Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) (5 page)

Sure enough, there was Mr. Westbrook making his grand entrance in a tux of all things, even though most people just wore suits to the Captain’s Dinner. Right behind him entered his daughter, wearing a flowing pink evening gown with a silver sequined bodice with a sweetheart neckline that glittered under the lights like a damned disco ball.

“Is that them?” asked Cat, following his gaze.

“It is,” Simon answered.

“Hard to believe that’s the same girl who fell overboard,” stated Thad. “She cleans up nice, doesn’t she?”

“I’ll say.” Simon walked over to greet them, his eyes focused on Piper. Her long, blond hair was swept to one side in a braided side-bun and she wore a clip with a large pink flower to hold it in place. Dangly sparking earrings accentuated her green eyes that glittered like gemstones in the soft lighting of the dining room. She wasn’t overly tall, but the heels on her shoes had to be a good five inches, and when she glided across the room she looked like an etheric angel.

“Mr. Westbrook and Ms. Westbrook,” Simon greeted them with a polite nod of his head. “May I escort you to the captain’s table?” He held out his arm for Piper, and he noticed her glancing over to her father nervously. It was obvious the man was paying no attention to her, as he was already halfway to the table and introducing himself to the captain who had just arrived.

“Of course. Thank you.” Piper slowly put her hand on Simon’s arm and he walked her to the table.

“You look stunning tonight,” he said, seating her at the empty chair next to his.

“Thank you. You look nice also.”

Simon didn’t miss the smirk on Zeb’s face nor the way Thad eyed up Piper as she sat down. Seated right next to Cat, they started up with the girl-talk before he had a chance to even ask her how she felt.

“I love your dress,” said Cat enthusiastically.

“Thank you. I like yours too. My name is Piper Westbrook.”

“I’m Catalina Taylor, but just call me Cat. And this is my husband, Zeb.”

“Nice to meet you.” Zeb flashed the girl one of his million dollar smiles. “Would you care for some wine?”

Simon grabbed the bottle quickly from Zeb’s hand and poured Piper a glass and then one for himself and took his seat.

“So, Cat, you must be related to Simon,” said Piper. “After all, you have the same last name and your husband looks an awful lot like him.”

“He’s my brother,” Zeb blurted out before Simon could tell her. Then he noticed a tinge of jealousy and possessiveness in Cat’s next response.

“And I’m Zeb’s wife. His
pregnant
wife,” she said obviously to remind Zeb not to flirt with the newcomer.

“You’re pregnant, how wonderful. Congratulations,” Piper said with a smile.

“I’m his other brother, Thad.” Thad reached out across Simon and held his hand out to shake Piper’s.

“I was going to introduce you,” growled Simon from the side of his mouth, gently pushing Thad’s hand away before Piper ever had the chance to shake it.

“Well, I can see shyness doesn’t run in the Taylor family.” Piper took a sip of her wine.

Pleasantries and introductions were exchanged, and Mr. Westbrook seated himself right next to the captain. Still, there was one spot left vacant at the table that was right next to Piper’s father. To Simon’s surprise, a waiter escorted a woman to the table next who all the Taylor brothers knew very well.

“Mrs. Glover?” asked Simon, recognizing a woman from their hometown of Sweet Water, Michigan.

“Ah, Mrs. Glover, so nice to see you again,” said Captain Jones standing up to greet her. Captain Jones was a big man with dark curly hair and glasses. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Beatrice Glover, a nice lady I met on the ship and asked to join us at our table.”

“Hello Simon, Thad, and Zeb,” she said, settling herself on the chair. “I haven’t seen you boys since your father passed away. How are you anyway?” Beatrice looked over the top of her wire-rimmed glasses and smiled. She was probably in her late seventies and Simon was surprised to see her on the cruise alone.

“Oh, I see you know them already,” said the captain, taking a seat.

“Of course I know them,” the woman retorted. “They live in my hometown. I’ve known them since they were children. Zeb, I heard you got married recently. So is this the little bride?”

Introductions were made and then Mr. Westwood, who was sitting next to her, decided to introduce himself and his daughter. Nods and handshakes were exchanged.

“Mrs. Glover, I didn’t know you were even on the cruise,” said Simon, picking up the breadbasket and passing it to Piper.

“Well, my husband passed away last month and my children decided I should go on a cruise to cheer up.”

“We’re so sorry about your husband,” said Zeb. “With our wedding and all the commotion lately, we had no idea.”

“Eugene was sick for awhile, and it really affected our business,” she explained, taking a roll and passing the basket to Howard who seemed very interested all of a sudden.

“What business would that be?” asked Howard.

“We own a marina on Thunder Lake in Michigan, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to sell it now that Eugene is gone.”

“No, don’t do that,” said Simon, loving anything to do with the water. “The marina is important to Thunder Lake. If someone else comes in, they may not keep it up or perhaps even tear it down. The tourists as well as some of the year-round residents really depend on the marina.”

“Well, I don’t see how I’ll be able to keep it up by myself. It’s too much and I really only did it to begin with since Eugene loved it so much. No, I’ve decided to just sell it all to the first person who comes along and makes me an offer.”

Simon knew he would be able to help her save the marina once he came back to Sweet Water, if she would only hold off on selling it. This sounded like a perfect opportunity to do what he loved while he was away from the ship. He was sure he could run the place for her. The idea of possibly even buying it from her floated around in his head for a second. But he couldn’t mention any of this right now. Not in front of the captain.

