Sweet Talkin' Scoundrel by Tess Oliver Page A

if the proverbial light bulb had just turned on and she’d come up with some brilliant idea.
    “Let’s have some tea, Kinley, and we’ll talk a bit. Unless you have to get back to the classroom.”
    “No, I’ve got Becky working on an art project, and to be honest, she’s less distracted if I’m not there. Otherwise, she always has something to tell me or ask me.”
    Katherine rolled her eyes, an expression she was masterful at. “That girl.” She shook her head, a gesture that was, of course, obligatory after an eye roll. She walked to the sink to fill the tea kettle, and I sat at the small breakfast table.
    Katherine brought two cups and saucers over and placed them on the table before returning to the cupboard for tea. “My husband was a shipbuilder. Actually, he was from a long line of shipbuilders. The Underwoods are well known in that world.” She returned with two tea bags and lowered them into the cups before pulling out a chair across from me. It seemed rather unreal to be sitting having a casual conversation over tea with Katherine Underwood. She just never seemed like the chit-chat type, but she continued her story. “His great grandfather started the business and family fortune. Each successive generation has followed in his footsteps. Jack’s older brother, God rest his soul, died while building a massive ocean liner. He was on tall scaffolding inspecting the workmanship when an unexpected wind pushed him over the side. He fell to his death.”
    “How terrible and how ironic that he should die falling from his own ship.”
    “Yes, my husband was devastated by the loss. It threw him, unexpectedly, into running the company alone until his own untimely death.” The kettle released a shrill whistle jolting us from the conversation.
    “I’ll get it,” I said quickly and got up to retrieve the kettle. I poured the hot water into our cups and returned the kettle to the stove.
    She twirled the bag around in the water. Her hands were not the hands of a middle-aged woman. They were smooth and well-manicured as if she spent a great deal of time taking care of them. I could easily envision her sleeping behind a satiny eye mask with snow white gloves cradling her hands in expensive creams.
    “Jack died on one of his boats too.”
    My face popped up from the fragrant steam hovering over my cup.
    “It wasn’t in the shipyard like his brother. We had a lovely pleasure boat that Jack loved to take the kids out fishing on whenever he had time away from his office. Even at four, Becky would sit patiently with her fishing rod at the stern, swallowed up in her puffy life jacket.” Katherine stirred her tea and placed the bag on the saucer. “On that calamitous day, the weather station had warned of high winds and rough seas, but stubborn Jack was sure they could get a few hours out on the water before things got severe. After his brother’s death, he had so little free time, he refused to waste even a minute of it. And he loved being with the kids.” She stared out the window as she sipped her tea.
    “Becky mentioned James in a passing conversation.”
    Katherine’s face hardened at the mention of her second son, but rather than elaborate or talk about him, she went on with her conversation. “All three kids were on the boat that day. They’d gone out farther than they should’ve with the impending storm. But the real trouble started when smoke suddenly spewed out of the engine compartment. Even with the extinguishers on hand, an unnoticed fuel leak made it impossible to save the boat. Jack sent a mayday out to passing boats, but in the meantime, they had no choice except to jump ship. By that time, the sea itself had started to show the first clues of the coming storm. Even their life jackets weren’t enough to fight the turbulent current. The waves gradually grew and as Jack held onto Becky, the boys struggled to stay afloat. An acrid black smoke had covered the water, burning their eyes and lungs.