Undertow by Cherry Adair Read Free Book Online

said, ´You have a perfectly good queen-sized bed, Wil iams, why are you camped out on the floor?µ
    Teal gave him a wide-eyed look. Ís it against your rules?µ
    Í don·t have any rules.µ

    ´That·s what I thought.µ She replaced her ear buds and picked up her book again, resting it on her pale knees.
    Concentrate, damn it. No looking at her legs. He plucked the ear buds out with a little tug.
    ´You don·t need to babysit the engines. I promise you, they·l be here when you get up in the morning.µ
    ´Why aren·t we moving?µ she demanded, sounding cranky and out of sorts.
    ´Because we dropped anchor three hours ago.µ
    She perked up. ´We·re back in port?µ
    Ńo, Teal, we·re at B-seventeen.µ
    She looked blank. ´B-seventeen?µ
    Ćode name for the first dive site. Which you·d know if you hadn·t lit out of there before any of the rest of us had finished eating.µ
    Ókay. And?µ
    Ánd?µ
    ´What are you doing in here?µ
    Ít·s my boat.µ
    Ánd these are, according to your royal decree, my engines for the duration.µ
    Í don·t expect you to work twenty-four seven.µ
    Í·m not working.µ She held up her book. Caribbean Marine Life . Í·m reading.µ
    Lord she was maddening. ´Did you have a chance to visit Sam before we left?µ A change of subject was in order. But when he saw the look on her face, he wished he·d chosen a better subject.
    Ńo.µ She gripped the book so hard her knuckles turned white.
    ´You can go and see him any time you like. The speedboat wil get you there in an hour.µ
    She gave him a stony look. ´Thanks.µ
    ´We al care about Sam and, by extension, you. He·s a great guy, family. I know his il ness must be real y hard on you.µ Sam Wil iams had terminal bone cancer, and probably had only months left. Hard to tel since the stubborn bastard refused to go to the hospital, and hadn·t seen his doctor in months.

    Zane felt a serious twinge of conscience for strong-arming Teal into coming on this salvage.
    She should be back on Cutter Cay, spending time with her father.
    He was just about to tel her he·d have someone take her back when she said flatly, ´He refuses to have treatment, so I guess he·s okay with dying.µ Teal gave him an emotionless, dismissive glance.
    ´He sent a message that he was too tired to see me before we left. He didn·t ask if I was okay with him dying, and he doesn·t seem to want my opinion.µ She swal owed. Zane watched the movement of her throat as she somehow kept her cool. ´Fact is, I can·t change what·s going to happen. If he wants me to go see him, I·l see him. He·s got the number here.µ
    Her voice was cold, but her big, brown eyes were haunted. A look Zane would·ve missed if he hadn·t been so intent on not looking at her braless breasts moving under her PJs.
    Sam hadn·t asked her to stay. Zane almost groaned. Jesus. The apple hadn·t fal en far from the tree. Both Wil iamses were stubborn, antisocial, and fucking uncommunicative. He wondered if he should cal Sam in the morning, feel him out.
    ´What happened to your mother? Sam never talks about her.µ
    The delicate skin around her eyes contracted. A tiny flinch? ´Why would he?
    They were never married, and she died more than five years ago.µ
    Teal would·ve been what? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? ´You weren·t close?µ
    Zane couldn·t fathom how that could be the case. His mother had died a few months after his fifth birthday. He didn·t remember much more than her soft, sweet smel and warmth.
    But he·d always known unequivocal y that she·d loved him. He·d adored his father, and loved his brothers unconditional y, and they him.
    Given Teal·s strained relationship with her father, he·d hoped she and her mother, at least, had been close.
    Teal tossed the book on the floor, then drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, and shrugged dismissively. Śhe had some problems and was gone a lot. Don·t get comfortable,µ she warned as he leaned against the bulkhead.
    Zane stuck his fingers in the