Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,69
to all three of them, though his gaze never left Kelly’s face. Her chin jutted up and she met his gaze without flinching.
“Everything going okay?” he asked her.
“Fine,” she said in a terse tone that said everything was far from fine. “I see you’re walking with a cane now. That’s great progress.”
Michael nodded, not sure what to say to that. “I’m here to talk to that friend of Ryan’s about a job.”
For an instant there was a spark of genuine excitement in her eyes. “The charter boats?”
He nodded.
“I thought you weren’t interested in that.”
“I’ve had second thoughts,” he told her, his gaze unwavering. “About a lot of things.”
“I see,” she said, returning to her mask of cool indifference. “Well, good luck, then.” She glanced at Bryan. “I’d like to leave now, if you don’t mind.”
Bryan cast a hard look at Michael, then stood up. “Sure thing, Kelly. Moira, you want to wait here? I’ll be back in ten or fifteen minutes.”
Moira nodded. “I’ll wait.” She gave Michael a pointed look. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Moira!” Kelly protested sharply, hesitating with her coat halfway on.
“I’m not going to kill him,” Moira said. “I can be as civilized as the next person.”
Michael grinned at that. “I don’t doubt it, but I have a couple of prior engagements, first with my niece and then about a job. You’ll have to give me a rain check on the inquisition.”
Moira sighed. “Too bad.” She stood up and grabbed her coat. “I guess I’ll go along with you guys, then.”
Michael stood where he was and watched them leave. Kelly never once looked back.
“Woman problems?” Ryan asked sympathetically, coming up beside him.
Michael nodded. “I’m still not sure how I let things get so out of hand. I never meant to hurt her.”
“Then fix it,” Ryan said simply.
“I’m not sure I know how. I do know that finding a job is the first step, one I have to take for me before I can give any thought at all to the future.”
“Does Kelly agree that work should come before her?”
“Probably not,” Michael admitted. “But that’s the one thing I am sure of.”
“Okay, then, let me introduce you to Greg Keith.” Ryan led the way across the restaurant to a man seated at a table in the corner. Not until Michael was next to the table did he realize that Greg Keith was in a wheelchair. He had to fight not to show any visible sign of his shock.
Greg grinned at him. “You can ask,” he said, when Ryan was gone and Michael had taken a seat opposite him.
“Ask what?”
“About old ironsides here. We’ve been together a long time now.”
“It’s none of my business,” Michael said.
“It is if you’re going to come to work for me. I don’t see much point in ignoring my limitations. If I do, then they’re controlling me, and believe me, that’s not a situation I can tolerate.”
Michael nodded. He was just beginning to relate to the sentiment. “What happened?”
“A bullet in the spine during an operation in the Persian Gulf War. I came out of the SEALs with a nice pension and some money in the bank. As soon as I got out of the hospital, I started looking around for a boat to buy. I couldn’t imagine my life anywhere except around water. I have a fleet of ten charter boats now, everything from a tall ship to a couple of fishing trawlers.” He regarded Michael with a penetrating look. “I assume you’re here because Ryan told you I’m always looking for good captains.”
Michael nodded slowly, trying to digest what Greg Keith had done with his life once he’d been dealt a devastating blow. It was one more reminder that he had nothing to complain about.
“I’ll be honest,” he told Greg. “I’m not sure if this is for me, but I’d like to take a look around, see if it feels right.”
“Fair enough. Does tomorrow morning suit you?” Greg grinned at Michael. “I guarantee you that once you set foot on deck and get back out to sea, it’ll give you a whole new lease on life.”
Michael thought of the woman who’d just left the pub and the future that could await them, if he ever found the courage to try. “I truly hope so.”
To his shock and ultimately to his relief, Michael discovered that he liked being back on the water, even if he couldn’t be heading out to face some sort of incredible danger. The serenity he’d always found at