Two Against the Odds by Joan Kilby Page B

go back to teaching, I can’t paint. We’re not talking millions in corporate tax fraud here. You see how I live. It’s not as if I’m getting rich off what I do. I barely make enough to keep myself in art supplies.”
    â€œThat’s not the point.”
    She bowed her head. “I know.”
    â€œI don’t enjoy squeezing blood out of a stone but I have to do my job.” His hands fisted atop his thighs. “I’ve already had one notice at work. If I screw up on your audit, that’ll be two warnings. Care to guess what happens after three?”
    â€œWhat did you do the other time?”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter.”
    â€œI’m interested.”
    â€œI turned a blind eye to the blackmarket income of a woman who was supporting her sick son and his three children. She was a genuine hard-luck case. But what I did was wrong.” He stared her in the eye to make sure she understood the gravity of his situation. “I can’t afford to lose my job.”
    â€œSounds like your job is horrible.” Having had enough of this conversation, she wandered into the living room, plopped down on the couch and picked up her sketch pad. Flipped it to a fresh page.
    Rafe resumed sorting receipts and entering data. After a moment, he said, “I need to stay employed until I can start my own fishing boat charter.”
    â€œReally? That’s so cool. I didn’t think you werethe type to be happy as an accountant for the rest of your life.” She began to draw his hands. “When are you going to buy a boat?”
    â€œSomeday.” He tossed an empty envelope aside.
    â€œSomeday?” Her pencil stilled. “That’s not good enough. What are you waiting for?”
    â€œA little thing called money. Heard of it? I have to save enough for the deposit, for one thing, so the interest rates don’t kill me. And I want a good chunk of money in the bank for a safety net.”
    â€œYou don’t need a safety net,” she scoffed, studying his wrists. “You just have to take the leap. Look at me.”
    â€œYes…look at you. Anyway, I’ve got the boat I want all picked out.” Now there was an excitement in his voice that made him seem even younger than his years. He moved around the table to his laptop and quickly brought up a webpage. He spun the computer around so she could see. “That’s my dream boat.”
    â€œWhy don’t you take out a loan and buy it?” Lexie asked, glancing at the screen from where she sat. He didn’t reply, just gazed at the boat on the website.
    Lexie quickly sketched a fishing rod in Rafe’s hand on her page, the other hand she had turning the reel.
    â€œMy father never got to fulfill his dreams,” Rafe said finally, obscurely. He shut down the website and went back to sorting.
    â€œWhat did he want?” At the end of the line, being pulled from the water, she drew a fish.
    â€œWhat? Oh. To join the merchant marine, to become a captain eventually,” Rafe explained. “He got his seaman’s papers when he was nineteen. Then my mum got pregnant. Dad went to work on the docks instead. It was supposed to be temporary, just until I was born and he knew my mum was okay.”
    Lexie paused drawing to look at Rafe’s profile. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth. “What happened?”
    Rafe took a moment. “One day they were loading containers onto a ship when the crane cable broke. Dad was pinned, his legs crushed by the container.” He shrugged. “The merchant marine doesn’t take paraplegics.”
    â€œRafe, I’m sorry.”
    He swivelled to face her directly. “It’s not that easy to take leaps of faith. I need to find the right location, get the financing….”
    â€œYou’ve got a good job. You should talk to my sister. She’s the loans manager at Community Bank.”
    â€œIf I were to start a