When Simon told the captain he was moving back home, the man hadn’t been happy about it. He’d given Simon a leave of absence for the month and told him he expected him back on the ship again and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He’d even offered him a sizeable raise in salary if he stayed. Simon had been torn, not knowing what to do, but had finally agreed to the deal. Now he was starting to have second thoughts. He’d been missing his brothers and his home town for awhile now. No, now wasn’t a good time to talk to Mrs. Glover, but maybe he would try to do it later.

* * *

Piper made small talk with the guests at the table during dinner and was only too glad the entire evening hadn’t focused around her mishap of falling off the ship. Simon’s family seemed nice, and she could see the closeness between them.

“So, do you have more siblings on the cruise, Simon?” she asked curiously, thinking she shouldn’t really be calling him by his first name, but no one seemed to bat an eyelash at it.

“Not here, but there are twelve of us all together.”

“Twelve?” she repeated, thinking she’d heard him wrong.

“All boys,” he added.

“Well, I’d love to hear about them some day.” She finished off her piece of key lime pie and dabbed her mouth with her cloth napkin. Simon looked happy that she had taken an interest in him and opened his mouth to say something, but her father broke into the conversation before he could manage to do so.

“Well, thank you for having us at your table,” Howard said to the captain. “Now, I think I’d like to dance in the grand ballroom.” He looked over at Mrs. Glover when he said it.

“You want to dance?” blurted out Piper, not ever being able to remember him dancing with anyone since he split up with Piper’s mother nearly ten years ago.

“Would you care to join me, Mrs. Glover?” He got up out of his chair and held out a hand to the old woman. Piper realized the woman had to be a good twenty years or more older than her father and thought the whole thing quite odd.

“Oh, I couldn’t.” Mrs. Glover giggled and put her hand to her mouth.

“Of course you can.” Her father got up out of his chair and extended his arm to the woman. “Didn’t you say your children wanted you to have a good time?”

“Well . . . alright. But just one dance.” The woman got up and they walked away without even saying goodbye, and the whole thing made Piper sick to her stomach. Her father obviously had something up his sleeve because she hadn’t been able to get him to dance the entire time they were there, tho she had asked him. The captain excused himself, and that was obviously the cue to leave because everyone else stood up then as well.

“I’m going to the casino,” said Thad, disappearing before anyone could even respond.

“How about you, Cat? Want to go to the casino?” Zeb asked her.

“Anywhere but there,” she said, making a face. Then she looked over to Piper. “I used to be a blackjack dealer in Vegas but those days are over now that I’m married and going to be a mother.”

“A blackjack dealer in Vegas?” Piper echoed. “How exciting.”

“More exciting than you know.” She exchanged a glance with Zeb as they got up out of their chairs. “Instead of visiting the casino, I’d love to dance as well,” she told her husband.

“All right then, let’s go.” Zeb guided her from the table.

“Wait,” said Cat turning back. “How about you, Piper? Are you going to dance too?”

“I . . . no. I don’t have anyone to dance with.”

“Well, how about me?” Simon looked over to her and she got lost in his eyes and his intoxicating smile. She really did want to dance with him, but wasn’t sure if she should.

“Isn’t that against protocol to dance with the passengers?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he answered, helping her from the table. “My job is not only to see to the passengers’ safety, but also to make sure everyone has a good time.”

She knew her father didn’t care for Simon and figured if she was dancing with him, it may cause problems since Simon seemed to clench his jaw and make fists whenever he was around him.

“I think I’ll just get a breath of fresh air and then turn in early. I still need to pack since we go home tomorrow.”

“If you’re going for a walk, then I’m definitely coming with you. After all, it’s my duty to make sure you don’t fall off the ship again.”

Simon touched her gently at the small of her back, guiding her out to the promenade. The storm had subsided and while the deck was still wet from the rain, it was a beautiful night. The full moon lit up the sky and the fresh sea breeze blew past her face.

“It is gorgeous out here,” she said as they strolled along toward the bow of the ship.

“There is nothing like the sea. I love the water,” he told her.

“Well, I have to say I think I’ve had more water than I care to experience ever again.”

“You don’t know how to swim, do you?”

She looked up quickly, knowing he meant what happened when she fell overboard. “It may not have looked like it since I panicked in the water, but my mother gave me swim lessons as a child, though my father objected, saying pools were dirty and a breeding ground for germs. I never liked to swim, nor do I care for anything to do with water, so I tend to agree with my father on this one.”

“That’s a shame. Actually, I think I was a fish in my past life because I’ve always been a good swimmer and love living on the water.”

She laughed at his sense of humor. “So have you worked on the cruise ship for a long time then?”

“No. Not long at all, actually.”

“Really? So what did you do before this? Train dolphins or something?”

“I wish,” he said with a deep chuckle and a smile that showed off small dimples at the corners of his mouth as well as the one on his chin. “No, I joined the Navy for four years.”

“How exciting. What did you do?”

“I held the position of Chief Petty Officer and Boatswain’s Mate.”

“Boat what?”

“It’s sometimes called Bosun’s Mate. I was in charge of the deck crew and how the ship ran.”

“Oh, I suppose that’s why you wear that odd-looking whistle around your neck.”

He pulled the whistle out from under his shirt. “This is a Bosun’s Pipe that was at one time used to give commands aboard a ship but now-a-days is mostly only used in ceremonies.” He stared at it for a moment then put it back under his shirt. “The reason I always wear it is personal.”

“So why’d you leave?”

That question seemed to bother him, and he walked over to the railing and looked out over the water. The moonlight spilled down on him, but the rim of his cap hid his face and his eyes were in shadow.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, sounding so sad all of a sudden.

“I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Come here and look at this view.” He held out his hand but she was reluctant to go so close to the railing again after her fall overboard. The thought of falling again terrified her.

“I’d rather not take the chance by getting so close to the edge,” she admitted.