Love Overboard

Chapter 48

THE SWIVEL CHAIR CREAKED AS Jon swung left and right. Monarch kept a branch office in Cozumel to handle any problems with the city, port schedules, and passengers who’d been left behind. His foot bumped the side of the desk. If he swung the chair all the way around, he could look out the third-story window and see the MS Buckingham docked at the pier. But he didn’t.

Lacey was there.

Which meant he wanted to be there. But duty and family obligation called him home. Ever since he was old enough to remember, he’d dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps. That was a lot to ignore just so he could be there for a woman who continued to abandon him at the slightest sign of trouble.

Okay. The latest trouble hadn’t been slight. It was the biggest screwup of his life.

Jon leaned forward and banged his head twice against the desktop. He stopped at the sound of gum popping, raised his face, and glared at Collins sitting on a brown leather couch with his feet propped up.

“You seemed to be enjoying the cruise.” Jon massaged his forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want to take the boat home?”

“And miss the chance to fly in a private jet? No way.” Collins pushed his sweatshirt sleeves to his elbows and reclined on the cushions.

Jon lowered his head and banged it on the desk again.

The office door rasped on its hinges.

“Do you require help, Jonathan?” Mr. Eliot stood in the doorway, biting his lower lip. He crept into the room and waved at the desk. “Can I fetch you an aspirin?”

Jon shook his head. “No thank you. I don’t deserve an aspirin.”

Mr. Eliot bit his top lip this time. “I’ve scheduled one more meeting with a Monarch supplier while I’m here. We’ll leave for the airport in two hours. Are you sure you don’t want me to get you a hotel room where you can rest?”

“No thanks.” Jon leaned back in his seat. “I still have things to think about.” He whirled his chair around, pulled the cord to raise the blinds, and stared at the distant MS Buckingham. Late-afternoon sunshine streamed through the window.

The couch cushions squeaked as Collins moved. “What kind of things?”

“How do you fix a mistake that’s unfixable?”

Mr. Eliot tut-tutted. “Nothing’s unfixable. It depends on how much effort the mistake maker is willing to put in.”

“Effort?” Jon turned.

“Yes, effort.” Mr. Eliot undid the top button of his suit coat. “Take this morning. I bumped into you on the pier, and you dropped your phone in the water. A major mistake.” He skirted around the desk and leaned uncomfortably close. “And I beg your permission to say again how profoundly sorry I am.”

“I wasn’t talking about the phone.” Jon waved for him to back up, tired of telling the man to forget it.

Mr. Eliot straightened. “It’s impossible to retrieve your cell, and I could choose to accept the bitter truth and do nothing more. But no.”

“Please don’t tell me you hired divers.”

“No, sir. A waterlogged phone wouldn’t do you any good. I had corporate email me your information, and I sent one of the people from this office to purchase a new one. Same model, same color, and same number, with all your contacts loaded. This isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s better than apologizing and leaving you to clean up my mess.”

Jon nodded, his gaze unfocused. “Clean up my mess.”

Mr. Eliot hovered. “Would you like me to fetch you anything while we wait?”

Collins revived. “How about a sandwich?”

Jon ignored him. “Please get my father on the phone.”

Mr. Eliot somehow managed to bite both his top and bottom lip at the same time. “Your new cell isn’t here yet.”

Jon forced himself to take a breath before he answered. “Any phone will do. I need to talk to my father.”

“Yes, sir. Immediately.”

The secretary scuttled away, and Jon spun to the window.

Okay, God. I neglected to pray about it the last time I had a brilliant idea. We all know how my proposal turned out. What do you think I should do?

Instead of calculating the risks or worrying about what might go wrong, he sat in silence, waiting for direction from the One who already knew what was going to happen.

In the distance, a white plume of smoke drifted across the sky as the MS Buckingham sailed away from the pier.

Lacey stood by the balcony of Cloud Nine and watched the quickly receding shoreline. Cozumel grew smaller by the minute. The giant propeller of the ship revolved in an efficient, uncaring rhythm, taking her farther and farther away from Jon. The churning, tumultuous water in the ship’s wake reminded Lacey of her soul.

Disturbed.

Chaotic.

Put through the blender.

“I found you.”

Lacey spun around. “Emily, what are you doing here?”

