wrath of the Sea Queen (255 page)

"
What can I say?  I'm a pushover for a cute face.  We
'll see you guys a little later
,
"
C
a
eli said as she took Vin's arm and walked toward Salma's room.  She knocked
softly on the door.

"
Come in
,
C
a
eli,
"
Salma's voice answered
eagerly
.

As she walked in, C
a
eli
found
Salma sitting cross-legged on the bed and Ben reclined in a chair with his feet propped up on the
mattress
.  Ben rose as Vin and C
a
eli entered
, causing
C
a
eli
to
stop short beside Vin.  He
kept his arm around her while she took
a deep breath to steady her nerves and then let go of
Vin's
hand.  She
walked over and hugged Ben.  Ben noted the smile on Vin's face and knew th
e
two had
finally
resolved whatever matter
was
troubling them earlier.  He
never doubted that
they would.

"
Hello Ben, Salma,
"
C
a
eli said with
the same
slight
smile.

"
Hello,
Lass
.  You are looking much better, though a bit unkempt,
"
Ben teased.

"
Sorry about that.  I haven't been anywhere near a hairbrush.
"
  C
a
eli roughly ran her fingers through her still wet hair.

"
Oh, Ben, cut it out.  Let her sit down.  C
a
eli, you shouldn't be walking about.  I warned you about how fragile…,
"
Salma began to remind C
a
eli about he
r high
ri
sk
condition
.

Ben
caught
the look that
momentarily pained
both
C
a
eli and Vin, and then the forced change in C
a
eli's demeanor.  She was putting up a façade and trying to make herself and Vin believe it.  Ben reached out and took Salma's hand with a subtle nod toward C
a
eli.  Salma looked more closely at her niece and realized what C
a
eli was going to say before she uttered the words.

"
Oh
C
a
eli
, w
hen?  How?  Are you sure?  Oh dear me, I can tell that you are. 
I'm sorry.  You too, Vin,
"
Salma's heart hurt for C
a
eli.  Not even Salma's gift could help her imagine what C
a
eli must be feeling after losing
both
babies.

"
It's ok, Salma.  We
'll
be all right,
"
C
a
eli sighed
as she reached for Vin's hand
.  Vin moved to stand
closer to
her and wrapped a
supportive
arm around her shoulders
.

Both Ben and Salma were shocked by the news, but C
a
eli assured them that
, phys
ically
, she was
fine.  Emotionally,
C
a
eli
was not
.  She
let
Vin explain what happened,
including the de
mise of Vicki's car.  However,
he chose to
leav
e
out the
more
graphic details. 
As
he
described the car incident,
C
a
eli
noted a rush of warm air briefly surrounding Vin, followed by a strong, cool breeze wafting through the room.  She blushed slightly, remembering what he said to her on the beach.  Apparently, it was true. 
By the time he finished
recounting the tale
, both Ben and Salma were astounded
by
what they learned.  The mood in the room was sullen and heavy, so Ben attempted to li
ft
their spirits.

"
Remind me never to get on your bad side
, Lass
,
"
Ben teased,
further
embarrass
ing her
for the excessive nature of her reaction.  Hearing it described out loud
to anyone other than Vin
made it sound
extremely
foolish.  C
a
eli ducked her head and fidgeted, avoiding looking directly at Ben.

"
Ben, you're embarrassing her.  Can't you see she already feels bad about staking such a dramatic claim on her man?
"
  Salma played along with Ben's jest, but it was Vin's whispered words in C
a
eli's ear that caused her
cheeks to darken three
more shades
.  C
a
eli
excused herself and
walk
ed
into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"
Vin, what
on earth
did you say to her?
  Her face was as red as a beet,
"
Ben laughed.

"
I t
old her it was the sexist thing I ever saw.
"

All three of them laughed.

While she was in the
bath
room, C
a
eli grabbed a washcloth and cleaned off a few of the smudges that the sea water
and rain
had
failed to remove from her face and arms
. 
Unfortunately, there was no help
for her hair or her ruined clothes. 
They
would have to
suffice
for now.  When she was done, C
a
eli looked at herself in the mirror.  There was a small improvement, but it wasn't much. 
Anyway, n
one of it was important
to her
.  She
reminded herself that she
came
here to talk to Salma. 
This was
C
a
eli
's last
task before she could
properly
freshen up
and
retreat for
some
long overdue and much ne
eded
, undisturbed
rest
.

C
a
eli rejoined the others in the main room.  The flush on her face was now replaced with a
mischievous
smile. 
It lifted Vin's heart to see it, even briefly. 
Vin
grinned
and reached
out to take her hand as she approached him
. 
C
a
eli
walked over to stand
in front of
him and leaned near as if to kiss him.  She turned away at the last moment and walked over to sit near Salma on the bed instead. 

"
Always leave 'em wanting more,
"
C
a
eli said to Salma as she sat down
with her back to the men
. 

Vin laughed.  Not only was she very easy to embarrass,
but
C
a
eli was always a good sport.

Salma
, however,
could
read her expressions almost as well as Vin.  She immediately
saw
that C
a
eli had something on her mind.  C
a
eli looked directly at Salma,
concealed a
wink
from the guys
, and
continued
out loud.

"
How are you feeling, Aunt Salma?
"

"
I'm f
ine,
Dear
.  I
woul
d love to know how you did that trick with Ben to fix my shoulder.  Perhaps you could tell me?
"
  Salma picked up on C
a
eli's intention right away.  She needed to say something to Salma without
being
overhear
d
.

"
Not in so many words.  Here, it will be easier if I show you. 
Vin taught me a really
neat
trick. 
Close your eyes,
"
C
a
eli instructed Salma as she placed her own hand over Salma's shoulder.