders. "I guess
I'm not cut out for such heavy beach combing," she said. "Two hours
of walking on soft sand has muscles aching in my legs, and I've got kinks in my
back and shoulders that won't quit."

"It just
so happens kinks are my specialty," Will said. "Turn around and sit
right here." He spread his legs and patted the sleeping bag between them.

Nellie ignored
the same little voice now telling her that letting
Will
massage her shoulders and back was an invitation for him to do a lot more than
just get rid of kinks, and turned her back to him, moving to sit between his
legs. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and with his thumbs, began gently
kneading the muscles between her shoulder blades.

"Umm, that
helps," Nellie said, feeling her body relax under the firm, gentle
pressure of Will’s thumbs as they rubbed and kneaded her sore muscles. "I
think you've missed your calling," she said, dreamily. "You should be
a masseuse."

Will laughed
lightly. "I'd switch from being a marine biologist in an instant if all my
customers would feel so good under my hands," he said. Little by little he
made his way down Nellie's back, his thumbs circling and pressing into the long
muscles on either side of her backbone, while his fingers moved down. But
gradually, the pressure of his thumbs lessened, and his hands moved around to
capture the fullness of her breasts while also teasing her nipples.

Nellie's heart
quickened, and her breath grew heavy, and her lungs seemed trapped for air as
Will's fingers stroked and teased.

"Am I
crossing the boundary?" Will asked, while concentrating on her nipples
until they were hard nubs and tingles coursed down to center between her legs.

"Yes,"
Nellie said, dreamily.

"Then you
won't mind if I do this." Will drew her robe open and cupped her breasts
through her gown and gently kneaded.

"I mind
only because I'm wanting you to do more, so that's why I'm doing this."
She took Will's hands from her breasts, then leaned back against him and pulled
his hands around her middle. "I think it's best they stay right
here."

Will kissed her
on the side of the face. "I could disagree, but I'll go along with
it."

Nellie rested
her head back and gave a soft little moan of contentment. As she absorbed the
warmth of Will's chest against her back, and felt the heavy beating of her
heart against his arms, a vagrant thought wandered into her head: how much
she’d like to have a child with Will, maybe a little girl. Mike would be a
doting big brother. But he’d have to first accept Will, which he would in time.
A brother would be fine too. Maybe twins; there were several sets in her
family. A boy and a girl. But two girls to dress in frilly dresses would be
fun. But Mike might rather have just a little brother to hang out with when
they were older, someone to do boy things with.

Will whispered
in her ear, "A penny for your thoughts."

Nellie sobered
at once. "It’s really nothing," she said, reflecting on Will's
negative response to her comment about Will having the makings of a natural
father. For some reason he had no faith in himself, which was understandable
since he claimed he'd never been around children. But once Mike started warming
up to him and
Will
learned how rewarding a son could
be, he'd want more kids, she was certain. But first he had to be convinced that
being a good father didn't happen overnight, it came with time...

Will nibbled on
her earlobe and said, "You were somewhere else a few minutes ago and I’m
curious to know what took you so far away from me."

Nellie tipped
her head to the side, allowing Will to kiss the column of her neck, and said, "I
was an only child so the whole world revolved around me, it seemed, which
really isn't a good thing for a child. So I was thinking about how much I wanted
at least one more child so Mike would have a sibling. But I need a father for
this child I hope to have."

Will's arms,
which had been wrapped snugly around her, slackened their hold. It was some
moments before he said, in a sober voice, "I hope you’re not thinking of
me to father that child."

"Well no,"
Nellie said, chagrinned. "You asked, so I was just telling you my
thoughts."

"Yeah,
well, I just want to make sure we understand each other," Will said.

"We
do." Nellie moved out of the circle of Will's arms and out from between
his legs and sat beside him. Drawing her knees up, she wrapped her arms around
them. After a while, when Will offered nothing more, Nellie glanced at his firm
profile, and said, "Is it a ready-made family you’re avoiding or having children
of your own? Or is it the wife you don’t want? Of course you could have
children without the wife, so I have to assume it has something to do with
kids." When Will still offered nothing, she said, "All right, I won’t
bring it up again. Obviously it’s a closed subject." She started to get up
but
Will
put his hand on her arm to stop her. She
turned and waited for him to speak.