Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles) by Lori Wick Read Free Book Online Page B

with a raised hand "Thank you,
    Hawk, but I want to keep trying on my own. If things don't turn
    around by the first of next year, March at the latest, I may be in
    touch."
    Brandon agreed with a nod and then said, "You're a fine
    captain, Dallas. What exactly is going on?"
    "Smoke," he stated simply. "He's into port like a thief in the
    night, moving like mist on the water. I never get word of goods
    before he does, and he's come and gone before I can get the Zephyr moving." Dallas stopped talking when an odd look
    passed over Brandon's face.
    "You haven't heard the latest rumor, have you, Dallas?"
    "I guess not," he said quietly and waited
    "Smoke is a woman."
    Dallas waited for his friend to thump him on the chest and
    laugh at his own joke--he did neither.
    'You can't be serious," Dallas finally said
    "I'm very serious. She's been sailing for a few years now,
    but until quite recently she's kept her identity very low key.
    She sails theAramis, and the talk I've heard is that there's no
    finer or swifter craft on the Atlantic"
    Dallas' heart began to thunder in his chest. Images of
    Jenny's small friend Smokey, the sailor he had seen just hours
    ago on the dock, and the ship they had been moving toward all
    rushed through his mind
    "Hawk, what does the Aramis look like?" Dallas' voice was
    just over a whisper.
    "I haven't seen her, but I can tell you what I've heard She
    looks as new as the day she set sail. Clean lines. Ebony with a
    single gold stripe. No figurehead, but she flies a large American
    flag at the top of the mainmast, and another smaller one
    from the mizzenmast."
    Dallas' eyes slid shut when Brandon was through. Upon
    Brandon's question, he shared the entire story, starting with
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    his sister's friend and ending with the sailor and ship he'd
    seen at the dock.
    "If the rumor mill can be trusted, she's an American and
    lives in Maine, so what you've said makes perfect sense. Look,
    Dallas," Brandon went on. "I can see that you're ready to hop
    your ship and follow the Aramis as quickly as you can.
    'You haven't seen Sunny in ages or met Sterling," he
    added "Why not come out to Bracken for a few days? It
    wouldn't be your original intent, but if you go chasing after the Aramis, you're only going to antagonize her captain."
    Dallas nodded slowly in agreement and then shook his
    head in disbelief. It was all too ridiculous for words. The
    woman he had met at Tate and Jenny's and then again at Buck's
    couldn't possibly be one of the finest sailors to grace Atlantic
    waters.
    Brandon was right, he did need to stop and think about his
    next move. Especially since this was almost certainly a case of
    mistaken identity. In just moments Dallas convinced himself
    that there was really no need to hurry.
    "There's someone here to see you, Mr. Pemberton," Tate's
    secretary told him as he stepped into the private office of
    Pemberton Shipping. Tate looked up from his desk to thank
    the man, but could see that he was distressed
    "What is it, Scott? Something James can't handle?"
    "Well, sir, they want to see you, and I--"
    "If someone is upset," Tate cut him off, "just send him in.
    I'm sure we can work it out."
    "It's the captain of the Aramis" Scott said Although he
    stilnooked upset, Tate's face cleared
    "Smoke," he said with relief. "I've never worked with him
    re, but his reputation is flawless. Whatever the trouble is,
    toork it out. Send him in."
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    The secretary hesitated, but Tate ignored him and went
    back to his paperwork. A moment later the door opened and
    two people entered, closing the door behind them. Tate finished
    the entry in his ledger before looking up. He rose with a
    congenial smile on his face. When he spied Smokey standing
    just inside his office door, however, the smile became rather
    fixed, and his look turned to one of confusion. Beside her was
    a bear of a man. Both of them looked quite serious.
    "I've been asking myself for weeks," she began softly, "if I
    was lying by not telling you