The Perfect Match: A New Adult Erotic Romance (Inseparable Book 2) (22 page)

Polly laughed and said, “Oh god, here come my words. I hope they taste as good the second time around.”

“Go to work, read a book, see a movie, because worrying about something you can’t change only hurts you more.”

“I’m a pretty smart cookie,” Polly said with a sad smile. “I do have to go to work this afternoon, but I’ll leave my phone on vibrate. Text me if he comes by and make him stay until I get here. Please,” she begged with tears in her eyes. “
Please
.”

“I will,” Julie said and hugged her friend close. “Go on, we’ll get through this.”

* * *

N
o messages came during her shift, so Polly sped back to Julie and Jack’s house after work only to arrive disappointed his car wasn’t parked out front. She was exhausted, but forced herself to go inside long enough to find out the latest news.

Julie answered the door with a frown and shake of her head. “No one seems to know where he is. Jack called everyone he could think of, his parents, Kurt’s parents, Uncle Charlie, but he hasn’t shown up anywhere yet.”

The news made Polly’s empty stomach clench until she felt like gagging. “There’s no reason to panic yet,” she said, but decided to call the hospitals along the route between Houston and Morgan City when she got home.

“Come in for a bit,” Julie said and pulled her in. “Charlotte made some gumbo for dinner and it’s still warm.”

“I can’t eat,” Polly said, her fingers twisting the strap of her purse.

“Just come sit for a minute. You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

The kids were already in bed and Charlotte was cleaning the kitchen when she got there. “Hey, sis,” she said with a half-smile.

“Hey, sis,” Polly said and embraced Charlotte. “What’s new?”

“Mom and Dad freakin’ out, Meemee calling every thirty minutes, you know, the usual.”

“Damn,” Polly said as she pulled back. Charlotte looked as worried as she felt.

“There’s one bright spark in all the gloom. Uncle Jack and Great Uncle Charlie think they have a plan to save Deep Drilling.”

Julie brought over a hot mug of tea and gave it to Polly with a grin. “Bush tea?”

“Oh my god, yes,” Polly said as she brought the mug under her nose for a deep breath. “Oh, this is just what I needed.” Bush tea is made from the red leaves of the rooibos bush in southern Africa and was one of Polly’s favorites. “Let’s sit and talk for a minute. I’ve been on my feet all day.”

They went to the dining room table, but left Jack alone at his end where he was typing madly.

“Does Uncle Charlie think he can help?”

“Yeah,” Charlotte said. “He said he’s got a light schedule the first couple of weeks of the new year and is going to send a couple of his smaller platform supply ships to help Jack out.”

Jack stopped typing for a second and said, “Assuming my boss is willing to keep me on, that is. The second part of the plan is to form a joint venture with Uncle Charlie and create our own transport company. That’s what I’m working on now.”

Polly tilted her head and smiled. “Which means you’d need to have someone local to pilot your ships, right?”

“Do you think Kurt would go for Director of Operations?”

She felt chills as she smiled. “You have no idea what that would mean to him coming from you.”

Jack nodded. “I think I do. We just need to get him here so I can apologize and ask him.” He rubbed his temples. “First things first, I have to get this business plan drafted and sent over to Uncle Charlie before I pass out.”

Polly had just taken another sip of her tea when Jack’s cell phone rang.

“This is Jack,” he said to answer the call. “That’s good news, so what’s next?” As he listened, Jack trapped the phone against his ear with his shoulder and continued to type on his computer. “That’s fine. I already explained what we were doing.”

Polly decided he was talking to his boss at Deep Drilling. His demeanor was more relaxed, so she hoped it was good news.

After typing some more, Jack stopped to look at the ceiling. “No, I understand. Will you give me an hour tomorrow? I have a proposal I’d like you to consider to get us out of this mess.”

Definitely his boss, Polly thought. Watching his expression shift while he was on the phone was fascinating.

Jack smiled and shut his eyes. “What do you think I’ve been doing? I’ve already got ships coming in from Morgan City to deliver our inventory starting January first!”

Hearing Jack laugh made all three women smile. After saying goodbye, Julie asked, “Well?”

