A Dolphin's Gift by Patricia Watters

steadily back at him. The tabby
moved in a slow circle, head tucked low, growls reverberating in his chest.
Katy jumped forward. Catching Zeke's high-pitched scream and lightning fast
claws to her nose, Katy yelped and jumped back. Snatching the moment to flee,
Zeke leapt into Will's kayak and darted into the cockpit. Katy landed on the
kayak with a thud, sending several wooden boxes toppling as the small craft
rocked against the bulwarks.
    Hearing the
commotion, Will scurried down the ladder from the bridge and rushed over to
protect the sonar equipment stashed in several boxes beneath the kayak. Seeing
Katy shoving her way between the boxes in an effort to get to Zeke, he clapped
his hands loudly. Katy stopped abruptly and stared at him. Will thrust out a
finger. "Out! Back to the dock." Katy lowered her head, dropped her
tail, and jumped to the dock, and Will tied her to a cleat.
    He looked
around for Mike, who he knew had untied Katy again. The kid was really testing
him. Ever since the incident about going to the store with Donnie Peterson,
Mike had been even more hostile. But he hadn't exactly let Mike go. Mike had
been pretty determined to do as he damn well pleased. Later, he'd tell Nellie
about their encounter, and about Mike's threat. There was no point worrying her
over something the boy was undoubtedly using as a ploy to keep his mother to
himself...
    Nellie rapped
on the window. "What's going on out there?"
    "Guess,"
Will replied, provoked.
    Nellie joined
him on deck. "Katy and Zeke again?"
    "Umm."
Will crouched to unlatch the lids and check the fragile contents.
    Nellie peered
down at him as he hovered over the box. "When we're underway tomorrow,
Zeke will have to stand up to Katy because he won't have any place to go,"
Nellie said. "They'll work things out between them. You'll see."
    But Will didn't
feel at all confident. "It's not the animals," he said. "It's
Mike. He let the dog loose again. The evidence is over there." He pointed
to where Mike's scraggly stuffed bear peeked out from between two boxes of
groceries.
    "Well,
yes, I suppose he did," Nellie said.
    Will looked
around. "Where is he now? I don't feel real great about leaving this
equipment unattended."
    "Don't
worry," Nellie said. "He's next door having hamburgers with Donnie
since it's our last day here." She looked at the containers in the kayak.
"What's all this anyway?"
    "Electronic
equipment," Will said, while examining a recording device to make sure it
wasn't damaged. "It belongs to the Cetacean Communication Society, one of
the organizations funding the project, and I can't afford to replace it if
something happens to it." It was ludicrous thinking he could conduct
scientific research aboard a boat with a kid who despised him. Nellie wasn't
making things easy either, with her big hazel eyes, and generous curves and
passionate kisses. And after her comment that she didn't believe kissing or
anything else had to end in marriage, it was all he could do to keep his hands
off her. He wouldn't once they were underway. Once Mike was be asleep, they'd
have the master stateroom to themselves, and if things progressed as he hoped,
he and Nellie would be in bed together before the week was up. It couldn't come
soon enough for him...
    "What's
all this for?" Nellie asked, peering down at the equipment surrounding
him.
    From his
crouched position, Will said, while pointing, "This is a hydrophone, and
those are amplifiers and headphones, and that's a synthesizer... all for
communicating with the animals."
    "How do
you communicate with a whale?" Nellie asked.
    Will stood, and
while scanning his equipment, replied, "We start by creating a shared
space with them and building mutual trust."
    "How do
you do that?" Nellie asked.
    "We watch
for spontaneous reactions to touch," Will said. He brushed his knuckle
across her cheek. "Scientists have proved that touch has a profound effect
on the well-being of all creatures. Whales, dogs, cats..." He smiled.
"A