The little woman tapped across the small private deck, leaning on a gray metal cane, and joined Lacey at the wall. “I made a deal with the doctor that I could get out of bed if I carried this confounded stick around with me for a few days.”

“You should be resting.”

“I should also lose five pounds, eat less candy, and stop meddling in other people’s lives, but I don’t think any of those things are going to happen.”

Lacey smiled. “I’m glad.”

“Glad I’m not resting?”

“No.” Lacey took the woman’s arm and threaded it through hers. “I’m glad you haven’t retired from meddling. Stubborn people like me benefit.”

Emily stuck a finger in her ear and wiggled it around. “Does the medicine they gave me come with side effects? I could’ve sworn you said to keep meddling.”

“You heard right.”

They stood in silence at the balcony. The blue sky glided overhead with an ever-changing vista of wispy white clouds, marred only by a translucent stream of smoke issuing from the ship’s stack.

“Isn’t that a little what life is like?” Emily pointed a finger. “Mostly sunny skies with an occasional stream of pollution. They’re both there. It’s up to you which one you focus on.”

Lacey side-eyed her. “Getting philosophical on me?”

“I’m old, and I just spent the day in sick bay.” Emily laughed. “Bear with me awhile.”

Lacey patted the fragile hand in the crook of her arm. She stared at the dark veins lining the top. A piece of gauze was taped where the IV needle had been. “Couldn’t you rest another hour or two?”

“A little swooning spell isn’t going to keep me down. How can I rest, knowing what you’re suffering?” Emily tilted her head. “How are you, dear?”

“I called my father.”

She gave a small, approving nod. “How did it go?”

Lacey raised her palms. “He didn’t declare a miraculous healing and say he’d return to work.” She sighed. “But I told him I forgave him.”

Emily leaned her cane against the wall and surrounded her in a wrinkly hug. “I’m proud of you. Not many people have the courage to offer forgiveness when it isn’t asked for or deserved. You made a giant stride in your healing journey.”

Lacey bent and rested her chin on Emily’s shoulder. The woman’s loving embrace applied an invisible balm to her wounded heart. She absorbed the comfort and silently thanked God for her pushy guardian angel.

Emily thumped her on the back. “Now what are you going to do about Jon?”

Lacey groaned and pulled away. “You don’t give in, do you?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong. Didn’t you give me carte blanche to keep meddling in your life?”

“It’s too late.” Lacey gestured to the speck in the distance that was Cozumel. “He got off the ship. What can I do? Jump overboard and do the butterfly stroke to shore?”

“Have you ever heard of a phone call?”

She covered her face. “I said things that can’t be fixed on the phone.”

“Then I’ll have to finagle a way to get you off this ship.” Emily looped her cane on her arm, placed a hand behind Lacey’s back, and pushed her toward the door.

Lacey dug in her heels. “Even if you could make that happen, I wouldn’t know what to say to him.”

Emily stopped pushing and walked in front of her. “Answer me one question. And if you say no, I’ll drop it. Do you want to be with him?”

Lacey swallowed. “Yes … but I’ve hurt him. More than once. And … he’s a millionaire. Jon can do better than me.”

Emily smacked her arm hard. “Stop right there. It’s a wonder he doesn’t trip over all the hearts and flowers shooting out of his eyes. Jon will never find a better girl than you, and I bet he’ll agree if you give him a chance.”

Lacey blinked through a watery haze at the greatest cheerleader of her life. Hope surged inside of her. Was Emily right? If so …

“I’ve got to get off this boat.”

Emily clapped her hands and studied Lacey’s white knee-length skirt. “Put your slacks on, dear. You’ll need to climb off the ship into something smaller.”

Her eyebrows shoved together. “You’re not planning on stealing a lifeboat, are you?”

“Too much trouble.” She shook her head. “In times like these, old friends are the best.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Leave the details to me.” Emily was pushing again. “You get ready to reenact one of those romantic airport scenes Gerry loves to write. I’ll take care of the rest. It’s been far too long since I visited the captain.”

“Wait. How are you … Forget it. If you can get me back to Cozumel, I’ll sign a lifetime contract for full-service meddling.” Lacey slipped off her dress pumps and stood there in her stocking feet. “I’d better change my shoes too. I might have to make a run for it.”