“I still have a job. They didn’t find anything related to me, but the warehouse manager may not have been so lucky. He was blown away that I never stopped working on this problem, even after they suspended me. I’ve got an hour tomorrow to sell him on the idea of the partnership with Uncle Charlie.”

Julie sighed and collapsed backwards in her chair. “Thank God,” she whispered. “I thought I was going to throw up for a minute there,” she said as she rubbed her stomach.

Jack looked at Polly with an intense expression and said, “Thank you.”

She nodded at him, finished her tea in one gulp, and pushed her chair back. “I’m done. I can’t stay awake any more.”

Charlotte’s phone rang, making her sigh. “I bet it’s Meemee asking if we heard anything yet.” When she pulled out her phone, she grinned and showed them the name on the phone. “Hey there, Meemee. He is? Oh, thank god! Let me talk to that
ragondin
— Well, wake him up! When he wakes up... Okay, okay.
Mo laimé twa, Meemee. Bonswa.
”

“He’s safe?” Polly asked as her heart rose in her throat.

“Yeah, he got there about an hour ago and passed out in the downstairs guest room. She didn’t even know he was there ‘til he started snorin’! He wouldn’t wake up, so she just covered him up and left him there.” Charlotte shook her head. “I can’t believe he left me here. I’m gonna get him back for
years
on that, you can believe me.”

Polly sat back and silently thanked God. It wasn’t fixed yet, but he wasn’t off somewhere dead or hurt. She heard Julie get up and opened her eyes as both friends bent to hug her tight. The tears came fast as she sobbed out her relief with her best friend and new sister.

K
urt knocked twice on the door to Great Uncle Charlie’s office. Bernice, who worked up at the front desk, said Uncle Charlie had beaten her into the office for the last couple of days and was staying late into the night. Kurt stared at the plain wooden door, devoid of hope and more exhausted than he’d ever been.

Despite sleeping a full day, he hadn’t rested. His dreams were full of slow-motion fights where his cousin Trey danced around laughing as he avoided the blows coming his way. Slipping out of his grandparents house without being seen, Kurt drove to the one place he still felt connected.

The Mouton Transportation Company was where he’d gone after failing out of high school. It had given him a skilled trade and the long trips out on delivery runs had given him time to think. Now, the idea of getting away from everyone and everything had become irresistible.

“Come in,” Uncle Charlie yelled from inside.

Kurt opened the door to find the cluttered office exactly as it had always been. The familiar scent of pipe smoke and engine oil soothed his troubled heart as he stepped inside. His uncle’s large frame spilled out of his old wood and leather chair. When he leaned back, the chair’s springs creaked and pinged as he narrowed his eyes at his nephew without saying a word.

“I’m back,” Kurt whispered. “I was hopin’ you had a run going out. I’d be glad to fill in if you need a hand or a mate.”

Uncle Charlie nodded slowly and said, “Going out on the
St. Emiliana
to do a pick-up run. Should be back here before New Years.”

The ship was a thirty meter long platform support vessel they used to go out into the gulf for supply deliveries. When he’d left for Houston, there hadn’t been any jobs big enough for her until the middle of January at least. “Got a new client?” he asked.

“Maybe,” he said. “We’ll be leaving in the morning. Wanna come over for supper? Marianne’s been cookin’
coq au vin
all afternoon.”

“That’d be nice,” Kurt said. “Could I stay over?”

“Sure,” Uncle Charlie said with a nod. “I got some work to finish before I can leave, but I ain’t double-checked the
St. Emiliana
yet if ya’ wanna get a jump on the mornin’.”

“I’ll go do it now. Is there a cargo manifest?”

“Naw, we going out empty. If you get done before me, just head on over to the house. I’ll be along when I can.”

Kurt backed out and closed the office door. It felt like he was walking a tightrope, but as long as he kept moving and looking forward he’d be alright. After going out the side door, he went down to the dock where his Uncle’s fleet of platform supply and crew vessels waited.

At sixty meters, The
Grand Béatrice
was the largest in his uncle’s fleet and performed the longest runs out into the gulf. His eyes scanned the dozen smaller supply and crew ships until he saw his old girl, the
St. Marie
, which was the smallest of his Uncle’s ships at eighteen meters.

