Chapter 12
TWELVE
We walk in brilliant sunshine along a dock lined with millions of dollars of the finest vessels money can buy.
When we reach his yacht the captain greets us.
I must admit the yacht is magnificent and I gape at the seamless blend of glass and polished steel with multiple decks offering panoramic views of the sea.
The name “Laura,” emblazoned on one side, screams out at me.
I nod as Jack introduces me to the staff but I won’t be staying long.
Even in dock the boat is moving too much for my comfort.
Inside is luxurious and I can see Laura’s touch everywhere—not what I would expect to find at all.
It’s as if Jack’s neutral taste has been completely disregarded and Laura’s feminine touches have taken over.
I personally don’t like lace and frills and it seems very strange to me that Jack hasn’t changed anything since his wife died.
This yacht is his “baby” and yet it resembles a feminine boudoir.
He shows me the decks and the bedrooms. They smell of room freshener and fish.
The mixture is doing strange things to my stomach and I turn to head back into the fresh air.
As I move along the passageways in an attempt to escape, I can feel Laura’s presence so intensely that I expect her to open a door and scream at me for stealing her husband.
I’m moving faster now, running until I slow to move down the gangplank and back onto the dock.
I bend over, sucking in deep breaths of salty air.
“Willow.” Jack is at my side. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea this would happen.”
I straighten and look at him. “That boat isn’t you, Jack.
It’s old and not a good representation of who you are in this world.
You’re a builder.” I wave a hand at the yacht.
“Inside is the opposite of your tastes. Neutral, you told me, and that is more like a brothel. You should sell it and buy something more appropriate.” I breathe slowly, trying to settle my stomach.
“You don’t need to please me, Jack. Buy something to please you.
Yes, I’ll miss you when you go fishing with your friends but I’ll never stand in your way.
We can work this out. One thing though. I would prefer you go out fishing with the boys and not have parties on board without me. ”
“Oh, that’s a given.” He smiles at me and his eyes sparkle. “I’m faithful and that’s one thing you can take to the bank.” He leads me to a bench and we sit down. “Rest for a time until you get your sea legs.”
I chuckle. “That will never happen.” I turn to him as we both stare at the yacht. “If it’s not too painful, what happened the night Laura died?”
“There’s not much to tell really.” Jack rests one arm along the back of the bench behind me.
“It was our wedding anniversary and we had some friends aboard to celebrate. We’d had a great meal and were drinking bottles of champagne.
Something had gotten into Laura’s craw. She had a problem with a couple of my staff and wanted me to fire them immediately.
I asked her to cool down and just enjoy herself and that I’d deal with them in my own time.
She flew at me and slapped my face.” He shakes his head slowly and sighs.
“She had a temper and didn’t suffer fools easily.
We went through so many staff in the house as she always found something wrong with them. ”
I want more information and turn in my seat to look at him. “When did she go missing? Was she drunk?”
“No, she wasn’t drunk. She’d had maybe one glass of champagne and she always drank water with meals.
” Jack stares into the distance and I can almost see the memories coming to the surface.
“After she yelled and slapped me, I told her to go and clear her head and she went out onto the deck.” He points to the back of the boat.
“She was heading for the stern when I last saw her. I wasn’t concerned in any way because she often went and stood at the railing and stared at the stars.
It was her favorite place to be, especially at night.
I figured I’d give her a few minutes to cool down and then go and see her but I got into a conversation with the others and lost track of time.
I guess twenty or thirty minutes had gone by before I went out to speak to her.
She was nowhere in sight. I came back inside and asked if anyone had seen her come in.
No one had seen her and then we all searched for her.
When we couldn’t find her, we contacted the Coast Guard and turned around immediately and headed back the way we’d come.
We moved at a slow rate of knots and used the searchlights across the water.
It wasn’t long until the Coast Guard arrived and we searched all night and the next day.
There were choppers and just about everyone I know from the marina out searching but we never found a trace of her. ”
I frown as he hasn’t mentioned the weather or the missing life buoy. “What could have caused her to fall overboard? She was an experienced sailor I assume and familiar with that spot.”
“The water was choppy but was it enough to throw her overboard?” Jack turns his gaze back to me.
“This fact has played on my mind since that night. You see, Laura hadn’t been herself for months.
She’d been unwell and I put it down to the medication the doctor had given her for depression.
She was never the same after Noah’s birth and I blame myself for her death in some ways.
I avoid arguing with anyone, it’s not in my nature but she kept goading me.
This time, I told her to get some fresh air because she was making a spectacle in front of our friends and I knew she’d regret it in the morning.
I said it softly and I doubt anyone heard.
The thing is, Willow, I should have taken more time to listen to her and maybe help her work out her insecurities.
” He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out.
“She was the mother of my children and I cared for her but our relationship toward the end was difficult. I’d hoped she’d recovered but, when she attacked me, I knew she needed to see the psychiatrist again.
Nothing I did helped her. I can’t get it out of my head that maybe she took her own life just to spite me. ”