Volcano (14 page)

Tammy knew she liked Penelope for a reason. She beamed approvingly at this suggestion.

Charlie grabbed Penelope's arm and held on tight. “No, you don't. You're damned well staying here and translating for me. I don't talk womanspeak so well. Is she saying what I think she's saying?”

Tammy wanted to punch the lout. Why in the world had she thought the fatheaded jerk would understand? He never had. He'd just bullied people who made her cry, and in her silly hero worship, she'd thought that meant he understood her pain.

“Tamara, let me apologize for your brother,” Penelope said stiffly, halting their progress around the terrace. “I've known him only a couple of days, so if there's any hint of sensitivity in his nature, I haven't had time to discover it. I don't want to intrude on a family quarrel, but I'd be happy to help if you need someone to talk to.”

Tammy fought the tears burning her eyes. She was a weakling. She'd always known that. She cried over TV commercials, for heaven's sake. And now she was crying because Charlie hadn't found a true love at last. Stupid of her to think he had. He'd certainly never had any example to follow.

Or maybe she was crying in frustration. It didn't matter. She could see through the patio doors that her mother had finally arrived. It was time for dinner. And then Charlie would run as fast as his feet could carry him.

“Thank you, Penelope. I appreciate the offer. If you could persuade Charlie to linger longer than dinner, I might take you up on that. Otherwise, I'm sorry you won't be my new sister-in-law. I didn't know Charlie had really resorted to kidnapping these days.”

Releasing her brother's arm, Tammy walked toward the house, trying not to drag her leg too badly. She wasn't too tired, so she thought she carried it off pretty well.

Behind her, she could hear Charlie and Penelope arguing. She almost smiled. At least Charlie had found a woman who would stand up to him. She could remember the airheads he used to bring home. They'd practically licked his feet. The relationship would probably never last, but she'd like to admire it for the time being. Maybe she could learn a thing or two about standing up for herself.

The conversation over dinner was inevitably stilted. Her mother tried desperately to persuade Charlie to stay, stooping as low as outright bribery. Charlie ignored her. He had his mind focused on Raul's construction project in the village. Tammy didn't understand his subtle digs at Emile, but they were getting under her father's skin. Emile had a terrible temper, a cold one that simmered until he wreaked revenge on whoever had thwarted him. Charlie was playing with fire.

She wasn't entirely certain of Penelope's part in this drama. She admired the way Charlie's friend politely displayed the manners that reflected her upbringing, but Tammy sensed an undercurrent that she couldn't tap. Penelope hid anger beneath her pleasant demeanor, but Tammy didn't think it was a destructive anger.

A boom in the distance rattled the dinnerware. Charlie started out of his seat, but Emile merely waved his fork in dismissal. “They're repairing that rock slide on the highway. It's nothing.”

Tammy wondered why Charlie didn't look as if he believed him. She appreciated Penelope's attempts to make peace between Charlie and their mother. Eventually, even Charlie fell victim to her soft insistence on diverting the topic to more neutral grounds.

“I'm not an engineer, but I think studies have been done proving the heat of the volcano could provide sufficient energy for this half of the island,” Charlie responded to Penelope's questioning. “But you have to understand the island mentality. The water company alone employs more people than they can use. If they didn't hire the people politicians pushed down their throats, management would lose their jobs. If you think politics are bad in Miami, you ought to hang around here for a while.”

“It's not just the politicians at fault,” Tammy reminded him. “There are power brokers behind them who pull the strings. But unlike the States, there is less money and less distance between the puppets and the puppeteers, so the results are more noticeable.” Tammy basked in Charlie's startled but approving look. At least somebody noticed she was not only an adult, but one with brains.

“You have no idea what you're talking about, Tamara,” Emile intruded. “You would do better to concentrate on where you and your mother would like to go shopping next week. Paris? New York? Or is that too cold?”

Tammy thought Penelope's jaw would drop to her chest at this response. Heartened by the possibility that the attitude in the States might actually be as enlightened as she hoped, she smiled at her father. “Miami, Papa, I would like to shop in Miami.”

“Nonsense. Italy is warm this time of year. What do you think, dear? Rome for the spring fashions?”

Emile addressed the inquiry to his wife, but Tammy saw the smoldering fury in the look he sent Charlie. She hadn't intended to target Charlie with her request. She'd just been following the path she'd tentatively constructed to freedom. She threw Charlie a helpless look of apology, but he appeared oblivious to the nuances of the conversation.

“You ought to let her visit me in Miami. They have some nice shops, and I can show her around. Or Mom could. She knows the place as well as I do, although it's changed some since she was there.”

Bless Charlie's blind little heart. He was offering everything she wanted to hear, and everything her father wouldn't allow. Tammy didn't understand the whole of it, but she understood her father's need to control. Her mother had given up trying to return to her old home years ago. Emile wouldn't consider it.

“I'd love to show you the newest places,” Penelope offered quietly. “And my sister would love to meet you. We're twins, but she's always been a homebody. One would think that sharing identical genes and environment, we would think alike, but nothing could be further from the truth.”

Wow! That was a great diversion. It had even thrown Charlie for a loop. Tammy bit back her laughter as he looked at Penelope with astonishment. She'd love to throw these two together, but she still had her own plans in mind, dangerous ones.

Raul had told her that Charlie was behind the development, but she hadn't believed he'd ever return to the island. She'd been counting on Raul to help her out, but Charlie was better yet.

“We're taking the yacht into Castries for drinks with a few friends later this evening,” her mother announced as the last dessert plate was cleared. “We'd be delighted to have you accompany us. Have you seen much of Castries, Penelope?”