As he stared at the
St. Marie
, he remembered the day he’d taken the kids out on the Atchafalaya river. Looking back, that had been a good day. He thought everything had seemed so hard and complicated then. Looking at that ship again, Kurt considered what he’d give to trade places with himself back on that day.
Everything
, he thought,
I’d give everything.

Forcing himself to continue, he waved at the security guard patrolling the docks and continued on to the
St. Emiliana
. After boarding her, he used his master key to enter the bridge and grabbed the clipboard with the checklist off of the bulkhead. Starting in the engine room, he began to work his way through the list and the ship, verifying everything was ready for the run.

It was mindless work, but it felt good to do something productive. The crew had done a good job, but knowing Uncle Charlie was going to take her out would have kept them on their toes. When he finished the checklist, he sat down in the captain’s chair to stare out at the orange sunset.

He thought coming back to Morgan City would hurt somehow. Driving through town didn’t feel like much of anything. After seeing Mandy’s car at his parent’s house, Kurt decided to keep going. He didn’t want to risk running into her daughter, Kendall. Ducking into Pawpaw and Meemee’s house without running into anyone was a miracle, but he did feel bad sneaking back out to avoid them when he left.

Avoiding his family was only part of it. He still hadn’t turned on his cell phone. It was the coward’s way out, but Kurt was more concerned about keeping himself together at this point. He couldn’t face any of them, but as long as he kept moving, he wouldn’t have to.

* * *

T
he next morning, Kurt parked his car inside the secure parking lot next to the dock. He’d gone by the store on the way to his Uncle’s house the night before to buy replacements for the clothes and toiletries he’d left in Houston. Grabbing his new canvas duffel, Kurt locked the car and joined his uncle walking to the
St. Emiliana
.

“You got a lot more clothes than usual,” Kurt said, looking at his uncle’s rolling suitcase.

“Yeah,” he said. “I sho’ do. Where’s ya’ old duffel bag?” When Kurt looked over, he saw his Uncle giving him the eye.

Uncle Charlie didn’t pry, but he didn’t share too much either unless asked. Kurt had realized about halfway through dinner that no one had asked how his Christmas had been or how Jack and his family were. They were treating him almost like he was a wild animal, trying not to spook him or make him bite.

At first he was grateful they allowed him his space, but as he was driving to get on the ship he realized where Uncle Charlie might be headed. That was when the panic started. Kurt had to find out before he ended up trapped on a ship heading back to Houston.

Uncle Charlie dragged his rolling back across the gangway that led to the door in the ship’s bulkhead. Kurt stopped before stepping off the dock as his panic made him sweat. “I can’t do it,” he whispered more to himself than his uncle.

Uncle Charlie stopped and turned around to look at him. “We gonna be on this ship fo’ about a day before we get anywhere. There’s plenty of time to decide what you wanna do when you get there.”

“How much do you know about what happened?” Kurt asked before moving an inch.

“Only one way to find out,” he said, then turned around and went inside.

Shutting his eyes, Kurt took deep breaths of the sea air. The scent of fish and diesel smoke stilled the panic until he could think again.
Trust Uncle Charlie
, he told himself.
It’s the only way out of this mess.

He forced his legs to move, walking into the ship with a grim determination that belied the simple act. Uncle Charlie was waiting just inside with a grin on his face. “First steps are always hardest,” he said. “Stow your gear and and I’ll see ya’ in the bridge after ya’ cast us off. You’re the first mate on this run.”

Kurt was bunking in the common room with the three other crew members he knew. The ship normally took a crew of twelve when it went out for deliveries, but for a pick-up run between Christmas and New Years five was plenty. Greeting them each by name, they all shook hands and chatted while Kurt stowed his gear.

When Uncle Charlie signaled he was ready to cast off over the intercom, Kurt got the crew moving. Before long, the rumble of the twin engines revving up made his feet tingle as Uncle Charlie took them through the intra-coastal waterway towards the open gulf.

When the crew finished securing the ship, they went back to the galley to play cards while Kurt joined his Uncle up on the bridge. Neither man spoke until they entered open water, but Kurt could feel the tension eating at him the whole time.

“So ya’ gonna tell me about it?” Uncle Charlie said as he dug out his pipe and stained leather pouch of tobacco. Kurt watched him load the bowl, tamping it down tight with his thumb before lighting it.