“No, and I would love to some other time. I'm afraid I have a job here, however, and I really need to get back to work in the morning.”

Tammy thought Penelope might skewer Charlie with the pointedness of her look, but Charlie deliberately ignored her. She would kick her brother under the table but she needed his help too much to antagonize him. Rising, she deflected the conversation to her own purposes.

“I have some supplies I want to take down to the church. It would be lovely if you could take me, Charlie. I hate bothering Alphonso.”

“Alphonso will take you,” Emile declared, also rising. “Charles has already made it clear he has business elsewhere.” He directed his next shot at Charlie. “I suggest you return to Miami, where you know what's good for you and what's not. You're out of your league here.”

He strode off without looking back.

“We really must be going, Mom. Maybe I'll have time to look in on you before I leave again.” Charlie hugged his mother and kissed her cheek.

Tammy hadn't realized how much her mother had shrunk over the years. She'd always thought of Vivian St. Philippe as an elegant, statuesque beauty who drifted through society with ease. She could see now that she was merely a woman torn by her family and battered by circumstance, no matter how comfortable her surroundings.

“If you'll send Alphonso for their bags, Mother,” Tammy said lightly, hoping no one could hear her desperation, “I'll walk Penelope and Charlie to their car. Have you seen their jeep? It's just like a little toy. Maybe Papa could get one like it for me. I'd love to have my own car.”

That would raise enough arguments to divert any suspicion. She could drive with her left foot. She didn't need the right. But her parents wouldn't hear of it. Hiding impatience, she smiled through her mother's weak protest, caught Charlie's arm, and tugged him toward the terrace.

“All right, baby sister,” Charlie hissed as they reached the corner of the house, out of hearing of anyone but Penelope. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I'm practically a
prisoner
,” she bleated, hating the sound of her own voice but unable to control it now that freedom could be minutes away. “They're smothering me. They won't let me go off to school, they won't let me drive, they won't let me go anywhere without them or one of the servants. How can I have my own life if my mother's tied to me by an umbilical cord?”

“And what do you want me to do about it?” Charlie asked. “Penny was only kidding about the kidnapping. I'm not any good at underhandedness.”

Penelope snorted but didn't speak.

“Take me with you. Put me on a plane out of here. I don't even have my own money. You're my only chance. Raul promised to help, but he's disappeared. I don't know what else to do.”

Charlie instantly stiffened. Glancing behind them, he pulled her farther into the shrubbery, where spying eyes couldn't see them. Tammy noticed Penelope lingered near a dangling orchid, within hearing distance but guarding their privacy from anyone walking down the path.

“Have you seen Raul?” Charlie demanded. “I'm looking for him.”

Tammy bit her quivering lip. She hadn't wanted to face all the possible causes of Raul's disappearance. She'd thought he'd just grown tired of her. He was a man of the world, closer to her brother's age than her own. She didn't have much to offer. But she couldn't ignore the possibilities....

Fighting tears, she turned her face up to Charlie. “I thought he'd gone back to Miami. I love him, Charlie. You have to help me find him. You don't think Papa would hurt him, do you?”

She didn't want to believe her father would hurt anyone, but she was afraid he'd kill Raul if he knew what they'd done. Raul couldn't exactly be classified as wealthy, aristocratic, or from the best of families. He wasn't even entirely white.

The cold shock on Charlie's face verified her worst fears.

“Damn, but I'll kill the bastard. You're nothing but a baby. He had no right....”

Penelope wrapped her fingers around Charlie's thick biceps and squeezed hard. She didn't figure she'd caused any pain, but she surprised him enough to shut him up. “Twenty is not a baby. Shut up, Charlie, before you make things worse.”

She swung a sympathetic gaze toward Tammy. “Look, I have some idea of what you're going through, but you'll have to put your own needs aside for a while. Raul is missing. That's the main concern here. Help Charlie find him. Then we can move on to the next step.”

Tears clung to Tammy's eyelashes, and her bottom lip quivered. She looked prepared for a physical blow, but at Penelope's words, she straightened her shoulders and nodded. She gave Charlie a tentative glance, but her voice was steady. “Raul has a hut at the back of those acres his cousin used to farm. It's in the forest and kind of covered with vines. It's not much, but people left him alone there. He was hassled constantly when he stayed on the site.”

“The tree house!” Charlie exclaimed. “I can't believe he's built another tree house. The man has shit for brains.”

He would have stalked toward the car right there and then, but Penelope dug her fingers in. She could tell Charlie didn't like being held back. It was about time someone taught him how it felt. “Your sister?” she reminded him.

Charlie shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. He could scarcely look Tammy in the face. Penelope smothered a grin. Men were so damned transparent. “I assume the island doesn't offer a large choice of men?” she prompted him.

He regarded her warily but nodded. Tammy pouted and started to speak, but Penelope cut her off.

“I don't encourage running away, but perhaps some arrangement could be made? My sister and I have a guest room, if that will help.”

Both Tammy and Charlie regarded her with matching suspicion and hope. Penelope felt like a harpooned porpoise, caught and inextricably trapped. “I really don't want to hurt your mother. Is she as helpless as she seems?”

Tammy jumped on that one. “Yes. She's argued and argued but Father won't let her go to Miami and won't listen when she stands up for me. Not that she stands up for me often,” she finished sulkily.

“Look, Raul could be in some danger. I've got to find him before it gets dark. I don't have time to plan your escape, Tammy, and I'm not certain I approve, in any event. Raul's too damned old for you.”

Penelope could see the anger flaring in Charlie's eyes, but he knew nothing about vulnerable, lovesick young girls. She did. “That isn't the point right now. The point is whether we should help Tammy start a life of her own. Can you help put her through school if she goes to the States?”